get excited!: essie "resort" summer 2013 collection

(From left to right: Under Where?, Come Here!, First Timer, In the Cab-ana) 

It seems like all I do is get excited about nail varnish collections coming out. Seeing as that is no issue with  me, without further ado- let's talk Essie.

Essie's collections are always something that I see and think "I most definitely do not need any of those", then end up buying two. At least. This collection is called the Resort collection, and my my my, is it not a Summer-themed corker!

So the names aren't too Summery. In fact, i can see pretty much no relation between the names and the "Resort" title of the collection, but regardless of the obscure naming, these colours have got me all excited. Under Where looks almost unfairly similar to Barry M's Berry Ice Cream, so i'd suggest saving yourself £5  if you're really dying for this muted lilac / pink colour by buying the Barry M offering.
Under Where? will almost definitely be joining my nail varnish collection. It's a neon coral with a glossy finish (as all these polishes apparently do). It's pretty much Summer in a bottle.
First Timer reminds me of Where's My Chauffeur? from the Winter collection, which i already own, so this is a no-no for me. Nonetheless, it's a pretty turquoise green, seemingly a lot more neon than the aforementioned Where's My Chauffeur?
Lastly is the one which I need. In the Cab-ana is a neon blue, the kind of blue you would imagine a paradise sea to be. I'm infatuated. And blue nail varnish is practically my kryptonite. I leave entire collections of pretty glitters or the latest in nail polish gimmicks- but show me an aquamarine or a pastel cornflower blue and i'm waving my money in the air shouting "ME NEXT! ME!"

Well, not quite. But you get the gist.

Essie polishes are typically priced at £7.99 each.

What do you think of the collection? Anything you'll be picking up?

basic, healthy lunch - bruschetta inspired

I'm a foodie. I love cooking and eating my creations, but i'm also a little impatient. Which is why i've decided to give you gorgeous people a quick, easy recipe (inspired by italian food, especially bruschetta) that will leave you (hopefully) satisfied and full.

All the ingredients i've used are relatively easy to find, and this healthy little lunch can be whipped up in literally 5 minutes. Interested? Read on...!

You will need:
spelt flour bread (read about the benefits of spelt bread here)
pesto / ingredients to make pesto (see below)
parma ham
parmesan flakes

Pesto ingredients:
Olive oil
Chilli flakes
Fresh basil leaves
parmesan
tomato purée
salt
plain cashew nuts (optional)

i. Cut a slice of spelt bread of medium thickness. Either grill or toast it and leave it to cool. 

ii. Tear two slices of parma ham into rough strips, fold them a little and put them on a plate. Put these in the microwave for 10-15 seconds (i'll explain in a bit). 

iii. Spread the pesto onto the slice of bread (the lesser toasted side, if there is one).Then add of the odd-looking wrinkled slices of parma ham. Sprinkle on the parmesan flakes and add a sprinkle of pepper for authentic italian taste.

(you can use shop bought pesto if you like, but my family's homemade pesto recipe is so simple but absolutely tasty!)

For pesto: 

i. Take the plain cashews and put them in a hot, shallow saucepan. You are basically sautéing them to crisp them up. (this stage is optional, as are the cashews- i'm allergic so i leave them out). Keep them in the hot pan (add no oil) for a couple of minutes, until they are begin to brown, then take them off the heat and leave them to cool.

ii. take about 4 medium sized basil leaves and tear them into smaller strips. Put these in a bowl on their own. 

iii. Add a tiny amount of olive oil (about a teaspoon), then add  chilli flakes, the amount is totally down to your personal taste (i normally give the jar a couple of shakes). Then, add parmesan flakes, half a teaspoon of tomato purée and the cashews. 

iv. Mix the ingredients together, continuing to tear up the basil leaves as you mix (they should be no bigger than the nail of your middle finger (assuming your nails aren't fake or gigantic, like this intriguing human being). 

v. Add a few pinches of salt and give another mix. Your rustic, homemade pesto is done!

You can add fresh chopped tomatoes if you want- i leave them out because i don't really like them! #fussyeater

Personally, i love italian food. This recipe is nothing groundbreaking, but it's something i make when i need a quick, healthy but tasty lunch or snack. 

FOTD #1 / review: nars velvet matte lip pencil in dragon girl

Face: Laura Mercier Primer, Laura Mercier Oil free Tinted Moisturiser in Blush, Vichy Dermablend Foundation stick in Opal, Rimmel Stay Matte powder is Peach Glow, Benefit Hoola Bronzer, Chanel Tan de Soleil, Mac Fleur Power Blush.

