NOTD: Nails Inc - Hanover Square

Another poorly painted NOTD! 

This is another Glamour magazine polish - Hanover Square by Nails Inc. 

I love this colour - an oxblood-y red shade which will just look fab for Christmas parties and day to day wear. So pretty!

Did you pick this shade up too?

Ashleigh x

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NOTD: Nails Inc - Wigmore Street

How gorgeous is this colour?

This polish was one of four that came free with this month's Glamour Magazine and I am ridiculously glad that I went back to the shops to pick it up.

This is a stunning deep purple shade which is absolutely perfect for the Autumn/Winter season. Slightly deeper than Cadbury purple? I honestly can't believe that I haven't owned a colour like this before. Perfection.

This is exactly the colour I like to wear in the winter. Nice and dark yet light enough to show it's true colour. Love it.

Have you picked up this colour yet?

Love Ashleigh x

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Glamour Magazine December 2014

Can I get a woop woop for new phone photography excitement?! WOOOO!!

Hi everyone!

Just a quick post to show you the BARGAIN that is this month's Glamour magazine!

 Included is:

- One of four Nails Inc polishes (worth £11 each)

- 20% off at H&M voucher

- Body Shop gift voucher (minimum £3)

- Pantene conditioner sachet

- Stella McCartney and Calvin Klein perfume samples

Considering this is only £2 for the magazine, I cannot stress how badly you need to go out and get this bargain...clearly I already bought two...!

Nail of the day posts to come soon...!

Love Ashleigh x

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Recent NOTD

Hi everyone,

Just a few (terrible quality, poorly painted) nail varnish pictures I have taken recently. I have a great set up at uni which means I have this wonderful tendency to paint my nails at my desk whilst I work....!

I have tried to link sellers below each image, or at least to an equivalent page.

Base coat - Models Own - Purple Ash

Top coat - Deborah Lippmann - Superstar

 My first successful nail art...kinda!

Deborah Lippmann - Between the Sheets

Orly - Velvet Rope

Glitter top coat - Rimmel - Finishing Touch Glitter Top Coat

Kiko - Pearly Amethyst 

(This photo was a bit of a joke photo by the way!)

Essie - Lots of Lux

Hope you enjoyed my random photography....feeling a tad awkward now!

Love Ashleigh x

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Five Friday Favourites: Nail Varnishes

Hi everyone, welcome to my new blog series: Five Friday Favourites!

This week it is nail varnishes. I usually wear purples, bright pinks, bronzes and reds, so here are my top five from my collection!

1. Leighton Denny - Gorgeous Grape

2. Natural Collection - Hibiscus - NOTD HERE

3. Models Own - Bronze Rage - NOTD HERE

4. Rimmel London - Rapid Ruby

5. Maxfactor Glossfinity - Midnight Bronze

The Leighton Denny formula is just amazing, it provides flawless nails so easily. Slightly pricey so I normally find the polishes in the sale. Hibiscus by Natural Collection is my perfect pink shade and is a great formula for a low price. I absolutely adore this shade by Models Own, my only issue is how the lids can separate from the brush?! I would highly recommend Rimmel London polishes - the brush size is huge! It makes painting so much quicker and efficient, plus I love a red nail - I am rocking this shade right now! Finally, Maxfactor Midnight Bronze has constantly been on my toes this summer, it is a great formula, pretty colour and a pretty decent price.

What are your favourite nail varnish shades? Let me know in the comments!

Ashleigh x

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NOTD: Seventeen Nail Colour - Peacock

Seventeen Nail Colour - Peacock

For Christmas, a very good friend of mine bought me the Seventeen Nail Stash gift set. I have already fallen in love with the colours, especially teamed with the Kiko Gel Look Top Coat.

Peacock is a gorgeous colour, annoyingly looking more blue than the deeper, greener shade that it actually is in the photo above...

Slightly more frustrating is the brush and application of this polish. A small, badly shaped brush which resulted in uneven application and bubbles appearing later on.

Oh Seventeen, you get the colours so right...please don't waste my time with c**p brushes.

*sigh*

Breathe into me and make me real
Bring me to life...

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Barry M Limited Edition Pink

Well hello there Summer and do I have an ideal nail polish for you!

During the last of my recent splurges (all of which will be stopping now!) I picked up this lovely little gem from Superdrug. It was free if you spent £6 on Barry M and this purchase was also fuelled by my desire to have a box of pretty colours on my dressing table.

This colour is a stunning *slightly* neon pink which is quite sheer, but is buildable to a solid colour. I have used three coats here.

I wore this colour on Sunday when I did Race For Life and it was the ideal shade to go with our neon t-shirts!

After experiencing this, I will definitely be buying more Barry M polishes; I can't believe I have never owned any before! Especially starting from £2.99, they are such great value!

I don't think that the offer to get this for free is still on, but Barry M are included in the 3 for 2 deals at Boots and Superdrug anyway.

Has anyone else got this colour? Are you loving it like me?!

