Weekend Mani #24

Woah! That weekend passed mighty quickly, I hope you had a good one!

Following on from last weeks poundland bargains, I have another £1 polish on the blog for this weekend.

Meet Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in 'Bubble Plum'

So first off, the colour, although the name 'Bubble Plum' doesn't quite roll off the tongue, it describes this colour perfectly.  A gorgeous mix between bubblegum pink and a plummy purple, it has a not quite neon 'glow' about it.  I'm in love with this colour.

This is Sally Hansen's foray into textured polishes and there is actually a large shade range of these and they vary between one colour matte shades to others with glitter and sparkle and all sorts.  I now have six in my collection, two of which have that extra sparkle dimension.   

These are really textured, almost  too grainy like for my tastes but that may also be because there is just one dimension i.e. just one colour, to this polish.  a bit of sparkle and this could be quite similar to 'My Current Crush' by O.P.I , see here.

The bottle says to apply two thin coats and I readily agree with that, I don't think you would get away with just one as it is quite a thin polish and also has quite a thin brush.  It dries relatively quickly and has lasted 36 hours with only minimal tipwear.  This is designed to be worn without a topcoat, which I particularly love as I do love me a bit of matte.  This isn't completely matte however, it does have a bit of shine and without a layer of topcoat, it is much easier to remove - bonus!!

For £1 at poundland, I would definitely recommend this if you are a fan of textured polishes.  The colour is lovely, it is very textured and dries quickly.

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

New Bath & Body Range by Liz Earle

Late last week I came home to a rather fancy looking piece of mail courtesy of Liz Earle.

Inside the beautifully designed envelope, there was a magazine which featured the new bath and body range by the brand.

Inside the magazine was a generous 15ml sachet of one of the new body lotions from the range.  The scent was Tiare and Jasmine and I ran a bath immediately so I could try it out afterwards!!

At £14.50 it's not what I would call cheap but Liz Earle often send e-mail subscribers offers for free postage and often do fab freebies with purchases so it's worth signing up for.

On to the product itself, the lotion was very easily absorbed and left a nice silky feeling on my skin which I could still feel the next morning, so thats a plus.  The scent I feel could divide some people, it actually reminds me of the Johnsons Baby Bedtime range which is a scent I really quite like but some may find too floral or soapy.  I find it quite a soothing, femininine, comforting scent.

The magazine was lovely and full of lovely tidbits of information and a good overview of some of the products Liz  Earle has.  I've briefly tried the renowned Cleanse & Polish and do find it rather nice and absolutely adore the Botanical Essence No. 15, if you like Estee Lauder Modern Muse, you need to catch a whiff of this scent!!

Trying this Silky Body Lotion has made me really keen on trying out the other scents in the range and possibly a cheeky wee pamper day purchase!! The other scents are Bergamont & Ginger and Vanilla & Saffron, both of which intrigue me entirely and sound deliciously divine.

The Silky Body lotion contains shea butter, avocado oil and vitamin E and has a Creamy Shower Nectar to go with it which is £12.50 for a 250ml bottle.  

All in all, a nice wee freebie with a lovely wee read, the scent is very similar to the Johnsons baby bedtime range so I would try that for a cheaper option if it is the scent that is pulling you in.  Light texture and long lasting, this cream is something I would save for an occasion or a good pamper purely based on the price.

Have you tried any of the Liz Earle range?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Weekend Mani #23

Although I am currently in the midst of some redecoration and have been for a few weeks now, hence the lack of posts, I decided that my nails still had to be done!  I may have had no make up on and my hair was in dire need of a wash but still, gotta be a little bit glam right?!

Meet 'Aquamarine' part of Revlon's Chroma Chameleon Collection.

First things first, this cost £1! One whole shiny pound, I urge you to go to poundland stat! I also got a few other Revlon polishes and a Sally Hansen Sugar coat which I will swatch over the next few weeks. 

This colour shifts from a beautiful sea greeny blue to a slight purple, this colour reminds me of 'The Little Mermaid', years and years ago, there was a nail polish and make up brand on the go called 'Spectacular' and I had about 300 of their polishes when I was a teen and my favourite one was called 'Ariel', this is the closest I have ever found to match that.

This is slightly thin, I used three thin coats for full opacity here, although I'm sure two would be fine if you took care to apply it neatly.  Colours like this with the duochrome effect can show up brushstrokes quite easily. 

The bottle is a good size and it's a nice shape for storing.  The brush is thin compared to the OPI Pro-wide that I'm used to but it was pretty standard and fit my tiny pinkies well! 

This has no topcoat on in any of these pictures.  It is very shiny and has an almost shimmery finish.

Such a vibrant colour.  The colour shift isn't too extreme but definitely enough to make it interesting. 

I was showing a bit of tipwear after sanding and doing other housey stuff so for 48 hours without topcoat, this lasted pretty good!

My mum has already hinted that she would quite like this for her upcoming holiday to Tunisia and I have to agree, this would look amazing on tanned tootsies!

I would like to try this over a purple base to try and capture more of the purple in it and would also quite like to add a few more of these to my stash. particularly 'Tanzanite' and 'Pink Quartz' 

Hope you have had a slightly more glamourous weekend!!

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Weekend Mani #22

It's another OPI weekend.  After a few weeks of not painting my nails due to decorating, I was really in a quandry as to which polish I would pick and so I thought a classic OPI shade which has been sitting untried in my box for quite some time now, was just what I needed to help me get my nail mojo back.

