Although it's a little bit cloudy today, here in Co Durham, apparently we have a mini heatwave on the way at the beginning of next week, so in celebration of all of that potential sunshine, I thought I'd share a little nails of the day with you, from a couple of weeks ago.
Nails Inc are without a doubt one of my favourite nail polish brands, and I get a lot of my Nails Inc polishes from QVC UK. They do a lot of limited edition shades and great value bundles, and this particular shade, Poolside Paradise came in a set called Saved By The Beach which was a Today's Special Value from July 2019.
Poolside Paradise is a gorgeous summery, creamy coral shade, but it's one of those shades that just doesn't work that well on camera. These pictures are a pretty close representation of the colour but in real life it's probably a touch more orange toned and maybe a little bit darker but again it all depends on the lighting.
As per usual with Nails Inc, this polish features, a pull off lid, and a textured cap. The brush itself is quite wide which makes nail painting super easy on the majority of nails. I have chunky fingers and skinny nails though so I need to be a little bit careful with wide brushes to avoid overspill but otherwise this polish was a dream to apply.
The coverage was so good that I probably could have got away with one coat, but I went with two for a deeper, shinier, full coverage finish. It dried really quickly and it wore incredibly well even without a top coat. I did notice a bit of tip wear after about 3 days and a lot of typing, but it was still going strong when I finally removed it a week later.
There is a reason why I buy so many Nails Inc polishes and this polish sums it up perfectly, they're usually really easy to apply, the finish is usually spot on and they wear well. I think that this particular shade was either a limited edition or a QVC UK exclusive, so it will probably be pretty hard to find now, but it's definitely still out there I actually saw it on the TK Maxx website a few weeks ago, so maybe the discount and secondary market is the place to look. If you can't find this particular polish though and you love the colour, don't worry, I am sure that are plenty of similar coral colours out there. Are you still embracing summery polish colours? Let me know in the comments x
Isn't it always the way your nails look beautiful, they're long and strong, and they're in great condition, and then when you have a whole batch of polishes to photograph, they all snap off! Thankfully before all of the breakage happened I managed to shoot some photos for a few different nails of the days. A couple of them are re shoots which I will be sharing with you in the next week or so but this one is something brand new and right on trend.
You know me, I love a special offer, and I also love nail polish, so when Nails Inc and QVC UK teamed up together earlier this year to produce a fabulously, priced Today's Special Value collection, I had to add it to my basket.
The set in question was the 6 piece I Believe In Unicorns collection, which contained five mystical and fairytale themed nail colours and a top coat, and this is one of the colours from the kit, Carriage Gotta Wait.
Fairy tales, unicorns, mermaids, and other mystical and fantasy creatures are right on trend at the moment, and something else that is right on trend is copper and rose gold.
Carriage Gotta Wait is a beautiful rose gold, copper foil. It has a beautifully smooth finish but it's crammed full of glitter and sparkle.
In their newish style chunky, square bottle, this polish isn't only easy to hold, but thanks to the wide brush, it's also super easy to paint. The coverage on this polish is excellent and you could easily get away with one coat, but I've gone with two here for a full on finish.
This is a truly beautiful colour that's right on trend, and with the metallic finish and the sparkle it's perfect for the party season. It deepens and flashes when you move your hands and it compliments the rose gold packaging on something that I will be reviewing in the next week or so, perfectly.
Being as crammed full of glitter as it is, it wears incredibly well, even without a top coat. As you might expect it is a bit of a pain to remove, the gloss and the polish breaks down to leave a stubborn rough glitter coat, that takes a little bit of effort to remove. I've already worn this polish on 3 occasions though, because it is so easy to paint and because it looks so stunning on the nails. Who cares if it takes a few extra minutes to remove, if you want pretty princess, sparkly nails then this is the polish for you.
