Monday 31 December 2012

Happy New Year everyone!! Wow, it feels like forever since I've posted anything. I only have three real resolutions for this year and that one is definitely on there. I want to get back into my regular posting schedule and keep coming up with more and better ideas. I want to get and succeed at my dream job. And last but not least I want to keep eating healthy, continue my workout schedule, and keep losing weight. I lost over 30 pounds in about 1.5 years � most of that this year. Yay me!! I still have another 10-20 pounds to lose (continuing in a healthy, non-obsessive way) to reach my goal weight. Wish me luck. :)

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Happy New Year tape taped red gold glitter shimmer James Bond The Spy Who Loved Me Goldeneye OPI Skyfall Collection metallic flaky flakies holiday 007

Now, onto the post. One of my Christmas gifts this year was 'Get Bonded' a three piece nail polish gift set. It contained The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, and Skyfall � all three from the OPI Skyfall Collection, their James Bond holiday collection. I decided to use Goldeneye and The Spy Who Loved Me in a tape mani for New Year's. Wow, this mani was stunning!!! I left it on for four days. For a girl who changes her polish daily, sometimes multiple times a day, this shows just how much I loved this mani.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Happy New Year tape taped red gold glitter shimmer James Bond The Spy Who Loved Me Goldeneye OPI Skyfall Collection metallic flaky flakies holiday 007

Honestly, I had every intention of passing on this collection. Looking at the swatches I didn't see anything truly stunning and worth searching for. Boy was I wrong!! I am so glad I got this as a gift. I couldn't manage to capture the true magnificence of Goldeneye. This picture gives an idea of the range of gold shades this glitter captures. The glitter was odd, kind of chunky and flaky, almost a metallic and went opaque for me in just two coats. It's not like any other glitter in my collection which is awesome!!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Happy New Year tape taped red gold glitter shimmer James Bond The Spy Who Loved Me Goldeneye OPI Skyfall Collection metallic flaky flakies holiday 007

Here is another shot of Goldeneye before I started taping. This picture washes out the color but gives you a better look at the chunky quality of the glitter. I can't get over how close I came to missing this glitter, of choosing not to get it. How silly of me!!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Happy New Year tape taped red gold glitter shimmer James Bond The Spy Who Loved Me Goldeneye OPI Skyfall Collection metallic flaky flakies holiday 007

I am equally as happy to own The Spy Who Loved Me. These polishes went on beautifully, look amazing together, and lasted the four days with not a hint of a chip. I did need to take a chisel to my nails to get Goldeneye off. It's misleading, looking so flaky and metallic. It makes you forget it's a glitter at heart. I think maybe it's harder to remove than regular glitters. I scrubbed and soaked and still had patches that just wouldn't come off. They're actually still there, like little golden bruises on my nails.

You've heard my resolutions; what things do you hope, wish and/or promise to do in 2013?

Sunday 30 December 2012

I've seen a lot of 'best products of 2012' posts popping up on my dashboard this week. I've enjoyed reading them & did my own version last year. This year i fancied doing something a bit different; instead of rounding up my favourite picks from the past year i wanted to choose just one product that was the best product of 2012.

It was really tricky to choose only one product! I wanted it to be something i use almost daily, something i've discovered this year and something that causes me to have a mini breakdown when it runs out.

After a morning of rummaging through my products, i stumbled across the chosen one. I hadn't even thought about this as it's something i pick up everyday to use. I first discovered it in May this year & i think my hunt for the perfect mascara has ended. My ultimate beauty product of 2012 is...






Benefit They're Real Mascara, i just love the way it makes my lashes look! It retails for a hefty �18.50 but i won't have to spend any more money testing out other mascara's. I find this really does what it says box & couldn't really ask for more from a mascara. My MUA undressed palette came a close second!

 So, now you know what my ultimate beauty product of 2012 is, i want to know what yours would be?! Maybe it's a fragrance, lip blam, hair dryer...it's so hard to just choose one thing!

