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Posts tagged Orange
One Dough, Two Cookie Recipes
4I thought I’d post something a little different today and share with you all a recipe for some cookies that I baked this afternoon. I’ve been an avid baker since my childhood and love to experiment with new ideas and flavours, but sometimes it’s good to keep things simple, which is what I did today and it definitely paid off! These cookies are some of the easiest I’ve ever baked as they only contain a few ingredients, and the basic dough is so versatile. Today I decided to divide the dough and make half of it into orange cookies, and half into good old chocolate chip, but you really could add anything. Lemon zest would be delicious, as would dried fruit and hazelnuts!
This recipe makes 24 generously sized cookies.
Ingredients:
- 200g Unsalted Butter or Stork
- 100g Caster Sugar
- 300g Self Raising Flour (Sieved)
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract
- Zest of 1 Orange
- 100g Milk Chocolate (Chopped)
Method:
- Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4.
- Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together with an electric whisk, until creamy.
- Divide the mixture equally into two bowls and stir half the flour into each bowl, adding orange zest to one, and chopped chocolate to the other. Mix until a dough is formed
- Divide each ball of dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into smaller balls. Place each ball onto a greased or parchment lined baking tray (as far apart as possible) and press down gently with a fork. You may need to bake in batches as they won’t all fit onto one tray. I tend to bake two batches of six at a time.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly golden. It’s best to check after 10 minutes and then every minute or two until they’re done.
- Leave to cool on a wire rack.
- Enjoy!
The texture of these cookies is lovely – soft, but also slightly crumbly, like a Viennese whirl. They taste absolutely delicious as well and have gone down very well with my partner and family!
Will you be trying this recipe?
Naomi x
Tropic Pure Plant Skin Care Lip Love Balm
3As I’m sure many of you will have found out the hard way, the cold, harsh winter weather can cause damage to your skin, especially your lips, leaving them sore and dry. As such, I find it is essential to use a good lip balm regularly to combat this damage, and I have found the ideal balm in Tropic Skin Care’s Lip Love Balm, as it is not only great for your lips, but can be used to protect other areas of dry skin too.
Tropic Pure Plant Skin Care was launched in 2007, and has three main principles – their products are Pure, their pricing is Honest, and they are also Effective. Everything in the Tropic range is vegan, which is great news for veggies like me, and it’s all made from completely natural plant extracts, so is suitable for all skin types, including sensitive skin. The company is also keen to reduce its carbon footprint so they use recyclable, sustainable packaging materials wherever possible. Tropic’s ethical image really appeals to me as my aim for 2013 is to go completely cruelty free, and to top it all off their products are wonderful too. Here’s what I thought of their Lip Love Balm…
Tropic’s Lip Love Balm comes in a dainty 10ml pot, which is the perfect size to carry with you in your pocket or bag. The packaging is simple, but the orange metallic lid makes it stand out, giving it a more luxurious look than the average lip balm. The lid is also a screw top, a minor detail which is actually quite important, as it won’t fall off in your bag like press on lids sometimes do!
As you can see from the photo above, every single ingredient in the lip balm is natural, and comfortingly recognisable, meaning you don’t have to worry about any nasty chemicals damaging the delicate skin of your lips. Rather, each natural plant extract combines to form a beautiful, versatile lip balm. Believe me, once you’ve tried it you’ll be a convert!
In the pot the balm looks a stunning sunset orange colour, and it gives your lips a gorgeous golden tint. The balm isn’t strongly scented, but it has a sweet, subtle aroma of lemon, orange and peppermint, which is really quite refreshing as the peppermint adds a slight cooling effect.
Lip Love Balm has a soft, creamy texture and is easily applied with a fingertip. Thanks to the nourishing Shea and Cocoa butters, it feels intensely moisturising on the lips and forms a long-lasting protective layer which helps heal dry and cracked skin – perfect for this time of year! I’ve been using this for about a week now, and I have already noticed a big difference. My lips have shed their winter dryness so look a lot healthier, and feel a lot softer, which I’m very happy about. The balm isn’t greasy either, yet it makes your lips look incredibly shiny, and works really well over matte lipstick – it keeps it in place for a lot longer than usual and gives it a lovely glossy sheen.
