Mini Birthday Haul

I've made it a little tradition to only work half the Friday near my birthday and then spend the rest of the day shopping in the beaut sunshine. Last year I went to Chelsea, this year I went to Westfield White City (London). 

Didn't get much, I just decided to write a list of things and shops I wanted to go to before I met my friends for dinner. I'm still hobbling around really so I didn't fancy visiting every shop. 

Of course I went to the Models Own bottle shop and spent £20 to get 6 polishes! Im getting a bit pickier now so I know what kind of colours I want and I'm not buying polishes just because I don't own it. 

I think I picked quite a good selection - quite spring/summery shades: 

1. Pastel Pink

2. Mermaid Tears - Splash Collection

3. Utopia

4. Juicy Jules

5. Blueberry Muffin - Scented

6. Strawberry Tart - Scented

The only other product I got was a foundation. Getting all excited about high end quality make up, getting matched ad the counter and a makeover, I wandered into The Village and House of Fraser where I knew there would be a lovely lady waiting to play skin-matching with me at the Giorgio Armani counter. 

I originally wanted to get a match with the Maestro foundation as that's what I had been mainly using lately and loving it! However, as we all know, your skin changes all the time and different things may suit you at different times. So the sales assistant opted to show me the Luminous Silk foundation and I tried it and liked it. 

I still like the Maestro but after using Luminos Silk for the past few days I like it too - it feels nice on the skin and works well over the Smashbox Photofinish Primer (which is similar to the Armani primer). For your reference, I am 6.5 in Luminous Silk but 5.5 in Maestro. 

So that was my little haul :) also got myself a half-priced frappe from Starbucks whilst taking a good half hour rest: 

And had a lovely dinner out at Fire & Stone with my friends:

Showing off my lovely Lychee Martini :P

Hope you guys had a good weekend!!

Love love and haullove!!

Toffee xXxXx

*video* What I'm currently using...

Products in this video:

~ Smashbox Photofinish Primer

~ Giorgio Armani Maestro frusion makeup SPF15 in 5.5

~ Bare Minerals Original SPF15 Foundation in light W15

~ MAC Mineralize Skin Finish in Petticoat

~ MAC Mineralize Eyeshadow in Snow Season

~ Sleek iDivine Palette in Oh So Special

~ Benefit They're Real! Mascara

~ Benefit Benetint

~ Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray

If you have any questions about the products shown in this video please leave a comment or message me :) 

Thanks for watching!!

( What do stars do??

*** They shine. ***)

FTC: I bought most of these products with my own money (not Sleek Palette or BareMinerals Foundation) and this did not affect my opinion :)

Love love and videolove!!

Toffee xXxXx

hearts & shimmer NOTD

It was my 21st (again) birthday yesterday and so I wanted something cute for my nails! 

Birthday nails are always the hardest for me to do because I never know what designs to create...

I chose three shades from Models Own for a base colour - Hot Pink, Peaches & Cream and Lemon Meringue. Two coats for the perfect opaqueness. 

I then overlayed Indian Ocean on my nails - one layer gave a nice shimmery sheen. 

I wasn't too sure if the blue would show through and change the colours, but I as long as the layer isn't too thick then it mainly shows the pink shimmers. 

(You can kind of see the blue on the yellow but you can hardly tell IRL)

Using a dotting tool, I drew heart patterns all over my nails. I used the same shades as I did for the bases. Hearts are so cute and really easy to draw with a dotting tool. Make two dots close together to create the rounded edges and then join them up in a triangle underneath.

I used GOSH Magic Star on the hearts to give it a little extra sparkle and then sealed in the design with two coats of 17 Double Gloss Top Coat, which also makes it extra shiny!

Hope you had a great weekend :)

Happy birthday to me... ^_^

Love love and birthdaynaillove!!

Toffee xXxXx

2true Glitterati NOTD

The wonderful people over at 2true have just brought out a new trio of cute glitter polishes and I was lucky enough to get one sent to me! I absolutely love all glitter polishes and the ones for layering are great for adding a touch of glam to any colour. 

I have Amethyst which is Shade 4. It contains a mix of small and big hexagons of violet and rose champagne sequins. The other two are Shade 5 - Turquoise, a mix of blue and green glitters and Shade 6 - Rose Gold, a mix of pink and gold glitters. 

