NOTD: Pastel Galaxy Nails

Since I've gotten back into the swing of the real world of work, it feels like I have gotten out of the swing of blogging. Not only that, but my work place doesn't allow employees to have painted nails to work, and when your scheduled in for 40 hours a week, that doesn't leave much time for nail art! However, today I had a very welcomed day off, and so jumped on the chance to crack out my nail polishes again! 

Here's what I came up with...

I'd previously done traditional Galaxy Nails as inspired by a Doctor Who design I'd seen by Spellbound Nails, but this time I wanted to try and come up with my own nail design. I think it has a very young feel to it, and for some reason it reminds me of My Little Pony! I'd love to do this design on one of my younger cousins; it would look so cute!

c/o www.greatponies.com - It's uncanny, no?!

What do you think of my very first original nail design? What designs have you tried creating? I'd love to see them!

P.S. There's only 19 hours left to enter my 200 follower giveaway! Don't miss out!

Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain: A Review

As you all (hopefully) know, I am currently hosting a giveaway with a chance to win two Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains and a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Polish. Well, while I was out buying these goodies, of course I couldn't resist buying one for myself! I briefly touched on this purchase in my Mini Haul: July Buys post saying that I would do an in-depth review soon, and here it is!

Superdrug £5.99

I bought this in the shade 'Rendez-Vous', which is a very warm, vibrant tangerine. Other people with similar skin-tones may disagree, but through my eyes, pink lips just do not suit my skin-tone. I really wish they would, as well, because I am forever seeing gorgeous pale pinks on other people and feeling ever jealous - especially now the weather is heating up and they can pair it with a killer tan. As I am half Asian, I find that my skin is just too dark to pull off the pale pinks, but it is however perfectly suited to more warm, orange colours. 

Swatched

In natural light

In artificial light

As you can see, it applies in a translucent sheen with just a touch of a gloss finish. Unfortunately the pictures don't quite do this product justice with regards to the pigmentation that is produced - imagine that colour, but three times more intense. Also, not only does this give a great colour with a great finish, they are also moisturising, which is where the 'balm' bit of the title comes in. As a self-confessed Vaseline addict, I generally apply Vaseline twice an hour, regardless of whether I am wearing lipstick or not; the Vaseline always goes on top of the lipstick. Now I am wearing this product as I write this up, and  haven't touched my Vaseline in over 3 hours, and the product is still on my lips. I cannot get across enough how much I am in love with this product.

Have you tried this product? Did you get similar results or do you have a different opinion on it?

P.S. For your chance to get your hands on two of these, plus a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish, make sure you enter my giveaway now!

Mini Haul: July Buys

I can only apologise for my erratic posting schedule as of late! I've gone back to my old job for the uni holidays and I'm currently on 40 hours a week - not leaving me with much free time. On that note though, doing all this work has also given me a false sense of money, and I've found myself spending my wages before I've even been given them. I am a self-confessed online shopping addict, and so I've been browsing a *lot* whenever I have a spare 10 minutes out of work. Here's my lot!

I think I can safely say that I am in the same boat as all of you other bloggers in saying that the main thing buzzing around my head recently has been one thing: disco pants, disco pants, disco pants! Now, I don't know about you, but the £70 price tag for the original American Apparel ones is just a little over my budget! I also have no shame in buying complete dupes of products that I can't afford, and so cue the Boohoo disco pants!

www.boohoo.com  £20

I got these bad boys for a cool £20, £50 the American Apparel ones! Now of course some of the detailing from the original design has been lost along the way to making these ones so cheap - they do not have the button and zip, nor the pockets at the back, but I think I can live without those for that saving! They are still high-waisted, and have a thick reinforced panel at the top to ensure that they are they are (hopefully) very flattering, and suck you in in all the right places!

Superdrug £5.99

Again, these lip balms/stains by Revlon have been featured high and low all over the blogging world, so I finally caved and bought one. I bought this in shade 'Rendez-vous' which is a warm tangerine colour. My boyfriend heavily questioned my decision when I picked this up as all he could see was orange, but for my skin-tone orange really does compliment it during these warm summer months. I have 2 more of these up for grabs in my giveaway at the moment, along with a Sally Hansen Hard as Nails polish, so check it out for a chance to win!

www.buyapowa.com £10.50

As far as blogging goes, my main passion is nail art. So when I began Secrets of a Wannabe Charlotte, and reading all of your blogs one word kept coming up time and again: Seche Vite. I had never heard of this product before, but all I knew was that I had to have it! This duo normally retails for over £17, but thanks to BuyaPowa (a co-buy website), I managed to snag the two for a cool £10.50, and now I can proudly display them in my collection!

