Elegant Touch Flawless French Manicure Kit

I thought I'd show you part of my Mum's Christmas present; I got her the Elegant Touch Flawless French Manicure Kit from FeelUnique.com for £14.95, postage included.  She's a huge fan of the French polish, and over the years has followed crazes to try and achieve the perfect Frenchie, from acrylics to polishes to gels.. So I thought the perfect present would be the new Elegant Touch Kit!  Not only does this kit promise a perfect French polish, but also for it to last.

I have to admit, it took me quite a while to get used to putting these on!  The system Elegant Touch have created is incredibly clever, I was seriously impressed.  As you can see from the photo above, the white tip is encased and attached to the plastic shell, glue is applied to the tip and you stick it on to your nail; the tab can then be removed, and leaving the white tip on your nail.  It's genuinely the neatest looking French polish I've ever seen, especially as it claims to actually aid nail growth rather than destroying like acrylics do!  Here's the finished product on my Mum's nails..

She's genuinely in love with her nails and keeps wafting them in everyone's face she can, just so they can admire them!  Unfortunately an index finger nail has already become damaged (she caught it whilst emptying the bin!) and the tip has broken in half, and come off.  I followed the instructions to the tee, so I'm doubting their longevity.. However, my Mum is still impressed with how neat they look, and thinks the set is wonderful value for the price.  So she'll be repurchasing - thank you Elegant Touch/FeelUnique for helping to please my Mum this Christmas!!

xx

Boxing Day bedlam at Boots

I hope you've all had a fantabulous Christmas and been enjoying your presumably beauty-related gifts!  I can certainly say I've been spoiled by the fam and the boyfriend, so I've felt very lucky *blush!  I was in two minds about spending several hours cooped up in my local Boots (quite a small, but well stocked branch outside Manchester) with loads of crazies.  My mother was adamant we were going, so after turning down a local Boxing Day walk (yes, that's the kind of area I live in) I thought 'may as well' nip to Boots to see what they had on offer.  I took £30 of Christmas money.  Boy, did I under-estimate my own enthusiasm, and learnt that in a 'buy or lose it' situation with beauty gift sets, I also become a crazy.  Ohh.. So £95.99 later, a gorgeous birthday present for my boyfriend (which is in April..) and a perfume set sold on to my sister after a re-think, this is what I ended up with..

Phew.  So all together the gift sets I purchased were:

• Umberto Giannini Glam Hair Fashion Kit - £30 to £15 - Contains all UG products shown.
• St Tropez Bronze Set - £25 to £12.50 - Contains all St Tropez products shown.
• Lee Stafford Poker Straight - £15 to £7.50 - Dehumidifier, Dry Shampoo & Protection Spray
• Lee Stafford Big Fat Healthy Hair - £15 to £7.50 - Shampoo, Conditioner, Comb, Hairspray & Shine spray
• Love Plaque - £8 to £4
• Britney Fantasy Gift Set - £20 to £10 - 30ml Perfume, Body Lotion & Shower Gel
• Britney Cosmic Radiance Gift Set (Sold to sister, not pictured) - £23 to £11.50

NB: Those without links have disappeared off the website!

Realistically there was so much more I could've bought but thought I shouldn't spend any more!  I think if you're planning to shop Boots' sale either go today or first thing tomorrow, as there's certainly not going to be anything left!  I'm really pleased with the bits I've picked up and can't wait to gradually use them throughout the year (the haul was to cheaply stock myself up for most of 2012!) and I'll be writing reviews for the products as I use them.  For me, the sale wasn't about picking up bargains, hence why I asos shopped pre-Christmas for some bits (River Island sweater and cardigan, and an asos blouse), but getting ready for spending less in 2012.. hopefully!

I've got another post or so to write before Thursday, as I'm jetting (read: Virgin Train..) off to London for New Year to see my boyfriend, woohoo!  So hopefully I'll manage to get them up in time to wish you all a wonderful start to 2012!

Big Christmassy love,

xx

Ps.  I'm now on Bloglovin', so if you'd like to follow me the button's on the left of the blog!  Thank you :).

