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March 31, 2013

almond shaped nails


Out with the squoval shape and in with the almond. I've been wearing my nails in a squarish shape for as long as I can remember and as often as I change my nail polish colour I've never actually played around with the shape until now. It turns out that I much prefer this shape on my nails and find that it suits my hands much more, my nails look much more feminine and elegant which I love. I've tried to grow my nails long enough to achieve the almond shape but I think once they are longer they will look much better. I went for a traditional French tip and used a nail art paint which worked really well as it comes with a thin brush so creates a sharp and precise line.


 What is your favourite nail shape?

March 30, 2013

thierry mugler alien aqua chic

For the last few months my favourite perfume and the one which I go to use most is Alien by Thierry Mugler. As much as I love the scent it can be a little strong for daytime use which is why I was super pleased to hear about the launch of the Aqua Chic version. It's similar to the original but has a fresh and uplifting twist making it much more ideal for day time use. I'm still in love with the original version however with Spring on it's way it's more appropriate to be wearing a lighter scent. The perfume along with the Aqua Chic version of Angel are limited edition so grab them while you can.


"Originating from a tranquil, lunar atmosphere, Alien resonates ethereal beauty. Illuminated by the light kick of orange blossom water, Alien Aqua Chic offers an even more majestic and serene feel with its perfect blend of mellow and pulsating tones. To give the original fragrance a vibrant, zesty tang, lemon tree blossom and pink grapefruit unfolds at the heart, syncing with the amber, jasmine florals to elegantly refresh Alien's rich and woody base. A translucent amethyst bottle with an intense silver hue around the base to emphasise Alien's solar heritage."

golden egg hunt giveaway


Some of you may remember that a couple of years ago I made an Easter egg hunt for my blog, and this year I've decided to bring it back again. This time it's going to be a little different and instead of having to find clues there will just be 8 golden eggs hidden on random pages and posts throughout my site. I'm hoping that this will make it tricky but not too challenging and it will mean that more of you have a chance at winning. I'm also going to use this post as a warning so that you know when the hunt will go live.


The prizes are all chocolate themed: the Vaseline Cocoa Radiant range, a Bourjois Bronzing Powder, a Lee Stafford Blinding Brunette Shampoo and a Lee Stafford Dark Dry Shampoo.

THE WINNER OF GOLDEN EGG HUNT IS EMMA KELLY (@emmak_25). THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED.

March 29, 2013

barry m textured nail paints

 KINGSLAND ROAD
  RIDLEY ROAD

When I first saw these nail polishes on a couple of blogs I didn't think they'd be my cup of tea but bought a couple all in the name of reviewing and it turned out that I love them. After so many years of just using standard colours of nail polish I love how many brands are coming out with crazy nail polish inventions. As much as I love a glossy mani I'm becoming more of a fan of the matte look and even more so of textured nails. These nail paints apply to the nail just as easily as any other polish and after three coats dry to reveal a grainy effect, and in my experience lasts around three days.

March 28, 2013

sleek truly mattely deeply matte lip gloss


I received this matte lip gloss by Sleek a while back now but was always a little afraid of using it as my lips are usually always too dry to go anywhere near anything matte. However I applied a good amount of my trust Nuxe lip balm and gave it a go today, the texture is velvety and completely matte and feels really strange applied to the lips. I hated the feel of it at first but decided that I loved the bright neon red colour far too much to wipe it off and bit the bullet to leave it on for the rest of the day. There is no doubt that used alone it dries my lips out but I found that using the Nuxe lip balm worked really well as it's matte too but moisturises my lips. I think this product will become a favourite of mine in the Summer when my lips aren't so dry, but for colour pay off alone it's worth investing in.

SLEEK TRULY MATTELY DEEPLY MATTE LIP GLOSS IN 'JAZZ' - £4.99

molton brown relaxing yuan zhi candle

Yesterday my Mum surprised me with the random gift of a Molton Brown candle, I obviously got super excited as who doesn't love fancy candles? She chose the 'Relaxing Yuan Zhi' scent which has top notes of Ylang Ylang and Bergamot and base notes of Amber and Musks. It's such a beautiful oriental calming scent which remains light and uplifting too, I can imagine it becoming my best friend at night time to help me to relax. The price is high but if you save it for special moments then hopefully it will last quite a while, it would also make a lovely gift.


