Nomnomnomnom

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would share a tasty treat with you all. You may have seen this in the dairy aisles in your local Supermarché. If like me, your first thought was ick - think again.

This little baby is nom. Like the title says, nomnomnomnom! It tastes like chocolate cheesecake filling, and therefore is perfect spread over digestive biscuits.

I have taken it a step further, and added slices of fresh strawberries to the top - also nom! Stupidly, I didn't take any photos, however I doubt I would have had a chance. The Mr. was all over them as soon as they hit the plate!

This is a lovely treat, and I totally recommend it - if you like cheesecake, you HAVE to try it! And yes, I tried it at work where the only knife available was this giant terrible thing. That is how much I had to try this! And funnily enough, so did everyone else!!

Be brave people - try this, you won't regret it!

Have a fantastic weekend,

Charlotte x

MUA + Flash Cosmic = LOVE!

 Hi everyone,


You may remember my last post where I confessed my love for a little £1 polish from MUA - named Shade 1 by MUA, and the lovely 'Crushed Sapphire' by moi!

Well, I decided to have a little play about with it... As you do...!

Either way, I hope you like the results (drum roll please!) Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Crushed Sapphire with the delightful Maybelline Flash Cosmic top coat! Yayyy!

Words express much better than pictures, just how pretty this combination actually is. We have the lovely subtle sparkles from the MUA polish to start with, that elegant shimmery effect that gets prettier the closer you get. And then, with the addition of Flash Cosmic, you get a real wow factor. What the photos could not capture, no matter how hard I tried, is the wonderful petrolesque effect that Flash Cosmic gives in the light. You see flashes of blue, purple and green in the chunky glitter pieces, which all compliment the MUA polish beautifully. Oh, and it dries in about 40 seconds. Win win!

In fact, so many people thought that this combination was an offering from OPI or China Glaze! It genuinely does look like they were destined to be paired and create a gorgeous combination. This is a very pretty way of doing galaxy nails too - there is a lovely sense of depth to the layers with the larger and micro glitters combined, like you could be staring at the stars in the deep night sky!

I will definitely be doing this mani again, and again, and again..! And if you happen to have these polishes in your own stash... DO IT! You will not be disappointed, I assure you!

At only £1, you have no excuse for not grabbing yourself the MUA polish, and the Maybelline polish is around £3 to £4 from various online retailers. An absolute bargain! Sadly, I haven't seen it in stores for a while - I hope Maybelline haven't done something daft and discontinued it, as it is an awesome way to give your mani a bit of a lift, or to spruce up colours you may be bored of.

Do you have a favourite glitter top coat? How do you use yours?

Have a sparkly, cosmic day,

Charlotte x

MUA Shade 1: Swatches and Review

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share one of my latest little buys with you. I love it when you find a brand that makes decent products, at a very reasonable price - I mean, who doesn't love a bargain?!

I have recently stumbled upon a lovely little brand called MUA, who seem to have products popping up all over the blogosphere at the moment, especially for their wonderful eyeshadows and dupes! As ever, I am drawn to a bargain like flys to honey, and I could not help myself! So much so, I went back for seconds!

MUA Shade 1 Natural Light

After my first little haul, I found myself checking out their website, www.muastore.co.uk to see what else to add to my shopping list. I saw a little polish I realised I needed for my collection, so I hightailed it back to my local Superdrug and picked up Shade No.1. Not the most imaginative name, but hey, for £1, I'll make my own name up!

I think this polish should be called Crushed Sapphire. It's a beautiful rich, almost black-blue, that applies remarkably well for a budget brand.

Natural Light Again

This is just two coats. Its full of little micro-glitter flecks which dance in the light, making it a very pretty shade, rather than being heavy and 'blocky' on the nail. When I wear very dark shades on my nails, I can't help think it looks a bit gothic and mannish (read:they make my fingers look fat) on me, so they tend to get left for rare occasions when I feel a bit experimental and/or brave!

