Nail of the Week - Glitter gradient

I love this look, it's so simple and easy that anyone can do it. All you need is your nail varnishes! I used a base coat/top coat from Barry M, No. 17 Fast Finish in 'Moonstruck' and Models Own Glitter in 'Juicy Jules' (now possible one of my favourite nail varnishes out of my collection!). 'Moonstruck' is a lovely chrome silver and 'Juicy Jules' is a small glittery holochromatic white/iridescent polish.

The inspiration for this look came from various places; I've seen it done a lot recently on blogs and since my first attempt many months ago was so terrible I wanted to see if I could do it better. Secondly, I was in town today looking specifically for a silver chrome nail varnish and when I saw the new Models Own stand in my local Boots had buy one get one half price on nail varnishes, I couldn't resist 'Juicy Jules' to go with it. For my second nail varnish I picked up one that's been on my lust list since I found out about it and I can't wait to play with it - Yep, the Models Own Hed Kandi 'Ibiza Mix'. Eee! I'll do a post with that soon, trust me!

Anyway, on with the pictures. I'm afraid they really don't do the finished nails any justice, I was hoping for sun so I could get some sparkly pictures but alas it's been rainy and overcast all day. If it's nicer tomorrow I'll take some better pictures and update this post. Better pictures at the bottom which actually show you the glittery gradient!

It's so easy to do. All I did was a base coat in 'Moonstruck', then I painted a (thick with polish) line across the top of my nail in 'Juicy Jules' and wipe the excess polish off onto the inside of the bottle. Then I dragged the line down a bit so that it faded out and there was more polish at the top than the bottom. Wait for it to dry and whack a top coat on to smooth it out and voila! Beautiful, shimmery nails.

'Juicy Jules' would look fantastic over pretty much any colour, and I can't wait til Christmas turns up so I can layer it over icy blues and reds and greens! I think 'Moonstruck' would work really well for water marbling, which is something else I plan to try. What do you think?

Updated pictures:

These photos show rather better the act of gradienting the glitter and how it's done. They also show the massive amount of tip wear and chipping on my thumb and index finger - I'm fairly disappointed with that but it's so easy to fix that if I can be bothered I can restore my nails in no time!

June round up

4 days until the end of June, where has the time gone? Next thing you know it'll be Christmas!

I'm still unemployed (unless you're a teacher, builder or careworker in my town you're pretty much stuffed...) and there doesn't seem to be a job on my horizon any time soon which is irritating as I need the cash to save for uni next year. I've spent June not really doing much in all honesty, just painting my nails and taking pretty pictures of cats and owls.

Lets jump right in with the fiends of the last month... I got a selection of Soap and Glory sample sized products for my birthday, including a tube of Soap and Glory 'Glad Hair Day' Thick Conditioner. Boots tells me that the full size product is sold for £5.50 - I would be so disappointed if I had paid that myself! This conditioner is sticky and just clumps on my hair and seems to disappear within seconds of me putting it on. My hair doesn't feel any different or like it's been conditioned at all and the few times I've used it, I've had to rewash my hair later on because the conditioner just won't budge. I got the small 50ml bottle and have only got four washes out of it, definitely not value for money and not one I'll be buying again. Which is a shame, as I am a massive Soap and Glory fan!

Previously featured in my dotty nails post from last week is the E.L.F 'Mint Cream' nail varnish. I didn't really talk about it much during that post but unfortunately, it's turned out that I feel the need to talk about it here! Application wise this nail varnish is fine, if a little bit too watery, but it really falls down in the longevity stakes. Even with a heavy wear top coat it chipped and peeled within minutes of hardening. After a few days my nails were showing the amount of wear I'd expect to see from a week of heavy duty typing - not lazing around brushing a cat or two. I love E.L.F products for their price and durability but unfortunately this fell through the cracks for me.

