Being as blind as a bat

I've had to wear glasses for about 4 or 5 years now, but until this week I've only owned two pairs of glasses over those years. It's recently become obvious that I've inherited my mothers terrible eyesight, which means that recently my sight has declined rather rapidly. I decided that I would splash out on two pairs of Gok Wan glasses from Specsavers for £99, because of the 2 for 1 deal (which is super good value for money for designer glasses, in my opinion).

These are my old glasses, which were again from Specsavers and were £45. I've had these for about 3 years now, they're just a plain black plastic frame:

And now for the exciting part... my two beautiful new pairs!

The first pair are the slightly smaller of the two pairs of frames, plastic with a brown-y colour outside and a blue inside. I consider these to be my slightly more 'professional' pair, if you will.

This second pair are slightly bigger in size and more of a black/slightly blue tinted shade, again plastic.

I'm really in love with my new frames... if you've never had to wear glasses then you might think I'm strange! But choosing frames wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be- I'd decided that I wanted a Gok Wan pair (I must confess I'm a bit of a fan girl) and I found the ones I thought suited my face shape really easily.

They even came in really fancy cases!

Just a heads up, I have in no way been asked by Specsavers or anyone related to Gok Wan to write about these glasses. I bought these with my own money (or rather, my parents were lovely enough to buy them for me) and decided to buy them of my own free will.

I've decided that I'm going to make a few posts about eye make up looks to wear with glasses, because it's something that I always see people talking about and requesting as YouTube videos, so maybe I can do something to help! 

In case you're wondering, I'm short sighted (meaning I can see things up close clearly, and things far away are just one big lovely blur). The lenses that I therefore have mean that my eyes appear slightly smaller to how they really are. 

I hope you enjoyed this post!

n xx

Galaxy nails!

A few weeks ago, I was browsing through some blogs I love, and I stumbled across this post (which you should most definitely check out) on Hannah's blog, hannahjustyne, which goes through just how easy it is to create your own galaxy nails. So of course, I had to create my own, there was just no getting out of it!

The only polish that I had the same as what she used is the Topshop ice crush, where Hannah used one of the other Topshop sparkle colours, so I basically just used the same method :)

I'm not going to outright copy what she's written because she deserves the credit, so if you like what I've done please go check out her post (also because her designs are about a hundred times better than mine because I was in a hurry to do them)!

 These four were the only ones that I used consistently on all of my nails- but the white was applied as the colours below were

• 17 nail xtras strengthening base coat • Barry M black • 17 lasting finish white • Topshop ice crush •

 The rest of these colours were applied in dabs, and each one wasn't put on every nail- I had a little bit of a mix & match experiment going on

• dark pink (brand unknown) • light pink (brand unknown) • Topshop parma violet • Natural Collection winter moon • 17 lasting fix gilt • 17 lasting finish silva •

And here's the finished look! I probably should have tidied up the edges a little first, oops... but I'll definitely be creating this nail look again, I'm seriously in love with it! Plus, it's really easy to do :)

Have you tried out this nail art yet?

n xx

MUA- Going for Gold

Swatches 1-5 (top line) in palette order

Swatches 6-10 (bottom line) in palette order

I really loved the idea of any make up launches in honour of London 2012, so I just couldn't resist this MUA Going for Gold palette. I'd like to claim it was a moment of patriotic weakness, but it's often been a joke that I don't have an off button for being patriotic. So with the paralympics still to come, I thought I'd take the chance to tell you my thoughts on this palette!

This is only my second MUA palette, but I really am loving them! I prefer my Heaven & Earth palette just slightly for everyday use, but there are some really nice gold colours from here that work well with browns from the H&E palette. Two of the silvers are a little disappointing and very sheer as they don't have a strong a pigment, but that does make them very nice for an inner eye corner.

Like all the other palettes that I've seen, a majority of the colours have either a sparkle or shimmer, so that's definitely something you might want to watch out for if you don't like a sparkly day look. I think the best thing about this palette is that the bronze, silver and gold all have a sheer ranging to a sparkly shade in the palette, which means that you can just build them up to whatever you prefer.

I know a lot of people were hoping that the square layout was going to be a new design of the MUA palette, as although there's two less colours, you're getting more of the remaining 10. I like both designs, either way you're getting 10 (or 12 in a normal  palette) colours for only £4. Bargin!

