Nails Inc Payday Friday Treat

Quick heads up! Just recieved an email from Nails Inc. Good news is, they have the Lucky Dip offer on again. Yippeeeee.

You pay £15 for 6 full size bottles of Nails Inc nail varnish (worth £66). What will you get? Only they know! I think, If the 'surprise' beauty subscription boxes aren't doing it for you, maybe this will scratch the itch?!

The second offer is the Colour Blast collection on sale for £25 (worth £80). I actually have this one. It's 5 full size and 5 mini polishes, in some seriously gorgeous colours.

For further information on both these offers, check out the sale section nailsinc.com

Apologies for the crappy pic. That's the massive downside to iPhone blogging. Well that and the picture appearing at the bottom of the screen. Am I doing something wrong there!? Who knows!

Have a lovely day everyone! X

NOTD: NARS Endless Night

Evening all.

I'm still here...

Just!!

I've been so wrapped up in work a the moment, that I haven't really had a moment to blog.

However, I'm practicing iPhone blogging tonight through the blogger app. For my first iPhone post, I thought I'd share a recent NOTD from NARS (pre the great nail masacre - January 2012).

Endless Night (from the Holiday 2011 collection) was a Christmas gift from Nic. She knows me so well, this vampy blackened grape shade is right up my street. It's not hugely different from OPI Lincoln Park After Dark - one of my faves. It's one of those colours that is perfect for any occassion. I love nail colours like this, they work with any outfit.

I really enjoyed the formulation, the super glossy finish and it seemed to wear quite well too. I think I may have to dabble in more NARS nail colours... Oh no!! I can hear my bank balance groaning!

As usual, Nic and I were on the same page. By total fluke, I treated Nic to some NARS for Christmas, too! One of these days, I'm pretty sure we will end up buying each other the exact same thing! Until then, we'll keep practicing.

Anyone else had a dabble with NARS nail varnish? Any colours I should pay special attention to?

Origins, Reuse.Reduce.Recycle.

Am I the last person to know about this scheme?

If like me you have no idea about the programme, Origins offer a recycling service for our used up cosmetic tubes, bottles and jars. I always throw my empties in with my recycling but Origins say that often the packaging isn't easy to recycle and so they can end up in landfill anyway! Annoying!

Origins commit to recycle or use the packages for energy recovery. Go Origins!

I also read that Origins will give you a product for your donation, cool!

For more information check out the Origins Website.

Do you use this programme? Do you know of any other/better ones?

New Acquisitions

Don't you just  love it when shitty weeks are punctuated with nice surprises?  

With that thought in mind, My Naked2 palette arrived on Wednesday (Thank you to The Boy! x).  In true Beauty Blogger spirit, I refused to use it until I could take some vaguely suitable photographs. I love the original Naked palette, so I cannot imagine any reason why I wouldn't feel the same about Naked2.  I did wonder if they might be a little similar, but no.  As reported by a million makeup fans and bloggers, Naked2 is a cooler range of tones.  I love it. 

As you'll all probably know by now, the No7 £5 vouchers are back in circulation at Boots.  So when I met Nic yesterday, I grabbed another No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour Brush. I use these little brushes every day and for a bargain £2.25, it was a no brainer.  I don't know about you, but I can't seem to get rid of these vouchers. Every time you use one, you get another in return!  Any other recommendations of No7 items to spend the vouchers on? I'm open to suggestions.

Hand in hand with the shitty week, came a touch of self sabotage as I started picking at my nails.  Which in turn lead to me biting them and ultimately resulted in me filing them right down.  What a sad state of affairs.  I had got them to a nice length, shape and I was really happy with them.  Can you tell how unimpressed I was, with me having to file them all down?  Anyway, I have now invested in a bottle of Mavala Scientifique thanks to a recommendation from the lovely Debbie from This week I have mostly been loving and will try and keep my nails out of my mouth when stressed! 

Finally, I had some left over Christmas money and decided to try Clarins Lotus oil (£29) for oily/combination skin.  I'd been reading great things about these oils and their benefits on all skin types.  These aren't new to Clairns, I believe they have just repackaged this treatment oil with a pipette - less options for clumsy old me to spill it everywhere.  I bought it yesterday and used it for the first time last night.  Not only did it make my skin feel lovely, it smelt divine.  I also got a sample of the Blue Orchid oil for dehydrated skin to give that a whirl.  

Hope everyone has a lovely week.  I anticipate another fraught work week for me!  See you on the other side people....

INM : OutTheDoor Topcoat

Just a quick post to say that I'm really enjoying using Out The Door top coat in place of Seche Vite.  I picked it up in Las Vegas for about $6 and I keep reaching for it every single time I paint my nails.  I find that it gives my nails a super glossy finish and can certainly hold its own against Seche!  

