Nails Of The Week!

I wasn't going to show you my 'nails of the week' this week because I've used these colours/this simple design before. But here we are! You can never have too many swatches of nail polishes!

The pink is ASOS Paint in Blake and the blue is ASOS Paint in Lauren. I love ASOS Paints! That's why you see them on this blog a lot!

I filed my nails down today and they feel so much better. They look a lot longer in the photo than they actually are in real life.

Also, my nails were stained yellow, so much so a few were turning orange! I used an old toothbrush and scrubbed toothpaste on my nails for 5 minutes. I didn't think this would make a difference (There are tons of tips which don't do anything) but I thought I'd give it a go. I didn't see a difference until I started washing it off. It has made a huge difference! No more stained nails for me :)

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Someday Summary - Photos by me!

What to update you with this week...

• I had an English exam Wednesday and a Psychology exam today. English was hard! Teachers said it was a tough paper this year. I know I've screwed it up so that's another retake in the Summer! Psychology was OK. I'm glad I'm not confident about it because last time I was confident, I didn't do so well.

• I have a Falmouth University interview on the 16th February. This includes a group discussion. I am terrified! If I do it, I will be so proud of myself. Going to buy an outfit next week as I have no smart clothes. I'm thinking smart shorts and tights with a classic white shirt.

• I'm getting my provisional driving license photo taken tomorrow. I'm going to take extra care with my hair and make-up! Cannot wait for my provisional to arrive, can then buy alcohol and go in town
  (Have no other ID, boo!)... as well as learn to drive haha.

There isn't much else to tell you really. This week's photos are my own! I really like my new camera, it produces some nice detailed photos. I have used Picnik to create the effects. I love that website so much!

My Blue Nose Friends collection! Aren't they cute?

Puddin' (Yes that is her real name; she was chubby as a kitten!). She snores. And breathes loudly.

Mia, Puddin's mother. She is purrdddyy.

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Collection 2000 Extreme Coloured Lengthening Mascara - Review and Swatches

I've had these for months but never got around to reviewing them, sorry!

Top to bottom: Purple, Teal, Blue, Black.

Blue wand.

(Greasy bug eyes!) Top to bottom: Teal, Purple, Blue, all with 3 coats.

Price: £2.99

I love the packaging and of course, the price. That's all I like though I'm afraid. The formula is far too dry. It looks and feels like a mascara I've used for a few months and am about to throw away. I couldn't have received a bad one because all four are like it. Because of the drying formula, the colour pay off isn't very good and my eyelashes clump together. I have seen some positive reviews on them but I personally don't see anything good about the formula. It's annoying because I really want these to work! Look how amazing the blue on the wand looks; I want that colour to transfer to my eyelashes.

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Urban Decay Primer Potion Test

I received the Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box for my birthday and it came with a mini primer potion. I'd never used a primer potion before and didn't think it could make such a big difference!

The colours I have tested below are (From left to right): Half Baked, YDK and Twice Baked. These are my favourites from the set because they're smooth and pigmented (A few others contain glitter which I'm not found of.)

Top photo: The eyeshadows swatched with primer potion and without. As you can see, the eyeshadows with primer potion are more pigmented.

Middle photo: After wiping them off of my arm with considerable force. The swatches without primer potion used are nearly gone whereas the ones with primer potion are still intact.

Bottom photo: After wiping off with a facial wipe. Swatches without primer potion have disappeared but you can still see the primer potion swatches.

I am so impressed! I think I'm going to buy a primer from ELF as it will be cheaper than Urban Decay. If I don't like it, I'll purchase the Urban Decay one :)

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Birthday Cakes and Presents

My day has been pretty standard. I'm going to celebrate in a few weeks and go for a meal with a few friends :)

My triple tower cheesecake birthday cake! Banoffee, strawberry and blackberry. This is now in pieces!

Chocolate cake for the people who didn't like cheesecake. There is only a little bit left! I have a piggy family you see.

Now onto the presents:

I didn't receive a lot but I don't mind. One of my friends bought me my first helium balloon! She also got me the cactus (10th one!), necklace in box, socks, cake and badge!

My other friend bought me the Urban Decay Sustainable Shadow Box :D

My sister bought me the Blue Nose Friends spider teddy (So cute!) and another one of my friends bought me the husky.

My nan gave me money for a provisional.

My parents bought me a camera: Fujifilm 14mp JX530. It's not a professional one but it's the biggest present they've ever bought me and it takes decent photos :)

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Happy Birthday To Me!

It's my 18th birthday today! I can now use dating sites and enter scamming competitions (Not that I want to, it's just nice to think I can if I wanted!).

I'm not doing much for my birthday, just having a Chinese with the family.