Below I've tagged five bloggers to give this tag a go.
Sandra from The Black Pearl blog
Becky from Beckys Makeup
Corrie from Dizzy Brunette3
Sophia from Tattooed Tea Lady
Estee from Essiebutton

If your reading this i want you to do the tag too :) tweet me with a link when it's up - @kiamakemeup

Happy New Year! Hope you had a good 2012, make 2013 the best.year.ever. :) x

Friday 28 December 2012

Hope you all had a brill Christmas, i always get a bit sad when it's all over. I spent this year with family, eating way too many mince pies and watching christmas telly. Santa bought me lots of lovely things, hope you got what you wanted!

If your not familiar with this sort of post (read my last one here) the idea behind it is i show you some of my favourite blogs posts from the past month in the hope you discover some new bloggers and get some inspiration. I don't think we share the blogs we love enough, I'm going to try and make this a regular thing!



  1. As soon as I saw this post, i knew i had to share it with you. In this post Geneva talks about the concept of re-gifting (which i'm cool with) and write her top tips on how to do it successfully!
  2. I've been a fan of Sarah's blog for a while now, it was her amazing illustrations that first caught my eye. She mainly blogs about fashion and her blog post are just beautiful to look at! Her photo's look editorial - you must check her out.
  3. For me Adrienne is THE queen of reviews. Her reviews are always so detailed, she swatches everthing, includes a rating of each product and her photographs are so unique. I have no idea how she has time to keep writing all her brilliant posts! I loved reading this review of the Kardashion sister's new make up collection 'Khroma' 
  4. I wanted to make a few DIY presents this year & this one Meg posted is just genius.  Make sure you check out her gift guides too, some really unusual presents on there!
  5. Another great DIY gift idea. This Christmas Tree Brownie gift is super easy to make. Handy if you need to do any last minute gifts!
  6. My current favourite fashion blog, Lydia puts together pieces that i would never think to. if you've not heard of her - your missing out. Check out Lydia's blog here.


What do you think of my favourite picks?
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Tuesday 25 December 2012

Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate. To the rest ... Merry Whatever You (do or do not) Celebrate. :)

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Merry Christmas holiday Santa suits suit face red white wet n wild I red a good book L.A. Colors gold Maybelline Bold The Grinch Who Stole Christmas green fur furred furry textured texture Revlon Garden heart two sizes too small hat

In this late night Christmas post I bring you ... me in a Santa hat and two nail arts!!!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Merry Christmas holiday Santa suits suit face red white wet n wild I red a good book L.A. Colors gold Maybelline Bold The Grinch Who Stole Christmas green fur furred furry textured texture Revlon Garden heart two sizes too small hat

I really didn't have time to be doing this mani on Christmas morning ... but I did it! It's messier than what I can usually do, but I call it a job well done when you take into consideration it was completed in about an hour and a half with next to no dry time (and no top coat) before I had to begin getting ready. I felt very accomplished when I walked out the door with only one smudge and one crinkle, both on my right hand.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Merry Christmas holiday Santa suits suit face red white wet n wild I red a good book L.A. Colors gold Maybelline Bold The Grinch Who Stole Christmas green fur furred furry textured texture Revlon Garden heart two sizes too small hat

Don't worry if you're a Christmas Grinch, I have a mani for you too!! This was inspired by the Grinch of course. The green 'furry' texture and the heart two sizes too small. :) This was actually my mani nearly all week before Christmas. I wore it Christmas shopping because I was certainly a Grinch.

So, did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year?

Sunday 23 December 2012

After being iced in and not being able to get the mail for the past few days I was so excited to find the Influenster Holiday VoxBox (my very first VoxBox) in my mailbox this morning. I will be doing reviews for everything in this box sooner or later, but until then I want to share my excitement with you so I'm going to take you through opening the box. :) Forgive me for some of the lower quality pictures. My reviews should have better ones.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

Upon opening the box there are two cards and a little something peeking out under them.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

A closer look at the top card shows it to be an intro card showing this is the Holiday VoxBox 2012. Is it wrong that my favorite part of this card is the Christmas ornament dotting the 'i'?

