In Print

Do you find that Christmas shopping leads you to lusting after so many items for yourself? I think it's all the new products that spring up, and their exciting packaging and newness screams at you to look, when you are supposed to be finding tokens of appreciation for other people.

Here are a few things I have picked up this week, getting distracted when I was supposed to be buying for others!

In Print by jennycuteblog on Polyvore

1. Charley Harper An Illustrated Life by Todd Oldham I got this as a late (over a month late!!) birthday gift from my brother. I love Charley Harper's art. We saw this in Waterstones and I was absorbed, this book is beautiful being almost exclusively prints of Charley's work, but also has an interview with him as well as information about his life. I found this really interesting as I knew very little about him. So pleased with this :)
2. Poems of the Sea Something about this book drew me in. I have always loved the sea, and the edition was gorgeous and decided it needed to come home with me. I also got the Haiku book in the same range as a gift for a poetry loving friend. You can get this for £6.99 at amazon, but I got mine for the R.R.P. of £9.99 at a local, independent book shop. Support independent businesses!
3. Disney A Year of Animation 2013 This was too perfect to pass up on. It is a page a day calendar with pictures from animated Disney films both old and new. £10.20 on Amazon but I got mine for £10.99 in store at Waterstones.

I think it's the cold weather that's drawing me into books and cozy bookshops. Now to flick through my Charley Harper book and finish my hot chocolate. Addicted to these marshmallows right now!

25 (and a day)

Yesterday was my birthday!! Officially 25, and not feeling my age at all. When I was younger I thought people in their twenties were really quite mature and I had so many ideas about what my life would be like once I was in my mid-twenties. But now I am here, I really don't think I've changed much since I hit my twenties, to be honest I still feel like a teenager inside.

I don't know about anyone else, but it always feels a bit weird the day after my birthday, like so much excitement and expectation, and then you wake up the next morning and realise that actually, not much has changed. Saying that, I had a great time being with my family, and got some lovely gifts. The most exciting one was the Cinderella A Brush with Fate nail polish set from Sephora! My parents just got back from California, so I asked them to pick it up for me as you just can't get it in the UK. It's so pretty! Am wearing So Totally Enchanted (the icy/silvery blue) with Step Off, Sister! (blue and silver glitter) on my ring fingers as an accent. Really love the packaging, colours and quality, but the bottles are teeny weeny which makes me a bit sad! I hope I don't run them down really quick!

I also got a lovely gift from the postman (well, a gift to myself!) of these gorgeous heeled brogues from Clarks. I already have the plain brogue version which I have been wearing to absolute death - I love them and they go with everything! I wondered if I really needed the heeled version, but the ones I already have are a bit scuffed now and when Clarks had £10 off last week I decided to just go for it. They are so pretty! Going to wear them tonight with a pretty Mossimo dress (another birthday gift!) to meet one of my best friends for a birthday dinner :)

Also going to pick up some nail polishes for a swap I have joined here, thanks to Cindii from Purrincup for blogging about this, would never have found out about it otherwise! This is my first swap so I am going to try and get really nice nail polishes from Westfield today, and package them up prettily to send to my swap partner! Having fun things like this to do really can brighten the day. I love giving and receiving post!

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 :)