I want to thank you,

for giving me the best days of my life.

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Nails of the Day #7

It's been a while since I have done a NOTD post. My nails went gross, my hands were dry and I was spending nearly every day around the horses. Beautiful nails couldn't be a priority.

Which makes me SAD.

Anyway, what better way to get back into have pretty nails again, than by testing out the Ciaté varnish that came free with Marie Claire?! This is my first ever Ciaté polish too!

Sand Dune

(Yes I am aware that the bow is in the wrong place. It was kinda loose and I was getting pissy at it when stuck on the bottle. Sue me!)

With the sun and the oh-so-shiney-ness of this colour, this was the best picture I could get! 

The colour is gorgeous, a yellowy/silvery shade of gold. The best way to describe the polish is that it is purely made of flecks of gold, but as you do each coat, it build up more solid.

I painted my Mum's nails with this colour too, she preferred one coat as it was more sheer, but I went to town and did two coats. Why not?!

This colour will be gorgeous for the summer to go with the tans and the sun! I am excited now!

If you didn't manage to get a copy of Marie Claire, then you can buy Sand Dune HERE for £9

The best you ever had,

is just a memory 

and those dreams weren't as daft as they seem...

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Nails of the Day #6

Just a quick Nails of the the day post for you all! I am currently in Reading at University.

Model's Own - Bronze Rage

Words cannot express how much I love this colour. I wear it as often as I can, just so pretty!

I aplogise if there are any spelling mistakes, I am typing this on Jamie's laptop and it doesn't work that well...in that when you type online, it typed in webdings font. I am nearly fluent in palm trees and various sized circles. Who invented this font anyway.

#Pointless

I'm a cowboy,

On a steel horse I arrive,

Wanted

Dead of alive

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Nails of the Day #4

Now this is a typical winter colour for me! Always Bon Jovi inspired.

 (Accidental music pun there for you Bon Jovi fans!)

Rimmel London's 60 Seconds - Rapid Ruby

For me, this is my favourite kind of red nails. Bright in the morning, darker by the evening. The formula for this polish is fantastic; it truly does dry in 60 seconds...although don't get too excited for top coat on the 61st second, I turned my top coat brush pink! DOH!

Oh, and talking of brushes...

Huge brush!

The brush for this polish is insane! Smaller nails are done in a second! Honestly, I wish more companies would do this. I would buy nail varnishes more often if the brush was this size.

I love this colour, the coverage, everything! I really want to try more of Rimmel London's varnishes now.

Paint a smile, on your lips.

Blood red nails on your fingertips.

A schoolboys dream, you act so shy...

Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye.

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Nails of the Day #3

Today's nails are painted terribly, I must apologise. But I think the gorgeous colour makes it forgiveable!

OPI - Unripened

This is a very dark, glittering green colour from OPI's Goth collection. I adore this colour! It is a shame that I am so terrible at painting my fingernails with miniature bottles; my toes always look better! I'm sure with more practice I will get better at it; the problem with having long nails eh?!

I have started to use Sally Hansen's Double Duty Base Coat which has kept my nails intact for longer. Thank you to Tiffy from xtiffyxx for suggesting it to me!

Next week is my work's Christmas Meal, so expect lots of NOTD posts whilst I try to figure out which colour to wear...or what clothes to wear?!

So if you want to love me, 

Then darlin' don't refrain.

Or I'll just end up walkin'

In the cold November Rain

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Nails of the Day #2

How festive is this colour?!

I usually wear darker, bloodier coloured reds on my nails, but this bright red had to be purchased. I'd like to say it is more of a Ducati red. 

Models Own - Red Alert

I might try this colour again in a few days with a glittery top coat. When I was about to paint them last night, I found a 17 base coat, so am attempting that today! Although I think I will find myself stopping off at Boots later to find another one.

Who else is going for bright red Christmas nails?

You took something perfect

and painted it red.

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Nails of the Day #1

I am not normally the type of person to paint her nails. I do my toes regularly, but I find that I cannot be bothered to do my fingers; and you guys won't want to see pictures of my feet! That and whether I use base coat or not, it always peels off within hours. I actually dare anybody to find me a base coat that does not peel off my nails!

Anyway, I have decided to try polish on my fingers, purely because it is more interesting, more festive and I am intrigued to see what colours will get my manager's attention...I just like to push people's buttons! Haha!
I wore the palest pink yesterday, with a little shimmer, but obviously it wasn't enough. Time to take it up a notch!

Models Own in Lili's Pink

I love this shade SO much! I bought this when Models Own had a sale on a few weeks ago. I am very glad that I picked this one. It's a bright bubblegum pink, with a gorgeous shimmer to it. I feel like Barbie when I wear it! I think it is my favourite shade of pink nail varnish that I own. 

Unfortunately as predicted, 3 hours into my shift, 14 hours after painting my nails, cracks and chips started to appear. After my shift had finished, I went to the horse and walked the dog. It would seem that I lead too much of an active lifestyle for my nails! I really will end up having different coloured nails at this rate. Maybe I will just paint them on work days.

