#NOTW - Week 2

Now that autumn has well and truly made itself known, with the shift in season comes a shift in colours, and not just where clothing and eye makeup are concerned. I've been really bad recently after I grew my nails to a decent length, I gave them a good nibble and they're back down to a fairly short length, boo. So, it's back to square one and painting my nails to stop me biting them more, it's the perfect excuse to wear a mix of autumnal colours. 

I like to wear a nude colour on my nails when they're quite short as I think it distracts from their actual length. But I also like to mix it up a little bit and add a couple of accent nails: I love painting the ring finger, but I tend to throw the same colour onto my thumbnails too, I think it gives a more uniform look, if that makes sense! I think No7 banged the nail on the head when it came to this Deep Wine shade from the Gel Look Shine range. It's a perfect deep, rich wine colour, with notes of burgundy and plum, although the camera certainly picks up more of the burgundy than the plum. This makes for a perfect pairing with the Practically Perfect shade from the Stay Perfect range, the perfect nude for my pale skin.

This is three coats with the Practically Perfect shade to get it to be opaque; even with my short nails, two coats still shows the white tips. I personally don't mind using three coats to get the desired look as the coats are fast drying with this formula, and I've never actually got through a full bottle of nail varnish before, so this could be the first! The Deep Wine shade is with just one coat as this colour is so heavily pigmented, but for wear I have added another coat to ensure it will last, and keep its high shine finish.

A change from my usual bright colours I love to wear on my nails, but this is certainly weather appropriate right now in Britain, and I love the simplicity of the combination in the colours. The No7 vouchers are back in Boots again, so when you spend £4 in store you'll receive a set of vouchers which will get you £5 off the No7 skincare range and £3 off the No7 cosmetics range, and I would certainly recommend you pick up the Deep Wine shade, it's the perfect addition to anyone's range, especially for just £4 with a voucher.

What's on your nails right now? What colours are you loving?

Payday = haulin'.

So when payday rolled around this month, I was in desperate need of both things that I needed and wanted; as you can see, it's quite a mix too!

Needed:

1. Lacura Cotton Pads: Yes, they seem so mundane, but they're needed. I go through them very easily, so I don't want to be paying a lot for them, yet they still need to be of a great quality. This is where Aldi comes up trumps yet again! 99p for a twin pack of pads that don't fleece? Yes please! (I know you can get these twin packs anywhere for pretty much a similar price, but these are seriously the best I've ever used.)
2. No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Makeup Remover: Definitely one of my holy grail products..and I know that term is used all the time these days, but this eye makeup remover is the only one for me that doesn't irritate my eyes; even the Simple, Johnson and Nivea ones (to name a few) made my eyes sting, even though I don't find my eyes to be particularly sensitive. Not to mention, the No7 remover is an oil-water formula (shake it to wake it! Cheesy I know..) which removes the toughest of waterproof makeup known to man, yet doesn't dry my eye area.
3. John Frieda Precision Foam Colour: Okay, so I didn't need this quite yet, as I don't tend to dye my hair that frequently because the colour is close to my natural hair colour, just a bit richer..but when it's going for half price at Boots, a girl gotta stock up! (Note: the offer has now changed to 3 for 2 across haircare, both instore and online.) Again, like with the eye makeup remover, this is now the only dye I use, it's just bloody brilliant. (And one bottle still manages to cover my rather long hair.)
4. Tresemme Heat Defence Spray: The only heat defence that doesn't leave my hair feeling weighed down or with any residue once dried, and certainly keeps my hair in tip-top condition, that's for sure, even with all the blow drying, straightening, curling and updo-ing for work. Also, a bottle lasts me ages, even with my thick, long hair so it's definitely worth its price.
5. Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo and Conditioner: I briefly mentioned in an old monthly favourites post that I was loving this range, and I'm still using these shampoos and conditioners with no build-up, and just like the Tresemme, I'm sure these are helping my hair to stay healthy. (The reason I keep saying this is because I haven't had my hair cut in over eight months..naughty, I know, but no split ends or visible damage whatsoever *touch wood*..I just want it to groooooooow!)
6. VO5 High Volume Hairspray: I only started to use this after Tanya Burr used it in a hair tutorial she did based on a Blake Lively updo, and I love it! It doesn't leave my hair feeling tacky or crispy, yet it has brilliant hold in both everyday wear and extreme hold for updo's, curls, etc. It brushes out super easy too, doesn't dry my hair out..it's just fab, and it's relatively cheap too.
7. Garnier Ultimate Blends Dry Shampoo: I'm not a regular user of dry shampoo, but I had been using one of the Tresemme ones, which was fab, but at over £5 a pop, I didn't want to be paying that much, so this one caught my eye, as it specified that it leaves no residue: essential for my dark locks! Let's just hope it lives up to that promise..I can't tell you how much I dislike the Batiste ones, both the smell and the colour it leaves my hair..nope, just nope, even the ones made specifically for "brunette" hair.

