Friday 14 October 2011

NOTD: Katy Perry Candyfornia Inspired Nails

Hey bloggers!


I'm going to see the wonderful Katy Perry in concert this weekend and as Katy has always been so imaginative with her nail art I thought that I should do something a bit special in honour of her show. I bought some water decals with Katy Perry on them from ebay, but I ordered them a bit last minute so they still aren't here. I had a message from the seller saying that she's posted them so hopefully they will come tomorrow and I can put them on before the show, but if not I still love my nails at the moment so I thought that I had to share them with you guys. 



I mainly used Barry M nail paints for this look but I needed one more pastel, ice-creamy sort of colour and luckily I recently found my old pot of Mint choc chip by 17 Lasting Fix.
From left to right the shades are:


17 Lasting Fix in Mint Choc Chip
Barry M Nail Paint | 279 Bright Pink
Barry M Nail Paint | 306 Blueberry Ice Cream
Barry M Nail Paint | 307 Lemon Ice Cream
Barry M Nail Paint | 308 Berry Ice Cream

These are the nail decals that I have ordered. If they come I will probably just put them on my ring finger of both hands (is it still your ring finger on your right hand?) If they don't come I will probably just finished with a shiny top coat. Definitely check out the Ebay seller, she has so many cool designs and water decals are such a reasonably priced way to achieve salon looking results. They are a bit tricky to do at first but a bit of practice definitely pays off and I always get comments on my nails when I'm wearing them.

What are your weekend plans? Have a great one whatever you're up to! As Rihanna would say, here's to the frickin' weekend! xoxo

Friday 7 October 2011

Book Lover Questionnaire

Hello, I'm feeling a bit bookish this evening so I stole this book quiz from Helen's Book Blog. 
I would love to hear your answers too so post below or send me a link to this quiz on your blog. 
Happy weekend everyone 
xoxo Kat. 

1. Which book has been on your shelves the longest?

All my Enid Blyton's that I grew up with. I love them all but particularly the Malory Towers books. I initially had my mums old copies but had to get new ones to avoid completely destroying them. I hate the new modernised covers they have put on them now though.

2. What is your current read, your last read and the book you'll read next?
I am reading A Clash of Kings, just read A Game of Thrones and next I will read the third book in that series, the name of it is evading me right not but I am just loving that series. There will probably have to be some uni books squeezed in amongst these.

3. What book did everyone like and you hated?
On The Road by Jack Keruoac. I really wanted to like it but I just found it impossible.

4. Which book do you keep telling yourself you'll read, but you probably won't? 
Dracula. I do want to read it but I never seem to actually do it and I'm a bit scared of it if I'm honest. 

5. Which book are you saving for "retirement?" 
Haha I don't have any particular plans for my retirement. Maybe I'll focus on reading all of the books I haven't read by then from the BBC Top 100.

6. Last page: read it first or wait till the end?
Oo always wait till the end. I hate spoilers.

7. Acknowledgements: waste of ink and paper or interesting aside?
I love them, they're such an insight into the author's life.

8. Which book character would you switch places with?
Jojo Harvey from The Other Side of the Story by Marian Keyes. She is such a strong female character and has an amazing job as a literary agent.

9. Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life (a person, a place, a time)?
Anne McCaffrey's Dragon books remind me of my friends in junior high. They all read them and I didn't. I felt so out of it.

10. Name a book you acquired in some interesting way.
I can't think of anything other than the Malory Towers books that my mum gave me:


11. Have you ever given away a book for a special reason to a special person?
Yes, but I don't think it would still be special if I blogged about it :)

12. Which book has been with you to the most places?
I'm going to be cheeky and say The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo because I had it travelling.

13. Any "required reading" you hated in high school that wasn't so bad ten years later? 
Maybe I should try Tess of the D'Urbervilles again. I loathed in in school, maybe I will prefer it now.

14. What is the strangest item you've ever found in a book?
I found pressed flowers in the back of a second hand book once. I can't remember what book but I remember the flowers.

15. Used or brand new?
I like both, I like to think where used books might have been before but then there's something exciting about buying a crisp new copy of a book new from a bookshop.

16. Stephen King: Literary genius or opiate of the masses?
I've never read anything by Stephen King, I'm not really a horror girl in books or films.

17. Have you ever seen a movie you liked better than the book?
Not yet, I wonder if next years On The Road might be the first.

18. Conversely, which book should NEVER have been introduced to celluloid?
PS I Love You. Beautiful book. Dodgy film. Even dodgier accents. 

19. Have you ever read a book that's made you hungry, cookbooks being excluded from this question?
Yes, Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan. It's centred around a woman opening a Cupcake shop (I probably didn't need to explain that, did I?) and there are recipes at the start of every chapter. I was craving scones the whole time I read it.

20. Who is the person whose book advice you'll always take?
My mum's, she introduced me to reading and we always share books that we like. She's a bit more into thrillers and the like than me but she knows whether I'll like a book or not.

Saturday 1 October 2011

Mini Haul

Hello!

I've had a little bit of a haul this week and picked up one nail product I've wanted for ages and one that my friend told me about as we walked into Superdrug and I just had to have it. So here is a picture of my mini haul:


1. Barry M Instant Nail Effects- Gold Foil £3.99
I'm sure that I am just really behind but I hadn't heard about this nail varnish before my best mate mentioned it to me on the way into Superdrug. But I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. I've been wanting a gold foil effect nail varnish for ages but previous searches always ended up with me being empty handed. This is the latest in Barry M's range of nail effects, which started with their black 'shatter' nail varnish. I have to say I think I prefer this to the shatter, I love all Barry M Nail Paints but this gives such a classy and unusual finish that I'm sort of tempted to go back and get the silver, even though I didn't get it this week because I already have a good silver from Rimmel.

Messy messy, forgot to take a picture once I'd cleaned up round the edge of my nails.
2. Rimmel Pro Matte Finish- Mattifying topcoat £4.59 (Click here for product link)

This is such an exciting product for me as I have always wanted a Matte nail varnish and now this matte topcoat means that I can use one nail varnish to turn all the others in my collection into matte shades too. I feel like I've doubled my nail polish collection for under a fiver. The only one I could find before was by Essie but it was over a tenner and I just couldn't justify it. I believe that 17 also do a matte top coat although I didn't see it when I went, but that is even more of a bargain and I have some of their other varnishes and have generally found them to be good quality, especially for the price. I don't have any pics of the effects of this one yet because I didn't see the point in trying it on over the gold but I will update this post tomorrow when I have had a play around with it.

3. Sleek Pout Polish Tinted Lip Conditioner in 958 The Show 


I've started uni this week and snapped up this little gem for free at Freshers Fair! I was so excited when I saw it. I think I've left quite an impression on the new coursemate I was at the fair with, I shrieked 'free makeup!' and ran over to the Sleek girls. I am already a massive Sleek fan. Their eyeshadow palettes are such good value and last so well. Plus the range of colours I think make the palettes look more expensive than they are. So add free make up into the bargain and I am one happy bunny. My camera has made it appear like a bright pink but it is really more of a subtle rose colour and really compliments a dewey, natural look.


The best think about this product (other than the fact it was free) is the smell. It's really sweet and just generally gorgeous. This also contains SPF so its perfect for the unnaturally warm October we are enjoying in the UK right now. Oddly, I can't find this exact shade on Sleek's website so perhaps its just a sample but the product comes in loads of shades for £4.30 here.

That's about it for now. Hope you enjoyed this mini haul. What have you all been buying this week? Does anyone else have any Sleek favourites? Hope you're enjoying the sunshine!

xoxo
B&B