As I mentioned earlier, Tropic’s Love Balm is also great for hydrating other areas of skin. Their website states that it can be used on your nails, cuticles, elbows and heels, but I’ve also been using it on my knuckles as they’re quite dry, and it’s been working wonders. My favourite alternative use, however, is as a cuticle cream. My cuticles have taken a bit of a battering over the past few months, what with all the nail varnish I’ve been using, and again because of the cold weather, and as a result haven’t been looking their best. Impressively, I found that within a few days of using the balm on my cuticles every morning, they were a lot neater and more supple. Carrot oil, avocado, rosehip and macadamia are known for their skin renewing properties, and for improving skin elasticity, and their concentrated levels in this balm really help it to work its magic very quickly.
Tropic Skin Care Lip Love Balm costs just £5.00, and considering the small amount you need to feel the benefits and make a difference, it really is worth every penny. If you’re looking for a high quality, multipurpose balm to take you through winter and into spring then this is definitely it – choosing natural products really does pay off! If you’d like to try this for yourself, now is your chance as Tropic Skin Care are currently offering FREE UK P&P on all orders placed before midnight on the 31st of January. Just enter the code ‘TROPICTREATS‘ at the checkout.
You can view the full Tropic Pure Plant Skin Care range here – they have such a wide range of products, from Cloth Cleansers to Body Butters to Body Oil, and its all affordable! Which Tropic product would you most like to try?
Naomi x
*I was sent this Lip Love Balm by Tropic Pure Plant Skin Care for review purposes. All opinions expressed in this post are honest and my own.*
Sally Hansen Diamond 12 Hr Lip Treatment in ‘Fancy’
11
9 years
by Naomi in Lips
A couple of months ago, during one of my bargain beauty binges, I picked up this tube of Sally Hansen Diamond 12 Hr Lip Treatment from the pound shop for, you guessed it, £1. However, as happens to quite a lot of the make up that I buy on impulse, I put it in my make up drawer and forgot about it. Until recently, that is.
What first drew me to this gloss was the fact that it was from Sally Hansen, as I love Sally’s nail products so thought I’d give her make up a go too. The tube doesn’t actually say what the Diamond 12 Hr Lip Treatment is supposed to do, but according to the internet it is intended to condition and moisturise the lips for up to 12 hours, and give them diamond-like shine!
The gloss comes in a fairly large tube, with a sparkly polka dot lid, which is cute. The applicator inside the tube is very different to what I was expecting, however. Instead of the typical sponge applicator, it comes with a tapered bristle brush. The brush is quite fine which I thought would make precise application a lot easier, but it is actually quite difficult to use. The bristles tend to fan out rather a lot, which makes a bit of a mess, and the gloss itself is horribly thick and gloopy, so it doesn’t smooth out very well. Having said that, the gloss does smell lovely, almost like cinnamon bubblegum, so I will give it that.
The colour I chose from the several available was ‘Fancy’, which in the light of the shop looked like a deep shimmery red, perfect for Autumn’s berry trend. Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed with the colour when I first tried it, as it is a lot more orange in reality than it looks in the tube, and I’m not a fan of orange make up. The shade is slowly growing on me though, and the gloss does have incredible shine, and the diamond-like shimmer throughout it is really pretty.
On the lips, the gloss looks nice. The colour is strong and the shine is brilliant, but it’s not breathtaking. It’s just… nice. It’s not a comfortable gloss to wear either. As I said before, the formula is very thick, so it feels heavy and sticky on the lips, and though it feels quite moisturising, I always end up rubbing the gloss off within an hour, so I have no idea whether it actually lasts for 12 hours or not! It does make your lips tingle slightly though, which is fairly pleasant.
Overall, this definitely isn’t my favourite gloss in my collection, and I don’t think I’d buy another one like it from the Sally Hansen range, even at only £1. I noticed that the Diamond 12 Hr Lip Treatment glosses are no longer listed on the Sally Hansen website, so hopefully they’ve done the right thing and discontinued it, and replaced it with a better gloss. I think I’ll stick to Sally’s nail products from now on!
