Yours Black & Pink Floral Skater Dress.

Grrrr, it's been too long since I've posted so I can only apologise - work life has been crazy this last few weeks, lots of changes (some good, some not so good) but one thing I can say is I've been able to cope with it all without the usual body worries... what I mean by that is, the previous me would have flapped something awful at meeting new people, I'd have got myself into a right old state "oh I'm so fat, they'll think I'm not professional, what will they think of me? What will I wear? Oh I look massive" etc etc etc. But the new "body positive" me (sorry bit cheesy there) has swaggered into each new situation with my head high and a big smile :D And guess what? None of the new people I've met have run off screaming, covering their eyes from the fat bird in their eyeline. Odd that <wink>.

Anyway, I remembered these photos I took a few weeks ago and after checking the dress was still available (it is, albeit not many sizes left but there are other colour combinations of the same dress with more sizing choice), here we are:

I got this in the 24 and it's pretty much perfect apart from a little loose under the arms but I wouldn't want to get the 22 as I can't stand anything tight under my arms, so that's something to bear in mind. It's a beautiful dress; really thick material and it hangs lovely. What I love the most about it though is it's so versatile... I've dressed it down (well, apart from the clutch which I'd never use in the day!) with leggings and flats but it would be perfect for a night out too with some killer heels and tights/bare legs (depending on your preference). 

Dress from Yours Clothing here.

Bag from Littlewoods here.

Necklace from Black Heart Creatives here.

Hair flower from OOWH here.

Leggings old Next.

Shoes old Next.

Thanks for reading, as always :-) xx

Chanel Duo Platinum Holographic and Silver Nail Polishes.

I own a pretty decent collection of nail polishes but my 2 absolute favourites (I couldn't narrow it down to one!) are 2 Chanel polishes; both of which are sadly long since discontinued (but don't worry, I have recommendations for dupes for them both) and only available on eBay occasionally for madly inflated prices.

The first one is Holographic, a beautiful shimmery silver which is the best holographic I've ever owned. It literally glows every colour of the rainbow in the light. I don't use it very often mainly due to the fact that I'll more than likely never be able to get it again but also because it doesn't benefit from a top coat (it takes away the holographic effect) so it never lasts very long.

Spot the little nosey nose in the top right of the picture?!

Silly dog just moving out of view here!

The second one is Metallic Silver which is literally like mirrors on your nails (you can actually see your reflection in them!). This too only gets used rarely as I will cry the day it runs out!

One negative for both of these polishes is the application. I would really expect better from Chanel to be honest. The brushes are really narrow so each coat is quite time consuming. I much prefer a nice wide brush, I find it makes application easier and more importantly, much neater. On the plus side though, they both dry very quickly but the silver, like the holo, isn't very long lasting due to not being able to wear a top coat (well, you could I suppose but it ruins the look so you might as well just go for a plain silver if you're going to do that).

According to people in the know (Nail Polish bloggers) the following are very good duplicates for both polishes:

For the holographic, this one from Gosh looks a damm good likeness to me and for £3.99 it's worth a bash. I'll be investing in this one myself as soon as I can get to Superdrug: Gosh Holographic Hero £3.99!!

For the silver, this one is highly recommended as a great alternative: China Glaze Platinum Silver again, £3.99! Surely worth the risk for less than a fiver!

xxx

Ciate Nail Polish - Boudoir.

So, after my slightly disappointing start with my Ciate advent calender, I decided to give it another chance with another shade and I chose Boudoir, a gorgeous bright red: Boudoir I am pleased to report I love this one... application was dreamy, it was perfectly acceptable after one coat (if you were in a huge rush) but after 3 coats and a top coat it really comes to life. It's super shiny and really glows. I am love with this polish, I genuinely am!

24 hours on and there was one tiny chip on the little finger nail of my right hand but trust me, for me that is excellent. Every polish I wear, without exception, chips on day 1 for me. From the most expensive down to the cheapest bargain bin polishes, they all chip within 24 hours. I think I must have really shit quality nails maybe because it genuinely doesn't matter what I do... whether I use a base coat or not... or if I use a top coat or not, it always chips. I'm sure it's me and my substandard nails as I'm always reading reviews of polishes I've got that last for days for other people and I'm there, staring sadly at my tatty manicure thinking "I wish".

2 days later and there are small chips on 6 of the nails but 4 of these are on my right hand which is my dominant hand and today especially, I've been very busy. Usually after 2 days there's barely any polish left on my nails so, by my usual standards, I'm really pleased with this. 

Like the last Ciate polish I used, it does seem to take quite a while to dry between coats and there were a few small dents and smudges visible the next morning but nothing that stood out too much.

Overall I'm really happy with this one and am looking forward to the next one... the only difficult decision is which one to try next! 

xxx

OOTD - Yours Black and White Daisy Print Jersey Skater Tunic Dress

It's been an absolute age since I did my first OOTD post and sadly my modelling skills haven't improved much... I took about a 100 photos and I just looked more and more awkward in each one ha, so this is pretty much the best of a bad bunch I'm afraid. I'm not massively happy with the quality of the photos either; I think it's the lack of natural light in them but when I tried them by the window they were even worse, half of me was enclosed in a white blur. What the hell is that all about? Anyway, enough complaining, here's some pics:

I absolutely love, love, LOVE this dress. It's super comfortable, gives great "swing" (fnar), the pattern is so pretty and I feel great in it. It's pretty generous, I'm wearing the 24 here but I could definitely have sized down to a 22. Sadly it doesn't seem to be on the website any more, so I can only assume it's sold out which is annoying but this one is very similar: Daisy print jersey dress albeit with a different neckline and slightly shorter sleeves. 

Looking at the photos now, I think it would have looked better with some chunky black biker boots but I don't have any (yet!) so the Uggs will have to do for now.