Molton Brown are currently offering two free travel sized 100ml bath and shower gels (worth £10 each) with all orders over £45 both online and in store. The bottles are larger than I first expected and should last for plenty of bath times.

 

March 27, 2013

models own purple haze


This bright purple glitter polish is one of my new favourites, and would you believe I actually first discovered it by trying out my nine year old cousins bottle. I then just had to go and buy it for myself, it's one of the most eye catching polishes that I own (and I own a lot of those) and catches the light in such a stunning way. Even though it's a pain to apply and rather gloopy if you apply two layers of topcoat it will last a couple of days, but is more ideal for an occasion or night out. I definitely need to get my hands on the entire range of glitter polishes from Models Own.

svb blog awards #1


Whilst getting frustrated at magazines for choosing the same bloggers over and over for awards and features it occurred to me that I should give some shout outs to my favourite blogs, after all surely us bloggers know better than silly magazines. I probably follow around 60 or so blogs in total that I keep up with often so I'm looking to introduce these posts on more of a regular basis.

THE FOODIE BLOG
www.rachelphipps.com - For food related posts and restaurant reviews Rachel's blog has to be one of the best. She always puts so much effort into ensuring that her posts are detailed and I'm insanely jealous of her LA lifestyle.

FOR HAIR TUTORIALS
www.graceandbraver.blogspot.co.uk - Back in the days of Tumblr (I never use it any more) I followed Grace and was super pleased when she started her own blog. Her posts on hair and fashion are my favourites and this blog is definitely one to watch.

THE ALL ROUNDER
www.misslucyloves.com - It's rare to find a blog that has everything covered which is why I love reading Lucy's blog so much. She writes about everything from beauty to outfit posts and interior inspiration.

FASHION INSPIRATION
www.shewearsfashion.com - This will probably be no surprise to most of you but Kavita definitely owns the most inspirational fashion blog at the moment. I've been keeping up with it for a few years now and love how there is nothing that she is afraid to wear.

BIGGEST BLOG CRUSH
www.mariannan.costume.fi - If there was an award for my biggest blog crush it would go here, I've been a follower for a long time now and love having a nosey at Marianna's glamourous lifestyle, and her amazing outfits!

THE RECENT FIND
www.elevatormusik.com - I only recently discovered this blog and was hugely impressed with the quality of posts and of course the incredible layout. Honestly someone needs to give this girl a medal for blog design.

Please let me know what some of your favourite blogs are!

March 26, 2013

manuka doctor products

Skincare products containing Purified Bee Venom are quickly becoming a hit amongst celebrities and beauty buffs due to it's anti-ageing and acne fighting properties, it's also forecast to be the 'biggest beauty trend' of 2013 by Global Trends Analyst. I'm no scientist or skincare expert but it seems that the brand has quite a buzz as of late and even has Milly Mackintosh behind them as a brand ambassador. It's also important to know that no Bees get harmed in the process of harvesting the ingredients, something which the brand are very keen on stating. All very interesting but the proof is in the pudding which is why I've recently been putting a few products to the test.


I have tried my fair share of cleansers over the past few years, but I like to have a few in my routine for different reasons. Some are great for removing make up and others are good for treating the skin. I've found that this cleanser is great to use at night time if I haven't been wearing much make up that day, it's really gentle on the skin and is quick and easy to use. I just rub a small amount between wet palms to make a foamy lather and then massage into my skin and wash off with warm water. It makes my skin feel really fresh and clean yet nourished and isn't too harsh. I don't have problem skin luckily but I hear this is great if you do suffer with acne so it's well worth checking out.


Typically I have dry skin but I've also never really bothered using a night cream which is why I was pleased to give this a go. I've tried a few in the past that just leave my skin feeling greasy but this one is really different to those. The formula is luxuriously rich and silky smooth yet sinks into my skin with ease. I can either just use a small amount if I want a lighter coverage or a little more if my skin really needs nourishing. The scent is subtle and fresh, it's quite hard to describe but makes it really pleasant to apply especially before bedtime. I've noticed that my skin has started to feel softer and more hydrated in the morning too.