Storage junkie

So something you may not know about me is that I'm a huge storage junkie; well, storage and stationary.  So for me, places like Paperchase and WHSmith are like a haven.  It drives my boyfriend insane, and can't comprehend how I can like pens and notepads so much.. However, I thought I'd show you my new purchase from Laura Ashley for WHSmith.  I'm redecorating my bedroom at home in black and white, with a vintage-y feel (read: florals and patterns!) so when I saw these I thought they were perfect.  Unfortunately I've had to leave them at uni as I won't be able to take them back on the train :(.  

I had all my make up in my Benefit Gabbi bag and a B&Q metal fold out tool box (no kidding..) but it got into crazytown and there was make up everywhere, so I needed a new sorting system!  Each drawer has a different theme (face, pencils, lips, eyes) and it surprisingly all fit in.  The drawers are like a really thick cardboard, so for £14.99 on offer I thought they were cheap and resilient, perfecto!

I also bought the 'shoebox' from the range, but being me, forgot to photograph it before I came home.  However, it's filled with everyday cosmetic essentials next to my bed, like face wipes, moisturisers, nail polish remover, etc. and that cost me £7.99 on offer.

I absolutely love the new set up I've got going, it's organised and stylish, which is something that's hard to come by when you've got a bedroom as small as mine!

xx

December Glossy Box

I know there are hundreds of Glossy Box posts, so this one's only going to be a brief one!  I got my very first beauty box in the form of the December Glossy Box, which I used a half price voucher for - I got enticed and wanted to try it out!

I received:

• Bionova Eye Wrinkle Cream
• Blink + Go Eyeshadow & Blush palette
• Cargo Cosmetics Classic Lip Gloss
• Deborah Lippman Razzle Dazzle Nail Varnish with Stripped to Go Sachet
• Rituals Foaming Shower Gel

My mum snapped up the Bionova eye cream quicker than I could even look at it!  It smells a bit odd (lemony/sour milk) but she loves it, and she's sure that only after a few uses it's made her eyes smoother.  I was seriously made up with the Blink + Go eyeshadow and blush set, the colours are super pigmented; the colours I received are gorgeous too.  So christmassy, yay!

The Deborah Lippman polish is a true beauty; I've got it on my ring finger with OPI Skull & Glossbones, mum's got it on every finger (loving life, obviously!).  It needs two coats and a shiny top coat or two, but really gorgeous.  I've not used the remover yet.

The lip gloss is okay, nothing to write home about for me.  It came off quite easily, but then I'm not the biggest fan of lip glosses anyway!  Mine's a bronze-y colour, so may be better for summer.. I'll see.  The Rituals shower gel is a favourite for me.  I love the smell, despite what some have said about disliking it!  I love the fact it foams too, it makes it go further as well as giving it as edge on other shower gels.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this glossy box!  The actual box is so cute, and I'm sure will be great for stacking nail polishes!  I'm not sure I'll be a long-term subscriber, since being a student I can't ensure I'll have £12.75 a month to blow on luxury 'extras' to my beauty buys, so I'll see how it goes..

xx

Are you a Big Splendour?

Things have settled down a bit now, I've arrived in Manchester, enjoyed the city Christmasness and some gorgeous German mulled wine and a macaroon!  I've also had chance to try out some of my Soap & Glory Big Splendour set, woohoo!  The case it all came in was fantastic too, I piled it high with all my cosmetics, including the stuff in the set and it all fit in perfectly.. although it weighed a ton!

I'm sure you've seen on tons of other blogs, but here's the contents:

I can't believe how much was in there for £25, plus Boots card points!  Bargain!  I love the fact the set contained products for all areas of body and skincare that you'll need (sort of!) with:

