Aztec Addiction!

So I am being consumed by another obsession! 

Aztec or tribal prints!

On anything!

This trend has been in fashion for a couple of seasons now and I didn't really think it was my style however small accents are going to be all over my wardrobe this spring!

Ok, so I may be over-exaggerating a little bit here as I currently only own one accessory on this style, a scarf I purchased on Saturday from Accessorize - Link!

It's a circle scarf, it's my first one in this style and I have to say I find it a little annoying to get it to sit just how I like it! Never mind, I'll deal!

I just love the colours, cobalt blue and a bright coral, I can't wait to wear in bit more when the weather improves!

Another way to wear the trend is on your nails. I have always admired WAH Nails amazing work and their Aztec nail designs are amazing! 

Inspired by this final image I decided to try out my own last night!

Now before I show you the picture I want you to know that this look will take a bit of practice and I lost my cool a bit with the nail art pens and I ran out of room on my nail!! So I am calling this work in progress but I still like it!

They are not Easter eggs as my friend thought!

I love the colour combo but obviously I have got a bit of work to do on the pattern! I need to work on making it smaller so there is more room for squiggles and zigzags!  I used the WAH Models Own nail art pens and the colours are both from Nails Inc, Portobello Road and Portobello Market ( Both Portobello's are just a coincidence!!) 

Please ignore the grotty label on the black pen! I hope Models Own release more colours soon as they promised when they first announced the nail art pens, they said they would be available in the whole Models Own colour range, I fear they may miss the boat if they don't act soon.

I'll be practising this more for the summer, I can't wait to get out my black maxi, gold glads, Tribal scarf and bright Aztec nails!

What do you think? Do you like this trend? Have you tried this nail look?

xoxo

Sephora By OPI Polish!

This week I received an awesome, albeit late present from my brother who is currently working in Canada. I had a feeling I knew what the gift was as I had been asked for a wishlist from Sephora!

What I didn't know was which colours I would get and I love the ones he chose!

First up is Meet Me For Drinks and wine coloured shimmery polish that glows from within. I love the colour, not unique but its a "lit from within" type shade and I always love those! I found the polish very thin and a little difficult to apply the first coat as I put too much polish on the brush and it slid all around my nail! A second coat evens it out and makes it opaque.

Read My Palm is a deep mint tone and one that I really wanted to get. I love these shades! This was a really nice polish to apply, like the previous polish it was thin but built up nicely with two coats! I love it! I can say no more!!

Finally, maybe the best until last?! Only Gold For Me is a stunning glitter topcoat with both small and large chunks of sparkling gold glitter. I wore this over Read My Palm this week and I adored it! I got lots of compliments on it. I just loved the combo of the minty turquoise with the gold. What you can't tell from the picture is how sparkly this is, it looks like little twinkling lights on my nails! Love!

Application is similar to OPI's Rainbow Connection in that you sort of have to place the glitter rather than paint it on. I did two coats so I got a few more bigger pieces. You have to pick them out of the bottle with the brush and dab them on to get a decent spread! 

I was seriously impressed with the durability of this polish, I had three very physical days at work this week, moving things, lifting and dropping things on my hands and this polish did not budge! 

I love these polishes, I love that my brother chose them and I love that I can't get them here and they feel a little more special in my collection!

xoxo

Jo Malone Cologne Coffret

I can safely say this is my first and main obsession for the new year! I was introduced to this set over Christmas and have become consumed with wanting to purchase full sizes of these fragrances! 

Jo Malone is a brand that I am aware of and have only experienced through my mum buying a cologne from the range many years ago. I had never experienced the pleasure myself. I am not a perfume fiend and I favour only two scents, Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche and Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. I buy one of each and they last me a year or so and I have no desire to seek out another perfume.

Until now.

This set of mini bottles features six of Jo's most popular fragrances. One of the features of a Jo Malone fragrance is that they can be layered and mixed to create unique scents and this little set is the perfect way to experiment. They are completely amazing alone also.