I also know that I'm not the only lover of Out The Door.  I saw the Welsh wonder,  gorgeous Georgia from Georgia:OnMyMind selected this top coat as one of her top 11 of 2011. Praise indeed.  I can now see why she loves it.  I think I might have to stock up!

Any other fast drying top coat recommendations? 

I got a new Boyfriend, all the way from NYC!

Crappy iPhone picture I know. Sorry, but I am too excited to try and find my SD card reader! I must blog about this now.

So legend has it....

Leanne was on her final (and most epic) Las Vegas shopping trip in Sephora (this is the 'Venetian' Sephora - there were others in LV Strip area...and she paid visits to them all!)  It had already been quite a day.  She and The Boy were due to fly home that evening, but hell, there were last minute purchases to be made and Christmas gifts to buy (another epic story that is still to come!) so she headed to Mecca... Sephora with a spring in her step.

  Once the many,  final pre-flight purchases were completed, she headed for the door.  After a slight detour to make sure she had swatched every single cosmetic in the shop, she looked up, a handsome man caught her eye (The Boy had wandered off at this point).  Boyfriend glinted in the sunlight and beckoned her in his direction.  She remembered his name, a desire to to taste the forbidden fruit of a new Boyfriend.  She lustily grabbed him and drank in his scent...

WOAH, WOAH, WOAH!  This is all getting a bit Mills & Boon isn't it? Sorry about that people! *

Back to reality:  Basically I spayed Boyfriend on me and skipped out of the shop with my purchases (no Boyfriend! Except The Boy, of course) and went to the airport.  Fast forward to a ten hour flight back to the UK.  Sitting there howling at Bridesmaids and then I get a whiff of something. Ooooh yum. What's that? Oh it's me and dammit, it's a perfume you can only get in America.  Bugger!!

Sephora says: An alluring balance of vanilla, jasmine blossoms, and an accord of amber is set against the sensual scents of a man, including a light musk and a shimmer of fresh woods. 

Notes: Dark Plum, Myrrh, Night Blooming Jasmine, Benzoin Tears, Skin Musk, Golden Amber, Vanilla Woods.  Style: Sensual. Vanilla. Amber.

Just my type of man!  Obviously a little disgruntled that I only tried this as I was retuning home to the UK,  I trawled through the Internet.  To my joy, I realised that KateWalsh.com  had recently begun shipping to the UK.  Ah-ha. The perfume gods were smiling on me once again, all was not lost.  Except when I saw the P&P of $30 - the a 50ml of the perfume is only $65.  My hopes were dashed again. That's a lot for postage, don't you agree?

  Luckily, I remembered  that a friend's daughter was headed to NYC for New Year and cheekily asked if Miss W could pick it up for me (waving $65 in my hand and a very pitiful look).  The answer was of course yes, because I have lovely friends like Mrs and Miss W who can help an old (*cough*) perfume addict out.  And here he is, my new Boyfriend.  I already know its LOVE!  Good job really.  I have another Boyfriend arriving from Texas any day now (Thank you Mrs Mc). Ye-ha, I gots me a Cowboy and a City Slicker!!! It's like Lego collecting isn't it?  Will add them to my Certified IT Professional and I'm good to go.

Disclaimer: *Please forgive me. I'm a little stressed, sleep deprived and now a little bit excitable! No Boyfriends were harmed in the writing of this post. 

