Christmas to New Year Nails

I popped into Superdrug on Saturday for some last minute makeup for the festive period and a lovely lady came over and asked if I wanted to have my nails done in store with gel polish all for £15! I of course said yes! Less than a week before Christmas and I had completely forgotten to book myself in to get my nails done and to be honest decided I was never going to get an appointment this late so gave up! Well this was just serendipity!

I decided to go for this very festive sparkly gold. As it is a gel polish it should last for at least two weeks if not more taking me safely past New Year’s Eve – perfect!

It catches the light beautifully.

So I am all ready for Christmas and New Year!

 

Christmas Wish List – Just the One

This year I am going to do just one HUGE Christmas Gift list or wish list, these are things that I have seen over the last few months that I love either for myself, friends or family.

Starting with accessories..

Shoes are always a great gift especially when they look this special. Dune Cristina two part lace up court shoes in grey (£79).

Mejuri is a new jewellery shopping destination for me and I fell in love with this White Velvet Ring (U$94)

I also love this Billow Cuff from BaubleBar’s Olivia Palermo’s collection ($68)

Had to have a fedora in here and seeing as I don’t yet have a burgundy one this one from Jigsaw (£49) is perfect.

I love a bit of faux fur – love this multi coloured stole from Asos (£32).

 

I absolutely love this Willow Cashmere chunky knit wrap with suede fringe (£235)..I know at that price I can keep dreaming!

Moda in Pelle Amicascarf £49.95 I spotted this a few weeks ago and I think the lace detail is just stunning.

Because I love lace, H&M Lace Body in Black (£19.99)

Oliver Bonas Darya Dazzling Clutch (£34), whats not to love?

If only going to the market could always be this glamorous! Skoura Multi Silver Sequin Stars Shopping Basket (£45)

A friend sent me this link and I was immediately smitten with everything in this shop. Hawkhouse (Etsy) Raw Opal Ring (£45)

Homeware next..

I am obsessed with terrariums and this one is stunning. West Elm Brass Cage Terrarium (£59)

This is my new favourite shop – gorgeous and ethical. Nkuku Mohani Lantern (£36.95-£49.95)

I adore everything from Graham and Green and if you are super super lucky someone may well get you this incredible Danube Carriage Mirror (£495 ouch!)

Skincare and Makeup

Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Cleansing Balm (£46), because all things Sunday Riley are heavenly…

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette (£65). I don’t think I need to explain this..

Charlotte Tilbury Nocturnal Cat Eyes to Hypnotise (£29) because Charlotte Tilbury just has to feature!!

I love this gorgeous nail polish trio from new brand Smith & Cult (£47 online). The bottles alone are beautiful!

Had to include my new favourite bath oils from Lola’s Apothecary Inner Light Ritual – Delicate Romance (£50.00).

Sport..???

Lululemon the Reversible Mat 5mm (£62). I will be investing in one of these next year.

Children

Nacotopocoto (Etsy) Rag Dolls, more like works of art.

What a beautiful party dress that any little princess couldn’t resist from Zara kids (£17.99)

 

 

Autumn Makeup Wardrobe – New Beauty @ H&M

H&M have recently launched a new range of beauty products and of course I had to take a look and see what was being offered! I have to say I was extremely pleasantly surprised.

I was after some new nail polishes to start my “autumn makeup wardrobe” and their range did not disappoint. There were so many gorgeous colours to choose from but I finally managed to narrow it down to four perfect reds (£3.99 each). The polishes are really opaque and two coats were more than sufficient. I used Essie Gel Setter as a top coat and the colour stayed chip free for almost 5 days! The four reds I went for were from darkest to light – True Tyrian, Red Carpet, Bordeaux and Red Over Heels.

Below is True Tyrian.

The next section that caught my attention was the eye shadows. Again the colour selection is amazing. I was looking for something completely different to anything I already have and this orangey red called In the Red was so perfect. I absolutely love how this looks on, its so unique yet so pretty and wearable (£4.99).

Finally I moved on to the lips section. There were loads of lipsticks, glosses, stains, creams, etc. It took many many swatches to decide on the Lipstick in Scarlett Fever (£7.99). This is a lovely brick red. The lipstick is creamy but lasts really well.

The second lip product I chose was the Velvet Lip Cream in Screen Siren (£6.99). This is a matt lip stain. I adore this colour, and it works so well with the eye shadow to create the perfect autumn look.

There were so many other products including foundations, blushers, powders, bronzers, palettes the list goes on!

Essie Master Plan – Perfect Nude

For my darker skin tone this is the most flattering nude I have found. Its Master Plan by Essie (£7.99). Its the perfect summer nude that looks chic and polished!

Sally Hansen Highway to Heaven

I was on the look out for a true grey when I spotted this colour by Sally Hansen. Its called Highway to Heaven and its from the Complete Salon Manicure range (£6.99)

This range of polish is meant to be a complete manicure in one polish – i.e. Base Coat, Strengthener, Growth Treatment, Colour , Top Coat, Chip-Resistant and Gel Shine!

I love this grey colour but have to say that this doesn’t last that well without a separate top coat – so not the miracle product I was hoping for but a good nail polish nonetheless!

Essie Bahama Mama

Love this Essie deep plum polish in Bahama Mama (£7.99). Its such a flattering colour that would suit any skin tone.

My Little Box January

This month’s My Little Box is an Energy Box. This is perfect for all of us kick starting our new year’s fitness regimes. I have to admit mine has stayed the same as last year, a bit of cross training, a bit of hot yoga and a bit of weights. Works for me!

So inside the box were several treats as always including a little magazine, a calendar and a sports bag.

Also included were a few beauty items all in a lovely cloth drawstring bag. I am getting quite a collection of these bags which is great as they are so useful for travelling!

So first is a energising face and body spritz from the Little Beauty range, also a Talika day moisturiser.

Finally a dark red Nails Inc nail polish in Tate.

 

 

 

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish

I recently had a manicure in a salon and they had these CND Vinylux Weekly nail polishes on sale there (2 for £20). I decided to give them a go. The top coat is meant to act like a gel topcoat keeping your manicure gooding for at least a week. You can use the topcoat over any nail polish but I decided that I loved this grey colour (101 Asphalt) so much I had to get it too.

The polish is applied without a base coat and exposure to natural light activates the “ProLight Technology” to give week-long wear. So you just apply two coats of the nail colour followed by one coat of the top coat.

Well the finish is certainly lovely and shiny but I have to be honest it didn’t last any longer than my usual nail polishes. Having said that I really like the formula and the grey is just so chic!

 

Plum and Rose Gold Nails

I absolutely love this combination of Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy in Hold’Em and Essie A Cut Above.

The Revlon colour is so unique and flattering. Its like a dark mauve/plum mix. The formula of these nail polishes are really good and the brush is the perfect square shape. Essie’s glitter top coat in this stunning rose gold is also really easy to apply and stays put.

 

 

My Little Box

I think I was watching a beauty blogger youtube video when I first heard of My Little Box. I was curious as although I am not a huge fan of miniatures this box seemed to be different. So after a quick browse of their website I decided to sign up for a monthly subscription (£14.95 including delivery) and see whether I liked it enough to keep subscribing.  Well I really lucked out for October as it was the Diane von Furstenberg collaboration! As you can see even the box looked amazing.

Inside there were various goodies including a Eau Micellaire from their own brand My Little Beauty.

A miniature L’Occitane hand cream.

A gorgeous pin from DVF

And the best of all a DVF scarf complete with cute instructions on ways to tie the scarf!

So I have to say that so far I am super pleased with my subscription and am very excited to see what I get next month!!