Essie 'Lady Like'

I refer to this shade as the perfect fall purple, with spring and summer being lilac and winter as burgundy. If you like neutrals you will also probably be as in love with this shade as I am. And the name? Well the name really does match the shade. It oozes sophisticated lady in a bottle, but with a slight colour twist compared to the usual sheer pinks and nudes. The formula flaunts the usual Essie way- a non gloopy one, full of colour, with a thin brush for great application.

If you do fancy stepping up your 'Lady Like' side a notch this fall, you can pick up this beauty here in Boots for £7.99.

Essie 'Absolutely Shore'

If you like your blue's and green's on those finger tips but want to tone it down a notch, this Essie 'Absolutely Shore' is the answer. This shade is a beautiful light sea foam green which makes me think of a beach house in the Hamptons.

The formula? You need two coats with this polish but I have had two of these and they do tend to get a bit gloopy. For this, just pop a few drops of nail polish remover into the bottle and shake it up.

The perfect summer shade when you want a pop of colour without going too crazy. 

£8.50 Essie 'Absolutely Shore'

xoxo

10 Beauty Tips and Tricks

1. Warm your eyelash curlers

Curling my eyelashes is always a very tedious job, I spend ages getting them to achieve the perfect curl. To make speed up the job, I warm my eyelash curlers with a hairdryer for a few seconds and it makes curling 10x faster.

2. For soft, plump lips

Before any lip product, use an electric or normal toothbrush and massage your lips for around a minute. This will exfoliate and plump them before applying your lipstick or gloss.

3. To brighten and open up the eyes

Apply a shimmery white eyeshadow (I especially love Virgin by Urban Decay) in the inner corners of the eye and the brow bone to make the eyes appear bigger and brighter.

4. When your nail polish gets gloopy

Add a few drops of nail polish remover to the nail polish bottle, then shake it up.

5. When your mascara gets gloopy

Add a few eye drops and swirl the brush around to mix it together.

6. For red, tired eyes

Apply a nude or white eyeliner on your waterline to get rid of any redness and open up the eyes.

7. To stop smudging eyeliner

Sweep concealer then a bit of powder right under the eyeliner on your bottom lash line, this will act sort of like a barrier and stop smudging happening.

8. Make your eyeshadow more vibrant

Smudge out a white eyeliner all over the lids before applying eyeshadow to make the colour stand out, this will also act as a primer.

9. To make lipstick last longer

After applying your lipstick, put a tissue over your lips and apply powder over the tissue. This will also give a matt finish to your lips.

10. Make your lips appear bigger

Apply white eyeliner on the outside of the lips (focusing on the cupids bow), blend it out then apply a gloss.

Essie 'Fiji'

This is the perfect shade to compliment and enhance the tan you may be sporting this summer. I love the look of pale nail polishes during the warmer months but I have never been a fan of wearing full on white. Instead, Essie 'Fiji' is an opaque very light pink. I have found with a lot of light pink polishes you have to layer up the coats to make the colour stand out but with this one, two coats of plenty. This is probably my third bottle of this and I wear it constantly on my nails all summer.

Essie 'Fiji' £7.99

xoxo

Essie 'Luxedo'

Essie's 'Luxedo' black cherry polish is what I have been wearing on my nails pretty much non-stop since I got it. This shade is perfect if you love dark polishes but don't want to jump straight into the deep end with a black. Plus anything Essie is a winner for me. The fact that you only need one coat for this polish definitely puts this straight into my good books and it lasts a good week when paired with Essie's 'all in one' for the base and top coat.

Essie 'Luxedo' £7.99

xoxo

Love

As Valentines day quickly approaching I though it would be appropriate to do a little post on the very topic itself- love. I know what your thinking and no you don't have to be in one of those 'lovey dovey' relationships to celebrate the holiday. It can be celebrated with friends, family and yourself. Everybody has different representations of love whether it be a love for a person, an animal or even something as simple as an item.

"But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous." -Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City.

If your thinking of a nail colour to wear on Valentines Day Essie 'She's Pampered' is the perfect vibrant red to accompany any outfit for any occasion whether your staying in with friends or going out to a nice restaurant.

Essie 'She's Pampered'

Valentines day as well as every other day is also about respect toward others and Brilliant Earth definitely portrays this in their values and jewellery. Brilliant Earth creates beautiful, flawless jewellery with no environmental or human cost as well as donating 5% of their profits in helping to communities who have suffered unethical methods in the making of jewellery. So whether you are getting treated or treating yourself (or even just fancy a bit of window shopping) take a look at some of their pieces and I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

Some other bloggers and I were asked to participate in the 'Create a Little Love' Campaign and create a picture showing the word 'love' so of course I took the opportunity!