As I say this shade seems to be a QVC UK exclusive and seems to be only available as part of the I Believe In Unicorns collection, but the kit is still available on the QVC UK website, as is the accompanying auto delivery collection that I also got, Enchanted Elegance. If you're into all things mystical and magical, make sure that following my blog to keep up to date with all of my new posts. Providing my nails grow up a bit, I've got a few of Nails Inc's unicorn and mermaid themed products to review in the run up to Christmas, and if you like glitter and sparkle you definitely won't want to miss my reviews! Have you embraced the rose gold, or even the unicorn trend this season? Let me know in the comments x
In this world of flatlays and perfectly posed blog and Instagram pictures, props are everything and at the moment I'm loving using my brightly hued, autumnal toned fabric leaves. Here's the question though when does Autumn end and when does Winter begin. Hmm I can't decide so some of my up and coming pictures feature leaves, and some like the ones below don't. November is a tough one, whilst the weather is decidedly autumnal at the moment, winter is definitely on it's way - is it Autumn? is it Winter? I have no idea at the moment!
November is a funny month for me but I have to say it's started well (when I've been awake that is - my mum has nicknamed Sleeping Beauty this week). October was such a busy month for me, that I never seemed to get a lot of stuff done but already in November, I'm feeling motivated and enthusiastic that this will be the month when I sort my shit out.The pre Christmas declutter is in full swing, and I've already filled up 4 charity bags since Thursday! Go Me! When it comes to beauty decluttering though October wasn't the best of months Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream - 30ml AVON Senses Mystique Sensual & Romantic Shower Gel - 250ml Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo Normal To Dry Hair - 500ml
Total -5 Items
Try as I might I only managed to finish 5 items last month and two of those came in the last two days of the month. Still 5 things are better than none and I did manage to finish a couple of bits that had taken root in my shower, so lets quit it with the negativity and focus on the products that I did manage to finish.
1. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes 2. Primark PS Love Your Skin Oil Balancing Facial Cleansing Wipes x 25 Wipes
I'm not going to lie I have used these on my face a couple of times this month - I know, I know but when you need to leave the house at 7am after precisely no sleep, you need something quick and something that (whispers) you can do in the taxi! Okay now that confession is out of the way I can safely admit to using most of these wipes in the last week, for in between clean ups after doing a ton of swatches. I've got a load of make up posts coming soon including some bargain basement buys, some Christmas gift ideas and maybe a little Christmas giveaway and it's all needed swatching - now I just need to edit the 300 or so photographs argh! #bloggerproblems
3. Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream - 30ml
I'm not going to beat around the bush this product isn't cheap - this little pot of moisturiser retails at £50 but there are ways of getting it without spending quite so much - If you're an Elemis fan and you're in the UK, Next Sunday QVC UK will be featuring the big Elemis Christmas Today's Special Value, for £44.96 and postage you'll get a pot of this heavenly cream, a couple more full sized skincare products and around 3 full size body products. That doesn't make sense I hear you cry and you're right based on the RRP of this cream it doesn't but the buying power of QVC means that it's real and it will be happening so if you love this product the kit is well worth buying. Personally though I think it's worth buying whatever the price, I love the smell and the cream, gel texture is perfect for all skin types, it's moisturising without being thick or heavy, and it makes your skin feel like silk.
I love it and so does my Godmother who is 87 - it's brilliant and well worth trying!
I've lost count of how many AVON shower gels that I've bought over the years - They are cheap as chips and a lot of times they actually smell a lot more expensive than what they actually are. This one is a case in point describe as sensual and romantic, it actually reminds me a little bit of a high end fragrance. If you like the original Michael Kors scent this this smells pretty similar. Typically though this particular product appears to have been discontinued but AVON do still seem to sell a Senses Mystique Shower Creme which I assume would have the same scent.
5. Yes To Carrots Nourishing Shampoo Normal To Dry Hair - 500ml*
This was one of the many Yes To products that I reviewed for My Pure - You can read my full review here x It was a winner for me I really liked it and I really enjoyed using it. It was SLS free and it was a nice, creamy gentle shampoo, and although I still can't describe the scent I really liked it. My shampoo mountain is going down very slowly but this is definitely one that I would consider repurchasing.
