I've been really getting into my nail art recently, and with the arrival of Movember I've been rocking some little handle bars on my nails! Pretty much all of my male friends are growing out their pathetic attempts of facial hair (sorry guys) and in all honesty, I've been feeling a little left out. But no more!
I used OPI 'Alpine Snow' as a base, and then painted on the taches with Rimmel 'Black Cab' using a dotting tool. They aren't perfect, I only have one size of dotting tool so I did find it a bit difficult getting perfect flicks. I've had quite a few compliments on them though, so I'm satisfied.
Hope you've all had a great weekend!
I had a go at 'Galaxy Nails' recently. I decided to channel LLYMLRS and go for some cheap stick on nails from ebay as they're a lot easier to paint (I have no patience when it comes to nails!) and also because my nails are so short and stubby my galaxies would have been pretty non existant.
There was a 3 for 2 on makeup items at boots, including No.17 nail polishes so all the colours used were No.17. (excluding the white, which was OPI 'Alpine Snow')
I followed the cutepolish tutorial, she is epic at nail art and has some amazing easy to follow tutorials that you should definitely check out. I've put the video below. But any way, check them out! They weren't as hard as I anticipated, infact they're perfect for begginers. They took a while with all the different layers but they were so worth it.
Cutepolish Tutorial
Autumn is my favouritest of seasons. Mainly just because it gives me an excuse to layer up in furs (faux, obviously), scarfs and mittens! But also because of the colours, rich plums and burgundies are an A/W must and they give me a feeling of sophistication and, lets face it, we all like to feel a bit posh sometimes.
Topshop are fastly becoming one of my favourite makeup brands. I guess because they're orginally a fashion brand, they always seem to get every season right as far as colours and textures go. For A/W they released the 'Smoke and Mirrors' collection, and if I'd have had the money I would have indulged in all of it, but alas I did not. So I chose to buy a lip colour and a nail colour, two of the easiest ways to update a beauty look without going OTT.
'Confessions' lipstick if a gorgeous coral red colour. I find corally/orangey reds work best for my skin tone and really compliments my blue eyes. The polish, called 'Bourbon', is described by Topshop as being a dark chocolate colour, which I'd say is pretty spot on as long as you imagine the darkest chocolate you can find! It looks black in some lights and I found it quite hard to photograph its exact colour, but has an amazing rich red undertone running through it.
Very much looking forward to rocking these colours!
I mentioned in my last Sunday Summary how I was so excited to receiving my GoGo Philip order, and it arrived, but I wasn't so excited about what I had received. Long story short, the order was completely messed up due to it having been shipped from a store rather than a warehouse.
The people at GoGo Philip were so unbelievabley kind to me when I contacted them about it. They told me not to go through any hassle of returning the jewellery and that they would refund me my money and send the correct items free of charge. I was flabberghasted! All in all I've received around £80 worth of jewellery, and not because I was a blogger (the order was put in under my mums name as I paid for it on her PayPal account) but just as a regular customer. Now that's what I call good customer service! I think it's so important for companies to have good PR, it really makes a difference to the company's reputation. Some companies (and this is from personal experience) will try and claim no responsibility, mess you around for sometimes weeks on end and try and make it unbelievabley hard for you to get your money back.
It's strange how such a messed up order turned into the best customer service experience I've ever had, I will definately buy from GoGo Philip again because now I know that as a brand, GoGo Philip care about their reputation, they care about their customers and that's what companies should be like. But any way, on to the jewellery...
Some of the jewellery I was sent isn't on the website, so I couldn't give you exact prices. But feel free to go check out the website as they have some amazing pieces! What's great about GoGo Philip as well is their jewellery is either gold of silver plated, perfect for people like me who have allergies to base metals.
Hope you're all having a good weekend xo
♥Some of you may remember a post I did a while ago about my rather out of character purchase of Costa Chic by MAC. I thought I'd just give you a bit of an update on it - I'm in love! I wore it almost every day whilst on holiday in Spain. Since it's quite a bold colour, I'd say it probably suits more tanned skin tones. So being the untannable woman myself, I find it easier to wear it sheer and dab it over some lip balm. I usually pair it with Head Over Heels cream blush by Topshop, they're very similar colours and so go perfectly together!
Any one else crazy for Costa Chic?
xo
1 ♥; I've been sporting a center parting on and off for the last month or so, I was craving a change and center seems to be the new side nower days! I'm still not 100% sold on it, every now and again I go back to the comforts of my comb over only to find it doesn't look right now I've grow out my fringe. I love center partings on other people, and would kill to have that long Kardashian-esk barnet but I feel my face can't take the serevity of it.
2 ♥; I've been indulging in Topshop a lot the last year, to the point where it has become almost the only store I shop from. I feel Topshop caters for all different types of people with all different styles, and they are able to make really fashion forward pieces that are still toned down enough to last you more than one season. I think I'm going to do a haul post soon with my recent buys.
