Top 3 Nail Polishes for Spring

Sinful Colours Easy Going, Essie Go Ginza, Barry M Sugar Apple

I'm not one to only wear darker shades in the autumn/winter and lighter shades in the spring/summer, but I've been gravitating towards pastel shades recently, and they just so happen to be season appropriate. The shades above are the most pastel ones I own. The shades I considered pastel before these are no where near as light!

Sinful Colours Easy Going - £1.99 - review here

Easy Going is an off white pink, which looks clean and delicate on. It's beautiful on its own, but is also the perfect base for nail art. It takes three coats to become opaque, which isn't great, but I can deal with it.

Essie Go Ginza - £7.99 - review here

I used to stay far away from all purple shades, but in the last couple of years, I've come to love lilac and berry shades of polish. This is the lightest lilac I own, and I love it. Again, it's very clean. It takes two coats to become opaque, which is great for such a pastel shade.

Barry M Gelly Sugar Apple - £3.99 - review here

Sugar Apple is one of my most recent additions. Like I said in my review, it's a pastel, yet vibrant, aqua that can appear mint green in certain lights. It's thinner and streakier than the other Gelly polishes in the range, so takes 2-3 coats to become opaque. I was expecting better, to be honest, but love the colour so much that I'm willing to overlook this! 

What are your top nail polishes for spring?

The Body Shop Vineyard Peach Body Mist

The wait is over! The Body Shop have finally released a Vineyard Peach Body Mist! I fell in love with the Vineyard Peach collection late 2012, and love their body mists, so have been waiting for this day to come. The scent smells like a fresh, juicy peach, and I can't get enough of it. I think it actually smells better than the rest of the products in the collection, and isn't alcohol-y at all. The only body mist of theirs that I find does have this quality is the Strawberry one, but even that settles. Like the others, it doesn't last on your skin or clothes for a huge amount of time, but it's a body mist, so that's to be expected. However, the other afternoon, my mum commented on how nice my sister and I smelt, and we'd spritzed ourselves with the Mango variety that morning. At £7.50 full price, they're not the cheapest, but as I've said countless times before, who ever pays full price for The Body Shop products these days? There's always an offer on. On this occasion, I paid £4.50 for mine.

Are you a fan of the Vineyard Peach range?

Collective Haul

Going through my Instagram earlier, I decided that my small purchases here and there over the last couple of months could actually be grouped together for a 'haul' post. I show all the little things on Instagram, but then forget to even mention them on here until I review them!

So, the first photo is of OPI's Steady As She Rose, which I bought from Fragrance Direct for £3.99. It's a beautiful, light, dusky lilac. I've already swatched and reviewed this here, and have compared it to Models Own Utopia here.

I've also been buying more Bath & Body Works hand gels recently. I already owned Vanilla Berry Sorbet and Fresh Picked Apples, but then bought Tuscan Melon, Market Peach, Island Nectar, and Sweet Pea last month. They were all £1.99 including P&P from various eBay sellers, which is a rip off compared to American prices, but I really wanted them! They keep changing their prices and stock, so I won't link you to any listings, but just search 'bath and body works hand gels' and you'll find them. Market Peach is my favourite, which is no surprise! They all smell exactly like their names, and Island Nectar smells like really sweet mango with a hint of floral.

I then bought Barry M's Gelly Nail Paint in Sugar Apple from ASOS because I wanted it (obviously) and could get student discount and free delivery. You can see my swatch and review of it here. The formula's not the best, but it's a beautiful shade.

I don't think I suit sunglasses at all, but want to start wearing them more because I seem to squint outside a lot, and squinting = more wrinkles when I'm older. I bought the ones above from Primark for just £2. The style is a lot bigger than I'm used to, but I like them. I may buy some without the brown tint next.

From eBay, I bought these white rose fairy lights for £11.99 including P&P. They're quite expensive for what they are, but I wanted some fairy lights that looked good turned off as well as on. They're not very long, but they're just the right length for the header of my bed.

After finishing writing my dissertation last week (handing it in Thursday!), I decided to go shopping, but didn't really buy much. I did buy some pretty bras from Primark, though. I love the style of them, and they were only £4 each.

I bought the NYX Butter Gloss in Peach Cobbler from eBay for £6-7 because I didn't want to pay £5 + £4.50 P&P on the NYX website. I should have waited, though, because I ended up ordering from them last week as they had free P&P! I've already swatched and reviewed this here. It's my new favourite lip product!

On the same day I bought the Primark bras, I also bought Models Own Beach Bag in Superdrug. It was £5, but I had some points to use on my beauty card, so it was cheaper. It's the first polish that's caught my eye from them for a while, and is a neon pastel peach. You can see me wearing it here, but I don't know if I'll be blogging about it because I'm not 100% happy with my application! It's also hard to capture on camera.

Finally, two products which arrived today (after Interlink screwing up): NYX's Powder Blush in Taupe and Butter Gloss in Apple Strudel. They had free delivery on orders over £10, so thought I'd pick up a couple products I'd had my eye on! The blush is for contouring (or attempting to), and I wanted another Butter Gloss because I love Peach Cobbler so much. This one is beautiful, too. I'm not usually one for lip gloss, but these are something else!

I've also just ordered from The Body Shop because they finally have a peach body mist! I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw it on their website. What have you been buying recently?

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter and Silky Cleansing Oil

I've been using The Body Shop's Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter (£12) and Silky Cleansing Oil (£10) for over a month now, so thought I'd sit down and share my thoughts on them. I was going to review them separately, but other than the form they come in, they're very similar. I've used a cleansing balm before (Lush's Ultrabland), and loved it, so wanted to try another. I've never used a cleansing oil, though, so was intrigued to see the results. For reference, I have combination oily skin.

