NYE - real nails (yesterday I lied, sorry)

I know yesterday I did a blog post on my NYE nails and I did have every intention to wear those out tonight. But then a Carnival happened! I've been after this nail polish for so long after reading many blog posts about it and after a much longer lust after the OPI Rainbow Collection polish - so I was very excited to find this Technic Carnival polish in stock at one of my fave sites at the moment Love Thy Makeup. I wanted a few other little bits too and at only £1.25 a bottle with £1.50 packaging I thought I couldn't go wrong. 

I love it! You can build it up to be as glittery as you want - here I've put a black undercoat on but think a silver or a colour from some of the glitter would too look lovely! I found it dried in average time and for the price is really good, for me this is perfect NYE nails so sorry for lying yesterday but I didn't think this little beauty would come in time!

Technic - Carnival 

Barry M - Black 

My room has turned into a mass pile of clothes and beauty products in preperation for a night in with friends. I've baked cupcakes and big roasted vegetable pasta dish. I can't wait. 

Full NYE blog post to follow as soon as I make it back to the land of living after many cocktails tonight! 

The Pinker The Better - NYE Nails.

So I am having a little the night before New Years Eve beautifying session which mainly involved removing red hair dye (post to follow) and have created the girliest pinkest nails imaginable whilst doing so. 

I really do get bored of just having one colour on my nails and boy does it show here ... 

Barry M - Pink Flamingo 

Barry M - Bright Pink 

Models Own - Pastel Pink 

Models Own - Pink Fizz 

Diamanté - silver, light pink and bright pink 

I painted all of my nails different shades of pinks and one on each hand in pink fizz. On the fingers that weren't pink fizz and bar one I painted the tips with pink fizz too. 

Then on the one I didn't add a pink fizz tip too I covered in bright pink, light pink and silver diamanté from a diamanté wheel I got from eBay for just a few pounds. 

I'm not even sure what I'm wearing yet as my original dress is a little too glam and uncomfortable for my night in planned with friends. But I don't want to take these nails off so it's looking like it'll be pink or black :)

Planning outfits around my nails, o dear. 

Santa Did Good.

Before the year is out I just wanted to share a few of the goodies I got from Santa this year. 

ASOS Envelope Clutch 

AX Paris Dress

Selection of Models Own Nail Colours

Vanity Case for all my make-up delights 

Some marmite chocolate (think santa thought he was being funny)

One Direction - Dare To Dream (santa thought about doing stand up here)

A leopard print laptop cover 

Lots more Miss Selfridge goodies but I can't seem to find any of them on their website at the moment and it's too dark to take pictures! 

New Shoes.

I'm a real sucker for a pair of shoes and have recently added three delicious pairs to my collection over the festive season that I wanted to share because I completely love them. As you can see above I have quite a selection that is growing fast. The higher the better for nights out and I think shoes do look prettier when they are sky scrapers so am always drawn to them. However I do flats in general in the day unless it's a special occasion because I get sore feet super quickly and would be a rubbish shopper in heels - I don't know how women shop all day in heels! 

I got these in the Accessorize sale for a bargainous £14 (down from £28) I love them! They are perfect flats for uni and just day to day and as my wardrobe is mainly brown they go with pretty much everything! They are super soft too - so far no blisters!

They are still on their website here. 

I got these for Christmas they are from Miss Selfridge - I can't find a link as think they've been taken down during post Christmas sales. But they cost about £50. I love love love them! I have a huge collection of peep toe shoes which just aren't practical for winter and I don't think tights peeping through looks all that nice either and I am as massive tights fan at this time of the year! I love the colour of these and again they'll go with everything! I also love the heel to these as it's a little sturdier than most of my heels! 

Finally I picked these little beauties up from Marks and Spencer yesterday. I saw them a few days ago and was trying to not spend too much money however I had to go back and get them. They were £55 and were reduced to £29. I love the little brown cut out buckle on the side and they are real leather so are super soft. They don't have a platform either so are perfect for interviews, and most formal times when a flat or a platform just doesn't cut it. Again they'll go with pretty much everything in my wardrobe! 

