Sunday 7 April 2013

Bargain beauty buy - Primark Neon Polishes

Primark is revered in many ways for their cheap clothing and accessories - unfortunately most of it is made in sweat shops in India by small children. Despite this they've rapidly become a high street staple and in the economic down turn we've been experiencing are a god send for those of us on a budget.

As a general rule, I don't like Primark nail polishes - but this little set of four caught my eye immediately on a recent shopping trip. Neons are definitely in this summer and as per usual all the big brands are releasing their own versions; from Models Own to Essie. Primark like to try and keep up with the trends whilst being affordable so it's no surprise that you can buy four mini neon polishes from them for just £2!


So what do they apply like? Well, unfortunately the tiny bottle and brush makes them quite hard to handle and apply neatly - but the actual nail lacquer inside is gorgeous. I tried out the shell pink one for the purposes of this blog post and here is how it looked after one coat!


There's hardly any visible nail line, the colour is strong and vivid and it dried really nicely. I went back and put another coat on and to be honest, whilst it made the colour even more vivid, it was very hard to do as the bottom layer seemed to go sticky even though it was bone dry before hand; as this colour at least is very pigmented I would say that actually, you can get away with just the one.

I normally hate pinks or oranges but this is lovely and I'm so glad I picked this set up - I can see myself using it a whole lot this summer! The different colours in the range look equally exciting. The yellow definitely has a goldy shimmer to it and the pink is so bright I think I would feel like Barbie wearing it!

The best thing about this set though is the price. I broke my no-buy for this pack but as it was just £2 I don't really consider it a fail. I was in Boots yesterday browsing the stands as you do and I totally bypassed the Models Own new Ice Neon collection because quite frankly, I don't need it any more, I have this!

Thoroughly recommended.

Thursday 4 April 2013

Summer sun wishlist

I don't normally do wishlists largely because if I want something, I tend to just buy it right there and then. Now that I'm coming to the end of my degree, I'm trying to get into better spending habits and save up for things I want rather than just impulsively buying them!

This wishlist is a bit of an eclectic mix - my style is definitely changing!

summer wishlist 2013

1) Cream bird print dress, £12.99 from New Look. This is a really nice simple summery dress that would look great at a picnic or even a pub garden. I'm really loving prints (even though I already have a bird print dress!) this year. The sleeveless style will be perfect for sunny days and sunbathing.

2) Mulberry denim shorts, £10 from Firetrap (USC). Shorts are a staple for me in summer, and I love bold colours and patterns. More often than not on hot days my go to outfit is a pair of bold shorts and a plain t shirt; comfy in the heat and still girly.

3) Black suedette dolly shoe, £20 from Faith. Shoes are a tricky thing for me as my feet are wide and very soft - I get blisters at the drop of a hat from the lightest rub and it's hard to find shoes that really fit me. This pair of dolly shoes are both cute and functional; and they make a change to my normal summer trend of plain black pumps.

4) Cream embellished heart vest, £22 from River Island. Normally, as I said earlier, I tend to wear a plain top with shorts in summer - but this heart vest is really cute and would look awesome with a pair of casual denim blue shorts.

5) Floral print lace insert playsuit, £20 from BooHoo. I kinda... fell asleep for the playsuit craze last year/the year before but this summer I want to get myself one; there are some lovely designs out there and they're not too expensive to get either. This lace and rose print version from BooHoo is stunning and summery; perfect for all weathers this summer.

6) Swarovski wedding cuff bracelet, £15 from Etsy. Despite the fact that this is intended for use by a bride as part of a wedding outfit, I think this bracelet is absolutely stunning and would be fantastic to glam up a summery outfit for a night out. Plus it's pretty!

Tuesday 2 April 2013

Nat vs the Cake Pop

(Or as it will now be known as, 'the day the cake pops won... again.')

As it's my Dad's birthday today (Happy Birthday Dad!) I set about baking him a cake. Mindful of the fact that both me and my mum are on diets pre-wedding in July, and that my Dad is only home for 4 days, I didn't want to make an actual cake. I just wanted something small and easy for the three (or four) of us to eat.

I've made cake pops before but they were an actual disaster - I didn't put enough frosting in, I didn't put chocolate on the stick before I shoved it into the pop, and consequently all my pops ended up taking a permanent dive into the bin. This time however I was prepared. I knew exactly what I was doing and when, I knew how much of what I was putting in where, and I was ready. I was going to win this battle.

For those of you not in the know, a cake pop is a small, round ball of cake and frosting smushed together, shaped onto a lollipop stick and then decorated. You can get some gorgeous cake pops that are real works of art -

Bakerella's 'love' display
If you're in London you can buy them from The Pop Bakery

What do mine look like? Well, uhm, not as good as those.


They look ok, right? Not perfect but ok. 

Apart from I made 24 cake balls... and only 12 cake pops. 12 decided to swan dive off into the candy melts I was using :( so like a mature adult, I made sure I had enough for everyone and then did the most adult thing I've done all day... threw my spoon on the floor, threw the rest of the candy melts down the drain and stomped off to sulk for five minutes. One day I'll actually grow up... hehe. I'm just passionate, honest!