Naomi x
Ciate Mini Mani Month Round-Up: Part 3
6Hi everyone,
First off, I would like to wish my sister, Freya, a very Happy Birthday! Today she turns 21, an important age, but she’ll still always be my baby sister, wanting all my things. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FREYA!!
Now, down to business… Today I opened the door of Day 18 on my Ciate Mini Mani Month advent calendar, which means it’s time for another weekly round-up! This post will feature Day 13 up to Day 18, and I have swatches of all but one of the Paint Pots this time. I must admit, my feelings were mixed this week. There were a couple that I really liked, and one or two that I wasn’t keen on at all, but you can’t win them all as they say!
Day 13 – Glass Slipper and Day 14 – Speed Dial
On Day 13 I opened the door to Glass Slipper, a lovely blue glitter polish, and the first of the calendar’s three exclusive shades. The glitter is very fine and beautiful, and doesn’t feel too rough in texture, but it isn’t really dense enough to wear on its own (unless you’re willing to apply 3+ coats). It works perfectly as a top coat however, and is surprisingly easy to remove for a glitter.
Speed Dial is an unusual shade – it looks bright orange in the bottle, but I found it applies somewhere between a red and an orange. It is more orange in real life than it looks in the photo above though. I just can’t quite decide whether I like it or not! It definitely doesn’t look that good with Glass Slipper over the top, but with the right outfit I can see it working. Not one of my favourites, but not bad. It applied evenly and has a creamy formula at least!
Day 15 – Headliner
Headliner is my absolute favourite this week… I seem to have a thing for blues at the minute! It is a dark turquoise blue shade with a stunning creme finish and I love it! As you’d expect, the formula is great and, quite impressively, it only takes one coat to achieve a completely opaque finish (the photo above show two coats, however). Headliner got me a lot of compliments when I wore it, and without a doubt I’ll be wearing this one a lot!
Day 16 – Big Yellow Taxi
Ick, I’m not liking Big Yellow Taxi. I initially thought this looked okay as it appeared quite a creamy banana yellow in the bottle, but when I applied it I was soon disappointed. It has a really strange gloopy formula, so it went on very streaky, and no number of coats seemed to be able to even the finish out. The yellow shade is slightly too bright, and in all honestly it looks like tippex coloured in with yellow highlighter pen – not pretty! On the plus side, it doesn’t leave any stains behind at all. I don’t think I have the skin tone to pull this off, but it would probably look great against darker skin… I may use it for Batman nail art though!
Day 17 – Power Dressing
I haven’t tried Power Dressing yet so I can’t comment much on the formula and colour, but in the bottle it looks like a classic deep navy blue, and I imagine it will have a lovely shiny finish. I’m looking forward to using this!
Day 18 – Candy Shop Caviar Pearls
Candy Shop is the third out of four bottles of Caviar Pearls in the calendar, and so far they are my favourite. The beads are very small and coloured in three shades – turquoise blue, pink and orange. As with the other pearls that I have tried, these are very easy to apply (just pour over a wet nail, press down, and leave to set for 15 minutes), and look really striking against a bright varnish. The purple shade I chose to pair the pearls with is actually Cabaret, one of the shades I didn’t swatch in Part 1, so now you can see what it looks like.
So there you go, a mixed bag of mostly brights this week. Which is your favourite? Please vote below! Check back for Part 4 next Monday, on Christmas Eve, and if you want to see the previous shades in the Ciate Mini Mani Month, they are swatched in my Part 1 and Part 2 posts.
Naomi x
Ciate Mini Mani Month Round-Up: Part 2
9Hi everyone,
Six days have already passed since my last Ciate Mini Mani Month post, can you believe it? The days are flying by and before we know it, it will soon be Christmas day! But for now, as promised, here is Part 2 of my Mini Mani Round-Up, featuring the surprises hidden behind advent calendar doors 7 to 12.
You may be pleased to know that I managed to swatch every single varnish this time, so you can get a more accurate feel for what each one is really like. As usual, they all have that deliciously creamy signature Ciate formula, which applies evenly, dries quickly and is extremely chip resistant. Here they all are in their bottles…
Day 7 – Cutie Pie
Cutie Pie is a pretty, feminine, powdery pale pink shade with a creme finish. I usually prefer bold, bright varnishes to pastels, but this one really is quite lovely and clean-looking. The above look was achieved using two coats of varnish and it’s still quite sheer, but I think three would be plenty enough for a more opaque appearance.
