NOTD: Nail Rockits Studs and OPI DS "Extravagance"

I've had a migraine for a while now and not felt great so I've not done my nails. Still feeling a bit downtrodden and rubbish at lunchtime so headed to Boots to get some more painkillers and some soothing essential oils. I then aimlessly wandered into the beauty section and immediately scored these two awesome Nail Rockits sets, £7.50 for both (clearance price £5 and Buy 1 get 2nd Half Price). What better way to spend some Boots Advantage Card points?! I've had my eye on these for a while but I was always too cheap to pay the £10 RRP...

I had all these ideas in the afternoon of what I would do and ended up with this design after a bit of messing around (including getting pink flocking powder on the cat)... I will definitely try the flocking powder with the next set, the crystals. I am sooooo into these studs - they just pop! And they don't discolour or dull when you seal them with top coat like some cheaper versions do.

This is 2 coats of OPI Designer Series "Extravagance" (purple) with 2 coats of Rimmel LycraPRO "Urban Princess" (pink) and a stripe of 2 coats of "Extravagance" to set the studs on.

Rock(its) on!! :)

GUEST POST: Konjac Sponge Review by Zeke the Evil Beech

I have been using the Konjac Sponge with bamboo charcoal (the black sponge) daily for a month now. I really like it! It has helped me keep my breakouts to a minimum and it has also cleaned out the pores on my nose. Yay!

I have combination skin and the sponge leaves my skin feeling fresh and smooth, but I am not sure if it would have the same effect if you have very oily skin.

The sponge is perfect for a quick and fresh morning wash. It's great for the evening wash too, but not if you are wearing make up. It is not very good at removing make up, so I would recommend using a make up remover or regular cleanser for that.

One perk of using the sponge is that you do not need to towel dry after using it. It doesn't leave your face dripping with water, so you can let it air dry within minutes.

I have become an avid sponge user! I attached a couple of photos of what the sponge looks like after 1 month of use - pretty much the same as when I got it.

Dry sponge

Wet sponge

NOTDs lately

I've been a bit crap on updating but I've been really busy.. I had a day off today so I decided to clear out my wardrobe... Big mistake. Felt like it took all damn day! Too much work for a day off.

 

First this week I wore Sinful Colors "Sugar Sugar", a sparkly red with almost flecks of gold?.. I loved it :) It' stayed on all week! This is 2 coats with Megashine. I had a bit of wonky brush on this, so it was quite messy. I am struggling with lighting just now for my photos, so this is actually the day after application in indirect sunlight.

Tonight I was deciding between two polishes but decided finally on this old classic - Misa "Toxic Seduction". This is 2 coats and Megashine. I hate how this never looks right in photos :( I will try get better photos tomorrow. It just looks murky, and doesn't show the green glow it has in real life. Please excuse the horrendous state of my cuticles, my hands are mega-dry just now for some reason.

I have got a few samples to try lately - Clinique Laser Focus serum (free with this month's Marie Claire!) which I have been using for about a week. I like it, texture is nice and it's not been giving me spots. But it hasn't done anything radical to improve my skin tone or texture either. Oh well. I will continue to use until it's finished to see if anything happens. And  then this one, Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Relaxing Complex. I used to love the Olay Regenerist 3 Point Treatment Cream, so I am wondering if I will like this too?...

NOTD: Seventeen Rock Hard Couture Nail Effects "Celestial Pearl"

This is my 3rd go at the new sugar textured polishes from Seventeen and it's the white with gold glittery bits, "Celestial Pearl". I picked this because my snowboard lessons start on Friday so I wanted my nails to look like snow! Yeah I know the lessons are on a dry ski slope, but hey :P I am really excited, hopefully I'll be good enough to snowboard on actual snow come the ski season in January!!

This is 2 coats of the polish over base coat. It wasn't as smooth as the other two but I think that might be down to the white pigment. It's still awesome :D

Oh look, "Celestial Pearl" matches my new snowboarding helmet too!

NYC In a New York Color Minute "Midtown"

I just love this hot pink :) I needed something pink to go with my new dress and this was just the ticket. I forget how weirdly sheer this is. It's a jelly shimmer and I used 3 coats here but if you're sensitive to VNL you will need to layer it over a creme. I finished off with a layer of MegaShine to speed dry the whole thing :)

Love it! What is your go-to happy polish??

Seventeen Rock Hard Couture Nail Effects "Cameo Crush"

In evening  light

In the light from the kitchen spotlights - you can almost see the gold glitter

So I ended up buying this entire collection so stay tuned for the last 2 of these polishes in the coming couple of weeks... :D I just love the bejewelled, textured effect of these! "Cameo Crush" reminds me of a more blue version of Isadora "Ocean Crush" as it doesn't have the duochrome effect of the Isadora. This is again 2 coats over my Bourjois gel effect base coat. It applies very well and dries within 10 mins.

When this dries down, it does display a gold glitter and gets a bit darker. It's lovely in real life but I am struggling to get this to photograph well :-/ I will try another daylight shot tomorrow to see if that works better!

NOTD: Seventeen Rock Hard Couture Nail Effects "Bijoux Baby"

Inside spotlight lighting, shows the intense glitter but looks more goldy-peach than pink

In evening sun, it has more true-to-life colour representation of this polish!

Longest nail polish name, ever but man I am in love with these! :D I saw them in Boots this evening as I was buying more of my Garnier face wash and holy shit, are these glitter, or sugar texture or both?? Both, baby!! Love them! I also got a bluey-green one, "Cameo Crush", that one is for the weekend :) There is also a white and a champagne colour. I will have to take a photo in daylight for this as well as I don't feel this photo has the right colour but covers the glitteriness of this polish.

This is 2 coats over base coat, it's very easy to put on and it dries really quickly. You don't want to put a top coat on these, it ruins the texture. They dry so quick you don't need a speed-dry top coat. This one is peachy-pink with intense golden glitter bits and it's just amazing!! Definitely these will go with Isadora Sugar Crush "Ocean Crush" right up to the polish top list this year :)