Bootie Call

I arrived back from France to a little box outside my front door! I had ordered these adorable boots about three weeks ago, they went out of stock before my order was posted so I had to wait.

I have always been intrigued by Uggs but they don't really go with my style of dressing however I wanted a pair of cozy little boots that were a bit smarter and these little pixie ones seemed to suit my style.

I ordered them from the Johnny B section from Boden, it's aimed more at teenagers but they have some really cute stuff. They cost £64 but I bought them for £44, I had a 20% off code and a £10 gift voucher, I'm not sure I would have paid full price for them, although they are leather and really well made.

I'll be wearing them with leggings and my ginger coloured cord skirt and bright tights. They can be worn turned up or down and I like either way! 

Heres a link!

I've not had a chance to wear them properly yet, only around the house and I think I'm going to love them this winter!

xoxo

Shiny and New!

On my travels I had to leave behind a toiletry bag due to weight restrictions on my luggage, how is a high maintenance girl to survive with only 15kg?! I decided to leave the things I could buy here so first day dans la supermarche I had a look around the toileteries aisle.

I'm afraid I'm a bit of a shampoo snob and I tend to choose more luxury brands than the high street ones, I left my Label M faves behind. I skipped past the Herbal Essences, had a bad experience with them in the past, and honed in on the Bio section, the organic and natural area.

I was drawn towards this brand, Le Petit Marseillais, they had a large range and I started to notice the brand in other areas. I wanted something similar to what I'd left behind which was Honey and Oat so I chose the Shea Butter and Honey range. I can't quite remember how much they were but the conditioner was under €5 and the shampoo was under €3. 

I was blown away the first day I used them! My hair was gloriously shiny and soft. When I wash my hair here it tends to go very flat and limp and I usually hate it! I think it's something to do with the soft water. The scent is lovely, just like honey. The conditioner is thick and buttery and my hair loves it!

I also needed some shower wash and I would prefer to get something natural or organic so I stuck to Le Petit Marseillais.

I chose this one because of the scent, it smells just like my Elemis bath milk I have at home but for less than €3! Again it's lovely, really creamy and it leaves a lovely scent on my skin. I have fairly sensitive skin and moisturisers and shower products often leave me with red skin, nothing like that here!

I am so impressed with these I'm taking them home, I was just going to leave them here for next time. I'm not sure how natural or organic they are, it's not really mentioned on the bottles much and my French isn't good enough to understand everything on the back. I have had a nosey around their website and they are promoting a natural scene and seem concerned about the planet, all good in my book!

xoxo

Full Speed Ahead!

The weather here in France is amazing! We have had three days of 25c and three or four more to come, incredible for this time of year. I am pretty far south so the weather is fairly good anyway but I'm in for a shock when I get home! 

The nice weather has given me a chance to wear some of my favourite summer items again! Hurrah!

I have got my black jersey H&M maxi out! I love this dress, so easy to wear and it looks great. I will defintely get more in other colours next year, hopefully a brown one! I always wear it with a belt, this tan one os also from H&M. My skull scarf is from Miss Selfridge and my cropped denim jacket is from Topshop, probably one of the best items of clothing I have ever purchased! I grimaced at pay £45 or so for it but I don't regret it one bit! It started off a bit chilly this morning so I needed the jacket but it has come off now! My trusty yellow Tabitha Saturn is the only bag I brought, well 15kg is not a lot to bring for 10 days so I chose my bag to go with everything!

I promised an FOTD with one of my new lippies, well here we are!

I chose to wear the Sheen Supreme lipstick in Full Speed. I bloomin' love it!

It's a bright coral pink and soooo super glossy. It has a slight frost to it and it reminds me of Made With Love mixed with a bit of Costa Chic. The lipstick itself is lovely to wear, soft and shiny, I love it. I'll certainly look at others in the range.

