Sunday, 21 October 2012

Ciate Mini Mani Month

I've never been huge on advent calendars (shocking I know but I am not that bothered about chocolate!!!), but after seeing this beauty from Ciate I might have been swayed! I have only ever tried Ciate from a few samples with magazines and they have always been good quality - the only thing that makes me ponder this calendar is how many of the caviar polishes are included. 
While it looks fun, I'm just too practical and I think I would find them too annoying to actually bother to wear! 
But a fantastic idea - much more appealing than cheap tasting chocolate :)

Mini Mani Month from Ciate £38 available here


Saturday, 20 October 2012

Disney Villains Nail Polish

I admit it. I am a Disney addict! I always have and always will love Disney movies, and I often visit the Disney store even though I am nearly twenty five years old! I really appreciate the ever growing range of products geared at adults, and whilst I wouldn't consider any of the Disney villains as one of my favourite characters, I find the Disney villains collection of products slightly irresistible.



Available online for £20 from the Disney Store here

On a recent solo shopping trip I splurged on the nail polish set, which at £20 isn't a huge price tag for five polishes, but it is as an impulse buy when I am trying to be on a budget! That being said, I really like the faceted glass bottles and long, tapered lids. They just feel a bit more elegant. And I slightly justify the buy to myself because the colours aren't ones I would naturally go for, they are dark and glamorous where I would usually be going for bright and fun.


Ursula

First I tried Ursula, as the Little Mermaid is my favourite Disney film. The colour is a shimmery pale purple, application was easy and it dried SUPER fast (I wish my other nail polishes dried this quick!). The major problem was that it dried really bumpy. I think it is to do with the fine glitter, as I applied thin coats. Up close it made me sad but from a distance it still looked really pretty. My accent nail was clear nail polish with glitter flakes I use for paper crafting (yay for multitasking!).


Queen of Hearts

A basic glitter gold, pretty and once again dried very quickly, but the colour was not really suited to me. 


Mother Gothel / Evil Queen

These are my absolute favourites of the collection so far! I felt so chic when wearing this colour combination. Mother Gothel is a deep, rich burgundy colour, whilst Evil queen is a syrupy black with bright red glitter which is so fine it feels like you have a glittering night sky on your nails! As with the other polishes in the collection, these dried fast and applied cleanly. I was most impressed with evil queen, because it applied so smooth. I was worried after Ursula that it would be bumpy, but it came out beautifully. And I wouldn't normally go for shades this dark so I am really pleased they are in my collection!

Still left to try : Cruella De Vil and Maleficent.

Verdict: I love the smoothness of application and how quick these polishes dry, but disappointed with some of the finishes coming up a bit bumpy. Would be interesting to know if anyone else has had this problem? Hopefully Disney will continue this line of products and maybe include the Disney Princesses :)

Saturday, 29 September 2012

Accidental Manicure

I painted my nails in a gorgeous shade of polish from Kiko Milano (Nude 372) and as always with Kiko, I  was very happy with it. But when I was painting jar lids for a storage project, I accidentally improved it!


I think it looks kind of cool! Shame it was already chipping so it didn't last long. But I wouldn't be opposed to pairing my nail varnish to my art project in the future :)

Thursday, 20 September 2012

Let's go to the zoo....

London Zoo is one of my favourite places and nothing makes me happier than to go on a day when it is fairly quiet, so I can take lots of pictures at my leisure. I went last week and it made me feel giddy like a small child - I love being around the animals!

This bird was such a poser - not sure what breed it is but he was in the walk through part of Gorilla Kingdom. 

I love Llamas!!!

Penguin pool party - leaves are optional

The owls were gorgeous - so many of them snuggled up together

I wanted to snuggle up with them :)

BABY MEERKAT! So cute! She dropped him at one point and about five meerkats bundled on top of the baby! Looked a bit crazy but I think they just were protecting it.