Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Posts tagged Purple
Valentine’s Gift Ideas: Chroma Stationery
1
7 years
If you have a creative loved one in your life who loves to write or draw, or you yourself like to doodle, scribble down your thoughts, or even plan out your blog posts, then this Valentine’s gift idea is for you.
Chroma Stationery specialises in high quality, 50 page notebooks, which are made extra special by being fully personalised. My notebook is from the Nebraska perfect bound range, but they also offer a range of Ryton spiral bound notebooks. Once you’ve chosen your binding type, you also get to pick your cover colour, whether you want plain or lined pages, and your embossing.
Embossing adds a touch of luxury, can be done in either silver or gold, and it’s completely up to you what you have put on the notebook. As standard this is usually a name, initials, or message, but if you get in touch with Chroma they’re more than happy to emboss an image – such as this pretty Valentine’s Day love heart!
My notebook, which I plan on using as a journal, is in shade ‘Annie’ – a lovely grape purple – and the cover has a luxuriously soft feel to it. The embossing is gold in a handwritten font, and I chose lined pages, which are 80gsm and lovely to write on.
The notebooks also come beautifully wrapped in a sleeve, and tissue paper, with a little card about Chroma’s history.
At £7.50 each, with personalisation included in the price, Chroma notebooks are an affordable gift idea for a loved one.
Naomi x
*This Chroma Notebook was sent to me by Chroma Stationery for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
NOTD: Maybelline Colour Show ‘Purple Dazzle’
1
7 years
by Naomi in Nails
I didn’t get many beauty related gifts for Christmas, but one of my friends did give me this beautiful nail varnish as part of my Secret Santa present. The varnish is from Maybelline’s Colour Show BE Brilliant collection, which features four limited edition glitters for Christmas 2014.
The shade I have is called ‘Purple Dazzle’, and consists of purple, pink, blue, gold, and green glitter, both large and micro flakes, in a sheer purple base varnish.
The glitter looks stunning in both indoor and outdoor light. Indoors the pink really dominates, which looks really pretty, but once outdoors the varnish really comes alive, and all the other colours shine through.
The swatch below shows one coat of the glitter worn over one layer of Nails Inc ‘Wigmore Street’, which is a pretty close match to the base colour of ‘Purple Dazzle’, but more opaque. I chose to apply it this way to avoid layering the glitter too much, as it would make it harder to remove. However, like this, it’s easy to remove with a standard nail varnish remover.
The varnish applies nicely, and doesn’t go on too thick even if you dab it on to give an even spread of glitter. It also dries smoothly, so there are no sharp pieces of glitter to snag on clothing.
In my experience, ‘Purple Dazzle’ lasts a couple of days without a top coat before chipping, which is decent, but it’s not the best glitter I’ve tried in terms of staying power.
Overall this is a really lovely glitter, however I went to Superdrug today to pick up another shade and they no longer had it, so it’s very limited edition indeed! They did have a few bottles of another shade left though, so it’s worth checking your local store if you want one.
Naomi x
Christmas Swap Box with +10 Kapow
1
7 years
by Naomi in Swaps
I absolutely love putting together gift boxes for people, and of course I love surprises myself, so a little while ago I suggested to Chrissie of +10 Kapow that we do a Christmas Swap, and luckily she was up for the idea! We decided on a budget of £20, and agreed to fill a shoebox with little gifts that we thought the other would like. I had a lot of fun searching for items to give to Chrissie, and after a few weeks of browsing, buying and wrapping, the box was ready to send. Our deadline for posting was 5th December, and last week we each received our box of goodies!
As both of us are impatient we decided to open and blog about our gifts before Christmas, so without further ado, here’s what I received!
As you can see, my swap from Chrissie came beautifully packaged. The box itself is stunning, and puts the cardboard one I sent her to shame! I’ll definitely be using it to store things in, probably rings or nail varnishes.