Have you got the Going for Gold palette or any of the other palettes from the MUA range?

n xx

A/W wardrobe wants

clockwise from skirt
Jack Wills the Dulcie skirt £49.50
New Look lurex roll sleeve knitted top £14.99
ASOS lace shirt dress £30
New Look exposed zip boot wedges £27.99
Topshop nude bow back suspender tights £8.50
New Look grey pastel envelope clutch £15.99

Topshop mixed tie dye leggins £20

I'm so excited for winter, it's my favourite season :)

What's yours? 

n xx

Empties review #1

One of my favourite types of post to read are 'empties reviews', so I thought I'd join in with saving up some of my empty products from this summer! I think these kind of reviews are one of the best because it shows that you've fully used up the product and really taken the time to form an opinion of it.

Okay, just a little warning. I got a little excited and maybe this was too many things to post about all in one. I promise other posts like this will be a little shorter! 

Veet hair minimising body moisturiser

"Use daily to noticeably slow down the appearance of hair regrowth"

I bought this on a whim a few months ago while I was waiting for my bus home from college. Before that, I'd only occasionally been using an Avon equivalent, but I prefer the formula of this Veet cream much more. It's quite runny in consistency, but it's also a much lighter formula so absorbs into the skin much quicker. I've noticed a difference for the better in my legs since I've been using it, and I am definitely going to be repurchasing this!

Boots sensitive hair removing cream

"With shea butter & camomile. Leaves skin softer, smoother for up to 5 days"

This is so old! I don't even know if Boots stock it any more to be honest, but they probably still have an equivalent. I found it lurking in the back of one of our bathroom drawers and decided to use it up. I remember using it before and thinking that it was a good product, but to me smells utterly awful. I probably wouldn't touch this again with a barge pole just because of the smell.

Boots Tea tree & witch hazel night treatment gel

"works intensively while you sleep & helps prevent and fight spots"

This is one product that was a staple for me in my teenage years. I never had masses of spots, but I had just enough to warrant slapping this on overnight a few times a week. I still have some handy now, just in case I feel like I need it. If you're spot-prone, it might be worth trying this out. It's a light formula that soaks quickly into your skin, and can sometimes be a nice alternative to moisturiser.

Ted Baker body scrub, body wash & body lotion

"fragranced with an opulent mix of bergamot, red fruit, tuberose & patchouli"

My sister's boyfriend was utterly clueless as to what to get me last christmas (bless), so in the end got me this from Boots. I love the sets that you can get from there at that time of year, and this one was no exception. The set also came with a body spray, and while it's not necessarily exceptional skincare in any way, oh my absolute goodness the smell of this is just so good. I just can't explain how good it smells. If you spot this the next time your in Boots, go take a whiff! (warning: there's a second Ted Baker smell that lurks next to it, but I don't think it's half as good. Don't sniff that by accident!)

Avon invisible light concealer

I'm not really a huge fan of liquid concealers, and this hasn't done anything to help that. Maybe I'm just too attached to my natural collection stick concealer, but I can't find a liquid concealer that gives the same amount of coverage for me. Saying that, I'm sure this is a fantastic product if you like liquid concealers. It has a brush applicator, and you twist the bottom to push the product into the brush for you to then apply. Sorry Avon, this just did not float my boat at all!

17 maximum volume mascara

"builds lashes for thicker, longer, more defined volume. Non-clogging and easy to apply"

I realised that I've most definitely had this longer than the given 6 months, but it still works just fine. I can never remember when I started using a product, so knowing when it's 'gone off' isn't always easy for me to tell. I love the wand of this mascara though- it's bristles and wider at one end, in a cone shape if you will. I never know what to say about the actual liquid mascara product, but I must like this one because it's my second time buying it!

Maybelline one by one volum' express mascara

"the lash catcher- captures, coats & cleans"

I'll confess, I've never read the back of this product before, so I did just have a small moment of 'what it cleans lashes?!'. Anyhow, a friend of mine who always has fabulous eyelashes recommended this to me, and I've fallen in love with it slightly. It was my first plastic mascara wand, so it took some getting used to, but the shape of the wand in so good a coating all my lashes without making them clumpy. I've always layered up my mascara, so a clumpy consistency can add about 10 minutes to getting ready in the morning. I really recommend this product, I will most definitely be repurchasing this!

DKNY be delicious

"A sophisticated blend of apples, exotic flowers and woods creates a fresh, juicy scent that can only be called delicious"

If you can fall in love with a scent, then I would be totally smitten. My sister first bought this for me a few years ago as my first 'grown up scent'. While I love all the other DKNY smells, none of them beat the original for me. It's just so good. I'm now on my second bottle, but I'm saving up for one of the bigger size bottles. I'll be delirious with happiness when I finally get it.