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

At least until you flip it over. The flip side of this card shows everything contained in the box, a quick description, and the retail value. I like the surprise, so I tossed this card aside quickly. This picture was taken after I examined every inch of the box first.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

The second card is from Sole Society giving me $25 off my first pair of shoes from them. I've been a member of this website for almost as long as they've been open! For those who haven't found this website yet, Sole Society is a website that sells on-trend designer shoes at affordable prices. I gaze longingly at the shoes every time I get an email from them, but no matter how affordable by designer standards these shoes are I simply don't have the money to buy any of them. I will enjoy using this $25!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

Flipping this card over shows the promo code to get this discount and lets me know I can share it with you! Check out their shoes and use the promo code INFLUENSTER25 to get $25 off your purchase too. I think this is beyond cool. I think we should all give Sole Society a great big thank you!!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

Removing both cards gives me my first look at the products. So much excitement I'm going to burst like an over-inflated balloon!!!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

I can't resist the call of pink; it's my favorite color after all. This is from EBOOST and according to the info card it will boost your mood, focus, and immunity with natural ingredients and no crash. Great for the holiday season! The only downside to me is that it's pink lemonade flavor. I hate lemonade! I hate it so much I refuse to even buy a glass of lemonade from my niece's lemonade stand because then I'd be forced to drink it while making yummy sounds. For the review I think I'll see how well it dissolves and the scent. Maybe I'll even be brave enough to take a sip.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

After the call of pink was assuaged, I went with the call of something big. From the shape I thought it might be a cup of soup, but it turned out to be my breakfast. Yes, I ate it right after these pictures! It's Quaker Real Medleys oatmeal in Apple Walnut. It has apples, cranberries and chopped walnuts with multigrain oats. Quick, easy, and with no bowl required there's no big cleanup. Perfect for those on the go with very little time for a healthy breakfast.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

Next up is the Goody Quik Style paddle brush. I've been eyeing these brushes, and I'm so happy to have received one free in this box. I'm always looking for ways to get out the door quicker. I'm really excited to try this and may even give it to my niece to try. Her hair is much, much thicker than mine; it takes her forever to dry it, so if this can help her it will be a miracle product. Look for the review!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

I've tried and reviewed Kiss Nail Dress before. Now that I'm more experienced in the ways of nails I certainly think these are worth another try. This is Princess, a really pretty, slightly blinged out leopard print.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound beauty review reviews Influenster Holiday VoxBox 2012 Christmas Sole Society shoes designer on trend Quaker Real Medleys fruit apple cranberry walnut oatmeal NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine Lipgloss lips lipstick Nude brown shimmer Kiss Nail Dress leopard stickers EBOOST natural dietary supplement green tea extract energy drink Pink Lemonade Goody Quik Style paddle brush hairbrush microfiber complementary free product review

Last but not least is NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine! I think this is one of the things I'm most excited about oddly enough. After getting a glimpse of lipgloss in this box I was terrified it was going to be a bright color that I wouldn't be able to use. You see, I have naturally deep red lips so most lip products turn hideous colors when layered over them. I can do some light pink glosses and nudes. Talk about perfect! This is Nude York City, a beautiful nude shimmer. It's such an odd name, but it's just cutesy enough that I like it! It has already found a place in my purse.

So, again, look for the in-depth reviews of these products. I'll be trying to slot them in around my posts. I'm actually really excited about that. I'm a nail blogger � I wouldn't have it any other way, but I would like to branch out a bit. To be able to do an off-topic post every now and then if I find a product worth sharing. How would you guys feel about that? It won't be every post; it won't even be one a week! But I would love to share worthy (or unworthy) products. Give me your thoughts; I definitely want to hear them. :)

*All products were sent to me for testing purposes, completely complimentary, from Influenster. All photos and opinions are my own.
What do you mean you still haven't bought all your Christmas presents?! Don't worry i'm off out last minute shopping tonight; i promise myself every year things will be different and i'll get all my presents bought in January but it never happens! Maybe next year..
If you have any fake-tan friends or just fancy a little treat for your self, this set from Xen-Tan would be prefect. I love a bit of Xen-Tan, it has to be my favourite fake tan brand. I've been testing this set out for 5 days now and i would recommend this to any pale girls like myself! The colour looks very natural, it has a  lovely sweet scent and the tanning mitt makes applying it so much easier.

Here's what Xen-Tan have to say about the products inside the kit.