Wanted:

1. Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Color Luminous Lipgloss: At work, our No7 counter is right next to the Elizabeth Arden counter, so when their Untold Colour Collection (Autumn Collection) launched, this instantly caught my eye, as it was so different to anything I had seen before: an almost neon violet-purple with flecks of glitter that the light captures and reflects beautifully..I can't wait to use this to "jujz" up any drab autumn days.
2. Topshop Nails: A girl can never have too many nail polishes, right? After going on holiday with some of my girl friends and seeing the brilliant quality of the Topshop nail varnishes firsthand, I was won over and finally took the plunge with a gorgeous, almost mustard yellow by the name of "Carnival", which doesn't seem to be on the website, but I think it's perfect to brighten up an autumnal day.
3. Real Techniques Mini Brush Trio and Miracle Complexion Sponge: I am a HUGE lover of the Real Techniques brushes, for both personal use and work use, I recommend them to anyone and everyone! But I knew I had to add to my collection, and the mini trio are just too cute to dismiss, although I might not use them as they are intended, as long as they do the job I have in mind..especially the sponge, I have only heard good things about this, and although I never use a sponge (I love my brushes too much) I am intrigued to see if this can actually live up to the hype and give just as good a finish as my beloved Expert Face and Stippling Brushes can.

I also had a bit of a splurge in Primark..you've gotta take the bull by the horns, as they say, and it was my first visit to Manchester City Centre for quite a while so I ended up spending over £60 in there alone..! I do love that place! 

Is there anything in particular you like to treat yourself to come payday?

#NOTW - Week 1

In a bid to stop me biting my nails so much (I tend to go through phases: grow them until they're lovely and long..but when they get too long, I bite them all off. :|) I'm keeping my nails painted in lovely bright colours, which is getting my nails to be the perfect length! 

For work, really, I do have to wear colours by No7 so we can promote the brand, if asked what I'm wearing. To be fair, and this opinion goes back to before I worked for No7, they are my favourite nail varnishes in terms of colour, wear, brush and texture!

This week is only a short week for me at work, I'm only in three days because of the bank holiday (yay!), so I'll probably wear another colour this weekend, but at the moment I'm loving Purple Bouquet from the Gel Look Shine range by No7. It's perfect for this time of year, where we're still clinging onto the slight hope of summer here in Britain, yet the weather is letting us down; the colour is bright, but not too in-your-face, enough to brighten your day, and because it's that kind of purple, I find it tends to go with a lot of things rather than clash with them. I also think it's going to be a great colour going into autumn, clashing perfectly against a thick, mustard jumper..let's just hope I can find one when I go shopping in Manchester on Sunday, it's been a while!

This is two coats of the colour after three days of wear, and silly me forgot to put a top coat on! (A habit of painting my nails in bed, just before I go to sleep.) Hence, the slight wear at the edges of the nails..oops. Saying that, I've been doing a lot of things with my hands, and there's no big chips and still a high shine finish.

If you've never tried the nail varnishes from No7 before, I certainly recommend you do so when you next get one of the £3 off vouchers you always get when you shop in Boots, and you never quite know what to do with them. The Gel Look Shine range hosts 14 different shades, ranging from nude to bold and includes a top coat. What's different about this range, compared to your traditional nail varnishes is that the colours are highly pigmented and the formula is slightly thicker (note: however, not gloopy), which I tend to find gives a longer wear and helps to smooth out any ridges/dents on the nail. 

Okay, so I can't say I've tried "gel look" nail varnishes from any other brands (yet), but I'd say that these are a great starting point in terms of colour, ease of application and long wear. I find the brush, which is the same in No7's standard Stay Perfect range, is the perfect size for my diddy nails; it only takes a couple of sweeps to coat my nails, and there's no faffing around with trying to get an even coat, as this is instantly achieved. 

At £7 (or £4 with a No7 voucher), I say: why not? Some of my favourite colours are from this range, so I wouldn't be surprised if you see more of them in my future #NOTW..

What nail varnish colours are you loving at the moment?