Autumn

Well, I think it's certainly safe to say I've failed at blogging. But hey, I tried...and everyone loves a trier.. right? right?! On the plus side, I've received a promotion at work and I'm working a lot longer hours and I just can't find enough time in the day to fit it all in!! 

Autumn, however, has well and truly arrived in England. The mornings are slowly getting darker and the nights are beginning much earlier. I'm unsure how I feel about Autumn. Much like the weather, my feelings towards the crisper season are ever changing. In a bid to make myself feel more positive I'm going to do my Top 3 things I love about Autumn!

1. Firstly, I much prefer darker toned nail polishes. Not necessarily dark, but darker. My favourite Autumn shades are Essie - Bahama Mama, OPI - 4 in the morning and OPI - Love. Angel. Music. Baby. I think a darker red is a colour that works on pretty much everybody.

2. All the crispy leaves on the ground make such a satisfying noise when you walk through them.. okay so maybe I'm 5 but leaves are fun!

3. Wrapping up warm! I think we are now past the stage of waking up and it's freezing cold and layering up, to then get to work and its 22 degrees! I now feel like I can safely go and purchase some gloves or some autumn clothing and it wont be sat in my wardrobe for another 2 months. I like knowing where I stand with weather, at the start of Autumn you're never really sure, but the deeper in you get, the more convincing it its that it's going to be cold!  

What do you love most about Autumn? Leave a comment below and try and make me feel more positive about this season!

Week in pictures!

So, I thought I'd do another of these sorts of posts as I am lacking inspiration on the nail side of things at the minute. I've had a lovely week and done so much that I would like to share with you (which is amazing considering I've worked for most of it!).

It was my birthday last week and I received this enormous box of maltesers from a girl at work. She knows how to make me happy!

This little guy was waiting outside my front door for me when I got home one evening! He was very scared but so cute!

I went to Rutland Water nature reserve last weekend. It was so nice to just have a walk around in the sunshine and I adore being next to the water :)

I work in a pre-school so saying goodbye to my little ones was difficult! Made easier by the copious amounts of chocolate their parents gave me though! I'd never seen these before but they are delicious!

Another shot from Rutland Water of some striped caterpillars.

Me and my housemate's had strawberries and cream in the garden one evening as the weather is so nice, it was lovely!

The sky looked incredible!

What have you been up to this week?

It's Summer!!

Hey guys, been a while again! I have decided to share my summer nails with you. They aren't really very different to last years 'standard' summer nails, and I definitely need to begin to branch out when it comes to thinking of new designs. 

I love this colour, however. It's a scented Revlon shade that smells like mango's. And funnily enough is named "Mad About Mango". 

If any of you could link me to some fun summer nail designs then comment below!!

Simple Dotticure

Okay, okay, I know it's been over a month since I posted AGAIN! I'm really going to make an effort to post every week from now on, at least once.

Essie - Fashion Playground, Essie - Blanc

I used my Orly Dotter Dup to create different sized dots. I love this mani, it's so quick and easy to do! 

Is there anything you would like to see me blog about?

The girliest nails I have ever seen...

So last night, I decided that I was going to re-do my nails. I haven't done anything other than plain nails in a long time, mainly due to my contracted hours at work being increased I just don't have the time any more. But, as it was a Friday night (I know how to live, right?!), I decided to go wild and do something different. 

One of the children at the Nursery I work in requested I do "pink with diamonds", and while I didn't have any diamonds kicking around to stick on my nails, I went for the next best thing - pink glitter. 

Essie - Blanc, Essie - Romper Room, Seche Vite top coat.

Do excuse the state of my cuticles, they have been subject to a lot of cleaning lately and they really do not enjoy it!

What do your nails look like this weekend?

Essie - Spin The Bottle

Well, it's official. I have a new favourite nude polish. I don't often wear nudes as I find they look a bit weird on my skin tone. However, the new offering in Essie's hide & go chic collection really stood out to me so I picked it up to give it a try! 

It's the best nude I have used and, unlike other nudes, doesn't make my skin tone look yellow.

The only negative I have to say about this polish is the consistency of it. It's quite hard to work with which is unusual for an Essie polish. It took 3 careful coats and even then it was running on to my cuticles. 

Overall, I love this colour! What's your favourite nude? Should I add glitter to this?

Week in pictures

The topic for the blogger challenge this time is 'week/day in pictures'. I've cheated a little and taken a few photos over a couple of weeks. Looking back over the past few weeks a lot of good things have happened to me and seeing all of this in pictures brings back fantastic memories and things that I may have forgotten otherwise. 

I went to a new Waffle House in the city I live called 'Tamu' and I cannot recommend it highly enough. You can create your own desert with pretty much any topping combination you could think of. I went for crepes with chocolate and raspberries and raspberry sauce with a nice scoop of mint choc chip ice cream! 

It was a nice sunny weekend so I decided to go for a stroll around the local country park. This is my favourite place in the city and going here for a couple of hours really helps to clear my head. I created a few Spotify playlists and off I went!

