Recent Buys | New Nail Polishes

| nail swatches all photographed with a topcoat polish |

If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I recently took the plunge and sorted out my nail polish collection. Yes girls - I embraced my inner ruthless-ness and got rid of any I don't wear or any that had simply gone gooey and well past their prime! I find it very hard to part with nail polishes - collections are updated so often that it's sometimes hard to find a replacement for a shade that you're getting rid of and as someone who changes their nail polish up to 3 times a week (shocking .. I know, I just can't stand chipped talons!), having a big selection of shades is quite important to one's manicure regime!  Since clearing out the somewhat obsessive collection, I've been really good and only purchased 5 newbies over the past 3 months or so (this is astonishingly good going for me - it's taken a big fat dose of willpower not to accidentally-on-purpose knock a couple of bottles into my basket when picking up neccessities). I thought I'd show you the ones I decided to cave in to.. one brand being one I've never tried before but have been so superly duperly impressed by I will most probably be going back to grab the whole shade range pretty soonish..

| Sinful Colors | Timbleberry | £1.99 |

A brand I've never tried before but one that I will be buying into again for sure. The quality is amazing - for the price of £1.99 it is such a bargain and it beats my more expensive polishes in terms of application and wear time without a doubt.  I noticed very little chipping and the formula is smooth and easy to paint on.  The colour is also amazing - it's a lovely orangey coral colour with a slight hint of pinky red - a really interesting shade that is really bright and colourful - perfect for this time of year and one that will take you through summer as it will look beautiful with a tan.  A girl even stopped me when getting on the bus to ask what shade I was wearing on my nails - so trust me on this - the photographs don't do it justice! My local Boots store have quite an extensive range of shades - one of the best displays of colour i've seen in a long time - I really, really recommend you have a little nosey if you spot them.

| Orly | Purple Crush | £5 |

 This has been on my wishlist for ages.  At £5 it isn't the cheapest of polishes and the bottle is definitely on the small side, but I loved the colour so much I decided I'd treat myself.  I must say, the only downside to this polish is the wear time - I personally find it chips quite easily, and when dry the finish is quite matte.  I'm a big fan of shiny, glossy nails so this is something that annoys me a little.  I have to apply a couple of coats of my top coat to get a good gloss on it. Apart from that, I love the application and the colour range available, and the colour only takes 2 coats to get a fully opaque finish.  I actually quite like the little bottle and the brush - it's all very cute and it makes for a fool proof application - yippee.

| Barry M | Mushroom | £2.99 |

An old favourite and a cult product amongst the blogger world.  Such a brilliant understated colour that gives a nod to the whole 'nude nails' trend without looking sickly.  Barry M's polishes are some of my all time favourites and the quality is bang on for the price.

| Revlon 'Moon Candy' Collection | Galactic | £8 |

An impulse buy, and an expensive one at that! I was so taken by the little duos in their 'Moon Candy' collection and even though this polish probably isn't the most obvious choice now we're coming into Spring/Summer - it's one that I simply had to have.  The little foil pieces in the polish bring the shade to life and add so much dimension and interest to the nails.  I really love the finish it gives and the irridescent pieces certainly aren't skimped on - it only took two swipes with the brush to get the finish shown in the swatch photographed above.

| OPI | Teal The Cows Come Home |

Bought in a blog sale for £5 - I've had this on my list since last year so when I saw it in a blog sale recently I had to get it! OPI polishes don't come cheap so I was really chuffed to grab it for a fiver! If you're a regular reader of my nail-related posts you'll know I adore blue polish - and this shade is just the most beautiful shade of turquoise blue ever. It's not the most opaque polish in the world, which is a shame as it takes a good 3 coats to build up properly, but I've also worn it over plain blue polish to give a bit of metallic dimension and it looks amazing. I love it.

I've done so well to hold back on the temptation to go crazy and build up my collection again. But I think it's good to have a good clear out and buy shades you really love instead of having a load of them you'll probably never wear.  I will certainly be stocking up on more of the Sinful colours range - there's some amazing bright corals and blues in their shade selection that I simply need in my life! You can take a little look on the Boots website here (I'd also just like to add I am in no way associated with this company or being paid and poked with a stick to sing their praises - I just happened to stumble upon them and think it's of paramount importance that you are all aware of their existence!)

Have you tried any of these brands? Whats your favourite shade right now? I'm on the lookout for some new favourites!

