Stash Organising!

Following the lead of queens of nail polish Scrangie and The Polish Addict, I have been compelled to organise my nail polish stash. I have been slacking off lately however and have yet to add some of my newer purchases to the swatching wheels. But I scanned all the wheels in today, 17 in total with 18 nails on each. I have yet to count up just how many polishes there are, but extrapolating from my previous total and adding on the new purchases I think there will be around 200 polishes. Most are pink, blue and green; the more sparkly and bright, the better. Most are also weird country-specific brands, not the usual OPI and China Glaze. Many are discontinued lines, and hence I suppose kind of one-of-a-kind now. Anyway, I though I would share my green wheel. I will put on the exact brands and names in another post, as I forgot my Excel file AND my jam and peanut butter sandwich at home this morning :(

Why Ugg Boots Are A Woman's Best Friend

Who can you call on when your feet are cold because you are too cheap to turn on the heating in your house? Who makes a really long shopping trip seem effortless and enjoyable no matter the weather? Who looks really ugly and makes your S-O sigh and wish you didn't love them so much and wore them all the time? Who, but the mighty "Ugg" boot.

I discovered these gems last year, when I at bonus pay time at my new job decided to splash out on a genuine pair of Rum Raisin Ugg Short boots. I wore them all-the-time. They have now worn so badly on the sole I have had to investigate the prospect of getting a new pair of boots. This time I decided that perhaps another company made same sort of boot with a better, sturdier sole? That is how I found Emu Australia. I bought the Stinger Hi in black, and dearie me, it is the boot of my dreams!! Compared to the Ugg boots, these come with a nice rubber outsole, which is what cinched it for me. The Ugg soles are too flimsy (they were originally meant to be worn indoors). The shaft of the boot is also slightly leg shaped which fits nicely over my rather curvaceous calves. I would order your normal size in these boots; I am a 5, but I had UK size 4 Ugg boots as UK5s were too big, but these are a UK size 5 and I couldn't have fitted into a UK4. Bear in mind also that only the Stinger range of Emu Australia is the same sort of inside-out sheepskin as the Ugg boot and they retail for a bit less than the Ugg boots. The Bronte is only sheepskin lined and costs a fraction of the price of the sheepskin boots. I sprayed my boots with suede water-repellent spray to keep them nice and waterproof-ish. Doing this will slightly darken your boots but since mine were black this doesn't matter. It makes them last a lot longer though!

5 Rules for Ugg Boot TLC

1) Always waterproof your boots BEFORE you wear them!

2) Wear socks, this is for keeping them smelling ok for longer, and it kinda looks cool if knee-high socks stick out of the top of them

3) DON'T put them on when its raining, you will cry when they go hard and patchy...

4) Wear with EVERYTHING but make sure you don't wear them on a night out, red wine stains is NOT a good look..

5) Love them forever!

My S-O will once again sigh and wish I had stilettos on, but hey, you know what, if he wants stilettos, he can buy them for me :)

NOTD - Sally Hansen Nail Prisms "Amber Ruby"

I saw this on Rocketqueens blog, and I had to have it. It is a red-gold duochrome. It is as gorgeous on the nail as it is in the bottle. Rocketqueen managed better pics of it, hers were over OPI Midnight in Moscow, but this photo gives an indication of the autumn gold that is this colour just as it goes on the nail in two coats. I got so many positive comments for this polish - even from men! It seems everyone loves it, and rightly so. It is like a metallic autumnal maple leaf - firey and golden at the same time :) However, it doesn't apply very evenly and the wear is less than 3 days even with Seche Vite (the pic is after one day) , but it is a fantastic colour and well worth the hassle.

The pic shows 1 coat Seche Clear, 2 coats Amber Ruby and 1 coat Seche Vite. I will try it again next week over a Rimmel colour called Sunset Bronze which is a golden-sparkly dark chocolate polish.

Chagrin Valley Bath Melts!

I really like the "I'm Happy" Bath Melts from Chagrin Valley :) I just wanted to say that. They are fizzing but oily! And they are all natural ingredients! Shown here is the "Invigorating" bath melts as I have used up the two "I'm happy" ones O:)

Manicure Essentials

Here is a round up of what I currently use for my manicures. It has turned out really well, my manicure lasts for 4 days before I get impatient and change my polish :) I like the little tin of SolarBalm, because I can keep it in my handbag and just apply throughout the day in the office :) The Seche Silk is lovely, it is instantly absorbed and smells of lavender. Seche Clear is a base coat (ridge fillers stain my nails so I went for this clear version) and I have not noticed any polish stains at all on the new growth of my nails. Nothing needs to be said about Seche Vite - it is THE top coat and well worth every penny :)

New OPI Designer Series #26 "Extravagance"

My new OPI DS arrived this morning, and it is lovely! Just the sort of colour I longed for for autumn :) Rich jewelled magenta with holo sparkle. It is like a precious gem! I used the flash to try and capture the sparkle but it doesn't seem to have captured it properly; the magenta colour is true to in real life colour however.

Weekend at Gleneagles

I am doused with St Tropez spray tan, eyebrows waxed and eyelashes tinted and have painted my nails for my corporate weekend away at the Gleneagles Hotel. My dress is metallic green, and so I decided to do my manicure in the awesome Nfu-Oh #56 over China Glaze Gussied-Up Green. It looks amazingly exquisite - it is the most beautiful nail polish combo I have ever worn! A 5-star manicure for a 5-star hotel :) Well, it will be 5-star after I start with my nail polish corrector :)