Nails Of The Week!

Flash and direct natural light

Flash

(I can't decide whether the polish is closer in shade to the 1st or 2nd photo. It's in-between!)

This is Maybelline's Forever Strong nail polish in Hot Salsa, which is just beautiful. Well, other people and the Maybelline stands call it Hot Salsa, but at the top it says 'Rose Salsa 490 Hot Salsa'. First of all, I thought it was a standard coral, but compared to my other corals, this is a lot more pink. I think it's just a very warm hot pink.

I won this, along with some other Maybelline goodies, from Woman's Own magazine. They were giving away 50 goody bags worth £50 each and I was a winner:

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Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint

First of all, I don't wear tinted moisturiser or foundation. Not because I have great skin (far from it) but because I'm used to not wearing it. Last week, for the first time, I went out of the house wearing a tinted moisturiser (that has the coverage of a light foundation) and that product is what I'll be talking about today.

In this post, you're going to see something horrific; part of my naked face! You're going to see my redness, blackhead infested nose (yummy) and part of my hideous eye. You've been warned!

Bare skin, Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint in Bare. (My eye was irritated. It's not normally that red!)

Price: £21 for 40ml

Shades: Bare (for fair/light skin tones), Beige (for medium skin tones) and Beach (for medium to dark skin tones).

The shade you see above is Bare.

'The perfect way to enhance your skin. Our rich, creamy formula leaves skin looking naturally dewy, even and radiant. With mineral UV protection SPF15, plus our own specially selected blend of botanicals.'

The packaging is simple yet feminine, like the skincare line. If you look closely, you can see shimmer particles in the dark navy casing, which makes it look that little more expensive. 

I'm not keen on the scent. Personally, I think it smells like mushrooms. However, you can not detect this once it's applied.

The formula is closer to a light foundation than a tinted moisturiser. I don't think it's moisturising enough to be a tinted moisturiser, so I apply moisturiser before I use this. The coverage is also like a light foundation. (Just to clarify, I'm not saying it is a foundation, but the formula is similar to a foundation)

I have an oily T-Zone and normal cheeks. On my cheeks, this product looks great and gives them that promised dewy, radiant glow. On my T-Zone however, it enhances the oily skin. I would say that you can always dust some powder over the top, but if you wanted a matte finish, why would you buy this product?

If you have dry/normal skin, I think this product will look great on you.

Personally, I think the price is a little expensive, but I know a lot of people are willing to pay more for face products.

I wouldn't buy it because like I said, I rarely wear tinted moisturiser or foundation. If you do wear those sort of products and want something light and dewy, I would recommend this.

PR Sample

Shop! (Superdrug, Aussie, The Body Shop and Tesco stationery)

I thought I'd show you what I've bought within the last week. The stationery isn't pretty or exciting, but may be useful to someone!

Superdrug:

Superdrug Kids pear detangling spray 99p, Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Leave-in Conditioner, Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Conditioner 2 for £4.99

The Body Shop:

Hair brush £4 (Originally £8), Satsuma body butter 50ml £2.50 (Originally £5)

There have been a few codes going around which entitle you to 50% off The Body Shop website. They also had free delivery so I couldn't pass it up! I already own a couple The Body Shop brushes and really like them.

Tesco:

Zebra print folder £1, blue folder 60p

I want some pretty ones, but these will do for now!

400 sheet Pukka pads £1.90 each

I was going to buy some Oxford pads, but you get a lot more paper with these and the quality is very similar.

50 subject dividers £2, 50 punch pockets £1

Clear pencil cases 39p each, highlighters 85p, sticky index markers £1

I do find it a little ridiculous that the index markers are more than the highlighters, seeing as they're just paper!

I still need to get pens and a memory stick. I use Papermate biros, which come in packs of 10. I usually get them from Asda (£1 a pack) but they've stopped selling them! I know that Rymans sell them though. 

Asda are selling 4GB memory sticks for £5, which is quite good, but I have my eye on a turtle shaped one from Comet haha. It's £12-15 though so I'll probably just get a cheap one.

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A photo

In my previous post, I showed you some photos from my childhood. After I posted it, my nan gave us some photos that we've never seen before. Out of all of them, this one is my favourite:

My sister, mum and me.

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A trip down memory lane

I was looking through some photos last night and thought it would be nice to share a few with you. What I love about childhood is that you don't care what you look like and what people think of you. I also envy the perfect skin!

Literally white

Granddad and I. He looks very similar now, apart from his grey hair!

Mum and I

Summer dress with biker boots! I've also got a photo from the Winter, where I'm wearing my school jumper, skirt, tights and the boots again.

Sister (looking like a boy) and I

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Results

My first choice University was Plymouth and my second was Marjon (which is also in Plymouth). Over the months, I convinced myself I'd never get into Plymouth, so I became more attached to Marjon. I also liked that Marjon only has 3,000 students, where as Plymouth has 10x that. 
Yesterday morning I logged into Track. Track said they would open at 8am, but at 7am, it was working. It said that I had got into Plymouth and I was in shock. I went and got my results and was surprised because I didn't meet Plymouth's grade requirements, but they still offered me a place. I didn't want to go to Plymouth anymore though. I got home and asked Marjon if I could still have my place, in which they replied "We'd be delighted to give you a place". I then filled out an online form and emailed Plymouth asking to be released. I went on Track this morning, seen that I had been released from Plymouth and added Marjon in clearing. 5 minutes later they accepted me! 
I really hope that I don't regret withdrawing from Plymouth. I didn't get the grades to go there anyway so would feel like I didn't deserve a place. 3,000 students is still a lot to me, so I think Marjon is going to challenge me greatly.
My grades weren't the best and I did get a little upset about them. So many people had got As and Bs, so I felt a little dumb compared to them. At the end of the day though, I had 5 conditionals and was accepted into 2 Universities, so it could be a lot worse.
I am absolutely terrified of going though. New people, all the work and on top of that, I don't have many clothes haha
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Lets talk feet

Not the most popular topic, but it relates to everyone who has feet, which is the majority of the population!