• Clean on Me™ Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel has a bonus, built in body lotion, so you can get clean, smooth, sexy skin simultaneously.
• The Righteous Body Butter™ A smooth, creamy, and velvety intense body lotion. With skin softening shea butter and aloe vera to attract moisture.
• Pulp Friction™ Foamy fruity body scrub with fig powder, pumice, peppermint oil, lemonade tree liquid, orange waterjuice™& vitamin balls™(A,C,E). Includes new Fruitigo™ fragrance with notes of frozen yuzu, orange oil, green fig, and jungle pomelo essence.
• Face, Soap & Clarity™ For super clean, fresh & bright skin. A 3 in 1 daily detox vitamin C facial scrub - a great exfoliator and brilliant for flaky skin.
• Off Your Face Wipes™ 3-in-1 cleansing, toning and skin smoothing for the quick ridding of makeup, dirt, oils and dead cell build-up. With a mix of skin softening glycerin, quick cleansing agent and PORESHRINK-RS, Soap & Glory™ Off Your Face™ Cleansing Cloths are your quickest route to clean.
• Heel Genius™ A soak-in foot mask marvel that smoothes and softens while you sleep.
• Hand Food™ A super-silky gorgeously-scented non-greasy hydrating hand cream featuring fennel and lotus flower extracts, which leaves your hands super smooth. Relish in the delightful aromas of fresh bergamot, strawberries and mandarin, with floral and fruity midnotes, musk, amber and warm vanilla.
• Mist You Madly™ A flirty, floral, fragrant body spray featuring notes of bergamot and blackcurrant, magnolia, freesia, vanilla and musk.
• Sexy Mother Pucker™ Extreme formula lip plumping gloss, in seductive Candy Gloss colour with a fabulous vanilla flavour. Scientifically-proven plumping microspheres that explode in volume up to 10x when they come in contact with water. (They’re like tiny, dehydrated little sponges that expand when you apply them onto your lips. It also contains a rare circulation enhancing ingredient that gives your lips a little ‘electric’ buzz, to move more blood around the area, creating the swelling effect mentioned above).
• Calm One, Calm All™ A double function deluxe formula bubble bath soak. With a built in body lotion and a moisture magnetising skin conditioner you’ll be smoothed while you’re soothed! Indulge in the wonderful fragrances of fresh bubbled bergamot, strawberries and mandarin with floral and fruity mid notes, and musk, amber and warm vanilla.

(As listed by Boots.com)

Although I said on my last post I'd try out all the products before I reviewed, I didn't want to leave this post any longer, and I haven't had chance to try them all out yet!  However, I have been using the Face, Soap & Clarity, Mist You Madly, Sexy Mother Pucker and Hand Food.  The face wash is nice, quite zingy (!) and seems to have little popping-type beads in it.  My skin always feels super clean afterwards, but I'm not sure I prefer it to the St Ives scrub I normally use, so I probably wouldn't repurchase.  Mist You Madly smells lovely, quite floral and fresh, but with a bit of musk; it faded quite a lot after not very long, so I'd maybe only purchase the small bottle for a refreshing smell on days I'm not wearing perfume (which isn't that often really!)  Sexy Mother Pucker is shiny and sexy, but unfortunately far too sticky for my liking, so I'll maybe try giving that one away!  I have piles of stick lip glosses and I just cannot wear them, I hate sticky lips with a passion.  Plus, it supposedly makes your lips bigger, I'm not sure this worked on me, but having rather large lips this isn't something I'd try and make happen!!

The real winner for me is the Hand Food.  It's incredible.  It soaks in almost instantly without residue, and my hands after are gorgeously soft!  It also smells beautiful; similar to Mist You Madly but I think the smell actually last longer with the hand cream than it does with the body spray!  I kept getting a whiff of my hands and thinking they smelt scrummy ;).  This will definitely be a repurchase, I love it.

xx

Just dropping in..

To say I haven't forgotten about you!  I know that sounds like a cheesy card slogan, but I'm afraid it's also true..

But, I do have some exciting news ;) The boyfriend went into the city today to find me a Christmas present, which was ridiculously last minute, especially since he needs to give it me tomorrow so I have it on the day.  So I thought I would utilise the opportunity!  Off he went to Boots to buy me their gift of the week: click here is you haven't seen it yet.

I've never used Soap & Glory products before, which I know is probably seen as crime by most of you.. But I guess I just never got round to purchasing, although the vintage-y look is so 'me'.  So, I've packed the travel bag it all comes in with all of the ten products, which is an insane amount for £25!  I wholly intend to give these a full trial over the month I'm at home, and will write a review of all the products, and let you know if I will repurchase any!

Here is just a quick look before I do any proper reviews; I just had to show you this!  I'm a huge lover of bows, and when I saw this I just squealed!!  So cute :).

I hope your week hasn't been as destroying as mine as!  Have any of you managed to get hold of the Soap & Glory set?

xx

Ps.. Have you all been watching This Is England '88?  I'm a huge fan of the film and the last series, so I finally got to watch the new series today on 4od.. I'm not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears!!

