New start?

I am back and determined to blog more but as you can probably see gremlins have hit and things are not quite as they should be!

If anyone has any advice on how to solve this please let me know!

I'm half considering using this as an opportunity to move my blog to wordpress or perhaps some other similar site so if you can advise on that either that would be great!

Tuesday Tip

For Lush lovers:

If you find that Ocean salt is too harsh and drying for your face try using it with a layer of either Ultrabalm or Ultra Bland under it to protect your skin while still letting you feel the benefits!!

Apology and Bath Bomb review

Hi guys!

Due to a laptop malfunction I'm afraid I haven't been around! Apologies!!

Since I have been missing I have discovered a new love of baths!! It's as much of a shock to me as it is to you!!

My favourite bath bomb is of course from Lush and it is the Dragons Egg bath bomb! It's one of the new 'foamy' bath bombs that has a small amount of bubble bar included in it... I still tend to pair all my bath bombs with bubble bars however!

This bath bomb/ballistic turns the water almost into a liquid gold and the smell is a lovely subtle fragrance that leaves me nicely relaxed!!

The only down part is that there are rice paper 'petals' that are released as the bomb fizzes away and they kind of creep me out in the bath!! It's a personal thing though!

You can see the pink and orange rice petals being revealed as the outer layer dissolves...

Look at the beautiful orange colour that it turns the bath water

A close up of the ballistic as it fizzes away

This is the gold lustre that is in the centre. It creates a beautiful 'shimmer' in the water! :)

The outer shell of the 'egg' as it dissolves...

Urban Decay Update 18/09/2010

Palettes:
Sustainable

Ammo

Deluxe

Preen

Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows

Naked

Book of Shadows Vol 3

Black


Single shadows:

Yeyo (matt)

Vapor

Sin

Baked

S&M

Green Goddess

Goddess

Mary Jane


Eyeliner:

Dime

Hi-Fi 24/7 Set
- containing Zero, Mildew, Flipside, and 1999 24/7 Glide On Eye pencils (travel sized) and Distortion Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner.

24/7 Super Stash
- containing 9 mini sized 24/7 eyeliners in Zero, Stash, Corrupt, Eldorado, Graffiti, Binge, Ransom, Rockstar and Oil Slick.

Boots €7.50 No.7/Ruby & Millie vouchers August/September 2010

Just wanted to let you all know that Boots are doing their €7.50 off vouchers for No.7/Ruby & Millie if you spend over €7.50 on anything in store at the moment. I had to pick up moisturiser and a few other pieces today so I divided the purchase into two lots and got two vouchers which then went on two No. 7 makeup brushes. I don't need them at the moment but it's no harm to have FREE good quality makeup brushes stored away for in future!

Decanting Lush (hair products)

Since I have converted to using all Lush products on my hair it obviously makes sense that I buy the large bottles of products in order to save money. An example being that the 250ml Rehab shampoo costs €14.40... And the 500ml bottle costs €23.40. Thats a saving of €5.40 which I consider to be quite a good amount. (For example in Lush that would buy me a small sized 9 to 5 cleanser, or a good chunk of many of the soaps, or any of the bath ballistics, bath melts, or most of the bubble bars... You get the picture!) There are similar savings to be made when it comes to Coolaulin (240ml: €10.95 490ml: €18.15 Saving: €3.75) and American Cream (250ml: €11.95 500ml: €19.85 Saving: €4.05) conditioners too.

The problem here is that the bottles are MASSIVE! They're also known for not being the sturdiest so one fall in the shower could see you losing all your savings down the drain very quickly! Here is where I came up with the idea of keeping the bottles from the first purchase of the item (because no one is going to buy a 500ml bottle straight off without trying it first to see it works!) and decanting the larger bottles of product into them. In my case my smaller bottle was the medium sized one as the 100ml bottles wouldn't go too far in my thick head of hair!!

Empty 240g bottle and full 490g bottle of Coolaulin

Step 1: Make sure your smaller bottle is completely clean and dried out. I'm a bit paranoid that old product will contaminate the newer product!