I have a triple cheesecake tower birthday cake (I like cheesecake!) (Top layer: Banoffee, middle layer: Strawberry, bottom layer: Blackberry. I thought I would have two berry ones as the banoffee will be so sweet.) and a large chocolate cake for the people who don't like cheesecake so I'm sure I will be eating cake for the next week!

My nan also made me these:

Caramel slices! One of my favourites :) They were made in her bakery but she made them herself.

I will be posting either tonight or tomorrow showing you my cheesecake birthday cake and the pressies I have received :)

Last but certainly not least is you lovely lot. I wanted to get to 500 blog followers by my 18th and I have well and truly surpassed that and am now on 509! In the last few weeks (Even before I set the target) I have gained over 30 followers! So hello to you all! I hope you stay :)

Thank you to everyone who reads my blog :)

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Coat

I've finally found a coat! I'm not in love with it but it'll do. I'm size 8-10 in clothes and normally get hoodies/coats in a size 12 but they didn't have any so I got a 14. I don't mind though because I like big, cosy coats. It's not waterproof but again, I don't care because it will still keep me dry.

Newlook coat £40.

Newlook fleece £15.

My dad said it looks stupid showing parts of the coat but I can't get a full length photo because I don't have flexible arms. He also said it looks stupid covering my face but I didn't like how I looked in the photo.

UPDATE: I am now in love with this coat :) It looks so much better in person and it is sooo cosy!

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Nails Of The Week!

No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Milan.

My nan gave me and my sister the No7 nail polish Christmas set the other day which I'm glad about because it sold out online like hot cakes. Unfortunately we had to share the polishes and my sister 'bagsied' Totally Teal! I like this one just as much though (Mum owns it and I've wanted my own bottle for a while).

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Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Bubblegum Pink

I bought this gloss from ASOS, along with an eyeliner pen for £3.85 in the sale (Individually bought they would come to £8.48). Normal, individual price of this product is £4.49.

The colour is so pretty! This has great pigmentation for a lip gloss. The formula is good (Didn't want to use an empty adjective because it's a typical word for a girl to use! But I couldn't think of another word hehe); non sticky and lasts for a few hours. This gloss smells exactly like bubblegum! The scent is quite strong, which some may not like but I don't have a problem with strong scented products. The downside is that you only get 3ml of product.

I really like this lip gloss but I wouldn't repurchase because I rarely wear lip glosses!

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Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse and Toner

I've been using these products for nearly three weeks so thought it was about time I reviewed them :)

Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse £4.07

'Botanics range combines active plant extracts in carefully balanced formulations to give you the right product for your skin type. Pore Perfecting Deep Clean Mousse for Blemish Prone Skin is formulated to be non pore blocking, containing Rosemary which combines antioxidant properties with antimicrobial action, helping reduce skin bacteria and also helping to protect skin from damaging free radicals while Willow Bark exfoliates and clears the skin, Plant extracts at levels that really work, combined and formulated for unbeatable product performance.'

I was a bit apprehensive about buying this at first because the formula looked very watery. However, when you pump the product out, it turns into a foam. You can definitely detect the scent of Rosemary and this product smells very fresh.

I use one pump to cover my entire face. A small amount will spread across your skin well and feels almost creamy when applying. Afterwards my skin is left feeling matte and thoroughly cleansed.

Boots Botanics Pore Perfecting Toner £3.05

'The Botanics range combines active plant extracts in carefully balanced formulations to give you the right product for your skin type.

Botanics Pore Perfecting Toner for Blemish Prone Skin leaves complexion soft and matte. Containing Rosemary which combines antioxidant properties with antimicrobial action, helping reduce skin bacteria and also helping to protect skin from damaging free radicals, also contianing Amazaonian clay which absorbs oils to keep the skin oil free and fresh. Plant extracts at levels that really work, combined and formulated for unbeatable product performance.'

Again, the product in the bottle doesn't look very appealing; a murky, muddy water. This is because of the clay. A large amount of clay is at the bottom of the bottle and will not budge! This doesn't affect the product though. When applying, it doesn't sting as such but feels a little like antiseptic. This isn't a bad thing and I don't think many people will notice.

How have these products improved my skin?

My pores are a lot smaller than they were, that's for sure. Before, if I ran my finger over my forehead, I could feel little bumps. Now, it is smooth :) I still get a few blemishes like before but this is going to be natural for blemish prone skin and no products can stop that completely. Although I still have blemishes, my skin feels better, smoother and 'pore tightened'.

I would recommend these :)

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Someday Summary

• I have exams coming up so I have began to increase my revision hours. Yesterday I revised Psychology for 3 hours and wrote an English essay, very productive!

