Saturday 29 December 2012

Orly Chocolate Martini

Although Christmas might be over I'm not quite ready to put aside my sparkly nail polishes just yet (to be honest I'm never ready and will probably wear this shade all year round.) I did a bit of sales shopping yesterday and I popped into boots to see if they had any St Tropez on offer to spend my giftcards on (I like being slightly orange all year round) the Orly nail polishes caught my eye. I've heard quite a lot about Orly polishes on various blogs and on youtube but I've never tried them myself so I thought I would give it a go. I'm a bit of a magpie and so I only really looked at the shiny ones, they had quite a few glitter polishes to choose from and after a little deliberation before my mum got bored and marched me to the till I settled on this metallic orange shade which doesn't look like either chocolate or a martini but It's still a great name.

Orly Chocolate Martini - £5 for 5.3ml





This polish was opaque in two coats which is pretty good for a metallic polish in my experience and it has fine glitter running through which looks amazing when it catches the light but I struggled to capture it in a picture, these really don't do justice as how to how pretty it really is. I think that this polish is a great colour for autumn/ winter as I love a good metallic around christmas time but would also look really pretty in summer as it's quite a bright orange 
My only issue is that close up you can see the brushstrokes if you look closely but to be honest I think this will only annoy me and it would be a bit strange if anyone else was looking at your hands that closely anyway  and other than that I think it's a great quality polish that doesn't break the bank.
I love this polish and I'm definitely going to try more orly polishes soon as this one has set my expectations quite high.

Orly is available from Boots and other Stockists Nationwide.

xx

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Christmas time.

Happy Boxing Day guys! I've just got back from work (Sad times I know, sometimes I hate working in a busy shopping centre) and Now I'm off to my Grandmas for her annual family Boxing Day Buffet which Is just one of the many traditions that means my body weight about doubles in the week between Christmas and New Years. I hope all of you had a lovely Christmas Day yesterday and you all got to be surrounded by your loved ones, eat way too much and open lots of presents. I just wanted to say thank you to all of my lovely followers, to be honest I only started this blog so I would have somewhere to chat with like minded people about pretty things as my family and friends tend to switch off when I mention anything to do make up or hair but It's so nice that people actually enjoy reading what I have to say and I love reading your comments and looking at all of your blogs. So yeah, Thankyou for reading my little blog guys.

Anyhoo I'll get on with my Christmas pictures now because I know your all really here to see the presents. I might do a separate post just about my presents but it's up to you guys if you'd like to see that so let me know in the comments.

For the majority of the day it was just me and my mum with appearances from my boyfriend and my sister who dropped by to open presents and have some dinner in my sisters case. I watched far to many Christmas specials and I ended up watching tangled whilst I couldn't move because I ate way too much yorkshire pudding but I really enjoyed it so it was okay. I did have to have a nap after dinner though, Christmas tradition and all that jazz.

The Tree.


A few presents on Christmas eve (I was too excited to remember to get my camera on Christmas Morning.)



After I attacked the pile of presents underneath the tree. Excuse the little bit of Christmas pyjama leg you can see at the bottom there, I was in the festive mood from the moment I woke up.


I always like to get dressed on Christmas day, nothing too special as I know I'll be at home all day but I like to look nice but still be comfortable enough to eat a massive dinner. I love this cardigan, you can't tell really, but it has metallic thread running through it so It's comfortable and sparkly.

I also go to finally use my new ghd's, I broke my old pair back in august and I couldn't afford to buy a new pair so my mum kindly bought me a new pair and I've been waiting to use them since the start of November.



Christmas Bedding, It's not very Christmassy but I love it ( and I will fully admit that I have an obsession with leopard print.)



My Christmas Jewellery | Watch from my lovely boyfriend | I got the bracelet from swarovski for my birthday back in March and my Auntie bought me the padlock charm at the top for Christmas, I was lucky enough to be given two of these charms so I'm going to see if I can exchange the other for a different one.



Apple Pie and Vanilla Cream Candles | The oils I had burning all day | Glittery Tea lights
The candles were lovely, I read about them on the lovely Lea's Blog and I was surprised to find out they're only from the pound shop, I'll definitely be getting some more of these.

Obligatory food Photos.

