Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 11

I finished reading Hunger Games yesterday and had to immediately buy Catching Fire! I know, I know...I'm late as usual! Most people I know read HG like a year ago or something!!!

So I obviously loved it, but it left me wanting more! I would read it at every opportunity and hated when I had to put it down! People say it's a cross between Stephen King's Running Man and Battle Royale, although these are more aimed at an adult audience. Has anyone read Battle Royale by Koushun Takami?

Anyway, so I was so into it like a teenager that I went and did some "Katniss - The girl who was on fire" nails! If you want to see some proper Hunger Games nails, head over to Sammy's blog or for some awesome flames nail art, head over to Jane's blog! As you can see, I tried to do a "drag-needle" sort of job various times on a nail wheel but it didn't quite work of my newly short nails! Nfu Oh 49 works quite well for burning ashes though!

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 Posts of the week:

- Leslie from polish art addiction did a really pretty and soft Cinderella inspired franch mani. I really must try something like this.

- Rebecca from Rebecca likes nails shows us how to make nail polish jewelery. I need to get myself some clear glass cabochons and some ring bases. Custom made rings = awesome :)

- Want to see a mani inspired by Adele's Louboutin nails. Head over to Loucas por esmalte.

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 10

Coloured jeans. What do you think of them?

In my opinion, nothing can replace black and blue jeans. They are versatile, can be dressed up or down and are comfortable. However, for the last few months I've been a bit more open to colour and decided to give coloured jeans a go!

Terracotta, grey and indigo are the only ones I have at the moment (well, I suppose grey is a safe colour anyway). I have my eye of a couple more blue and burgundy ones!

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This is my picture of the week!

I could sit there for hours and just stare at the Med sea! My husband and I were meant to get married on the Greek Island of Santorini but because of logistics and trying to get all our family and friends to fly there, we ended up choosing somewhere else. We still spent some time on the island and it's such a wonderful and magical place. You feel whole and at peace there. When I came across this picture on Google, it moved me because it felt so familiar. I had to post it.

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This is my video of the week. I really like this cover that Birdy did of Bon Iver's Skinny Love:

 

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Posts of the week:

- Anutka from Wacky Laki shows us such a sweet and elegant french mani inspired by fashion.

- How cool is this Wonder Woman/ Superhero mani by Copy That, Copy Cat?

- Natalie from Gems in a Bottle shows us a different take on Valentine's manis with a colourful Leopard Hearts mani.

- I love the jelly/ glitter sandwiches that Goose's Glitter comes up with. This week she showed us some pretty amazing ones which I can't wait to try :)

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 9

The "Big Freeze" is taking it's toll throughout most of Europe. I don't think we've had it that bad in England but if you watch the news, you would have seen the chaos it is causing elsewhere. A lot of people are obsessed with snow, I don't care for it much unless I want to ski. When I have to wake up at 6:30am and make my way to work in it, not so much fun!

However, I have to admit it does look pretty, magical and makes for great photos. Here is a picture of the lake near our house, it's half frozen! The ducks actually walk over the icy parts, can you spot the one stepping off the ice and back into the water? Poor little ducks. Do you think they get cold?

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After seeing a picture of Arya in Nihrida's weekly summery yesterday, I realised I haven't posted a picture of my little fur ball in a while. Here is Eggbert sitting in one of his favourite places (the corner of the living room cupboard) staring out of the window at the snow:

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This week I have been playing Lana Del Rey - Born to Die and Video Games non-stop on my iphone! I think it's getting on Martin's nerves! I have read all the controversy about her being an artificial creation and even The Guardian and Vigilant Citizen articles but I still love her look and her music regardless! If you haven't seen the video for Born to Die yet, here it is:

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Posts of the week:

- Natalie from Gems in a Bottle showed us three gorgeous Deborah Lippmann glitters - Candy Shop and Forget You and Happy Birthday from the Get the Party Started set. Candy Shop and Forget You are two huge lemmings of mine.

- All Lacquered Up swatched the China Glaze Capitol Colours Hunger Games collection for us. Do you already know which colours you want to get your hand on or are you getting the entire collection?

- I recently came across a Brazilian blog by a lady called Kelly. Her Blog is called - Esmaltes Da Kelly. I love her nails and the layering combos she comes up with! I can't believe I haven't spotted it before!

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 8

I haven't been up to much this week. I've also been working overtime (and will be until the end of February), so haven't been bothered to do much more.