Xen-Tan Transform Daily Self-Tan 177ml
Una Healy's favourite tanning product, Xen-Tan Transform is perfect for those who want a natural-looking tan that develops gradually and leaves skin looking radiant and healthy for days.

- Xen-Tan Body Scrub 236ml
Xen-Tan's gentle exfoliant is designed to successfully prepare your skin for a beautiful, natural-looking tan, and help it last even longer. A little really does go a long way, so it's a great value choice too.

- Xen-Tan Luxury Tanning Mitt
Specially designed and tested by Xen-Tan's beauty experts, the Luxury Tanning Mitt lets you achieve a professional salon finish in the comfort of your own home, making sure you exude the confidence that comes with a flawless finish.

This retails for �29.99 and is available to buy from feelunique.com

Hope you are having a good Christmas :) x

Friday 21 December 2012

The rush to Christmas is insane! I spent the day baking cookies and there's a full day of shopping to look forward to tomorrow ... and probably Monday too. Yes, I am a world class procrastinator. I've put this all off until the last minute ... again, because this is exactly what I did last year. I don't even have any decorations up yet. So, this is the reason for the cut back in posts if you were wondering, lol.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Christmas border borders dots dotted dotting red green holiday Sinful Colors Exotic Green Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book simple easy

I had all these wonderful ideas I was going to do, and then I just never seemed to have the time to do them. So, I came up with a few very simple nail designs to share. This is one of them. Dotted border nails. It's something new to me. I've done true border nails before but never dotted borders.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Christmas border borders dots dotted dotting red green holiday Sinful Colors Exotic Green Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book simple easy

I decided to keep it very Christmas-y with alternating red and green. This is carried over onto my other hand, starting with green on my thumb so it's all very different and interesting. This could totally be worn alone if you don't have much time for dots. Two coats of Sinful Colors Exotic Green and two of Wet n Wild I Red A Good Book, a layer of quick drying top coat and you're out the door looking perfectly festive.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Christmas border borders dots dotted dotting red green holiday Sinful Colors Exotic Green Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book simple easy

For the dotted border I used my smallest dotting tool. I created the dots and then went over them again to make them brighter when I realized they weren't showing up well. I wish I had started with white dots first before using red and green. This would have made them much more noticeable, but you live and learn.

Overall though, a very simple and Christmas-y mani. Enjoy. :)

Wednesday 19 December 2012

This one took a lot of thought and still feels a bit like a cop out. With Christmas on the brain and O being the letter of the week in the ABC Challenge I knew more than a few of my fellow challengers were likely to do ornaments. I strive to be different in this challenge�to think outside the box. However, what else was there for O that still fit into my holiday themed posts?

O is for Oh Christmas Tree.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound OPI France Collection Tickle My France-y Essie Luxe Effects Shine of the Times flakie flakey flakies glitter nude tan holiday China Glaze Winter Holly green Wet n Wild Fergie Hollywood Walk of Fame star red gold ABC Challenge O
Shade

I used OPI Tickle My France-y as the base. This was my first time using this color and I'm left wondering why I never used it before. It is so beautiful!! On top of this color I used my brand new bottle (bought on Amazon with a gift card from Swagbucks.com) of Essie Shine of the Times. Can I say wow? These two colors are amazing together! They create a very elegant and glamorous look. I will say Shine of the Times looks best (in my opinion) in the shade. It's the reason for such a dimly lit picture.

From there I used two pieces of tape to create a triangle on my ring nail, filled that in with China Glaze Winter Holly and topped it with a red star dug out of Wet n Wild Fergie Hollywood Walk of Fame.
I do enjoy a trip to Lush, even if it's just for a sniff. I love their bath products and i LOVE their showers gels but I've never tried their shampoo before...

Lush say - "This bottle is full of the power of flowers, collected and concentrated for you by the bees.
While they were collection the pollen, we searched the meadows for beautiful flowers 
to fragrance their work". Doesn't that make you want to try it even more?! 

Now then, I'm not really a big fan of honey but I thought this product didn't really smell like the kind of honey you'd eat. It has a very strong scent which is quite hard to describe, a bit florally with a hint of orange & honey - i quite like it! This lathers really well and once rinsed out, your hair will smell delicious. 

