Daisy Print Nails

All of last week I had such fun and easy nail art gracing my digits, that I just had to share them! The daisy print is such big news right now that it seemed like the obvious choice to try out when I had a bit of time on my hands. All I needed was to choose the colours and grab my trusty dotting tool.. which opens up a whole world of nail art options.

I wore my summer favourite dark turquoise polish as the base coat, and for the daisy dots used white and bright yellow polishes. The colour combination worked really well! Take a look:

This was the second attempt I made at these, the first attempt was a disaster! As such I can offer the following tip: do each daisy individually in its entirety: i.e. yellow dot first, then surround with five white dots, before moving onto the next. My first attempt I started with ALL the yellow dots then went back to do all the white and they ended up much too close together, meaning the daisy effect was lost to a random mass of different coloured dots. The key is to space them out! So I used each end of the same dotting tool, which helped a lot. When dry, seal with a clear top coat and you're done. Easy peasy daisies!

My Nails:

Barry M Gelly Nail Paint - Guava

Barry M Nail Paint - Matt White

L'Oreal Color Riche Nails - Banana Pop

Dotting Tool (part of a set) - Amazon

Cowgirl in Keds

Is it just me, or is there something about plimsolls that just screams 'back to school'? Specifically, the brand new P.E. kit that I used to get given at the end of each summer holiday ready for the year ahead... shudder. Thankfully my school days are far behind me, but August / September still feels like the right time to be pulling out a new pair of plimsolls, when the mornings are too chilly for sandals but I'm not yet ready to permanently default to wintry boots. By a happy coincidence, I've just got my hands on a new pair of black Keds, so I can resurrect my schoolgirl memories!

I've mainly been wearing my Keds with skinny jeans and T-shirts, but decided to do something a bit different with today's outfit, throwing them on with my cowgirl-lite look of old check shirt, beach cover-up and statement fedora. Which, let's face it, transports any outfit to the Wild West.

Keds plimsolls come in a veritable rainbow of vibrant colours and patterns so it took a while to decide which tempting hue to go for.. As you can see I finally decided on the plainest of classic black. 'Cos black goes with everything - I like to have versatility from my footwear! This pair is gloriously comfortable with an internal arch support and, having daringly decided their inaugural outing should be without socks, I experienced none of that pesky new shoes blister-inducing rubbing on my delicate pieds. Happy feet indeed!

Here's me walking AND talking!

Do you like my Wild West / school daze mash up? Do you have any Keds? What colour would you go for?

My Outfit:

Shirt: Urban Outfitters (old) | Tank Top: Monki | Necklace & Round Ring: Primark

Hat: Miss Selfridge | Spike Ring: H&M | Midi Ring: Topshop
Plimsolls: Keds*

NARS Eye and Cheek Palette - At First Sight

Before we get started, please please PLEASE would you do me a huge favour and 'like' this Facebook photo of me?  It's for the Aspire Style Blogger Challenge. THANKS *smooooch*.

So for this post I shall be looking at the NARS Eye & Cheek Palette 'At First Sight' that was kindly sent to me to review by the lovelies at HQhair.com, an online hair and beauty product store. This is my first foray into using NARS so I was super excited to get up close and personal with this palette. Take a look:

First up, the eyeshadows. There are four in the palette, three of which are slightly shimmery. The colours are: All About Eve, a lovely pale neutral beige; Bellissima, a soft mid-brown and the only matte shadow; Nouveau Monde, a metallic silver lilac; and Cordura, a dark brown with a gold shimmer running through it. All the colours are beautiful, but I was confused at the inclusion of the lilac in the predominantly brown colour scheme. However, brown shades are my go-to colours of choice for eye make up so this palette is right up my street.

As the title suggests, the palette also includes a couple of cheek products: the hilariously named Deep Throat blusher - a coral pink that immediately appealed to me, as well as the slightly scarily dark-looking Laguna bronzer. I've helpfully swatched everything in the palette, 'cos let's face it, we all love swatches:

1 Deep Throat Blusher | 2 All About Eve | 3 Bellissima
4 Nouveau Monde | 5 Cordura | 6 Laguna Bronzing Powder

Now for the fun part! I've tried all of this on for you and here's how it looks on my face (except for the lilac eyeshadow, which I just wasn't sure what to do with).

Excuse the wonky fringe

So how does it hold up? I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the staying power of the eyeshadows, which is not great. I have very oily skin and always apply a primer to my eyelids, but even this couldn't keep the eyeshadow in place all day - a problem I have with most eyeshadows, to be honest. Also, my usual gel eyeliner rubbed off more quickly than usual. This is a real shame as I love the colours in the palette. However, I shall persevere and reserve these eyeshadows for non-gel eyeliner days, using the darkest brown shadow as a soft eyeliner instead.

