Nail Polishes for 99p

Fragrance Direct isn't a site I have ever used before but after recently having a quick look, I realised that it may just be becoming one of my new favourites. Nail polishes can be quite expensive if you like having loads of colours like I do and a good collection can cost a fortune. However, Fragrance Direct have a fantastic range of extremely cheap nail polishes. 

One particular range that I won't pay full price for is from Revlon. While the colours are great, I just think £6.50 is too much. But, Fragrance Direct have a whole load of colours available for just 99p. I bought myself Classy (281), Blue Lagoon (092) and Minted (85). All are lovely pastel colours which are perfect for summer and I can't wait to use these. 

Not only are Revlon polishes available but you can get Rimmel 60 Second nail polishes as well for 99p. I really love the 60 Second range especially for when I don't have the time to wait for my nails to try. I only bought two of these and they were At Ease (520) and Coral Crush (409). I also bought a quick drying top coat from Cutex for £1.50

There are so many other colours available and I can't wait to make another order next time I get paid. Have you used this website before and if so, what else have you been buying!?

Hugo Boss Deep Red Shower Gel

Hugo Boss Deep Red is one of my all-time favourite perfumes so I was delighted when my Mum bought me a tube of the shower gel for my birthday back in March. You can buy the perfume in a set and get this product with it but it can also be bought separately for as little as £3.99 on Amazon for a 150ml tube.

The shower gel comes in a dark red tube, which matches the colour of the perfume bottle in this range. I love the colour and packaging of this shower gel as it looks a bit sexier than most shower gels I own. The tube is wider at the top, thinning out towards the silver screw cap at the bottom. The tube, although it has a wonderful colour, is quite plain. Printed on the front is the Hugo/ Hugo Boss logo along with the fact that this is in the Deep Red range, as well as how much product there is and what the product is. I do like the simplicity of the packaging though because it does what it needs to while looking nice at the same time.

As much as I love the perfume in this brand, I was worried the shower gel would not smell the same. However, once opening the cap, the familiar scent came right back to me. The Deep Red scent has a floral top note consisting of blackcurrant, pear, tangerine and blood orange, which gives it a wonderfully feminine scent. The middle notes include ginger and freesia while the end notes include more woody fragrances such as sandalwood, cedar, musk and vanilla. I love the mix of fragrances within this shower gel as they create such a unique scent.

The shower gel itself is a coppery orange colour which can be seen as soon as you begin to squeeze the tube. The shower gel also lathers up extremely well, which I would expect of a product of such a well-known brand. I only need to use one dollop of shower gel on a fluff ball in order for it to go into a nice, thick lather. Once hot water hits the shower gel, the scent is magnified, filling my bathroom with a fantastic floral but woody fragrance. I absolutely adore the smell of this shower gel and cannot get enough of it.

However, it does have a downfall. The scent, once on your body and out of the shower, does not last very long. The perfume lasts for hours but I find that the shower gel barely lasts a couple of hours. This shower gel would be a perfect product for me if it lasted longer than it does. However, I love the smell of it whilst in the shower so that wouldn’t stop me from buying it. 

Skechers Women's Bikers Proposal Ballerina

When it comes to shoes for work, I have to have something extremely comfortable. When I worked in a shoe shop in Toronto, I was introduced to Skechers which I had never worn before. Since then (2007/8) I have worn nothing but Skechers for work during the warmer months and I doubt I will be buying anything else for a while. One of my favourite pairs is the Skechers Women's Bikers Proposal Ballerina.

Skechers don’t seem to have a UK website although I know Barratts stock the brand. However, I buy my Skechers from Amazon. The pair in question cost £39.99 and are available in white, beige and black. As I have been wearing black trousers for work, I chose to buy the black shoes so that they would match.

This particular pair of Skechers is in the style of a Mary Jane but with a more athletic look. The shoe is made from both leather and mesh, which makes it a robust shoe with the ability to breath at the same time. The sole, front and heel of the shoe is made from black leather which is quite stiff but does soften up as you wear these in. The sides and part of the front is made from mesh, which allows the feet to breathe and also gives the shoe a more sporty look. I really love the design of these shoes which is why I keep going back to Skechers. I hate to admit it but in other shoes, my feet can get quite sweaty at work but they don’t in these. I even wear them with socks quite a lot of the time and still my feet remain nice and dry.

These are also not a basic slip on shoe. These have one continuous strap which criss-crosses over the top of the foot. The straps make the shoes stay on my feet really well which I don’t think they would do otherwise. The straps have a velcro fastening which means you are able to have these straps as tight or loose as you need them. Everyone has different shaped feet so I think this aspect of the shoe is really clever, as it means everyone can wear them.

