Starry Starry Night - Nails Of The Day

Never one to let a bad polish put me off as soon as I'd removed the well, hideous Lemon Sugar I immediately went for another Avon nail polish, thankfully with much better results.

Avon Nailwear Pro + Starry Sky is a beautiful almost foiled silver, yes you get the odd brush stroke with it, but this is two coats of metallic loveliness.

Despite similar issues with brush strokes I love this polish way more than I loved Barry M Foil Nail Effects in NP319 it's just a much better formulation and the finish is much better, what do you think of silver nail polishes and what's you favourite foil effect polish?

Foodie Friday - Going Deeper With Walkers Crisps

Last Friday's post in my new Foodie Friday series focused on one of the healthier aspects of my food intake - juicing-  in fact I'm drinking a super fresh orange, carrot and ginger juice as I type but that's not to say that I don't have a little less healthy treat every now and then. I'm a firm believer that you can, and should be able to eat anything you like but in obviously in moderation. My own theory was severely put to the test last week though when I eventually received a cardboard box full of yummy crisps from the lovely people at Walkers. Yes I was tempted to eat them all at once, but I didn't I've eaten them over the past week with the help of Mummy Lou - everything in moderation after all.

The crisps I received came from the new Walkers Deep Ridged range. Made from 100% British potatoes, these crinkle cut crisps have ridges twice as thick as Walkers regular crinkle cut varieties.

These crisps are not for wimps or for those with loose teeth their thicker than normal crisps and they are super crunchy.

Walkers Deep Ridged come in 4 intense flavours Ready Salted, Mature Cheddar and Onion, Flame Grilled Steak, and Salt and Malt Vinegar, I was sent samples of all the flavours bar the Ready Salted to try out :)

Walkers Deep Ridged Mature Cheddar and Onion

As much as I love cheese I have to say that cheese and onion crisps aren't my first choice. I think that the onion flavour can sometimes be just a bit too dominant. This variety however had a nice rounded flavour you get a lovely hit of cheese and then a similar hit of onion - no flavour dominated there was just a nice balance of tastes. Both Mummy Lou and I really enjoyed these ones x

Walkers Deep Ridged Salt and Malt Vinegar

I heart salt and vinegar crisps, but there are good ones and there are bad ones. A bad one will literally burn your tongue they have so much flavouring in them, some on the other hand are just perfect and for this variety falls into the latter category. I loved these, they actually taste like you've just sprinkled malt vinegar and salt over them, probably because unlike the majority of salt and vinegar crisps these actually contain really malt vinegar. Obviously if your gluten and wheat intolerant like make you need to be careful with barley malt but I was fine with these - everything in moderation and all that ;) Mummy Lou found these ones a little bit overpowering flavour wise, the ridges retain the flavour really well and she just found them a bit intense for her personal taste, but she still ate 2 packets - funny that ;)

Walkers Deep Ridged Flame Grilled Steak

Now here's the thing I am a vegetarian and I have been for around 15 years now, I don't like meat or fish one little bit, the smell of bacon, and chicken roasting makes me heave, and even when I ate meat I hated steak and red meat. However some of my favourite crisp flavours are meat or fish based - bacon and prawn cocktail eat your heart out, and yes 90% of meat and fish flavoured crisps on the market are vegetarian., so I was excited to receive the Flame Grilled Steak variety to try. I expected them to just taste like ordinary beef crisps how wrong was I, they were meaty, yet smoky, and full of intense savoury flavours - yummy. These were by far mine and Mummy Lou's favourites - can I have some more please ;)

I have to say we are now both huge fans of the Walkers Deep Ridged range. They were big, chunky and satisfying, you could easily eat these alongside a soup or something as part of a meal, they were that filling. We also liked the fact that unlike a lot of crinkle cut crisps they weren't at all greasy, and all that was left on your hands was flavour residue not grease. As I say these crisps would be great for a meal accompaniment or as part of a packed lunch, but I also think they would make a great filling snack or party food with dips. Walkers Deep Ridged comes in flavour specific 6 packs of 28g packets which retail at around £1.99 each, and they also come in 50g packs which is what I had, which retail at around 73p a bag. I'd like to say a huge thank you to all those concerned for providing me and Mummy Lou with such yummy snacks and I'd also like to thank them for being such kind, understanding and professional company to deal with x Have you tried Walkers Deep Ridged crisps before, and what's you favourite crisp flavour? let me know in the comments x

(10 x 50g Bags Of Walkers Deep Ridged Were Provided For Review and Promotional Purposes)

Lemon Sugar, More Like Lemon Tippex - Nails Of The Day

Over the last few months I've been really loving Avon nail polishes, every colour that I've bought I've loved, could that continue with one of their polishes that I picked up in June?