FeelUnique & Benefit

I know I've already done a blog post today, but I thought I'd just let you know (in case you hadn't heard!), FeelUnique.com are doing a special Benefit event! Woohoo!  Benefit's one of those brands which has me literally standing and staring at the counter; the candy coloured wallpaper, the gorgeous products, and I've even spotted a Brow Bar in Jarrolds, Norwich.  I was transfixed until I was dragged away by the boyfriend!

And if they weren't amazing enough, FeelUnique are running 15% off ALL Benefit products for 3 days, just click here.  I'm now beginning to regret spending so much in the past week, otherwise it'd be acceptable to treat myself..

And if that wasn't enough they've also got a promo running to win £195.50 of Benefit luxuries.. click here!

Ohhh, what I would do to get my hands on the prize.. ;)

xx

OPI Skull & Glossbones

I thought I'd show you some new nail polish that I've bought, and also do a quick review of it.  I wanted a higher end polish than what I normally buy (drug store!), and knew that I wanted something neutral so I could wear it without worrying that I was clashing!  I saw Vivianna's post on Skull & Glossbones a while ago and thought it was colour I could probably do with.. So I popped in Jarrold's in Norwich and headed for the OPI counter.  I spent so long pondering over colours that my boyfriend wandered off :(.  I was torn between Suzi Takes The Wheel and French Quarter For Your Thoughts, but although these are grey enough, I wanted something a bit creamier and paler.  Cue Skull & Glossbones!

I know OPI bottles are pretty large, but look how tiny my hand looks in comparison!!

I've used the colour with my trusty Rimmel 5 in 1 base & top coat, and I must say that after 2 coats of polish Skull & Glossbones in an absolute favourite!  Application is smooth and easy - at first it seemed streaky and I began to worry, but as it sat on my nail it smoothed itself out, leaving a gorgeous finish.  I've had this on since Saturday evening and only gained the tiniest bit of wear on my right thumb, which is incredible!

I highly, highly recommend this colour; I'm not sure if I'll ever take it off with the amount of love I have for it at the moment!

xx

Baylis & Harding Skin Spa 'Spa Essentials'

So for today's post I'm going to talk about the Baylis & Harding gift set 'Spa Essentials', but it may not be quite what you think!  Basically, my Benefit Gabbi make-up bag was overflowing with those everyday 'essentials' that I just couldn't do without, so I've been on the look out for a new make-up bag that could easily hold everything, including my e.l.f. 32 colour palette...

Introducing the B&H 'Spa Essentials' gift set!

Now, the gift set contains a 'rose, ylang ylang & patchouli rich intensive body cream' 200ml and a 'rose, ylang ylang & patchouli steam shower body cleanser' 300ml.  I personally don't particularly rate the smell too highly to be honest, it's a little bit.. heavy smelling.  I prefer scents that are light and fruity, so for me the heavy scents of rose and 'oriental' is a bit too much to handle.  I've tried the body cream - it's SO thick, so a tiny bit goes such a long way.  It also feels like it'd be really intensive too, so great for those winter nights when you want to smell clean and musky, with flannel pjs!  The 'steam shower body cleanser' is actually a long, silly name for 'shower gel' as I thought.  Although, it's very much like jelly, which is strange!  I squeezed out a blob to use with my body scrubber and it tumbled out like edible jelly, which I did not expect at all.  It foams it reasonably well and is very highly scented which stays on the skin for quite a while.  Oh, and there's a mini body polisher included, which is always nice to have if you're going to stay away from home for a weekend and don't fancy taking a damp one in your cosmetics bag (this is a pet hate of mine, as I use these things religiously!)

But, as I said before, this gift set for me was much more exciting than what's inside... 'The Bag'!!

As you can see, it's got some really lovely little details; it's in a really, really beautiful bright poppy red (my camera seriously doesn't do it any justice) in a wipe-clean p-leather - it was practically make for make-up fingers!  And as you can see from the photo, I have a load of make-up in there and it's just over half filled the bag, so it's a really great size for storing the bits and pieces you can't have stored away and need on your dresser at arm's length.  It may be a tad too big for handbags, but if you carry around a huge sack on your shoulder it should be okay!  For me, it's more about keeping on my dresser or transporting my essentials to and from uni, and visiting my boyfriend :).

