Simple Nail Art - Barry M Lychee and Vanilla

So I've has very Christmass-y nails the past few days but it was taking up a bit too much time. I finally decided to do something simple for this week until I go all out with the sparkle next week.

Keeping it neutral I picked my favourite of the Barry M matte shades which is Vanilla and the similar gel shade of Lychee.

I used Vanilla as my base and then took my brand new dotting tool and used Lychee to place a line of large dots down the centre of the nail. I'm not the best with nail art but I love this colour combination and the matte contrast against the shine of the gel. I've had so many compliments on these and the usual question of "where did you get your nails done".

Cutest Christmas Earrings Ever!!!

We all see those Christmas earrings this time of year, you know the ones that are all sparkly and shiny and oh-so-tacky and the ones that will most probably turn your earlobes green. I love Christmas but for everyday wear tacky just isn't a good look, so imagine how excited I got when I saw these!

Adorable right? Christmassy but not at all tacky, the snowflake ones are probably my favourite but I love all three. The best bit? These are only £2.99 from H&M.

Another little treat came in the post today. I've shared my love of quirky jewellery on here before so when I saw this beauty on ebay I just has to have it. This was on my finger within seconds of being delivered and I'm in love already!

Again this one was a bargain at £2.99! eBay is probably one of my favourite places for jewellery because there's always something that's a little bit different and it's never expensive!

What's everyone else's favourite places for jewellery and accessories?

Eylure Individual Semi-Permanant Lashes

As soon as I use these I knew I was going to have to do a post about it.

I'm such a huge fan of false eyelashes... in theory. I'm not sure if I have weird shaped eyes or I'm just not good at the application but false lashes never seem to quite fit right one me. I've tried and failed more times than I can count. So I'm a huge fan of them, but only on other people. After getting tired of wasting my money on lashes I'd never wear I decided to venture into what I thought would be the scary world of individual lashes.

I figured Eylure was a pretty safe brand for my first try and so picked up the mixed pack of individual lashes in black. 

This pack comes with 3 different lengths. The pack suggests using the short for inner lashes, the medium for the centre lashes and the long for the outer lashes. The long lashes were never touched by me, they were just too long and this is from someone with reasonably long lashes to begin with.

Rather than length I was looking for a bit more volume. I ended up placing 3 to 4 short ones on the centre lashes and 3 to 4 medium ones on the outer lashes. I was SO happy with the results and the application was easy peasy. Just grab a pair of tweezers, cover the end of the lash with glue (make sure you use a generous amount) and stick them as close to the lash line as possible without actually attaching them to the lash line. These attach onto the actual lashes rather than the eyelid. 

Here's the results (excuse the quality I wasn't home when I did this so handy iphone camera is all that was available):

So the above is the results with no mascara. Best thing about these lashes, those pictures were taken the morning after the lashes were applied. The lashes are semi permanant and include a solution to remove them, these lashes lasted a night of sleep, a day at work, a Christmas party with a lot of cocktails and the long sleep which followed. Pretty impressive right?

Being individual lashes these can obviously be applied to give a more or less dramatic look than the one I was going for.

This is definitely my new favourite product for a big night out. I've been raving about them ever since. 

P.S - I promise I don't have a black eye, the iPhone camera is just very unforgiving to my early morning eyebags haha.

Christmas Gift Guide - Watches

So I've given myself a headache with my Christmas shopping this past week. I've been racking my brain trying to think of presents everyone would love and with absolutely no inspiration Christmas shopping might have turned into me buying myself presents to reward myself for at least trying. Now that I'm pretty much done though I thought I would share a little bit on inspiration in hopes of sparing someone else the confusion I went through.

Personally I love a good watch, I'm not much an accessories person other than earrings but a watch is something I can't live without. It's a recent obsession but it really has become a strong one! My go-to watch it my lovely little gold Casio but  have a growing collection, so here's some ideas.