So they were Octobers famous five, fingers crossed I can do better in November, and finish a few more items to boost my yearly total in the last couple of months of 2017. If you have any questions on any of the products that I've finished then leave me a comment below x Thanks for reading x
After a lovely weekend, and a bright, and sunny Monday, it's safe to say that Spring has now officially arrived in my little corner of County Durham. Okay we might have some rainy days, and maybe even a little bit of frost and snow to come but the warmer and sunnier weather is definitely on it's way. Spring is often seen as a time of new beginnings, and fresh starts, and nowhere is that truer than within the home itself, it is called Spring cleaning after all. Even if you're not planning any major home renovations, or cleaning sprees this spring, it doesn't hurt to refresh your surroundings, and switch things up a bit, with a couple of purchases and new additions.
The first buy that I'm going to show you, is all about freshening up your home for Spring. This is the final instalment of my QVC UK, Yankee Candle Hamper Auto Delivery, and this is the Yankee Candle 39 Piece Spring Hamper. Like the previous instalments, this one also comes in a sturdy canvas hamper, with an attached faux leather tassel bag charm.
The hamper contains a wide variety of fresh, and floral scented candles that are perfect for spring. It contains 12 of Yankee Candle's votive candles, in 6 fragrances, Aloe Water, Shea Butter, Cherry Blossom, Verbena, Wild Mint and Linden Tree.
It also contains 2 boxes of 12 tea lights, in both the Cherry Blossom, and Wild Mint fragrances, and two clear glass, Yankee Candle branded bucket holders.
As I say this is the perfect Spring selection, all of the fragrances are very clean, and fresh, you have a couple of zingy ones like the Verbena, and the Wild Mint, then you some softer and more powdery fragrances like the Shea Butter and fragrances like the Aloe Water, and the Cherry Blossom that are lot more floral and almost perfume like. I've really enjoyed receiving these sets over the last 12 months or so - they've given me the chance to try lots of new fragrances, some of which I would have never of thought of trying. Admittedly some of the fragrances just aren't me but I have found quite a few new favourites, including Aloe Water which has really surprised me. This kit is actually still available on the QVC UK website, all be it a higher price than what I paid, but at just £33.96 and £5.95 postage I think it's well worth it if you think that your home needs a Spring fragrance boost x
If like my mam you're not quite ready to embrace Spring just yet, then you can also still get the Winter / Christmas version on the QVC UK website. As ready as I am for the warmer weather, I'm still a big fan of spicy and foodie scents, and following on from a few reader and viewer recommendations I decided to pick up a more autumn and wintry themed candle from B&M.
I love my candles but one brand that I've never tried is Woodwick, I honestly don't know why I haven't tried them before, they are really pleasing on the eye, every one that I've sniffed smells amazing, and they crackle! I love the idea of them but they can be a little bit pricey, which is why I think I've never succumbed to the Woodwick love in. Thankfully though B&M have come up trumps with a cheaper, dupe Woodland Wick Crackling Natural Wooden Wick Candles. Instead of having a traditional style, cotton wick, these candles, have a slim sliver of wood, that supposedly crackles like a real log fire when you burn the candle.
I'm not sure whether it does what it claims to yet because I haven't lit it, but so far this one was worth every penny of the £3.99 that I paid purely based on the scent. This one is in the Spiced Berry scent, and to me it smells exactly like mulled wine, you get a slight spiciness, and all the fruitiness that you'd expect from your Christmas tipple. If mulled wine isn't to your taste they also have several other fragrances to choose from, and they even have multi layered, multi fragranced candles as well. If you've tried any of the other scents, or if you've tried any Woodwick candles I'd love to hear your recommendations x
I love a good scrat around B&M, and I can always find something to buy, on a bad day it might just be some peanut butter cups, or some Butterfingers, buy on a good day, I could be something useful, or something nice for the home. On my last trip I couldn't resist picking up a couple of packs of these curtain tie backs. I have these really quirky, slightly trippy 1970's floral curtains, in shades of lilac, purple, and white, up in my bedroom, and I desperately needed some new tie backs. Note to self, rope tie backs and cats don't mix! These ones though are made of faceted smokey, lilac crystals, and to be honest they look a lot more expensive then the £4.99 that I paid for each one. I haven't managed to put them up yet but when I do I'll share some pictures on my Instagram account .