On a side note I've not painted my nails for days! I can't wait to do a proper manicure later! I guess I get a bit lazy with my make up on holiday anyway! Besides, it's only me and my mum here and we've been gardening the last couple of days! 

xoxo

Mini MAC Haul!

Bon soir! I'm in France this week and on the way here I indulged in a spot of Duty Free MAC!

I travelled on Friday last week and I knew that the new collections would be out. I was so disappointed to get through security and find they hadn't got them yet! 

My Mum and I were helped by an amazing MUA, she was so helpful and really wanted us to find things that worked for us not just to sell us any old thing. When I asked if she had the new collections she took me to a hidden drawer full of new makeup and I got to have a play around with the newest collections!

First up my newest obsession, lip products! I had a look around at the existing collections and chose something from the Style Driven collection, a Pro Longwear Lipglass in Whoops! I wore it today and I can honestly say it was amazing! Not just the gorgeous coral colour, the colour that flatters me the most, the products longevity is immense! I applied it in the morning and it saw me right through to the afternoon and if I hadn't been such a pig a lunchtime it would have lasted through lunch too!

Secondly I fell in love with a Sheen Supreme lipstick in Full Speed, it's a really bright pinky coral. Another style of product I have yet to try, the Sheen Supreme lipsticks are so creamy and glossy,  j'adore!

Finally on the lip splurge I bought an Amplified lipstick from one of the newest collections, Fall Colour in the Wild Colour section of this huge collection. Neon Orange is a very bright slightly reddy orange, barely neon but certainly bright. It feels a little late to be buying such a bright colour on the other hand it seems perfect to offset the rusts and mustards for the autumn.

My final purchase was a bit of a lemming buy! 

The Mineralize Skinfinish in Lightscapade. I'd seen a few of my blogging and YT companions confess to their purchase on Twitter and had noticed it had sold out online in two days online. Presented to me in the assistants secret drawer I knew it had to be mine! I straight away said "Put it through the till!" It's a blue toned sheer highlighter with lilac and peach veins running through it. I have worn it a couple of times and I kinda like it but I don't love it yet. I'll keep working with it.

I'll do some pictures of me wearing them soon, I didn't do them today as I had a bit of a dodgy hair day today after attempting to let my hair air dry, I can promise I will not do that again soon!

xoxo

Petit Purchases

Evening!

I bought a couple of cool new autumnal items this week and I thought I'd share. The weather here has been amazing for the time of year, in fact hotter than many of the days of summer! So some of my purchases are not entirely appropriate just yet but soon I'll be enjoying them!

Magnetized Nail Polish from 17 at Boots. I bought three of these as they are on 3 for 2 at the moment, I'm sure my Mum will pinch one of them! I really want to get a Nails Inc one but I got all three of these for the price of one of those! I'll get one soon. I tried out the green one last night but I kept hitting my nail with the magnet and ruining the polish. I loved the look but I got annoyed and gave up. I'll try again this week!

H&M polish in Envy. This was a "picked it up by the till" purchase! It's amazing emerald green glittery shimmer caught my eye! It's a stunner!

Zigzag and mustard tights from H&M. I already have a pair of the mustard tights and these are a back up, they only had two pairs left and I have loads of autumn clothes I can wear them with. The zigzag pair caught my eye as I love the Missoni style pattern, they have an orange base with a black design.

Red suedette brogues from Accessorize. I have picked this up and put them back so many times recently, I bought them this time as they were half price! £15, barg! I love the brogue style and I really wanted a heeled pair but I love the colour of these. 

Can't wait to wear them!

xoxo

What I Wore This Week!

This week I was certainly on a cool toned polish theme!

I started the week with one of my favourite Nails Inc polishes, Albert Place. Its a fresh pale cornflower blue. I absolutely love it, I got it in a five piece set in the summer, I wore it for three days! It looks fab with white.

Then I wanted to wear a grey polish as I was wearing grey and white for work, I couldn't decide between a darker shade or lighter but plumped for OPI Skull And Glossbones. I only wore it for the one day but I enjoyed it, it has a slight green undertone and looks quite nude toned on the nail.