I hope you enjoyed this post! Let me know if you've used any of these products, I'd love to hear your opinions :) 

n xx

Pintrest & updates!

Hello lovely people!

Just a quick update on a few things :)
I've recently set up myself a Pintrest account! If you have Pintrest, then you can find my account here. 
I've also not yet linked here to my instagram which is nikkiyvonne_ if you fancied following that.

In other news, I'm in the process of designing a blog button, so watch this space! I'm going to be actually editing the html coding of my blog over the next few weeks too. I'm getting in some professional help (from my sister haha), so hopefully there won't be any major 'construction disturbances' from my messing up the coding. I'm much more of a pen and paper person, which is why I'm drafting in assistance!

image from we heart it
Hope you're all having a lovely summer :)

n xx

Impressed by imPRESS nails?

Like so many other people, I was so excited when I first saw imPRESS nails. For me, it was because of the cute packaging, which I am always a sucker for, and because of the colour range that is available.

I normally hate most things pink (I think it's a leftover teenage rebellion feeling), but out of all the colours on the shelf, this was the one that I wanted to try. Let's not argue with gut instinct!

These pictures have actually left the colour looking fairly tame, but in person it's a very neon kind of pink. I think I'm still in a little bit of shock over the brightness of it, but I really have grown to love it. Also, I made sure I tested these out quite thoroughly. I was travelling, clearing out my room, washing, cooking, sewing and so much more! I wanted to try out how well they lasted in a busy week.

The nails themselves are super easy to put on, which is another reason why I wanted to try them out. I don't have the patience to sit around and glue on false nails, and these are literally a stick on and go application.

You get about 12 pairs of nails in a pack, so it's easy to find the right size for your nails. Also, the underside of each nail has a number on it, making it easy to pair them up. Sadly, that wasn't something I realised before I applied them, so I got to spend about 20 minutes sorting out one size from another... yay!

The pack claims that these last for a week, but I took them off after 5 days for several reasons. I've not had long nails for several years, so I just wanted my normal nails back! I'd also had a bit of a fight with a door and managed to pull off one nail in the process. Finally, I was just curious to see how well they came off.

They came off pretty easily considering I've never had to remove false nails before. For particularly stubborn nails, I soaked them in warm water that had a dribble of polish remover in it. I will most definitely be trying out these some more! They're just so simple and undemanding. 

If you're looking at trying these out, just a few little tips...

• if you've got short nails normally, file them down slightly. It might sound tedious, but I sat myself down one evening and just filed them the smallest amount. Suddenly having long nails can be a little difficult!
• peel off all the plastic backs to the nails before you stick any of them on, or get yourself a willing helper. If my sister hadn't have been sitting next to me when I was putting these on, I would have been so stuck!
• don't expect the nails to be a perfect fit. Having extra sizes doesn't mean that they've been customised to you in any way, and nobody has the same shape nail

You can buy these from just about everywhere, the best deals probably being online, but I have noticed that in the instance of Boots vs Superdrug, the latter is better. Plain colours in Boots are £7.99, while in Superdrug that's the price of patterned nails and plain ones are only £5.99.

I hope you enjoyed my review! Have you tried out imPRESS nails yet?

n xx

Shopping my stash!

I've seen a lot of bloggers starting to do these kind of posts at the moment, and I really need to be saving for uni so I thought I'd join in. I don't have a particularly large stash of make up and other beauty products, and the way I organise them means I can see what I have. Things don't really get forgotten, but I do get lots of things that I love and stop using for no reason!

 No7 Beautiful Skin Cleansing Water

I bought this a while back when Boots had their most recent £5 off No7 vouchers, but I've barely used it. I really liked it when I used it before, but it got relegated back to shelf status when I bought my Liz Earle cleanse & polish. So I'm shelving the cleanse & polish for a while and getting this back out!

 The Body Shop Vitamin E face mist

I have this because of an O2 priority moments offer a few months back. It's a firm favourite of my mums, and it's supposed to not only be refreshing but also good for setting make up. I've used it a couple of times before, but never anything else similar to this, so I'm quite excited to see what it's like.

 Eye shadow & blusher

This is one of the few 'unbranded' products I have left. I have no idea where it came from, how long I've had it or who got it for me, but I really like the colours. I'm not using any of the colours for blusher, mostly because the palette is only little so it's kind of difficult to get my blush brush into it. The white colour is also a really good subtle highlighter.

