Essie Mint Candy Apple

Mint Candy Apple is undoubtably one of Essie's most popular nail polishes. The number of beauty gurus on YouTube I've seen mention it is crazy! What persuaded me to get it was, in fact, Eshani with her recent "summer nail polish favourites" video - here. The colour is gorgeous, and nothing like I have.

The end result was amazing, and I only needed one coat! However, I did have problems with the application. I had to take it all off and re-apply it as the formula is so runny and extremely hard to work with. After several attempts I managed to get it presentable enough for a photo. It is definitely one of the those polishes you need to take your time with and not rush...which is what I did, unfortunately. Currently, looking at my nails - my left hand is perfect (understandably as I am right-handed) yet my right hand is crap. My impatience when it comes to applying nail polish is unforgivable. This might sound terribly snobby, but I think I'm going to ask my mother politely to do my right hand for me. It just aint happening'. Perhaps it's just the bottle I picked up, or maybe I'm just not used to Essie polishes!

You can buy Essie polishes online and in store from Superdrug and Boots and they cost £7.99 each. Reasonably price when compared to other high-end brands such as OPI (a staggering £11.50) and Debborah Lippman (nearly £20)!

Suzanna xoxo

PS. One again, I'm sorry for the lack of posts! GCSE's are killing me right now.

Fashion and beauty haul

I am so sorry about the lack of posts this week! I've just had so many exams and have had to use my free time revising like crazy. Now that they are over until late June, I thought I'd do as many posts as I can starting off with a major haul. I went to Guildford today and they one of the best shopping complex's I know. I went to Urban Outfitters, DKNY,House of Fraser (department store), Boots and a really awesome American candy store which I am in love with. Let's start...

From department store House of Fraser, I got a Clinique High Impact mascara and a new Clinique "Take The Day Off" makeup remover. This is my third one in two months - not good. But it is the best. In Boots I got two Essie nail polishes; one in Mint Candy Apple (mint colour, obviously) and the other in Tart Deco (light coral). I got some essentials including a Nivea deodorant and a Nivea lip balm. I also picked up LO'real's new mascara called Mega Volume Collagene 24hr which is said to be amazing! My old eye lash curler broke, so I picked up a new one, and finally I got the Dove Summer Glow moisturiser with a subtle self tanner. I can't wait to review it for you.

And because I spent over £30 on Clinique products, I got a free gift which is pretty awesome! In the pretty makeup bag I got a lipstick, an eyeshadow duo, a sample of a Clinique mascara, a corrector pen, deep comfort hand cream and a rinse-off foaming cleanser. Sweet!

There was also a DNKY Jeans store so I picked up this khaki denim jacket for a really amazing price. Normally they are pretty expensive so I'm very happy with this. They only had a size XS in stock, but I tried it on and it fits perfectly - I'm a size 8 so I didn't think it would fit!

I went into my favourite clothing store ever, Urban Outfitters! I didn't take a picture of the stuff I got because it's all packaged nicely and it would take a while to get nice photos, so I'll just list them. I was in need of a new school bag as the one I got from Egypt last summer had broken completely. I saw a really gorgeous black bag (£49) and knew I had to get it. Plus, it fits A4 folders in which is a must! I got two aztec style t-shirts (both £28 each which is pretty hefty) and a cross shaped necklace for £8. 

Wouldn't it be great if Primark and Urban Outfitters could switch price tags?

Lastly, I went to an American candy store that sells, not just candy, but everything! I saw loads of condiments, drinks, cereals, food (mind you, they did look disgusting) and rows and rows of sweets and chocolate. Being a major peanut butter fan I got some peanut butter M&Ms as well as Reece's peanut butter cups (not in picture). My mum also got this Oh Henry fudge bar.

So, thats it for today! I hope you liked this. If you want me to review any of the products shown let me know in a comment. And again, I'm sorry for the lack of posts!

Suzanna xoxo

Ps. I'm so sad One Tree Hill has ended. I've got the theme song stuck in my head! Listen here.

Nails Inc. "Tate"

It was in my recent April favourites (here) and I love it so much that I thought it deserves its own special post. Plus, it's Friday so I can keep it on for 3 days!!! My school seriously sucks when it comes to "appearance" and what we can and can't wear. Does nail polish really affect our education? No.

Anyway, here's a few pictures of Nails Inc. in the shade "Tate"...

Keep in mind, that I only applied one coat! *gasp*

I'm going to be wearing this non-stop when summer comes around.

As for the price, it costs a pretty steep £11. I'd only buy expensive nail polish if it's a colour that I know I'd always enjoy wearing. You'd never see me buying a £10+ glitter or holographic nail polish because I know for a fact that I won't always like it. "Tate", however, is a whole different story. On the Nails Inc. website it's described as a "sophisticated" colour that brings any look together. I'm sure you could probably find a decent dupe, yet the quality of these polishes are indescribable (but I am going to try my best here). I only needed one coat to get a full, rich opaque colour which is fantastic. It applies so easily, almost as if it's a gel. Love, love, love! <3

Have you tried any Nails Inc. polishes? What are your favourites? I have literally just placed an order for the shade "Baker Street" - Beyonce's acclaimed favourite polish!