Bucks Fizz and Croissants for Breakfast | Mid morning Coffee | My massive dinner - The yorkshire pudding had it's own separate plate | Just a few chocolates

I hope you guys enjoyed this post, I know that I am incredibly lucky to have been given such lovely presents and that I have a wonderful family, friends and boyfriend who have spoilt me.

I'd love to read your christmas post so let me know if you've written one. I'm off to go look for bargains in the online sales.

xx

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Christmas Gift ideas for her - Beauty Edition

As Christmas is coming up I thought it would be a nice idea to do a series of gift idea posts and I'm kicking it off with all things beauty related.I think we all know someone who is a lover of all things glamorous and beautiful and who is more than happy to receive pretty cosmetics as a gift, I think for a lot of people I'm that someone. Although as they love beauty so much it can be hard to find something they don't already have. This is where I think it's best to give them something a bit quirky or a gift set with a few different products in as they may have one or two of the products already there will more than likely be something new to try.

Now I am going to say that I am a big fan of buying presents, by that I mean I love spending time  thinking of gifts for each person, going to different shops for everything and wrapping it all up especially nice. I always think that you should never think 'what do most girls like?' or 'What do dad's like?' when buying presents, it should always be tailored specifically to the person your buying for, the question should be 'What does (insert name here) like?'

However I am aware that this is my personal quirk and that a lot of people just don't enjoy christmas shopping. Either they hate the busy shopping centre, their mind goes blank when thinking of gifts or just can't find the time to fit gift shopping in to their busy schedules. So that is where my gift guides come in, for those of you who are stuck for ideas here are my ideas for universal presents for girls (obviously if you feel like your sister or someone would prefer something from my ideas for him guide or one of the others then buy that instead, it's better to get someone something suited to their tastes than think 'hey, they're a girl they must like pink glittery things' because I know my own sister would not appreciate that.)

Now I will stop rambling and get on with the bit you came here for.

Rosalie's Christmas Gift Guide for her - Beauty Edition




1. River Island Perfumes in Paris, London and New York 

£10.00 for 3ml or £12.00 for 75ml each.
Gift set £15.00

I think that these fragrances are great to give to friends, especially if your buying for quite a few people as they won't break the bank but they still smell lovely and will look glamorous on their dressing table. They could be the main gift for a friend or maybe a new girlfriend or a stocking filler for someone your very close to and want to get them a little something extra to go with a more expensive present. It would be best to go into the shop and smell them all before you buy as only you will know which scent would suit the person your buying for.


2. Owl Compact Mirror - Asos - £12.00

This mirror is so cute and fun and would be the perfect little stocking filler. That doesn't just go for this one though as I think compact mirrors make great presents, they're always something that if you don't have in your handbag then at some point you'll be wishing you had one. There are plenty of these about around christmas time, I've seen quite a few nice ones in h&m and accesorize which are more affordable and they also come on their own or as part of larger giftsets in places like boots so it's always worth checking out their massive 3 for 2 gift range.


3. Benefit 'She's so Jetset' gift set £29.50

Benefit bring out new giftsets every year and I think that they are a great idea for a gift for beauty lovers. I don't really buy full size benefit products as I think you don't get enough product for for how much you pay and the appeal is mainly about how cute the packaging rather than the actual products. Saying that however I do love their gift sets as I think you get good size products and you get to try a number of different products for the price of one or two full size things. In this kit you get 4 eyeshadows, a mini 'First Class' powder, a mini 'They're real' mascara, a lip gloss and a mini 'Porefessional' primer.

4. Lime Crime Carousel Gloss in Candy Apple - £10.55 (+Shipping)


Not only does this product look so cute in the tube but it is also an amazing glittery red opaque lipgloss. Limecrime are known for their great quality and highly pigmented products and I think this gloss would make a great present for someone who loves and bold lip but is always looking for something fun and a bit unusual.

5. Lancome miniature fragrances Chrismas set - £24.00

 I think mini fragrance sets such as this one make great Christmas presents. There's nothing worse than giving someone an expensive perfume that they don't like the smell of and it's just as bad when you receive a lovely present but you just don't like it. With these boxes you have more than one chance to get it right and there is a good chance that they will love at least one of the scents. It's also more affordable than buying one full size bottle of perfume, especially with a high end brand such as Lancóme where none of the scents retail for less than £30. Places such as Boots, Superdrug and  Debenhams normally have a selection of mini fragrance sets so you can choose the one you think they'll like the most.