 Prestige eyeliner in purple

I probably bought this when I was about 15 and really loved eyeliners, but I've barely used it. I'm not really one for colour liners, I prefer to use black then add colour in an eyeshadow, but I'm going to try and give this a go!

 17 Peep Show mascara

This was a product that was featured in some of my very first posts, but since then it's slipped to the back of my make up as I've been trying to use up some other mascaras. But now they've gone, I'm so happy to have this back in my make up bag. I will most definitely be repurchasing this when it's finished!

 Benefit cream eyeshadow in slippin' & dippin'

I'm happy to report that this little beauty cost me nothing. I picked it up at last years Clothes Show Live at Birmingham NEC with a promotion something my sister found. I'd not really heard of Benefit before, and this just fell to the back of my make up drawer. I'm not a fan of cream eyeshadows, but I'm quite excited to try this out because I really like the colour.

Collection 2000 blush in 04 trouble

No idea when I picked this up, but I really love the colour! I probably got it when I first discovered the wonder of blushers and it's gone untouched since then. It's quite sparkly, but I'm no stranger to a bit of glitter so I'm finding this discovery quite exciting :)

I hope you enjoyed this post! I've got another couple coming soon, because I had quite a big rummage... then realised most people might not want to sit through my excited chatter for around 20 products.

I'd love to hear if you've done this as well :)

n xx

A new love for gel liner

As I've only recently stumbled upon the world of gel eyeliners, I thought I'd share with you my thoughts of the first one I've used!

I really went all-out (ahem) and bought the Collection 2000 lasting colour gel eyeliner in black for £4.99 from Boots. A friend had recommended it, and I'm fed up with using my Collection 2000 liquid liner- it's not bad, but I've been using it for years so I just want a change!

I've only worn this a few times so far as I don't wear eyeliner a lot any more, but I've really fallen in love with this liner! I didn't expect it to be too great just because it's from a cheaper range, but it's really workable and has brilliant colour payoff. It's so easy to work with too, although I don't use the brush that came with it because I have another eyeliner brush that isn't so tiny!

It lasted really well all day, and it wasn't particularly difficult to remove like some liners can be. I was worried about applying it the first few times using it, but I really shouldn't have because it's not any different from any other liner.

If you're like me and didn't venture into gel eyeliners when they first seemed to explode into the beauty world, I would definitely recommend that you try this one instead of splashing out into something  more expensive if you're not sure you're going to like it. You're only spending £4.99, and it's still really good quality :)

I will eventually look into investing into some other gel eyeliners, so I'd love to hear your suggestions! 

Also, I took a photo for my 52 week Flickr project while I was wearing this liner, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

n xx

Clinique superbalanced lovin'

So if you've read my blog a few times, you might have seen my post -here- from earlier this week where I went on something of a Clinique adventure. While I was there, I asked for a foundation sample. I've always wanted to try some of the Clinique foundations, but I find the amount they have on display slightly daunting- what one to choose?!

So I asked the lovely makeup assistant there for something with a medium coverage, and she handed me a sample of Superbalanced in the shade 27 Alabaster. Since then, I've been wearing it every day and I think I might have fallen in love.

Superbalanced - before blending into skin

Superbalanced - after blending into skin

Clinique describe it on their website as:
"The great equaliser for combination skin. Provides moisture and absorbs oil where needed. Minimises appearance of fine lines. Contains anti-irritants and antioxidants. Water resistant."

It's also for all three of their specified skin types. It gives a "moderate" coverage in a liquid formula. They state its benefits as "balances combination skin, long wearing".

While I have as yet to test out how water resistant this is, I agree with mostly everything else that this product claims to be. The oiliest part of my face is my nose, and I've not found this foundation to be a problem and become too shiny in that area. That said, I obviously can't say that it would last the same if you have oily skin all over. The finish for me isn't matte, but it isn't as dewey as some other foundations I wear, which I find really nice for a change. 

I don't think I really have any fine lines to cover either, but I do get the occasional angry red blemish that this product covers really nicely. I use much less concealer than with other foundations I have at the moment thanks to the nice coverage it gives. I've never found myself applying too much and accidentally making myself a little bit orange, which is most definitely a bonus! Finally, I find that it does last all day. I do use a primer whenever I use foundation which probably helps, but I'm still taking a lot of product off my face after 10-12 hours of wearing it.

If you like the look of this foundation, I really recommend that you get yourself to a Clinique counter- I was given this one little pot as a sample, but I've used it 4-5 times and I'm not sure I'm even half way through it yet! So it's really worth trying it out :)

Have you got this product, or any other Clinique foundations? :)

n xx

'Lush-ous' lip scrub!