This is surprisingly elegant for a darker shade! The flecks really bring back the femininity for me!

My only minor gripe is that the brush and handle are a bit short and stubby, so application was a bit more careful for me - some polishes can be literally slapped on and look fine, but I took my time with this one. Drying time was relatively quick too - I don't think you could ask for much more for your £1!

Taken With Flash

Sparkly Goodness in a Dinky Bottle!

I've taken as many photos as possible to try and capture those pretty little flecks of gorgeousness! My camera is not great at all, but hopefully, you'll get the idea!

So, here we have it - my bargain polish of the month. This is certainly one I will use again, and definately one I recommend for any lovers of darker, richer colours - or just someone who fancies a bit of sparkle once in a while.

If you find yourself near a Superdrug store, why not check out MUA for yourself!

Have a great day,

Charlotte x

The Pink Perils of Boredom...

Hi Everyone,

Despite my love and adoration of yesterdays polish, Nails Inc Oxford Circus, I decided to add a few little Valentine's-esque additions to my manicure.

The problem was, I couldn't decide what to add, so I added a bit of everything I fancied! Pic n Mix, anyone??

I hope you like it! Have a great weekend,

Charlotte x

My First Pink Friday!

Hi Everyone!

I thought I would join in a tradition I have seen enjoyed by many bloggers, and figured that I would have a go myself. Ladies and gentlemen, the institution that is Pink Friday...!

Oxford Circus in natural light

This is Nails Inc's Oxford Circus, which came in a Feel Unique Beauty Box. Now, as much as I love the colour pink, it looked like a soft baby pink in the bottle. Not exactly a 'me' pink, if you know what I mean. But, I felt as though it would be OK for me to be a bit softer now and then, and so I gave it a go.

The colour on my nails was not what I expected at all! This little pot gave a stunning, vibrant bubblegum pink, the kind you fall in love with because it makes your pale winter hands look that little bit more tanned! LOVE!

Oxford Circus indoors with a flash

 I often find that I have a love/hate dislike relationship with Nails Inc polishes. So many beautiful colours, that are so often annoying to apply. Like some of my others, this took three coats to give an even finish. Even with two coats, it looked streaky and patchy, and had a little bit of drag too. This is such a shame for what I would class to be a relatively expensive brand - at £11 a bottle, I tend to find better application in many of my ELF £1.50 bottles. But, I digress. Despite the application woes, I find the finished effect to be rather pretty. Not as soft as I had thought, in fact, I've had a few narcissistic moments with this polish - the Hubby has had a few chuckles to himself about me staring lovingly into my own nails... I mean, who DOESN'T do that now and then...?

These nails are exactly what I would wear if I was Barbie. Alas, I do not resemble Barbie in any way, but a girl can dream, can't she?

I declare this polish to be a fun and flirty colour, with a slight edge to the softness - and it is definitely one I will be wearing again! Bring on the pink!

Oh how I wish I still had my Barbies. And yes, I am over the age of seven...

Enjoy the rest of your Friday and have a great weekend,

Charlotte x

Bambi Rescue!

Hi Everyone,

Lately, I have been making an attempt to wear some of the many polishes that I have purchased, but not actually worn. I am terrible for this. I pick up new polishes like some sort of collecting monster, and then leave them abandoned and unused. As I now have my own personal blog, I figured that I had a perfect excuse to rectify this! And it's about time too...

Meet Bambi. Well, sort of. This polish comes from one of my favourite places to find fun new polishes, without bankrupting myself. H&M. This particular bottle caught my eye for many reasons, but mostly for my love of Disney movies of course, and the fact I don't have anything similar in my collection.

The bottle is really cute! A little baby Bambi, with Thumper skidding around on ice, hence the name. Personally, I'm not a fan of the name as such, so to me, this will always be Bambi.