Suzanna xoxo

OPI Barefoot In Barcelona

The title is very fitting for several reasons. Firstly, several people from school left to go to Barcelona for the Spanish and graphics trip today. *Jealous*

And secondly, it's the name of my current favourite nail polish.

It's by OPI (what a surprise)... and I absolutely love it! <3

Barefoot in Barcelona first caught my eye when I saw Ingrid (or MissGlamorazzi as she is known on YouTube) do a modern french manicure tutorial using this exact polish. After watching the video, I knew I had to get it. Plus, I needed a new polish that wasn't purple, blue or pink as they are the colours I tend to normally use.


Please note: the colour of the polish changes depending on lighting etc. This is why some of the pictures look completely different to each other :)

Above: without flash (outside)

Below: with flash (inside)

Get this polish here: click meh!

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Few other things I want to talk about:

I've just finished editing mine and my media groups silent film competition entry. I would love for you to watch it and tell me what you think in the comments. We spent so long on it; I'm talking two whole days filming and eight hours editing! Watch below or if it's not loading, go HERE to watch on YouTube.

I'm thinking about doing a MAC collection post as I've seen these a quite popular. Tell me in the comments if you'd like this as I don't want to waste my time.

Thank you for reading and have a great day!

Suzanna

XOXO

How to maintain healthy looking nails and a review on the American Apparel nail polish range

Extra long post today! I'm going to talk about how I maintain healthy looking nails, do a review with swatches of American Apparel's new nail polish and show my Lil Wayne drawing! Exciting stuff.

For school I'm not allowed to wear any nail polish which sucks because I have so many that I want to use! Applying it on Friday and then having to take it on Sunday evening sucks and becomes a hassle so, normally I don't wear any nail polish. However, when you don't wear nail polish people are able to see your nails so it means I have to look after them carefully.

At school I'm constantly writing and using my hands (obviously) so my nails are prone to breaking. To prevent this I always carry a nail file and scissors with me. Yes, it's a bit weird considering but it's better than the nail ripping even more! I also put on clear nail polish nearly everyday as it forms a protective barrier against my nails - it also makes them 10 times more stronger than without.

I'm going to go through the stages that I do every night in order to keep my nails strong, clean and healthy looking! I hope some of you find this helpful :)

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Step 1) Using a nail polish remover get rid of any nail varnish that may be left on your nails. Nothing is worse than little specks of old varnish! I use acetone free remover as it's much gentler on your skin - but any nail polish remover is fine.

Soak quite a fair bit onto a piece of tissue - I use tissue as I find it absorbs much more product than using a cotton ball for instance. Place the tissue onto the nail for ten seconds and remove.

Step 2) Clean your hands - make sure that there is no dirt stuck under your nails and remember to scrub hard so you get all the polish remover off! I should have taken my watch off, oops.

Step 3) File your nails! Make sure you file them in the same direction to prevent breakage.

Step 4) Using a tool like this, push back your cuticles to form whatever shape you'd like and then use it to make the shape of your nails. Do this by pushing back the skin under the nails (if that makes sense!) This step is optional - you don't have too.

Step 5) Moisturise your hands using your favourite hand cream. I used the Soap and Glory Hand Food one as I absolutely LOVE the smell of it. Hmm marshmallows. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my hands in this picture but you get the gist.

Step 6) After using the hand cream, I apply some Avon Nail Experts cuticle balm. I really like this stuff and it was so inexpensive! If you can, definitely check out the brand Avon via a local representative or online. Most of the products I use for nail and hair are from Avon. Even though it's cheap, it works just as well as the most expensive brand you can find.

Step 7) DONE! After this your nails should look clean and healthy looking! Obviously my nails aren't perfect and I have a lot of work to do, but the point of this blog post was to show how to maintain them. I rarely come across anyone with perfect looking nails - if they are perfect, 99.9% of the time they are fake!

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In my last blog post - which was a haul - I talked about a nail polish I bought from American Apparel. Today, after taking these pictures above, I tested it out.

Here's what it looked like:

First impressions: love the colour! But applying this is a pain in the freaking ass. The amount of times it dripped (ONCE APPLIED!) onto my tights was uncountable. Yes, the colour is pretty but the consistency is awful and making it look "nice" was proven to be a struggle. It was so hard, that I didn't even do the second hand...and I removed it straight away!

American Apparel should just stick to clothing. Most definitely.

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Also, in my last post I said that I've started drawing! So, I was on Twitter and stumbled across Lil Wayne's page (and no, I don't follow him - I'm not a rap fan). Anyway, I saw his picture and absolutely loved it. I loved all the tattoos he had on show (maybe because I'm a sucker for someone with tats?) but I immediately knew I wanted to draw it.

This is the original, my inspiration...

...and this is my version!

It's rubbish. I only spent 20 mins on it, so what do you expect? Hehe.

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OMG. SO MANY THINGS TO TALK ABOUT IN THIS POST! MUST. STOP.

So I think I've done enough today. I'll see you later in the week! :)

Suzanna

XOXO