Barry M - Rose Quartz Glitter

Another nail polish post today... I know, I know I'm a little obsessed but this polish has quickly become one of my all time favourite's and I'm excited to share it with you all. I couldn't resist grabbing this little Barry M polish as it's absolutely beautiful. Rose Quartz Glitter is one of Barry M's newer polishes and is filled with tiny bits of silver glitter and slightly bigger pieces of pink hexagonal glitter within a clear polish base... and oh how it catches the light! This polish seriously sparkles, it's really stunning how all the tiny pieces of glitter catch the light and kick back other colours - it's seriously gorgeous.

There is the perfect ratio of glitter to clear polish with Rose Quartz Glitter - there is a lot of glitter within this so you don't have to fight to spread glitter evenly on the nail so it's very easy to apply and create different looks. With one coat you get a nice scatter of glitter across the nail but this is easy to build and within three coats you have a fairly opaque glittery nail.

I applied this over my ring fingers on top of Essie's - Not Just A Pretty Face and I absolutely love the combination, they both work very well together. 

{Nails: Essie's Not Just A Pretty Face. Ring Finger: Barry M's Rose Quartz Glitter 2 coats}

I honestly can't say enough good things about Rose Quartz Glitter, it was super easy to apply, dried quickly, is easy to build upon and looks stunning. I always feel like my pictures don't quite give these polish swatches enough justice (I blame poor lighting and my Iphone). Barry M polishes are £2.99 a bottle and can be purchased in Boots and Superdrug stores, so if you're a glitter fan I strongly recommend this little bargain!

Essie - Not Just A Pretty Face

Essie's - Not Just A Pretty Face is a gorgeous pink nude shade. Being a little Essie obsessive, and whilst on the look out for a new nude shade, I decided to grab this one. I love my bright and dark nail polishes but due to work I'm often wearing toned down, natural - nude shades which is fine with me as I also love pretty nudes too.

I'm not going to go in to much of a review for Essie nail polishes as this isn't the first Essie polish I've done a post on (Essie-Eternal Optimist and a few others). But in a nutshell they are great quality, long wearing and are the easiest to apply due to the wide brush. Essie has become a lot more accessible due to being in more mainstream stores such as Boots and Superdrug.

Not Just A Pretty Face applied beautifully, just one coat gave my nails a subtle nude shine to my nails (a sheer my nails but better look). Two coats gave a much more opaque finish which was pretty much spot on with the way the shade looks in the bottle. This leaves a gloss on the nails and in my opinion gives a very pretty and clean look. 

I normally get a few days wear out of Essie's polishes without chips and tip wear which is great. I think this is my new favourite nude for work, I love the gloss and the pinky/nude finish! Have you tried this nail polish? What are your favourite natural/nude polishes?

The Little Things

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-Having two of my closest friends come to visit me for a few days. Those few days were lovely! 


-Listening to (and loving) The Killer's latest album


-Warm hot chocolates in bed after a long day at work


-A little DVD splurge in Tesco due to all the bargain prices! Oh I do love a bargain


-Period dramas! Getting tucked up in to my warm bed, hot chocolate in hand and watching Pride and Prejudice. Nice and cosy :)


-Spending yesterday afternoon with the boyfriend and enjoying some delicious Mexican food together. Yummy


-Hearing good news. It's always heart warming when someone close to you has some lovely news and seeing their ridiculously happy faces :) 


-My mums dog has had a little hair cut, she looks so cute! Her hair can get quite long and it can become a struggle to see her eyes! She's all teddy bear looking now... awwhh


-Knowing I have this weekend off work (this can be rare!). I'm looking forward to spending some time relaxing and with a few of the loved ones

Balmi Lip Balm

I am a lip balm obsessive. I always struggle to resist picking up new lip balms - particularly those that are new or that I haven't spotted before. That is why it took me less than five seconds to spot Balmi in Boots and sling it in to my shopping basket. I hadn't heard anything about these lip balms prior to picking this up so had no idea what to expect. Although to be honest, I was expecting it to be a bit of a disappointment. Only because I have discovered how difficult it can be to grab a decent lip balm that actually does its job.

