Instagram Round Up #2

Since my last Instagram round up back in January last year (!) things have changed an awful lot.

Quite frankly, I have little desire to go and reminisce over last year as it was filled with arguments, deaths and break ups, but I truly believe that we can see beauty in the most dark of places if we look hard enough... so here are some of my favourites photos from the last year and 3 months.

Last year we welcomed Ben and Jerry (Top left and right corners) into our lives and I passed my driving test! I've started to get more involved in my jewellery making and baking, as well as going to the gym - I love working out now. Last year proved to me that family is more than important in my life and I love all of them very much. The blanket in the bottom corner was crocheted for me as a Christmas present by my amazingly talented sister!

I love using Instagram, so don't forget to follow me on there - username is itsanatnat.

You can expect a baking post or two this week coming, as we're having a Red Nose Day bake off at work. Until then, laters!

Instagram Round Up

2013 was, as you can probably tell from my last post, a bit of a hectic year for me so choosing just a handful of photos from my Instagram account to show you was a little hard! 

It was pretty fun to go back through them all and relive the memories that I made. So here below is a selection of my most important events through 2013; both good, bad and ugly. I think my favourite photo in the bunch has to be the third one along on the top line which is of me and my cousin at my sister's wedding. I took it as my sister was having her hair done in the hotel room before we travelled to the church. The whole day was just perfect - filled with friends, family, love and sunshine. 

You can follow me on instagram under 'itsanatnat'. Drop me a comment and let me know your instagram name so I can follow you back! I'm also using my twitter account @NailsandNibbles a lot more now so don't forget to friend me on there too!

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.

Instagram post #2

Row 1: Present from my BF, Snowball came to wake me up, Hitting the right spot!
Row 2: Revision is in full swing! Candy cane hot chocolate, sales bargains!
Row 3:  Comfy puss, Necklace from my BF, Merry Christmas!

Instagram post

Fear not, there will be a 'proper' post up tonight - an exciting one! I received a secret santa present in the post from a mysterious poster over at the nail polish addicts anonymous forum and I'm super excited to swatch the polishes I got - which are absolutely gorgeous and amazing and wow - and show you guys :D

However this post is something a little different that I'm experimenting with; I've had an instagram account for a couple of months now (*pokes the instagram widget in the sidebar) and it's where I post most 'initial' photos of my nails before I come on here and do a full length blog post about them, so it's worth following if you're also on instagram! I'm going to showcase my instagram photos for you; I have seen this done before and if this works out well, I may make this a regular feature.

  

Row 1: Christmas tips about to be taken off! Fantasy Fire, Silver french tips
Row 2: Candy canes! Pasta bake om nom, mistletoe nail art
Row 3: My boyfriend and my cat, my cat before the 'trauma' ;), yummy home made hot chocolate!

Fantasy Fire

Have a quick teaser shot of my Fantasy Fire nails!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!