Top 11 of 2011

• L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream - I cannot say enough good things about this hand cream.  I'm a big fan of pretty much all of the L'Occitane hand creams, but there is just something about this one.  Thick, creamy and incredibly moisturising, this is an absolute year round staple for me.  Even the Mothership is a convert - and for someone who is not remotely interested in Beauty/Skincare, that takes some doing!
• Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Pop - I have seen these Watercolour Blushes for a while and wondered what they would be like, but never actually got around to purchasing.  Then in the Summer, Escentual.com launched a limited edition shade 'Pop' with £5 of every purchase going to Macmillan Cancer Support. Say no more, I logged on and purchased. Wow, I'm so glad I did.  Never mind the warm fuzzy feeling that you get for donating to a fantastic charity, it made me look pretty good too! Well, as good as I ever look.  It looks beyond terrifying  in the bottle.  But once you squeeze a single drop (and I truly mean a single, solitary drop!) of this watermelon liquid onto your hand and blend into the apples of your cheek, you'll notice an amazingly natural flush, that stays put all day.  Some days, I use it as a base before applying a powder blusher. Good news is that you can still purchase 'Pop'  here  I think I'll have to order a backup and try out other colours in the range. 
• Sephora Mineral Powder brush - has been my foundation brush of choice since June 2010 Purchased from Sephora in Times Square, on the most fantastic trip to New York for my 30th Birthday.  I've used this brush every single day since and it's still perfect.  Its never shed, gone weird when I wash it, nothing.  Its just perfect, every single time.  I love it.  Enough said.
• Revlon ColorStay- my HG foundation. Great coverage, fantastic longevity, amazingly cheap price.
• MAC Fix + - has become a staple in my daily routine. I spray my Sephora foundation brush with it prior to applying ColorStay to ensure a flawless application.  Can also be used as a facial mist/setting spray.
• Tom Ford Black Orchid EDP  -  was my Birthday present from Nic and what a pressie.  Absolutely love it. Always get comments when I'm wearing it.  Sexy,  grown up and the complete antithesis of me! The beginnings of my lust with Tom Ford - you mark my words. 
• Alpha H Liquid Gold - talked about this a million times over. Love. It. Thank you again Mrs Hirons
• Benefit They're Real mascara - another birthday present, this time from Ames. Literally does what it says on the tin.  Gives length, volume and definition to even the most puny lashes. My two issues with it are the price (roughly about £18 a pop) and the fact that it is a complete bugger to get off!!  That being said, I will certainly re-purchase after I have waded through my stash of mascara. I have accumulated a fair few mascara's in 2011, most of which are new to me and I'm challenging myself not to purchase mascara in 2012. 
• Urban Decay Primer Potion - love this in all its many guises. Original, Sin, Eden and Greed. Love them all.  Changed eye shadow for me - forever!
• Avon Supershock (black) and Prestige Total Intensity (brown) eyeliners - if I don't use one, I use the other.  Great basic black/brown eyeliners.  Supershock is fairly easy to get hold of from the Avon website, but the Prestige Total Intensity is going to prove a little more difficult to source.
• Urban Decay Naked Palette - what is there to say that hasn't already been said a million times over?  A great palette of neutrals. Perfect eye make up every time, from the subtlest wash of colour and definition for daytime, to the sootiest smoky eye for evening.  Didn't think it could get any better, then Urban Decay launched Naked 2 in the States and soon to appear in the UK.  The Boy purchased the Naked palette for me last year and has kindly offered to furnish me with the Naked 2 palette. I'm seriously one lucky girl.

What products did you love in 2011?

Accidental Shopping

Today was one of those days. My first day back at work after the Christmas break  - fun!  On the way home I popped my head into Boots looking for something else.  As is often the case  for this time of year, I found myself at the sale section.   Merely to see what had been left once the vultures (myself included) had picked over the highly prized sale carrion and my eyes fell to this.  YSL Belle D'Opium.  Debenhams describes the scent as: 

The new addiction by Yves Saint Laurent. A woman full of ambivalence, elusive and obsessive, powerful and troubling, ingenue but dangerous. Her perfume, a disconcertingly bewitching new oriental.  

Sounds like me and my mood today!

An overdose of rare and precious ingredients: the narcotic scent of Casablanca Lily blends with spicy swirling Incense and mysterious overtones of a Nargileh accord. Her bottle, tinted with electric blue, is crossed by a flamboyant red wick, defining the line that unites it with her skin.

I've smelt this a few times and decided it had to be bought, so in the basket it went.

I then happened upon the Chanel counter.  I have to admit, I'm quite taken with Chanel at the moment.  I picked up a Rouge Coco Shine in Boy and was able to foot the bill with my Boots Advantage Card points. Yipppeeee! I've wanted this for ages.  Boy is the perfect choice for me. Pretty, neutral everyday MLBB shade.  Plus, it kind of reminds me of The Boy (awww smushy).  I've a feeling this will be getting a lot of love from me.

Right, time for me to be reunited with my beloved PJ's.  This working for a living really gets in the way of PJ time!

Make Up Products that never get to play out.

There are some products that I just don't use, I own them, I like them but when it comes to my daily make-up routine they're either just too time consuming to bother with, an accident waiting to happen, or they just get routinely overlooked. Here are my regular stragglers.

Eyeliner; Now, I adore eye liner but I just don't have time for it on a daily basis. Maybe I'm just too neurotic about making my eyes match that I ruin it for myself ? I just don't have the patience to reach for it daily. A winged eye is my “look I made an effort' staple though.

Contour; Do me a favour! Nobody is fooled, my cheekbones have been absent for some time and the right shade is impossible to find.

Bronzer; On my albino skin? No.

Concealer/Corrector; I'm lucky that I don't often suffer from spots but when I do, I don't care! I just leave them alone, if foundation isn't enough to cover them then the world will just have to deal with it. Occasionally something may find it's way under my eyes but then it will inevitably crease so I often don't bother.

