Hello 2012! (& a cheeky sale purchase)..

Well, Christmas has been and gone, and (like every single year) my mind has already turned to booking holidays for the next year ahead (yes, admittedly i did spend about 2 hours online scrolling through various trips to sunnier climes and hovering over the 'book now' button for quite some time last night). It's a bit of a running joke with people at work and my friends that all i can think about is jetting away.. And what clothes and cosmetics i will be buying to take away with me (I know, i'm awful..) But of course, the new year means new year's resolutions (as well as holidays!). I never ever really make New Year's resolutions purely because i never ever keep them! But i thought i'd jot a couple down - for the sake of it :) And because it makes me feel better...

1. Stop spending so much on stuff i don't need. (Pfft.. yeah. As IF this will ever happen.. but i really do need to be more careful with my money now that i've decided to go back into education..i'm spending my money as if i'm still earning my full-time wage :(..woops..)

2. Get a new job. My main one. Every year. And i never do. I don't know why i never do. If i'm honest with myself it's probably because i just can't be bothered..(yes that sounds lazy..i suppose it is). I just hate the whole CV sending, interviewing nightmare and i always put it off. There's nothing really wrong with the job i have now, i love the people i work with (which is probably what has kept me so long!) but i just don't enjoy it anymore after 3 years of doing the same things every day..I thought that dropping down my hours would help, but it hasn't. It's just made me more determined to get out of retail!

3. Get FLIPPING ORGANISED! On the surface i do come across as rather organised, but the truth is i'm really not. I have a tendancy to forget ANYTHING and everything people tell me and i need to brush up on my organising/time management skills now i'm doing my uni course.

SO, my first resolution would have been broken if today were the 1st January (hehe..) because i was strolling through Boots on my way to workies this morning and spotted this..

St Tropez Tanning Set - Was £30 Now £15

Everything in Boots' 'present' range (basically anything with the gift picture on it) is half price! You can imagine my excitement... I would have spent longer in there and probably bought a basket full of beauty goodies however it was 10 to 9 and time wasn't on my side. I also had my eye on some pretty photoframes and an Umberto Giannini 'Big Hair' set.. 

But i decided to go for the St Tropez.

It's my favourite brand of fake tan..although it's a bit bloody expensive! OOF! But i justify the price because it really is THAT.good. I love it. I use it for every night out and i find the application so easy and i find that the colour always looks more natural..and less 'orange'. It also doesn't leave me smelling like a great big soggy biscuit..which is a very big plus!  (Dont you just hate smelling like a digestive after applying fake tan..)
In this set you get:

Self Tan Bronzing Mousse 120ml

Wash off Instant Glow Face Lotion 50ml *been eyeing this up on ASOS.com for ages so i was extreme-chuffed that they threw this in there too!*

Gold Illuminator 50ml

Tan Applicator Mitt *I should hope they throw a mitt in too for the price!*

I shall do a little review on this set once i've had the oppurtunity to use it. The only St Tropez products i've ever used is the mousse and the gradual tan and i've always been impressed by both - so i'm expecting good things from this little gem of a set :)

Infact, i may actually save the illuminator for my holidays.... ;) 

And that leaves me to wish all of of you a very Happy New Year! 

I hope 2012 brings you lots of happiness and fun times :)

(I thought this last picture described my 'New Year' thoughts quite well?...)

What are all your New Year's resolutions? If you do have any at all! :)

    Lots of love 

(P.S.. I've just noticed i'm on 99 followers.. One more before midnight is now my aim for this year! ha :))

Pre-Christmas Clothing Buys

Hey lovelies. 

I've been meaning to do little 'clothing purchases of the month/week' - and never got round to it for various reasons. The photos have been building up on my camera so i thought i'd show you a couple of clothing items that i've picked up the past month or so..I've been wanting to do more fashion-y posts for ages now but i'm never really happy with the photos - either due to the cruddy wintery lighting or the fact that its slightly harder to photograph. But i've finally decided to just whack some photos up anyway..I shall try not to ramble too much..

ASOS  

I love ASOS. I'd say the majority of my wardrobe (or atleast my 'going out' wardrobe) is from here. I love it because they have such lovely designs that you don't necerssarily see in the shops. I also like the fact they offer a SUPER SAVER delivery option at the till. If you're prepared to wait an extra 2 or 3 days it's completely free..which is the main reason i repurchase from here as i tend to begrudge paying ridiculous posting fees!