They are still on their website too here

Turtle Bay, Southampton.

On the 27th December we went out to celebrate of my best friend Claire's 23rd Birthdays. We headed to Turtle Bay - a Caribbean restaurant in Southampton city centre for some cocktails. It was such a lovely place and even though it was quite quiet when we got there for mid-week it still had an amazing atmosphere. The cocktail list also featured lots of different drinks I'd never heard of which is always fun. 

Such a good night, will definitely be heading back there for some food next month as their menu all looks so delicious. 

My Christmas.

I'm crazy fanatical about Christmas so couldn't have let is past with a little post-christmas blog update. This year was easily my best Christmas yet I had the best day. We got all grown up this year and spaced present opening throughout the day which made it really good and a tradition that now will be kept up for all future years. Everyone got merry, and we ate so much food. 

I made Christmas dinner this year for the first time - only for four of us altogether but it went down well and everyone loved it. I got so many gorgeous goodies and I will be sharing them at a later date. I love Christmas because nothing hugely spectacular needs to happen for it to be amazing. Just some games, drinkies, food and your nearest and dearest :)

I hope you all had th best Christmas too!

Pink Fizz, Today's Nails.

I've been lusting after this polish for months! Luckily for me Santa knew and dropped it into my stocking this year. It definitely didn't disappoint, and was so worth the wait. 

For only £5 it is easily one of the best glitter varnishes on the market - it only needed two coats and glided on perfectly for a thick delicious pink glitter. 

Models Own - Pink Fizz 

Christmas Eve Nails. The Glitter and Sparkles.

Christmas Eve nails have been done! I have gone for super sparkle Christmas colours and Santa Claus. 

Barry M - Bright Red

Nail Art Pens - Red Glitter & Green Glitter 

Diamanté in red and green 

eBay nail wraps - Santa Claus 

I know these are bit OTT in your face Christmas but that's the way I like Christmas - a little bit of sparkle and whole lotta over the top Christmas cheer. My favourite bit is the full two nails in red and green diamanté if you can't do it at Christmas when can you? 

Happy Christmas Eve. 

I Hate New Year's Eve.

We haven't even passed Christmas this year but today I've been looking for little extra's to make New Years go off with a bang and in doing so came to the following revelation. And I know you shouldn't say it but I really do hate New Year's Eve. It's always a disappointment and someone always ends up crying (usually myself . The point in New Years for me is to simply be around the people you love so I find busy nightclubs charging £30 to get in and £8 for a vodka lemonade the worst thing in the world at this time of year. 

It's also increasingly hard to get everyone you love in one place as we get older family ties and 'boyfriends friends' tend to get in the way. There is so much of a build up to this one night which all in all leaves you feeling a little deflated. 

The following statements will most definitely get used at some point throughout the night: 

This year has gone too fast

I refuse to head into 2012 I just plain refuse
I hope next year brings me love
I hope next year brings me luck
I don't want to go back to work in a few days BOO

Do you remember the New Year when ... 

DRINK WHILE YOU THINK 

I have never ... 

As much as I say this I have this year managed to find a perfect balance and we're having a get together at my best friends house, hot tub, bubbly, drinking games and nibbles. It will involve all of my favourite people and hopefully will break my sheer hate for the much anticipated night of the year. 

Concrete Champagne, Today's Nails.

Models Own - Concrete Mixer 

Models Own - Champagne 

Unbranded Clear Top Coat

Love Thy Makeup.

I originally ended up on lovethymakeup.com looking for this delicious nail varnish  I found another blogger's post. However it was out of stock at the time and I ended up browsing and buying this amount of goodies ... oops. I am really brand loyal when it comes to make-up and definitely have my pre-selected favourites. However I keep finding myself leaving my hand-bag make-up bag at home or staying at friends without the essentials so thought these cheap little beauties could be the perfect answer! 