Happy Valentines Day!

xoxo

Wishlist #1

I like to think of this 'Wishlist' series as a 'window shop lineup'. Everyone has heard of window shopping I gather? Admiring the things you can't buy but wish you could, or rather just making a mental note of them the next time you finding yourself deserving a bit of a treat or some retail therapy.

This wishlist is here to give you some ideas of things you might want to try out or if you are simply just bored of an evening and browsing the internet because there's nothing else better to do.

1. Bumble and bumble Thickening Dryspun Finish

It's time my hair has a bit of 'omph' to it.

2. YSL Forever Youth Liberator Foundation

My skin definitely needs a bit of a pick me up and I have heard very good things about this one, however I don't think I can bring myself to spend a small fortune on my face.

3. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette

I am a big lover of the Urban Decay Naked palettes and my addiction doesn't stop at this one. 

4. Living Proof Prime Style Extender

A primer for your hair to make the style last longer?! Yes please. 

5. Essie After School Boy Blazer

First, how cute is the name?! Second, this colour is just too amazing.

6. Imitation Leather Trousers

I may be ordering these as I type, just maybe.

What's on your wishlist?

xoxo

Top 5 // Fall Nail Polishes

This is the time of year I get to dig out my favourite 'cosy' shades on the nails. Pair these polishes with a cosy knit jumper and there you have it, the epitome of fall.

Essie, Smokin Hot

This is the dark mysterious twin of Love & Acceptance by Essie, a perfect fall take on the pastel purple polish spring trend. You just need one coat, with the new wider and easy to use brushes it  takes me two minutes to paint them!

Topshop, Fallen Leaf

I love love love this olive green colour trend for the colder months. I have to say, at first glance I wasn't too taken with it, but when on the nails it's just amazing. Bit of a venture out of the usual fall reds and I'm loving it. 

Essie, Bahama Mama

This colour. I literally fell in love with this when I saw it, a deep berry/plum shade. As if you smeared a plum all over your nails, well not exactly the exact same effect... but you get my gist. As well as Essie Smokin Hot its super easy to apply with only one coat!

O.P.I, I'm Suzi & I'm a Chocoholic
I describe this colour as 'red velvet cake' and let's be honest...who doesn't like red velvet cake?! This is such a lovely colour for Fall, very warm and cosy which is perfect for this 'sweater weather'.

Essie, Fishnet Stockings
A.k.a the ultimate 'sexy' red. Not to mention that I love the Essie nail polishes because of the formula, it's my favourite red out of all of them! (and I have a lot of reds!) Not too bright, not too orange and not too brown. Two thumbs up from me!

What's your top Fall nail polish picks?!

xoxo

Lazy Girl // The Essentials

Lets face it, we are all guilty of being a little lazy sometimes/all the time. I though I would share some of my 'Lazy Girl essentials'...

Batiste, Dry Shampoo 'Tropical'

The ultimate ‘lazy girl product’, I don’t know about you but washing my hair is definitely seen as a effortful task. In the morning especially, when I would really prefer that extra time in bed rather than washing, drying AND styling my hair (that really sounds all too much for an early morning). Let’s be honest though, you don’t want to go out looking like a ‘scruff bag’ so I spray dry shampoo in my roots, let in soak in for a minute then work the products into my hair using my fingers. This also gives it a bit of ‘omph’ and makes it smell like a tropical paradise (what could be better?!).

Simple, Spotless Skin makeup wipes 

Makeup wipes are ‘lazy sibling’ of face wash. On more than one occasion I have been guilty of not being bothered to take my makeup off after a late night out (especially being a university student these come in particularly useful, as I’m sure you can imagine). This normally results in my skin breaking out, which leads to me needing more time in the morning with makeup trying to make my skin presentable, as Sweet Brown would say “ain’t nobody got time for that!” Anyway back to the product, I quickly use these to remove any makeup that night but I wouldn’t recommend doing this every time because your face still needs a good cleanse, just on those late lazy ones.

Seche Vite, Dry Fast Top Coat

Waiting for your nail polish to dry can be very tedious, especially for people like me who repaint their nails very often (maybe even too often). This topcoat is by far the best one I have found and speeds up the process 10x faster!

Tangle Teezer

I think I speak for my fellow ‘Rapunzels’ out there (and really any hair length) brushing my hair comes in a close second with the dreaded task of vacuuming. Sometimes (well actually all the time) I end up rushing through it pulling at my hair and can almost hear my hair breaking! The Tangle Teezer is so much gentler on the hair and gets the job done quickly, say goodbye to the days of the dreaded hair brushing! 

xoxo