Alex and Ani bangle

During my recent holiday to NYC I made a compulsory trip to Bloomies and wandered round looking at all the beautiful expensive designer clothes I can't afford. Then, on the way towards the escalator on one floor I spotted an Alex and Ani stand.

I have wanted an Alex and Ani bangle for ages since I saw Maira Sparkles post photos of them on Instagram. I think they are harder to get hold of here in the UK though. I was so exciting to see the full range there on a table in front of me, I think my boyfriend wondered what was wrong when I squealed "Alex and Ani" at him.

I was going to go for this one that has the New York skyline on it as a bit of memorabilia from my holiday, but it was a brushed silver so didn't really go with the gorgeous new silver bracelet my boyfriend had bought for my birthday a few days before.

I then spotted the birthday stone bangles which are a shiny silver (or gold), so I went for one of those instead. It's still quite meaningful as we did actually go to New York to celebrate my birthday.

I am now a proud owner and will definitely expand my collection in the future. Knowing me I'll probably still end up getting the NYC skyline at some point as I absolutely love New York.

If you would like to have a little browse, the only place I have found that stocks them in the UK is www.argento.co.uk

Metallic Sharpie nail art

Each year, a couple of months before my birthday I start making a list of things I'm lusting after. Then when my family ask what I want, I send them the list.

This year, one if the things was the set of three Sharpie metallic markers. But I didn't want these for writing with, no, these were for nail art!

You can paint your nails, let it dry then use the Sharpies to draw intricate designs on your nails. Final step is to cover your art work with a top coat, then you have the finished decorated nails.

I still need to master the top coat as I have smudged it a bit by going over it too much. Really you need to try and do the top coat in one stroke. But with a bit of practice I know I'll get there. 

Freebie Kate Spade nail polish

The December edition of Glamour is out now and comes with a free Kate Spade nail polish. There a four Christmassy shades to chose from; gold, silver, red and black. 

The nail varnishes are normally £11 and the mag only costs £2. Definitely worth picking up a bargain.

I've gone for black. Which will you chose?

A spot of luck

I haven't blogged for ages! I've really wanted to, but literally haven't had the time. Work has been crazy and then I went to New York for my birthday, so it's been non-stop. Anyway, I'm here now and shall vow to be more regular in my blogging.

Today I want to tell you about some luck I had recently; I won my first ever blog giveaway! Sophie from sophiejanethorne.blogspot.co.uk ran a giveaway to win a Wet n Wild nail polish in red - and lucky old me won.

Sophie is so lovely that she actually included a couple of extra items for me to apologise because she had a slight postal delay. So not only did I get the Wet n Wild polish, but also a Maybelline one and a strawberry flavoured Lypsyl.

As I got these items a month or so ago now, I have had time to fully try them out and review them.

Wet n Wild Wild Shine nail colour
Love the colour, it is a really bright red with a hint of pink in a certian light and as it's a gel polish it looks great on. It's really shiny, especially with a top coat on. It lasted well, but not quite as well as the Maybelline.

Lypsyl Strawberry Polka-dot
Tastes great and contains SPF. It claims to be tinted, but I couldn't notice much, maybe a slight pale pink, but not really. The downside to this is that it is quite a hard textured balm, you really need to rub it on. It worked best when I had it in my pocket and then used it as the heat had softened it. 

Maybelline Super Stay 7 Days gel nail colour
This is amazing! The red was probably a shade darker than I'd normally go for as I have quite fair skin, but it looked great and lasts soooo well. In fact I put this nail varnish on for my 5 day holiday to New York and it last the whole trip. So not quite 7 days, but I don't think I had time to put a top coat on.

I will definitely buy more of these Maybelline 7 day polishes.

To finish, thank you very much Sophie for the gifts, it's so generous of you to run these giveaways. Everyone else head over to Sophie's blog for beauty reviews, recipes, fashion and more.