Latest Drugstore Beauty Purchases

Sometimes, in one's life, a trip to Boots or Superdrug for a mere shampoo or two turns into a little indulge-fest ending in a basket full of goods you never really set out to purchase but realise you simply must have. This is exactly what happened on a recent jolly-outing with my motherbear.  Of course, I thought it was only right I showed you what I threw in my basket that day and give you a little run through of what my first impressions of some of them have been...

Seche Vite | Dry Fast Top Coat | £9 | This is a repurchase for me and is something I will continue to buy forever and ever. And ever.  If, like me, you love painting your nails but hate waiting for them to dry then you need this in your life. It's very much worth the price tag and it lasts an age. I use this about 3 times a week and my first bottle lasted a good 6 months. I honestly cannot recommend this top coat enough and those of you sat wafting your hands in the air like you're at a boy-band concert of some sort waiting patiently for your nails to dry - take note!

Orly Polish in 'Purple Crush' | £5 | I bought this a while back now but decided to throw it in with this post anyway. I've had my eye on this for ages but never quite fancied parting with a fiver for a teensy-tiny bottle. I finally gave into temptation and my goodness me, it's such a pretty colour.  It's a really deep fucshia pink with warm purple hints and it looks utterly fabulous on the nails.

Barry M | Nail Paint in 'Mushroom' | £2.99 | I've wanted this in my collection for yonks. I've worn it already and I just think it's a beautiful understated shade of nudey-brown that goes with anything.

Eyelure False Lashes in 'Natural Volume' 020 | £5.35 | I often grab a pair of these. They're certainly not you're typical false eyelashes that you'd wear on a night out and they're incredibly subtle - but I keep these by me in case I ever need a bit of an eyelash boost on a day out somewhere nice, or if i'm going out for lunch. If, like me, you don't like full on glamour for daytime and you can be a little bit 'iffy' with false lashes, then i'd really recommend these. They're so light you can't even feel them on your peepers. Perfect.

John Frieda | Full Repair Deep Conditioner | £6.29 | I desperately needed an intense conditioner. My hair has gone crazy recently and i've had a bad hair month, let alone a bad hair day! I popped this on the other night and my mother commented straight after i'd dryed it how shiny my hair looked. Thumbs up so far John! ;) I must admit, I really do love John Frieda products and it's my go-to brand for all things hair care.

Rimmel Kate Moss Matte Lipstick in '101' | £5.49 | After loving the infamous '107' shade over the festive period (review & FOTD here) , I figured it was about time I picked up another one of these beauties. I opted for the lovely nude pink shade. So wearable and a fabulous daytime colour I will get tonnes of wear out of.

Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in '010 Rouge Buzz' | £7.99 | I bloomin' love this lipsticks and did a little review not long ago that you can read here. This one is amazingly bright and is a lovely orangey red. Similar to Mac's Lady Danger but a little bit more creamy in formulation.

Samy | Fat Hair Amplifying Mousse & Hairspray | I've been wanting to try this range for ages and finally gave in when I saw they were on offer. I shall do a review soon once I've given them a good whirl! I'm still not sure if they've taken over my trusty Mark Hill 'Va Va Voom' mousse/Elnet Volume Spray combo. But I shall let you know if they cut the mustard!

Revlon | Nearly Naked Foundation in 'Nude' | £8.99 | I gave into the rumours i've heard about this foundation being amazing and decided to try it for myself. I've never actually tried any Revlon foundations but being a fan of a sheer daytime base I thought I'd try this one out!

Rimmel | Match Perfection Foundation in 'Soft Beige' | £6.99 | Ok. So i've only used this for about 4 days but I'm really enjoying using this one. It's definitely medium coverage and covers the majority of imperfections - it looks flawless once applied and I find the colour range works for me as the lighter shades seem to have more available options if you have cooler yellow tones in your skin like me! Yippee! I have a feeling this will knock 'Wake Me Up' out of the water for me - I love that this one seems to have a more satin finish and doesn't look overly dewy. Watch this space ladies..

And so there we have it! Another trip to Boots/Superdrug and another little collection has gathered on my beauty shelves. I'd also just like to apologise for my past two posts having to be duplicated - I'm having such a 'mare with my HTML on some blog posts at the moment, and although the posts read fine it seems to stop any other blog posts showing up on my home page. If any of you are also getting this really annoying little devil of a problem, please do tell me if you've managed to shed any light on it.  I'm really not getting much joy out of typing my blog posts out twice every time to correct it!  I do hope this won't be a regular thing but something has really began to go a little pear-shaped over on Bird's Words the past few days.

Have you tried any of these products? What were your thoughts?