Lastly, it's another make up item that I am slamming this month. When I first heard about Superdrug's launch of their bargain bucket make up range 'MUA' the savvy money saver in me jumped for joy; I picked up my first pieces from the brand the other day. I got two black eyeliner pencils and an eyeshadow and I have to say, even for £1 I'm disappointed. I haven't got a link as the MUA website seems to be broken and Superdrug's website appears to have no knowledge of this product, but it was the intense colour eyeliner pencil in Black that I picked up. What's wrong with it? It doesn't stay on my eye for longer than a minute! Literally, I can apply this to my lower lash line and go to pick my mascara up and it's gone. It's so slippery and fluid that you can't touch it, or it transfers onto your finger. Rubbish.

Now for the things I have loved this month! Firstly, I picked up a jar of Tresemme Deep Conditioning Treatment Masque from Asda for the fantastic price of £4. I've been using this once a week and the results are fantastic - it leaves my hair smooth, shiny and feeling nourished. It also has a lovely scent which isn't overpowering but is sweet and delicate. The jar is quite big (500ml) and I've made barely a dent in it so far, so I predict this is a product I will continue to love for many months to come.

Another birthday gift I received was a bottle of Nirvana Spa Raspberry Milkshake bath and shower gel from the n-spa fruits collection. This stuff smells ah-mah-zing. It's simply gorgeous! I hate eating raspberries but the scent of them is one of my favourites. I've been using this for a month and it leaves my skin feeling lovely and is such a nice smell to wake up to in the morning. It's a great size and really brightens up my bathroom with it's bright pink colour and quirky packaging. And the best bit? Whilst I got mine for my birthday, it retails at just £3 and would make a fantastic gift to anyone you love, even yourself ;)

My third and final love for this month is but a simple one, and probably an odd choice but it's something I couldn't live without now. And it's the cheapest item featured this month! Unfortunately, once again, I have no direct link to buy it if you wish but all you need to do is get yourself down to your local Wilkinsons store and pick up a shower comb. The wide teeth untangle knots with no fuss in the shower (I use mine once I've conditioned) and leave my hair manageable and ready to style when I get out. I had one from Boots which was pretty much the same but cost me about 4 times the price - yes, the shower comb in Wilkinsons set me back just 60p. Best purchase of the month I think!

What have you loved and hated this month? What can't you wait for in July? I'm hoping for some decent weather so I get my shorts out!

Have I slipped into a time warp back to the 80s?

... Or is this Bettlejuice trend really happening?

Whaddya gonna do?

I first noticed this trend in my high street, with one of the newer 'market stall' style shops showcasing a wonderful fully co-ordinating blazer, skinny jeans, high heel and bandeaux outfit all in black and white humbug striping. Take a second to sit back and process that image; somewhere, there is probably a 15 year old running around my hometown in that ensemble with her pubescent and undoubtedly tanned to the point of skin cancer belly sticking out believing that she's made the best fashion choice in the world. *Shudder*

Unfortunately, this is a trend that I definitely can not get on board with. Having said that, there are some lovely black and white statement pieces out on the highstreet now that you can wear without looking like you escaped from prison and or a lunatic asylum (or a grave...). Hence forth; the better side of the black and white stripe trend.

Monochrome striped maxi dress, £22.99 New Look

AX Paris mesh detail dress, £20 from House of Fraser

Rare Stripe dress; £36 from Rare London (personally, I'd lose the belt on this if possible)

Slightly off trend but pair these with a casual plain vest top and you're set. £25 from River Island

Classic 80s style blazer; £24.99 from New Look

I think the message in this post is that the 'beetlejuice' trend can work - if applied carefully. Don't backcomb your hair, don't go over board and please GOD do not go out in head to toe black and white stripes. Avoid the blazers unless you can really help it, and you'll be on trend this summer. 

Do you like this trend? Or do you think it's as whacky as it's film heritage?