Well I knew when I received Avon Nailwear Pro + Lemon Sugar that it could be problematic and so it proved. First up the colour - yes it one of those creamy, pastel polishes that does absolutely nothing for my skintone, it's not looking as bad as it does in real life in the pictures, but in reality it's a lot paler and it probably better resembles yellow tippex more than nail polish !! Predictably it streaked like hell and it needed at least 3 coats, which meant that it was too thick and it chipped within hours grrrrr

Maybe it's the colour, maybe it's the formulation but in case you didn't already guess I didn't get on with this polish one little bit. I love you Avon but I don't love this. What do you think of Lemon Sugar?

Keeping Your Brown Hair Brilliant With John Frieda

Over the years I've been a bit of chameleon when it comes to hair colour, from a barnett filled with blonde streaks to a Ginger Spice esq chunky blonde and red stripes I've done it all, but in the last year or so I've returned to near enough my natural colour and gone back to being a brunette, all be it a bit darker than my natural mousey brown. I have to say I'm loving it - regrowth isn't anywhere near as obvious and stepping away from the bleach means my hair looks and feels less wiry. That's not to say my hairs in amazing condition by any means, medication, illness and stress means that my hair often looks anything but fabulous, believe me every time I wash it, it looks like there is a dead hamster in the plughole I lose so much hair. Maybe that one of the reasons that I change my hair products so regularly, maybe I'm always on the lookout for a miracle product that will transform my hair to supermodel standard in one wash, or maybe I just get bored with seeing the same bottles in the bathroom, who knows.

It's no surprise therefore that when I was given the opportunity to try out a shampoo and conditioner that was new to me at least, I jumped at the chance.

John Frieda is probably one the most famous British hairdressers of all time, noted for his celebrity clients and his innovative but affordable haircare lines. As well as transforming the lives of women (and men) with frizzy and curly hair, with his Frizz-Ease range (you must try the 3 Day Straight spray if you haven't already!) he was also one of the first hairdressers to introduce a range of colour specific products depending on your hair colour. Before my return to the dark side both me and Mummy Lou were regular users of the Sheer Blonde range, so I was delighted to receive a couple of products from the Brilliant Brunette range to try.

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Liquid Shine Illuminating Shampoo

The John Frieda Brilliant Brunette range includes three different shampoos -Multi Tone Revealing Enhancing Shampoo, Multi Tone Revealing Moisturising Shampoo, and the shampoo that I was sent the Brilliant Brunette Liquid Shine Illuminating Shampoo.

The name says it all really, this shampoo is designed to protect, repair and add gloss and shine to the hair.

The packaging for the Liquid Shine range doesn't automatically scream Brunette to you, instead of the chocolate coloured packaging you would expect, it comes in a really modern looking shiny, silver tube.

I was also surprised by the shampoo itself, again in a colour enhancing range you expect the product to have a little bit of colour in but no, this shampoo is clear in appearance and has almost a gel like texture. It has quite a distinct fragrance which I can't really place, initially appearing quite fresh it develops into something much warmer and caramel based- The only thing I can think of that smells similar is Thierry Mugler - Angel, but even that isn't the same - I like the smell of this but I hate Angel lol.

Unsurprisingly for a shampoo containing SLS it foams really well and you all need a small amount of product; the foam feels quite soft and gentle though and definitely not sticky. It also rinses away very easily leaving the hair feeling clean but not so clean that it feels squeaky or stripped. As I say my hair isn't in the best shape at the moment but this shampoo definitely gave it a bit of a boost, and the surprisingly looked a little bit brighter and fresher. Personally at the moment I'm preferring a bit more of a moisturising shampoo but alongside the next product this shampoo definitely did the job. I have to say Mummy Lou also liked this shampoo, no she definitely isn't a brunette any more (advancing years and a bit of hair dye has saw to that, sorry mam  ;) but she used in the shower not realising it was a colour specific product because of the packaging and she really liked it and felt it added shine to her grey / blonde hair - result I think :) The John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Liquid Shine Illuminating Shampoo retails at around £5.89 for a 250ml tube.

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Multi-Tone Revealing Moisturising Conditioner

John Frieda also produces three basic hair conditioners that correspond with each of his shampoos, instead of the Liquid Shine Illuminating Conditioner I was sent the Brilliant Brunette Multi-Tone Revealing Moisturising Conditioner.