The best part is the whole set is only £8!  For a link to an almost identical set click here; I couldn't find the red one on the website - only the cream one, which I decided against as with foundation fingers it'd constantly need cleaning!  So the question is, are you going to buy a gift set in a handy bag for a Christmas present, or for yourself!?  Sometimes they're just too good not to say 'no' to!

xx

Nude Nails

You wouldn't believe how hard it is trying to take photos with the lighting in my student house!  I swear all the bulbs must be about 30 watt; any photos I try and take are tinged with yellow.. which as you will see, with today's nails it's not a particularly good look!!

The polishes I'm wearing are Eyeko 'Nude Polish' and 17 Lasting Fix 'Fairy Cake'.  The 'Fairy Cake' is one of my all time favourite polishes of 2011, along with it's sister 'Parma Violet' from 17's pastel collection.  However, I've tried to find you a link to all these polishes online, but unfortunately can't find any at all!  I'm wondering if they're just all too old now, which is a bit of a bummer, although there is currently a 'Fairy Cake' on eBay ;).

Now, this look is a bit of an odd one.  The Eyeko polish gave me a bit of a 'mare in the sheer amount of coats it needed; but it's given me mannequin nails, which I strangely quite like.. it's taking nude nails to another extreme!  The brushes on the Eyeko polishes are quite long and thin, but this didn't give me any difficulty in applying the polish, and also means you can get to the bottom of the bottle!  I've paired it with 'Fairy Cake' because I love it's bright, pastel-ly shine.  It's so easy to apply, since the formula's quite thick, but it dries well and for about £3 you can't go wrong.  I'm still not 100% sure on the combination, but I think it's growing on me; but I'm definitely loving the odd ring finger at the moment!  I also would recommend 17 polishes so highly, they're super cheap, last quite a long time with base and top coats and  they're always bringing out new colours so you can buy all of them!

Are you a fan of the nude nail?  What are your favourite cheap brands of polish?

xx

Ps.  Just in case you were wondering I used Rimmel's '5 in 1 Nail Treat Base & Top Coat'.  It gives a lovely glossy finish without being too OTT!

Because baby, I was born this way.

Oh Gaga, how I love you!!

But well girlies, today's post is brow-related.  Indeed, I was unfortunately born with gigantic brows, which ironically are a tough match for my father's.  An 11 year old with a man's brows called for one thing... frantic over-plucking.  Sadly, my mother saw the first one and nearly crumbled at the eyebrow with 5 hairs (or so...)

So, over the years I've really toyed with my eyebrows.  The first stage was growing them into something that resembled an eyebrow.  I had them relatively err... slimline for a number of years, but in the past year or so I've been a huge fan of embracing the brow.  I love the look of HD brows, but personally think they're rather pointless.  With naturally gappy eyebrows, all you need is a keen eye and some make-up tools, of course!

At the moment I'm thinking of going for the heavier brow, but I'm not sure.  I don't want to go through masses of effort growing and grooming to find that once they've filled out I look like slug-face.  So, I'm asking for your opinion!  I realise that this photo makes me look like I'm naked (cringe) but I'm not!  I wear a towel until hair and make-up's done, then choose the outfit.  But aside from looking bare and bad lighting, what do you think about these brows?  I've filled in the extra bits where I'm thinking of growing and so far have small shadows!

Do you think they're too heavy for my face?  Too 'scouse-brow' to be considered acceptable?  My boyfriend's no help, all I got was 'you look different'...!

Your help is needed!!

Love,

xx

Ps.  As an edit I will just let you know I use Boots Amazing Eyes in brown (admittedly it's not for brows, but works just as well on mine!) and e.l.f Eyebrow Kit in medium.

NOTD - Rimmel Lycra Pro 378 'Posh Trash'

So I thought I'd present you with my first nail post!  Which in fact went incredibly bright with the camera flash, but without it you could barely see the colour - so I didn't have much choice..

Anyway, I absolutely hate that in between seasons stage that we go through every year, between autumn and winter.  There's leaves all over the ground that have sadly begun to turn to sludge and Christmas round the corner... Equally, it's chilly but not cold enough for that big winter coat, but not warm enough to parade around in a cardi.  The same goes for my accessorising!  I never know whether to stick with autumnal colours or go Christmassy.

