Nina Ultra Pro - Luminous Lavender

Luminous Lavender is a very sheer polish. It's a bluey/white with a pink duochrome and is very shimmery. This is such a pretty colour, I can't stop looking at it!
The pictures below capture the base colour quite well but not the pink duochrome, although you can sort of get the idea of it in the last two pictures, and you can't really see the shimmer either :(
The application was pretty much what you would expect from such a sheer polish, took god knows how many coats to get to the opaqueness in the pictures and there is still some very obvious VNL, ugh. I usually hate sheer polishes as I really don't like the VNL but this one i'm actually quite keen on :)
This was all without my lovely Seche Vite, took so much willpower not to put it on!

Glimpse of the shimmery pink in the
bottle

Stupid short middle finger!

Thanks for reading!! xxx

Nina Ultra Pro - Caramel Cream

Sorry for the lack of posts the past couple of days, i'm back on track now!
Today's Nina is a reddy/brown sort of colour, burgundy I suppose with a nice, gold shimmer - they sure do love their shimmer's, especially gold!
Unfortunately, from wearing this polish the last three days I have come to the conclusion that the gold shimmer likes to hide. I have not once been able to see any of it whilst outside, sunny or not. When I'm inside, you can see it a little bit but only if you're really looking for it, my camera actually picked it up a lot better than my eyes!
That said, I do really like the actual colour of the nail polish so it's not that much of a bummer although it would be nice to see the shimmer, it wouldn't stop me from wearing it. You can sort of see the shimmer if you look at the bottle in the pictures below.

Application was good, it needed two coats and doesn't take very long to dry, I love this brand! What do you guys think of the colour?

Thanks for reading! xxx

Weekly Gratitude

I have decided to take inspiration from Love, Life, Lace and do a weekly gratitude post every Sunday night  of all the things that have made me happy throughout the week. I think it's such a lovely idea... :)

21st - 27th March 2011
- thank you to the sun for coming out to play this week, it really does make everyone so much happier!
- thank you to whatever it was (probably the sun) that motivated me to exercise so much this week, it's so refreshing and takes the guilt away from my chocolate addiction!
- thank you to Tea a *HUG* From The Inside for her wonderful recipe on Sticky Toffee Cake that was so much fun to bake and even more fun to eat, especially the caramel sauce, oh wow... My family and Chris were very grateful for it!
- thank you to Wiltshire Police for being absolutely amazing in the Sian O'Callaghan enquiry, they were so thorough and quick with their investigation into this deeply upsetting case that touched the hearts of everyone in and around Swindon, you just don't expect something like this to happen so close to home but it's very reassuring to know we have such a fabulous police force keeping us all safe!
- thank you to my teachers who, for once, did not pile the homework on me this week so, although I do have one big essay to do, I can still breathe!
- thank you once again to Chris for my nail polish storage 'thingy'. I still can't get over how much I love having my colourful little bottles proudly on display!
- thank you to all my followers who actually read the crap I write and are interested in what I have to say, you guys make me so happy! :D

Thanks for reading! xxx

Nina Ultra Pro - Last Call

Last Call is another great colour from Nina. It's a lovely deep purple with some complimenting gold shimmer appearing when the light falls on it. The name struck me as quite odd as all the other names from this brand seem to be reference to the colour and this one is completely random, strange!
This wasn't as much of a pain to apply as the last two though, I (gasp!) didn't wear a basecoat and put two coats of this colour on, looking at them now I think they could probably have done with another coat though, just to really beef them up :)
Once again I apologise for the messy clean up, I swear my camera captures more than my eye, grr! If you look at the bottle in the pictures you can see the lovely gold shimmer, the bottom picture is a close up that I probably should have taken in sunlight although it does show you what it looks like indoors :)

Thanks for reading! xxx

Nina Ultra Pro - Purple Pizzaz

Purple Pizzaz is another lovely colour from Nina. I don't really know how to describe the type of purple it is because it's just... well, purple really, the pictures are accurate though so you can see for yourself. I tried to take the pictures in the sun in an attempt to capture the lovely shimmers in this polish, it didn't really work though :( but take my word for it there's some lovely pink shimmers in this polish when the light catches it and if you look really hard you should also see some incredibly subtle gold shimmer in there too, it's probably quite hard to imagination that combination but it does look really pretty!
Unfortunately this polish again isn't quite as much of a dream to apply as the Rasberri Sparkle from the other day, it's not as opaque and takes about 2 coats to look decent but that's not really a problem anyway :)
Please excuse my nasty short middle finger! I'm ashamed to say I succumbed to biting my nails yesterday so this one and two on my right hand were the poor victims, booo! :(

Thanks for reading! xxx

Nina Ultra Pro - Royal Purple

Today's Nina is called Royal Purple. From looking at the bottles next to each other I assumed it was the purple version of yesterday's Rasberri Sparkle, I was wrong though, in the bottle they look very similar but on the nail they are completely different. For a start, the formula is completely different; applying this I started to hate it, it was quite difficult to apply evenly and is nowhere near as opaque as the Rasberri Sparkle, in the pictures below I'm wearing 3 coats of it!