Day 8 – Vintage
Vintage is my favourite varnish from this week. It’s a deep grey colour, but it has a tinge of greeny blue to it which makes it more unusual than most greys. I got so many compliments about my nails on the day I wore this. I have a feeling I’ll be getting a lot of wear out of Vintage – it goes with anything!
Day 9 – Mistress
Mistress is a classic, very bright scarlet red, with a slight orange undertone and a high shine finish. I’m not the biggest fan of orange varnishes so I wasn’t too keen on this when I first saw it, but once I applied it I instantly changed my mind. I think shades like this can look a bit tacky sometimes, but because Ciate is such good quality, it actually looks really beautiful on. The only issue I have with this is that it stained my skin when I removed it! You can see evidence of the staining around my cuticles on the photo below…
Day 10 – Ladylike Luxe & Day 11 – Bumble Bee Caviar Pearls
Ladylike Luxe is a shimmery yellow gold shade, and it’s the best gold varnish I’ve ever tried. For some reason, gold and silver varnishes tend to show up any imperfections on your nails (no matter how small) and though this one isn’t perfect, it definitely disguises imperfections more than any other metal colour I’ve used. Overall this is a fab varnish – very Christmassy!
The Bumble Bee Caviar Pearls consist of two different coloured pearls – black and yellowy gold. I gave myself a ring finger mani with them yesterday, and as you can see it turned out rather well for a first attempt! The pearls were very easy to use… You just pour them over your wet nail, press them down and leave them to set for 15-20 minutes. I absolutely love how they look and feel, but they haven’t lasted very well. This morning when I woke up I noticed that the colour on the gold pearls had faded/rubbed off slightly, and after 24 hours a lot of the beads have already fallen off. I’m not sure how long they’re supposed to last, but I thought it’d be longer than a day!
Day 12 – Twilight
Last but not least, today’s varnish is Twilight – a black base with a gold fleck shimmer running through it, which also looks greeny brown depending on the light. I have a feeling this was intended to go with the Bumble Bee Caviar Pearls, and indeed it is a great match. A gorgeous, classy shade to round off the week.
Which one of this week’s minis is your favourite?
Don’t forget, you can read Part 1 of my Ciate Mini Mani Month Round-Up here. Check back next Tuesday for Part 3!
Naomi x
Nail Art: Halloween Pumpkins
18Happy Halloween everyone! Halloween has always been one of my favourite days of the whole year, and every October 31st I love to dress up and cook up a big feast for my family and friends. This year is my first Halloween as a beauty blogger, so I thought I would create some Halloween inspired nail art to share with you all. So, here are my Halloween Pumpkins!
Aren’t they cute? The whole design took less than half an hour to do and I’m so happy with how they turned out. The colours I used to create this look are:
- Models Own ‘Orange Sorbet’
- NYC In A Minute ‘High Line Green’
- Primark ‘Black’
I hope you’ve all had a spooktacular day 
Naomi x
Nail Art: Chikara King of Trios
7My fiancé absolutely loves wrestling and, though I’m not much of a fan myself, I do quite like some of the masks that some of the wrestlers wear. One of the wrestling companies that my fiancé likes is called Chikara, and every year they run a King of Trios tournament in which many teams of three wrestlers fight each other in rounds until one team becomes the ‘King of Trios’. This year’s winners were a team called the Spectral Envoy, so to celebrate their win my fiancé asked me do some Chikara themed nail art. I couldn’t say no, and since the winning team wore wrestling masks it seemed only right to paint these onto my nails! And here they are…
The wrestlers behind the masks are called (from thumb round to the ring finger):
- UltraMantis Black
- Hallowicked
- Frightmare
- Crossbones
… and the blue symbol on my pinky is the Chikara logo. Apparently Crossbones isn’t an official member of the ‘Trio’ (otherwise there’d be four of them, not three), but I’ve been told he turned up this year to help them win.
I used my trusty old dotting tools to draw this design and I’m really pleased with how the masks turned out, especially since the whole painting process only took about 20 minutes in total! My fiancé has already shown a photo of my nails to a lot of his wrestling friends from around the world and they were all very impressed, so they have the wrestling fan seal of approval at least!