Smaller bottle partially filled with product decanted from larger bottle.

Step 2: Fill the smaller bottle 1/2 or 2/3 way full. In the case of Rehab I find this really helps as it gives some space to shake up the product to remix it when it separates.

Rehab, American Cream and Coolaulin - all decanted to smaller bottles from the larger one and ready for use!

Step 3: Enjoy your Lush product in a manageable size... And don't forget to treat yourself with the savings!! :)

Awesome pressie! :)

I have an awesome sister!! :) Recently Little Friday went on a trip to Germany and came back with a really unexpected AWESOME present for me!! An Alice In Wonderland Urban Decay book of shadows! You know the one NO ONE has been able to get and EVERYONE has been raving about?? Well yeah, THAT one!! Don't you wish she was your sister?? :P









Urban Decay have outdone themselves this time with the packaging. The palette itself has space for the primer potion to fit, rather than it just being contained in the box as with many of the other palettes.

The products themselves are contained in a pull-out drawer but the piece de resistence is the fact that the lid of the palette opens to display a beautiful popup scene from Alice in Wonderland. Even though this was released to coincide with the Tim Burton release it contains a more traditional Alice in Wonderland scene.























The colours in this palette have all been given names relevant to the story... Even though there aren't any new colours!

• Underland (Flash) is a bright, cool-toned medium purple with an icy lilac shimmer. It’s soft, smooth, and richly pigmented.
• Alice (Painkiller) is a bright aqua-blue with an icy sheen. Like Underland, it’s smooth, silky soft, and has lots of pigment to it.
• Oraculum (Baked) is a warmed-up copper with a softer copper sheen. Smooth, soft, well-pigmented.
• Queen (Last Call) is a reddened eggplant with a burgundy edge. It has a frost-like sheen, but it is smooth and pigmented.
• Chessur (Chopper) is a cooler-toned, not nearly as bright, copper shade. It has the same soft texture as the majority of Urban Decay’s shadows, but it has silverish glitter particles that may contribute to some fall out in practice.
• White Rabbit (Polyester Bride) is a gently yellowed white (though still, very white) with a white-gold sheen. Like Chessur, it also has some glitter to it. (I'm not a big fan of the fall out from some of the glitter shadows!)
• Wonderland (Maui Wowie) is a tarnished gold, maybe an antique gold, but not quite so dark. It has a golden bronze sheen to it. It’s pigmented and smooth, but it also has a few glitter particles (though this is one of the more manageable glitter-based shades in the bunch).
• Curiouser (Grifter) is a lightened fuchsia-purple with icy purple sheen. It also has silverish glitter particles in it, which may lead to fall out. This is one of the lesser pigmented shades, though it still has decent color pay off.
• Muchness (X) is a peachy-melon with a gold sheen. It almost has a little mauve to it, in certain lighting. This has a frosty finish, but it doesn’t have the glitter, so it’s smooth and easier to work with. I've wanted this one for ages!!
• Mushroom (Mushroom) is a taupe brown with kind of a silvery sheen and shimmer.
• Midnight Tea Party (Midnight Cowboy Rides Again) is a flushed champagne with silver/gold glitter particles. This is quite possibly my least favorite Urban Decay eyeshadow because the glitter fall out is pretty insane. It’s a shame, because the color itself is pretty.  
• Vorapal (S&M) is a neutral, slightly cooled down silver with a brighter silver sheen. Smooth and pigmented. Love this colour and had actually treated myself to it as I wear quite a bit of grey/silver.
• Absolem (Homegrown) is a grassy green with a golden shimmered sheen. Very pigmented and true-to-color.
• Drink Me, Eat Me (Sin) is a pinked champagne with a bright, frosty sheen. It’s like a pinker version of Midnight Tea Party–and sans all the glittery fall out. Love this!!!
• Mad Hatter (Twice Baked) is a lightly glittered dark brown with warm undertones.Personally I am a fan of the Baked/Half baked/Twice baked browns.
• Jabberwocky (Oil Slick) is a dark black base with icy blue and silver glitter. While not as prone to fall out as Midnight Tea Party, it’s still one of the glittery shades that may lead to some fall out while applying it.

