Christmas Gifts 2012

Hi guys! First of all I'd like to wish everyone a very belated Merry Christmas! How quickly has this week flown by? This time seven days ago I was laying in my bed too hungover to move feeling sorry for myself and dreaming of turkey and presents! The past few weeks have been a complete whirlwind of working (damn you retail!) getting my last minute Christmas presents, eating, lazing around and sleeping! 

I thought I'd share with you some of the presents I received over the Christmas period, I've been so incredibly spoilt this year and I'm so lucky to have such amazing loved ones! 

For Christmas my mum and dad gave me the money to finally be able to buy the Ted Baker bag I've been lusting after for pretty much forever! It took me forever to decide on which colour to pick, I was quite taken by the baby pink but I thought that might be a bit too in your face, and black was too boring so I settled for half way with purple! This bag is one of the best gifts I've ever received and it hasn't left my side since I've got it! 

My phone was due for an upgrade from the 1st of January but after some top class bargaining from my mum (the woman is a genius when it comes to getting things from companies!) I was able to get it a few days early (and half price!) so I decided to treat myself and class it as a delayed Christmas present! I wasn't too excited about the iPhone 5 as I've had a 4 for the past two years and I didn't think there will be much difference but I was so wrong and basically I'm in love all over again!

My eldest brother gifted me the Nails Inc Runway Collection gift set and if I didn't know better I'd think he was reading my blog! My nails have been in appalling condition recently so this has given me the kick up the bum needed to sort them out! I'm currently wearing Porchester Square with Technic's Carnival over the top for a New Years inspired nails! 

My brother also gifted me the Benefit 'Passport to Posh' gift set. Bad Gal mascara is one of my favourites but I cant bring myself to spend money on the full sized so this was very eagerly received! I'm looking forward to playing with this set! 

I'm a massive sucker for Yankee Candles and this Christmas gift set has a lot of my favourites in it! Despite Christmas quickly becoming a fond memory I will be using these for months to come just because I adore the scents. 

I also treated myself to the Naked Basics palette just before Christmas, but I'm still not 100% sold on it, and have been using my MUA palettes over this recently. Admittedly I'm a little put off by the vast array of matte shades as I'm usually a shimmer girl but I'm determined to try to make friends with this palette! 

How were your Christmases? And have you got any plans for New Years Eve? I'm going out to dinner with my mum and dad (and my TB bag!) and then I'm gonna crack on with the million assignments that are due in soon that I've been neglecting! X 

NOTD: Ombré

Since the Ombré trend has taken off there has been Ombré everything, - hair, clothes, and even make up in the form of gradient lips and eye shadows. Today I'm bringing you a gradient nail polish style which is so simple to re-create. 

Many people have honoured the Ombré style by using a sponge and multiple polishes but I opted for something a bit more subtle. I rummaged through my nail polish collection and picked out all of my blue shades, and lined them up from darkest to lightest, and then painted each of my nails a different polish. 

For anyone wondering here are the polishes I used, from left to right: Beauty UK in Electric Blue, OPI in Fly, Collection 2000 in Blue Hawaii, Nails Inc in Albert Place, George by Asda in Frost Bite. I'm really impressed by the effect this gave given, and it's a nice twist from usual individual nail colours, and I can definitely see myself rocking this nail trend in different colours! 

Have you tried any Ombré nail styles? What do you think of it? X 

Nails Inc Edinburgh Gate Swatches

Edinburgh Gate by Nails Inc is a glitter polish, with tones of red, blue, silver, gold and green. Since I rather stupidly removed my false nails by myself (broken nails and chipped tooth, booo :(! ) my nails are currently in an appalling condition and I wanted something sparkly and fun to mask how dreadful they look. 

I purchased Edinburgh Gate as part of a Nails Inc gift set, as mentioned in this post. I'm not sure that it is available to buy individually but I believe it is part of the 'All That Glitters' set* if anyone is it! I was pleasantly surprised by how this polish is applied, two coats provides a satisfactory coverage but I applied three to even it out and give it a little bit more ooomph!

One Coat

Two Coats

Three Coats 

I did find this formula quite sticky and difficult to apply. The polish is clear and I can only describe it as 'gloopy' and it took quite a while to dry fully, and the glitter did get a bit everywhere but overall I really like the look of this polish. It's very eye catching and really makes a statement. The above pictures show quite a silver shine to the glitter but I failed to capture the multi coloured hues in my pictures, so it looks different every time I catch a glimpse of it. 