The polish itself is a very pale, almost icy, green toned creme, with hints of grey in it - it has a very cool tone to it, and personally, I found it to be slightly unflattering with my skin tone. Application wasn't bad to be fair, this required just two coats to be completely opaque, but it does show up the brush strokes in the finished effect.

Looking at the polish on my nails, I found myself wanting it to be a bit glossier, or to have a bit of a sparkle to it, rather than being so flat. I decided that this polish might benefit form something over the top, and initially I was thinking a glitter or flakies top coat. Instead, I went with this, and I am sooooo glad I did...

This is a floral pattern from my BM plate number 225, stamped using Barry M's Emerald Green. With the added top coat, it was almost impossible to photograph, it was so shiny and shimmery. Emerald Green is a polish that I bought and tried, and could not make up my mind about. The effect of the nail is hugely glossy and has a rich colour to it. I was impressed by the shine, until someone told me that my nails looked like fresh car paint. I think it was meant as a compliment, judging by their reaction to my reaction haha! It did come from a man after all! I am hoping he was referring to its high gloss, and consistent colour, however, that particular thought of green cars would not dislodge itself from my mind and the polish came off shortly afterwards. I'm sure I've read somewhere that green cars are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents than cars of other colours, and I had horrible feelings this colour might curse me into chopping a finger off, or worse - breaking a nail!! Aaaargh! Either way, it was off-putting! (Any drivers of green cars, I wish you additionally safe motoring, just in case!!)

Luckily for me, this particular combination has breathed fresh life into two polishes that I might not have used again otherwise. They compliment each other well: Emerald Green gives enough shimmer to liven up the flat-ness of Bambi. With this mani, I found myself staring at my nails a little bit too much - the effect of the two colours reminded me of Jade ornaments and carvings. Thankfully, this managed to get me a few compliments that didn't put me off doing it again!! Haha! Sadly, I added a top coat before taking any initial photographs and the finished effect was extreme gloss! Such shine and shimmer, that my poor little camera failed to take any decent pictures - this was the absolute best of the bunch! Next time, I solemnly swear to take better pictures! I promise!

I hope you like my little Bambi collaboration! And the next time you're in H&M, check out their polishes - they usually have a great range at equally great prices!

Charlotte x

Tales: Mini Musings!

Happy Saturday!!!

Now, I am a bit of a foodie - but I do not discriminate. I will just as happily nom a Big Mac as I will be wined and dined somewhere fancy (where the food is prettier than I am, and alas, is gone in one bite :/ ) Either way, you get the idea, I love food. As part of this little declaration, I should also confess that I love chocolate. However, this is where I differ. I would much rather have Cadbury's or Galaxy chocolate - hell, even supermarket own brand chocolate, than a fancy box. Simple, is sooooo often better!

Now you are all thinking about chocolate... Think about the humble Cadbury's Mini Egg. Not quite so rare as they used to be, as they disappear from our supermarket shelves for all of three days now over the Christmas period, but still a treasure amongst other crispy coated chocolate bites!  The soft pastel colours, the velvety feel to the powdered shell and that ever-so-satisfying bite through the crisp shell into the soft, creamy milk chocolate.And the fact that it almost impossible to stop at ten one. A few days ago, a rather large bag was being offered around in work.

Note: I am trying to be good with eating at the moment, the more fruit and vegetables, less chocolate and cake kind of thing. I said trying. Sometimes people try and succeed, sometimes people try and fail. I tend to do the latter...! But hey, at least I tried!


Rather than take one/several/the whole bag, I decided on a slightly different treat. I smelled them.

Wow. Seriously, they do smell amazing; they smell soft and sweet and ever so tasty. And to distract myself, as the bag moved further from my reach, I found myself wondering - If the smell of Cadbury's Mini Eggs could be bottled, would women wear it as a perfume? I think I would - something soft, sweet and tasty - that sounds ever so feminine! Would you wear it yourself? Let me know!