Like B&M, Poundland is another one of those shops that I've never seem to leave empty handed. On my most recent trip I managed to bag 3 Nails Inc, nail polishes, and this..
I am a huge fan of Poundland's faux regency, shabby chic, style frames, and this cute square one, was part of their selection of Mother's Day gifts. Personally I frame a lot of postcards and note cards so this isn't the most practical frame for that, but I'm sure I'll find something to put in it even if it's just an Instagram pic or a family photo.
I went through a bit of a phase of buying photo frames, without ever having a place in my bedroom to put them so I think I'm going to move a few into my office come craft room. It seems as though I've been sorting out that room since the beginning of time and I'm still no closer to getting it how I want it. I should really be working on improving my storage solutions but instead I still keep buying pretties i.e. photo frames, and letter and word art.
I'm really loving my letter L's at the moment, and I'm building up a nice collection, of both lights and plaques.This black letter L, was only £1.50 in the NEXT sale, it's has a really chunky feel. You can either hang it on the wall, or you can do what I'm going to do, and leave it freestanding.
Speaking of letters, it wouldn't be a home haul on LouLouLand, without a little bit of stationery, and I'm ending this haul with a couple of notebooks, that in all honesty I probably didn't need but hey pretty stationery is pretty stationery, first up this pretty piece from AVON.
Annoyingly I can't actually find this online anymore , but keep an eye on your brochures if you like the look of it. It's just a plain spiral bound, lined notebook, but what really makes this one for me is the beautiful lilac toned, marbleised floral patterns. I love the colour and the design and even though it's not that relevant and I can't think of anyone who matches their stationery with their bedroom, it matches the colours in my bedroom perfectly. It also features the words "Happy Thoughts" on the front in gold foil, so I'm going to try and use this one to record things that make me happy and positive thoughts.
From happy thoughts, to getting things done, and getting organised - the last thing that I picked up was a journal, from Paperchases fabulous No Probllama range.
Featuring a cute, and quirky Llama design, this is the No Probllama Ideas Journal. It's a hardback notebook, that contains a mixture of pages for notes, ideas, to do lists, pros and cons, and brainstorms, all teamed up with little llama illustrations. I'm so bad at planning and organising things, and I keep having ideas and brainwaves and then forgetting them. I hope that this will give me somewhere to write my ideas and thoughts down and I'm hoping that this will make me a bit more productive in the rest of 2017. This particular book was £8 and it's part of a wider range of Llama themed bits and pieces that you can find in Paperchase at the moment.
I hope you've found this small home, stationery and home fragrancing haul useful, don't forget to leave me a comment and let me know if you have any questions, and of course don't forget to watch the accompanying You Tube video which you can watch by clicking on the image above or by clicking on this link x
I love nail polish an awful lot, in fact you could even argue that I'm a bit of polish collector. I have well over a hundred bottles and still I can't resist adding to my already pretty extensive collection. I have a lot of different brands, at a lot of different price point, but one of my favourite brands and one of the first professional brands that I ever tried, is OPI.
99 times out of a 100 I'm impressed with their polishes they wear well, they apply easily, and the polishes last forever, some of mine are over 10 years old and they are still as good as new. Something else that I love about them are their collaborations and product tie ins. Based in Hollywood there are the brand of choice for celebrities, characters, film studios, and big brands.
Late last year rumours started to fly around the beauty world about a new OPI collaboration with probably the most famous feline of all time, no I don't mean Grumpy Cat, although I would love to see that, I mean Hello Kitty.