What I love most about this particular pair of shoes is how comfortable they are. Unlike many other pairs of shoes, there is no need to wear these in. From the first time I put these on, they were as comfortable as they are today. Never have they ever rubbed at the heels or the sides of my feet. Skechers make it possible to buy a pair of shoes and wear them immediately without having to worry about pain or blisters. I can’t say that I have had this with any other pair of shoes that I own.

While I do wear these mostly with work trousers, they can also be worn on a more casual basis. These shoes look fantastic with jeans and even more casual looking skirts. They are a great pair of shoes for the summer as they keep my feel really cool and dry. I cannot recommend these shoes enough. 

Multicoloured Barry M Nails

I'm generally quite boring when it comes to my nails and I'm not very creative with colours and designs. I blame being unsteady when trying to paint my right hand nails. I can never paint my right hand any where near as well as my left and I always thought I wouldn't be able to do anything fun. However, the other week I saw a post on another blog (and I feel terrible because I can't remember which blog now) about using nail tape to help create designs. 

As soon as I finished reading the post, I headed over to ebay to order myself some. I managed to get 20 rolls of metallic nail art striping tape for the bargain price of £2.99 (99p delivery). If you're interested in the exact product purchased, you can find it here! This tape can be used to mark out actual designs on your nails and for it to stay there but that isn't what I wanted it for. I wanted to be able to mark out different colour sections in order for me to be able to paint them neatly. Also, as I put these on my nails to mark out blocks, I realised they didn't actually stick down too well on their own. Maybe with a top coat on they would stay but I can imagine them to peel off quite easily. 

Anyway, wanting to try out something quite simple at first, I chose to do a two colour design, with diagonal colour blocks. Barry M do one of my absolute favourite colours which is Raspberry so I wanted to use that and I used Bright Purple. Now, I was silly and forgot to take pictures of the masking part of this process so you don't get to see that unfortunately. I will still describe the process though. 

To start with, I cut off enough pieces of tape and stuck them down diagonally across my nails. Firstly, I painted the bottom sections in Raspberry, quickly putting one coat on after the other. The tape itself needs to be pulled off quite quickly otherwise you end up with sticky nail polish all over the place and lines which are far from neat. After the bottom halves of my nails were dry, I then painted the tops in purple. This part requires a pretty steady hand so that you don't mess up the lines. I did, however, end up with nail polish on my fingers due to it being a bit tricky but that's nothing a cotton bud and nail polish remover won't fix. 

I wasn't sure the colours were going to match but I think the final result is pretty good and you can see it below!

That is a picture of my left hand and I'll honestly say, the right hand didn't look quite as neat but it was good enough for me, especially for a first attempt at doing something different. In total, this look took me about 30 minutes from start to finish but I imagine I will get quicker with practice. 

I will definitely be trying out new designs in the future and I think the tape will be really good for creating a multicoloured manicure look!

Barry M Textured Nail Effects Nail Paint

I am a massive lover of nail polishes in general but one of my absolute favourite brands in Barry M. I have barely ever been disappointed with a nail colour from this brand and love to try the new things they come out with. Something I wasn’t so sure of though was the Barry M Textured Nail Effects but luckily my flatmate Kate bought all four shades available so obviously, I gave them a go.

This range consists of four different colours, each named after famous places where Barry Mero began his career. Colours available are all in pastels for a spring/ summer look and are pink, yellow, green and blue. This product is available in Boots and Superdrug (often with offers on) or the Barry M website and they have a RRP of £3.99.

Each nail polish in this range comes in the signature Barry M glass bottle which is rectangular in shape. The glass bottle is see through so you are able to see the colour clearly inside. The bottom of the bottle states the shade and colour of the nail polish inside while the back of the bottle gives instructions for use. The black lid twists out to reveal the applicator brush. The lid also has a speckled effect to it and a white band stating this is a textured product so you know that you are not buying a normal nail polish. As the bottles from Barry M are rectangular, I find that they line up much better on a shelf than round bottles which is something I really like about the brand.

Unlike regular nail polishes, this one gives a textured effect which is why I was unsure about it to begin with. I like my nails looking smooth and well-manicured so I didn’t quite know what I was going to think of the effect once on my nails. Barry M describe this nail polish as giving a ‘grainy, matte formula creates a unique textured effect for a grunge-chic look.’

Upon pulling on the brush with nail polish on the end, you can immediately see that this is not a smooth polish. The brush provided is quite thin but to cover my nails, it generally only takes three strokes to cover a nail. For the first coat, I was surprised at how bad the colour looked. I decided to give each colour a try all at once so this review covers each colour in the range. The colour was extremely weak and thin looking but there was quite a lot of texture on my nail although quite spread out. The only way I can think to describe the texture is to compare it to sandpaper, but the smoothest kind you can buy.  

