Loves and Loathes: October

I start my new job a week tomorrow and it's made me realise that I really need to get better organised when it comes to writing blog posts. At the moment, I am a freelance consultant, who works from home, which means that it's not difficult for me to spend an hour here and there writing whenever the mood takes me. But next week sees me return to office life full time, so it won't be quite as practical for me to spend a lunch hour photographing my latest beauty buys! For that reason, I'm going to try and get some regular themed posts, like this one: Loves and Loathes.

Loves

Shu Uemura Nourishing Hair Oil - I have never had a product that is more 'in' than this one, and I can honestly say I'd give up every single thing in my hair and beauty product collection to keep hold of this little beauty: it's THAT good. In the 6 weeks I've been using it, my hair has gone from quite dry, occasionally dull and unruly, to shiny, silky gorgeousness. Despite using it 3 times a week, I have used about a tenth of the bottle, making the £32.50 spent on it pretty good value.

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex - I have a love/hate relationship with eye creams. I have invested so much money in creams, gels and lotions that have done absolutely nothing to moisturise or brighten my under eye area and was starting to lose faith in ever finding anything that works. Then in steps this little miracle. I managed to get my hands on a month's supply of this product when it came out and it's done everything that I always hope an eye cream will do. Dark circles have been reduced, and my under eye skin looks radiant and plump with health. I will definitely be buying this when my supply runs out.

Lookbook.nu - I could quite easily lose myself in this website. I absolutely love style blogs and this website is almost like a speed style blogging experience! I have found so many fabulous bloggers since coming across this site, so to ensure my reading list doesn't expand to the realms of the ridiculous, I am really restricting the number of times I'm allowed to look at it!!

Loathes

Chipped nail varnish - I ran out of my beloved Barry M 3 in 1 basecoat last week and haven't been able to get my hands on a replacement bottle yet. In the few days since it ran out, I have worn two different nail polishes, both of which have chipped within a day! I quite enjoy painting my nails, but having to touch them up every 24 hours is slightly ridiculous. I'm really lucky to have naturally strong nails that grow to a nice, elegant length, but I so often find myself wishing I had an excuse to get gel nails! The thought of ruining my natural nails really bothers me, so maybe I will look into having my nails Minxed to cut down on my home manicures. Either that or I'll just go and buy the Barry M basecoat!

Sugar - You may have read my post about cutting sugar out of my diet. I've managed to eliminate the vast majority of refined sugar from my diet and, although it's been tough, I'm really happy that I've made the decision to avoid it. Over the past 7 days, I've felt healthier and had more energy which has really boosted my commitment to stay away from it long term, so I hope I the resolve stays! I can't promise that as the night's draw in, I will be able to say no to the occasional hot chocolate, but the long term impacts of a sugary diet will hopefully be enough to help me resist temptation!

Barry M Instant Nail Effects: NOTD

As I'm giving away a bottle of Barry M Instant Nail Effects polish, I thought I'd better give you an idea of how the stuff looks on! As you can see from the below photo, I had great fun trying it with some of my favourite polishes....

Starting with my thumb and working across, the polishes are: Barry M Fuchsia, 17 Lasting Fix in Pink Grapefruit, Dolce & Gabbana Gold, Barry M Berry I/C, Barry M Navy.

As I'll be in the office this week, I decided on something a little more subtle than the above shades and plumped for Barry M Racing Green, one of my all time favourites. Here's the before shot...

...and now with Instant Nail Effects and a layer of topcoat (essential to brighten the chalky, matte finish the polish gives) on top...

I really love the effect it gives, although I think it's probably better with a colour that contrasts more with the black (i.e. not dark green!) Plus, because I love Racing Green so much, I keep looking at the 'before' photo and thinking how shiny and smooth my nails look! Saying that, I think this is a fantastic product, and great for creating fab nail art without having to spend hours in a salon. It's definitely something I will be playing with for the next few weeks to find the perfect partner for it.

Finally, if you haven't entered my competition to win a bottle of Instant Nail Effects, click here.

Giveaway: Barry M Instant Nail Effects! CLOSED

All across the land, run of the mill manicures are being transformed by Barry M Instant Nail Effects polish. After seeing Big Fashionista's fabulous nails yesterday, I knew that this was something I had to own. I dashed out this morning and snagged the last two bottles from my local Boots: one of which is for me, and the other is for one of you lucky people! Yes, it's competition time again!

To be in with a chance of winning, here's what to do:

1. Be a follower of my blog

2. Post a comment below telling me your favourite product, polish or treatment that keeps your hands and nails looking fabulous. Multiple entries won't be counted unless...

3. ...you write a blog post or include a sidebar link back to this competition on your blog. If you do this, include the link to your blog post about this competition in your comment below and then you may enter another 2 comments (meaning that you get 3 comments in total, thus 3 chances to win. Subsequent entry comments just need to say 'enter me' - I don't expect you to come up with multiple favourite products!) If you don't include the link, I won't count your additional comments as valid entries, so don't forget!