The nail varnish shades I used were…
- Primark Nail Polish in ‘Black’
- Avon Nailwear Pro in ‘Coral Beat’
- Laval Crystal Finish Nail Polish in ‘White’
- Leichner Nail Gloss in ‘Blueberry’
I mixed the orange and blue shades with a little bit of white so it would stand out more on the black background and, as you can see, it worked quite well.
So, what do you think? This is something a little bit different for me but I definitely want to do another wrestling mask themed design in the future!
Naomi x
Chocolate Treat Week: Skin, Bath and Body
24
9 years
In my first Chocolate Treat Week post I will be sharing with you the very best chocolate scented skin care, bath and body products that I have been using lately. Whenever I have the house to myself of an evening I like nothing better than to run myself a relaxing bath and treat myself with an indulgent beauty regime, and the following four items are the perfect products for a chocolate themed pamper session.
Bathe with… Handmade Soaps Chocolate Bath Treats
I recently discovered a fab little company called Handmade Soaps, who stock and sell a large range of soaps, bath bombs, bath melts and gift sets, all of which are very appealing to the eye as well as the nose. Among their range they have quite a few wonderful chocolate scented bombs, melts and sets. The chocolate products pictured above are (clockwise from the top): Chocoholics Gift Set, Fruity Creamy Bath Bar, Chocolate Bath Meltz, Sink the Pink Bath Bomb, Very Berry Bath Creamer, Love Cloud Bath Creamer and Chocolate Ballotin Gift Set.
I have a lot of bath products from Handmade Soaps so I haven’t tried all of them yet, but my favourite so far has to be the Chocolate Bath Meltz, which costs £2 for one melt. As you can see, it looks absolutely lovely – almost like a fancy chocolate truffle, especially with the cute little chocolate heart sitting on top! The melt combines Cocoa and Arabica Coffee to give it its rich chocolatey aroma and colour, and also contains Lavender and Ylang Ylang essential oils for added relaxation. I used this melt over the weekend and it really is glorious. I popped it into the water just before the bath was full and then got straight in. I recommend doing this as it’s when the melt fizzes that you are met with its beautiful scent. Unlike some bath products that I’ve tried, this one doesn’t fizz too violently so you don’t get bombarded by the bomb whilst you’re trying to relax. In fact, I actually found it quite therapeutic watching it spin in the water! My favourite thing about the Chocolate Bath Meltz is how intensely moisturising it is. I really wasn’t expecting such a dainty melt to have much effect on my skin, but it made my skin feel creamy and smooth even when I was still in the water, which resulted in long-lasting softness – impressive!
Handmade Soaps pride themselves on their customer service so if you decide to order anything from them you won’t be disappointed! They deliver their items quickly and they even have a ‘remarkable wrapping’ policy so everything you receive will be as beautifully wrapped as possible. Everything they sell is already reasonably priced, but Handmade Soaps have been kind enough to give me a special discount code to share with you so that you can get 10% off everything you order! The code is ‘bewitchery10‘ – just enter it at the checkout to get your 10% discount.
Exfoliate with… Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub
As I’ve mentioned in several of my previous posts, Betty Buff‘s Sugar Scrubs are my absolute favourite go-to exfoliators. All of Betty Buff’s scrubs are high-quality and handmade to vintage recipes. They contain no parabens or artificial colours and fragrances either, so are excellent for use on sensitive skin like mine.
As well as containing granulated sugar, Evening Primrose Oil, honey and glycerine, ‘Scrummy Choco‘ is made with 100% cocoa which gives it an incredible scent. As Betty Buff says, it really does smell ‘good enough to eat’ (but please don’t!), almost like a chocolate brownie or uncooked cake mix… It honestly made my mouth water when I first smelt it!
I have been using this for a while now and the effects are very noticeable. The cocoa makes the scrub delicately moisturising, and always leaves my skin feeling silky smooth, and my dry patches caused by the drying summer weather have all vanished! Due to the rich colour of the scrub it also leaves a light brown sheen on the skin, which sounds odd but actually looks great, especially if you already have a tan you want to accentuate.
Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub comes in three different sizes. The size pictured is the 150ml version, which costs £6.50, but there’s also a 250ml tub available for £8.00 and a 100ml sampler for £4.00. A little goes a long way with Betty’s scrubs so each size is fantastic value for money. If you’d like to try it for yourself, which I highly recommend you do, you can purchase it here.
Moisturise with… Vaseline Cocoa Radiant Rich Feeling Lotion
Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant Rich Feeling Lotion is ideal for those who aren’t too keen on beauty products with a strong chocolatey aroma or appearance. The lotion is pale in colour and delicately scented with cocoa beans so it isn’t overpowering, and it also has a very delicate formula.
Cocoa Radiant is rich like a body butter, but also lovely and light so it doesn’t feel heavy on the skin. It absorbs quickly without being greasy, rather, it leaves behind a soft creaminess which makes skin feel healthy and supple. I like to use this after exfoliating and also after shaving as it is protective so prevents any drying or soreness. What I love most about this lotion is how long the scent lingers… After a day of wear I can always still smell a sweet tinge of cocoa on my skin which is nicely comforting.
Vaseline’s Cocoa Radiant is currently on offer for £2.63 in Superdrug for a 400ml bottle, which is a massive bargain for such a quality product so grab it cheap while you still can!
Cleanse with… Montagne Jeunesse Hot Chocolate Self Heating Face Mask
After a relaxing bath and moisturising session, a face mask is the perfect way to finish an evening of pampering. Now that Autumn is here and the weather is getting colder, it’s time to step away from the cooling masks and use something a bit more seasonal… So, what’s better than a self heating mask? Montagne Jeunesse’s Hot Chocolate Self Heating Face Mask is currently top of my face mask list as everything about it is luscious and screams ‘me time’!
I used this mask last night and couldn’t get enough of it. The formula is fairly thick, basically like melted chocolate, so it is a little bit difficult to apply but it is well worth the effort. As soon as it touches your skin it heats up to a comfortable temperature which feels incredible and helps to soothe tired skin and muscles.
The mask is scented with cocoa and orange – a winning combination in my eyes (and nose). The orange cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate to give a decadent scent which makes for a delicious fifteen minutes of wear, and a good few hours of gorgeous smelling skin.
The mask stays wet and doesn’t dry like a conventional clay mask so it is quite easy to wash off, but its deep colour can make a mess so make sure you use an old towel! Like all of Montagne Jeunesse’s products, their Hot Chocolate mask is vegetarian and natural, and it contains orange oil which is refreshingly moisturising. As such, the mask is extremely nourishing to the point that you don’t need to use any moisturiser after wearing it.
Montagne Jeunesse’s Hot Chocolate Self Heating Mask is available on their website for £1.09 per sachet, but I’ve also seen it in Wilkinson, Asda, Superdrug and Boots. I only used half a sachet for one application so you could get two uses out of it if you’re lucky, which is always a bonus.
The Last Rolo…
The Last Rolo is where I hand over the last few words of each Chocolate Treat Week blog post to another blogger. In the run up to Chocolate Treat Week I asked five of my favourite bloggers a couple of questions about their favourite chocolate treats, and today’s answers come from Donah of Sweetjellybean.
Can you recommend any chocolate scented, flavoured or themed beauty/fashion products?
Although I try to not use any products that are chocolate scented (as I’ve had enough of Palmer’s Cocoa Butter when I was pregnant!), these days, I’ve been indulging myself with Leor’s Chocolate Truffle Body Lotion. Surprisingly, this doesn’t smell as strong as Palmer’s but still has that lovely chocolate aroma that isn’t distracting. so yes, I definitely would recommend this to anyone, who can’t stand Palmers’ but still love to indulge themselves in a chocolate-flavoured product.
What is your favourite chocolate treat to eat, and why?
Toffee Crisp! Can’t get enough of this when I was pregnant (a hush-hush since I was not supposed to eat this, so this is my guilty pleasure haha) But I definitely don’t mind having one bar or two every week.
Thanks for reading my first Chocolate Treat Week post – I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please come back tomorrow to read all about chocolate hair products.