The colours are beautifully vivid as always and there is a great variety of shimmer and glitter shadows. This is the type of palette that is ideal to bring away with you as it contains a mix of colours and textures that are suited to day or night wear. It contains the fabulous Sin eyeshadow which I personally find great as a neutral day colour.








In addition to the SIXTEEN eyeshadows you also get two eyeliners in Zero (black) and Flipside (turquoise).







These eyeliners last amazingly well. After about a minutes drying time they are smudge proof and the colours are great. I highly recommend them.

The final item in this set is a miniature primer potion for eyeshadow. This is always highly recommended in beauty blogs and really makes the colours 'pop' and gives them much extended staying power.








All in all I am thrilled with this palette. It is so versatile and just a beautiful piece. Thanks sis!! :)

I'm back!! 26/08/2010

Unfortunately due to the move I haven't been doing anything on this blog recently. The good new, however, is that I have some posts lined up to do so I have no excuse not to get back into it!!

Did ye miss me? ;)

Lush haul 29/07/2010

I get the keys to my new place tomorrow and have until Saturday evening to move out of where I live now... So of course it's logical that I spent my evening at a party in my local Lush!!





Here is what I bought: American Cream conditioner, You Snap the Whip body butter, It Started With A Kiss lip tint (new), Aqua Marina and Angels on Bare Skin cleansers, BB Seaweed face mask and a small Volcano tub (which is great if you remember my previous rant!).










And as I spent (well) over €25 I got a free goody bag!!






Basically the contents of a Honey Farm gift set!

Hairdressers

Okay, bit of a random post but thanks to the wonder that is the iPhone and the blogpress app I am currently blogging from the chair in the hairdressers... Anything to avoid OK/Hello or similar mags!

I have a confession to make. I *hate* going to the hairdressers and getting my hair done! The thoughts of it makes me want to cry (especially on days like today when I've had no sleep and a tough day in work!) and I genuinely don't understand what people enjoy about it! I hate all the pulling at my hair and by the end I feel like all they are doing is causing a combined burning/stabbing sensation on my scalp! Add that to the water in my ears and dye all over my hairline (and elsewhere) and I am just not a happy camper!

(Sidenote: the hairdresser by fluke just managed to lodge the end of her comb in the back of my earring and almost pulled it out! Maybe I just have bad luck??)

Unfortunately due to genetics I had to start dying my hair at a young age. It's not pleasant to be very obviously going grey at 17! Prior to that I had never dyed my hair having had notions that I was going to be one of these people who aged gracefully and embraced my fading colour... I just hadn't expected to be faced with embracing it quite so soon! I have really thick hair that grows at an exponential rate as if to spite me so monthly I am faced with the arduous trip to the hairdressers for an average of three hours. Many's the hairdresser who has asked "what would you like me to do with it today?" has been greeted with the response "Just shave it all off" and yet it's still there! They all laugh the 'joke' off and I face the reality that Sinead O'Connor is the only Irishwoman who can pull that look off! Long hair suits me apparently (and I do love when the offending roots are hidden and it's straightened) so for now I persevere! Just for now though!!

So what about you? Do you enjoy it? Do you dread it? Is there something else that you are supposed to enjoy/dread that you go against the norm on when it comes to beauty?

Review: Rimmel Fruities

(Excuse the dodgy cuticles! Hadn't planned to do my nails but it just sort of happened! )

I popped into Boots today as I got paid and fancied treating myself. I've been wanting a pale yellow nail varnish for ages so that was the plan... And that's what I got - but with a twist!! It's scented!! How cute is that?? It's the Rimmel Fruities lasting finish in shade 058 Lemon Drop. I also picked up the pink (025 Strawberry Fizz) while I was at it.