6.Kardashian Kolor By O.P.I Nicole Mini Nail Polish Set - £12.95

Mini nail polish sets are great as a main gift or as a stocking filler especially when they are by a brand such as O.P.I which is normally quite expensive. There are thre regular polishes and a glitter polish so this set is for that person who absolutely loves looking glamourous and glittery. Depending on who you're buying it for, the Kardashian aspect could be a good or bad thing, I personally love their style so this set would be great for me but I know some people just aren't fans and would rather receive a different O.P.I set such as the James Bond Skyfall set or the Minnie Mouse set.  Nevertheless the colours in this set are still lovely and the polishes are great quality as with all opi products

7.Soap and Glory Small Wonders Mini Hatbox - £10.00

Soap and Glory is a brand with a bit of a cult following so this present would be lovely for anyone who you know that loves Soap and Glory or that has never tried it before. They do a number of miniature gifts sets with various products from their core line which are all sold in boots (and also come into their 3 for 2 Christmas gift selection so you could buy two sets for friends and get a little something for yourself.) In this box you get mini versions of Clean on me shower gel, The Righteous butter Body Butter, The scrub of your life body scrub, Hand food hand cream and Shower Puff. They are all lovely products on their own, they smell great as with all Soap and Glory products and shower puffs are always fun.

8. Ted Baker Glitter Bow Cosmetics bag - £25.00

Make up and Cosmetics bags make lovely presents especially if you fill them with little knick knacks such as a little mirror, mini nail polishes and body sprays etc. kind of like a present within a present. You can buy lots of different lovely ones from lots of different shops, most shops that sell cosmetics have a selection as do alot of clothes shops. I like this Ted Baker version as it the plastic outer layer means it would be easy to get any make up off (I'm forever ruining cloth makeup bags with foundation or eyeliner) and the glittery bow just adds something a little bit special.

9. Essie Mini Winter Collection - £16.95

This is another mini nail polish collection from a great brand. Essie Nail polishes are really good quality however unless they have stopped to take a look at the stand in boots they might now know about it as quite a few people I know walk straight past it and to the brands that they know about already. This little set has four polishes in 2 bright shades and 2 glittery shades and unlike the Opi collection I featured earlier all of the colours are very different, so this would be good set for someone who you aren't sure about which colour are their favourites to wear on their nails as everyone has their own preferences.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post and found it helpful. Look out for my next gift guide post which is going to be about gifts for those girls who like more practical or gadgety things.


xx

Sunday 2 December 2012

You can never have too much Chanel

That's my motto anyway, the lovely people at my bank probably feel differently about this. Chanel is probably my favourite high end beauty brand, slightly edging out MAC to take the top spot, There's just something so luxurious about it all.

I will admit that this is where my priorities are a bit skewed, £20 for a knitted jumper that will keep me warm through winter, your having a laugh but £20 for a lipstick in shiny black and gold packaging that I won't use that often because it's too pretty and I'm sold, why not throw in a lipliner too, that's clearly an essential purchase, who needs food for that last week before payday.I clearly have issues and I'm working on it, I even put down the matching nail varnish which is a small step in the right direction for me.

Anyway as I have spent far too much money here I thought I would do a post so that you all could see my lovely lipstick so I can pretend it was money well spent, so I hope you enjoy it .


(Couldn't resist, I love getting the little chanel carrier bag, sad I know)



I was debating whether to get this or not because, as you all saw a few posts back, I do own quite a few red lipsticks. However I told myself that it was okay as my other red rouge allure (Vendome) is a darker, pinkier red and so I am allowed to buy one that's different or something like that, whatever helps me sleep better at night. I think I will get a lot of wear out of this colour over the winter months especially for any christmas nights out or date nights, I love a red lip in winter as my complexion can get a bit dull between the nasty weather and how many times I always seem to get ill every year so this will brighten up my face a little bit.



I debated more about this product than the other mainly because I struggle with lipliners  quite a bit which Is why I haven't purchased a red liner before to go with my many lipsticks. This is because I have scarring on my lower lip (no idea what caused it, it's been there since I was a small child) so i kind of have to draw on part of my lip and It doesn't usually go well as I end up having to do more and more on each side to make it match. It's just a lot easier to whack on a bit of lipstick to cover it up. However the lady at the chanel counter recommended this to me and I thought it would be nice to get while it's still on sale. I still haven't got the hang of it yet but hopefully with practice I'll be able to make it work for me. It also has a little lip brush on the other end and you get a little mini sharpener with it, which are nice additions and will definitely come in handy.