Containing Almond Oil and Crushed Pearls this conditioner is designed rehydrate and replenish brunette hair tones, leaving hair soft and silky and shiny.

The packaging of this conditioner is exactly what you would expect, for a colour specific product range. The squeezy tub is a lovely chocolate shade in colour. The product itself  is in a pale caramel cream colour and has a thick, creamy texture, and a similar smell to the shampoo

I've used this conditioner after pretty much every wash for the last three weeks. I've washed my hair with the Illuminating shampoo, then I've towel dried my hair and applied this conditioner through the length of my hair concentrating on the ends. As I say it's pretty thick but at the same time it is very creamy and it's really easy to work though the hair, and it' really easy to rinse out. Again there was no stickiness or heaviness, and my hair was  left feeling silky smooth and tangle free after rinsing, and after drying.. I have to say I was really impressed with this conditioner, in the last 3 weeks I haven't even touched a hair mask, an intensive conditioner or even a leave in conditioner, this product really has been enough to keep my hair feeling soft and manageable :) The John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Multi-Tone Revealing Moisturising Conditioner retails at around £5.29 for a 250ml tube.

I have to say I've really enjoyed my reintroduction to the John Frieda haircare range. I've realised how much I actually enjoyed using the Sheer Blonde products in the past and I'll definitely consider purchasing from the Brilliant Brunette range again. To find out more about the Brilliant Brunette range and the rest of John Frieda's haircare line pleased check out their official website. Have you ever tried John Frieda products? let me know in the comments x

(Both Products Were Provided For Review Purposes)

Welcome To Foodie Friday - Get Your 5 Day and More With The Philips Avance Collection Juicer

After all the hype, the cheers and the tears London 2012 is over, we've still got the Paralympics to come, and yet more reasons to be proud of our amazing country but the summer of sport is nearly over, the premier league football season kicks off this weekend, and then we're heading into autumn and winter - boo.

I have to admit that I watched a lot more of the Olympics than I intended too, it was really hard not to get sucked in to the enthusiasm of the nation, and of course it was harder still not to drool over Jessica Ennis' amazing abs! The closest I got to the Olympics this year though was eating a chocolate Wenlock, as yum as it was, I really don't think it helped me on my quest for that amazing physique.

Whilst Jessica's abs are far beyond mere mortals like me who can't train for hours a day, I have been making a conscious effort to eat more healthily, well on most days anyways. I'm fed up of diets and beating myself up for eating naughty things, so I've just decided to watch what I eat a bit and try and eat more fruit and veg. Yes I'm a vegetarian but I admit that there are days when I don't eat my 5 a day. I'll happily eat veg with my dinner, or the odd banana or nectarine as a snack, and I love all types of berries and I also love fresh orange and apple juice, but I'm not one of those people who would sit down and religiously eat an apple or an orange everyday.

The lovely people at Philips must have heard the inner workings of my mind, "how can I integrate more fruit and veg into my diet?" - juice them of course :)

Just over a fortnight  ago I received a fabulous parcel on behalf of electronic giants Philips, containing 3 fabulous gadgets to help me get set for summer. One of the items I received was the Philips  Avance White HR1869 Juicer.

I have to say I've wanted a juice extractor for ever - some relatives got one a while ago and I loved the idea of being able to have fresh fruit juice on tap so I was delighted to receive this one to try out.

The Avance Collection  is Philips premier range of juice extractors. The model I received the HR1869 features a 700 watt motor, 2 speed settings and an extra large feeding tube meaning you can juice whole fruits and vegetables. The juicer comes with an instruction manual and a quick start guide printed on the box, making it pretty easy to set up. You also get a plastic jug and a lid meaning your can store your fresh juices in the fridge.

I also received 3 special recipes written by juicing expert Jason Vale to get me started on my juicing adventure. The lovely people on behalf of Philips also sent a bagful of yummy fresh fruit, herbs, spice and vegetables to make them with, they were so yummy I thought I'd share them with you - each recipe roughly makes enough for 1 glass x

Summer Slimmer

1 Pink Lady Apple

1/4 Medium Cucumber

1 Stick Celery

3cm Piece Raw Ginger Root

1 Small Handful Ice Cubes

Put all the ingredients bar the ice in the juicer and turn it on - simples - serve over lots of ice :)

This recipe was definitely was one of my favourites - it was really refreshing, and the ginger gave it a lovely warming kick :) - the ice isn't essential but I do think it would make it even more refreshing. As you can see from my pics all the ingredients went in the feed tube of the juicer, whole and skin on - fabulously quick and easy - obviously if you already have a juicer you'll know whether it can take whole fruit and veg, but this one definitely can even on the slowest speed it had no problem with the ingredients. It's fascinating to see what's left over in the pulp collector, and how dry it is, which really shows you how much juice has been removed

I have to say Avance Juicer is pretty easy to clean out and take apart the only bit that takes a bit of effort is the actually blade area, but I found that soaking it all the washable parts as soon as I'd finished juicing made a real difference.