I bought: 

Eyeliner Crayon 

Retractable bronzer brush 

Bronzer 

Liquid foundation 

Primer 

Pan Stick 

2 x double ended eye crayons 

Eyeliner Crayon - this is very cute I love the design to it and it smells just like children's crayons which I imagine is just a coincidence. It smudges well, sometimes a little two well as does drop down a little on the eye. However it's a perfect top lid liner and great for smoky eyes as smudges so well. 

Ingenious cover pump foundation - I love my clinque foundation but try to save it for nights out and when I really need to cover up. So I often try and find some lighter variations for day to day that alot cheaper. I like this one alot it left quite a sheen to my face though and it definately needed to be mixed with some bronzing highlighter to take out the more yellowey tone for the £2.49 price tag though it is perfect to take out or for the times when other cover-ups have run out. 

Pan Stick - this was one of my favourite products out the selection I bought it was the perfect colour for me and even though it smelled really makeupey (if that even makes sense) it glides on perfectly and is perfect for my handbag. 

Glamorous sultry eye duo's - I bought two of these one in black and cream and one in brown and gold. They remind me very much of the Rimmel duel ended eyeshadows and are near identical.  These are perfect for base and lining lashes the brown and gold one is ideal for day wear and the black for a more intense night time look. I find the cream and black quite a contrast next to each other on my skin so find another grey or silvery shadow is needed to split them up. 

Bronzer - this was my least favourite of the product, it didn't apply well to my face at all and nor did it blend either. It was probably a little dark for my complexion but I also have a fantastic love for the fake bake bronzing palette that can't be beaten in my opinion. 

I have left my favourite till last ... The Illuminating Face Primer. This was just £3.99 Available here. What stood out to me to begin with was the likeness between the packaging and the benefit product 'that gal' It's near identical and as the product was similar I thought it was worth a go seen as though it was less than a quarter of a price. I absolutely love it, it's soft and a perfect primer. It doesn't smell quite as nice as the benefit one but for such a price drop I really can't complain. This is definitely staying in my make-up bag for a long time! 

Christmas Weekend in Bath.

So this post is a wee bit smug but I just had the best weekend and it definitely deserves a blog post. 

The boyfriend took me to Bath for a night of pure luxury as part of my Christmas presents. We stayed in the most delicious 'boutique b&b' called One Three Nine a four poster bed and a jacuzzi bath with lots of molton brown goodies adorning the bathroom.  In the evening we went to see Dick Whittington at the Royal Theatre Bath which was pure Christmas. I loved it. 

Sadly it was raining the second day so we didn't get a chance to walk around Bath and see the sights, will definitely be heading back next summer for lots more sight seeing and staying in that beautiful hotel. Which also offers a bucks fizz breakfast in bed - heaven! 

Christmas Chutney. Foodie.

So with Christmas fast approaching I decided it was a good idea about 3 months ago to make a some chutney and jam's for people's Christmas presents. The idea was based around trying to save some money too and it means that all of my nearest and dearest get something special this year. 

After buying everything it turned out it wasn't all that cheap at all, but it was lots of fun to make. 

I decided to make a caramelised onion chutney and a tomato chilli jam. They're pretty safe options and I figured everyone has a cheese board or a bit of a buffet over Christmas so it'd work for everyone. 

The worst part of this was the onion chopping, I was crying so hard and it just seemed to be going on forever. If you were going to do this I would recommend getting a helper as for my jars I needed 6kg of onions so it was alot of chopping and crying to achieve this. 

The recipe's were: 

Carmalised Onion Chutney - 

Paprika 

Crushed Chillies 

Onions

Balsamic Vinegar 

Red Wine Vinegar 

Brown Sugar 

Tomato Chilli Jam - 

Tomato's 

Garlic 

Ginger 

Worcester Sauce 

Red Wine Vinegar

 Brown Sugar

Fresh Red Chillies 

It takes ages for them to simmer away and just thicken up and you need to take the 'scum' from the top of the tomato jam as it gives you a clearer overall jam at the end. 

I bought the cute little hexagon glass jars to put mine in they are all 8oz and have little gold lids. They weren't that expensive and are available on eBay from various different sellers. 

How cute is this little duo chutney gift? They taste amazing - the jam is seriously spicy but that is my personal taste - the hotter the better! However I think with cheese and bread it won't be so bad. 