The coverage is pretty good but I did 3 thin coats over a base just to be sure. Not so sure about the smell of the yellow one but the pink is nice enough. Smelling my nails non stop probably looks a bit weird though!

Glad I bought these for the novelty factor and the colour and coverage are good so I'm happy! :)

Sorry!

Sorry I've been missing guys! Between finishing up in my old job (which required more than a few 12+ hour days) and starting in my new job (which has seen my weekly commute go from 18 miles to over 300) I've just been too exhausted to blog when I have had spare time! Things are going to be hectic for about another three weeks as the plan is to move nearer to the new job so I started househunting today! All hints and tips gratefully appreciated as it will be my first time to enter into a year long lease and I am doing it all on my lonesome!

When I am moving I will be having a good look at my stash of blogworthy stuff so perhaps I will do some posts on what I have and some reviews of products! I *may* also manage to find the lead for my camera so I can finally upload some pics.

Perhaps ye can let me know what ye would like to see? Nails (my latest obsession), hair products, Lush, makeup... All suggestions welcome!

Glamour offers (July 2010)

Glamour have a great offer at the moment - free Benefit makeup!! The magazine costs €2.90 - €2.95 anywhere I've seen it and the makeup is full sized. I'm not sure of the exact price of the products in Ireland but on the website Bad Gal kohl pencil and Eye Bright pencil are £14. I can't find the It Stick on the website so maybe this has been discontinued?? :(

I managed to nab the ones with Bad Gal and the It Stick as I already own an Eye Bright that I got as a bonus when I ordered from the US website a while back...

What the website says: "This big, BAD, black eye pencil is a beauty addict's dream and a makeup artist's must-have. Dark, smoky, mysterious...being BAD never looked so good!

 What the website says: "Stroke this pink brightening pencil on the inner and outer corners of the eye to look instantly wide-awake. It's like a coffee break in a stick!"

As I said, this product appears to be off the website (both in the UK and US) at the moment so I am taking it that it is sold out... It's a concealer pencil and to me seems like a really handy product so if you like it, grab it fast!!

These are selling out so quickly you won't believe it so grab them now if you can!! I know I had to try a good few shops to get the ones I wanted and I've been looking since the 8th when it was realeased!! Here's hoping they get more in!!

Hints for Nails

Here are some hints I have picked up from other blogs in my quest to get better at nails and hopefully being able to do some 'Nails of the Day' (NOTD) posts down the line!

Start Clean!
Use nail polish remover to clean any remaining oils, dirt or even hand lotion from the surface of your nails before polishing. Even tiny amounts that you cannot see will cause the polish to not stick and potentially ruin the final result. Nail varnish remover wipes are great for this and if you aren't actually removing existing polish one wipe should do all your nails! I also use a nail varnish wipe on the top of an orange stick to help clean under my nails and feel it makes them even cleaner!

Precise Polishing
It takes some practice, but try placing the brush on your nail just ahead of the cuticle and gently press down on it, pushing it toward your cuticle line, just stopping short of touching it with polish. Then draw the brush toward the end of your nail, bending the brush over the nail end a little. This will apparently allow you to get a nice clean line of polish along your cuticle and drastically reduce the amount of cleanup needed - but I think I need a bit more practice!

Polish Cleanup
As you paint your nails, you can use the edge of your fingernail (if you have any length to them) to clean up around the very edge of your nail while the polish is still wet. Simply press gently on the cuticle and wipe along the cuticle line, using a sweeping motion. Keep a pad moistened with removed handy so you can keep your 'cleaning' nail clean or you will just spread it around.

Another method that apparently works even better is to use the beveled end of an orange stick moistened in remover to clean up little 'oops' spots. Wipe the stick tip on a nail varnish wipe (or paper towel or cotton pad moist with remover) to keep it clean.

A third method I have seen suggested is to get a lip balm stick and use this to essentially 'line' around the nail to ensure that any stray varnish can't stick to the surrounding skin.