Summer Lovin

1 Pink Lady Apple

1 Medium Pear 

1 Small Parsnip

1 Handful Of Fresh Mint Leaves

1 Small Handful Of Ice Cubes

Put the pear and the parsnip in the feeder tube followed by the mint, then the apple, juice and again pour over ice

This was another yummy refreshing juice the mint and the fruit dominated, and you couldn't really taste the parsnip till afterwards if you know what I mean ;) The good thing about these juices is that you can alter the ingredients and amounts for personal taste, I preferred this with slightly less mint, Mummy Lou liked it with a bit more.

Olympic Strength

2 Golden Delicious Apples

1/2 Bulb Raw Beetroot

1 Large Handful Spinach

1/3 Lemon Peeled

1 Small Handful Of Ice Cubes

Put one apple followed by the beetroot, the washed spinach and then the lemon followed by the second apple in to the feeding tube, then juice, and pour over ice.

Now eagle eyed readers will notice that the beetroot in my photograph isn't raw, no well I was accidentally sent fresh pickled beetroot. Still I gave it ago and be all accounts it wasn't bad, pretty tangy but refreshing all the same. Unfortunately I couldn't find any raw beetroot in the supermarket so I got a packet of boiled beetroot with no vinegar and I have to say the juice was much nicer there was a lot more sweetness in it compared to the attempt with pickled beetroot. Mummy Lou actually liked both versions and this was definitely her favourite of the 3.

Although you won't get these recipes with yours, if you buy the Philips Avance Juicer  you get a free recipe book in the box "The Funky Fresh Juice Book, by "Juicemaster" Jason Vale, the book is really brilliant for juicing newbies, it tells you all about juicing for health, all about the best products to juice, and it contains loads of recipes for fresh fruit and vegetable juices and even for smoothies. I've tried quite a few recipes from the book already and my favourites are Orange, Carrot, Mint and Ginger, A Taste Of Florida, Juice Master's World Famous Lemon....Aid, and OJ With A Kick.

I have to say I love this machine with a passion, it's one of those things I really wish that I'd had in my life sooner. My fruit and veg consumption has improved a 100% and I've really enjoyed trying out new juice combinations. It may seem odd to juice fruit and vegetables together but I can honestly say it works. The juices are really refreshing, thirst quenching, and dare I say it filling. It's not like drinking a normal drink these juices honestly leave you feeling a bit fuller. I've even managed to lose weight for the past 3 weeks without even trying. The one downside, increased expenditure on fruit and veg - why on earth is healthy stuff more expensive than junk food? Strange times indeed but it's not going to stop me I'm now a juicing convert, yes this is an invest piece but in my opinion it's well worth it.

The Philips Avance HR1869 White Juicer retails at around £149 from Juicemaster, the silver version is also available from various retailers including Argos for around £199. Have you ever tried juicing? How do you make sure you get your five a day? Let me know in the comments. Oh and just a heads up, after reading the lovely Shannon's blog and Lipglossiping's recent food post I've decided to do a regular post every Friday on something like this - a food related post entitled Foodie Friday :) It could be a recipe, a review or even just on what I've eaten that day. If there is any type of post that you'd like to see on Foodie Friday let me know, I'd love to hear your suggestions x

(The Philips Avance HR1869 White Juicer And All The Fruit And Vegetables Featured In This Post Bar The Parsnip Were Provided For Review / Promotional Purposes)

Wild At Heart - Nails Of The Day

Hi Guys - today has been the first really good day I've had in a while so I though I'd stick a post up on a nail polish that makes me happy :) I mentioned in my July haul post this was a nail polish I'd wanted for ever, okay not forever but ever since I first set eyes on it

Color Club 871 Wild At Heart is another one of their fabulous holographic polishes - it's a fabulous deep purple crammed full of multi coloured, multi dimensional holographic sparkle. This is two coats but with careful application you could probably get away with one x..