 

ASOS Lace Knicker Shorts

I wore these Christmas Day with a black shirt and tights with some glitter wedges. Yes, they are rather short, but if you pair them with the right things they look lovely (my mother actually approved of these).

 ASOS Lace Bandeau Playsuit

Again with the knicker shorts.. These are even shorter than the ones above but again, with a pair of tights and a nice tailored jacket i think i will be able to do something with it. I love playsuits, so this one just had to have a place in my wardrobe.

ASOS Blouse with Sparkles

Eeeeeeeeee Sparklessss! A sheer shirt with a bit of a glittery twist. It has a little keyhole detail on the front which i thought made it a bit different.

Since i've bought these, they've ALL gone into the sale (*gutted much?*) Here's some links if you want to nab yourself a little ASOS bargain:

ASOS Lace Knicker Shorts: £25 now £16

ASOS Lace Bandeau Playsuit: £45 (although the Petite version is now £29)

ASOS Blouse with Sparkles: £30 now £21

New Look

Lace Panel Blouse

I love a white blouse as much as the next person..but this one is made even better by the fact it has lace detailing to the arms, shoulders and the top of the back.

I love New Look shoes. 

They make me an extremely happy girl. Good quality, on trend and at reasonable prices. The pink ones i picked up in the sale that started before Christmas for a TENNER!  and the glitter wedges were an impulse buy.. Woops. :)

H&M

White Jumper with Bow Detail - £14.99

I needed a new white jumper, so i settled on this one. It's simple but the little black bow adds a nice little bit of detail. I believe this has also now in the sale (or maybe just in black?) for £7. This will teach me to avoid going shopping in the week before the sales start!

Primark

And here's just a few bits i've picked up from good old Primarni..

 Scalloped Collar Blouses - £6 each

Blouses - £10

Christmas Nails (& A Cheeky ASOS Purchase)

WELL, i hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day.

I have many posts planned over the next week or so, and i'm muchos looking forward to everyone elses posts too as i'm sure the famous bearded chap has bought you all some lovely goodies to blog your socks off about :) 

Just a quick post tonight; thought i'd show you all my christmas day nails...

(Almost buried my claw-hand in the Christmas tree there ^ .. ha.. It's quite difficult to take nail photos without some hint of a claw-hand isn't it? :))

I wanted to go for a festive red but didn't want to go for just a plain colour. So i settled on Barry M: Raspberry (a deep plum colour), and a very thin coat of Barry M's Red Glitter over the top (i brushed it on really lightly). The red glitter just gives a bit more depth to the darker shade of red underneath and it looks really lovely when it catches the light. The photos don't really do it much justice - believe it or not they were actually taken in daylight.. Hmmm.. These winter days don't do anything for bloggy photographs!

 

 

And the cheeky ASOS Purchase?...

YESsss. Again, i've had one of my 'ASOS woopsie' moments and I've treated myself to a new jumper.. I always like to treat myself on boxing day but i prefer to do it in the comfort of my own home, sat on the sofa scoffing a big box of chocolates in my christmas pyjamas (hmm..charming image..), without having to elbow my way through the sale-shoppers.. 

Here's what i've just ordered (obviously i've nicked the photo off the website as i've just this second clicked the 'order' button..)

I've been eyeing it up for ages.. It's been one of those things you 'add to your basket' and never actually buy. I'm one of those really annoying online shoppers who spends hours putting everything in their basket and then goes to pay and thinks 'nahh..' (after wasting a few hours of my day getting a bit click-happy)

But it's Christmas.. So i justified it...What a little rascal i am! *slap wrist* 

I will hopefully have a 'Christmas Outfit of the Day/Face of the Day' up very soon, and i've fallen in love with a new lipstick.. I shall reveal all within the next week...

I hope you've all had a fun-filled Boxing Day, and maybe even some of you have nabbed some bargainous purchases in the sales?..

Someday Summary: Wishing You A Merry Christmas...