Then on Friday I chose to go with H&M's Spending Cash With Carl to go with my new Zara cardi and my rust dress. I bloomin' love this one! It has an amazing shimmer in the polish without being glittery, it apples wonderfully with no streaks. I have to admit to getting a bit bored of the shade after two days but I couldn't stop looking at my nails for those 48 hours! I urge you to get this one if you see it in your H&M, it's in the older style packaging so I'm not sure how available it is. I will certainly be reaching for this one again this winter, it looked amazing against the rust dress.

I caught up with Keeping Up With The Kardashians Bora Bora episodes last night, the girls were all rocking bright, neon shades and I was totally envious so expect to see something of that nature next week, they looked ah-mazing!!

xoxo

Biking, Blackberries and Baking :)

I went off for a little bike ride in some local woods today, I am very lucky to live in such beautiful countryside and I can bike to the woods from my house. It's such a beautiful time of the year and with the weather being so lovely still I made the most of it! I stopped for lunch in the sunshine and cycled about 10 miles in total, sore legs tomorrow me thinks!

I stopped to pick some blackberries on the way home and I made some apple and blackberry muffins when I got in. I ate one for pudding :)

xoxo

Presents From A Pixie :)

Last week I was sent a lovely gift from Katherine aka ProductPixie. After streamlining her own polish collection Katherine offered me a box of surprises! And surprised I was! 

After some faffing around with the post office I ripped open the packaging in the street and was presented with my own little Glossybox, a lovely presentation box which I will keep! I was overwhelmed with Katherine's kindness as there were 3 OPI's in that box! I have yet to try any Ciate polishes so I am excited to use those and I love the Models Own Navy and the Bourjois grey/blue.

Thank you Katherine! 

Check out her blog here and follow Katherine on Twitter, she's hilar!

xoxo

What I Wore This Week!

I thought I'd share the polishes I'd picked out to wear this week since I don't always get the chance to do a NOTD and I'm sure they'd get a bit boring! 

I seem to average about three polish changes a week and I try to mix it up a bit in terms of colour, I want people to notice that I made the effort to change my nail varnish!

My first choice this week was a classic red, you can't beat it for feeling classy and polished! My favourite is this bright tone from OPI, Comet Loves Cupid.

Mid week I chose one of my newest additions, Topshop Miss Marmelade. I loved it for a couple of days then grew bored of it and it had started to show signs of wear, no chips but it kind of cracked a bit from using my hands at work!

Then this weekend I went with OPI Cuckoo For This Colour. A fave from last winter I haven't worn it since then and I had a sudden NEED, yes it was that strong, to wear it! I have had the most compliments for this colour this weekend, normally nobody at work bothers but I had three today and two yesterday! I just adore it, but it wears badly on the tips which is not a look I like.

I'm just pondering my next polish choice for the start of the week, maybe I'll do this again next Sunday?!

xoxo

Topshop Nails

These two stunners are my first try of Topshop's beauty range, I know I'm waaay behind but my local Topshop isn't big enough to stock it so I've rarely seen it! On a little shopping trip this weekend in a bigger town I came across the new Smoke and Mirrors collection, Topshop's AW11 seasonal collection.

I was instantly drawn in by the mustard yellow shade on the left. Miss Marmelade, I think they've spelt it wrong because I also notice they spell duffel, duffle which is wrong, but I'm quoting from the bottle. I wasn't sure if the colour would suit me but I knew I had to try!

I actually love it, it makes my hands look a little pink but I don't care! What I like is it is a soft yellow which suit me a lot more that the bold vibrant yellows of the summer. I know the colour will divide your opinions but I'm obsessed! Application was perfect, the brush was little thin but two coats gave a nice even glossy finish.

The second colour is called Fallen Leaf. How appropriate for the change in season!

