As you guys know I'm never allowed to paint my nails whilst working so whenever I have a few days off I've been reaching for my favourite polishes. One of my all time favourite polishes is Barry M's Blue Moon.

I think pastel colours are by far my favourite no matter the season. This pastel blue is one of the best pastel's I've come across. The consistency is very thin, almost to the level of watery which some may think is awful and usually I would too, however the photo I've used here is only two coats and it's fairly opaque. I've also never had a problem with this polish chipping, so I'm usually able to leave this one on for usually at least a week.

This may not be a very Autumn/Winter colour but I still love it. 

xxx

NOTD: Purple & Silver Glitter:

I very rarely do nails of the day but I'm so in love with this look that I had to take a few pictures. I always love a glittery accent nail because it adds a little sparkle but is so much easier to get off than having glitter on every nail.

For my main nails I used Nails inc. in Marble Arch which I have to say is probably my favourite shade at the moment. Its a beautiful light pink almost lilac colour which I find goes will with anything, and both short and long nails.

For the accent nail I used the Fearne nail varnish in Devilish Diamonds which is a very fine silver glitter shade. It's very opaque so you it's not just chunks of glitter but a block of shimmering silver.

That's all for this post, I personally really like seeing people's nails, but let me know what you think? 

xxx

Healing Hands; Hand Cream, Cuticle Butter & Nail Strengthener:

I think it's very important to look after your hands, after all they do show age well and in my opinion to look after your hands shows that you look after yourself.

The Vaseline healthy hands and stronger nails handcream contains both keratin and stratys which are very moisturising. I find that it sinks in fairly quickly and makes your hands feel very soft and well looked after. I can't describe the smell but it's really refreshing. I'll admit there's nothing extra special about this handcream that makes me want to yell about it from the rooftops but it does what it was made to do and for that I'll keep using it. 

This Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter (is not only fun to say but also) is amazingly moisturising. The texture is a little strange it's almost bitty when you take some out but as you rub it in the bits seem to disappear and melt into the skin. It's things like that which confirm to you just how much time and effort LUSH go into with hand making all their products. The tiniest little dab of this and you can do every cuticle on your hand a little goes an extremely long way. It can be used for more than just your cuticles it can be used on any extremely dry areas of skin. It does leave an oily residue on the skin which sinks in over time, personally I like that especially before bed as it makes you feel nice and pampered. Last but not least the lemon scent is incredible!

Rimmel bought out their Nail Nurse range a while a go and my mum went crazy for it buying, I think, every product in the range.The Nail Rescue nail hardening treatment is my favourite. It lasts 14 days, you apply a coat for the first two days of both weeks then spend the rest of the days letting it work its magic, sinking into the nails. I'll admit I don't quite know how it works but the more I grow my nails and paint them the thinner and more flimsy I found them, whereas know I feel like they're so much stronger and less likely to break. 

That's all for this post I hope you enjoyed it, please do let me know in the comments if you did and also if you have any requests for review or other posts.

xxx

GRWM: Boyfriend's Birthday Meal:

 This is going to be my first ever Get Ready With Me, so I hope you enjoy it and let me know if you'd like to see more.

The first thing I do in the morning is workout, this isn't something I ever used to do. I don't go crazy with it but I find that it's made changes to my body already and makes me so much more confident. I then go downstairs and eat my breakfast whilst watching Keeping Up With The Kardashian's. I just love that show, my non-guilty pleasure.

I then had a bath, in the bath lately I've been using Head & Shoulders Smooth & Silky shampoo and conditioner, because I've been suffering from dandruff lately so this makes a nice difference. 

As for my body I've been using Soap & Glory's Sugar Crush set.

Out of the shower I first put on my deodorant, currently Right Guard Extreme Dry. The I applied a face mask (Soap & Glory's No Clogs Allowed) since my skin just doesn't seen to know what to do with itself lately. After washing off I used my Botanics Rose Water Toning Spritz, which I let sink in then applied my vitamin E day cream from The Body Shop and Puffy Eye Attack eye cream from Soap & Glory. 

For my body I continued along the Sugar Crush road finishing off with their moisturiser. Then applied yet another Soap & Glory product, this time their foot cream Heel Genius. As for the hands I used Vaseline's Healthy Hands and Stronger Nails cream, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter from LUSH and painted my nails, using Max Factor's Glossfinity in Forever Glam.

I actually used heat on my hair for once! To protect it and help the curls straighten I applied John Frieda's 3 Day Straight. This has it's own day by day review, if you'd be interested in reading it then click here.

I didn't do much to the face I went very minimalist with very light products since, as I've said, my skin is pretty much in meltdown. My dress was from GAP, but sadly last year so I doubt very much you'd be able to track it down now. My shoes we're from Primark, but again sadly last year.

I hope you enjoyed this post if you would like to see more Get Ready With Me type posts then please do let me know.

xxx

Top 5 Summer Nail Varnishes:

I've done this post every season since I started my blog, I've done Winter and Spring so far and now's the time for Summer.

First is the Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Grapefruit, this is a lovely colour, perfect for Summer. It's a nice glossy colour too as the name suggests. I always associate grapefruits with Summer and I think I'll definitely be using this a lot over the season.

