My Nail Polish Collection

Whilst I've been updating my beauty storage (comment if you'd like to hear more about that?) I've been doing a lot of decluttering and I figured since I had all my nail polishes out, I might as well do a post giving you a round up of what I have.

So Firstly, Blues. I love the colour of Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in the shade "Duvet Day" but it's just a nightmare to apply. For me it's thick but somehow still quite sheer and I haven't managed to apply this and make it look nice on the nails.

The next three are all shades that I mainly wear on my toes, KIKO Nail Lacquer "336", Misa Nail Lacquer "On The Edge" and Inglot Nail Enamel "942" are all lovely mid-tone bright blues and I love a bright blue on the toes, however I rarely wear any of these on the fingers.

Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish "New York Night" is a nice vampy purple that I'll be cracking out now that autumn is on it's way, her darker shades seem to be a much nicer texture than the lighter shades and this one looks almost black on the nails. I also think that No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour "Violetta 44" would be a nice autumn nail pick, it's slightly lighter and brighter than "New York Night", but it's still quite autumnal.

I like Topshop Nails in "Parma Violet" and this pink O.P.I Nail Lacquer which unfortunately doesn't have a shade name and was limited edition for spring. They're both nice pastels and while they take a bit of work to apply, you can get a nice finish from both.

My Favourite nail polish of all time for my fingers is the Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Disco Pink", I've very nearly finished this bottle and I'm currently on the hunt for a new bottle as it's just an amazing bright shade for summer that I just love. KIKO Nil Lacquer in "361" is also  nice bright pink but for me it doesn't compare to the Maxfactor, I think it would work for a beach-y holiday worn on both fingers and toes but so far it's not been a shade I've reached for a whole lot.

I come back to the Essie Nail Lacquer in "Bahama Mama" every year once it starts cooling down. It's a great burgundy and just can probably get away with just one coat if you were in a rush, I'd always go for two just to make sure though. A very similar shade is No7's Speed Dry Nail Colour in the shade "Queenie 60". It's that same tone of burgundy as "Bahama Mama", but instead of a creamy gloss finish, the No7 has a hint of golden shimmer running through it which gives it a more metallic finish on the nails.

I don't wear an awful lot of red on my nails (so naturally I have 3). I bought Tanya Burr Cosmetics Nail Polish in "Riding Hood" online and was expecting it be a bit darker than it actually turned out to be, It's actually quite similar to the Procco Nail Apparel in "7294 V.I.P Creme" which is my go to polish if I'm doing red. I also have a mini O.P.I Nail Lacquer which again was from a limited collection but it's not my favourite anyway.

I have three orangey/coral shades and I don't like any of them. Ted Baker Orange, LOLA Barcelona Nail Polish in "Rambla" and Wah London Nails in "384" are all amazing colour but I'm starting to think there's just something about orange-y shades that makes them horrible to apply. I'm holding onto them incase I discover a way to make them work because the colours are really something.

I love warm grey nil polish for autumn/winter and I have two. Maxfactor Nailfinity in "Boji" which was a limited edition one that I wear every now and again but my favourite is Essie Nail Lacquer in "Chinchilly". I think Essie polishes are generally a nice formula and "Chinchilly" is a great goes-with-everything shade.

I've already mentioned Butter London's 3 Free Nail Lacquer in "Knackered" on here and it's really something. It takes about 3/4 coats to get it to a nice opacity but it's worth the little bit of effort. It's a really unique colour, a green/pink dual chrome colour that give's that almost oil slick finish to the nails and it looks great with an all black outfit and my Whistles Small Clutch in "Oil Slick".

I'm a sucker for a good glitter topcoat and I have three. The NYC Long Wearing Nail Enamel in "105 Starry Silver Glitter" was the first one I picked up and it's like a slightly multi-coloured version of Topshop Nails in "Ice Crush" which is my favourite glitter top coat. I also have the O.P.I Nail Lacquer in "Silver Shatter" which is one of those crackle-finish nail polishes but this is a metallic shimmery silver one.

A couple of metallic nail polishes that I like are the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in "Night Silver 92" and Topshop Nails "Crystal Clouds" and I like both of these year long. The No7 is a little bit more autumn/winter but I love it and the Topshop is a polish I'd happily wear year round.

And finally, a topcoat and a nail care product. I rarely use a topcoat but when I do I use the O.P.I Rapidry Top Coat, it's nice and shiny and helps your polish last longer. Normally I just go in with the Orly Colour Care Nail Strong which is a shiny clear nail polish that can be used alone or under/over other polishes and helps strengthen your nails. I have problems with flaking on my nails and I find that this helps a lot.