The two looked so perfect together on the shelf I picked up this one too! I love the dusty tone of the green, it's like looking into a forest from a distance. I felt like this colour offered a nice contrast to the mustard clothing that is in the shops, I'm sure I'll end up with a mustard coloured cardi this winter! Application was fab too, two coats was all that was needed.

I adore the packaging, I prefer it to the normal range which is also very cute. I love the bronze lettering and Aztec style brush handle.

I'm impressed with the quality and I will surely look at the rest of the range. The Smoke and Mirrors collection also featured some very nice lipsticks, not in the store I was in though, and bronzers. I haven't seen these two particular polishes online but there is a very attractive dark brown shade. They were £6 each.

Tell me what you think of Miss Marmelade!

xoxo

Nails Inc Battersea Power Station

Nails Inc's Battersea Power Station was recently very kindly and generously sent to me by the fab Leanne from  the Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder blog. We have bonded over our love of Nails Inc and shopping on QVC and Leanne had been watching my Nails Inc video and tweeted me that she had the perfect polish for me in her stash. Unused by Leanne, she offered to send it to a new home!

This polish was in a set on QVC that was designed to go with a range on handbags that they were selling. I loved the polish at the time but didn't commit to the whole four piece set. This particular one was designed with tan handbags and accessories in mind, another obsession of mine! 

I adore the colour, I'm reminded of milk chocolate as well as my favourite tan handbag! This colour is also perfect for complementing the rust colours that are featured in every high street shop this season and according to Pantone a complimentary shade to the Spring 2012 palette. I bought a teal coloured dress yesterday and this will work perfectly as a contrasting colour for my nails!

I know this polish will split opinion and have have seen less than rosy descriptions of the shade however I am quite smitten. The application was fab as usual, two coats, glossy finish and no colour dragging.

So thanks again to Leanne, you made my day!

xoxo

NOTD - Nails Inc Seven Dials

Seven Dials from Nails Inc is a bright shade of turquoise that leans more toward green than the blue. I've wanted this polish for a long time, I love the hue and it's totally different from other minty or blue polishes I have. My only issue, and it's not the polishes fault, is that my top coat tends to yellow the colour. I think it's something to do with it being a fast drying one. Love this for the winter! 

xoxo

Chanel Graphite Dupe-ish!

Ok so this isn't really a dupe but more inspired by!

OPI Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous from last years Swiss collection is a gorgeous gunmetal grey packed with shimmer. I have to admit this isn't my own bottle, it's my Mums hence no swatch as she has taken it back to her house and she lives abroad! I did borrow it while she was here and it looked stunning, very shimmery and clearly grey not black. 

I also don't have Chanel's Graphite to show you a comparison as I went to buy it earlier this week and it was already sold out! I have seen the polish and person, it has more of a gold tone to it along with the silver, hence not a direct dupe. If it doesn't come back into stock I'll get my own bottle of Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous!

Do you guys have either of these?

xoxo

Autumn Aspirations

Autumn Aspirations

I have been out to do a little shopping today, mainly to have a look around the shops at my leisure and have a gander at the new Autumn clothing! I did buy a couple of things in H&M, pictures to follow! I am so into the rust colours and rich fabrics, wool, tweed and chunky knits!

I had to put all my findings together in Polyvore and I am using this as my inspiration for my winter wardrobe! I love summer, I really do but it has suddenly turned a bit chilly and it's so hard not to get swept up in the new seasons fashion when they come into the shops so early!

Most of the clothing in the picture is from Monsoon, as is most of my wardrobe!!

Have you seen anything you have to get for the winter yet?!

xoxo

Bath Time with Umi!

Whilst doing a little bit of food shopping last week in Waitrose I perused the toiletries aisle and my eye was caught by the classy packaging of these Umi products.

On the left is the Fig and Walnut Bath Soak. This smells divine, it's very manly and rich smelling. It comes in a glass bottle which on the one hand I'm always nervous about around the bath but I also the love the luxury feel of the bottle. My skin feels soft and I feel relaxed after a bath.