Just a quick post to wish every one of my followers a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas Eve. I've been at work today so i haven't been feeling particularly festive until now. Although i did have a little chuckle with the work girls at the gentleman who brightened up our day just because he entered the shop looking rather jolly, sporting his 'christmas jumper' which had a huge picture of Santa's face on it (which was made even more funny due to the fact that he actually looked like Santa and had the exact same beard as the one pictured on his clothing...) Upon clapping him and asking him to "show us yer festive jumper and give us a twirl" - he did just that. 

Brilliant. 

Made my day.

It's not often you get happy, smiley people in our shop anymore so it was nice to have some festive cheer and to have a little giggle at with a friendly chap and his wife (who also joined us in laughing at her husbands 'twirl'). 

I shall leave you with a photo of my Christmassy leopard-gecko lizard..

And my little fairy lights in my room.. :)

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Day tomorrow and that Mr Santa Claus brings you muchos lovely things :)

Festive Nails: Blue & Silver Glitter

I've really started to get into the Christmas spirit this week (aside from the fact i've had a case of the sniffles - blegh). I've finished all my Christmas shopping, my fridge is stocked to the brim with festive alcohol beverages, my presents are all wrapped up and me and my mother have been making a Christmas playlist to listen to on the 25th (and yes we have been singing along to songs at the top of our voices and getting rather merry listening to a bit of Slade..Ooo yes).

The only thing that has the potential to ruin this festive mood of mine is work.

On Christmas Eve.

All it takes is a moody customer and BOOM - my good mood will be gone.

So, me and the girls have thought of a way to keep our spirits high and have decided we are all going to paint our nails in a Christmassy way. YAY for Christmas nails! (We also have the Michael Buble Christmas album playing so we have NO excuse not to feel slightly jolly).

I may change the colour scheme if it chips before Saturday but here's my Christmas Eve nails:

I decided to go for blue and silver simply because i've used my Barry M Red Glitter to death the past few weeks and fancied a bit of a change. Blue and Silver also happens to be my 'wrapping theme' this year (ahah..how sad does that make me sound? Surely some of you decide on a colour scheme for your wrapping up paper and bows?) :)

Barry M "Silver Glitter" & Barry M "Blue Glitter"

Is anyone else working Christmas Eve/Day this year? Will you also be getting the girls together for a festive-nail-painting-sesh? :)

Hope you're all having lovely weeks or fun and merry-ness :)

Barry M - Instant Tan Spray Review

Aloha my little bloggy scoundrels :) 

As you all are aware, it's almost Christmas and that can only mean one thing.. Christmas outings/drinks/excessive food/nights on the tiles/general christmassy drunken-ness .. which also means, that there will be many drunken photos being taken and many new outfits to be worn. I had a bit of a panic momento last weekend when i realised i was off out for drinks in town and ..... i.had.forgotten.to.fake.tan.

I know.

I was at a complete loss as to what to do.

Being at work meant i couldn't exactly whack on some St. Tropez and be done, i had no choice but to opt for an instant tanning method. I normally use Rimmel's Sun Shimmer which does the job perfectly well, but it's beginning to run out, and i couldn't risk not buying a 'back-up' plan. So, i purchased my back-up plan, in the form of Barry M's Instant Tan. I figured i would give it a go, since i've been wanting to try it since it was launched, and it seemed like the perfect chance excuse to nab one..

It comes in your average spray can bottle. Which i like, because it usually means an even application - but also means it gets EVERYWHERE. Seriously, your legs will look beautifully spray tanned but your carpet will look like it's been tangoed. I would advise to probably do this in the shower or in the bath, and clean it immediately.. either that or cover your carpet in old towels.

This product very much reminds me of Sally Hansen's Airbrush legs. If you've ever tried this you will know that the spray comes out in more of a 'makeup' form rather than just a coloured mist. This is what i like about Barry M's Instant Tan. It's a fake tan, but also has a hint of coverage which makes your skin look almost flawless.

Before-

 After -

 (Yay for the claw hand!...)

The mist is supposed to be sprayed from 20cm, however, this just wasn't practical for me as i didn't want it to go everywhere (it was already on my carpet and i didn't really fancy the same effect on my walls). SO, i sprayed it a little closer and then used a self-tanning mitt to buff the colour in slightly which worked fine for me. As you can see by the photos, there is a noticeable difference in colour once applied. It does give skin a sort of 'airbrush' finish, and what i liked about this is the fact that the product is buildable, so if you did want a slightly darker finish then you can apply a second coat.