We went to Bushy Park and Hampton Court Palace yesterday. In 1529, King Henry VIII established these as his deer-hunting ground. We went there to see the deer as well as do some fishing, horse ride, and plant some trees but an hour in and we were starting to get really cold. Instead we headed over the Hampton Court's world famous trapezoidal Maze.d Henry Wise for William III of Orange at Hampton Court Palace. Here courtiers

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This week I've also finished reading "Are You There, Vodka? It's me, Chelsea". I watch her TV show sometimes, she is so quick witted and her self-deprecating humour is somewhat inappropriate but has me rolling on the floor! The stories in this book are quite unusual and wild, I'm not sure if they are entirely true but even if elaborated and exaggerated a bit, they are totally hilarious nevertheless. It makes for a light read!

I think the book has been turned into a TV sitcom so I'm definitely going to have to watch that!

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 My favourite posts of the week:

* Rina shows us how to do a simple but really cute Valentines Day mani with little cluttered hearts.

* This black and gold Chanel  mani from Gems in a Bottle is so classy and clever. I would have never thought about leaving an unpainted strip of nail!

* Anutka from Wacky Laki does an amazing mani inspired by Angelina Jolie's dress for the Golden Globes

* If you haven't yet checked out Nail Nerd's blog, do so right now! She is so creative and has the most innovative manis I've seen! Her drawing/ artistic skills are amazing!

* I LOVE this feather playsuit British Fashion blogger Lily Melrose posted about yesterday! I want!

Thanks for reading :)

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 7

This week I wanted to share with you a well known beauty tip which I've lived by for the last 3 months! Olive Oil as an eye make-up remover! It's well documented that it does wonders for the skin and although I wouldn't actually put on my face as a whole (I have oily skin as it is), it does wonders as an eye make-up remover!

When I first started to do some research on it, I wasn't sure if it would actually remove make-up as well as regular removers but it's proven me wrong! It removes my waterproof eyeliner, so already it's a winner in my books!

I wear eye make-up everyday. Even if I'm not wearing eyeshadow, I will always wear eyeliner and mascara. Regular eye make-up removers were starting to take it's toll on the skin around my eyes, even the ones labelled for "sensitive skin". The fact that it's a very cheap solution is a plus and it can't hurt to have extreme moisture around your eye area!

source: http://skincareskinproducts.com/

I have read on a few review websites that for some people it causes eye irritation, actual burning sensation and rashes but I haven't yet experienced any of that.

I use standard supermarket Extra Virgin Olive oil. I put it into a little pump container and mix equal parts of olive oil and water. Even when I over saturate the cotton ball and a tiny amount leaks into my eye, I've had no stinging or burning. The most that happens to me is vision becomes a little blurry when I open my eye.

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This week a dear reader asked me how I removed these glue-on nails.  I'm no expert on removing glue-on nails and there's no "special" way of removing them either. This is what works for me:

* Soak one hand at a time in a bowl of cheap supermarket acetone with conditioners. I don't use pure acetone as although this would lift the nails much quicker, soaking your hand in there for so long can damage your skin and natural nails.

* Once they have been in the bowl for 10-15 minutes, I slowly try to move them to see of they budge. A lot of them fall straight off, the ones that don't go back in the bowl.

* Some nails have more glue than others so they won't come off as easily, these need a little pressure to remove.

* Never rip or pull one off. This will bring a bit of your natural nail along with it and it will hurt like hell.

* When they are all off, I usually file my nails right down to give them a better chance of growing back healthy. I also buffer them a little to remove stubborn bits of glue and unevenness.

If you want more info/ a demonstration, have a look on You Tube. There are several videos on there that provide really good info on how to remove glue-ons.

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Posts I'm been loving this week:

- Check out Spektor's tiger mani. Perfect gradient and stamping!

- Jane shows us how to create a grey cloud. Who would have thought grey clouds could be cute, right?

- If you want a sneak peak at Chine Glaze's ElectroPop Spring 2012 collection, head over to Scrangie for perfect swatches.

- Traci from The TraceFace Philes shows us the amazing ManGlaze Lesbihonest polish. Oh boy, I love those super matte polishes!

- Deborah from Love. Varnish, chocolate and more, shows us a cool and busy layering mani. All those pretties work really well together.

