Beautifully Black

Hi ladies!

I haven't done a nails post in a while, and really wanted to show you this little baby, which I put on for the meal I posted about here.

It's from No7 and is 'Beautifully Black' (number 70). It's the first No7 nail varnish I've ever owned because I normally stick to the slightly cheaper brands such as 17, Rimmel and Barry M. If I'm totally honest I only got it because I had one of those £5 No7 vouchers they regularly give out at Boots, so I thought I would try it out!

Here's the same image, with and without flash, to hopefully show the shade off in its most realistic light.

I used two coats. One would have probably been ok, but I wanted two just to ensure I had full coverage. I have to say that it did exactly as it says on the tin - speed dry. After only a minute or two I was ready to rock and roll.

I hope you can see from the pictures the lovely glittery effect this nail varnish gives. The glitter is very subtle and just gives a gorgeous sheen. It's not like many glitter nail varnishes that are really thick and give a coarse finish that you can tell will be difficult to get off - it still has a super smooth finish. From a distance it almost looks just plain black, as you get a bit closer you can see the lovely sparkling effect.

I was very impressed and will definitely be wearing this again when I want a modern yet sophisticated look.

The reason I have waited a few days to post this review is that I wanted to wait to see how it would fare after being worn for a longer period of time. It's now two days since I painted my nails, and I have to say it's not doing too well. Although some nails are still intact, I do have a lot of chips. However, I have been swimming twice and done a lot of sorting in my room, so maybe this has had something to do with it.

If I were to sum it up I would say it's an absolutely gorgeous nail varnish for an event or evening out which I will definitely be using again, but I wouldn't recommend it for daily wear as I found it did chip quite easily.

What are your favourite nail varnishes at the moment? I find it hard to find darker shades that I really like - has anyone got any recommendations?

xx

Bargain Beauty Buys!

Happy New Year All!

I'm sure along with many other bloggers, one of my New Year's Resolutions is to blog more often (or at least be more consistent), so here I go with my first post of 2011!

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love a bargain :-) So I always get particularly excited about hitting the January sales (I'm not one of those people who queues at 5am though - I normally give it a few days so the serious shoppers get out of the way!)

This year I managed to get quite a few bargains. I'll show my clothes and accessories in a different post, but for now I thought you might perhaps like a gander at my bargain beauty buys!

First up is this gorgeous eye set from No7. As I'm sure you all know, all of Boots' gifts went down to half price after Christmas, and this set was one of those items. I was a very happy bunny to pick this up for £7.50, and it consists of three trio eye shadows, two eyeliners and a small mascara, perfect for my handbag. The packaging on the eye shadows is just adorable.

Next up were these three trio eye shadows from 17. Again, these were half price so I got them for £3. I know the colours are quite similar to some of the ones in the No7 set above, so I'll definitely wait to finish one set until I start the other - I hate having too many similar products on the go at the same time, as I never end up finishing anything off!

I hit Ruby and Millie next (not literally) and got this brush for £4, again from Boots. The shiny casing is gorgeous and it even comes with a lovely leather feel case so it doesn't get scratched on its travels.

Ruby and Millie again, next up is this sleek compact mirror. It has gold casing, swivels open, and has a normal mirror and a x2 mirror (scary!). I wanted to nab myself a compact mirror for my bag in the sales so was very pleased with this :-)

I'm sure many of you know that Boots have recently been doing an offer that when you spend a certain amount you get a £5 voucher for No7 - they do this quite regularly and I'm a big fan! After visiting Boots several times (as you can tell above!) I managed to get hold of two vouchers, and quickly snapped up these two brushes - a concealer brush and an eyeshadow brush. Obviously I had to pay some money towards them, but I still saved £10. I've been wanting to throw out all my old brushes for ages and start a fresh so was very pleased(continued below...!).

I managed to drag myself away from Boots (just!) and next stop was Marks and Spencer. It's not usually one of my favourite shops, but I just fell in love with this little set - funky tweezers, nail clippers and nail file! How cute are the tweezers in particular?! The set was reduced to just £3 so I couldn't say no!

Finally we have these little beauties - a brush set from No7. I've seen these on a few blogs, and I have to agree with everyone that's written about them - the floral pattern is super gorgeous, and the brushes seem great quality. I haven to admit that I didn't actually buy these for myself :-/ I bought them for my mum as an extra Christmas present for £15 from Boots, and then told her that I planned to get myself a set in the sale. However, when I tried to get them in the sales all my local Boots were sold out :-( So my mum said I could have the set I got her, as she knew I really liked them and she already had a nice set :-)

They even come with this cute black patent case with pink lining, which is really handy if you are taking them anywhere with you.

And that's it! Mission Sales Shopping, Accomplished!

Hope you like my purchases! I'm a very happy lady, as I love all the things I bought and, even better, I love that I got them for bargainous prices!

Have any of you managed to get any bargains in the January sales? I'd love to hear about them!

xx

These boots are made for walkin'!

You know when you buy something and you like it so much that you have to keep looking at it?! Well that's how I feel about my latest purchase - my gorgeous boots from River Island :-) I keep popping into my bedroom to get another peak! ('sad' springs to mind...)

I was in Watford supposedly shopping for Christmas presents recently, but 'accidentally' wandered into River Island and picked these beauties up for myself...

I've been after a new pair of boots for a few weeks now, what with the colder weather n all. These were just what I've been looking for as they're flat (I can't be doing with heels on a daily basis), a lovely tan colour, and have fur, which is just everywhere at the moment.

Now this might sound strange coming from someone who shops a lot, but the £44.99 I spent on these is the biggest amount of money I've spent on any single item in ages. Although I buy quite a lot, I normally shop in sales and am a bit of a bargain hunter. However, I reckon they're great value for money. They're really good quality and I think they'll be pretty versatile.

They should be perfect for work as well as play, and I think I can wear them with a whole range of looks. Also, as well as wearing them with all the fur showing you can turn them up so they look more like boxing boots, to give another look again.

I am tres happy with my new purchases and can't wait to debut them at work a some point this week :-)

But from now on I think I need to be kept on a tight leash on Christmas shopping expeditions, and remember I'm supposed to be buying for other people! I think it's probably best that I avoid River Island then...

xx