My New Hair candy - Popband Review

Popband ★★★★

I came across Popband on a blog earlier this week and the review instantly sold it to me.

It's a stylish hair tie, that is meant to be "kind on your hair, cute on your wrist." Popbands are meant to be better for your hair compared to normal hair elastics because they are gentler yet just as strong and they claim to not add a kink to your hair. They are also rather pretty.

I bought the Little Prince Popband which is navy blue with a silver crown (apparently special edition in honour of Prince George). There are a variety of colours with different charms available.

I ordered it Tuesday night and it arrived on Friday in a cute metallic pink Jiffy bag. Not bad for free delivery.

The next day, I tried it out. It is definitely cute and a little bit different to the usual boring hair elastics, so for that alone I would recommend that everyone needs something like this in their lives. On a slightly negative note, it isn't as tight/strong holding as the hair bands I normally use, so my high pony did slip slightly.

In terms of not kinking the hair, it mainly didn't. I don't think you can ever get away with absolutely no kink when putting your hair up, but this was pretty minimalist.

Little Prince

Overall, I really like the concept and design. I will probably by more, as I would like to have a handful of different colours and designs to choose from when putting my hair up.

You can get yours from www.thepopband.com.

Arm candy

Real Techniques Core Collection review

I have finally got myself some Real Techniques brushes, the Core Collection kit to be precise. I've been wanting some decent brushes for ages, but as usual for me it takes getting a 20% discount code for me to actually part with my money. I got them from www.hqhair.com but you can also get them from Boots, Superdrug and other websites.

The core collection contains four face brushes; buffing, contour, pointed foundation and detailer.

The brushes are so lovely and soft and have a nice chunky handle to hold so they feel great to use. They also come in a case that can turn into a stand so are great for travelling with.

I have tried them all and have differing opinions on each. Firstly the positives; I love the buffing and contour brushes. They do exactly what they say on the tin (or plastic packaging) and they are really luxurious to use. Now the detailing brush, I could take it or leave it. I used it with concealer round my eyes and whilst it did the job, I think I could have done an equally good job, if not quicker with my finger. 

My least favourite is the foundation brush. In my opinion it is just too small. It took me ages to spread my foundation out using it and it wasn't looking very even. So I ended up taking my beauty blender to even things out and basically fix the mess the brush made. Harsh but true. I will try it again with a different foundation, but I think this will go mainly unused.

So, there you have it. My fairly brief ramblings on Real Techniques Core Collection. Do you have this collection, how do you find it? Or do you have one of the other kits? Let me know by commenting below.

MUA haul

I have been wanting the MUA brow kit since I first knew it existed. I've checked 5 different Superdrugs and they've all been sold out for ages! I saw it was still in stock on the MUA website, but begrudged paying £2.95 postage on something that only cost £3.50. 

Last weekend the MUA Facebook page advertised free shipping on orders over £20. This coincided with them teasing me with the new Top Model palette for only £7.

So I decided to have a little browse and see if I could make up an order for £20 to get my free delivery.

Here is what I got...

The Artiste Collection £6

Brow Kit £3.50

Britain's Next Top Model Palette £7

Intense Gloss in Smooch £2

Fashionista Super Length Mascara £1.50

Exactly £20 worth. Now I know I would have been better off just getting the brow kit and paying the postage, but then I wouldn't have all this great new makeup.

It arrived during the day yesterday and naturally I tried most of it this morning.

The mascara is great, does add length and provides nice definition without making your lashes look like spiders legs.

The gloss is a great every day colour and  seems to last really well.

The colours in the brow kit are great, but the brush is not the best. I like the idea of the brow gel as I normally use clear mascara, but will have to see if it matches up to last well through the day.

The Artiste Collection palette has some nice shades and I always rate MUA eyeshadows. The blush shades and contour and highlight also look great. Though I think I need a new brush to apply the contour as my fake Mac brush put it on far too heavy.

The Top Model palette is my experiment for tomorrow.

Adiós!