Well, if you're the same as me... NO FEAR!  Rimmel's 'Posh Trash' is the perfect solution.  As you can see from the picture of my big hand (I meant it looks big, not that I have one big one!), it's encompasses the best bit of autumn (that gorgeous pewter-y glow that leaves take on as they begin to fall off the trees), with the best bit of winter (the Christmas zingy gold!!! of course).  With the brownish, pewter-y tones it's got a wonderful edge on the nude nail trend, but the added gold tint to the color leaves nails with a super shiny and beautiful finish.

I can assure you, I'm in love with this colour right now! Mine's applied with Rimmel's 5-in-1 Base & Top Coat combo and two coats of polish - the brush for the polish is also one of those lovely big flat ones, so three swipes and the nail's covered.  It dries quickly too! It's already been on a week and the only chip is on my thumb, which is a miracle.  I usually get a couple of days from polishes before they chip on me... I've been thinking about investing in Biosculpture nails for the Xmas period, is it worth it?!

You can find this polish at Boots for £4.59, although 'Posh Trash' on there looks NOTHING like the actual colour! But not a bad price for a good quality polish ;).

What's your favourite autumnal colors for your nails?  Since nails are bang on trend at the moment they cannot be bare!  Also, anyone knowing about Biosculpture, I'd love for you to give me your opinion on them :)

xx

Hair Tip of the Day - Olive Oil

So today I thought I'd just do a quick post whilst I'm busy procrastinating from my dissertation (my mind is boggled, so I needed a decent break..).

I guess it's pretty obvious I'm a healthy hair kind of girl after my shampoo post - there'll be many more hair posts to come, trust me!  But after struggling with dry ends and slow growing hair, I thought I'd do a bit of research.  It seems that with everything, there's a vast price difference between different tips and hint people have when it comes to healthy hair; but one I liked the idea of was simply olive oil (exta virgin).  It's something I always have in, so I thought I'd give it a go.  I recently bought a HUGE 750ml bottle from Aldi, it was less than £2.50, which is a bargain, so glugging it all over my hair wasn't a worry!

My hair looked like a bad oil slick, but I persevered and left it on for around an hour.  Now, it took THREE shampoos to get my hair feeling non-greasy, which can't have been too healthy to do... But, on the flip side, when I'd dried it my whole head of hair was soo silky soft I couldn't believe it.  Even the ends!

I'm gonna try oiling up a couple of times a week and see if my hair improves in condition and length!  I'll be intrigued to see if natural products do actually have a high success rate, especially when they're challenged by the high priced hair remedies.

Have you ever tried olive oil on your hair?  Do you use any products which improve your hair's condition?

xx

Have You Been 'Tickled Pink'?

Since October is national breast cancer awareness month it's always nice to see that little extra effort from companies to do their bit. Asda in particular is one which constantly impresses me with their generosity; most companies run charity weekends (or so) to get the public to donate into buckets, but I think it's a real step forward for companies to take initiative to give a little from our purchases. Even if it's only 10p from every sale of a 'tickled pink' item, it's better than nothing at all.

Last week I got a great deal at Asda from their 'seasonal aisle' - I'm not sure how seasonal shampoo and conditioner is, but there you go! I managed to grab a couple of the vo5 'Nourish Me Truly' in great 500ml bottles for just £2! Word on the internet is that they were further reduced to £1, but sadly living in a city means my local store has completely sold out. :(

After using the shampoo/conditioner I found it:

- has a really gorgeous smell (fruity! and stayed in my hair)

- doesn't feel too weighty

- left my hair feeling lovely and smooth

- gave some shine

- NO dry ends today!!

All in all, I really like these sets. I'm not sure how nourishing they are compared to a hair mask, but they do contain lots of natural oils (grapeseed, argon..). They also claim to be 'adaptive' to hair; I'm not sure I'm sold on that yet! But if they leave me with healthy hair I'm sold on that basis alone!

xx

From The Beginning

Hello!

Welcome to my health and beauty blog.  This is just my little space on the internet where I'll endeavour to give fair product reviews, news on new brands/products and maybe give you just a little snippet of my life!

I'm a Manchester girl living in Norwich, studying English Literature and doing far too much shopping... Life couldn't get better!

I hope you'll enjoy reading my posts, since I enjoy writing them so much.

Big love!
xx