Being named Amethyst I wondered if the polish would be highlighted more over a deep purple shade (OPI Siberian Nights) or black. So, to test this theory without actually painting my nails and waiting for them to dry I did a little test on some card. 

Not too much difference but you can see the violet glitters a little easier over the black so I picked that. To be honest, most glitter polishes look great over a cream black base - I used two coats of Rimmel I heart Lasting Finish in 080 Black Cab. 

I don't think I've had all my nails the same exact colour for ages and so an accent nail was called for. 

One layer of the glitter polish is sufficient, but being a cheerleader and glitter running through my veins, I need a double layer. 

Two layers did the trick for me and every time I catch the sparkle from my hands I feel like I wanna party :P

The contrasting white (Revlon 050 White On White) looked a little too plain for me, so I added more glitter! This time in the form of hand-cut flakes in the name of Models Own Snowflakes. 

So, all in all, this is a very pretty polish and great for summer nights out!

Currently available in most Superdrug stores at £1.99 each or all 3 for £5.00 - bargainous!

Love love and glitterlove!!

Toffee xXxXx

Pretty Gradient Pink Glitter and Pattern NOTD

This is the finished article that I currently have on my nails right now and I do adore it but I didn't quite love it at first...

Started off with a block cream shade of MAC's Pinkly Fresh to cover my entire nails. Two coats did the trick! 

Then I used a make up sponge to dab on Barry M Fuchsia to the tips of my nails, and then use the polish brush to dark the very edge. 

I blended the polishes together with a coat of 17 Double Gloss Top Coat. This formed the base of my manicure. 

I added some patterns using a white striper polish. The dry marble heart was made as a decal and then I  cut it into the shade I wanted, added a fresh layer of top coat and pressed on the heart.  

I thought I would love it when it was dry, and in my head I was going to like it but seeing it on my nails, I actually hated it. I figured out it was the weird leopard print that I disliked and so I decided to redo that nail. 

I couldn't be bothered to sponge the tip again so I left that nail light pink. But that was too plain and I had to add glitter. So I picked up OPI Katy Perry Teenage Dream and it was such a dream on top of the pink. For some extra glitterizing, I layered Models Own Blizzard on top of the non-leopard print nail. 

It's not often we get a big beam of sunlight in the UK so I made the most of it by taking pictures of my nails for my blog (!)

Peace out!!

Love love and pinklove!!

Toffee xXxXx

Friday night in...

Hello!!

So earlier today, I decided to spend my day off (I'm working the weekend) a little productive and film a couple of videos! This is me earlier, after I filmed. I didn't actually wear my coral blazer but I love the pop of colour it adds. 

Being still a cripple, I'm spending my Friday night in (not really much different to normal) with my dad on the couch in front of the TV. 

Tuesday brought the end of my Neom Organics Happiness candle but not the end of my happiness as I could start a new scent! 

I'm one of those people that stockpiles candles but can't use the next one until the old one is fully used up!

This candle has actually been waiting for use for almost a whole year! I bought it on my birthday (25th May) last year when I went shopping in Chelsea and treated myself (more than once!) with this beautiful scent:

English Pear & Freesia is definitely my favourite scent from the Jo Malone range. It's so luxurious and sweetens up my room perfectly making it actually feel like spring time, even when the grey skies don't look it!

The Body Shop had a 40% off sale this week and so I thought I'd replenish my stocks:

3 x Seaweed Mattifying Moisture Lotion

1 x Nutriganics Smoothing Night Cream

1 x Pomegranite & Raspberry Home Fragrance Oil

All that, saved over £20 (being a member I got another discount along with the 40% off) and free standard delivery! 

It's been a pretty good week, for what it was. I hope you guys are looking forward to the weekend and spare a thought for me sat at home with my leg up and working!

Love love and weeklove!!

Toffee xXxXx

Neo Whimsical Flicks NOTD

So I actually created this manicure ages ago, and drafted this post up but never got to actually writing it or anything... 

You know how I love lilac and I just received this new polish from Essie in a trio set from buyapowa. 

The lilac polish is called Neo Whimsical and the blue is Eyeko Rain Polish. 

Using a black striper polish from Inglot, I did three flicks joined in the corner. I think this design is so simple and easy but still looks really sophisticated. 

And then, of course that glitter practically runs through my vains, I added some sparkles on top, before sealing with a top coat. 