They both have a light, fresh-floral scent, which is very pleasant. I'm not too bothered about the scents of facial products (this is a different story when it comes to body products!), but it's always an added bonus when they smell nice. They both remove my makeup well, too, and leave my skin feeling soft. Baby skin soft. Lush's Ultrabland left my skin feeling like I'd just applied an intensive moisturiser, but these make my skin feel like I've applied an intensive moisturiser the night before and woken up to soft skin. I've been using the Silky Cleansing Oil more than the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, but that's simply because it's quicker to pump than it is to unscrew and scoop. The Silky Cleansing Oil is also cheaper, but I love them both equally. I just love the solid form of the Sumptuous Cleansing Butter, and it's great for travelling.

I think these cleansers have become my new favourites, and I'll certainly be repurchasing. Full price, they're a little expensive, but who ever pays full price for The Body Shop products? There's always an offer on!

KIKO Life in Rio Essential Bronzer in 201 Sienna Melange and Sun Lovers Blush in 04 Atlantic Camellia

KIKO Life in Rio Essential Bronzer in 201 Sienna Melange

KIKO Life in Rio Essential Bronzer in 201 Sienna Melange (darker and warmer in real life!)

KIKO Life in Rio Sun Lovers Blush in 04 Atlantic Camellia

KIKO Life in Rio Sun Lovers Blush in 04 Atlantic Camellia

KIKO Life in Rio Essential Bronzer in 201 Sienna Melange and Sun Lovers Blush in 04 Atlantic Camellia

KIKO is a brand I've been hearing more and more about recently, and the packaging of recent collections has caught my eye. The products in the Life in Rio summer collection (launching this month) look beautiful, particularly the bronzers and blushes, which I'll be talking about today. Just look at them. They could possibly be the prettiest products in my collection!

 The Essential Bronzer in 201 Sienna Melange* (£16.90) is the darker of two shades, and is huge! You get 20g of product, which is just as well for the more expensive price tag. It's slightly darker than the photo above suggests, and has the potential to look orange on pale skin tones, but is still wearable with a light hand. I've used a flash in the swatch photo so you can see the amount of shimmer it has. It's very subtle, thankfully, so gives a luminous glow rather than making you look like a glitter bomb. I actually prefer completely matte bronzers, but still like the effect this gives. The powder itself is soft, but does have a little fallout after dipping your brush in. It's not a great deal, and is better than a lot of powders I've used, but still isn't the best. Saying that, it means it's pigmented. The Body Shop's Honey Bronzer has no fall out at all, but it takes a lot of building up to achieve the desired effect. It also has a vanilla fragrance, which I like, but don't think it's necessary.

The Sun Lovers Blush in 04 Atlantic Camellia* (£14.90) is a beauty, isn't it? The marbled half is a mauvey brown, and the other half is a warm pink. Together, they create a dusky pink which warms up your complexion. The finish is radiant, which I really like. It's not flat, but not so shimmery that it will enhance your pores, either. The powder is similar to that of the bronzer, so there's a little fallout, but it's pigmented, too. I must say, though, that you can get similar quality blushes for less money, and this shade isn't the most unique, so I would look around before buying. However, you do get three different shades out of this, and the packaging is one of the best, so it all depends on preference! There's also another three shades to choose from if this one doesn't take your fancy.

Have you tried any KIKO products?

Superdrug Face & Bikini Wax Strips

I started waxing my upper lip a couple of years ago when I noticed the hair in blog photos. To be fair, it was only noticeable in close up shots with the flash on, but I decided to remove it anyway. I was surprised at how soft and smooth my skin felt afterwards, and makeup applied better, so I carried on doing so. Up until recently, I was using some wax strips I'd won in a giveaway years ago. They finally ran out, though, so I went on the hunt for more. I came across the Superdrug Face & Bikini Wax Strips for £4.29 or 2 for £5. They come with 20 strips (10 face to face) and 2 finishing wipes. They remove the small hairs well and don't leave my skin aggravated, and that's all I look for when it comes to waxing. I'll be buying them again, but will still be looking out for others to try!

Do you have any wax strip recommendations?

Imperial Leather Foamburst Body Washes

Sweet Vanilla & Cherry Blossom, Uplifting Lime & Grapefruit, Bewitching Blackberry & Wild Fig

Rebalancing Green Tea & Jasmine*, Bracing Bergamot & Sea Minerals, Moisturising Honey & Almond Milk

The Imperial Leather Foamburst Luxurious Body Washes have appeared in a few of my posts now, and I've tried six out of the seven scents available (Spicy Ginger & Orange is the other). I'll admit that it was the packaging which drew me to these initially, and I'm sure you can see why! Before this range, I'd never really looked at Imperial Leather, and didn't even know they did foam shower gels. These foam shower gels create a rich foam lather, cleanse your skin, and don't leave it feeling dry. They're great for shaving, too. The scents smell just like their names, with my favourite being the fruity, and slightly warm, Bewitching Blackberry & Wild Fig. Sweet Vanilla & Cherry Blossom is delicately sweet and floral, Uplifting Lime & Grapefruit smells exactly like the name suggests, although it's not as zesty as other lime shower gels I've tried, Rebalancing Green Tea & Jasmine is fresh and floral, Bracing Bergamot & Sea Minerals is citrusy and does actually remind me of the sea, and Moisturising Honey & Almond Milk is slightly sweet, subtle, and calming. I'm hoping for new scents to be released in the future!

To accompany the scents, there's seven (easy on the eye) genies and short videos about them. The packaging reminds me of galaxies, but I can see where they're going. As Bewitching Blackberry & Wild Fig is my favourite, here is its genie (hello):

*press sample

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