Yes I'm one of those sadults that has a obsession with Hello Kitty, so when I saw the first pictures of the collection I wanted it all. The collection comprises of 12 normal shades and the matching Gel Colours, and several special edition full sized and mini kits, all named after things linked to that little white feline.
Although the collection had already been available in the UK for a couple of days, some of it premiered on QVC a week past Friday. I was sneaky though, I didn't know whether I'd be home from hospital in time so I'd already had a little look on the QVC UK website to see what was available.
This kit immediately caught my eye due to the full sizes and the sheer value for money, so Mummy Lou, aka the tooth fairy, decided to buy me if for being brave at hospital - I told you I was a sadult ;)
For what I gather this kit is now exclusive to QVC in the UK, and I certainly haven't seen it anywhere else. The colours are available elsewhere but the packaging is just available at QVC now and as well as the polishes this kit is all about the packaging.
This collectors edition kit comes in a solid, cardboard box with a magnetic fastening, and contains 6 full size OPI nail lacquers from the Hello Kitty collection.
What makes this kit special and truly one for the collector, is the inside of the box. It comes with a cardboard stand, and 3 specially designed backdrops, one side in colour and one side in black and white for you to colour in.
Full instructions are supplied and all you do is put them into the box in a certain way and it creates an almost pop up, puppet theatre type look.
Ridiculously cute, and really unusual and you get your 6 full sized polishes. Each of the full sized polishes in the Hello Kitty collection are characterised by a Hello Kitty design lid, unfortunately this is a sticker rather than a printed lid but they are still very cute.
The collection predictably is very pink themed but you also get a few stand out colours like those that appear in the cartoons and of course on the toys, stationery, bedding and anything else that you can think of.
The shades that you get are from left to right - Kitty White, a pearlised, shimmery white, Let's Be Friends, a pale, creamy pink almost French shade, Look At My Bow, a brighter baby pink, and Starry Eyed For Dear Daniel, a full coverage pink / purple glitter. It also contains 5 Apples Tall, a real apple red, and Never Have To Mani Friends, a dark, black shade.
I've swatched these on a nail wheel so you can get an idea of what they would look like on the nails. As you can see the coverage is excellent with all of the shades. Ever the palest pink Let's Be Friends only needs around 3 thin coats for full coverage. This kit contains a nice assortment of shades that will cover a wide variety of occasions and take you from day to night. Throw in the limited edition collectors packaging and this kit for me is a must have, it's also great value for money. The OPI 6 Piece Hello Kitty Limited Edition Lacquer Collection is currently available from QVC UK for the special price of just £31.32 plus £4.95, not bad considering each bottle would be £12.50.
As much as I love this kit and believe me I do, it didn't contain the two shades that I'd really set my heart on so I had another look and last Monday another couple of sets came online, including a couple of gift packaged duos.
Thankfully one of the duos contained exactly the two colour that I wanted so I decided to treat myself to the Bright duo which contained full 15ml sizes of both Super Cute In Pink, a bright bubblegum pink, and My Pal Joey, a lovely creamy blue shade.
Alas neither of these colours are showing up as that true, My Pal Joey is a much more of an electric blue than it's appearing here, and Super Cute In Pink is a lot less purple than it's appearing here. I thought it might be similar to Essie Splash Of Grenadine but in reality it much pinker and much brighter. Both of these are great summer colours, and since they are both cream polishes, the pigmentation and coverage is first class.
I probably could have got these a little bit cheaper if I'd looked harder but at £18.00 plus £3.95 postage, the OPI 2 Piece Hello Kitty Nailcare Collection in Bright still works out slightly cheaper than full retail price.
There are a couple of other kits on the QVC website and elsewhere, and whilst I am debating whether or not to get the minis kit, purely for the dotting tool and My Twin Mimmy, I'm pretty happy with buying most of the collection :) My nails are quite short at the moment but as soon as I get a bit more length on them I'll start doing a few nails of the day posts, if you have any questions in the meantime though leave me a comment and let me know xx