Nail Surface Prep
Use a four-way buffer to remove ridges and smooth the surface of your nails. It is not necessary to go for high shine if you are going to use polish anyway. In fact, the slightly roughened surface of your nails will adhere to polish better, making your manicure or pedicure last longer. Be careful not to dig too much into the nail surface with the buffer or ridges will result when the nail grows out.

Use A Good Basecoat
It's really tough to get a good, consistently smooth finish on your nails if you don't use a ridge-filling basecoat under your color. A few of you are lucky enough to have very smooth nails, but most of us don't, so the basecoat tends to smooth out imperfections, and it gives the polish something to stick to, not to mention that it protects your nails from staining. This is particularly important with darker or more vivid colours as nails can be left stained and it takes forever to get them back to their old selves!

Use Good Lighting
It' difficult to good a good job of polishing if you can't see what you are doing well. Use a good light when you do your nails. If you have good lighting you will be able to see the spots where you missed and be able to fix them right away. (Unlike when I do my nails in bed at night and then the next day see all the streaks when it's too late to fix them! :( )

Roll Your Polishes - Don't Shake!
Shaking a bottle of polish fills it with little bubbles that take quite a while to settle out. Bubbles will result a in less than perfect finish. Instead, roll the bottle between your palms for 30 seconds or so before you use it to mix up the ingredients and give the polish more consistency. In addition to this, store your bottles of polish standing up. This helps keep the tops clean and also reduces leakage and sticking of the cover.

Use A Good Topcoat
Glossy or matte, a topcoat will seal the polish and protect it from chipping and wear. Clear topcoat does not have pigment it in, and so it is stronger than colored polish, and it lasts longer. Many topcoats also speed up drying time, so another great advantage. In the case of a good top coat you will find that it magnifies the color, so your nails will look like they are wet, even when dry. It gives a much sleeker/classier look in my opinion!

Take Your Time
A good result takes time and there is no way to rush it. Wait 5 - 10 minutes between coats so they can set before the next coat, or adding polish will simply pull and partially remove the first coat when you apply it. I find that doing a few thin coats is best as it takes longer for a thicker coat to dry. Even if applying it thicker does mean you need to do less coats overall, does it really matter when it's still using the same amount of varnish??

An obvious hint is that allowing the coats to dry will also speed up the curing time - the point where the polish no longer is susceptible to smudging. Multiple coats of relatively wet polish will stay soft for hours, exposing your mani or pedi to damage well after you thought they were dry and hard. Much as I like to paint my nails, it's no fun having to do a polish job over again. Doing it once is fun, doing it twice is too much like hard work!!


Have you any other hints that you think should be added to this??

Thank You! :)

I know it's only a little milestone but I've decided to celebrate it none the less!! I now have FIVE followers!! And two of those are people I don't know which makes it an even bigger deal!! :P


I just want to say thanks a million to those who read my ramblings! I'm not doing this for anyone but myself but it's a great feeling to think that I am not just wasting valuable interweb space and that someone actually reads it and hopefully enjoys it. It means a lot that I can be having a conversation with my nearest and dearest and be telling them of some new Lush purchase or event and then to discover that they have read it on my blog already! It shows that some of you aren't subscribed but are still checking in so five is really an arbitrary number!!

So, thanks a million and if you have any constructive criticism or any requests for future posts to make please feel free!!

Review: Kings of Neon (Nails Inc)

My latest addiction is nail polish and I have purchased a number of new ones in the last few weeks. This included a frantic search for the Kings of Neon set by Nails In which contains six limited edition neon colours, a Soho Silk base coat and a Caviar top coat.

This was available to purchase in BT2 in Dundrum as they have a full Nails Inc Nail Bar there and I managed to pick it up the day I went to see Sex and the City 2 - which seemed very fitting!! In Ireland the set retails at €35... A rip off when you consider that it is only £22 in the UK (converts to about €26.35 these days). Unfortunately it didn't seem to be possible to order it online and get it shipped here so unless I wanted to wait for a trip up North those were the prices I had to pay! :(

The colours in this set are: (L-R:) Orchid Street (purple), Sun Street (yellow), Orange Street (orange), Lime Street (green), Paradise Walk (pink), Phoenix Street (blue) and Caviar top coat and Soho Silk base coat. There are some discrepancies in relation to the actual size of the bottles with some sources saying that the bottles are 4ml and others (like the box!) saying they are 4.5ml.