- Check out Robyn's Project 10 Pan. Project 10 Pan is where you’re banned from buying any more beauty products (apart from essentials) until you’ve used up 10 products. I think it's a really good idea as I'm always buying unnecessary products when I haven't even used up the old ones. It takes a toll on my wallet and you should see my messy Beauty cupboard!

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 6

I didn't get the chance to do much January sales shopping, my bank account took quite a hit over Christmas! But I did manage to get a few things that were reduced right down.

Here is a shirt I bought for work! We are allowed to dress casual at work but when there are client visits, we need to look that extra bit more formal. I thought this shirt was interesting because of the shoulder pads! This is from River Island and is was reduced to £11 from £28:

I also bought this long blue-stoned necklace. I don't wear necklaces in the winter as they will only get covered up by my chunky scarves but it's perfect to wear with lighter clothes in the summer. The Turquoise stone is also perfect as a summer colour. I bought this in the clothing section at Sainsbury's and it was reduced to £3 from £8.

Finally, I had to post this video!! It's been doing the rounds on FB this week and I thought it was totally awesome. Well done Jesse Rosten. A brilliant parody!!!

I love how they "advertise" the Photoshop tools: Liquify, Hue/Saturation and (Healing) Brush as if they are new and revolutionary creams/ cosmetics that will alter your looks, and how they pronounce really long words and scientific jargon really quickly so it sounds clever!!

Have a look at how Britney Spears, Faith Hill, Keira Knightley and Beyonce were altered for magazine covers. We already know photoshop is widely used in the beauty industry but it's still interesting to see the before and after:

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Posts I've been loving this week:

* Ivana shows us her favourite manicures of 2011. They are all so awesome, I must try to re-create some of them.

* Chelsea @ The Nail Network shows us Girly Bits Street Magic, an amazing shifter polish.

*Jenni from Gold Speck nails reminds us how beautiful and delicate Models Own Utopia is!

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 5

This week I came back from holiday and back to work! I have no New Year's resolutions (or at least none that I would keep) so I feel pretty useless. I've clearly got a case of the January blues.

On the other hand, I'm chuffed about the New Look geek messenger bag a friend got me for Christmas. I've been wearing it everyday since then. I'm really into messenger bags at the moment:

I fell in love with these Alibi Ankle boots from Topshop when I was doing some pre-Christmas shopping with my mum, so the next day she went back and got them for me.

I love heels although I'm terrible at walking in them, but these boots are surprisingly easy to walk in as they are platform (and kind of remind me of the 60's) and go with everything in my wardrobe!

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This week I've been delving into some of my favourite songs from a few years back. Running Up That Hill by Placebo was released in 2003. I couldn't get enough of it then and it brings back so many memories :-) I love this live version they did in Reading in 2006:

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Posts I'm loving this week:

* Mariannan looks back at her outfits of 2011. I really can't pick my favourite. They are all amazing.

* Cristina from Opinionated Little Finger shows us how much of a beautiful holo green Nubar Reclaim is. I can't believe I've had it in my untrieds stash for over 3 months!!

* Only Sammy would come up with such a great idea of recreating guitar hero on her nails! Amazing!

* Jamie from The Fancy Teacup shows us how to rock the cutest ever polka dot outfit.

* Robin Moses turns a face into a puzzle with her nail art. Great idea and sense of humour :-)

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Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 4

Happy New Year everyone!!! The holidays are nearly over :-(... lets hope this year is better than the last.

This week has been a very, very, very lazy week. I'm not used to just sitting around, not actually having anything to do. When I'm at home I always have something to do, even if I'm not working!

There was lots of sitting around the fireplace and reading. Sef loves to sit right in front of the fireplace:

Going down to the stables...This is Socks, my mother in law's horse. He is 6 years old:

Drinking copious amounts of coffee and baking chocolate chip cookies:

Visiting mythological sites and local churches:

And playing with Lilly.... She is an adorable white ragamuffin (we think) that my mother-in-law found near the stables. She was being tormented by a group of young kids and we think she may be pregnant. We took her in a few days ago but she's still very weary of the other cats and dogs. She is so sweet, I wish I could take her home with me. Eggbert and Lebowski would love her!



Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 3

Firstly I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I hope Santa brings you everything you've asked for :-)

It's an early weekly synopsis as hopefully tomorrow we will be unwrapping pressies and stuffing ourselves all day! We came to Greece for the holidays this year, so my husband could spend some time with his family as well! I have my laptop with me of course! I can't live without my laptop, such a loser!