There are a few steps I take that transform my feet from dry and crusty (mm sexy) to soft and subtle.

The first step is filing my feet. I was recently sent the Ped Egg which has replaced my usual files. I have a product similar to the Ped Egg from Avon, so was expecting similar results. My expectations were wrong. I was filing away and when I looked at how much skin I filed away (ew), I was amazed and shocked at the same time. There was a lot of skin shavings! I think the blades must be sharper. Be careful though. I must have filed too hard because I filed right past the dry skin and scraped the new skin - ouch! My feet are slightly sore now. It's nothing some Germolene won't cure though. 

The Ped Egg I received is from JML Direct and is £9.99. They also do a range of pastel shades (very pretty) which are currently only £4.99.

The second step I do is soak my feet. Hot water and moisturising bubble bath or shower gel does the trick. Sit back and relax for 10-15 minutes :)

The next step is to moisturise... and then wrap your feet in cling film. The cling film keeps the moisturiser in, allowing it to absorb into the skin. I normally use Aveeno moisturiser, but that's because I have so many tubes of it! Any moisturiser will do. I leave this on over night and in the morning my feet are super soft!

The last step is to paint your toe nails and then bam! You have gorgeous feet.

Hope you enjoyed this post!

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Nails Of The Week - OPI Elephantastic Pink and Comparisons

I love shades like this; warm pinks. This polish has a jelly formula, so is quite sheer. Above, I have on 4 coats!

There are quite a few dupes for this, which are not sheer:

Barry M Pink Flamingo, OPI Elephantastic Pink, 17 Pink Grapefruit and ASOS Paint in Blake.

 Barry M Pink Flamingo is the closet in shade to Elephantastic Pink. It's opaque in 1-2 coats and is only £2.99, so I would definitely recommend it over the OPI polish. The 17 and ASOS shades are slightly darker, but still in the same colour family.

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My Top 5 Affordable Treats

Hello! I'm guest blogging over at Computergirl's musings today. As you can see from this title, the post is about my Top 5 Affordable Treats. Click here to have a read.
Thank you again Emma for allowing me to feature on your blog!
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Someday Summary - Sunday

This post has more photos than usual as I don't really have much say (for once!).

I read The Lovely Bones this week and can see why it's popular. It's a great read and had me in tears a few times! Not only do you feel for Susie, but for her friends and family too. More so in fact.

I popped into town yesterday and picked up another pair of Primark pumps (£3). I also went into Acccessorize and bought the parakeet pendant that I've wanted for a while. It was down to £2.70 and was the last one! Result. My sister thought it opened up like a locket so was trying to open it and then broke off the branch the parrot was sat on! It doesn't look too bad, but I've emailed Accessorize asking if they have a spare that I could buy.

hehe Shadow. Look at her cheek drooping! Oh and, please excuse the hideous carpet!

There was a code going around for Jessops, which supposedly entitled you to a free canvas. This code was in fact only meant to be used if the customers were buying a camera, but Jessops made a booboo. Jessops then cancelled all orders containing a canvas. A couple of my orders didn't get cancelled because I didn't order a canvas. I found out that the code worked on anything on the website. Above is Mr. Moose with Shadow on his t-shirt. I also have another order coming, which includes a teddy, snow globe, photo clip and glass photo, all for free!

My shelves aren't 100% finished yet (would like to paint them another colour) but here they are with my nail polishes on :)

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Good Things Dream Cream Night Cream

Price: £8.99

Isn't the packaging beautiful? It's simple yet feminine. Although the Good Things range is primarily aimed at young skin, the packaging isn't tacky or childish, so also appeals to older women (well, my mum likes it anyway!).  The pot/tub is rounded at the bottom, which adds to the feminine touch.

The scent is not your standard sickly-sweet, citrusy scent (although I must admit, I do like a bit of that!), which is a Good Thing for this product (I couldn't help it!). I don't associate citrusy scents with moisturising night creams, so the subtle, understated fruity scent of fig and avocado suits the product well.

It does what a night cream should, and leaves my skin very moisturised and soft, without feeling greasy. Saying that, I've never come across a moisturiser that doesn't moisturise.

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PR sample.

Liz Earle Gentle Face Exfoliator

(freckles!) If you look closely, you can see the jojoba beads.

Price: £12.50 for 70ml

'Problem: blocked pores, blackheads and congested or flaky skin.

Solution: gently exfoliate to buff away dead skin cells and impurities for smoother, clearer skin. Containing purifying eucalyptus, softening cocoa butter and fine jojoba beads.'

This product has the same scent as the other products in the range, which I would describe as a herbal, minty scent. As the name suggests, it is a gentle exfoliator, so can be used everyday. If you're the kind of person who loves a 'scrubby' exfoliator, you may not like this product. Personally, I don't mind how 'scrubby' an exfoliator is! Most facial exfoliators I've tried in the past are gel based, whereas this is very creamy. Because of this, it leaves your skin very soft, just like the Cleanse & Polish. If this product was gel based, I would say that it can easily be duped, but because the formula is unique for an exfoliator, I would recommend it. This is like the Cleanse & Polish, but removes more dead skin cells, so what's not to like? "The price" I hear some of you say. I agree, it is a little expensive (for me anyway), which is the only negative point.

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