The colours are every bit as vibrant as they look but a little confusing as some have a lovely shine finish to them and others are much more matt. The top coat gives a fabulous shine though and while I'm not sure I would agree with it's claim to be dry in 45 seconds it certainly is fairly quick to dry in comparison to others!

One of the days I did a 'skittle' effect on my nails with a different colour on each nail (I excluded the purple) which did catch people's attention. Unfortunately the only pic I got of it was using my Blackberry in my bedroom which has very poor lighting :(

This was two coats of the base coat, 2-3 coats of the colour (some needed more than others) and then 2 coats of top coat. It lasted really well and in the end I took it off because I wanted to try another colour. The other colour actually chipped off within a day though so I regretted not leaving this on!

Five Products I can't live without - Lush

I can't limit myself to 5 products I can't live without overall so am doing a Lush version of this tag that is going around beauty blogs at the moment. I will probably follow it up with a make-up version shortly - expect lots of Urban Decay in that one!! :)


1.) Comforter - I adore all things Comforter scented and have toyed with the idea of buying the bubble bar to have to sniff but so far resisted!! I have a 70ml decant of Comforter lotion that I am using sparingly in addition to the shower gel (which I hope to get more of soon for fear of ever running out!) and the solid perfume. It's a scent that I think I have mentioned elsewhere just reminds me of childhood and mugs of hot blackcurrant as I go to bed to cuddle up with a book. It really is a comforting scent to me!

2.) Flying Fox - Another scent that I have more than one product of but this one is more 'medicinal' for me as it really does seem to lift my mood as it states. It's quite an unusual smell and I do like it but not sure I would run out to buy more products in this scent - the shower gel and temple balm are enough for me!

3.) Vanillary perfume - I am not a massive fan of vanilla scents in general but I adore this perfume. What I find quite strange is that my friend who loves vanilla scents won't actually wear this perfume and uses it to scent things instead so it seems to be a bit of a role reversal!

4.) H'Suan Wen Hua - I have been dying my hair full time since I turned about 20 out of necessity... This has lead to some damage especially since I have now opted to have it highlighted too. I also have really thick hair so any damage needs to be carefully managed or I will lose control of my mane altogether! Previously I was using all Wella products but they were expensive and hard to get hold of once I changed hairdresser as they are only sold in Salons that use Wella dyes. About 3 months ago I decided I would give H'Suan Wen Hua a try to see if it made a difference to my hair and I was blown away by it! It's now a staple in my bathroom and I make sure I always have some to hand!

5.) Full of Grace serum bar - this has been a saviour to my skin and is another item I am keeping in constant supply as it has saved my skin and enabled me to wear foundation which was a rarity in the past!!


Argh!! Now that I have those 5 picked I realise how many Lush products I can't live without!! Runners up would include: Lemony Flutter, Buffy, all the emotibombs, Ocean Salt, UltraBland... and *so* much more!! :P

Good Karma

Yup, it's a gift set from Lush! But that's not really what this post is about!! :)

I was in Lush yesterday (again!) because I decided in work on Friday that I would buy a pressie for a colleague who was in a minor road accident this week so she had something nice on her desk when she gets back to work. As she is vegetarian (bordering on Vegan) I decided something from Lush would be a safe bet! After some research I opted for the Good Karma gift set!

I'd been in Lush on Thursday evening as they were having a party but had forgotten to bring my shopping list. When I went in yesterday to grab the gift set I also wanted to pick up some items I had forgotten: H'Suan Wen Hua and Jungle conditioner. So with the three items in the basket I had a quick potter around... Only to discover that Ultrabalm had FINALLY arrived instore!! (This is a Lush equivalent of Vaseline but uses no petroleum jelly and is all natural and has only 3 ingredients!!) Popped that into my basket and headed to the till... to discover the party was still going and I was entitled to a goody bag!!