Last but not least I have been trying out the serum from the Apiclear range, which claims to significantly improve blemish prone skin in just three weeks. As I said before, I have clear skin most of the time so I can't vouch for that personally but can still give some insight into the product. This seems to be the most potent product of the range that I've tried due to the concentrated formula. It's a gel like consistency which seemed a little odd at first but ended up meaning that it sank into my skin really easily and didn't just sit on the top layer like a lot of other serums. I can imagine that this would be a really great product for people that have oily and blemish prone skin that are in need of a product that will nourish their skin and fight blemishes without feeling too heavy or harsh.


Manuka Doctor products can be found on the Superdrug website and if you are interested in the brand I'd recommend having a browse on their website as it has much more insight into their ingredients and how they work.

#MDrBuzz

March 25, 2013

urban decay naked 2 palette


I'm not typically an eyeshadow girl and usually favour a bright lip over a smoky eye but recently I've been playing around with my Urban Decay Naked palettes in an effort to get a little more creative with my make up. The colours in this palette are really wearable and easy to work with, I like to use the original Naked palette for night time looks and the Naked 2 for daytime. My favourite shade in this palette is 'bootycall' which I love using as a highlight on the inner corner of my eye as it's a beautiful pearly white shimmer. I'd definitely recommend having a look at both palettes as they are full of stunning colours and perfect to take on holiday as they include a brush too.

March 24, 2013

pistachio loving


Lately my favourite scent without a doubt has to be pistachio, meaning any beauty product that I find that smells of pistachio I just have to buy. I really love how it's a sweet yet nutty scent and is refreshing at the same time.

LAURA MERCIER CREME DE PISTACHE HONEY BATH - £31

I've already reviewed this here but for obvious reasons had to include it in this post. A couple of months on and it's still a big favourite of mine, it just makes the bath so milky and when I come out my skin feels ultra soft. 

NIP + FAB PISTACHIO SUNDAE BODY BUTTER - £8.49

I was lucky enough to find this body butter in TK Maxx at the reduced rate of just £3.99 recently. The scent is strong meaning it will last well on the skin and it's wonderfully moisturising too. As much as I liked body butters I prefer lotions that come in tubes as they are less messy. If you like pistachio as much as me though you will be needing this in your life, have a look on the Boots website or in store.

POSH BRATS PISTACHIO GELATO WHIPPED SUGAR SCRUB - £7

Last but not least is this body scrub by Posh Brats - it's an indie company so the products have a homemade and quirky feel to them but nonetheless this works brilliantly. It's creamy rather than sticky and the sugar particles ensure your skin gets a really good scrub, and it smells yummy too of course.

What are your favourite pistachio beauty products?

March 22, 2013

models own 'hot stuff'


For a while I've had my eye on the Models Own Disco Mirrorball collection, I'm certainly not afraid of wearing chunky glitter on my nails so picked up this pink glitter shade. It has a base colour of magenta glitter and large chunks of triangular yellow/green glitter running through. It is quite gloopy and a pain to apply but once set with a good topcoat lasts well. I've only used it over my natural nail colour so far but will be trying it as a topcoat over other colours soon instead.

March 21, 2013

recent beauty buys


It's been a long while since I did one of these 'I've been shopping' type posts, so here goes! I can't say that I was particularly in need of anything, and I most certainly didn't need any more nail polishes but when they are on offer what is a girl supposed to do. I managed to get my hands on two sets of Colour Club polishes, at £7.99 each they were an absolute steal. I actually managed to break a fucshia colour that came with the top set and I've lost a silver glitter that was with the bottom set so just imagine them. They both came with topcoats too which was great for me as I'd just ran out. I also spotted a Nib + Fab Pistachio body butter down from £9.48 to £3.99 which I just had to repurchase as I'm in love with the scent. I then popped to Superdrug and bought some Barry M polishes as they were on offer at 2 for £6. Off I then went to Boots and bagged four Models Own polishes as they were 2 for £8. Finally I purchased some tanning essentials, a Velvotan tanning Mitt (£2.50), St. Moriz tanning mist (£2.99) and St. Moriz tanning mousse (£2.99). Reviews of everything will be coming up soon!