Not being happy with only one coat, I applied a second, hoping that it wouldn’t take more than this. Luckily, two coats really does the trick and the results are great. The colour looks much bright and thicker after a second coat and the texture was also covering my nail more. After the polish was dry, I ran my fingers over my nails to try to decide what I thought of the texture. I actually really liked it and I wasn’t expecting to at all. The texture is quite rough but I think it gives it an industrial feel to nails and it is also really different. Once I had put a top coat on my nails, the texture wasn’t quite as rough so if you don’t like it to begin with, try a top coat to see if it makes a difference for you.

I was also surprised at how long this nail polish lasted. Due to working with a keyboard, the tips of my nails tend to chip easily and quickly but this lasted a whole week before there was any chipping at all. The textured effect does make this nail polish slightly harder to remove than a regular polish, much like anything with glitter in it. I find that a nail polish remover with acetone is the best thing for this kind of product. With this, you won’t end up scrubbing your nails for ages in order to remove it all.

I absolutely love this nail polish and I wasn’t expecting to at all. Now I just need to get some for myself! 

New Look Strap Back Vest

For a more basic look this summer, I wanted a few tops that would go with pretty much everything. However, I get bored of the same old strappy vest tops but wanted something similar. New Look have a fantastic range of strappy tops which are a bit different from what you can normally get. I decided to go with the Strap Back Vest which cost £5.99. Although I bought mine in black (and white) it also comes in cream, purple, pink and blue.

The vest top is made from 100% cotton which makes it a great item for a summer wardrobe. Although I do wear my black vest more than the white version, it is surprisingly cool to wear. The vest is quite loose fitting which is another reason I like this one so much. I hate wearing tops that are skin tight especially in the summer and I don’t want any wobbly bits on show. The cut and style of this vest top is very flattering and would suit all sizes and shapes.

The vest has a round scoop neckline although it is not too low cut that it reveals more than it should do. However, what makes this vest top different is the detailing on the back. In the middle of the scoop back are three large straps made from elastic. The straps are about an inch in width so they do cover quite a large amount of skin on the back. I do tend to wear my hair down most of the time as it is long so the straps are covered up most of the time. If I do have my hair up though, it shows off the straps nicely and it transforms this basic vest top into something a bit different.

This is a top that can be dressed both up and down. While it does suit the daytime better due to its casual style, I find that with the right bottoms or skirt, and some great accessories, it can be dressed up quite easily. I wear this with my tie dye maxi skirt from Asda as it means I can wear it during the day and then at night with only a few small changes to my outfit. For £5.99, this is a very versatile top which is extremely comfortable and easy to wear. 

George Tie Dye Maxi Skirt

When shopping for some holiday clothes, Asda is a great place to visit as they have wonderful options for great prices. I wanted something I could wear during the day and also at night so that I could cut down on what I need to pack for my holiday. Something that stood out to me was the selection of maxi skirts. I have many maxi dresses but never thought of buying a skirt. I decided on the George Tie Dye Maxi Skirt which cost £12.

Like a maxi dress, this skirt is very long. The actual length of the skirt is roughly 38 inches / 96.5 cm and as I am 5’5, it is slightly too long for me. However, this is the style of these kinds of skirts and it doesn’t drag along the floor too much while wearing flat shoes. With a pair of heels or wedges, this skirt is just the right length for me but I think taller ladies will struggle with the length if they want to dress it up with heeled shoes.

Not only is the skirt long but it flows wonderfully and looks extremely feminine. I chose this particular maxi skirt due to the design, which is a blue tie dye effect. There is a range of different blues within the material of the skirt as well as white which breaks up the blue nicely. Each of the tie dye sections are different in width which is also nice because it doesn’t look boring. The top tie dye layer of the skirt is made from a see through material but as this is fully lined, it doesn’t matter at all. The lining is dark blue so it goes really nicely with the other colours on the skirt. The lining is made from cotton whereas the top layer is made from polyester.

Due to the lining being made from cotton, this skirt has a great, lightweight feel to it but it also doesn’t cling to the legs at all. I like this fact a lot because I plan to take the skirt to Florida with me and I definitely do not want this sticking to my legs all day long. As well as being cool to wear, the skirt is also extremely comfortable. The long, flowy design makes this a perfect skirt for summer. It hides a multitude of sins as it does cover the whole leg area and sits quite high on the waist so to not create any unattractive lines.

This is by far one of my favourite items bought for this summer as it is so comfortable and easy to wear. I will definitely be getting my £12 worth out of this.