For the glamorous girl

1. Armani Exchange Smart Metal Watch - £165

This beautiful stainless steel gold plated watch from Armani Exchange is the perfect gift for the girl who loves a bit of sparkle but doesn't want anything too over the top. I love the gold face with the stone set dial and I like that it's a slightly larger size watch. Simple but definitely glamorous.

2. Vivienne Westwood Gold London Watch - £245

Vivienne Westwood has some seriously beautiful watches right now and this is one of my personal favourites. Simple but stunning with the gold bracelet strap and the signature Westwood orb on the face. A gift for high fashion lovers for sure.

3.Moschino Cheap & Chic Yes I Will Gold Watch - £135

This could well be my favourite of the four "glam" choices! It may have less gold than the rest but the unique design more than makes up for it! A grey metallic leather strap with a large round gold dial and plain white face. Sounds boring right? Until you see that beaut of a gem on the side. I absolutely adore this and this is the one that's on my Christmas List.

4. Micharl Kors Camille Gold Watch - £499

Without doubt the most expensive of my choices but it's not hard to see why! How stunning is this watch? I love watches with the curb bracelet design anyway but add to that the oh-so-sparkly all over gold pave crystals and you have my heart. I could never justify spending this much on a watch but if anyone was to buy it as a gift then that'd be fine by me.

The classic girl:

1. Olivia Burton Colour Crush Red Patent Watch - £55

I love Olivia Burton watches! They're so simply but always so pretty. The patent red strap on this with the simple gold dial and white face is perfect for everyday wear, so simple and such a classic design you could wear this for years.

2.Olivia Burton Exclusive for ASOS Hummingbird Watch - £68

Unfortunately this beautiful watch is now sold out, not surprising with that gorgeous hummingbird on the face. That plus the black leather strap make this the ideal gift for a girl who loves to keep it simple without being boring. Sadly I didn't see this watch until it was too late otherwise this would be on my wrist as I type.

3.ASOS Cupids Bow & Arrow Rotating Watch - £22
I'm happy to add a bit of a cheaper watch into the mix, even though you'd never be able to tell. From ASOS this watch features a brown leather look strap and an adorable rotating cupids bow and arrow on the dial. Classic with a twist. 

4. Vivienne Westwood Orb Black Leather Strap Watch - £185
Another watch here that will last the decades. I'm a massive Vivienne Westwood fan as it is but these watches have made me almost obsessive. This watch looks so simple upon first glance but then you have the beautiful signature gold orb at the top end of the strap. Another for fashion lovers, especially as there's not an outfit this won't match.

The quirky girl:

1. Marc by Marc Jacobs Critters Zebra Watch - £165
This watch is quite possibly one of my favourite things ever! The Marc by Marc Jacobs Critter watches are so unusual and so cute and so me. I just love the eyes and the zebra print and think it looks great against the bright blue strap. If you're looking for a gift for someone who likes nice things but is just that little bit different this is perfection!

2. Marc by Marc Jacobs Critters Mouse Watch - £165
Another of these watches, I could easily have included all four (the other two are a white cat watch and a black dog watch) but wanted a bit of variation so chose my favourite two. I can't lie, I don't look at this and think 'mouse' but it's OK because the ears make up for everything. Imagine having this little cutie on your wrist, it would be impossible to be sad.

3. ASOS Ears Boyfriend Watch - £25
It may not be quite as out there as the Marc Jacobs Critters watches but my oh my is this bargain of a watch still full of quirky charm. A simple gold plated bracelet strap watch... with ears! I seriously think this is adorable, so much so that I've actually ordered myself one.

4. ASOS Rotating Bow Tie Watch - £22
Another bargain beauty here, very simple but full of character. The bow tie in the middle rotates with the hands of the watch. So perfect for anyone who wants something attention grabbing on their wrist without being forced to spend a fortune.



So that's me for now. I plan to forward this post on to family and friends in the hope that someone wants to buy me one haha.