March 19, 2013

silver glitter tipped nails


Since this blog post that I wrote on a glitter tip nail look is one of the most viewed ever on my blog I thought that I'd have another go. This time I used Barry M 'Nude' as a base colour (review coming soon) and used Color Club 'Platinum Record' on the tips. I only used one coat of glitter as I wanted it to look delicate and grown up. 

March 17, 2013

mac rebel lipstick


Say hello to my new favourite lipstick. Rebel by Mac is a bright berry purple that has a beautiful sheen finish on the lips yet is ever so long lasting. If you have green eyes and olive skin like myself it's pretty much guaranteed that this lipstick will look great on you, it just seems to compliment my skin to make it look radiant even on the dullest of days. I love that it's versatile enough to rock with pale or tanned skin, my favourite way to wear it is with bronzed cheeks and flicked liquid liner.

March 16, 2013

spa guide: brooklands hotel

A new series of posts that I'm planning on integrating into my blog will be spa hotel reviews. This will consist of a range of reviews for all different kinds of people with varying budgets. I'm wanting to avoid being 'just another beauty blog' as best I can which is why I'm hoping you will all love these kind of posts. As much as I love writing quick and informative reviews sometimes it's great to work really hard in putting an in-depth post together that you can all sit down and have a good read of. This brings me onto my first post in my spa guide series, a review of Brooklands Hotel.  

The room felt really spacious and definitely had plenty of space and light. The beds were comfy enough but nothing special and I was hoping for proper feather pillows. My favourite part of the room was the huge window that spread across the whole wall, even if the view wasn't so inspiring. The building opposite was unoccupied so in a way it kind of tied in with the modern feel of the room and wasn't too imposing.


I absolutely loved the understated chic feel to the black tiled bathroom, with the luxurious toiletries from The White Company, the underfloor heating and huge rain shower I couldn't help but have a bath or shower at every given opportunity. The slight issue with the bath was it took forever to fill up which was a bit of a nuisance. The fact there is speakers syncing with the television makes up for it though!


I highly apologise for the grainy nature of these photos but for obvious reasons I couldn't lug my Canon camera into a fine dining restaurant, the meal was also by candlelight but I tried my best to get some sneaky shots on my phone. To start I had a dish consisting of crispy quails eggs, grilled baby leeks, confit new potato and truffle aioli, which was just as delicious as it sounds, and in fact just so much that I tucked in before taking a photo. My main was leek and old Winchester crumble, thyme mash and vegetables a la Grecque, by this point I was in culinary heaven and washing everything down with a crisp glass of Prosecco. For desert I ordered caramelised banana parfait, popcorn ice cream and strawberry syrup which was a beautiful twist of flavours, the only fault of which being the parfait was too frozen. For a three course meal each for two people including drinks you are talking around £100, certainly not value for money but most definitely a wonderful treat. However at the moment they are offering 25% off dinner with a free glass of Prosecco thrown in too.


I was treated to a facial in the spa whilst on my stay, and in all honesty it was without a doubt the best facial I've ever had. I chose the brightening facial as my skin has been horribly pale and pasty looking recently, I was told that this would include a cold stone massage which I had never tried before so I was extra excited to have it done. My skin was cleansed, toned, exfoliated, moisturised and massaged in the most relaxing yet invigorating ways possible, it was 50 minutes of pure indulgence for my lack lustre skin. At the very end of the facial the therapist used stones that had been plunged in ice, I loved the refreshing feeling on my skin and would definitely have it done again in a heartbeat. I came out of the spa with glowing fresh skin like never before which a week later is still looking radiant.


The spa itself consists of treatment rooms, saunas, steam rooms, a meditation room including water beds and a hot tub positioned on a balcony overlooking the race track. It's a small and intimate spa with only around ten people at most wandering around which in a way I quite like but I would of loved a swim in a pool.

Overall I'd say the Hotel is most suited to city slickers needing a last minute break away from the City or those on business trips that fancy a late afternoon session in the Spa. The Brooklands Hotel is located next to the Mercedes Benz Museum so if you know anyone that is into their cars it would be ideal, perhaps a treat for the man in your life.

http://www.brooklandshotelsurrey.com/