The lovely Fergus (♥ him!) was serving me! He was very excited that I had bought Ultrabalm (and possibly that I had admired his guts for working in a towel as it was a themed party) and went off to rummage to get me an extra nice goody bag which was *so* nice of him. He slyly asked me what scents I liked/disliked and after a bit came back with a teeny tiny goody bag... containing Vanillary perfume and Sultana soap!! The perfume alone is worth €34.95 and is my favourite scent!! I was ecstactic!

Hence the title of the post! I wouldn't have gone to Lush if I hadn't wanted to do something nice for someone else... And if I hadn't I would still be waiting on my Ultrabalm and not have gotten such an amazing goody bag!! That's good karma for sure!! :)

Nails Inc offers (May 2010)

Recently InStyle Magazine had an offer where you got a free nail varnish. Despite having LOADS of nail varnish I had no 'nude' colour that I could put on and forget about no matter what the outfit so one of the three colours being offered by InStyle caught my eye and after much watching out I managed to track it down.

(From L-R: Mink, Beach and Candy)

I had never heard of the brand, Nails Inc, and to be honest figured it was some cheapo brand looking for publicity. How wrong could I be?? Well, InStyle retails for €5.21 and Nails Inc varnishes retail for €15.44 in Boots. Essentially this means that had I managed to buy all three colours I would still only be forking out the cost of one of these fabby nail varnishes!

Mink was my colour of choice and I am loving it. The varnish has a lovely shine to it and lasts really well in comparison to other brands I have used! InStyle Mink is “greige”, the colour of the season and perfect to go with the current nude fashion palette. Unfortunately these polishes were created specifically for the InStyle offer so when it's gone, it's gone!

Bearing that in mind, just imagine how happy I was when I stumbled across another Nails Inc offer! Diet Coke and Nails Inc are currently running an offer in Boots (which I believe is going on until June 30th but don't quote me!) where if you buy 2 500ml bottles of diet Coke (€1.40 each) you get one of 4 nail varnishes (subject to availability) which were custom made for this offer!

(L-R: London, Paris, New York, Milan)

The 'Diet Coke City Collection' is a collection of four colors inspired by the four fashion capitals of the world – London, Paris, New York and Milan. The nude tone is said to depict the cool fashion of Brits living in London, while the deep purple that represents Paris is made to represent a sunset over the Eiffel Tower. New York is the city that never sleeps and to put that tagline into color form, it’s vivid fuchsia and Milan is depicted in a fiery Italian red hue.

Originally I had just wanted to get the London polish but this was such a bargain (I actually do drink diet Coke) that I ended up getting all four. Surprisingly I am actually loving the New York hot pink shade (which my lovely friend referred to as 'homewrecker pink') so have that adorning my nails at present! I think this is a brilliant bargain so will possibly even pick up a few more should I be buying diet Coke in Boots over the next 6 weeks!

Not all beauty and glamour!

Unfortunately my life is not all glamour... Recently I had the lovely experience of a blocked shower drain meaning a shower consisted of running the water for 2 minutes, letting it drain for 5 - all for fear of flooding the place!

I think this was due to a previous tenant having broken the bit you pull out to keep the drain cleared which meant that I couldn't clear it out on a regular basis and my long hair and the residue from the various products I use gradually clogged it! Damn you Lush and your luscious bubbles!! :(

I tried everything I could think of (pouring hot water down it, using a plunger and so on) before I gave in and tried using chemicals... However, in the end the only thing that worked was Mr Muscle Sink and Drain Foamer.


You put this down the drain, the liquid from the two compartments mix in the process and it foams up and all you have to do is leave it to do its magic for two hours. I was sceptical at first but I have to admit, it worked a charm! I think I'll be keeping this in stock from now on! At only €4.33 from Tesco it certainly worked out much cheaper than getting a plumber in!!