My First Hair Mask

It occurred to me the other day that despite being the type of person that tries to really look after their hair, I'd never tried a hair mask. There wasn't really a reason other than "I don't really know what I'd be looking for in a hair mask". When I'm looking for a face mask, I know that I want something exfoliating, hydrating or deep cleansing, with hair masks? Who knows, but I wanted to see what all the fuss was about so I picked up this one from L'Oreal recently and gave it a go.

The first thing I noticed about this mask is the smell. It's a lovely minty fragrance with a hint of sweetness to it and it's lovely on your hair but not overpowering if you want to go in with a fragrance after using. With it being in a pot you have to scoop it out in the shower to apply it to the hair which can be a little bit fiddly, especially if your shower doesn't have any shelves or raised ledges in it. I found it easiest to scoop the product out, put the lidless container on the shower shelf, apply the products and then go back and put the lid on the pot. So it might be nice if they put it in a squeeze tube like Aussie does with their hair treatments/masks.

For the way the product actually performed? I'm not sure. Don't get me wrong, I do really like it, but I think it's maybe been mis-labeled/mis-marketed. The mask claims to be "Radiance Enhancing" and is supposed to make your hair look shinier, but I feel like what it really did was make my hair really soft and smooth, but didn't really do anything to it's appearance. I will continue to use the mask and report back if I see any difference in the shine but for now I will just be using it for it's moisturising/hydrating effects.

Bodycare 1-0-1 - Exfoliation

So this is another 2-part-post. Today we have exfoliation for body and then next week I'll be putting up exfoliation for face. Now for body, there are 3 categories of exfoliators I incorporate into my routine on a regular basis which I talk you through now: The basic scrub, the sugar scrub and the coffee scrub.

The Basic Scrub

So first and foremost, my most-used formula is the basic scrub, and my favourite product from this category is the Soap & Glory Pulp Friction Foamy Fruity Body Scrub. The formula is quite thick so it sticks to your skin in the shower unlike lots of other formulas. The basic scrub exfoliates using gritty sandy-feeling particles, suspended in a shower gel/cream formula. These types of scrubs are the most abrasive and I would only recommend using these 1-2 times a week.

The Sugar Scrub

Much like the little pots you can get for your lips, the sugar scrub uses sugar granules as the main exfoliating element to them. Another shout-out to Soap & Glory for my favourite from this category with the Sugar Crush Body Scrub. Firstly, it smells amazing but the main reason I like this is that the sugar and other exfoliating elements are all suspended in a glycerin-based formula, meaning that you get a ht of hydration along with your exfoliation. Sugar scrubs are less abrasive on the skin as the sugar starts to dissolve when it gets wet so they're a good option for people who want to exfoliate every time they shower rather than 1-2 times a week.

The Coffee Scrub

So this is a very new-to-me formula, but recently I tried the Mr Bean Coffee Bean Scrub and it was very... Interesting. The most gentle of all 3 formula's, I think this scrub would be best for a sensitive skin type or for someone who only wants some subtle exfoliation. The one I got contains coconut oil so, again, it's really moisturising on the skin and it's a generally nice scrub. But I have 2 main issues. Firstly, the smell. It smells strongly of coffee, unsurprisingly, but the scent really lingers. I washed it off with a scented body wash and then layered up with scented moisturiser and could still smell it slightly and I'm not a massive fan. Secondly, while most scrubs leave a bit of mess in the bath, this left the worst mess of all the scrubs I've ever used. I think because the product is black maybe it just looks worse than other formulas? Either way, after my nice relaxing bath I found myself having to do a thorough clean of the bath.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser's Invisable Oil Range - The Review

So being a self-confessed non-hair-enthusiast, I rarely find myself being excited about hair products. That being said, sinc emy recent success with the Colorwow One-Minute Transormation Styling Cream (which I'm still using and loving) I've been picking up a few bits that I wouldn't normally gravitate to and one of them is this: The Bumble And Bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Travel Set.

I originally picked it up because I was interested in trying the Heat/UV Protective Primer and the travel set was a mere £2 more than the travel-sized primer was on it's own. It seemed like something I'd love. As I'm often saying, I'm pretty lazy with hair, and this is marketed as a kind of "does it all" type product. I do like it, but I don't think I love it. It smells nice, feels nice in the hair and feels like it is offering some protection in the way of heat styling. However, as I have oily hair I feel like the oil content is just a little bit much in my hair, so I tend to spray it just in the ends and brush it into the hair to avoid a grease-ball effect.

