on my nails - Barry M Gelly Nail Paint

WHY is it raining? We had a couple of ridiculously beautiful days but now it seems like I wake up to rain every day. On a recent horribly wet and glum day I found myself in Boots (where else) picking out some bright, happy nail polishes.

I love the gelly nail polish from Barry M - the formula is so easy to apply and the colour payoff is amazing. The gel like finish is perfect, smooth and snhiny. I've been wearing Huckleberry for almost a week and with only minimal chips, nothing to complain about there! These were £3.99 and are often on 3 for 2 - I got three of these for the price of one Essie polish. I do love Essie but sometimes I can't limit myself to one colour and my bank balance is VERY thankful for cheaper alternatives!

I'm thinking Prickly Pear for Easter weekend to add some cheer to my fingertips while stuck at work.

Have a very happy Easter!!
Beccy x

on my wish list - Springspiration

iPhone 6 Case - kate spade new york // Cagefighter Purple Sunglasses - House of Holland // 

Teal Blue Orchid - Essie

Orange Cut Out Skater - Miss Selfridge // Rebel 24 Leather Shoulder Bag - Marc by Marc Jacobs // Tropical Tie Front Playsuit - Miss Selfridge

Zoe - Vagabond // Volupte Shine in Jealous Coral - YSL // Grace - Vagabond 

Just a few things I want need for Spring 2015!!!

Whats on your wishlist?

Love,  Beccy x

on my nails - Essie Splash of Grenadine

After two 60 hour weeks at work and zero energy for blogging/moving/staying awake past 9pm I have been fully loving the sun this weekend!

Yes, it really feels like SPRING HAS ARRIVED *sounds claxon* and with it is the return of the brighter nails into my life. I like a red or purple over winter but spring and summer bring the ridiculously bright taxi yellow, the flashy corals and any possible shade of pastel anything back to my fingertips.

Here we have Essie's Splash of Grenadine brightening up my fingers and toes and adding a little extra happy to my day.

What colour makes you feel like spring?

Love,

Beccy

on anosmia - Life With No Sense of Smell

 

I love perfume.

Well... I love the IDEA of perfume. I love the pretty bottles, the feeling of using a luxury product and the hope that people will be distracted by how I smell and not notice that my winged eyeliner is painfully uneven. A girl can live in hope.

Ever since I can remember I have had no sense of smell. I don't often feel like I'm missing out because I never knew what it was like to smell and have no concept of what a smell really is (but yes I can taste the difference between a potato and an onion).

Anyhow, the whole anosmia situation makes perfume buying... Tricky. I tend to be drawn to the prettiest bottles then need to rely on whoever I'm shopping with at the time to confirm that it does smell good, it does suit me and it is worth the investment. This is where honesty is realllly important because all too often we say 'oh yes that's nice' because we don't want to offend a friend but I like to think my mum/boyfriend/shopping partner du jour is kind enough to let me not walk around smelling horrific for the sake of a pretty bottle.

So now if you ever bump into me in the hospital coffee shop smelling like I'm trying to attract wild males on a night out in town you'll know why! And maybe not judge too harshly! A lot of hope going on here.

I'll leave it there with a plea for your suggestions of perfume that comes in a pretty or interesting bottle to force other people to smell next time I find myself in boots and this picture of me 5 years ago. I went to the toilet at the library and came back to find a kind friend had left this on my desk. Hint: it didn't work.

Love,

Beccy x

on disappointment - Is this the worst product EVER?!

So we all know that feeling. We spend £10 on something and it doesn't quite do exactly what we expected and we feel a bit annoyed we spent £10 on it but give it a good use and are secretly happy when it runs out, right? There's 'wasting money' which is when we buy all the naked palettes at once because we have to have them even though they might not really suit our skin tone *ahem* and then there's actually wasting money. Where we'd have been no better off just shredding a £10 note.

For the first time EVER I have spent money on something that is frankly unusable. Welcome to my diary of disappointment Nip + Fab Bee Sting Eye Fix.

The first dissapointment was the amount of product in the pot. You buy a pot of something and expect it to be at least 3/4 full if not full to the brim. This is how much product you get. 

I would say it is about 1/8 the size of the pot. It's pretty deceptive! Give me a tiny pot and at least I'll know how much to expect but this is ridiculous!

Have I just got a duff one?!

Second disappointment is that this 1/8 of product is super dry. You can see where I've stuck my finger in it and only been able to make a finger mark, not get any out.

You can get... Flakes out. If you stick your nails into it. Which is a bit disgusting. 

And even when you HAVE got some flakes out when you try and rub it onto your under eye or between your fingers it stays as flakes!!!! What is the point?!

I don't even think I can put into words how alarmed I am at the uselessness of this product!

Is it supposed to be in tiny amounts and completely unusable?!

Am I doing something wrong?!

No link to where you can get this from because I don't want to be responsible for genuinely wasting your money.

Stay away!!!

Beccy x

on an adventure - Trentham Gardens

Whilst on annual leave last week I visited Trentham Gardens with my Aunty Kate.

Trentham Gardens in Stoke on Trent incorporates a large lake with numerous garden areas, a waterside cafe and a maze.

There is a walk around the lake with these gorgeous, arty fairys to look out for with the purpose of keeping children interested. 

It's free to park and only £7.35 to get into the gardens - totally worth it!

There is also a shopping village and large garden centre adjacent to the gardens. The shops range from clothing to trinkets, art to food. Its really beautiful to have a mooch around or, if you're like me, accidentally spend all your money.

My favourite store is Yellowstone Art Boutique - full of gorgeous cards, posters, wrapping paper... my idea of heaven! You can have a browse online -  far too much lovely stuff and I am a bit worried now I've opened the website that I might accidentally buy EVERYTHING.

What do you all like to do on a weekend?

Love Beccy x

on ambience - Hourglass Ambient Lighting

Holy mackerel this stuff is GOOD.

And you know its good when fish is referenced in the first sentence of a blog post - that's all I'm saying.

I'm relatively late to the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette party but having used this almost daily for the last month I can safely say I am obsessed.
I don't have any idea how they do it.

Dim light is a perfect powder shade for me - it adds a bit of extra colour as it is a little darker than my skin. I use just a slight wash of this over my skin.
Incandescent light is the highlighter shade but it is incredibly subtle, which for me makes it even more beautiful. There's no glitter or sparkle but a gives a sheen finish 'brightness'.
Radiant light is far too dark to be used all over my face but in small doses add a subtle bronzey glow to contour areas.

This trio of powders provides all the right colours for me to bronze, highlight and set my face and add a 'glow from within' exactly as Hourglass say it should!

The palette was pricey but for all three colours I really can't complain, especially as you use such small amounts each time.

The individual colours can be bought here at Space NK for £38.

What do you think - worth the cost?

Beccy x