The shimmer in it is similar to Rasberri sparkle and it's got the mixture of dark and light shades but that's where the similarities end. I'm really not keen on this polish at all to be honest! What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading! xxx

Nina Ultra Pro - Rasberri Sparkle

I only just recently discovered this brand when I spotted a few bottles in the bargain bucket at Sally's, this was one of them but I've recently been back and bought more at full price since I really like them and now have 7. I'd like to do a swatch of each of them so for the next 6 days that's what you'll be getting!
This particular one is called Rasberri Sparkle and is a lovely deep pink with a very subtle shimmer that looks fabulous in the sun!

I love the application of this, it's lovely and smooth and is so opaque it only needs one coat so it dries fairly quickly too. The close up picture sort of gives you an idea of the shimmer in it, it's got some light shimmery pinks that really show in the sun and some lovely dark pinks also. I thought I'd show you one of my cushions that reminds me of it, the polish is actually a little darker but the light shimmers in it are a very similar colour.

And this, so far is my collection of Nina Ultra Pro polishes, hopefully will be growing soon! L-R: Luminous Lavender* (you can hardly see this one), Purple-Xing, Royal Purple, Purple Pizzaz, Last Call, Rasberri Sparkle* and Caramel Cream*.

*I think these may be discontinued as they were the ones I found in the bargain bucket, they haven't gone off so that's the only other reason I can think that they may have wanted to get rid of them.

Thanks for reading! xxx

Special Weekend

On Sunday Chris and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary and we had such a lovely day I thought I would share it with you all! We decided not to get each other big, flashy presents and instead just a gesture but the present he got me was one of the best I've ever been given! Here it is:

He actually made me a place to put all my nail polishes!! How cute is that?! Not only does he accept my obsession but he helps me with it! I'm so happy with it, all my bottles were squished up in a drawer before, and I'd have to force it open to get any out as it was so full and now they're standing proud in my bedroom! Hehe. I love how colourful it looks having them all together, and incase you didn't notice there's room on the top for more; uh oh, Sally's here I come... :D

That was only the start of our wonderful day, we decided to go for a picnic at a sailing club Chris is a member of, it's a lovely big lake and you can just drive in and park up anywhere you like around it. It was such a beautiful sunny day yet there was no one there as it was still quite chilly, such a lovely peaceful place. We took Chris' dog Harvey with us, isn't he a cutie? Such a big softie too.

The 'thinking model' pose

Despite the bright, blue, cloudless sky and the sun and sunglasses, I was glad we took a couple of big fleeces and a blanket, it was cold but not so much that we couldn't stay outside which was good! 

After our picnic we went to the cinema to see Hall Pass, the same cinema we went to on our first date a year ago, we're such cheesy romantics hehe! It was a really funny film and perfect to see together, not too action for me and not to chick flick for him :D 

So, that was our lovely weekend, how was yours? Thanks for reading!!

Day 30 - Favourite nail polish...

My favourite nail polish is by Nina Ultra Pro and is called Purple X-ing. It's such a gorgeous deep purple with all sorts going on inside that little bottle. There's so many different little glitters and it dries in a sort of matte texture. I personally am not a fan of matte, especially not with this as the glitters tend to catch on things, so I put a top coat on after i took the pictures below.
I have only recently discovered this brand and am a massive fan, it's only £3.89 per bottle and is such good quality formula, I keep picking more colours up and have about 7 so far, love them!

Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them - to get a better idea of what the polish really looks like, it's very slightly darker in real life. Please excuse my messy job of doing my nails, I'm ashamed to say I did them quite hurriedly as I put it on just for this post. I'll do a proper review of it soon with some better pictures :)

Finally finished the 30 day challenge, now the real blogging begins! Thanks for reading! xxx

Day 29 — Photo of something that makes you go awww...

When I saw this photo I literally said 'awww' out loud and could not get over the cuteness overload, I even had it as my desktop background for a few weeks! I have no idea what breed of dog it is but I definitely want one, isn't it gorgeous?!!

I think it sort of looks like a cartoon pup with the big black eyes, so cute!!!

Thanks for reading! xxx

Day 28 - Your favourite drink...

My favourite drink tends to change often but at the moment I absolutely love cream soda. My local Londis sells it for just 99p so I drink far too much of the stuff! But it's such a unique flavour :) I couldn't find a picture :(

I also really love Jones Soda in Bubblegum flavour, they sell it in a cafe down the road from me and until they opened I had never even heard of it, it's so yummy though! I think it's an American brand.