Anyway I picked up a Balmi - in Raspberry for just under £5 in Boots (for around 10g of lipbalm). The packaging and product is different to the standard lip balm tubes or little pots. Balmi is actually the size and shape of a bouncy ball and includes a little chain which you could easily attach to your keys. The product twists open to reveal a ball of lip balm. You can hold the bottom of the product and just apply the lip balm directly to your lips or you could use your finger. Due to the size of the lip balm ball it feels that it's not only going to go on to your lips but all around your lips - and on to your face. But this isn't actually the case.

The lip balm is actually quite moisturising and soft on the lips and also contains SPF 15 which is great. It isn't like some lip balms which are too dry or just sit on the lips doing nothing. Once applied your lips have a slightly clear glossy finish on the lips which I like. I also like the quantity of lip balm that is available as well as the quirky packaging. The lip balm itself smells gorgeous - like sweet raspberries. Overall I do like this product and was surprised by the quality. But as nice as it is, in my personal opinion I believe that there are other lip balms that work a lot better for me, so this isn't going to be a lip balm favourite for me. But I think this product is nice in itself. I do love that you have the option to attach Balmi to your keys as sometimes things can get lost in the bottom of your bag, so at least with Balmi you'll never lose it.

Have you tried Balmi yet? What are your favourite lip balms?

Words To Live By

I'll start off by apologising for my lack of blogging over the last weeks. I have been pretty distracted and a little bit overwhelmed so I struggled to find the time, and sometimes the motivation to blog. Although I have missed it a lot. I've had lots of little bits that I've needed to sort out, as well as working (which can be stressful in itself).

I've been meaning to do a little post on quotes for a while as I find they can be so uplifting and motivating. I absolutely love quotes as I think they can be a nice way to gain a little bit of perspective. Quotes can be thought provoking, personal and inspiring. I love looking through them and even have a little notebook where I jot my favourite ones down from books, TV programmes and places around the internet! Sometimes when I'm feeling a little bit deflated I look through quotes and I always feel a little bit more positive afterwards. Sometimes it's so easy to let situations or people have an impact on your mood and your attitude, and so reading/hearing quotes and stories can make you realise that you're not alone and not to let these situations or people have a negative impact on who you are or what you want to achieve etc.

-"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover" -Mark Twain

-"You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face" -Eleanor Roosevelt

-"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" -Eleanor Roosevelt

-"Always aim for the Moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars" -W.Clement Stone

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I'd love to hear your favourite quotes, or techniques that you use as a bit of a 'pick me up'.

♥

The Little Things

Some of the little things that have made me happy/smile over the last week or so;


-Hot bubble baths after a long day at work 


-Discovering old favourite's - I dug out my first iPod the other day. It's been hidden away for a good couple of years. It bought back memories listening to songs I'd completely forgotten about, but loved! It's been really nice listening back to it all


-I haven't been loving all of this rain. But I must admit I've loved drifting off to sleep with the sound of the rain on my bedroom window - so relaxing. And rainy Sundays which are the perfect excuse for a day of pyjamas, films and hot drinks


-Making and eating my delicious homemade banana cake


-Burning my Yankee tarts - Bahama Breeze is a current favourite


-Making the time to grab some food and watch a film with my boyfriend a few days ago 


-Planning to have a few friends come and visit for a few days in a couple of weeks time. Sometimes it's hard to find the time to have a good catch up with close friends, and unfortunately a lot of my close friends live a couple of hours away. So it's always lovely to see them. It's definitely long overdue


-My gorgeous cat's sleeping positions, sometimes they are very strange, other times they are unbelievably cute! Charlie never fails to make me smile! 

Yummy Banana Cake

Whenever I have the time, and feel like baking, I'll normally browse the net (thank you Google!) and search for a recipe that fits in with what I fancy and what is within easy reach ingredients wise. I had some time a few days ago and decided to try something a little bit different from what I would normally do, not to mention I had a few very ripe bananas that I knew were only going to get chucked away. So I searched for simple banana cake recipes, some really lovely recipes came up but this one seemed the most appealing... and easiest. The nice thing about this recipe is that the ingredients are fairly simple, they are basic ingredients that most people may already have in their cupboards. It's also so easy to add your own personal touch, you could add chocolate, honey or a different fruit as oppose to bananas.

