My Top Summer Nail Picks

When the sun is shining there's only a few requirements to abide by, legs out, sunglasses on, cocktail in hand and nails must be bright! Neon nails are by far my favourite, they look amazing with a tan and instantly add a little something to an otherwise plain outfit. These are the nail varnishes that have been gracing my fingers and toes recently.

Tart Deco was my first ever Essie polish and started my love affair with the brand, it's the most perfect bright coral and I can't rave about the formula enough. I received London Calling in last months Birchbox and was a little disappointed because I had my eye on the coral shade in this collection but once I got it on that was long forgotten! It looks almost pastel in the bottle but once this is on it's the most striking neon, I don't own anything else like this it really is a unique shade. Unfortunately you can't purchase this alone, it comes in a set of 4 but the other 3 shades are gorgeous as well so that's just a bonus! In The Cab-ana (Full review here) is on my nails as I type, I seem to lean towards blue shades at this time of year but this is the best one I've come across. It's the colour you'd expect the sea to be at some 5 star honeymoon resort in the Caribbean - beautiful! I had a bit of a Topshop nail splurge around this time last year and this is one that made it into my online basket but I don't think they sell it any more, although on the website at the minute there is a very similar (if not the same but renamed) shade called Carnival. This was my nail colour of choice for my holiday to Ibiza last year so it instantly puts me in a summery mood and maybe a little bit depressed that I'm not by the pool! It looks brighter in the bottle than it actually transpires on to the nail but it's still hardly what you'd call subtle! If you're looking for a nail colour that could blind someone then Big Yellow Taxi is for you, it's a bright, bright, bright sunny yellow and I would wear it a lot more often if it wasn't such a nightmare to apply, you have to be quite patient because it takes a while to make perfect but for a shade this summer bright a little patience isn't a lot to ask! I've saved the best until last - Models Own Hedonist. If I could only wear one nail varnish for the rest of my life then this would be it. It's hard to pin point the actual colour of this, it's a bit red, a bit pink, a bit orange and a bit coral but colour aside once applied this is a true neon, the brightest I own and even when I'm at the palest this highlights any hint of colour I might have, it's the perfect tan accomplice and hands down my number one summer nail pick!

Let me know your favourite summer nail varnishes, there's still room in my collection to add a few more brights! 

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Monthly Favourites | March 2013

I can't believe that April is only a couple of days away already - hello Birthday month!! I feel like March has been a proper pamper month for me and I've spent most of it covered in bubbles trying to make myself smooth, polished and glowing! This stupid confused weather has completely dried out my poor skin and has brought out all sorts of dry patches so when my skin is feeling thirsty I whack on a layer of Origins Make a Difference Plus + Rejuvenating Treatment overnight (It takes a while to sink in so I find it best as a night time cream) and by the morning my skin has took it all in and the dryness has reduced significantly also leaving my skin noticeably more plump looking. Another thing that has taken a beating this month has been my lips, this Sugar Rose Tinted Lip Treatment is courtesy of a Birchbox and has been my saviour, it smells delicious and leaves lips a nice subtle pink colour as well as being very moisturising and leaving them super soft and crack free. Another beauty box special and bath time favourite is this Monu Warming Aromatic Mask the idea is that you leave this on for 15 minutes after you've cleansed and toned and then wipe it off and reveal beautiful skin, I don't think I've ever seen my complexion so bright, I am definitely without a doubt going to be rebuying this. Soap and Glory The Daily Smooth is my new go to moisturiser (full review here) I love the easy to use tube and the gorgeous smell. I bought Essie Tart Deco because I thought spring was on its way and this was a perfect spring shade, I couldn't have been more wrong about the weather but even the snow hasn't stopped me from wearing this for most of the month, it's a one coat formula that seems to be indestructible! Last but certainly not least is my number one product of the month Benefit Fine One One (full review here) I feel like I owe my newly found cheekbones and a lot more to benefit for coming up with this product! Cheeks, lips, highlighting, contouring, tinting, need I say more?!