I hope you like the mani :)

Love love and flicklove!!

Toffee xXxXx

Five Pretty Perfumes

When I was an avid video maker, I had some requests to do a video on my perfume collection. That may happen in due course, but today I decided to pick my favourite bottles to show you. 

Purely aesthetic looks, I chose these five bottles because of how pretty they are. 

five.

Lacoste Touch of Pink

This is the first branded perfume I ever owned so it has some sentimental value to me. I saw the fun adverts of the girl chasing the kite and I fell in love. Pink is pretty and I hadn't even smelt the scent before. I was given it as a birthday present years ago and it still sits gorgeous with my jewellery. I love how the liquid itself is clear but the bottle fades up from a bright pink. 

four.

Juicy Couture Original

This bottle always feels so luxurious in my hands - probably it's the most expensive perfume I own! The logo, the crystal look lid and the detachable necklace wrapped around the lid neck makes this a beautiful bottle. My mum bought me this in New York on Valentine's Day. It was on offer and came in a set with body wash and body lotion too and I still keep it in the box set as I can't bear to let it gather dust in the open. I've wanted to like the other Juicy Couture perfumes, but honestly, nothing beats the original scent. 

three. 

Christian Dior Miss Dior Cherie Eau de Toilette

Now, I do believe the name of this has now changed to just Miss Dior. I love the light pink stained liquid and how cute it looks on my dressing table. The bow on the lid neck just adds to the complete girly-ness of this bottle and the Dior brand just brings up the luxury factor. 

two.

Taylor Swift Wonderstruck

I never thought I would buy a celebrity perfume, but then I fell for TS. That's right, I am a confessed Swifty and I love how she was involved in every aspect of its creation. The blue holographic glass with the gold features and how detailed the lid is a gorgeous creation that I'm sure most people would be proud of. She's made another perfume since this one called Wonderstruck Enchanted and is actually very similar looking. It comes in a dark pink/red bottle and the charms are different but I need it. If only the charms were a bit smaller (less spiky) and detachable, I could wear it as a bracelet! 

one. 

Nina Ricci Nina Fantasy

I spotted this on a counter in Debenhams and I instantly fell for how cute the bottle was. I don't think the apple-style bottle is unique but the patterns are adorable and instead of a strip of card for a scent sample, they had little flip books of a girl and her dog, just like the bottle/box. Every time you flipped through, the scent was fanned at you and it scooped you up into the fantasy world. 

The pink being cute, the white being pure and innocent and the gold being luxury. There are three leaves coming from the lid neck and on one, the Nina Ricci name is embossed. It's rather discreet (although I believe it sits the same on her other perfumes) and you wouldn't notice it at first glance. I love how there is no other writing on the bottle and inside the box, there's a concertina of cute scenarios the girl has adventured to. 

This is definitely my favourite pretty perfume bottle :)

What's your favourite perfume bottle?

Love love and prettyperfumelove!!

Toffee xXxXx

Lilac Play NOTD

This is currently what is on my left hand - I do love lilac (it's my favourite colour) and I have a little pattern fetish at the moment where I like all my nails to be different. 

I started off with this gorgeous polish from OPI as a base - Rumple's Wiggin. Three coats (two didn't quite suffice) over a base coat of OPI Nail Envy Matte is what I used. 

Then, using a white nail striper polish from Inglot, I began the patterns. With my index finger, I was only going to do half of my nail but then it looked a bit weird so I filled in the other side. 

With the feather on my thumb, I wasn't sure what to do so I just began using the white striper and it turned into a feather. 

After the white was mostly dry, I added Model's Own Soda Pop Pink. Used with a dotting tool and a tiny little nail art paint brush for the more delicate designs. 

Then, using a dark pink limited edition Barry M polish, I completed the designs using the same tiny (the smallest one I have) nail art paint brush. For the three green leaves, I used Illamasqua Kink and the tip of that tiny brush. 

On a side note, if you're really into doing your own nail art (or doing it for others) then investing in a set of 4 different sized nail art brushes is a good idea. 

Unfortunately, my left hand is no where near as steady as my right, so sticking with a dotting tool and the same colours, I did some polkadotting. Not as skilled, but still as cool I think - I hope!

These nails have been perfect for this fine summery May Day bank holiday weekend :)

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine!

Love love and lilaclove!!

Toffee xXxXx