Naomi x
*I was kindly gifted the Handmade Soap Bath products and the Betty Buff ‘Scrummy Choco’ Sugar Scrub by their respective companies for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
NOTD: Filthy Gorgeous London Nail Polish in ‘Rosey Posey’
6
9 years
by Naomi in Nails
Yesterday I promised that I would post swatches and reviews of my What’s In My Handbag free gift, so today I thought I would feature the Filthy Gorgeous nail polish that I was sent. The shade I received is called ‘Rosey Posey’, and retails at £9 for a 10ml bottle. All of Filthy Gorgeous’ polishes are 3-free as well which is a massive bonus.
I had seen Filthy Gorgeous nail polish on other blogs in the past and was impressed by their eye-catching packaging and wide range of bright colours, so I was very excited when I found this in my gift parcel. The packaging really doesn’t disappoint with its pleasingly round bottle and pretty lace effect lid, and the guitar pick charm is the icing on the cake. It gives the polish a rocky edge and is detachable too, so you can wear it on a piece of jewellery or a keyring if you so desire!
Ignoring the product’s image and getting down to the polish itself, I have mixed feelings. Though the brush bristles are fairly long, a few of them kept bending back on themselves and fanning out when I was using it, which made getting it in and out of the bottle quite difficult. The consistency of the polish is creamy and not too thick so it applies really nicely, leaving an even coat with no brush strokes. However, it is a lot more sheer than I was expecting so it took three coats to create an opaque finish, and even then the whites of my nails are still slightly visible. The drying time of the polish is quite impressive though, only taking around ten minutes to be dry to the touch, but I wouldn’t risk doing anything too hands on for a good hour or so after application.
In terms of colour, ‘Rosey Posey‘ is listed on Filthy Gorgeous’ website as a neon polish which is a ‘warm coral pink’ shade – a spot-on description which I can’t really improve on! It’s not a shade I’d normally go for as I’m not much of a coral fan, but I like the fact that it is more pink than orange, and I think it is a very pretty, girly shade that I will wear often. It makes my hands look quite tanned too (not that you can tell in the photo), so Filthy Gorgeous are right when they say it ‘looks perfect with a tan’. The polish has a glossy creme finish and an impressive shine which makes your nails look flawless too.
So far, the lasting power of this polish is fairly decent. It survived an hour of swimming today which is great as my polishes often chip after holding onto the hard pool walls, but there is some sign of wear at the tips of a few of my nails after just 24 hours.
Overall, I like this Filthy Gorgeous polish. The packaging is stunning, it’s a lovely shade and it applies well and dries quickly, but the fact that it took three coats to achieve opaque coverage is quite disappointing for a £9 polish. I’m not sure I would pay full-price for it, but I’m pleased that I have it in my collection. Although, having said that, there a couple of shades on the Filthy Gorgeous website that I would love to try, especially Fuchsia Pink 3D Crystal!
Have you tried Filthy Gorgeous nail polish?
Naomi x
Avon Nail Experts Vitamin C Cuticle Gel
3I’ll hold my hands up and admit that I’ve never really paid any attention to my cuticles. They don’t grow much at all so I don’t have to push them back or remove them, which is a good thing really as just watching people do that makes me feel funny. The thing is, with barely any cuticle there at all, the edges of my nails sometimes get quite sore and dry, especially after working with my hands or using nail varnish remover. So, when I saw this cuticle gel on offer in the Avon brochure a while ago, I thought I might as well give it a go to see if it would help at all.
The gel claims to instantly revive, sooth and smooth dry cuticles, and repair them in the long run. After several weeks of use I can confirm that this is exactly what the gel does – hooray!
The gel has a slight citrus scent and contains tiny orange moisturising beads which burst when you rub them. I’ve been applying a small amount of gel to every nail almost every day for about three weeks and the difference it has made is amazing. My cuticles have grown in a bit more so the skin no longer peels back. They’re sooo much softer as well because of the beads, and don’t get sore at all.
The first picture above shows my cuticle before I started using the gel, and the bottom picture shows how my cuticle looked yesterday. You can clearly see that the bottom corners are no longer dry and peeling and the red soreness has now gone.
I can’t recommend this gel highly enough… It has worked absolute wonders!
Naomi x
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