My Main Thrill in Life is A Makeover

What better way to start than with a quote from Clueless. A couple of days off and my Christmas shopping being pretty much done means I had time for a little blog makeover. Due to my complete lack of graphic design skills it's nothing too fancy but I have to say, I kinda love it!

I can't wait for my first real post with this new look!

Nivea Lip Butter

Nivea Lip Butters are probably one of my favourite products of this year. I know so many people who's go to lip product is good old Vaseline but to me Vaseline was always quite greasy and seemed to sit on my lips rather than to settle in and soothe them.

I had absolutely no idea what Nivea Lip Butters were like in terms of quality, my sweet tooth was simply attracted by the Caramel Cream flavour. I've had this for quite a while and surprisingly I have almost finished it. This is surprising because I never ever get to the end of lip balms. Mainly because I carry about five in my handbag at any one time, am I the only one that does this?

Since I was almost at the end of my Caramel Cream flavour I decided to pick up the Vanilla and Macadamia one too.

First of all I love the packaging of these little lovelies, more than that though they smell amazing. The Caramel Cream flavour smells so good and so sweet that it actually makes me hungry! The Vanilla and Macadamia one also has a gorgeous smell just not quite as sweet, so if you're not a sugar addict like me then you might prefer this one.

So far we have good packing and beautiful smells, but it doesn't stop there. I've tried every kind of lip balm and this is without doubt the best, at least for me. Unlike Vaseline it doesn't seem to just settle on my lips, the moisturised feel lasts for a good couple of hours even in this horrible cold weather and it makes my lips look lovely and smooth without looking too shiny. This winter is the first winter in a while that I've never had sore lips and I put that down totally to this.

I know Baby Lips is a lot of bloggers favourites and I own a few and I like them enough but in terms of doing what they're actually meant to do and that's moisturise, Baby Lips can't even come close. These are slightly cheaper than Baby Lips but, at £2.25, are a little bit more expensive than Vaseline. Definitely worth the price though, they last forever and you'll never have sore or chapped lips again.

Has anyone else tried these or have any other lip balm suggestions?

Sleek: Blush By 3 - Pink Sprint

Just a quick review of one of my recent haul purchases, the Sleek Blush By 3 palette which as the name suggests contains 3 blushes. I went for the Pink Sprint one because I always use a pink tones blush unless I have a tan and as I don't use sunbeds I'm seriously doubting I'm picking up a tan any time soon in gloomy old London Town.

As always the packaging is lovely. I'll always say this, Sleek products without question have the best packaging out of all drugstore brands, Always Sleek (pun intended) with lots of matte black which I just love.

The Pink Sprint palette contains three blushes; Pinktini, Pink Ice and Pink Parfait.

(L:R - Pinktini, Pink Ice and Pink Parfait)

I can't lie, they looked very scary to me when I first opened the packaging, especially Pinktini. However, although very pigmented they are easily blended so don't be scared.

Pinktini is a pink almost raspberry colour which has a slight... sheen to it? It's not a shimmer but it's not perfectly matte. Now I tried this on me and it is too dark for me. When reading this though bare in mind that I am pretty pale and this wasn't extremely dark and will probably work when I have a tan but for these cold winter months, I'll be staying away from this colour.

Pink Ice is a bright, blue based matte pink. Another scary looking one as it looks almost neon but this applies beautifully. Gives a lovely pink flush and applies smoothly. I can definitely see me using this one day to day but still not my favourite of the three.

Finally we have Pink Parfait which is a deep rose pink with plum undertones. This is most definitely my favourite. This is my go-to daytime blush from now on! It applies perfectly and looks natural while still being very pigmented.

 With flash

Without flash

I bought this palette looking for a more natural, daytime blush. The only Sleek blush I owned before this was Rose Gold which as we all know is amazing! It wasn't right for a daytime look for me though but Pink Ice and Pink Parfait are definitely going to do the job! Overall another solid purchase from Sleek.

Has anyone else tried this or any of the other Blush By 3 palettes?