My favourite cologne from the set is the Amber and Lavender. Described as clean, masculine and velvety this fragrance is quite spicy and a little bit manly, which I love! I know the perfume is used by both genders. This perfume is the first to get me excited about wearing it for a very long time and I shall certainly be buying a larger bottle soon.

My second favourite and one I will also purchase soon is the Lime Basil and Mandarin. A completely different style of fragrance this one smells very fresh and of citrus notes. A fragrance for the summer maybe? 

The other bottles in the set are Grapefruit a unique fresh zingy scent, Orange Blossom a floral citrus perfume Pomegranate Noir a warm woody smell and Blue Agava and Cacoa a warm spicy smell with a hint of chocolate! I really do love all six and I'm sure there are more, particularly Nutmeg and Ginger and Wild Bluebell, both sound divine!

Annoyingly this set is only available on a British Airways flight through the in air shopping magazine, I have checked the BA site and you can't buy it online. If you are on a BA flight anytime soon this set is £50 - link-  and a fabulous introduction to the brand. I love that there a six bottles to try as Jo Malone is generally only available online or in a couple of large department stores in London or big cities in the UK. I certainly don't have access to it out here in the sticks and I wouldn't be willing to buy online just based on the names and descriptions. There are a couple in here I would never have tried based on names alone.

Have you got any Jo Malone faves?

xoxo

2012 Lust List

The new year is always a time for reflection on the year past and an exciting time to look forward to things to come in the year ahead. These are some of the items I'll be saving for and splurging on this year!

1. Ray-Ban 4147 Sunglasses

2. Accessorize Spot Scarf

3. Mulberry Alexa

4. Monsoon Astrid Coloured Jeans

5. OPI Holland Collection

6. Jo Malone Amber and Lavender Cologne

7. Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin Cologne

8. Sisley Radiant Glow Mask

9. Sisley Facial Buffing Cream.

10. iPad

What are you planning to purchase in 2012?

xoxo

NOTD - OPI Bring On The Bling

OPI's Bring On The Bling from last years Burlesque collection has been on my wanted list for a long time. I finally found it at a stand at The Clothes Show at the beginning of December as soon as I saw it I grabbed it!

With flash

Without flash

I have included both pictures, however the colour is truer in the picture without the flash although the previous picture shows of all the different colours in the glitter. I was surprised at the amount of green and red glitter in the polish as I was always sure it was mostly gold. In reality it is a mix of gold, silver, green and red and its gorgeous! I used it over Orly Luxe as Bring On The Bling is not opaque and would need three or four coats to get that look.

Wear time was poor unfortunately, I only had this manicure for about 12 hours as the polish literally popped off my nails sometime in the afternoon! Despite the poor wear on my fingers, on my toes it lasted weeks! I can forgive the polish for jumping off my nails as glitter is notoriously brittle and prone to this action anyway.

I'm so pleased I have this one in my collection, I feel like it's a bit of a collectors one after all the buzz around it last Christmas, it was the Rainbow Connection of 2010!

xoxo

NOTD - Polka Dots

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year celebrations and aren't feeling too fragile today! I had a late night and a very leisurely morning all I've done today is look around the internet at furnishings, watch You Tube videos and eat my Mum's amazing homemade sausage rolls! 

I did muster up the energy to paint my nails earlier today with the gorgeous Essie Mint Candy Apple but I felt it needed something else. I've always wanted to do a polka dot manicure but I don't have a dotter and have never got round to buying one! Still keen to try out my Topshop Nail Art Pen I bought in December I thought I'd give it a go with the pen!

I'm pleased with the outcome but I wish I had done them a bit more uniform. I found the pen very easy to use on my left hand hand but almost impossible the other way around my right hand's dots are bigger and a bit messier. I found I had to go over the dots to make them more opaque, the first coat of white was a bit watery for my liking. I love the look, the white dots on a duck egg base remind me of a Cath Kidston fabric and it feels a bit vintage. I think I'll invest in a dotter if I do this again. I really want the dots to all be the same size and not looking so random! 

xoxo