My best friend also got a new hamster friend this week. He's called Neville and is so cute and has a real personality already :)

I also invested in some new converse. I've had my eye on this pair for a very long time and decided it was about time I bit the bullet and bought them. I love them now and wear them all the time!! 

I also went to the seaside! The weather was beautiful and I hadn't been to the coast for a couple of years. I love it there, but live about an hour and a half away so it has to be a real day trip! It was a really good day though and I'm looking forward to going again!

I purchased my tickets for The Big Reunion Boy Band Tour and I am SOOOO excited!!! I'm going to the London O2 which is where I am also seeing McBusted later this month!! A real throw back to the 90's/00's! 

Are any of you going to the Boy Band Tour? What have you been up to this week?

Nails

Yet another post for the Blogger Challenge! I promise I will get back in to regular blogging soon but I have been so busy at work and have been really struggling to find time! 

Topic 5 is 'nails'. As you all know, I am way too addicted to changing my nail colour. I've got a bit better lately at leaving my nails the same for longer than 5 hours, and only really change it twice a week. My nails were pretty strong to begin with but I have noticed that the condition of them is much better since I stopped using nail polish remover on them so regularly. I definitely need to start taking better care of my hands as I can be very lazy with it. 

If anyone has a good hand/nail care routine I would be really interested to see it! 

Everyone knows my favourite nail polish brand is Essie for multiple reasons. Firstly, I love the range of colours - there truly is something for every occasion. Secondly, the consistency and the opacity of the polish is definitely some of the best around. Finally, aesthetically, the bottles are a very nice shape which makes my collection look neat!! 

It's absolutely impossible for me to choose a singular favourite colour, however my favourite general colour would be lilac/purple. Essie- Play Date, Essie - Full Steam Ahead and Ciate - Sugar Plum being definite contenders for number 1!

What is your current favourite colour??

Valentine's Nails

Hey guys!

I've been so busy at work lately that I haven't had the chance to really do anything more than basic nails! I had the day off yesterday though so I decided it was time to do something with my nails! 

Here's my valentines nails! I used Essie - Full Steam Ahead, Go Ginza and Play Date and the glitter is my trusty Models Own - Juicy Jules!

I hope you all have a lovely day and get spoilt <3 Lots of love!

Show me your valentines day nails in the comments!

My favourite book

Topic 3 for the Blogger Challenge is to write about your favourite book. Now, I read a lot, so picking just one book was too hard. I've picked two as I just can't choose between them.

The first book is My Best Friends Girl by Dorothy Koomson. This book flew around my friends while I was in school and I think we had all read it by the end of the week. The story is emotional and one I will definitely not forget. Read it if you can!

The second book has to be Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher. This is the only book I have ever finished in a day. I LOVED it. It seriously was a book that I couldn't put down, so if you're planning on reading this then I would definitely set aside a day or two!

What is your favourite book? 

Essie Gradient!

Hi guys,

I went out at the weekend and was sick and tired of having boring nails! My creativity wasn't exactly high so I decided on a simple gradient!

I love using Essie - Rock the Boat and Full Steam Ahead to do gradients as I think they blend really nicely together!!

What do you have on your nails today? Let me know!!

Skincare!

Hi guys!

So another unusual post on this here little nail blog of mine. As Week 2 of the 2014 Blogger Challenge, the topic is skincare! 

I'm reeeeeaaallly bad at full body skincare because I find it so boring and I really just cant be bothered, but I will share with you what I actually do use (on the rare occasion I remember!)

I start off by using Soap and Glory - Scrub of Your Life in the shower so that my skin is all nice and smooth, I then use Palmers Cocoa Butter because it's smells delicious. I have very dry skin and this is a very thick intensive moisturiser. 

As I said, I have dry skin, especially on my legs. No one wants flaky legs so I went out and bought Nip + Fab - Dry Leg Fix and I have to say, this stuff is incredible!! I've never used something that makes my legs feel so smooth and look so hydrated!

One thing I am particularly good at, however, is my facial skincare - maybe because everyone sees my face! I start with Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish (which is amazing, and if you don't own it you should!) which really cleans my face. I then moisturise with Elizabeth Arden's Eight Hour Cream, which while it's good, I don't think it's worth the hype. My Eucerin face moisturiser worked just as well! I also use Dirty Works Rose & Glow moisture mask a couple of times a week as well!

Link me to your skincare routine! I'd love to see them..

New Years Inspiration

Hi guys,

Bit of a different type of post for you today as it's the first week of the 2014 Blogger Challenge. I really hope that I'm sitting here this time next year having written a post for every topic!

The topic of this post is 'New Years Inspiration'. I often find it difficult to keep to a 'resolution', mainly because by the 2nd January I've forgotten what my resolution even was :P. I have so much I want to achieve this year. A lot has changed in my life over the past month and I can honestly say I couldn't be happier with how things have turned out.

"I'm not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship."

This is something I have lived by since I first heard it. It reminds me that while things may be rough there is always a reason and it's only making me better at navigating the journey that is, life. Whilst many people often give up at the first hurdle (me being included in that), I aim to put my all into everything I do this year and whilst some may see that as a resolution, I see overcoming my personal battle with whatever I come across a definite inspiration.