• It was also a productive day yesterday because I bought my May Ball dress (Year 13 prom):

It's from TFNC London and was £25 down from £50, bargain! I'm hoping it fits and if it doesn't, I've seen a few dresses from Lipsy I like. As you can guess from the name, my prom is in May so I'm very prepared! Thank you to the girls on Twitter who were helping me look (And persuaded me to buy the dress!)

• My 18th birthday is in 11 days. I'm not doing anything because I think going for a meal with friends would be boring as I do it every year. This year I'm just having a Chinese with my mum, dad and sister. Oh and I'm having a three tower cheesecake birthday cake! I love cheesecake you see :)

• Media is getting on my nerves. As I previously mentioned, I have exams this month but my Media teachers want us to hand in our Coursework essay and a draft of our practical. This is going to be impossible. The other teacher has also given us an essay, grrr.

And now a child hood memory! (Picture from weheartit.com)

My favourite Pokemon character, Snorlax! He's fat and only wakes up to eat haha

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The power of photoshopping

This isn't a long post, just an example of photo manipulation. I used Picnik.com, which anyone can access and the tools are easy to use. No professional work and look at this:

Ignore my hair and eye make-up, it's a mess!

So what have I done?

Whitened my teeth.

Blemish fixed my dark under eye circles.

Airbrushed my skin.

If I can do that, think of how much manipulation can be done to media texts!

No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted.

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ELF Goodies and Mini Reviews

ELF are currently offering free delivery on orders over £10 (Ends midnight 6th January, code: newyearuk) so I thought I'd make an order. Delivery was super fast! I ordered yesterday afternoon and my package arrived this morning.

I thought I would include some mini reviews. I know I only received the products this morning but I already have some Studio brushes and have had them for a year so can review them. The other product I will be reviewing is something I haven't tried before but I really don't like.

Studio Powder brush, Studio Complexion brush, Studio Small Angled brush, Eyelash and Brow Wand, Natural Lash Kit and Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal.

Studio products were £3.50 each and the normal line products were £1.50 each.

I love the Studio brushes. I already have the Complexion, Blush and Eyeshadow brushes and have been using them for a year. They are extremely soft, do not shed and do not bleed. I like to use the complexion brush for blushes and bronzers so thought I'd get the powder brush for my powders. This brush looks just as promising and I don't see why it wouldn't perform just as well! I will be using the Small Angled brush for my brows and again, so far the brush looks good. If it doesn't perform well, I will update this post.

I also already have an Eyelash and Brow Wand but thought I would get another as I use my current one everyday for both lashes and brows. I haven't tried any of the other brushes from the normal line as they don't look promising but you cannot go wrong with this. Doesn't matter if it's from an expensive or inexpensive brand, a product like this will perform the same!

I haven't used the false lashes yet so cannot comment on them, but I thought they would come in handy.

Shimmering Facial Whip in Lilac Petal... I really do not like. I love the All Over Colour Sticks so thought I would try the more liquidy version. Every time I go to use it, loads of water comes out. Example:

Once I've squeezed the water out and get to the 'cream', it's really hard to blend. The finished result looks like this:

Not bad, but it's not something I'm blown away by. I know it's only £1.50 but that is £1.50 that could have gone towards something else!

UPDATE: I contacted ELF about this because people told me it isn't normal and they are sending me a replacement. Great customer services and lets hope this one will work better!

Oh and also, I love the Studio Small Angled brush. I use it for my eyebrows and it's perfect for the part after the arch (Whatever it is called). I also use it to line my lower lash line with eyeshadow. Going to get another!

UPDATE 2: Received my placement Shimmering Facial Whip today and this one isn't watery, yay!

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Nails Of The Week!

Hello my lovelies!

Not the most exciting colour this week but still gorgeous.

This is Miss Sporty's Electric Beige.

I've filed my nails down! They're still long(ish) but so much shorter than they were. I've done this because they were catching on things and it flippin' hurt!

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My Room

I've been painting my room and a few people wanted to see it so here you go!

I know my room isn't classy or sophisticated but in fact a little childish. The furniture is old and falling apart (& is what makes my room look childish!) so I'm saving up to get a new bed, desk and chest of drawers.

Here's what you see when you walk in my room and turn to the left.

Clockwise is my desk. You can see the colour this wall is painted, the rest are painted white.

To the right is my window (& my 9 plants!)

A closer look at what is in the corner of the above photo. This is the first thing you see when you walk into my room. Top is make-up and nail stuff, middle is skincare (Left to right is facial wash/scrubs, cleansers, toners, moisturisers, eye care and random.) and bottom is body and hair products.

Clockwise again is my wardrobe. I painted the border with the turquoise paint too.

I told you it isn't modern or classy! But I like my room and will like it even more when I get rid of the hideous furniture!

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