I use about a 10p sized dollop each time & for quite a small bottle it seems to be lasting for ages! I have dry bleached hair & i find this helps to restore shine and moisture to my over-worked locks. 

You can purchase this for �7 for 110g from Lush stores and online

What do you think of Lush? :)

Monday 17 December 2012

This swatch was supposed to go up last Friday, but it just didn't feel right posting after the devastating tragedy that happened in Newtown, Connecticut. My heart goes out to the families of both the children and the brave teachers who worked to protect and calm their students during the attack. I don't have children myself, but I have nieces and nephews and to think that something could happen to someone so young and innocent is horrifying. I am at a complete loss of words except the always unanswerable question of WHY??

Two Coats with Top Coat

This is Glitter All The Way, the last of the polishes I own from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection. I think the name of this polish is simply wonderful. One of the best holiday names for this brilliant holiday collection.

One Coat

I don't know if I'd consider this glitter truly holiday though. To be honest, I'm reminded more of Mardi Gras than Christmas, but I guess that's a holiday too ... just not a December holiday. The colors are beautiful no matter what holiday this is for. I couldn't seem to truly capture them sadly. The light reflected off this glitter all wrong for my camera but was stunning to behold to the eye. I like the way one coat of Glitter All The Way looks, so I think I'll be wearing this as a layering glitter.

Two Coats with Top Coat

For all that it's pretty, I will say I found this glitter hard to work with. It came out of the bottle pretty dry and clumpy and refused to spread out on my nail. I used two coats to get opaque, but I think that was simply because my coats had to be thick to get glitter to cover my nail. This thickness left my nails tacky for much longer than any of the other glitters of this collection and you can see in this picture the dent in the polish on my middle fingernail. I thought my nails were dry enough for pictures about an hour after doing them but a small bump and they dented easily.

Color: Small green hex glitters with purple, red, and bright yellow-gold micro-glitters in a clear base. The most noticeable colors are definitely green and purple.
Finish: Glitter
Application: Not great. There seems to be too much glitter and not enough clear base. This makes the polish dry and the glitter sticks together; you think this might be a good thing but it just makes it hard to spread. Hard to spread means fairly messy.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3 depending on how well your bottle of Glitter All The Way spreads and how thin you can keep your coats. Mine didn't spread well so my two coats were thick.
My Rating (1-5): 4

Sunday 16 December 2012


L-R Liz Earle eye colour brush, Maybelline Superstay 24 hour lipstick in Pink on Pink, Rimmel Lasting finish Lip Tint, Collection Shimmer Shade Bronzer, No7 Nail Varnish in Temptress, Collection illuminating concealer in 2, Revlon Nail Enamel in Bewitching, MUA Undressed Palette and OPI Rainbow Connection.

Just a pick of a few make up favourites this winter. I do like to change my look as the seasons change, i just had my hair dyed a bit of a warmer blonde & had to buy some chunky jumpers! I'm currently loving dark nails, bronzed eyes and dewy skin.

What are your Winter make up must haves?

Friday 14 December 2012

I thought it would be nice this year to do some DIY gift ideas as well as the normal gift guides. Beauty boxes have taken the blogging world by storm this year, instead of giving someone a beauty box for Christmas why not make your own? You can fill it with products you think they'll love or with products that haven't worked for you! I think it's a bit more special is you hand select the products rather than buying ready-made beauty set. I've used an old glossybox and filled it with tissue paper & put 8 beauty products inside. This looks quite nice without wrapping the products or box up. I'm going to tie a Christmas card to the lid and wrap some ribbon around it - easy peasy pamper present.
Will you be making your own beauty box for someone? I love receiving DIY presents!

Thursday 13 December 2012

Today's late night post is Angel Wings, another from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Angel Wings gold green holo holographic glitter
Two Coats with Top Coat

Oh boy, what is there to say about Angel Wings? It's not me. It's a mildly pretty color, but not on me. This collection was picked up by someone else with my wish list. I should have waited until the swatches started coming out because this is something I would not have checked out with.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Angel Wings gold green holo holographic glitter
One Coat

Like all of the ultra-fine glitters of this collection, Angel Wings goes on thin and patchy with one coat but fills in nicely with two.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Angel Wings gold green holo holographic glitter
Two Coats; no top coat

I'm really coming to love the texture of this collection. I'm sure if left without top coat it would catch on everything, but it looks so gorgeous!