The minute I tried a bite of this cake I immediately saved the recipe to my favourite's and knew I had to share it. This recipe was so unbelievably straightforward, it took no time at all to prepare. The batter smelt gorgeous when I was pouring it in to the cake tin - almost like custard. The end result was great, the sponge was lovely and moist and the cake tasted so delicious. It tasted sweet, and of course like bananas. Everyone who nabbed a slice enjoyed it, even my boyfriend who isn't the biggest fan of bananas. So this morning I had the last remaining slice with a cup of coffee. I will definitely be making this again.  I just loved this recipe so much I had to share it with you all. 

September Favourites | 12

It's hard to believe that we are already in to our first week of October. Summer seems to have gone by so quickly. I haven't done a favourite's post since July, as there hasn't been much to include. September's favourite's is really August/September favourite's as I've decided to combine them.

  

Essie - Peach Daiquiri

I purchased this a few months ago and wore this shade on my nails throughout my holiday  in August. It's a very bright coral red/pink shade. I found this shade perfect for the Summer. Unfortunately the name rubbed off the label on the lid on holiday - due to the heat, so I actually had to look online to find the name of this polish.

Revlon - Bewitching

I recently reviewed this nail polish -here, a few days ago . It sneaked in to my favourite's at the very end of the month, but I love the shade so much!  It's been on my nails for three days now and I only have a tiny bit of tip wear. It's a gorgeous Autumn red alternative and something I know I probably will be wearing throughout the next few months. 

Stila - Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner

I have also done a review on this product - here. This liquid eyeliner is great, it stays put, it's a lovely jet black shade and the felt tip style applicator makes it easy to apply. Read my review here, if you would like to know more.

Books- 

Whilst on holiday at the end of August I made sure that I had lots of time to relax and enjoy myself. I managed to get through a bunch of books whilst away. My two favourite's from my little handful included Veronica Roth's - Insurgent and Nicholas Spark's - The Guardian. Insurgent is on my kindle, its the second book following on from Divergent, it was a great read full of lots of surprises. Nicholas Spark's is quite a popular author, and although I've watched some of the films based upon some of his books, I've never actually read one of his books. I picked a couple up as I thought they would be quite nice, light books to read on the beach. I really enjoyed The Guardian, it was a combination of a love story and a thriller. 

Face Flannels 

Okay a flannel probably sounds like a really odd favourite, but it's true. I've decided to use flannels more often. I never normally do use flannels but I've heard many positive things about them recently. So I picked up a handful, have chucked out my irritating eye make up remover and now just use a flannel. I find it a lot more gentle and soothing when taking off make up and washing my face. I normally fill up the sink with hot soapy water and hold the flannel to my face for a minute, I find it a lot more relaxing and feel it's much better for my skin. It's a cheaper alternative to all these make up remover products and wipes which sometimes can strip the skin and cause more harm than good. It's definitely worth a try! (This article has a bit more information on the benefits of using a flannel). I love my floral Cath Kidston flannel :)

Superdrug's Vitamin E - Nourishing Night Cream 

I use this product every night on my face. It's lovely and hydrating. This leaves my skin feeling moisturised and the cream smells like cocoa butter, but isn't sickly scent nor is it particularly strong once on the skin. I find this scent to be a very fresh, clean, coconut scent which I love! This is a great inexpensive product which can be purchased in Superdrug for around £2.99 although they're currently selling this product for £1.99 if you're interested.

Yankee Tart - Bahama Breeze

I'm always burning my Yankee Tart Wax burner, my current wax tart favourite is Bahama Breeze. It's a gorgeous tropical scent - I love it. Its such a lovely scent, even if the sun has disappeared and it's cold, wet and windy.

George - Slippers

Although it's starting to get a lot colder, I do love the little slip on slippers that you can purchase in George (Asda). They are inexpensive and really comfortable. Slippers often end up falling apart eventually so I love how affordable these slippers are. I always wear them when I'm at home.

Barry M Lip Gloss - 11

I've constantly been reaching for this lip gloss recently. I purchased this a few weeks back in Superdrug. It looks like quite an opaque pink/coral colour in the tube but it's very subtle and natural looking when on the lips. The texture isn't too sticky or gloppy and it smells sooo good, it has a very fruity sweet scent to it. Barry M's products are also affordable which is always an added bonus.

{Revlon-Bewitching & Essie-Peach Daiquiri}

{Barry M -No11 & Stila Eye Liner}