Eyes/ Brows: Mac Luna base, Bobbi Brown Sand eyeshadow pot, Clinique Strawberry Fudge eyeshadow duo, L'Oreal Voluminise mascara, Rimmel eyebrow pencil in brown

Lips: Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil in Dragon Girl, Lip pencil in Russian Matt (no brand), Korres Lip butter in Guava

The sun has decided to appear this morning, and my mood was lifted so much that i felt the only lip option to go for was something bright. And my, is this one a corker!
The Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil in Dragon Girl is described as a "vivid siren red", which is bang on. It's a bright pink toned red (almost a raspberry colour) that, once you've figured out how to master application, looks divine.

The pencil is quite difficult to get used to, because it's a nice even consistency, but it smudges like a biatch. I can not wear with this without a lip liner (I used a fuschia pink to line my lips this morning, it's one of those 'brandless' ones with only a name - Russian Matt if you were wondering (it's dutch)) as otherwise it will be all over my chin within about 10 minutes of eating / drinking anything.

The pencil is impressively pigmented, and lasts for about 3 hours before i even think of reapplying. This is because, obviously, it's not a stain, and it sits on the lips as opposed to feeling completely natural. It's a nice velvet-y texture, but does rub off quite easily if you're not being careful whilst eating or drinking. One more thing: applying this on dry lips could be disastrous looking- it's just one of those things.

Would I recommend this? Yes and no. It's a gorgeous colour and is consistent with the luxury branding of Nars, but it's expensive when you could probably find a dupe for a colour and texture on the high street for less.

The pencil is £17.50 and can be bought from any Nars concessions, or online.

wishlist #1

i.   i love this Céline paris t shirt- and the thousands of 'unofficial' ones that are way cheaper and of which one will probably find it's way into my online basket by the end of April. I can imagine pairing this with dark skinny jeans (note to self: buy dark skinny jeans) with a statement necklace for a really casual but elegant outfit. 

ii. this scent shall be mine. It genuinely has to be! It's the Rituals no. 7 perfume which is white patchouli & cedarwood. I sprayed it earlier and since then it hasn't left my mind! I would otherwise go for Viktor & Rolf's Flowerbomb, but everyone seems to own it.

iii. i've had my eye on this OPI nail varnish ever since it came out with the Vintage Minnie Collection. It's called "Nothin' Mousie about It", and despite reading a few bum reviews on it, i still keep mentally pairing it with the nail varnishes i have at the moment. #bloggerproblems 

iv. This river island necklace has got me all excited! I feel like River Island slips off the radar sometimes with it's jewellery as everyone goes straight for Topshop jewellery- but i feel like this necklace especially shakes off any ounce of reasoning someone might have for beelining to Topshop. This is simple but bold, like any casual statement necklace should aspire to be (in my humble opinion), and for £8 you can't really go wrong!

v. These arrow drop earrings, also from River Island, are just what i've been looking for. Something interesting but delicate to hang from my earlobes when my clothes are pretty simple and are relying on accessories to give some je ne sais quois. Again, £5 ain't too shabby!

vi. can you really blame a girl for the presence of a MAC lipstick on her wishlist? Heck, i could make an entirely new wishlist dedicated to MAC lipsticks. I fall in and out with my love of MAC, one minute convinced other brands are holding hidden gems for me to discover, the next realising the range of MAC lipsticks could keep me forever entertained. Anyway, this particular one is "Snob", a wonderful snobbishly named "light neutral pink" which i want to just rub on my lips (neatly) already. Either "Snob" or Impassioned, which i can only describe as purrrrrrty. 

get excited!: opi minnie mouse summer 2013 collection

From left to right: Chic from Ears to Tail, A Definite Mouse-t Have, Minnie Style, Innie Minnie Mighty Bow, Magazine Cover Mouse.

Ok confession time- I squealed a little when i saw this.
Only this morning was i gushing about how much i needed the "Nothin Mousie About it" polish (in my upcoming wish list post), so when i got a little email giving me a heads up about this, some form of excited but strangled noise escaped my lips.
These polishes don't all look like my cup of chai (i don't really drink normal tea y'see ;) ), but they all look achingly pretty. I tend to steer clear of pink nail polishes, dismissing them as cliche or overdone, sitting happily surrounded by a sea of varying degrees of blue nail varnish. But these may win me over. At first sight, A Definite Mouse-t Have caught my eye. This looks like the perfect flamingo meets coral pink and needs to make an appearance on my nails. Soon.
The other colour is was excited for is Magazine Cover Mouse, which in the stock photo looks like a rather icky tomato red colour, but when swatched (here) looks completely and utterly gorgeous. I haven't tried any of the sand effect polishes, so this may the one to try!
Minnie Style looked amazing in the bottle, but looks a bit mediocre when swatched (again, here) which is a little disappointing. Innie Minnie Mighty Bow looks pretty, but nothing we haven't seen before (raspberry red with fuschia glitter). I may pick it up anyway, because the closest thing i have is Essie's A-List which doesn't have the fuschia glitter. Chic from Ears to Tail looks like a very pretty bubblegum pink, but just doesn't scream "BUY ME!" to me. A very girly colour no doubt, but more of a take-it-or-leave-it shade for me personally. That said, I'm awful for saying i don't want things, then buying them anyway.

