NOTD - Avon Nailwear Pro Sequined Turquoise

Now, I swore I wasn't going to jump on the band wagon and start NOTD posts but, on a beautiful day like today, I just had to share this one with you all.

 

Today has been the first sign of hope for a warmer summer and, in celebration of this, we've (meaning me and the OH) spent the whole day in the garden. Me - painting my nails, flicking through mags and catching up on facebook. OH - lugging around stones, making tealight holders from tin cans and burning stuff! Along with some wine and cider naturally!

 

Anyhow, enough about that - on to the subject of the post. My nails. Now, I've mentioned previously how I hardly ever bother to paint my nails. Even though there's something irrisistable about those lovely bottles of pigment and glitter I just can't resist buying, I just can't summon the effort to actually adorn my nails with it. In my bid to actually use what I've got, I searched for a colour that would match the bright sunny day perfectly. 

 

My choice ......

 

 

Avon Nailwear Pro in Sequined Turquoise. Costing just £6 for 12ml (although I got it on sale at £3 at the time) it's a pocket-friendly alternative to some of the big named brands and the Avon polish range is definitely something worth consideration.

 

 

 

To me, this shade just screamed long hot days spent languishing in lagoons (cocktails on hand naturally) and a bright sun overhead. The pigment is strong and the fine glitter particles catch the light beautifully. The polish is a great consistency and the brush a good size for accurate application - two coats plus a top coat was enough to give a strong even colour, which I hope you all agree looks lush!

 

 

 

 

It's a shame that this shade is no longer available but there are loads of others on the site so it's well worth a browse, even better if you manage to catch them whilst on offer - here's a quick  link to the section on the Avon website for you.

 

PS - For those of you who shop through TopCashBack, don't forget there's also 10% back on Avon purchases. For anyone not shopping through the site please click through the link I've placed - I've earned over £1000 back from all sorts of online shopping so it's well worth using!

Review: Leighton Denny Essential Nail Varnish Remover and Opi Hong Kong Sunrise

At £5.50 for 125ml, and as part of a recent purchase, I picked up the Leighton Denny Essential Nail Polish Remover from FeelUnique.com which arrived yesterday (you can read the details here).
 

 

I've got lots and lots of varnishes which I seem to keep on adding to, although I rarely take the time and effort necessary to look after my nails and keep them looking good. Although my nails are often quite long and strong, I have the awful habit of picking at the skin around them, thereby causing them to feel sore and look worse for wear.

 

Last week I decided to start painting them more often in a bid to a) improve the appearance and b) prevent me picking at the skin so much.

 

Now, I see a lot of NOTD posts and am not going to start adding to these. But, in a bid to keep me on track and start using up what I've got, I may do a summary post from time to time.

 

My choice of shade last weekend was part of a bargain buy from TK Maxx a few months ago (you can see details on this post here) - Opi Hong Kong Sunrise.

You'll have to excuse the shoddy workmanship around the edges - as I say, I need some practise. I thought this colour would be great for the start of summer - bright and warm. This is two quick coats of the polish with no topcoat (Yep, another rookie error! lol)

That was on Sunday. By this morning, after a week of flicking through thousands of files at work (I'm not exagerating when I say this) and typing like a mad woman, they were in a rather pitiful state....

With no time like the present I decided to give it a bash and see if there was any difference between this product and the supermarket brands I've previously used.

The info on the packaging for the essential remover states:

'Leighton Denny Essential Remover contains an innovative blend of ingredients that moisturise, strengthen and help protect against brittle nails whilst removing polish efficiently and fast. An advanced performance formula it's also acentone free so safe for both natural and artificial nails.'

So, what did I think?

The bottle has a small dispenser which means you don't over use the product, or worse still, end up pouring it down your hands (I've done this more than once with the cheaper, larger bottle tops in the past!)

I found that I only needed to use one cotton ball to remove all of the varnish from both hands as opposed to two or more which would've previously been the norm.