Until next time...!

I belong, in the service of the Queen.

I belong, anywhere but inbetween.

She's been lying, 

I've been sinking,

And I am, the Rain King.

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Haul!

Oops. It happened.

I should add that they are all necessities...

Primark

Black and white t-shirts from Primark...not too much to say about these really! I didn't have any...I do now! They were £3.00 each which is fair for a plain t-shirt.

New jeans...oh these make me so happy. There are many negatives to losing  best part of a stone, the foremost being that your clothes do not fit! But for the first time in many years, I can fit into PRIMARK size 10 jeans! This is quite the achievement because Primark sizes are random beyond belief. These jeans are so nice, naturally I picked the Long size as well. These beauts are only £9.00 too.

Boots

I just cannot seem to shift the 50 points if you buy anything from Natural Collection voucher from my Advantage Card rewards, so I bought this concealer. I'm trying to find a cheaper replacement for my Bobbi Brown so it was worth giving this a try, especially for £1.99.

I hate face wipes that are an alternative to face washing. If you have time, you should always do a proper full skincare routine. However the amount of concealer I have to wear recently, I'm scrubbing for ages! I got these to take the worst off my face first, then wash it properly! I love Dermalogica Precleanse, but only ever have sample sachets...these shall be my alternative! These were £1.49 as they were 1/2 price.

Superdrug

Oh Mum. You're truly the queen. My Mum managed to find this in Superdrug last week for the bargain price of 75p! Naturally I wanted one, but couldn't find any, even in the Maidstone branch. Then yesterday she came home. She found one, took it to the counter...it scanned through for 30p!!! She was planning on putting it on our Ocado order last week, but it was £7.00...so this is truly a bargain!

Peacocks

Two pairs of plain black trousers for work. Not much to say. Fit nice around the bum, plenty of room for lifting boxes at work. Mum had to turn them up an inch though...this rarely happens to me, unless I buy trousers! They ALWAYS need turning up!

Tiger

Anyone else been to this shop? I LOVE it. It's like high street Ikea but cheaper and more useful products! I bought the boy a pressie from here (only a pound!) but I'm not 100% sure if he looks at this blog so I won't post it, just in case! Haha!

eBay

Oh we all love a bit of eBay action! I had to buy some keyrings for the horse's name tags, so bought some for £1.49 + free delivery. Logged into Treat Street and used a welcome code...made £5.00 of Boots points! WIN!

Then I bought this new case for my phone. It was £4.40 + free delivery; once again, another Treat Street code...made £2.50 of points! I cannot recommend Treat Street strongly enough, it is an excellent way of boosting your Boots points. 35 days later the points will be in your account, but that's perfect timing for Christmas Sales!

Peppermint

Work shoes. Not that interesting! But these were only £20 and they are leather, really soft but sturdy and have grippy soles; perfect for rushing around a shop floor! I looked in Marks and Spencer for some but nothing appealed and the ones that did, wouldn't fit! I don't want to spend £30 on dull shoes that I'll regret forever. So these are ideal because I will actually wear these.

Cancer Research

By this point in the week, I should have walked away. My bank account is screaming at me. But when my Mum and I saw this, it would have been rude to say no. A genuine Radley handbag, bit bashed around the edges but in good working order...£12.50! Exactly what I have been needing for ages as well.

I may actually do a before and after transformation of this bag, it is a bit of a mess, but I can fix it!

I'm sorry bank account. I do love you really. It has been a productive week's shopping it would seem...

My life is like unto a bargain store,

And I may have just what you're lookin' for.

If you don't mind the fact that all the merchandise is used,

With a little mendin' it could be as good as new...

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Freebies of the Week! #9

This weeks freebies are definitely a beauty theme!

Now I am pretty sure that most Beauty Bloggers will know about this, but if you don't, go to the newsagents ASAP. Glamour have a free Nails Inc polish. Even if you don't want the magazine, it's still a fab freebie. The bottle is worth £11 (I have heard) so you save £9! Bargain!

I picked up a gorgeous pale pink shade; there is also a red, dark (almost black) blue, and gold glitter. The pink will be perfect for manicures.

Obviously the magazine has the usual perfume samples; but there was also two foundation samples; Maxfactor FaceFinity All Day Flawless and Rimmel BB Cream. Although foundation samples come in darker shades than what I would prefer, I do like trying them, just wearing them around the house.

Finally, more BB goodness!

L'Oreal Revitalift Repair 10 BB cream. This comes in  a medium shade as well, but like I said earlier, I wear this around the house and play around with face powders if I wish to leave the house! I know this product is to target the 10 signs of ageing, but I really am willing to try anything to get rid of these dang creases on my face. If I like this enough, there's a £1 off voucher, which I am sure can be invested!

Anybody else try any new make up products this week? Foundations by any chance?!

My fingertips are holding onto the
cracks in our foundations,
and I know that I should let go,
but I can't.

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