The collection isn't due to be released for a few months, but you can pre-order it in a few places*.

What do you think of the collection? Anything you need to buy when it comes out?

*Psst! I may place a cheeky pre-order  with this website. It's a US site, but each polish is $9.99, and if you pre-order all 5, you get a whopping 25% off with the discount code "buy5get25%off". So, with P&P, you get the whole collection (full size bottles and everything) for $47.75. Which is about £33. Which comes to £6.60 per bottle. Which is cheaper than Essie. And almost 50% than what we pay for OPI polishes in the UK. EEEK! Full collection. £33. E n o u g h said.

**In fact, i may just use this whole collection as the prize for the giveaway i'm thinking of having. Yay or neigh?

train tracks (the braces post)

Ahoy there my darlings!

This post isn't really beauty related, but it's something I feel is worthy of being a post topic. From late 2009 - early this year (2013), I had braces on my upper and lower teeth, and when looking for before / after information, I only really found dental websites which were a bit too complex for my then 14 year old mind to understand. 

Braces differ from person to person, as we all have a different starting point (ie what position our teeth are in before they begin to get moved by the brace), and because of the outwardness of my two front teeth, I had mine on for what seemed like forever. Depending on whether or not you go private with your care definitely alters the time it takes from having your initial appointment to getting the actual brace fitted. Private (which costs typically around £3000 for braces) should take up to 6 weeks, getting braces on the NHS (which requires the braces to be more than just to make your teeth prettier) would take up to 6 months. 

First getting the brace on aches, and you have to be uber careful for the first couple of days when eating. You needn't be confined to soups and ice cream as so many people are told, just try to steer clear of gnawing on anything stupidly solid (like toffee...just, please dont!). After a few days, the aching should die down and should only reappear just after you've had your next appointment and had the wires tightened / changed. Don't be afraid to ask your dentist about your braces whilst they're on- asking how long they'll be on for or why they're putting in new wires is absolutely fine- he or she should be more than happy to explain it! (I spent months being curious but never asked!)

In all honesty, after a while, I completely forgot that i even had braces. Obviously cleaning your teeth is important (my dentist used to say that she'd once had to take off a boy's braces because of the poor condition his teeth were in...ew!), and ensuring that you don't get food stuck in them is also somewhat vital. Having a friend handy (or a compact mirror) when you've just finished eating is invaluable, as there were too many occasions where I'd completely forget i'd just eaten salad and would go about my day with a piece of lettuce comfortably wrapped around the top wire. 

Other than those little gems of advice, the only other thing i can really say is to just let the treatment do it's thing. Attend your appointments, look after your teeth and be patient. Once your braces are off, they're off for good, so taking them off too early could mean your teeth just move straight back to where they used to be (not good when you've spent 2+ years training them to be straight). Wear your retainer once they're off, and take an ipod with you to appointments. Hearing dentistry tools is 90% of the fear! 

I used to be the biggest wuss when it came to dentists, and would get absolutely terrified just walking into the reception area- but I'm insanely happy with my teeth now and am reminded of it every time i smile!

*I am in no way a professional, I am speaking from my own experiences with braces.

springspiration #1

(from center, going clockwise: Miss Selfridge playsuit. Miss Selfridge jumper, Clarks boots via Office, grey satchel from New Look, frilly socks from Primark, pale surfer bracelet via ebay)

Hello m'lovelies!

I don't know what it is, but it seems the high street haven't jumped on the whole "pastel sundresses for spring" trend, and I exhausted all options I could, trying to find the perfect tea dress to compliment these stunning boots from Office. I like the sunny, carefree feel of the outfit idea that I've put together, and I'm really tempted to order the grey satchel (which is a steal at £20!).

Personally, i'd a statement necklace, like this one from topshop, or a hat or headscarf- there are a tonne of options. 

What other accessories would you pair with this look?