A FESTIVE GLITTER POLISH

I think it's safe to say that as the Christmas and party season comes around, almost everyone loves a good glitter manicure, whether all over, an accent nail, tips, or a gradient effect, it's just something we all crave.

I found this one from Essence from the Special Effect Topper range for a couple of pounds in the shade Circus Confetti. You get a variety of small round glitter and slightly larger hex glitter in an array of colours, basically like rainbow glitter housed in a clear base. This looks amazing layered over coloured polish, as well as nude and white, and also on it's own layered up for a full on glitter nail (a few coats gets it almost opaque).

As it is quite a heavy glitter, the drying time is a little longer than usual, but a fast drying top coat will get you though it (I'm loving the Ciaté Speed Coat), and I can't get over how sparkly and festive it looks. It even managed to catch the eye of the science teacher whilst he was in the midst of talking as it was that sheeny and reflective!

Definitely one to try if you are looking for a budget rainbow glitter rather than splurging on the likes of OPI.

FESTIVE SEASON

It has begun again. The first of December marks my true excitement for Christmas (although my present shopping did begin beforehand as I have rather busy collection of weekends coming up). I thought I would just put together a little post together on what I'm doing this year present wise and how I'm wrapping.

Between my close-knit group of friends we have organised a Secret Santa so we don't have to buy each other a separate present as budgets are low this year (I don't really know why but we all seem to be a bit short on money), so we are each getting a £20 present instead rather than lots of little bits. Of course, some of the girls slipped up and gave it away meaning a few of us 'cryptic' gals could suss out who has who, but I'm still excited to see what we all buy for each other. That means I have more money to spend on family, as some of my other friends and I just promised each other chocolate and so we wouldn't have to spend much more either.

As for wrapping, I decided to go for what I was going to do last year (but Mum got ahead of the game and had already purchased various rolls of printed paper). The idea is to wrap everything in brown paper then decorate it with bakers twine, bows, ribbon and elastic cord, and so on, to make it really customised. I've gone for a red, gold, green theme and managed to get most of my supplies in Wilkinson and Home Bargains to save some pennies. I think buying presents is my favourite part and seeing others open them, and I'm really pleased with my finds this year.

If you celebrate Christmas, how are you planning things this year?

THE BEAUTY CHRISTMAS WISHLIST

Possible a little blogger cliche, today is the day in which I share some of the beauty picks on my Christmas Wishlist this year. Although, there are a few other bits on the list, and I would never expect to receive everything I asked for, but these are some which I thought I could share with you as the possibilities that I could be lucky enough to see under my tree.

Skin & Body 

Being a slight bit of an Origins fangirl I thought Christmas would be the prime time to get started with the brand. The face masks had always intrigued me, and so this Origins Mask Marvels Set was written straight on my Christmas list. You get 3 75ml face masks (the Drink Up Intensive 10 minute mask, Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask and Clear Improvement Mask) for £25. The value for money is what got me, with the 50ml masks being £11 individually anyway.

Another body set is the Soap and Glory Relaxstation Set which has again, an amazing value for money. This one comes in a £20, with a few full sizes, a few minis, a hair turban towel, and also a 'loofah' if that is what they are called? I must say also Clean on Me shower gel is a firm favourite of mine so a full size shall be well loved.

I guess this links into skin, which is MAC Fix+. I recenty watched a video where ViviannaDoesMakeup talked about stippling this on with a brush to take away any powder-cakeyness, and it drew me in right away.

Makeup

The Smashbox It's Your Prime Set has been catching my eye for a few months now. The thought of an under-eye primer makes me very excited, and I am an eyeshadow base junkie so that'll be used a lot. And then to top it all off you get the Photofinish Primer which has gained a bit of a cult-status by quite a few bloggers this year.

This Benefit Hot 2 Trot Set looks pretty darn good. You get a full size Bella Bamba box blush, alongside what I would call a deluxe mini of the Cha Cha Tint stain for lips and cheeks. Rolling in at the price of the blush alone, this isn't all that bad of a deal.

Finally for makeup we have the No7 The Eye Collection which in all honesty, I purely wanted for the Eye Blend and Contour Brush, but for less than double the price of the brush you get 3 shadows and a pencil smudgy brush in there as well, which is totally bargainous. 

Fragrance

Whenever I walk past The Body Shop all that pops into my mind is the thought of the White Musk Smoky Rose Fragrance which smells incredible. I cannot explain scents, so I won't try, but if this was to be under my tree I would be very, very happy. 


As I said, I am grateful for anything I receive as gifts from anyone, and the same goes for this year. 

What's on your wishlist?

 

 

FESTIVE TARTAN NAIL ART

Tartan is slowly but surely becoming my new favourite thing. Considering when I went to London at the weekend the 't' word was mentioned in numerous conversations, and I lust everything and anything covered in the print, it is time to fess up to my addiction, and what better way to do it than try out some coordinated nail art. 

It would appear that Lily Pebbles has literally just done a post on this idea too, but I promise my pictures were taken 3-4 weeks ago in preparation, and that I haven't copied! Basically, this is that kind of nail art that looks so complex, but takes you a matter of lines, and minutes, to complete the job. 

The colours I used were OPI Red Light Ahead... Where? as the base colour, and then I used green, black, white and sliver stripers to create the stripes, and in a few different lines, and the tartan look was complete. The stripers were from the brand 'Rio' in case you were curious, but any will do. 

I think this could be my chosen nail art for the 25th, but then again, Megan gave me some smashing monochrome Nail Rock Nail Wraps for my birthday yesterday, which I cannot stop staring at...