4. The competition will close on Sunday 17th October at 1800 GMT. The winner will be announced that evening and should contact me by email with their address details by Friday 22nd October. I am happy to post internationally so all entrants welcome! Remember, don't include your email or postal address in the comments section. I don't want any of you getting spammed!

And if you don't know how Instant Nail Effects works, check out this video and prepare to be amazed!

Glassy and glossy, but beware the polish perfector!

I am loving this navy polish by Barry M. I know t'is the season of greige and khakis (or should that be 'Car-Keys'? Well done, Models Own!), but I dug around in my nail varnish drawer and found myself unable to resist this gorgeous, rich blue. It conjures images of lavish silks and velvets in deep jewel tones, and is reigniting my desire to take my flat from a calm, minimalist haven to a darkly seductive and elegant fantasy pad. It's funny what a nail varnish can do for me!

And then there is the gloss on top: is it not the glassiest, most immaculate finish you've ever seen? As much as it has ravaged my nails in the past, I have a coat of Seche Vite on top as I was in a rush to paint them before bed. I'd forgotten just how much shine it gives the nail, and it manages to make even cheapy polishes look incredibly expensive. When I first got SV, I was changing my nail shades every few days, always finishing with my new found 'wonder' product, oblivious to the life-sucking that was going on beneath my perfect talons: and my god, were they dry after a couple of weeks! I'm not saying you should never use it, as it does look amazing, but it's definitely not for you if your nails are naturally brittle. Also, it's good to get into the habit of using a cuticle oil on your nails to replace some of the lost moisture, and think of SV as a special occasion finisher, rather than an essential part of your routine.

I'm going to try Leighton Denny's Miracle Drops next time to see if they are better for more frequent use so I will keep you posted. As much as I love the look of it, SV is definitely an occasional use product for me, alongside cupcakes, champagne and 5 inch stilettos.

What's your favourite Barry M shade, and have you had a positive/negative experience with Seche Vite?

Birthday giveaway prizes!

You'll be pleased to know that I braved Oxford Street in the rain to secure the birthday giveaway prize today: you should count yourselves very lucky! I selected a few of my favourite products at the moment and have gone for some light, summery colours, despite the hideous weather we're having here in London. The winner will receive:

1 x Maybelline The Falsies mascara in Black

1 x No 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Flirtini, a gorgeous sheer pink that kind of looks like you've been eating a few too many cherries!

1 x Barry M limited edition nail paint in 30, a beautiful and intense lilac (a little darker and warmer than standard lilac and really pretty!)

1 x Aussie 3 Minute Miracle sachet

1 x Dermalogica Ultra Calming Cleanser sacher

1 x Armani Silk lipstick tester blister pack including Satin Silk (a rich, caramel nude), Pure Silk (a vamp-it-up Russian red) and Sparkling Silk (a slightly shimmery gloss)

1 x 7ml sample of Aveda Tourmaline Charged Hydrating Creme moisturiser

1 x 5ml sample of Aveda Tourmaline Charged Eye Creme

This competition will be open to the first 50 followers of this blog only, and for your chance to win, simply become a follower and tell me what your favourite, can't-live-without product is in the comments section below. The winner will be selected at random from the first 50 followers who have posted a comment. There are no restrictions on postage so you can enter this competition no matter where in the world you live! So what are you waiting for?

Barry Mmmmmmmm

A few favourites from my Barry M collection

I know that everyone British Beauty Blogger worth her pedicure has posted about Barry M, and I'm not about to break with tradition. It's no surprise that the brand is going from strength to strength and with stands in Boots, Superdrug and Topshop Oxford Circus (my favourite), the rise looks to continue. And it's their polishes that has this girl more than a little excited.

So, if you haven't tried it, no doubt you're wondering what all the fuss is over a bottle of polish that costs £2.95. Back when I was younger, I thought that the more I spent, the better quality I'd get. At 13, I fell in love with a YSL pink polish, saved up and bought it. It was my first 'designer' make up product, and the packaging made me delirious with excitement. You can imagine my disappointment at the resulting gloopy polish, streaky finish and chips within a day's wear. 14 years later, and I still haven't gone back to YSL for nail polish. Similar experiences with Chanel and MAC have left me pretty cold on high end nail lacquer.

If youth and money are wasted on the young, then with age comes an eye for a bargain. My first Barry M purchases were the red polish (number 262), accompanying red glitter (150) and base/top coat. Seven days later, my nails still sparkled like Dorothy's ruby slippers, and off I skipped down the Yellow Brick Road to buy every colour that caught my eye.

Current favourites are Pink Flamingo (305, and upside down on the far left of the above picture) for fingers and Raspberry (273) for toes. Always apply the base/top coat and you are guaranteed days of fuss-free wear. Definitely my number one nail polish around!