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Amazingly pretty isn't it ? it looks even better in natural light, the flash has only managed to capture a minuscule amount of the sparkle it has in it. Some products that you lust after don't live up to the hype but this one certainly does. What do you think of Wild At Heart? let me know in the comments and I'll see you soon with the start of a new series and a review post x

Purple Sherbet - Nails Of The Day

I have to be honest and say that I'm not the biggest fan of Ciate nail polishes. I've bought a couple and acquired a few as magazine freebies, and I have to say by and large they've never wowed me consistency or lasting wise. Last month though one of the monthly magazine featured a free full sized Ciate polish so I thought I'd give the brand another go.

The shade I picked up was Purple Sherbet. It's not really a purple it's more of a creamy pale, lilac shade. I have to be honest and say that I find the Ciate bottles and  brushes a little bit unwieldy, and this one was no different. The polish was a little bit streaky but this nothing new with this type of colour.

I love the colour but again the formulation and the application doesn't wow me. What do you think of this colour? and what do you thing of Ciate polishes in general? leave me a comment and let me know.

Going Balmy Over Balmi

There are many things that I love in my life and two of them are lip balms and quirky packaging. A new release from the people behind the I Love...Cosmetics range puts both of these loves into one little quirky little package - meet Balmi :)

These cute lip balms come in similar packaging to the famous EOS balms. The spherical container comes with a twist off lid and an attached mobile charm / key chain. The balms inside are domed in shape making them super easy to apply.

These balms don't just look pretty, they are also jam packed full of good things including Vitamin E, Shea Butter, and Jojoba to keep lips soft and hydrated, and SPF 15 to protect your lips from the elements.

At the moment Balmi comes in 5 flavours, Mint (with added tingle), Coconut, Strawberry, Raspberry and the one that I was kindly sent Blackcurrant :) but I'm lead to believe that they will be introducing some more limited edition flavours as time goes on.

I love the Blackcurrant flavour, it's zingy but sweet at the same time. I also love the effectiveness of this balm., it feels nice and moisturising but not sticky or greasy, and it's really kept my lips smooth.

I also love the easy of application, the domes shape makes it super easy to cover your lips in just one swipe. Because of the chunky design it also covers the outside of the lips, which is great from anti-ageing aspect. My one worry with this balm is about what to do when the dome wears down, I'll have to use my finger or a lip brush I guess, but I can't see that happening for a long time I've used this balm solidly for nearly 2 weeks and it looks no different to what it did when I first got it.

Yes I'm a bit of a lip balm whore but I have to say I'm really enjoying using this one, it feels lovely on the lips and it tastes and smells yummy and I think I'll definitely be trying some of the other flavours in the future. Balmi Lip Balms retail at £4.99 each and will be available from this month in Boots stores. You can also find out more about Balmi Lip Balms on their official website. What do you think of Balmi? and what's your favourite lip balm? let me know in the comments x

(Balmi Lip Balm 10.5g - Blackcurrant Flavour Was Provided By PR For Review Purposes)

Intergalactic Nails With Avon - Nails Of The Day

Try as I might I couldn't think of a space / cosmic sounding name for this post so instead I went with the rather random Beastie Boys - Intergalactic -(RIP Adam Yauch x)




The slightly space themed polish in this case is  Avon Nailwear Pro +  Cosmic Blue.

I own about a zillion colour like this, it's an amazing bright blue, with almost a violet shimmer. The Nailwear Pro + polishes are a bit thicker in texture than the original Nailwear Pro polishes in my opinion which can make application a little bit difficult, never the less you get a good strong colour in just 2 coats, 1 if you apply it really thickly.

It's not very original as far as blue nail polishes go, but I like it, What do you think of Cosmic Blue?

(P.S. See if you can spot the mistakes in this post - let me know in the comments if you spot them ;)

Project 10 Pan - Round 2 - 3 Down 7 To Go

We're only a couple of days into a new month and already I've equalled last months Project 10 Pan total. Yesterday I finished the last little bit of one of the oldest products in my make up collection.

I purchased Boots No7 Skin Defence Loose Powder 40g in 01 Translucent about 6 years ago! This used to be a staple in my make up collection alongside several other No7 products but over the last few years I've moved onto other things and other brands. I quite liked this powder it wasn't too chalky and the shade and texture worked pretty well on my skin leaving a matte but not flat finish.

I probably wouldn't repurchase this powder not that it exists in the same name and format now anyway but I actually prefer using pressed powders now and I have quite a few to use up. That said I do have a Smashbox Halo powder and a MAC Prep and Prime Transparent Finishing Powder to use up so maybe my relationship with loose powders isn't quite over yet. So that's 3 products down only 7 more to go and I'm pretty hopeful that I'll finish at least one more product this month and am hoping that it's going to be another never ending product -finger crossed x What face powder do you use? let me know in the comments xx