I also managed to get two of my other new purchases in here and these have to be my favourite things I've bought this month. The first is my lovely cream studded shoulder jumper from Primark which is extremely cosy and comfy. It's so easy to just throw on with a pair of jeans and has the added bonus of keeping me very warm, which is very important as I am the coldest person ever. I also got these (your going to laugh at me for this one) tacky but amazing reindeer earrings from asda, aren't they cute? I used to have a pair of snowman earrings which were my go to christmas earrings but unfortunately I lost one so I had to find a replacement. I like how these are still quite dainty but still keep my festive spirits up.


After I tool all of my pictures it was so difficult to find one where I didn't have a crazy smile on my face, this is the calmest one, clearly I am a bit too happy about my new things.

Hope you are all well, let me know if you have any festive accessories that you love.


xxx

Wednesday 31 October 2012

November Wishlist

I love Autumn, not as much as Christmas but this time of year comes a close second. As soon as the weather gets colder, the leaves start falling from the trees and all the coffee shops start bringing in their festive drinks, I start thinking about my Autumn Wardrobe. Well I start buying things, I start wishing I could have my chunky knits and boots back as soon as spring starts and I sadly have to put them away.

There's just something about Autumn fashion that I love, I think it has a lot to do with the rich colours, the different layers and textures as well as the fact I get to wear my collection of Scarves (I have a bit of an obsession which will probably become more apparent the more I post.) I spend a lot of my time window shopping and looking at things I would love to own which brings about this months wishlist.




1.  Dark Red Studded Jumper - River Island 
 When studs first became a thing, I wasn't too sure but they've grown on me and now I seem to be wanting studded everything. I love the colour of this jumper, as you might be able to tell I have a bit of a thing for reds and it just looks so comfy and perfect for layering with jeans and my leather jacket.

2.  Rouge Allure Lipstick - Chanel
My love affair with Chanel make up started a few years ago when I started working at Debenhams and discovered the joys of staff discount. I own four of these lipsticks (which is definitely an unnecessary amount for one person) and I love the consistency and staying power. The colour I have my eye on is 'Passion' as I am a big fan of a bold lip for any occasion and I'm always on the look out for my perfect red lipstick which is still missing from my life.

3. Naked 2 Palette - Urban Decay
I'm a bit late to the party on this one but this is one of those items that I have saved in my favourites and every now again think about buying. I'll probably never get around to it though as I am pretty loyal to my my MAC palette and the thought of how much it cost is enough to keep me from buying any more high end eyeshadows for the time being. I love the colours in this palette though as I tend to wear a neutral eye for daytime and a brown/taupe smoky eye for nights out.

4. Chunky Star Necklace - Orelia
The name of this is quite deceiving as it is actually quite a delicate necklace which is the style that I tend to favour. I do own a few statement necklaces and collars but I tend to come back to this style again and again. I actually bought this necklace on a trip to London a few years ago but I lost it at the hotel before I even got it home so I would love to replace it.

5. Red Leopard Print Heart Slipper shoes - New Look
These shoes combine three of the things that I absolutely love: red shoes, hearts and leopard print (which I have a major obsession with.) They are definitely going on my Christmas list this year, at the top, in bold letters. They're just so lovely and so me.

6. Burgundy Checked Shirt - Hearts & Bows
For the past few years I've been loving checked shirts, they're so easy to throw on with jeans and boots and for me they add a bit of much needed colour as I sometimes end up wearing a bit too much black. I love this one as it looks so cosy and warm and is the perfect mix of colours for autumn.

7. Swarovski Crystal Mini Mouse Ring - Disney Couture
Swarovski Crystals and Minnie Mouse...No more explanation is needed as to why this ring is tacky but fabulous.

8. Black Block Heel Boot - Miss Selfridge 
As far as I'm concerned shoes only come in two heights: flat and so high I can only just walk (there are a few exceptions to my rule but they have to be either too fabulous to pass up or so classic they go with everything) These fall in to the latter category and I'm still trying to figure out ways that I can buy these and still have money left to eat for the week before payday.

Do you guys have any items that you are loving this month?