Another product in the set I thought I'd love was the conditioner, I love a good deep conditioning product on the ends of my colour-damaged hair as it allows me to just put the moisture where I feel like I need it. This product just isn't that deep conditioning product I thought it would be and I feel like after using this, I definitely need to go in with something like the Oribe Supershine Moisturing Cream. It's just a bit light for something that claims to have an invisible oil base.

The star of the show is a surprising one. I thought I'd hate the shampoo. As I've mentioned I have oily hair and the last thing I ever want to do is layer up my roots with oil as it makes my hair heavy, flat and oily. this just goes to show that you never really know if you'll like something until you try it as out of all the products in the set, this is the only one I'm seriously considering purchasing a full size of. It's moisturing but light and the sulfate-free formula makes it great for colour treated hair. Love.

Good Sleep in a Jar - The Neal's Yard Lavender Bath Salts

I recently discovered that Manchester town centre has it's own Neal's Yard shop, so being the curious thing that I always have been, I nipped in on my way home from work one night to see what was going on in there. Being a Neal's Yard Newbie, I went for a few products that I'd heard about in the blogger-sphere, the Lavender Bath Salts being one of them.

Firstly, they come in a really hefty, satisfyingly heavy, blue glass jar that just looks lovely in your bathroom. When you open the 200g jar it's filled to the brim and the smell hits you immediately. Being lavender based, they really calming in your bath and with it being Neal's Yard none of the ingredients are too chemically. The lavender scent comes from organically produced lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil and the only ingredients that look even vaguely like "nasties" to me would be limonene and linalool, but these are the very last two ingredients on the list.

You only need a small amount from the jar (I'd recommend scooping the salts out with your hand and then sprinkling them into your bath) to get the desired effect and they dissolve quickly and don't leave a grainy feeling at the bottom of your bath. At £10.50 for a 200g jar these are a slightly more affordable option for those like myself who are new to bath salts and wanted to try a relatively inexpensive kind before investing in something like the Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts (which are definitely on the list of products I'd love to try).

After this purchase I'm excited to try out more from the Neal's Yard range, and currently have my eye on the Arnica Salve and their Wild Rose Beauty Balm. I'll report back on those at a later date.

My Lush Stash

I love a good snoop around in Lush and have a box full of goodies from them on the go at all times really. Their Halloween and Christmas collections are always my favourites but I have developed quite the love for quite a bit of their permanent range as well. I'm always on the look out for more things to try so if you have any favourites that I haven't mentioned here - give me a shout.

So my favourite thing to pick up from Lush is bath products. Their selection is great and they have something to suit everyone. Like your bath full of silky, foamy bubbles? Try a bubble bar or a bubble-roon. Prefer something colourful and/or moisturising? Their bath bombs and bath melts will give you just that. I'm hooked.

My long standing favourite bubble bar from them is one I've mention on here before, The Comforter. It's a big pink bubblegum scented bar that, depending on the size of your bath, can give you up to 4 bath full of silky bubbles. Another bubble bar I've been using lately is their French Kiss. My boyfriends mum got me one as part of a christmas present and, while it's not a scent I'd normally have picked for myself, I really like it. It's perfect for a bed-time bath as the lavender-y notes really relax me and get me ready to sleep.

A bath melt I love is their You've Been Mango'ed, it's a super citrus-y smelling, oily bar that you drop into your bath. It works like a solid bar of bath oil and as it melts it leaves your bath feeling super moisturising. The scent for me is a little too citrus-y for a relaxing evening bath but for a morning treat i's lovely.

I guess I should also mention their Butterball bath bomb as I have about 5-6 in my collection (trust me, most of those bags in the picture above are Butterball). It's got little chunks of cocoa butter in it and so as it fizzes and dissolves in your bath it leaves the water (again) feeling really moisturising but smelling great too. On it's own I find it can be a little bland sometimes but I mainly like to use it as a moisture boost to other more bubbly bath products.

A more recent addition to my collection is their From Dust Till Dawn massage bar. I got this as a valentines treat for the other half as he was coming to my place for the weekend straight from work. It's a really nice one. The smell is refreshing and slightly citrus-y and it just gives a bit of slip to a massage. One thing to note is that the boyfriend did mention it left his skin feeling a little bit tacky after use, but it also calmed down some of the drier areas on his skin, so I guess it's swings and roundabouts really.