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Angel Wings gold green holo holographic glitter
Two Coats with Top Coat

And again, as with all the glitters of this collection, it takes two coats of top coat for a smooth finish. I didn't get any really great pictures that showcased the amount of holographic glitter in Angel Wings, but this one gives you a small idea. Imagine this times three. Seriously, there is so much holo packed into this that I am stunned I couldn't get a picture of it. :)

Color: Green gold with lots of holographic
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter
Application: Patchy with one coat but builds up nicely with two. This one didn't need much dabbing and pushing to cover my nails.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3
My Rating (1-5): 3.5

I feel I kind of have to explain my rating on this one. This rating is my own personal rating. I gave it points for the formula and application but I really, really don't like this color. I think it's the worst possible shade of gold China Glaze could have created. Far too green tinted for my tastes.

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Two posts in one day?? Yes!! There has been an influx of Hanukkah nail art, but I still come up with very little in search engines. I'm not Jewish, but I don't think there can ever be enough nail art for holidays, any holiday. So I felt it was my nail artist duty to contribute. :)


nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound Happy Hanukkah Chanukah holiday Star of David gold silver blue China Glaze Blue Bells Ring Pure Ice Silver Mercedes candle fire flame stripes

This is based around a really beautiful menorah I saw in one of my Hanukkah searches. There were, of course, four candle holders on each side and rising up from the middle was a Star of David candle holder. There were no candles in the holders in the picture but I could just imagine how stunning it would look all lit up.  I just had to use that Star of David and put a candle on top.

As for the other nails, I thought this all deserved a beautiful and simple background to draw attention to the accent nail. After two disasters with tape, I finally just free-handed the stripes using China Glaze Blue Bells Ring over Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.



If there is ever a holiday coming up that you want to see nail art for let me know. I barely follow US holidays let alone those internationally, but I would love the chance to attempt nail art for your favorite holiday. Leave me a comment or Contact Me so I can mark them on my calendar. :)
Okay, so I usually have at least some build up before announcing the design, but I can't contain my excitement with this one. N is for ... North Pole.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound ABC Challenge n is for It's snow snowing at the North Pole night winter Christmas holiday China Glaze First Mate Secret Periwinkle Peri-Wink-Le Poinsettia

Yes, it's snowing at the North Pole. :) I love this design and wore it all last weekend. Forgive the horrible writing on the sign. I couldn't find my thin detail brush. 

Can you tell how much I love this China Glaze color?? The bottle of the darker blue I use in these 'night time' designs is just as worn. For those wondering, this is Secret Peri-Wink-Le and the darker blue is First Mate. I mix them with a bit of black (sometimes I just use the black straight depending on the design and how much light blue I've used) and white to complete the gradient look.
I love seeing how other beauty bloggers store their beauty products. I  pop all my nail varnishes in a glass kilner jar and store most of my make up in little beauty bags. Recently, I was sent this lovely box from beauty-boxes.com. They sell a wide range of beauty boxes to keep your make up organised. I fell in love with this cath kidson-esque floral print instantly, look how pretty it is!

The inside is really spacious and has a little mirror on the top and also a pouch for holding things such a make up brushes. The quality of the box is very good, beauty-boxes.com actually offer a years warranty on any defective materials which is reassuring! The box is sturdy so i'll be using it when i take my make up travelling with me. It also comes with a lock to keep your contents safe.

I thought, as it is nearly Christmas (13 days people!) this would make such a cute gift idea. If you filled it with beauty products,below, you could make a DIY hamper & whoever you give it to can re-use the box!


What do you think of this beauty box? I like it a lot.