Warning: after mentioning this little musing to a few colleagues, one fellow chocoholic suggested it would be quite dangerous to wear. Mostly, as the perfume would attract other chocoholics who might cause the wearer distress with frantic licking in attempts to get the chocolatey goodness! I'll leave you with that particular thought...

Happy Saturday,

Charlotte x

Innocence! Moi...?

Hi Everyone!

I thought I'd share my nails of the day with you! I'm having a phase where I try to wear polishes that I haven't worn before, and amidst my ever expanding collection, I spotted ELF's Innocence.

Now, I love me some ELF. Some of their products are brilliant, and I have recommended them to my sister and a fair few friends, and we are hooked! Beauty bargains! So, you can imagine at only £1.50 a go, I have an extensive ELF nail polish collection. It would be quicker to name the ones I don't have... ;)

Innocence is one of the ones I bought and haven't yet worn. Probably because it isn't showy and immediately noticeable.
This isn't the type of polish  I often go for - I need a bit of colour in my life to brighten up the dreary weather, and lighten up the dark cold nights! This is a pale beige-y colour, with the slightest hints of a dusky rose and pale grey.



This polish required at least three even coats to become this opaque. On a long nail, it does look like quite an elegant colour - I would say that it would be nice for work if you can't get away with something a bit more in your face. (Luckily for me... My boss doesn't mind my crazy polish concoctions and creations! Yay!!)

This however, does not look pretty on a shorter nail. I have a poor little broken one on the other hand, and found it looked a bit meh.

Whilst this particular polish was admired by a few people, I found myself thinking that it this is how Barbie's hand would look if the doll became a real life sized person. A strange thought, nonetheless, but one that stuck. Poor Barbie, we all know she would be desperate for a shiny hot pink!

By the time I got home from work, I was bored of this to be honest. It is a bit too 'innocent' for me! The first thing I wanted to do, was to try a matte top coat, hoping to give this polish a new lease of life, or at least a new reason to tempt me back.

Alas, this just created the ick you see above. Chalky, streaky and not very pleasant at all! I imagine this is likely due to the fact that 'Innocence' requires so many coats to look half decent. The top coat just ate bits of it away! Om nom nom!

I can't see this being a polish I will rush to use again. It was hard-ish to apply, with a tendency to be a bit streaky and an unsatisfying formula. Despite the fact I had to add many layers, I found that the overall finish was not as good as I had hoped. Perhaps next time, if I'm bored enough, I'll try it with some flakies or glitter over the top, but for now - back on the shelf! Such a shame, as so many of my ELF polishes have fantastic formulas and application!

Oh well, on to the next mani! I hope you find this useful,

Charlotte x

Hello There Kitty...!

Hi Everyone!

I thought I would share with you some pictures of my nails that I did a while back. If anything, these were more for my sister than for me, as she is the Hello Kitty fan! As always, I've been trying to encourage her to grow her nails, and I thought this cute mani might do the trick, but no...  

I had seen a few examples of this online, and decided that I wanted to do a bare nail manicure, with the 'french tip' effect. I really loved how cute the red and white looked together, and the silver just gives it the right amount of sparkle!

 

I'm no artist, but I am happy with how my kitty turned out! It ain't perfect, but I like it! And I got a lot of compliments for it, which is always awesome!

For this manicure, I used the Mavala 'Elle' Red for the tips (awesome freebie, courtesy of the wonderful Beth at www.glossgalore.com!), the Claire's Accessories nail art pens in Black, White and Silver for dots and lining, and a Red (unnamed and unnumbered!) Nail Star nail art pen for Kitty's bow! 

You can see my Claire's nail art pens are well used, the labels are rubbing away! To make the actual dots, I put some of the white polish on a piece of card and used an old, bent bobby pin/hair grip to apply them evenly!Then I covered with a top coat to keep them shiny and pretty!

This manicure is a really cute and girly one – the Kitty was a bit tricky for me, and a bit adventurous for work haha!   Even without the Kitty, the tips alone look fab and fun! I hope you like it!

Have a lovely day,

Charlotte x