I have some little red bags to put them in and they will all be wrapped with gold ribbon. They are also being used for secret Santa and those times when the person you forget comes round and brings a gift you weren't expecting! This way I have some back ups and if I don't give them away I will be gobbling them up myself :) 

Friday Nights are Made for Dancing.

After the end of my first term I finally got to see my wife Holly! She came down to stay for the night so we hit Southampton town all glammed up ready to go with my friend Sophie. It was such a good night we started in Yuzu Bar, headed to 90 degree's (which was relatively unpretentious for a change) then we ended the night in Junk club. It was so much fun! 

We also met up with some of our other girlies so it was just perfect! 

I am now a very happy hungover girl waiting for a chinese to be delivered! 

The beginning of the end is over.

So the months and the standard Wednesday morning coffee's, Friday afternoon's grime time have finally reached the end. My first term of my final year is officially over, it left me thinking that actually a few images sum up my work and research from the last few months and I've included them above. 

It's all going too fast and next term means it's about to get tough, I'm going to be deep amongst journal articles on product placement. But for now I'm going to spend a little time excited for Christmas especially as my wife is coming to stay tonight (post to follow on this!) 

December Glossy Box Unpacked.

I wasn't that impressed with the November GlossyBox as it was mainly skincare products that didn't really suit me and perfume samples that smelt pretty foul in all honesty. However I kept faith and thought that the December box being the one before Christmas would be something good. And I was very very right. I'm very happy this month - everything in the box is right up my street! I can use it all and even though I never expect it there were some full size products in there too - which is always a bonus. 

Cargo Cosmetics Lip Gloss 

Deborah Lippman Razzle Dazzle Nail Varnish 

Deborah Lippman Stripped to go Sachet 

FAB Face Cleanser 

Nouveau Lashes Noir Mascara 

Rituals Foaming Shower Gel (mine was lotus flower and green tea)

Cargo Cosmetics Lip Gloss - I can't really use lipgloss as I have crazy sensitive lips although I tested this gloss on my hand it was super soft and the colour is delish so one of my friends will definitely be getting this one at the weekend!

Deborah Lippman Razzle Dazzle Nail Varnish - I was very excited to see this colour in my box I absolutely love sparkly nails and this colour is gorgeous. It takes a good two or three coats to get a decent colour and I found it was hard to get it to dry without smudging as it took ages to dry. Also as this is a mini varnish the brush is super small so is also hard to apply but I'm sure the bigger bottles wouldn't have this problem. 

Deborah Lippman Stripped to go Sachet - does what it says an ok smell considering it removes nail varnish and works well! 

FAB Face Cleanser - am yet to use this one for long enough to really give an opinion. However on first wash it smelt delicious and went on very softly so I was impressed!  

Nouveau Lashes Noir Mascara - I'm pretty loyal to my million lashes mascara so never really try any others this full size mascara is lovely though. The brush is perfect for lower lashes - however would never spend the £18 price tag on it as much prefer my staple mascara. 

Rituals Foaming Shower Gel - For me this was the real winner a full size foaming shower gel my scent was lotus flower and green tea and it is completely divine. The smell really wakes you up and it foams up so much from the smallest amount! I will definitely consider buying this above any product in this months glossybox!

Christmas Nails, Strike One.

I've been trying to wait until nearer Christmas to use my Santa nail wraps, but I just couldn't wait any longer. So as a compromise to myself I decided to just use one for my ring finger. And actually much prefer just one or a few maybe as lots of little santa heads might be a bit much! 

Barry M -Rasberry 

Nails Inc - Victoria and Albert 

Nail Art Pen - Red Glitter

Nail Wraps - Santa Claus 

I went a bit crazy and did alternate red nails with my ring finger in the Santa nail wrap. I think for Christmas I might keep Santa on my ring finger and red glitter on all my other nails as I'm a little bit obsessed with glitter at the moment. May even through in some red diamanté! I'm glad I tested the nail wraps out actually as I need to  grow my nails to fit Santa's hat on :)