The only downside is the smell. Oh goodness, i do suggest you open a window or simply don't breathe or open your mouth until you get into a 'safe place'. I say this because i breathed some of it in and it tastes like hairspray (STRONG hairspray i might add)..and smells quite strongly too. But it's fine once it's on your skin! 

I also suggest you blend it quite quickly as it settles on the skin rather fast. Have a mitt handy to avoid patchiness. I also wouldn't recommend you wear white, and i also wouldn't recommend you spill any form of beverage down your legs either :) It will come off. And it will also tranfer to your bedsheets. As can be expected with all instant tans i suppose (although my Rimmel one doesn't do this quite as much).

I would buy this again (although this time i will take one from the back of the stand as i reckon someone had a cheeky little spray of the one i got..the little rascal..serves me right for being lazy) however i do prefer my Rimmel one as i just prefer the overall colour and the convienience of the application. I'd buy this again for the overall 'makeup' effect it has and the fact that it covers any flaws. 

Have you tried any of the Barry M Tanning products?

NYX Glitter Cream Palette

I was like a fat kid in a sweet shop when i saw this glitter palette during my Christmas shopping mission yesterday. It's like i have a little glitter radar and anything glittery within a mile of me i'm just drawn to. 

Do not under-estimate the power of glitter.

I never knew i could get my mitts on Nyx stuff in the UK, either that or i've just been under a rock for my entire 21 years of life and never realised River Island actually stocked some of it...

Well done River Island. You have pleased me :)

After charging into the shop looking like a right weirdo shouting 'NYX!! NYX!!, I spent a good half hour stood in the same spot with this palette in one hand and the pink version in the other, attempting to decide between the two as to which one i should get. I must have been in the way of countless christmas shoppers shoving their way past me, but i didn't give a toss..i was in my own glittery world and nothing comes between me and GLITTERY THINGSSS!  In the end, i went for the 'smokey' version - as i decided i would probably get more use out of it (i don't tend to wear colours on my eyes..although i must admit i felt a slight degree of sadness when i placed the pink sparkly one back in it's place..)

LOOK HOW GLITTERY THEY ARE!!!! :D excite much?

The shadows are of a cream consistency and are literally CRAMMED with glittery bits. Perfect for the christmas season and any parties you may have planned, but i'd probably get some wear out of these all year round on nights out and such-like. There is ALWAYS an excuse for glitter in my opinion. 

The palette comes in your average plastic make-up case. Yeah, it's alright. Bit tacky. I wouldn't rave about it but for £6 i couldn't care less really.. It's a lovely size though, i reckon i might pick up a couple more as they make lovely stocking fillers for fellow friends and glitter-fans. In true beauty-blogger style, i got home and had a fun time swatching each colour. Here are the results of the swatching-madness:

The only thing is, they look more pigmented than they actually are... The 'cream' shadow is actually almost clear in colour, which i'm not too keen on. I just wish they had put a tiny bit of colour in there too just to make the colours a bit more noticeable. However, never one to complain (ahaa..whatevs), i have decided that they would look really nice over some of the colours in my trusty Urban Decay Naked palette, as the colours actually match up quite well to some of the shadows in there. The good thing about these cream shadows is that they actually do stick quite well, so i'd probably apply my eyeshadow and they gently pat some of the glitter over the top. The glitter does come out quite thickly too - infact, when i first swatched them i had to dig through a layer of PURE GLITTER to get to the actual eyeshadow. Lurrvley. I think they would probably look nice underneath the lower lash line too, as more of a statement night-time makeup look. Here's the pink version of which i will most probably find myself buying next week anyway:

HOW LOVELY is the middle one?! EeEEeep :)

Personally, i quite like it. I've yet to see whether they last a long time as cream shadows often have a tendancy to crease and wear off quite easily. But i'm hoping the glitter helps it to stick a bit more. If you've also got a bit of a glitter-obsession..then get yourself to River Island and have a look at these palettes.. They also have numerous other glittery products for you to feast your eyes on..

(Hmm, i wonder how many times i've said the word 'glitter' in this post.. ?)