There were eight wrapped gifts in the box, including a jewellery box which I was really excited about. I hurriedly unwrapped everything, and was delighted with all that Chrissie sent. I must say she chose well! Here’s what I got…
The first gift is this Baked Merged Trio Eyeshadow from MUA, in shade ‘Emotions’. All three shades have a slight shimmer to them, and are impressively pigmented. The neutral tones are perfect for a daytime look, and I can see myself using these shades a lot for a work make up look, although with some dramatic eyeliner they could easily be dressed up.
My lips get very dry at this time of year, so finding this Nivea Lip Butter in the box was much appreciated! The lip butter feels lovely and nourishing, and smells amazing too, like vanilla and macadamia. This has now become a winter essential for me and comes everywhere with me.
I spotted this Body Shop Glazed Apple Body Butter when browsing The Body Shop website a few weeks, and was really intrigued by it, so as you can imagine I was pleased to find this in the box too! I use body butters on a daily basis and have done for years, so this was very well chosen, and is incredibly moisturising. The Glazed Apple scent is lovely too – fruity, but also sweet and creamy.
Yet another product that I’ve been wanting to try – MUA Luxe Velvet Lips! This shade is called ‘Serene’, and is a dark peach shade with a pink undertone. It’s very highly pigmented, has a creamy texture so applies beautifully, and is long-lasting. I like it, and aesthetically, I also like the frosted tube.
This awesome keyring is triple awesome – it’s Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which I’ve loved since I was a kid, he’s a rat, and it’s lego! I’m going to hang this from my bag because I’m cool like that. Isn’t he fab?!
Chrissie made this galaxy necklace herself, and it’s my favourite item that she sent me. It’s really well made, and purple, pink and turquoise happen to be my favourite colours. I’ve been wearing it a lot since I got it, sometimes alone, but also layered with a couple of my other favourite necklaces, which I think looks great on a plain top.
Batman! A Batman ring! I’m sure it’s clear by now that I’m a big Batman fan, and this ring is absolutely fab. I really like how subtle it is, whilst also being super cool.
This pretty galaxy scarf has the same colour palette as the necklace Chrissie made, and is so soft and snuggly and warm. I’ve been wearing this lately to add a splash of colour to some of my darker winter outfits, and it seems to attract compliments!
Purple shades and holo effects are two of my favourite things to decorate my nails with, so this nail polish from Freckles Polish is perfect for me. The shade is called ‘I’ll Need Wine’, and is a rich purple colour, a bit like red wine, with a beautiful holo shimmer. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of me wearing it, but it applies nicely and is stunning on – fabulous for the festive season. Chrissie recently sent me some stamping plates too, so I plan on creating some looks soon using them and this polish, which I’ll be posting about soon.
I’m really happy with everything Chrissie sent me (thanks Chrissie!), and I hope we can do another swap one day! To see what I sent Chrissie in return, you can check out her post here.
Have you taken part in any Christmas swaps this year? If so, what did you send/receive? I’d love to see your posts about it!
Naomi x
NOTD: Barry M Glitterati ‘Fashion Icon’
0
7 years
When it comes to nail products, Barry M are one of my favourite brands, so when they announced a flurry of new shades for Autumn/Winter 2014, I was incredibly excited! As well as adding new colours to their Gelly, Silk, Classic and Aquarium ranges, and releasing some gorgeous Christmas glitters, Barry M have also launched the new Glitterati collection. Glitterati features six ‘blinging’ glitter paints, and they really caught my eye when I first saw them on Instagram.
So far I’ve only picked up three shades from the new selection – Rockstar and Fashion Icon from Glitterati, and the new Aquarium Glitter, Atlantis. I’ll be posting about each shade individually over the coming weeks, plus any more that I end up buying, but today’s NOTD is Fashion Icon.
Blue and purple are two of my favourite and most worn colours, so I was immediately drawn to this beautiful shade. Fashion Icon has a purple base with a blue duochrome effect, and is packed full of micro glitter, some of which is holographic. I find this shade so mesmerizing as it looks different every time I look at it. It goes from electric blue to grape purple to bright violet in one movement, whilst all the time remaining strikingly sparkly.