Nail of the Week - Dotty Nails

Nice and simple! Got my dotting tool set through the post yesterday so I set about playing this morning.

Base colour - E.L.F 'Mint Cream'
Dots - NYC 'Pinstripe White'
Top coat - Miss Sporty Clear

Really simple and fun to do! All I did was paint a base colour on, wait for it to dry, then dot white spots on (in as regular a fashion as I could manage) and put a top coat on. Infinitely easier with a dotting tool and on my left hand than my right. Tried it with a cocktail skewer a while back and it worked but wasn't very easy or precise... The actual dotting tools are incredible and they only cost me £3 for a pack of 5 double ended ball tools.

What do you think? Are you dotty for spots? Or are they over done? Creamy pastels or heavy and dark bases?

Coming up next - that dress I promised pictures of :) x

Clothing haul

What can you do when you're dragged to Tesco with your parents? Well, lighten up the experience by buying lots of clothes of course! Now, Tesco may not be the most chic of brands or the stomping ground of many fashionistas, but I always have and always will that you do NOT need to pay through the nose to get some great clothes. Hell, I occasionally find Primark expensive! The likes of Topshop and Jack Wills are so far out of my price range that I get sweats from just breathing their air...

First off, I picked up a pair of shorts. Tesco has a large variety of shorts in at the moments, in a variety of colours and patterns. Initially I went for a green denim pair with mint green heart detail (see here) but as nearly all my shorts are either blue denim or green I decided to spice it up a bit with this pink bow detail pair...

I think these will look really cute with a simple tee, big sunnies and some nice wedges! Bring back the summer sun! Find them here.

Another pair of shorts that caught my eye and I nearly bought was this blue and white print pair; however the material (not denim) was just a little too on the low quality plasticky side for me. However, if you're looking for a cheap and smart pair of patterned shorts they more than fit the bill at a penny saving £6.

Find them here

Second buy was this jumper, which at £10 (reduced from £14) it's going to be a staple of my autumn and winter wardrobe! A bit of an odd buy maybe, but I'm terrible for just wearing hoodies every day to uni and next year I want to branch out a bit more rather than just reaching for the same tired hoody day after day. Plus a lot of my winter wardrobe is drab and grey so adding some colour is exactly what I'm looking for. As it has 3/4 length sleeves as well, I imagine I'll be able to get some use out of it over our dreary English summer.

A little bit old granny, a little bit awesome. It's a balance thing.

 I am totally in love with my third buy, a simple black and white bird pattern printed dress. It's beautiful! A little longer than I'd normally plum for as it falls below my knee but it hugs every curve and clings in all the right places. I can't wait to get a nice pair of wedged sandals to wear with it. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be on the website but on Sunday I'm going to wear it to a county fair so I'll do an outfit of the day with it. And the best bit? It was only £10! Lovely jubbly. I can't wait to show you it! 

Whilst I was perusing the shelves, I of course took a long look at their shoe selection. I was unfortunately massively underwhelmed as the majority of shoes on sale were cheap looking sandals with little to no soul that I knew would a) kill my feet from rubbing and b) killing my legs from lack of support. I'm desperately trying to find a nice pair of wedges/heeled sandals for casual wear over the summer but Tescos does not sell my solution! I did stumble across a nice pair for £15, but eventually decided they weren't worth it as they were quite rough on my feet and I would be hobbling from two minutes in walking in them. Here they are:

Aren't they gorgeous? So summery and light :)

I don't normally spend so much time in the clothing section of Tescos, but all through June they have a special discount which I used. In store, if you grab one of their leaflets you get £5 off any clothing purchases over £25 and online you can get £10 off any £40 purchase. Fantastic for stocking up for holidays or just because you're in love with a few garments!

Do you enjoy rummaging through the rails in Tesco or are you exclusively upper market? Is savvy shopping worth it or do we sacrifice style with savings? And please - where can I find a comfy, stylish pair of sandal wedges that won't break my bank?!