The polish seemed to be retained within the cotton ball more effectively too. It didn't smudge or bleed onto my skin at all! I didn't experience as much stinging in the papercuts on my fingertips (yep, another of the drawbacks of being a paper shuffler!)

I experienced none of the greasiness or residue on my nails or hands I've had in the past and my skin didn't feel dried out after use.

Even more impressive is that it managed to get almost all of the residue from those difficult to get at parts on the sides too without needing excessive scrubbing or worse still, scraping!

Result - clean nails ready for some tlc and a new colour (plus top coat this time too). When it's this easy to use, I may well make this a habit!

Much love,

Gem.

 

Review: Christian Dior Rouge Dior Nude

From previous posts you may have noticed I favour lip balm and butter over lipstick. In fact, I haven't bought a lipstick in years! So, when I received an email from Feelunique.com on my birthday offering £5 off a £15 spend, I knew exactly what I wanted having already browsed the website just a few days before.... Dior Rouge Nude Lipstick (£25) I just knew I had to have it!

 

With benefits of both a balm and a lipstick, and available in a number of shades, what's not to love?! I chose shade 169 - Grege as it's a neutral shade and will balance my favoured smokey eye look beautifully.

 

 

 

The product blurb is as follows:

 

'Imagine a new lipstick that behaves like a highlighting blush, thanks to radiant new shades and a new treatment balm formula.

From the first application, lips are perfectly hydrated, plumped and smoothed, thanks to a formula containing a high concentration of active treatment ingredients.'

 

(You can read a little more info on the CD website here) Here are a few pics for you to get an idea of how the product looks...

 

 

I've applied to bottom lip only for you to see how this shade appears on my colouring.

 

 

 

 

You can see how soft and silky it appears - the product is so smooth it glides effortlessly onto your lips. As the description suggests, it's a subtle shade  which enhances your natural pigment - nothing too heavy or overpowering.

 

With the range available, I'm so tempted to go for the Charnelle shade too but will need to get some more pennies together before taking the plunge.

 

Along with this purchase, the online based company are also offering a choice of three sample products with any £25 order while stocks last.

 

In order to meet the threshold and qualify for this, I also purchased the Leighton Denny Essential Remover (£5.50) as my supermarket brand has just run out. (I'll pop a quick review up on this asap too).

 

 

So for the cost of the lippy alone, I've bagged a gorgeous lipstick, some new nail varnish remover and three lovely samples as pictured below: Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale 'The Cream' (3ml), Shiseido Luminizing Satin Face Color (0.25g) and Caudalie Premier Cru La Creme (2ml).

 

 

Not too bad a deal considering I was gonna get the lippy anyway eh?

 

So, in a Jerry Springer type final thought moment - remember, you only get the best deals if your in the know. Sign up to those emails and look out for money off codes. If you aren't lucky enough to get one like I did on this occasion, there's always cashback sites such as TopCashBack where you can earn money back on online purchases. Never rush in without checking you are getting the best deal/discount possible. All the pennies add up after all.

 

Much love,

 

Gem

 

 

 

 

An Afternoon Stroll in Margam Country Park

This weekend saw the start of longer days, and, to celebrate, the OH and I decided to go for a walk in a beautiful local park - Margam Country Park.

 

It's a place with so much heritage and natural beauty I thought I'd pop a quick post up with a few of the pics I took on my mobile. (NB, It's also where some of the filming for Dr Who and the forthcoming Davinci's Demons took place.)

 

So, keeping it light and picture heavy, this is where we've been walking....

 

 

The Castle

 

 

 

 

The Grounds
 

 

Can you imagine how beautiful this will look when the flowers start to come through?

 

 

The Chapter House
 

 

 

 

The Orangery

 

 

This beautiful building is used for all sorts of functions including weddings.

 

 

 

 

There's so much more I could've done with a) a better camera, and b) more time and planning. I hadn't intended doing a post on this, but when I looked at the pics I'd taken, I thought 'why not?' Hopefully it'll inspire some of you to go out and explore around your home town. Even the ugliest of towns can still have areas of beauty after all.

 

Much love,

 

Gem