3 ♥; I bought some jewellery from the GoGo Philip website, but it hasn't arrived yet and I'm starting to get a bit worried! Has anyone bought off them before? or know the usually delievery time? I just hope it comes soon, I cannot wait to get my hands on it! I bought a gold chain and some gold earrings. I was suprised to find that GoGo Philip jewellery is mostly gold plated, which is excellent for me since I'm allergic to base metal.
4 ♥; Going to see HP Deathly Hallows PT2 again tonight, this time I'm taking the mother. She likes to wait until the films are almost finished at the cinema to watch them so she can sit where ever she wants and not have to worry about noisy people. I'm treating her to her first 3D film experience since the 80's! No doubt she'll spend the first 10 minutes tripping out haha.
Hope you all had a spiffing weekend x
It's been what feels like forever since I last posted, I definitely deserve 'The worlds most Inconsistent Blogger Award". I've had a lot going on, exams and what not, but truthfully my lack of posts is more down to lack of inspiration. I often at times think Im incredibly boring and that no one really wants to read half the ramble I consider posting. But since it's the summer and I have at least another 6 weeks of sweet F.A, I'm going to focus on getting my blogging back on track!
But any-hoo... Over the weekend I headed down south to Leighton Buzzard to visit my older brother and his wife who have just had a little baby girl! She's so gorgeous, she's just over 2 weeks old now. She's ever so quiet and just likes to stare at things, particularly the giraffes on the side of her moses basket. It's so strange to see my brother all grown up with a family, but he's an amazing dad and I just wish he lived closer so I could have more likkle baby cuddles!
You'll have to excuse my shabby appearance, it was 6.30am, I hadn't showered yet and I'd literally just sweeped a bit of mascara on when my mum said she was going to start taking pictures. But here she is, even when her face is squished into my shoulder she still looks cute!
♥x♥x
Last week I was lucky enough to be invited to my first ever event as a blogger and just as lucky that it was for a brand I absolutely adore! Xen Tan had a pop-up boutique in the Selfridges' beauty hall, holding personal consultations to help you find your perfect tanning routine. Along with a number of other Bloggers, I was given the opportunity to have a consultation.
I was so nervous as it was the first thing I'd ever done as a 'Blogger', but the girls were so lovely and offered me a red velvet cupcake on arrival (yes please!). For the consultation I was asked a number of questions all about my skin, my fake tan routine and my fake tan preferences. After talking through all the products and which ones were best for me, I was given a list of the perfect Xen Tan products for my routine.
At the end, I was given a little goodie bag with a 'Little Book of Tanning', a Luxury Tanning Mitt and a product of choice to review. Unfortunately, they didn't have my coveted item in stock, but they were kind enough to send it me in the post.
I chose the Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe. I already use the Dark Lotion and am completely in love with it but I've been considering the Absolute Luxe for a while now, and it didn't disappoint!
I've heard a few not so brilliant reviews on the product before, which was the main reason I never went out and purchased it (plus it's not the cheapest of fake tans if it didn't work!). But I can hand on heart honestly say, it blows the Dark Lotion out of the water!
Colour Pay Off
The colour pay off I get from the Absolute Luxe is almost twice as much as I get with the Dark Lotion. When using the Dark Lotion, I've always 'double dipped' (used two applications) and so being able the have a product that gives the same pay off in one application is a definite plus.
Application
I've heard a few comment about the Absolute Luxe that it isn't the easiest of fake tans to apply and that it takes a bit more effort than most, but I didn't find this at all. The only possible down side is that there is no colour guide (I totally freaked out the first time I started applying it) but if like me you usually go into autopilot when applying fake tan this shouldn't cause too much of a problem. For the first couple of seconds when applying the tan, it does go a very faint white colour so I find that helpful when trying the gage where I've already applied the product.
Streaks/Clinging to dry skin?
Definitely not. This fake tan is a lot more luxurious and moisturising than the Dark Lotion and I have had no steaks or darker patches where my skin is slightly drier.
Does is break you out?
No. Granted this isn't the most glamourous subject to talk about, but in reality a LOT of people suffer from break outs on there back, shoulders or chest and I have a friend who avoids fake tanning purely for this reason. I'm not someone who suffers from breakouts in those areas all the time but I definitely steer clear of using body lotions in those areas because if I use something too moisturising I can get the odd blocked pore or spot on my back. Thankfully this product doesn't give me any problems.
Does it smell of mouldy biscuits?
Not as bad as most! Xen Tan products have something which they call Scent Secure, an ingredient within the products that wraps around the DHA (what makes fake tan go brown) to avoid that awful biscuity smell. In reality, it does smell very faintly, but by no means as bad as most fake tans on the market. To anyone with a less sensitive nose, it's probably undetectable.
Is it worth the price tag?
In my opinion, yes! Granted, it's by no means cheap, coming in at £39.99. But it can be bought off discount websites such as www.feelunique.com if your not willing to pay so much. As I said, the colour pay off is almost double that of the Dark Lotion so for £10 extra, it's something I'm willing to pay for.
Hope you've found this review helpful. What are your favourite Xen Tan products?
♥x♥
