NOTD: Max Factor Gel Shine "Glazed Cobalt"

So I had a bit of a pay day splurge in Boots... More on that later in the week. They had one of those 'buy something and get a free nail polish' again, dangerous territory. This time it was Oral B3D White Luxe toothpaste and the freebie was a mini Max Factor Gel Shine. Cuz, ya know, ya always need whiter teeth, right?.. And you ALWAYS need new nail polish. The colour choices were a pink, a red and a blue - so of course I went for the blue.

Love getting free stuff especially when it's as good as this polish :) I did 2 coats here and finished with Seche Vite top coat. Didn't need the extra shine but I wanted super speedy drying so hence the top coat.

It is BLUE! No doubt there. Phwoar :) It's a bit more subtle in artificial light but man I can see this being a killer summer pedicure on tanned feet!

Love it! What is the best free stuff you ever got from buying something??

NOTD: OPI "Goldeneye"

It seems summer never came, a bit like in the "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" movie...

"Winter changed into spring, spring changed into summer, summer changed back into winter and winter gave spring and summer a miss and went straight on into autumn..."

Indeed. The A/W 2015 clothes and makeup is also coming out right now (although I really liked Gucci's Ready-to-Wear). So what's a girl to do? Having missed out on most of the few summery days due to various illness, I still have upcoming "summer holidays" in the middle of August. But that's 2 weeks away. So I needed cheering up to face another week and what better than sparkly gold??

This is probably my favourite gold polish. I think the tone of this gold could match anyone's skin tone! It is smooth to apply and despite technically being a glitter, it's easy to remove. I did 2 coats here but I have very short nails; if you are averse to VNL you might want to do 3 coats. What's not to love?? So I did a matching pedicure as well :)

Have you got a go-to beauty product that always cheers you up?!

NOTD: Accessorize "Forever Emerald"

So I've been away for a while... I first had a really bad case of tonsillitis brought on by Streptococcus A, then just as that was clearing up I got a really bad allergic reaction to something that meant a trip to A&E and nearly ended in anaphylactic shock. It has taken 2.5 weeks to recover and get back to normality with the allergic reaction, having to take 2 kinds of antihistamines and 2 types of pain killer for the inflamed joints that followed. Two blood tests have shown high platelets count so I have to go back on Friday for another one... So it seems there is still a lingering infection in my body. And I'm on a shitty exclusive diet and can't eat anything that releases histamines, so goodbye strawberries and fish pie and chillis... So I definitely needed cheering up!!!

So the other day I spent some time at lunch catching up on window shopping when I walked into Accessorize and was greeted by a huge stand of new cosmetics! :) And best of all - masses of gorgeously packaged nail polishes! I was immediately drawn to "Forever Emerald". I have come to realise I can't claim pink is my fave colour anymore, it must now be teal. Or it could just be that I'm a sucker for anything glittery...

Anyway. For £5, one of these beauties could be mine. I decided I needed to spend it although it's usually more than I would spend without consulting reviews (yes, I am THAT stingy). It has a golden teal microglitter base with larger bits of teal glitter, I would say it's unique in my collection but similar in formula to my Revlon Parfumerie "Wintermint" and Sephora Formula X "Drawn to you".

And what is it like? Gorgeous colour that transfers well on the nail, good formula that applies well, very opaque for a chunky glitter and a lovely sparkle. What's not so good? It is rather bumpy and it eats top coat. And it will be a pain in the a$$ to remove. This is 2 simple coats and a slick of Seche Vite. I absolutely love this colour! :)

The new cosmetics range you can find in Accessorize!