I have a few alcoholic drinks I love; Archers and lemonade, Malibu and coke and Grenadine and orange juice. All quite light, fruity type drinks, nice and sweet :)

Thanks for stopping by! xxx

Day 27 - You favourite skincare...

My favourite skincare brand is Neutrogena, I absolutely swear by this stuff. I used to use their cream face wash and exfoliator every morning and night daily but I recently changed to their Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub. All of their products seem to work wonders on my skin, I've never really had a big problem with acne or spots but i'm prone to getting them every now and again. With this stuff I nearly never get any spots at all, it's magic! This is £4.59 from Boots.

I also use their oil free moisturiser, it's pretty good, I don't ever have dry skin except when I forget to use it. I mainly buy it because I love the smell though! This is £4.07 from Boots.

My make up remover is also from Neutrogena. I love this so much, I've tried so many make up removers and usually they're too thick or too oily for me, and I'm really not a fan of just using face wipes as they just push the dirt around your face and take very little off. This make up remover is very light really does work, it feels lovely and cool on your skin too :) I'm not sure how much this is but i'm sure it will be just as purse friendly as the others.

Thanks for reading! xxx

Day 26 - An item from your wishlist...

Ever since seeing a review of this on chloesnails I have wanted this stunning nail polish. This is Extravagance by OPI, It's from the designer series and is a lovely deep pink glittery number. I've been keeping an eye on ebay but they're all ridiculous prices and so it must be a popular colour.

Photo Source

Thanks for reading! xxx

Day 25 - What do you want to get from luuux...

I haven't been very faithful to the 30 day challenge, I don't think I posted anything from it the past couple of days! Anyway, i'm back on track.
I've got a few items on my luuux wishlist, though I doubt i'll ever have enough points to get any of them!! But here they are...

The first thing I spotted was this gorgeous Louis Vuitton Tivoli bag, being a student I have no designer bags, unless Paul's Boutique counts :( so I would looove to get this if I can. They do a tote version aswell but that's more expensive :/

The next thing I need to have in my life is this Konad pro nail salon set. This is cheaper than the bags so I'll probably end up being impatient and just going for this if I manage to get that much money!

I'm not crazy about the iPhone 4, I'd be just as happy with the 3G one but at the moment I'm using the original iPhone with the silver back, it's practically retro and it's so unreliable :/ I would love it if I could get this though :)

Thanks for reading!! What do you want? xxx

St. Patricks day scotch tape mani...

So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and do a St. Patricks day manicure to wear tomorrow. I was keen to do something a little different and am not sure if anyone else has based theirs on the national flag of Ireland but that's what I decided to do, here's my attempt...

This mani is almost all Barry M (surprise, surprise), except for the white which was Sally Hansen's natural white and the top coat of Seche Vite (love!). The orange is an old one i've had for years and is just called 136, I didn't like it at all, it's far too sheer but I didn't have anything else. The green for the shamrock is called Mint Green and the darker one is called Spring Green. This was such a b*tch to do that I didn't bother with my other hand and painted them all with the Spring Green. But I think I like just having one statement hand :) the orange and the green are the wrong way round in the picture but only because my hand is upside down. Jus' sayin :D
Oh and please excuse my terrible shamrock, it's the best I could do free hand!

What do you guys think? Thanks for reading! xxx

Make your blog carbon positive!

Every blog that attracts 15,000 visits per month contributes around 3.5kgs of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere per year. This study took into account the power consumed by computer usage, electricity hours and server cooler systems. Although 3.5kg’s a year doesn’t sound like a lot, when you consider that last February The Sunday Times reported that there was around 200m blogs in the world, it means that with an average readership of 15,000 hits per month blogs alone contribute around 700,000 tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere every year.

Now Ixpo has set up an initiative to try and do something about it, and it couldn’t be easier to join in. All you have to do is add one of the ‘Carbon Positive Blog’ button’s to your page, and Ixpo will plant a tree for you. That’s it! You don’t have to make a donation or pay a penny, just add the button and Ixpo will plant your tree!

The UNFCC calculates that each tree helps to remove around 10kg of carbon from the atmosphere every year. This means that by adding the button, and having a tree planted, your blog will actually be carbon positive, to the tune of 6.5kg of carbon each year! In fact, if all 200m blogs in the world signed up to the initiative, rather than contributing 700,000 tonnes of carbon, the blogosphere would actually help remove 2.1m tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year!!

If you want to do your bit for the environment by making your blog carbon positive, click here to find out how!

Thanks for reading!! xxx

Excited!

I just this minute paid the Barry M website a visit to find out the name of one of their nail polishes and on the homepage I saw this....