How about the cheek products? I LOVE THEM! The Deep Throat blusher is a perfect colour for my skin tone and does stay on all day. I don't usually wear bronzer and was a little apprehensive of the Laguna, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It gave a natural-looking warm tone to my paler than pale skin and didn't look remotely muddy, as most bronzers tend to do on me. Win win!

I can't go without mentioning the palette itself.. it is made of a very tactile smooth rubbery material and shuts with a satisfyingly loud click - a sure sign of a high end make up product, reflected in the £45 price tag. Whilst at first glance this may seem steep, you really do get a lot of products for your money.

So overall I like this NARS Eye & Cheek Palette a lot. Despite the lack of longevity in the eyeshadow, I have no issues with reapplying as needed throughout the day as the colours are absolutely beautiful and spot on for my taste. Except for the lilac, that still baffles me.

My Make Up:

NARS Eye & Cheek Palette - At First Sight*

P.S. PLEASE 'LIKE' THIS FACEBOOK PHOTO!!

Aspire Style Blogger Style Off

Yes, you read that right, I'm partaking in a blogger 'style off''! Myself and seven other lovely bloggers have each chosen a dress from the Aspire Style website, styled it up and our offerings are now on the Aspire Style Facebook page where you can vote for your favourite (pick me! pick me! pwease).  But you have to be quick - voting closes at 10am on 26th August!

Aspire Style stock literally loads of gorgeous dresses from different brands including Hell Bunny (I heart a lot) and Louche (also stocked in Joy the Store) amongst others, so it was tricky trying to decide on just one for this challenge. I eventually went for the Electra dress by Louche, as I have a wedding in Ireland coming up and thought a maxi dress would be perfect. Take a little look-see:

Platforms: a necessary shoe-pairing with my maxi dress

Obviously the maxi-ness of this dress is a bit long for little me, so I shall have to get it shortened before the wedding. As with almost every dress I've ever owned, sigh.

So yes. Please vote for me! You can do so right here! The prize is a load of dosh to spend on the Aspire Style website and I will do a giveaway involving this if I win, I promise!

My Outfit:

Electra Maxi Dress*: Aspire Style | Platforms: Topshop | Hat: Miss Selfridge

Necklace: H&M | Bracelets: Urban Outfitters / Claire's | Midi Rings: Topshop

Black Ring: Jewellery by Vanya (old)

Orly FX Nail Polish - Aqua Pixel

Now I'm not usually a huge fan of glitter polish in summer, however when Beauty Expert sent me this intriguing little bottle of Orly FX Aqua Pixel nail polish, I was immediately transfixed by the colour - a beautiful shimmering blue green, absolutely jam packed full of glitter. I couldn't wait to try it, so I did, and loved the bejewelled effect it left on my nails. Let's take a look:

I found the formula to be a little thin, despite the sheer amount of glitter it contains, but it still only took two coats to achieve full coverage. The rubberised lid ensures a firm grip when applying and the brush itself is a decent width, meaning the polish is easy to control. Added bonus: it is relatively fast drying, woohoo!

My biggest problem with glitter polish is the difficulty in removing it. However, whilst this one does take a bit of effort, it isn't the trickiest I've ever encountered, which is a relief. At £10.80 per bottle, it's at the higher end of the polish spectrum, but I would say it's worth it - you certainly get what you pay for (and a whole heap of glitter at that).

All in all it's a big thumbs up from me - this polish looks like a mermaid's tail on a nail! Blinging and beautiful - I'm surprised at just how much I like it!

My Nail Polish:

Orly FX in Aqua Pixel*

Instagrams of Recent Times

I'm having a very lazy weekend, so am going to keep the words to a minimum and hit you with some recent Instagram snaps (you lucky devils). Here's what I've been up to recently and remember! You can see more pictorial gems if you fo-o-ollow me on there - I'm woobered.

The summer of Pimms (& strawberries) | Pimms on the go - I'm so classy

En route to sunbathing in the park | Fave summer nail polish - Barry M Gelly in Guava

Cooling the cat | Lovely new Black Tied jewellery <3

Margarita at a Texan BBQ | Revisiting 2010 with my fishtail plait

The view from the terrace at work - not bad! | A woodland walk

Bourjois Color Boost in Orange Punch | Best. Hat. Ever. (by Paparazzo Jo)

Train travel beverage - more classiness | Outside C.S. Lewis's house in Oxford

Met this little guy on an Oxford country walk | PJ Sunday

To conclude I've really been enjoying the summer sunshine these past couple of months! How have you been spending the summer? How do you feel about Instagram round up posts?