All of my swatches show three thin coats, with no base coat or top coat, which I think looks great, but I bet it’d look just as gorgeous layered over a deep purple shade.
I’ve also found Fashion Icon to be impressively hard-wearing. Despite spending the whole day cleaning, unpacking boxes and generally being busy, my nails look just as good as they did when I first painted them.
I can really see this wonderful shade becoming one of my all time favourite glitters, and I can’t wait to swatch Rockstar to see if it’s as stunning as this one.
Barry M’s Glitterati nail paints cost £3.99 each, and are available in store and online from Superdrug and Boots, and online from Barry M.
Naomi x
ResinSparkles Pendant and Ring
9
8 years
by Naomi in Fashion
I recently came across a great little Etsy store called ResinSparkles, which is owned by the lovely Sara. Sara creates unique pieces of jewellery out of resin and glitter, a lot of which have a fab geek-chic theme, with Dr Who, Star Wars, steampunk and comic books regularly featuring in her designs. Sara very kindly offered to send me a couple of pieces to review, and after browsing her store the magpie in me chose a Sparkly Ring and a Steampunk Clockwork Pendant.
Both pieces are really well made, and they are both very generous on the glitter. They’re so eye-catching, especially in the sun, and both make a real statement. They came packaged in cute matching gift bags too – perfect if you want to give them as a present (and trust me, the receiver would not be disappointed with their sparkly surprise).
The pendant comes on an 18″ silver coloured chain and is nice and lightweight, so though it’s a fairly big piece, it’s incredibly comfortable to wear and hangs well. I chose purple as it’s my favourite colour and this particular shade is stunning, but these pendants are available in a wide range of colours. I absolutely love the steampunk theme too, as the little cogs and metal bits suspended in the resin give it an added edge.
The ring I received has come to be known as my mermaid ring, as the layers of bright blue glitter are so pretty and remind me of a mermaid’s tail, or the surface of the sea sparkling in the sun (how romantic!). Like the pendant, the dome of the ring is quite large so really stands out, and it sits securely on a silver coloured adjustable metal band. I have quite slim fingers so it best fits my index or middle fingers, which is where I prefer to wear rings anyway. These are also available in a wide range of shades, with some combining two different glitters.
Considering all of Sara’s pieces are handmade and great quality, they’re also very affordable. The pendants are £7.50 each including the chain, and the rings are just £3.50. So, if you’re a fan of sparkle, or know someone else who is, be sure to check out ResinSparkles on Etsy, and on Twitter.
Naomi x
*These pieces were sent to me by ResinSparkles for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
NOTD: GOSH ‘Frosted Plum’
5
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
You may remember that at the beginning of January I swatched and reviewed a gorgeous glitter varnish from GOSH’s Frosted Sand collection, called ‘Frosted Purple‘. Well, it officially became one of my favourite varnishes of all time, and I couldn’t wait to add more frosted shades to my collection. In particular I was trying to get hold of ‘Frosted Plum’, but the only bottle in my local Superdrug for months was a damaged one. Then, earlier this week, I noticed that they had a few more in stock, and luckily for me all of GOSH’s varnishes were on offer for £1.99 each! Obviously I bought it straight away and applied it when I got home, so today I thought I’d share the swatches with you.
Like its purple counterpart, ‘Frosted Plum’ is a pleasure to apply, looks opaque in just one coat (although I applied two), and dries really quickly. It’s also rather hard-wearing, and stays put for a good few days without chipping, even without a base or top coat.
The best thing about it though is the colour. The base shade, as you’d expect, is a beautiful deep plum purple, but throughout it are flecks of gold, bronze and bright pink, which give it a brilliant depth. It looks absolutely amazing in the sun, and even indoors it still looks impressive. The glitter in this one is a lot more consistently sized than in ‘Frosted Purple’, and I think it looks a bit like a caviar manicure.