Another Barry M polish is the Limited Edition colour Carousel. I didn't think I'd like this colour much when I first got it but it's really grown on me. Again it's a perfect one for Summer as it's a lovely coral colour with a golden shimmer to it. It should suit any outfit too.

This Model's Own polish was my prom polish, it's a real bright neon in the colour Luis Lemon. This too has a nice glossy finish and lasts ages, it takes a few coats to get a nice opaque colour like this but I'd say it's worth it. Obviously being such a neon colour it stains the nail but I think it's really worth it.

It wouldn't be Summer without a nice bright pink, this is the colour Forever Glam. It's one of the Glossfinity editions from MaxFactor, and claims to last for seven days.

Lastly is the Nails inc. polish in Reeves Mews, I know it's not for everyone but I'm a real fan of blue nail varnish and this is a nice bright one for Summer. I actually think this is my favourite of the lot. I've worn this on many a holiday, and it always has me thinking of sun and Summer.

That's all for my Summer polishes, but what about you? Let me know in the comments what your favourite nail varnishes are. I'll see you all on Thursday!

xxx

Shop My Stash #1:

I first saw a shop my stash in the lovely Zoe (Zoella) and Louise's (SprinkleofGlitter) video from ages and ages ago, but I'm sure it's been done before. I wanted to give it a go, if you've no idea what a shop my stash is then basically you go through all your products and find some gems that you want to get more use of or have forgotten about.

First thing's first for me are these Nails inc. nail varnishes. I have the shades (l-r)  Marble Arch, West Hampstead, Keats Grove, Park Walk, Oakley Street, Reeves Mews and Carlton Gardens. I got these for my 16th birthday which seems so long ago now, but I've hardly ever used them, not because I don't like them but because I was in the mindset of no I can't use them they're too nice I'll save them. But I realise now that if I don't use them I'll just be being silly and wasting them. Why not make the most of having the nice things while they're there? I've got a good range of colours too so I should be able to make the most of them all year round. 

In terms of make up, I've the GOSH trio eye shadow in Metallic Rose, this is another old present I got when I was much younger, fell in love with and decided to save it for a special occasion. I still really love the colours, so now I'm making sure I use it expect to see me in some shimmery pink and grey eye looks soon! I also have the Accessorize merged blusher in bombshell, this is more of a bronzer and as I got this around Christmas time where I go for much more pale looks it gradually got pushed to the back of my drawer and forgotten about, but I've luckily found it in the Summer so fingers crossed I'll be able to bronze it up soon and it'll get the use it deserves.  

Some of you may remember this serum from a very long time ago, it was one of my first ever posts. I used it loads when I first got it but new products came and got used and it was lost, but I recently took it with me on holiday and it really tamed the best that my hair can become in the heat, so for that reason I want to make sure I get my use out of it!

This is another old EJEbeauty feature, this was in my old skincare routine post (I think I'll be doing an updated one soon). I love it I just tend to forget to scrub my face on a regular basis, which I think is the only reason It's not yet been used up. I'm on a real skincare hype at the moment though so I'm going to be making a real conscious effort to give it the use it needs.

This too was in my skincare routine, I had been using it in place of a night cream, but now I've got myself a proper one so although this was good on my skin it was quite greasy for my face, I can now use the last of it on my body until it's empty.

As I'm trying to grow my hair I'm washing my hair less and less, which means I'm sure I'm going to be reaching for this more and more, I like the fact it's brown tinted too so I hopefully wont have those horrible tell tale grey patches in my hair that dry shampoo so often comes with.

That's all for my stash, what about you? I really recommend giving this a go if you;re a hoarder when it comes to products you'll find some gems and maybe clear out stuff that's perhaps past it#s best too. Until next time.

xxx

His & Her's Holiday Haul (Brighton Edition):

As you know if you saw my birthday post my boyfriend Myles took me to Brighton for a week as a present, and boy did we shop...A LOT!

I'll start by showing you the stuff Myles bought for himself:

He got himself some nice smart looking suede shoes, from Front London. They're a nice bluey grey colour (as a side note you may be thinking this a very zoomed in picture, but no he has huge size 13 feet).

On the very first day we got him some sunglasses from a brand called Tinc, they're a really nice matte black and a good shape too. For a tenner they look good and strong too.

He also fell in love with this Timex watch, and picked it up for 60 pounds. It is absolutely beautiful with light brown straps.

I bought him these beats headphones, in the red colour he wanted, but he's not allowed to have them until his birthday in August, which he's not too pleased about.

Having lost so much weight lately Myles has been in need of a whole new wardrobe which he's started putting together now. As well as a big travel bag for University, he picked up from Jack Wills a white T-shirt, with the logo on, and a navy blue one with a much smaller more subtle logo and a pair of light blue summer shorts.

He also picked up a big pack of Calvin Klein socks.

As well as this he picked up 2 DVD's (Meet the Parent's and You, Me and Dupree). The last thing he was extremely happy about. He bought himself a PS4 which came with the game Killzone Shadow Fall, and he picked up Fifa14.

Now for the good stuff! Prepare yourself...