False lashes; No, I'm far too afraid of an awful Silence of the Lambs travelling lashes moment (I'll spare you a picture but if you get the reference * high five * )

Brow powder/pencil; This is one of those products I'd like to get the hang of however I feel I have two black slugs molesting my brow whenever I brave an attempt, so I've turned to tinting, taming and allowing them to stand proudly alone.

Lip liner: I have a prominent cupids bow and always feel too 'done' or reminiscent of a bad panto drag act, so I give that a miss! Unless it's Boot's No:7 in Nude

Products I always, always reach for include, foundation, mascara, eye shadow, blusher, highlighter and lipstick or balm. I'm in way over my head trying any harder than that, I'd love to perfect using each of those products but alas I am too afraid that I'll step over that dreaded line that lies between polished and Jodie Marsh *shudder*




Are any of my vetoed or neglected products your absolute must haves? What parts of your make up collection do you neglect to love as much as you should?

Disclaimer – this is a tongue in cheek rant which is more about my shortcomings and inability to make certain products work for me, if you use and love these products maybe you can point me in the right direction!

The Body Shop: Hand Cleanse Gel

Whilst purchasing items from The Body Shop sale, I stumbled across these new Hand Cleanse Gels at the till.  I find it's always handy to have these little hand gels about your person/in your handbag/on your desk for a quick refresh.  At work, some of my 'customers' (for want of a better word) are almost certainly hygienically challenged.  So these little hand gels are nothing short of a work staple for me.  I love the Bath and Body Works 'Pocket Bac', but as they are quite tricky to get hold of from this side of the pond, I'm always on the look out for alternatives. I think these may just fit the bill.

A quick check of The Body Shop website tells me that there are 6 versions, Coconut, Mango (both above), Pink Grapefruit, Satsuma, Strawberry and Sweet Lemon,  retailing for £2.50 each.  Not quite the range that B&BW's have,  but it's a start!  Although it doesn't mention this on the website,  when I purchased in-store (30th December) they were on 3 for 2. 

The Boy is full of cold at the moment and I am fanatically wiping all surfaces with anti-bacterial wipes and then using the Hand Cleanse.  I'm pretty certain I'm fighting a loosing battle and I'll slowly succumb to the lurgy, just in time for work tomorrow! I can already feel the slight tickle in the back of my throat.  Joy!

December Empties

I don't know about you, but December went super fast for me.  Coming back from Las Vegas to a manic time at work and then Christmas - it's been non-stop!

I haven't really got through masses of product  this month, but there is some make up. Oh yes there is. Here are the products that I finished off in December.

• L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream - best EVER hand cream. Love it.  Have multiple back ups.
• Maybelline Falsies mascara - thought this was okay, but wasn't necessarily wowed. Won't repurchase for the time being,  as I have a tonne of mascara to get through in 2012.  More of that to follow...
• Elemis Cellular Recovery capsules - I really like these high potency skin capsules.  The premise is that you use  the pink oil filled capsules for the day time (rose) and green for the evening (lavender)  The only thing I would say is that I didn't really use the rose capsules in the day. I have combination skin and so I didn't really trust my skin to behave.  That being said, I could have been worrying about nothing - which is generally the case!  I think these are lovely for a treat for tired, stressed out skin, but I don't think I'd keep using them as part of my regular routine.  
• Alpha H Liquid Gold - now this product has become a firm favourite in my routine.  Since Mrs Hirons suggested Liquid Gold to me, there isn't a week that passes where I don't use it.  Love it and have back ups. Thank you Mrs H!
• MAC Fix + - daily use product. Must buy more.
• TRESemme Instant Refresh dry shampoo - Didn't really rate this. Made my hair feel a bit crispy and sticky, if that is possible?  Will resume use of Batiste and keep searching for the prefect dry shampoo.
• bareEscentuals Buxom Gloss in Zena - well this is indeed a sad day.  I love these glosses, no surprise there.  But this particular shade was perfection and so not a typical 'me' shade.  Think it was a custom colour for QVC UK.  I even looked for it in Sephora while on my hols, no sign of it.  I literally scraped every last drop out.  Ah well, there are other Buxom glosses in my stash, but I will always have fond memories of Zena.

Resolutely Resolving

For 2012 my resolutions are a list of thing to DO rather things to fail at NOT DOING, I'm working on the theory that it's much easier to do something than to undo it once you've gone and done it anyway!

1) Blog.
2) Read lots, I have set myself a challenge of 100 books in 2012 on http://www.goodreads.com/
3) Save lots, I want to be debt free by 2013
4) My only DON'T - I will not ever, never, diet again. I will...
5) Keep listening to my slimpod
6) Be a little braver.


and last but by far the most important, I'm going to grow my hair and wear it big....big, big, big!


Image nicked from TheCleanBeautyBlog

Happy New Year Lovely People!

What do you resolutely resolve?