Indoors (with flash)
Outdoors
I’ll stand by my previous statement that GOSH’s Frosted Sand glitters are honestly the best glitters I’ve tried, and I will continue to add to my collection! I have my eye on a couple of their spring pastel shades, ‘Soft Blue’ and ‘Soft Green’, which are also currently £1.99 in Superdrug (reduced from £3.99).
Will you be buying any of GOSH’s frosted glitters?
Naomi x
NOTD: GOSH ‘Frosted Purple’
5
8 years
by Naomi in Nails
Earlier this week I nipped into Superdrug whilst shopping with my mum, and whilst browsing the make up stands I spotted this gorgeous nail varnish by GOSH. Most GOSH varnishes usually retail for £3.99 each, but the range of ‘Frosted Sand’ glitters, which are very similar to OPI’s Liquid Sand collection, are currently discounted to £1.99. I was instantly drawn to this shade, ‘Frosted Purple‘, as the colour looked incredible in the bottle, so I snapped it up and couldn’t wait to get it home to try it out.
‘Frosted Purple’ is a simply beautiful colour, and is neutral enough to wear with just about anything. It’s a dark silver tone with a lilac tinge, and consists of two sizes of glitter – a very fine micro glitter, with larger flecks throughout. The varnish dries matte, which is quite unusual for a glitter varnish in my experience, and is textured like ‘frosted sand’. It feels slightly rough to the touch, but I’ve used far rougher glitters in the past.
Now, I know this is a bold statement to make, but I think this varnish is the best glitter varnish that I have ever owned/tried. It even beats my trusty favourite brands, Barry M and Models Own. Most glitters need layers and layers for full coverage, but not this one. My swatches show the coverage after just one coat. That’s right, ONE COAT! And it really doesn’t need any more than that, as it’s completely opaque. The formula is lovely too – very smooth and not at all gloopy, so you can actually brush it on (the brush is nice and wide, yay) rather than dab it on, as is usually required with glitters. It also dries very quickly for a glitter.
In terms of hardiness, I’ve been wearing ‘Frosted Purple’ for three days now, and the tips of my nails are just starting to show signs of wear. There are no chips or anything though. I can tell it’s going to be a pain to remove as it has the same texture as Models Own ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘Southern Lights’ which are really tough to get off, but it’s a small price to pay for such a high quality glitter.
EDIT: I was wrong! The varnish was actually really easy to remove with a normal nail varnish remover, and it barely took any soaking or rubbing to get it to budge. I’m very, very impressed.
I spotted four shades in the ‘Frosted Sand’ range, all of which are Toluene-free and Formaldehyde-free. ‘Frosted Silver’, ‘Frosted Gold’, ‘Frosted Purple’, and ‘Frosted Plum’, which I think is a new addition, and is next on my nail varnish shopping list! Will you be trying any? If so, get on down to Superdrug quick to take advantage of the £1.99 offer!
Naomi x
What I Wore: Batik & Black
6Hi everyone!
Today I thought I’d share with you what I wore on New Year’s Day. My outfit of choice consisted of a gorgeous new pair of jeans that I purchased from ASOS in their winter sale, which I paired with a simple black zip back jumper from Primark.
Primark Black Zip Back Jumper / ASOS Only Batik Skinny Jeans / H&M Black Ankle Boots / H&M Black and Gold Clutch Bag
I seem to have collected quite a few black tops over the past few months, so I decided to invest in some colourful pieces to wear with them, and these Batik Skinny Jeans by Danish brand Only do not disappoint. Purple is my favourite colour, and I’ve always been a fan of batik/tie dye style prints, so as soon as I saw these I knew I had to have them. They’re an excellent fit as well. The sizing is accurate, and they have a range of leg lengths to choose from, so they are plenty long enough for my 36″ inside leg! These jeans cost me £12.50, down from £60.00, and they’ve now been reduced even further to £11.00, so I have ordered another pair as I love them so much.