I hope that you're all having a lovely break away from work and are psyching yourselves up to eat the weight of your MAC collection in chocolate tomorrow, happy Easter lovelies!! 

Make do and Mend!

I am a great advocate of a feline flick of eyeliner and consider going out without it as horrifying as going out without clothes on so you can imagine my dismay when my eyeliner pen ceased to draw a flawless black line any more and I didn't have a back up (Boots doesn't exist where I live so this wasn't an easily solvable problem) knowing I wouldn't be able to replace it for a few days - after a bit of a panic - I persevered but ended up looking bloody awful. Then my Birchbox arrived and it was like my guardian angel had been listening to my prayers because there was a gel eyeliner and right then and there I decided I was forever in Birchboxes debt and would never, ever, ever cancel my subscription in thanks, that was until I tried out the gel eyeliner and couldn't get to grips with the little brush. At this point I was about to give up hope and go out with a naked top lid until I had a strike of inspiration and dipped my dried up eyeliner pen in the gel eyeliner which gave it a new lease of life! If you're like me and live in a village that doesn't have anything, you need to keep your eyeliner pen going until you can reach civilisation and don't get on using anything else to apply it with, if you've got something like a gel eyeliner knocking around then get dipping because that beautiful black line will be back!!

Today is absolutely miserable so just in case the weather is getting you down I'll leave you with a picture that made me giggle.

February Birchbox 2013

 

 

 

Birchbox £10 plus p&p

It's that time of month again! I was very underwhelmed by last months Birchbox and decided to give it one more month and if the contents of this box didn't get me excited then I was going to unsubscribe but that won't be happening as they've come back with a gem this month! The theme of the box was London Fashion Week and this is what I got:

Gerda Spillmann Bio Fond Cream Foundation - I've never heard of this brand before but according to the Birchbox magazine it's been used on a few films including Bridesmaids (Best. Film. EVER!) but unfortunately this shade is a bit too dark for me and I pose the risk of looking like a Jersey Shore extra if I wore it now, but maybe in the summer when I've got a bit of a tan it'll suit me better!

Korres Guava Shower Gel - I am so exited to use this!! I can't even explain how good it smells!

Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Plump N' Thick Leave in Thickening Mist - I love anything that promises voluminous locks, I can't wait to try it.

Vichy Thermal Spa Water - This is the perfect handbag size and that's exactly where this has gone, I think I'll get a lot of use from this for when I need a make-up refresher.

EBOOST Natural Energy Booster - This was a lifestyle extra and I guess I'll give it a go when I need a boost of energy? Although I usually just have a nap!

Birchbox Eyelash Curler - Yay!!! My eyelash curler has been broken for ages and I never got round to replacing it and now I don't have too, thank you Birchbox!!

Did anyone get anything different in their box this month? Send me your links so I can have a look!

Au Revoir Joliebox, Hello Birchbox!!

Birchbox, £10 plus £2.95 p&p

So Joliebox has been re-branded and is officially Birchbox! I was really excited when I got the email about this because I saw a Gossip Girl themed box ages ago and if Birchbox loves Gossip Girl then I love Birchbox.

I love the new packaging, the box is plain but still cute with the bright pink accents and instead of the black drawstring bag there's a pink one which I much prefer to all that shredded paper that gets EVERYWHERE!! You also still get a magazine which I think is loads better than the Joliebox one, the content and products featured are a lot more relateable to the things I want to use and buy.

Now onto the contents, this is what was in my box:

♥ Fresh Sugar Rose Lip Treatment
♥ KMS California Free Shape Quick Blow Dry
♥ WEI Jujube Age Control Serem
♥ Wild Romantic Body Butter
♥ I Colonialli Deep Body Massage Cream
♥ Teapigs Peppermint Tea

To be completely honest I was a bit disappointed with the contents, I expected them to relaunch with a bang and maybe include a well known brand but discovering new brands is never a bad thing! I'm most excited about trying the blow dry spray and the lip treatment but hope that next months box is a bit more exciting!