The last few bits I have from Lush are some of their soaps and shower gels. Pictured to the left I have their Snow Fairy shower gel and their Reindeer Rock soap, I'll skip past these as I'm aware that they're limited edition for christmas. Their Twilight shower gel was another one in the box set I got for christmas and it's lovely, it has notes of lavender so it's calming but it also has a bit of comforting spice to it as well. A great winter warmer. Their Rockstar soap is the one I have on the go at the moment I like the scent but I find the actual soap drying on my hands (I definitely don't have the driest of skins either). As Rockstar is almost on it's way out I've got some Godmother as a back up to use next. I haven't used it but the smell is the same as the Snow Fairy shower gel and I really like it.

The Nail Product For Girls Who "Don't Do Nails"

Although my mother is a nail technician, my nails are nothing short of awful. They're flakey, brittle and generally, I try to forget about them. It's probably my fault, I've been a nail-biter as long as I can remember (nervous habit - TMI?).

I'm not supposed to wear nail polish for work (although clear and french-manicure styles are acceptable) and my previous attempts with colour on the nails haven't gone too well. If I manage to apply a coat without getting the polish all over my fingers, the polish often chips off before the day is over. So generally speaking, I don't do nails.

Orly Color Care Nail Strong

I'd just about given up on my nails entirely when I found the Orly Colour Care Nail Strong in Boots. It's a clear nail polish, looks a lot like a simple top coat when applied, but it's really lovely.

This clear polish leaves weak or brittle nails feeling stronger and healthier, and best of all, looking nice and shiny too. The lack of colour means that chipping isn't such an issue either. At £10 a bottle, it's not the most purse-friendly product out there, but if your nails are in need, it's the best help I've found.

Just a short and sweet one today I'm afraid, check back on Wednesday! - Jodie

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Must-Have Hair, Bath and Body Bits

So, For the final instalment of "introduction week" I have my hair, bath and body products all wrapped up in one nice, quick little post for you all.

These categories were too small for separate posts (and I only post 3 times a week, the maths just worked out better this way). So lets get started.

From left to right: Lush "The Comforter" Bubble Bar, Soap & Glory Whipped Clean, "Nina" by Nina Ricci perfume, V05 Heat Protect Styling Spray, Batiste A Hint of Colour Vibrant and Red Dry Shampoo

When it comes to body products, more often than not, I'm too lazy to moisturise my entire body. So to keep the dry skin away, I use Soap & Glory's Whipped Clean shower butter. It comes out of the tube like a thick body lotion and is prone to dropping off your hand mid-shower (good job it's affordable). But it works. I get out of the shower, put on my pjs and get in bed (ah, bed) and wake up the next day without a dry patch in sight.

I've never been faithful when it comes to perfume, I always have at least 4 on the go at any one time but this one is nice. The bottle is beautiful (too bad it has to be kept out of sunlight, boo) and it just smells delightful. Its sweet and fruity with a hint of floral in it. A nice transition fragrance for people like myself who have recently began the journey out of those sickly sweet, teenage fragrances.

I love a good bath. And most girls that love a good bath, love a good snoop around in Lush. I can't remember the last time I went to Lush and managed to leave empty-handed. It just doesn't happen. My favourite is their The Comforter Bubble Bar, a bubblegum pink, sweet smelling bath product that, since I have quite a small bath, I can manage around 3-4 baths out of. Just crumble under running water and turn a solid pink bar into a bath full of silky, sweet-smelling bubbles. I always have at least one in my stash.

Finally we have hair products. sigh. Hair is the one beauty thing I really don't care for. I wash it with whatever sulphate-free shampoo I can find and can't seem to commit to conditioning products either. However I've repurchased the V05 Heat Defence Styling Spray more times than I care to count. It smells nice, doesn't weigh your hair down and preps for heat-styling and sun-exposure a like.

I've also become semi-reliant on the Batiste "A Hint of Colour - Vibrant and Red" dry shampoo. Although I was never a fan of the original Batiste formula (although the blush scent is nice for a leave-in/over-night dry shampoo), I can really get behind the tinted version. Having red hair makes dry shampoo difficult. It leaves white casts, it takes away the lovely shine, it's a nightmare. However not only does this formula eliminate greasy-hair-and-no-time-to-wash-it moments, it's GREAT for hiding roots.

And so that's it. Introductions complete. Onto the good stuff.

Check back on Monday for my next post - Jodie



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