Anyway, this week I bought myself a fedora hat! Probably a bit pointless now that I have short hair but they look so trendy and mysterious, as do trilbies! I think they make a boring outfit look cool! Victoria Beckham got away with a hat and short hair so I'll try to as well!

Speaking of hair... as I mentioned in this post a couple of weeks ago, I got my hair cut again on Thursday. My haircuts get a little crazier each time and as I have to get it cut every 6 weeks, I'm constantly changing styles.
I love having short hair but I have to say I miss long hair sometimes. This is how my hair was earlier this year before I cut it:

And here is a pic from Thursday just after I left the hairdressers. I shaved all around the sides and back (No 4) and left a floppy top/ fringe:

I also got December's Glossybox this week but didn't really post about it because in all honesty, I got bored of doing those posts. There is no point me telling you what's in the glossy box when there are hundreds of blogs out there that do it better than me. Instead, I'll just tell you about the products that really stood out or "spoke" to me. In December's box, it was the Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle polish (of course!) and a little sachet of Lavender polish remover. The colour is so pretty and season appropriate, hopefully I will have time to try it during the holidays!

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 2

This week I've been totally obsessed with tights. Yes, that's right...tights! I'm usually a trousers person but have recently bought 2 skirts and a pair of shorts. Usually I would just wear black opaque tights but I'm now in love with patterns (childish, I know!). Here are a few of the ones I've been loving this week:

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Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Moss shade #02 - Bright Fuschia

This is a bright pink /fuschia lipstick. I don't have anything else this bright (yet!). When I had long hair, for some reason I couldn't get away with bold lip colours, it didn't suit me. Now I'm really into them! Excuse the bare face but if I wear bright lipsticks with lots of other make-up, I end up looking like a clown.

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Blue leather driving gloves! Again. I was meant to be Christmas shopping for others but I diverged and bought these for myself! I used to have black ones a while ago but lost them. These don't keep you warm much but I think they look really cool and as I wear a lot of black as it it, I decided to go for a bit of colour:

Lastly, I received an e-mail from Lisa Mueller from ASK Cosmetics as I know some of you have as well, asking if I and my followers would like to enter their competition to win their entire line of products worth $250.00 CAD. Click here to enter. Open until 22nd Dec '11. The company says it "specialises in healthy, safe products that put back what nature intended to be there in the first place".You can visit Lisa's blog here.

Thanks for reading :-)

Weekly Synopsis - Chapter 1

I've finally decided to do a weekly sum/ round-up post. Although many other bloggers do them, I've never really felt the need to write these as I would usually document all my week's "happenings" throughout my nail polish/ nail art posts, as and when. However, I've realised a weekly round-up would be a better place to document everything I'm obsessing over throughout the week, from make-up to clothes, to jewellery, TV series, to music, books and well...just everything really. Don't be surprised by anything your read in my weekly "Chapters".

I'll also be posting links to other blogs/ posts which I've been loving throughout the week of course :-)

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Up until this past week, we've had a mild autumn/ winter in the UK. However, in the past few days the weather has turned and we were hit with some low temperatures. Well, at least for me... I can't deal with cold very well. Here are the winter "cozies" I've been loving this week:

Thick wool lined snowflake socks which I got in Primark for £3 and Spiced Apple & Alpine Glistening Snow winter candles:

Another winter essential I've been obsessing over this week - my Earmuffs. A lot of people think these are very child-like but I can't leave the house without them in the morning. None of the above matter if you don't have a proper brew waiting for you. I can't live without my trusty Yorkshire Tea, extra strong, very milky. However, this week I've also been loving Earl Grey Jasmine infused.

Even Eggbert and Lebowski have been cosying up on the sofa to keep warm :-)

If you live in the UK, you would have probably seen the following youtube video on the news. The crew of the Royal Navy assault ship HMS Ocean did an amazing job miming to Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas, after finding out they would return home after 7 months at sea. She was really delighted and even tweeted about it.

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Posts I've been loving this week:

- Check out Kayla Shevonne's snowflake tutorial

- Lily Melrose shows us how to wear an amazing Missguided lace dress

- Another amazing Xmas mani from Sammy. I love how she drew the body of the snowman on the thumb and the head of the ring finger!

- I thought this pink Merry Xmas mani Cristina did for Pink Weds was really cool.