First stop, Soap & Glory (which I love). Most of the stuff I bought was skincare because I'm on a real skincare hype right now, I picked up No Clogs Allowed self heating mask, the Face Soap & Clarity face wash, Puffy Eye Attack eyecream, Heel Genius foot cream (which I believe is my third repurchase) as well as the full Sugar Crush range, body wash, scrub and butter.

More skincare, this time from The Body Shop, I picked up the Vitamin E moisture serum, as well as the night cream. Also the Seaweed Mattifyng day cream. Along with that I got the Honey Bronzer in shade 3, since everyone and they're Mum seems to swear by it, to tick a box from my wishlist I got the Aloe Body Butter, and free with all of this I got Peppermint Cooling Foot Spray.

To use in the hotel, we picked up the Pantene ProV Smooth & Sleek shampoo and conditioner which will definitely be coming home with me because they really do work.

From River Island I got this absolutely stunning bag, it's much smaller than all the rest of my bags which is a big reason I bought it because since I'm not at school any more I don't need to drag around half the stuff I used to. Also It's a beautiful mint green colour, can be worn with or without the strap, and has some pretty gold detailing (usually I'm not a fan of gold but I think it really works with this bag). Basically, I'm completely in love with it.

This is my first ever Cath Kidston purchase, which I'm most pleased about, I wanted a pretty thermos flask to take tea and hot chocolate around with me, especially for University and this one is just gorgeous! a lovely faded looking  floral pattern, with a light pastel blue case and lid, it's almost as if I designed it myself!

I didn't pick up much clothes stuff, but I did get some gorgeous winter boots (as you do on your Summer holidays) which have thick knitted socks built in and a good tread to stop me slipping around, this was from a brand called Salt & Pepper which I've never heard of before, but if they stock more shoes like this I'm definitely going to have a look for more. I also went to T.K.Maxx and got a pair of tight pair of black stretchy trousers with elasticated sides, I thought they'd look much classier and last much better than just putting legging on with everything as well as being that much warmer too. Lastly, I picked up some Jack Wills jogging bottoms for round the house which are ridiculously comfortable! It's nice to have some new ones too because as much as you shouldn't worry about what your round the house clothes mine were getting ridiculous. 

This make up bag was from a cute little shop in the Lanes, it's a good size compared to my old one and is a strong hessian material so it should last me ages. The new makeup to go in my bag is three Barry M nail paints, in Blue Moon, a Gelly HiShine in Grapefruit and Limited Edition one in Carousel. I ticked another product off my wish list in the VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir in Argan Oil, as well as a M.A.C lipstick in Girl About Town. I repurchased the Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation and Maybelline The Falsies mascara and picked up the Bourjois Java Rice Loose Powder to use as a highlight.

From Lush I picked up the Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter Catastrophe Cosmetic face mask and got a little charity pot moisturiser. 

From the Boots Botanics range I got Organic Rosewater Toning Spritz, and the All Bright Purifying Facial Scrub.

Sorry this has been a long post, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless, I'd just like to point out this post was in no way bragging, and I also wouldn't dream of spending this much money in a week usually but I'd been saving up a long time and it was a birthday treat. A lot of these products were either free or on sale too. I'll have a post about the holiday itself and what we got up too soon, so I'll see you then.
xxx

How to: Fix Your Gloopy Nail Varnish:

We've all been there you've got your base coat all nice and dry then you go to open an old favourite Nail Varnish that you've had for ages but haven't used in a while and it's a nasty gloopy mess. It always makes my heart sink a little when I see such a beautiful nail varnish in a bit of a mess it's never the same as before, it doesn't apply the same and doesn't look right when it's dry.

Well ladies I have your answer:

That's right Nail Varnish Remover, now don't worry you haven't clicked this post looking for help only for me to suggest that you take your nail varnish off and start again with a different colour. What I'm actually going to suggest is that you take a very very small amount of the remover (just a drop or two) and put it in your nail varnish bottle. Then, close your nail varnish and shake everything together. As long as your nail varnish hasn't been left so long that it's beyond help when you open the bottle up again it should be as good as new.

I hope this tip helps you out a little and if you use it and it works then please let me know in the comments. 

xxx

How To Dry Your Nail Varnish Instantly:

And for free too! 

 This one's going to be another one of those quick tip little posts that seem to go down really well. I can't remember where I read this but a few years a go I discovered that if you immerse your hands in cool water after you've painted your nails then they will instantly dry.

That's right all you need is a little bowl of water. Although usually I just fill up the sink, but for the purposes of it looking a little better and not having to use the dodgy lighting in my bathroom I've used a bowl here. Because all you need is water it means that this tip is totally free. 

After you take your hands out of the water be careful drying them because if you drag them around on a towel then it will disrupt the nail varnish and look ridiculous. Also make sure you're using completely still water with no bubbles in it because the bubbles will settle on your nails and when they come off the nail they will leave a strange pattern of dimples along the nail.

I hope you enjoyed another little tip and if you did or if you try this out please let me know in the comments. Also if you've got any beauty tips then please feel free to leave them in the comments it would be nice to get a bit of a discussion going.

xxx