To finish the outfit, I went for more black. A few weeks ago I received a couple of fashion items from BLOGGERS[edit] to review, so I decided to give them a whirl with this outfit. Despite only expecting one item from them, BLOGGERS[edit] actually sent me two (thanks!) – a gorgeous pair of black ankle boots, and a surprise black and gold clutch bag, both from H&M.
Those who read my blog regularly will know that I have a thing for black, and a thing for boots, so these Black Ankle Boots are right up my street. They’re made of imitation suede which looks and feels almost real, and they have a sturdy but flexible rubber sole so they’re easy and comfortable to walk in. One thing I always look for in simple black footwear is a little bit of a twist to make them a bit more interesting, and these pass that test. The boots have a curved panel on the front, and a lip at the top that sits higher than the back, giving them a slightly more unusual shape. At £24.99 these are a real bargain!
This Black and Gold Clutch Bag is a little beauty, and even comes with a chain strap hidden inside, so you can wear it over your shoulder if you so wish. The bag has a sturdy gold metallic shell, which is underlaid with soft black suedette, and it fastens with a large clip on top. Despite only costing £14.99, the bag oozes quality, and adds a touch of glamour to any outfit. It’s not the biggest bag in the world, but it’s roomy enough for your phone, keys, money, lipstick and chewing gum, which is just about everything you need on a night out.
What do you think of this outfit?
Naomi x
*These Black Ankle Boots and Black & Gold Clutch Bag were sent to me by BLOGGERS[edit], on behalf of H&M, for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
What I Wore: Purple Knit
2
8 years
by Naomi in Fashion
Yesterday was a fairly mild day for December, so my fiancé and I decided to take advantage of the Autumn sun and go for a little wander around the lakes with my camera. Whilst we were there, we took the opportunity to take some ‘What I Wore’ photos, featuring my new oversized purple cardigan from Primark.
Primark Purple Knit Cardigan / Primark Plain Black Vest / Primark Leather Look Leggings / Dr Martens 1460 W Purple Shimmer Boots / eBay Multi-Layer Leaf Necklace
I was really quite pleased with this Primark find as I’d been looking for a big cardi for weeks, but hadn’t been having much luck finding one I liked. In fact, after a lengthy browse I was ready to give up on Primark, but as I was about to leave I spotted a sale rack with this gorgeous cardigan on it. Admittedly, quite a few of them were cut weirdly and I had to try a few on to get one that fit right, but I’m glad I persisted, especially as it was reduced from £12 to only £5!
The cardigan is lovely and chunky, so I wore it over a plain black vest and my leather look leggings, and still felt cosy and warm. Of course, I had to team it with my trusty purple Dr Martens, and added a multi-layer leaf necklace for a bit of extra detail. A simple outfit for a chilled out day, which ended perfectly with nachos and quesadillas, doughnuts and Breaking Bad!
What did you wear this weekend?
Naomi x
AngelEye Party Dress Giveaway – CLOSED!
22As promised (although a few days later than expected) I have a new giveaway for you all! Seeing as party season is coming up, I thought it’d be nice to offer one lucky reader a brand new dress from AngelEye, which would be perfect for any Christmas or New Year parties you may have on the horizon. The dress is absolutely gorgeous – red and navy with a bodycon fit, knee length, and an exposed zip at the back that runs from top to bottom. It’d look amazing with a pair of killer heels and a clutch bag – you really would be the belle of the ball! The dress is a size small, which would best fit a size 8-10 I’d imagine, possibly a small 12.
To enter, all you have to do is complete as many of the tasks as you want/can on the Rafflecopter form below (the first two are mandatory). The competition will run for three weeks and will end at midnight (GMT) on 11th December. The giveaway is open WORLDWIDE and all entries will be checked. The winner will be chosen at random and announced the next day, and contacted via email, and will be given 48 hours to respond with their postal address. If no reply is received within this time, another winner will be chosen. Good luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
A big thank you to AngelEye for providing this prize!
Naomi x
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