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Today's swatch is definitely one of my favorites from the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection. Right under Cranberry Splash and tied with Pure Joy.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Champagne Kisses Pure Joy gold rose red glitter Christmas New Year's Eve
Two Coats; Lightbox

I'd like to introduce you to Champagne Kisses. This is a rose gold glitter with a small amount of holographic glitter suspended in a clear base. It's the perfect rose champagne color that would be perfect for a New Year's party.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Champagne Kisses Pure Joy gold rose red glitter Christmas New Year's Eve
One Coat; Shade

Champagne Kisses is a very delicate color, but one that doesn't get lost. There's no mistaking this for unpainted nails. This is a common problem I've had with skin toned glitters, but Champagne Kisses has just the right amount of sparkle to never go unnoticed.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Champagne Kisses Pure Joy gold rose red glitter Christmas New Year's Eve
Two Coats; Sun

It's also a wonderful chameleon � subtly shifting colors in sun, shade, and artificial light.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Champagne Kisses Pure Joy gold rose red glitter Christmas New Year's Eve
Two Coats; Shade
nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection color swatch Champagne Kisses Pure Joy gold rose red glitter Christmas New Year's Eve
Shade

If you want to create a truly stunning Christmas nail I recommend adding a coat of Pure Joy over two coats of Champagne Kisses. This will take a bit of dabbing and pushing, but it is so worth it in the end.

Color: Rose gold with a small amount of holographic.
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter
Application: Perfect application. It went on very smoothly and built up great.
Coats to Opaque: 3, but the small patches of two coats were only visible in macro.
My Rating (1-5): A very solid 4.5

Monday 10 December 2012

Today's swatch from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection is Pure Joy.


nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Pure Joy color swatch glitter red gold christmas
Two coats of Pure Joy with two coats of top coat

Pure Joy is another of the glitters from this collection. It has a clear base with small red hex glitters and larger gold hex glitters.


nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Pure Joy color swatch glitter red gold christmas
One coat of Pure Joy; no top coat

This has good coverage with one coat. Not enough to be a one coat wonder but really good for a glitter. The small red glitters fill in nicely around the larger gold glitters. The gold glitters did need a bit of dab and drag to get them around the nail but I didn't have to dig for them. They came out of the bottle good; they just didn't want to spread out.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Pure Joy color swatch glitter red gold christmas
Two coats of Pure Joy; no top coat


nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Pure Joy color swatch glitter red gold christmas
Two coats of Pure Joy; two coats of top coat

I found that all the glitters of this collection needed two coats of top coat to get a smooth to semi-smooth finish. That said, I think this one was the best at accepting top coat. The glitter lay pretty smoothly on its own and the glitters left very few cracks between them for the top coat to sink between.

nails nailart nail art polish mani manicure Spellbound China Glaze Holiday Joy Pure Joy color swatch glitter red gold layered poinsettia christmas
One thin coat of Pure Joy; layered over two coats China Glaze Poinsettia

And just to show you how well this one layers, I put one very thin coat of Pure Joy over two coats of China Glaze Poinsettia. The only problem I had with this was that no matter how much I dabbed and pushed the glitters wouldn't stick to the polish around my cuticles. Not a big problem at all and the awesome shimmer effect of the red glitter more than made up for this!


Color: Small red hex glitters and larger gold hex glitters in a clear base.
Finish: Glitter
Application: Application was good. The glitter came out of the bottle nicely with no digging needed and only needed a bit of dabbing and pushing to get the gold glitter arranged around the nail. Builds up perfectly so it can be worn alone, but layers over other polish just as nicely.
Coats to Opaque: 2
My Rating (1-5): 4 � 4.5 if pushed. It's not a bad glitter, and it really is perfect for the holidays.

Sunday 9 December 2012


Perfume is my new obsession, which is becoming a bit expensive! Chlo� Eau De Parfum* is my most recent edition, it's described as having a powdery rose sent with notes of lily, peony,freesia and lychee, as well as amber and cedarwood. Just look at the pretty bottle is comes in!

You only need a couple of sprays of this scent as it's quite strong & lasts for ages. It really lingers on the skin much longer than any other perfume i've tried. Overall, this powdery rose scented perfume from Chloe is a classic. If you like florally, flirty, feminine scents - this is right up your street.

You can pick Chloe up from escentual who have 15% off the RRP. It's �56.95 for 75 ml & comes in three different sizes. 

Have you tried this before?