On the right is the Rice, Honey and Tamanu Shower Milk. Again this smells amazing, it smells soothing and it reminds me of clean clothes and fabric softener! If you are wondering, as I was, what is Tamanu? After a little Googling I can tell you it is an oil that is increasingly being used in skincare and bathing products. It helps to smooth the skin and can help with scars and marks although this product does not make those claims. I really enjoy using this in the morning and I'm sure I saw a body lotion that I may try too.

Umi is made by Waitrose although there is little branding to tell you this, which I also like about the packaging.  To me it feels like a high end spa brand but these products were less than £5 each! Umi uses ingredients from food, plants and flowers to "indulge the body and ease the mind".

Have you tried any Umi products? I know I'll be trying out something else from the range soon!

xoxo

OOTD!

I think I may have found one of my favourite outfits of the summer, shame we are coming to the end of it!

I just bought the cropped denim jacket on Friday, I have worn it with three different outfits in two days! It has been the perfect cover up as it's not exactly a hot summer here right now! It's from Topshop and it was £42, I chose the lighter colour as I'm not really a fan of the more blue toned denim jackets. My skirt you've seen before, from Monsoon, belt from H&M, probably my best purchase this summer! I love the colour of this simple vest top from H&M, its a pinky nude colour and the colour makes me look very tanned, or naked in the wrong lighting!!

I'm wearing this again ASAP!!

xoxo

Nails Inc comes to Sephora!

After much anticipation Sephora has now started to stock one of my favourite polish brands, Nails Inc. I am very pleased for my American friends as I really feel the brand deserves more success. I know there are split opinions on the brand but I personally love their colours, the quality and the exciting things to come from this British brand.

To help out newbies to the range I have taken pictures and done a little video on the polishes that I own from the basic range that Sephora are stocking, I was originally given the idea by a couple of You Tube followers!

Sephora are stocking 42 of the main colours in the Nails Inc line and they will have seasonal limited editions and special effect polishes throughout the year.

I have 19 of the main line, the topcoat and base coat and one of the special effect polishes.

Belgravia, Brook Street, Cadogan Square, Carnaby Street

Belgravia is one of those "Blurple" shades, I feel it's quite a recognisable shade from the range and I have noticed it on friends, I have to admit to only wearing it a handful of times.

Brook Street is a gorgeous summery coral, quite bright.

Cadogan Square I would describe as a true camel shade, it's not beige, greige or any other taupey colour, it's more yellow based and I find it very flattering, perfect for the upcoming season.

Carnaby Street is a vibrant egg yolk yellow! A statement polish for sure but unfortunately one that doesn't flatter my skin tone despite many attempt to get it to work!

Chelsea Square, Devonshire Row, Floral Street, Jermyn Street

Chelsea Square is a stunning sparkly rose glitter, I have loved wearing this on my toes and want to try it as a ring finger polish a la Lorraine of TheCurrentCustom!

Devonshire Row is a more pink based purple, I have to confess to preferring this type of purple that blue toned ones, I'll be wearing this one soon!

Floral Street was originally purchased for French manicure tips however I personally found it too thick for this use, it's great for using on a full nail for a nail art base or if you are confident enough to wear full on white manicure!

Jermyn Street is Nails Inc's You Don't Know Jaques. Their own version of the taupey nude colours. This one leans purple and is like than YDKJ.

Haymarket, Maddox Street, St John's Wood, St James

Haymarket is a gorgeous duck egg blue, amazingly pigmented and a one coater! One of my top ten polishes.

Maddox Street is a gunmetal grey, perfect shade for this autumn, it has a subtle shimmer to it.

St John's Wood is an interesting shade of purple, it definitely has a blue tone to it too, quite unique and I can't think of anything similar to compare it to.

St James is a classic pillar box red, a good staple if you have nothing like it.