Rest of the outfit:

So Fabulous biker jacket

Acrylic bow necklace

Ugg Boots from Schuh

Leggings - old Tesco.

Bag - old Next.

Hair flower - made by a friend.

Thanks for reading :-) xxx

Ciate Mini Mani Month Mini Calendrier Manicure....

.... or, "Ciate Advent Calender" to the less posh amongst us ;-)

As a nail polish addict I don't know how Ciate has passed by under my radar but somehow it has. No longer though. After seeing this post on polkaspotsandfreckledots I absolutely had to have one. Now, this year's retails at around the £50.00 mark but you can buy previous year's here for a much more purse friendly cost:

http://www.allbeauty.com/gifts-and-sets/ciate (this is the only one left now, the other 2 featured on Louise's post seem to be out of stock sadly).

It arrived in about 5 days and was 100% perfect. I would never have thought it had sat around for a year (possibly longer, not sure if this one was last year's or the year before's), the packaging was spot on.

I certainly won't be waiting until December the 1st to play with this:

Look at all the prettiness! I was delighted with the variety and can't wait to sample them all, especially the caviar beads, how ridiculously awesome do they look?

After much careful deliberation, I made my choice and it was this one, Starlet:

Described as a "purple/blue 2 tone shimmer".

So, what did I think? Well...not a lot sadly. Read on.

Application was awkward. It went on very streaky and any additional brush strokes on top of an already painted area seemed to wipe off the original polish. It took 3 coats to reach a decent solid colour and even then, you could see some slight patchiness - I think 4 would have been better but as each coat took a good 10-15 minutes to dry, I was fast running out of time. I applied 2 coats of top coat for shine and this was the finished result:

It does look nice in the photos (sorry about my ring finger, I've just noticed the smudging there!) but an hour later it was still a bit tacky and I woke up this morning with lines and dents. It's gone dull as the day has gone on and 2 nails have chipped slightly. So I am really not impressed.

I don't know if it's just one slightly dodgy polish... I'll remain optimistic until I've tried a few more shades. I do hope it's not that the quality has deteriorated over time, if the set has been sat in a warehouse somewhere, as then it would be more likely they will all be the same :-( 

I'll choose another one tonight or tomorrow night and see how I get on with that one. Fingers crossed...

Barry M Textured Nail Effect in Countess.

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. Life is crazy busy at the moment with all sorts of crap going on (mainly work related) but it's not that sort of blog (yet!) so you'll be pleased to know I won't bored you with the details ;-)

I removed my acrylic nails last week as I can't afford to have them done at the moment (see afore mentioned work woes) - I do feel a bit Samson without his hair but at least it gives me a good excuse to try out new nail polishes.

This one I'm going to review now isn't even mine! I pinched it from the daughter as I spotted it, swooped in like a magpie and had to try it. I've never tried any polishes from Barry M before but on learning they're around the £3.99 mark I'm sure this one won't be the last.

My goodness, I love it! It looks a bit brown in the bottle (not in my photos I know, must be due to the flash) but the glitter appealed to me anyway... it's a gorgeous, deep purple with flecks of gold and pink. I used 2 coats and then 2 coats of top coat (OPI Top Coat; it's my favourite top coat as it's got a lovely wide brush for easy application) as it wasn't quite shiny enough for me after one coat. It went on like a dream and dried super fast between coats. I'll be interested in it's staying power, for such a bargain price. It does feel a little bit rough to the touch but that's not really a complaint, it is a textured polish after all. It just feels a bit strange for me as I'm used to smooth and shiny!

I have got lots of posts planned and work permitting, should be posting them over the next few days. I've got a couple of new dresses to do OOTD for, some reviews from my Latest in Beauty beauty box and some fabulous jewellery to show (and some superb customer service to share with you) xx

More Online Shopping Woes and Recent Purchases

<huge sigh>

If there are any more incoming and outgoing transactions from my bank account to Evans we're going to get investigated for money laundering.

I treated myself to one of the reduced Scarlett & Jo prom dresses last week (and threw in a bra too, I'm in desperate need of a black bra) and they arrived yesterday. Up I skipped to the bedroom with my bag of loveliness and started flinging my clothes off with the enthusiasm of a stripper. Sadly though, so very sadly <weep>, it wasn't right on me. The shoulders were oddly too loose, the lining inside was tight across the tummy (not the outer layer strangely, just the lining) and again, as happened last week, the length just didn't work on me. It just made me look a frump. I don't know what sort of weird talent I have - I appear to be able to take a beautiful dress and give it the sex appeal of a nun's habit just by trying it on.

And DON'T even get me started on the bra. Not only did it give me a bizarre 6 boob affair (the regular 2, the overspill 2 and the side boob 2), the back strap was hideously tight. D cup my arse.

So I flung both bra and dress out of the window in rage, much to the amusement of my window cleaner.

No, I didn't really. I wrapped them back up like the good little internet shopper that I am and consoled myself with the only logical choice. MORE internet shopping.

So, en route we have:

Black Heart Creatives

Simply Be Bird Printed Dress

Simply Be Tartan Print Dress

F&F True Maxi Dress

(Not quite sure about this to be honest but thought it was worth a punt for £7.00)

I also won a rather fabulous denim jacket on Ebay (brand new, originally from Asos Curve) which I think would look superb with any of the above frocks. Fingers crossed the bloody thing fits okay and isn't too long on the arms or some other bizarre issue. 

Hopefully (assuming dresses are okay!) there should be some OOTD posts coming soon. Haven't managed any in the last week as I've been full of a horrible cold and, frankly, looking like utter shite. Aside - where DOES all the snot come from when one has a cold? 

xxx

Ps. Code for 15% off at Simply Be, no minimum spend: UJQU3