Here is a close up of the polish and here you can see better the different colours of the glitters. I think this looks quite Christmasy so I think I might save this polish for winter, but I love the sparkle it brings to my nails. Overall I think this isn't a really wearable polish the glitter does come away from the polish somewhat, leaving me with everything I touch turning glittery. I think I would keep this a special Christmas polish, and perhaps use it as accent shade instead of using it on every nail, as it does look a little over the top, but the magpie in me loves the sparkle!  

*After doing a little research I can't find this polish available anywhere, so the best bet would be to pop into your local TK Maxx and see if you can pick it up like I did. This polish was part of a set for £14.99 

NOTD: Mermaid Nails

Since friday's little shopping splurge I've been spoilt for choice on what to wear on my nails. Anyone who knows me well knows that I usually change my nail polish on a daily basis, and sometimes even more than that (naughty I know!) but since painting my nails like this on friday night I've kept this all weekend! 

For this manicure I used Nails Inc Montpelier Square (the metallic silver) with an accent nail using Fitzroy Square (glittery teal blue) I fell in love with Fitzroy Square the second I opened it but I felt it was quite 'in your face' for everyday wear, so toned it down with the Montpelier Square. I love the way that the silver compliments the glitter of the blue and the metallic finish is a great pairing with a 3D Glitter polish. The only fault I have with this combination is due to the nature of the 3D Glitter Special Effects Fitzroy Square is quite a rough polish, despite using two thick coats of top coat, which I know is going to be a nightmare to remove! 

This is the fourth day of wear and it's still perfectly in place which I what I would have opened from a high end brand such as Nails Inc. From the above picture you may notice a small imperfection on my pinky nail, this is excess glitter from my Princess Nails which is really stubborn and just would not come off! Despite that the Montpelier Square covered it really well, and it is only noticeable when looking at it close up. 

Both of these Nails Inc polishes were purchased as part two different gift sets. Unfortunately I couldn't find the name of the gifts set on the packaging and they are not on the Nails Inc website,  and as they were from TK Maxx I'm guessing they're a bit old! But after having a search around, Fitzroy Square is available for £11 from debenhams and Montpelier Square is available for £11 from Nails Inc, which is currently part of their 3 for 2 pick & mix offer! 

17 and Nails Inc Mini Haul

Having received a Boots 'say yes to summer' advantage card points leaflet not too long ago I realised they were offering a 17 Wild Curls mascara for £1. I'm a big fan of 17's Faliseye Mascara and also own their Peep Show I was excited to add another 17 Mascara to my growing collection. Now I walked into my local boots with every intention of picking up a Wild Curls and nothing else, yet when I walked in and saw that 17 were offering a free 'Fest of all' kit with every purchase of over £6 worth of their products I knew I had to grab one. I added a blush in 'Nude' and a Lasting Fix nail polish in Orange Soda. 

Within the 'Fest of all' kit includes another Lasting Fix nail polish in Tropical Island (Just my luck to pick up a colour which is nearly identical to the free one!) A kohl eyeliner in Oynx and a mini Instant Glow Body Bronzer in medium matte. Although it is a small sample I am really looking forward to using trying it out. With my £1 mascara voucher and the free kit the total in boots came to £7.48 which I think is fantastic value for the amount of products I got.  

(L-R) Nails Inc in Fitzroy Square, Silver Glitter Caviar Top Coat, Buckingham Street, 17 Orange Soda

Bottom Row: Nails Inc Edinburgh Gate, Montpelier Square, Clifford Street, 17 Tropical Island

Now I have a confession to make. I like glittery things, and I like nail polish. So when my parents declared they were going to have a look in TK Maxx, I wasn't too excited. Personally I'm not a huge fan of TK Maxx and only really look at their cosmetic section, but when I saw their Nails Inc gift sets I was like a kid in a sweet shop. They had a huge selection (*cough* for once) of gift sets and I had to really hold myself from buying them all. In the end I couldn't choose between two (top row and bottom row) so I bit the bullet and got both, and I'm sure my bank account is going to hate me for it. I haven't tried any of them out yet as I'm still wearing my princess nails but I know I'm going to struggle on which ones to wear first! 

Have you taken advantage of the Boots say yes to summer vouchers yet? As well as my £1 Wild Curls one there is also 2 for £12 on Essie polishes (which I can't wait to use) as well as fantastic offers on electricals and self tan. 

And does everyone ever find nice things in TK Maxx? I've heard so many stories but with the poorly stocked ones in Milton Keynes i'm beginning to think they're all myths! X