I've had this little beauty for a while now, and as I was using it the other day it occurred to me that I should share with you all my love for this product! While I do love most Lush products, you don't have to worry about Lush ravings becoming a regular feature if you're not all that keen on their products. I know it can be a little bit of a love/hate kind of shop.

This Lip Scrub in 'Sweet Lips' is definitely one of my favourite Lush products, not only because of the smell but because of how well it works! I've never used any other lip scrub, but I don't really feel like I need to because of my love for this one. I probably will try others once I've finished this one, but it's lasted me at least a year already, so that might not be too soon!

What it does: It's not a harsh exfoliating experience, but the texture means that you can scrub as harshly or lightly as you like and still have great results. For me, this doesn't just work as a lip scrub but also as a light moisturiser- it leaves behind a light, fragrant covering that doesn't last very long, but then again that's not the real purpose of this product. Not only that, but I utterly adore the smell. The label describes it as 'vanilla and chocolate', and to me it's just utter heaven. Lush have this in two other smells but this is my favourite by miles.

How I use it: When I use it, I take an amount appropriate to how dry I feel my lips are (so if my lips are particularly dry, I use a lot more). I massage it into my lower lip first, as this is where I get the most dry skin, and more towards the centre before moving to my top lip. Of course the place where you focus your scrubbing changes for each person! I also rub my lips together like you would for a lipstick or gloss. Once I've finished all the scrubbing, I tend to lick of the scrub then spit it into the sink... not the most ladylike of things, but hey ho. No one else sees!

Have you tried this product, or are you thinking of trying it at all? :) 

n xx

The simple things in life are often the best

Recently, I stumbled upon Prairie Charms, a gorgeous jewellery company, who have a super cute range that I want practically everything from. Some of you might have heard of the Project Blogger that they're doing, but if not then you can read more about it here! 

I was so excited to get just one of their bracelets, I really love anything that involves charms, and to make it a bonus purchase, 10% of what I paid went to Great Ormond Street Hospital and their 'Kiss It Better' campaign. This has always been one of my top charities to help out, so I was delighted :)

I was really impressed with their communication skills in checking that they were ordering the right bracelet for me, and checking that I had all the right information to make the payment. I get so lost sometimes making online orders (oh, the horror stories I could tell you), so I can't really say thank you to them enough for not making things complicated!

The bracelet that I chose to order was the simple things in life are often the best because of how well it would fit into wearing with other bracelets that I already have. I'm already plotting what to buy next however, my favourites being seeing is believing and I don't know where I'm going from here but I promise it won't be boring (trust me to like the ones with super long titles).

Another thing that I love is the way that they've chosen to name the bracelets. It's such an optimistic message, and they instantly make me feel better by reading them.

Also, I really liked the packaging that I was sent the bracelet in- I know it's a really lame thing to comment on, but it really annoys me when you're sent things in super massive boxes for a really small product (feel unique, I'm looking at you). I was sent this in just an envelope, which then had the dragonfly wrapped bracelet. Not only is the tissue paper really cute, I think it's a really quirky way of sending things.

Overall, I think I'll definitely be buying from Prairie Charms again (and again and again...). I really love what they're selling, and it was generally a really good online purchase :) plus, I've been wearing this bracelet so much since it came. I love it.

Let me know if you've done any reviews or bought anything from here too, I'd love to have a look! 

n xx

Even nails like formal wear..

Although I've been loving my nail art recently, I thought I should cool it down a little and have something simple for a while! I went for this gorgeous summer orange colour, which is 17's lasting fix nail polish in tropical island. I got this colour free in my fest of all kit last month, which you can see here :)

I used my Barry M plain black and a bobby pin for the design- it's simply four black splodges, then on either side of the top dot, two more dots to create the winged edge of the bow tie. A lot of dots, basically.


If you're a regular reader, you're probably bored to tears with my other nails products because they're always the same (also, you're fabulous for being a regular reader!). I simply use:

Avon nail experts grow potion

17 strengthening base coat

Avon nail experts liquid freeze

Collection 2000 2 in 1 topcoat

In other news, I now have regular access to a laptop (since my computer dying dramatically a few weeks ago). What you've been reading between now and my broken computer post has been hours of work put together once or twice a week, then queued. I think I was pretty successful in still getting posts done, and hopefully I fooled you all into thinking I was writing posts daily!

I hope you liked this look lovelies :)

ta-ra

n xx