Let me introduce you to OPI Ink...

So hard to capture the complexities of this polish, it is an almost navy purple but has teeny tiny glass fleck particles through it, which, if you catch them in the right light bring a fuschia tone to the nail.   

Tried so hard to capture the almost duochrome effect that the glass flecks bring!  

As with most OPI, the formula was fab, two coats are all that I needed create an opaque finish and the pro-wide brush makes application a breeze.  

There's a lovely glossy finish and although it looks very much on the navy scale, it is definately more purple on the nail.  The glass flecks which make this polish so multi-dimensional is something you find with a lot of OPI polishes and they really do add that extra element.

There's some good swatches here. 

Once again, OPI hasn't let me down!

Here's the cheapest link that I can find where you can purchase this polish should you fancy it... here at Nail Polish Direct for £7.95 with free delivery.

Have you tried  OPI Ink before?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Because winter hates your lips?...

Back in January, I may have purchased a few bits in the feelunique sale, one of which was the much raved about Reve de Miel ultra nourishing lip balm by Nuxe.

Walking to and from work in the cold Aberdeen air can really take it's toll on your skin in general and I found that my lips were in desperate need of some nourishment rather than just a barrier (such as vaseline).

The product weighs in at 15g and comes in a rather nice , frosted glass tub.  Retrospective thinking here but I would have preferred to try the stick version as it's more hygienic than dipping my fingers in but as it's just me that uses it and I apply it after I have brushed my teeth and washed my hands, I shan't worry too much.

 

When I opened it, I was really surprised at how solid it is and that actually put me off a little.  I felt I really had to work to get the product out and then felt I was dragging it across my lips.  I've since seen somewhere that there is almost like a skin across the top and once you get past that, it's a bit easier to use.  

 

Containing honey, plant oils, shea butter and grapefruit essence, this is a heavy duty lip balm.  What I really quite like about this is that it is matte and it doesn't change the colour of your lips nor does it give them that white look that can happen if you put on a tad too much (probably because it's too stiff to put on too much!).

I can put this on at night time and still feel it on my lips in the morning, it's not sticky as such but it does make your lips feel coated.  I'm not so fond of it as a slick on after lunch kinda thing but as an overnight 'treatment' if you like, it is very effective.

Tested in the extreme weather conditions in Canada, I would recommend this if you are going to bracing the elements whether it be walking to work or going ski-ing, this balm offers long lasting protection and nourishment and the scent isn't too overpowering either.

Do you have a  favourite cold weather lip balm?

Have you tried any of Nuxe's products?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

A healthy, filling veggie supper

This is a one picture post chums!! Scandalous I know but I was so hungry I forgot to take any pics!

I think this is one of my favourite 'feel good' evening meals, you know when you've had a bit of exercise in the morning and you spend the rest of the day feeling that little bit more positive? 

This is quite simple, Quorn burgers with sweet potato wedge/chip things and some salad (cheese is optional).

I love sweet potato wedges and they are so easy to make.  

*Get a sweet potato, give it a good scrub and a wash under a running tap.
*Chop it up into chips or wedges (whichever you can master, the sweet potato is an oddly shaped fellow!).  
*Now, toss the chips/wedges around in some oil, can be olive, sunflower or whichever you have to hand, some salt and pepper and any other spices you may fancy, I always end up with smoked paprika.

*Once each individual chip is lightly coated, arrange them on an oven tray, try not to let them touch each other.
*Heat your oven up to about 200C  and when ready, pop your tray of chips in for about 20 minutes or so.  I like to turn mine halfway through. 

I buy my Quorn products (such as mince for my chilli, see here) from farmfoods as they are usually less expensive.  I much prefer the Quorn burgers to normal burger as I'm not that big a fan of eating meat. 

This was so yummy and so filling and didn't have half the guilt a run-of-the-mill burger and fries would give you, can you say winning?!

Have you tried Quorn Burgers before?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx

Nspa Thai Spa Rituals Scented Candle - A Review

At New Year here in Aberdeen, we indulge in a tradition known as 'First Footing'.  Usually it would be something like a bottle of booze or a box of chocolates but this year my mum gave me this candle instead as she knows I'm not much of a drinker and chocolate was on the naughty list... yeah, was...

The brand is 'nspa' and is sold at Asda.    

The candle is part of the Thai Spa Rituals range and is a Frangipani and Coconut scented affair, with essential oil of jasmine, tuberose, gardenia, sweet orange blossom and amber woods.

Very pretty box and the candle was well wrapped in tissue paper.  The candle holder itself is a nice white, frosted glass container.  It is not particularly cumbersome at 180g but should give around 30 hours burn time (I always find these estimates optimistic). 

Truthfully, of all the scents listed above I could smell none! I'm a big fan of anything coconut so was really looking forward to it but I couldn't even detect a hint of it.

It's a pretty offering and if you are looking for something cheap that lights up, it serves that function very well although I did notice that straight away there was a pretty impressive 'well' round the wick and that didn't disappear after a few hours burning.  If it is strong scent throw that you are looking for, I wouldn't recommend this.

All in all, a pretty and inexpensive gift for yourself or someone else to light whilst in the bath but it won't have you lying there thinking of tropical beaches and men in trunks serving you pina coladas... sigh. 

Do you like candles?

What your favourite scent?

Hugs,

Jodi

xxx