They've brought out more colours!! So excited about this, I knew they would! My black crackle was getting lonely, It's a shame they haven't been as quick as the likes of China Glaze and OPI with the other colours, and it's still only four colours in total but I don't care, I've been waiting for these!! I deliberately didn't buy any other brands just incase and i'm so glad my patience wore off!! They're supposedly available already but I'm sure it'll be a while before any of my local stores has them in stock :/ ah well, I can't wait!! Hehe :D

Thanks for reading! xxx

Day 24 - Your favourite food...

My favourite food is fajitas. There's two different types that I love; the first one, and one which most people know, is the kind that you get in restaurants. This is where you're given a big, sizzling plate of meat, fried onions and fried peppers, 3 little bowls containing sour cream, guacamole and salsa, a bowl of cheese and sometimes salad and a few tortilla wraps. You then make the wraps up yourself with however much of each ingredient you want and voila! So yummy :D

The other type of fajita is the kind that I make. It's very simple, which is why I make it at home. For this you need the following ingredients:

1 large onion (bearing in mind I love onions) (chopped)

2 salad tomatoes, or 4 cherry tomatoes (chopped)

1 jar of Old El Paso mild fajita sauce

Sour cream

Cheddar cheese (grated)

Tortilla wraps

First of all chop up the onion and fry in a pan, when happy with the onion add in the chopped up tomatoes. When this is all done to your taste add the whole jar of fajita sauce (or less if not making for as many people). Turn down the heat and leave to simmer. Next, get a couple of oven dishes and put in the tortilla wraps, ready to fill with the mixture, I usually get 6 wraps out of the amount I make. Now pour the mixture into the open wraps and fold them over to close them. Top with the grated cheddar cheese and sour cream, as much as you like to your taste and pop in the oven for about 10-15 minutes just to melt the cheese and cream and warm it all up. Such an easy yet delicious meal!

Annoyingly I have no pictures because I haven't made this since I wrote the post, sorry guys!

Thanks for reading!! xxx

Day 23 - Place where you want to live...

My family are originally from Newcastle Upon Tyne, but me and my Mum moved away when I was just 6. We go back quite often and I really miss it, it's always been my plan to go back when I finish school but unfortunately I didn't get in to the university up there. Me and my boyfriend plan to move there for a few years when we finish university though, because I just want an experience of the city life which I love.

However, when I'm ready to settle down, I'd love to move to York, it's such a beautiful place and so green. I go there with my grandparents and cousins at Easter every year and stay in their caravan and I absolutely love it. The city centre is medieval as well and has so much history, there's so much more to explore and learn about it and I find it just so fascinating. Plus there's good shops... priorities :D

Thanks for reading!! xxx

Day 22 - What makes you happy...

This is a question I can answer, and will enjoy answering; although I may bore you all so I will apologise in advance :D

Chris
My boyfriend makes me happy, constantly. He is the most wonderful human being I could have ever wished to meet. He cares about me, he worries about me, he takes an interest in me and he makes me feel loved everyday. It is impossible for me to feel down when i'm with him and if something is upsetting me he won't rest until it's fixed. We've shared so many happy times and been on so many adventures, but we are just as happy snuggling up watching TV or talking. I feel so lucky to have found my soulmate already :)

Fliss
Although I have two cats, and feel terrible for only writing about one of them, the other one doesn't make me happy, sorry! My cat Fliss makes me feel as though she loves me too, she is always looking for cuddles which is my favourite thing about her. I live with just my Mum and Step Dad who both work full time, my Mum is out most evenings for her other job which is her own business so she needs to make the money and my Step Dad is out a lot which doesn't bother me as much as I don't generally get on with him anyway. So, as sad as it sounds and with the risk of sounding like a crazy cat lady, most of the time my kitty is my only company, and it really does make me feel a lot less lonely when she comes to me for a snuggle. It also helps that she's absolutely gorgeous and has the cutest face, even if she is fat, hehe :D

Summer
I am almost certain that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder and when the excitement of Christmas and New Year has passed I desperately want Winter to go away and wish I could hibernate. There is such a difference in my personality when the sun is shining, (which luckily it is at the moment!!) I'm a much nicer and more energetic person. Plus I love wearing sunglasses :D

Bella
I love to drive my beautiful car, she's getting on a bit now but I don't care. I love having my music blasting, the windows down, the sun shining, my sunnies on and driving down some beautifully green country lanes with nobody else on the road. The area I live in is very green and looks beautiful in the sun, and matches my car of course!! She's also my escape route; if I have an argument or something and need to get away I can just drive her to somewhere beautiful and get out of the situation. It's wonderful :)

Togetherness
We live so far away from all our other family, which means on special occasions like birthdays and christmas we all make a special effort to travel to each other. These times make me really happy; being around people I love, and being around lots of people because I don't get that very often. It makes me feel content :)

This is such an old picture, it's the only one I could find of all of us.

Thanks for reading!! xxx