Shoreditch, Tate, The Thames, Victoria

Shoreditch is my one of my original purchases, a vibrant bright pink. One of the only polishes I have re-purchased!

Tate, again one of my firsts is a classic deep burgandy, another good one if you have nothing like it in your collection.

The Thames, a grey creme, not too cool a shade again another fabulous colour for the next few months.

Victoria is a timeless blood red shade, one of Nails Inc's best sellers.

Warwick Avenue, Warwick Way, Wellington Square

Warwick Avenue is a sheer pale pink, one of those shades that you would use for a French manicure, I'll be honest I have never used it but I am keen to try it for a French mani soon!

Warwick Way is one of their newest shades, I have yet to try it but am excited to wear this bright teal shade soon, I must emphasise the brightness of this polish it's quite amazing!

Wellington Square has been one of my favourites from this summer, again a recent addition to their line it is a soft yet still noticeable peach.

Farringdon Crackle

I am so excited to wear this gold glitter crackle despite not being totally convinced I like the crackle trend yet, this is somehow different. I think it's because it's a glitter and not a solid colour. I will be wearing this over brown shades and teals this autumn!

Kensington Caviar base coat and top coat

Finally the start and finish of any of my manicures, which ever brand I am using. I love these as they have conditioning elements to them and the top coat in particular is amazing. 

It dries in 45 seconds and allows me to quickly change a polish if I want to but the best aspect of this top coat is the glossy, wet look finish it gives.

ALU has a list of all the colours in the line and at which Sephora stores they will go to, the whole range is online too.

Of the other colours on the list I can highly recommend Fouberts Place, this will be my next addition, it's an olive toned taupe and I love it! Sephora also has the new Autumn Winter four piece collection that I will be buying this week. I have also seen the special effects polishes that are coming this Christmas and they are blooming amazing!! I can't wait to get my hands on one!!

I hope that helps a bit, I know it was a bit of a long post but here's the video of me banging on about the polishes mentioned above!!

xoxo

NOTD - Essie Cute As A Button

Essie's Cute A Button is a summery, salmon, coral shade. It remains bright yet is demure and very attractive. I purchased this on my most recent polish buying binge and I am really pleased with the colour. It applied thinly and needed three coats. The colour is from Essie's Summer 2009 and collection but is a perfect colour for this summer too!

xoxo

Summer Smoky Eyes

I had a little play around with my new Bobbi Brown Tortoiseshell palette today, I'll admit the first time I used it I was a little disappointed, that's because I went straight for the gold colours which I normally favour. They left me a little flat and upset at my purchase.

Today I experimented with colour on my hand first and went for the darker shades in the palette, colours I don't have in my MAC palette.

I love this look!

I used Bronze on the inner corner and Copper Cocoa on the rest of the lid, then I tried a bit of Gold Nugget in the crease and centre and it lifted the look for a really bronzed summer eye. I then used MAC Fluidline in Dipdown, a brown liner, which I adore but mine is sooo dry I really must get a new one!

I finished off with MAC Dressmaker Dressmaker on my lips, and I can honestly say this is one of my favourite looks ever! I've felt quite glam, tanned and a bit sexy today! Unfortunately I was a bit all dressed up with nowhere to go but nevermind!

I'm writing this towards the end of the day and the shadows have lasted fantastically well on a hot stuffy day, I'm off to Zumba now so we'll see if they hold up during that!

xoxo

NOTD - Neon Leopard

Woah!

I thought I'd freshen up my China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy with a spot of leopard. I first did this look on my cousin in France, she loved it and so did I! 

I don't really know how to describe my feelings about this look other than amazing, tacky, cool, trashy and glitzy all at the same time! It reminds me of something WAH nails might do on a trendy girl going to Ibiza for a posh clubbing holiday! I bloomin' love it!!

Of course my camera can't capture the brightness of the neon base colour or the sparklyness of Orly Luxe but what do you think? Too much or the perfect summer manicure?!

xoxo