As I've been caught up with work so much I haven't had a chance to try any of these out just yet, but expect full reviews of each product when I do! Have you tried any of these products? What do you make of them?

P.S. Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win 2 Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm stains and a Sally Hansen Hard as nails polish!

NOTD: Nail Repair

I'm afraid the exciting nail art posts are being momentarily put on hold (not for long, don't worry) while I try and give my nails some much needed TLC! For a beauty blogger, you might be surprised to know that I'm not actually that bothered about all the fine details of the world of beauty. I love experimenting with new nail art designs, but if you ask me to recommend any nail products I'll be speechless. I don't use a base or top coat (if I want more shine I'll maybe put on a clear coat), I don't do anything to my cuticles - unless you count pushing them out of the way with my own nails, and I certainly don't buy a specific hand cream; regular body moisturiser does it for me! 

Because I do neglect my nails so much, right now they are in pretty bad shape. The list is endless for everything that is wrong with my nails, but the main culprits are dryness, flaking and stains. As for the stains, I'm not springing into action just yet. I know this is probably a terrible outlook but as far as I'm concerned, nails grow pretty quickly, and I always have mine painted anyway... So does it really matter if they're stained?

As for the dryness and flaking, they're getting combated straight away! Introducing my miracle product...

Sally Hansen's Hard As Nails

I managed to snag this for £1 something over on Here For A Day. This is a website much like Groupon and Wowcher, that runs day-long offers on various products. I personally find them to be a bit hit and miss, as the featured products are so varied, but every now and then I find myself tempted! As you can see this product claims to harden nails and smooth ridges, and boy does it deliver! I'd always been a bit sceptical about these products as I couldn't understand how they'd work, but after just over a week of using this, the results are amazing.

As you can see, I still have some flaking on my ring finger, index finger and thumb, but this has dramatically reduced. Before, whenever I would cut my nails I'd lose most of the top layer of each nail due to flaking and chipping, and I'd just have to use copious amounts of polish to even out the texture of the nail. Now, my nails don't chip or flake when I cut them, and the body of the nail is much more sturdy. 

I've found myself even reaching for this product as a base coat (I know - I'm growing up!) as it makes a beautifully smooth canvas to begin painting with, and does (albeit annoyingly) make the polish harder to remove when the dreaded time comes. 

The majority of you voted for beauty prizes over nail or fashion prizes to be up for grabs in the 200 follower giveaway, but this product is so amazing that I have to share it. I bought 2 of these, one of which (unopened of course) is in the 200 follower giveaways, alongside a beauty prize - so make sure you enter now!

What are your favourite nail repair products? I clearly need help in this department!

200 Follower Giveaway!

As promised, the votes are in and we can now go ahead with the 200 follower giveaway here on Secrets Of A Wannabe Charlotte! I did a spot of shopping today, and as the majority of the vote chose beauty prizes, ask and you shall receive! I've snuck one nail product in there (I hope you don't mind!), as it's become an absolute necessity for my nails and I wanted to share it with you!

Here are the prizes...

Sally Hansen 'Hard as Nails' formula in 'South Beach Frost'

Revlon's Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains in 'Cherish' and 'Lovesick'

I've created the usual widget on Rafflecopter, and there are just 3 things you can do to enter (I don't like all the fussy ones with too many options that I can't keep up with! This first giveaway is limited to the UK only for now, and then I will hopefully branch out to the rest of Europe and the States on future milestone giveaways!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My Hair Journey: Part Two

Before you read this post, you might want to check out My Hair Journey: Part One for a bit of scene-setting and general context. In that post I described all my hair changes to date, and also mentioned that I had recently had my hair cut and so was planning a few more!

I've been in Butlins (a UK based resort for anyone that may not know) this past week for a little stay-cation with my mum. While we were there we booked in at the spa for a bit of a pamper day, and decided to get our hair done at the same time. Now, my stylist at home charges £35 for a cut and blow-dry which isn't bad when I've got a nice steady income, but for a student just leaving second year of university and still job-less, that price is completely out of the question. At Butlins however, their resident stylist was only charging £20 for the same service so I couldn't resist the saving and decided to take a risk. Due to my irrational fear of hairdressers I've never formed a loyal bond to just one hairdresser, so didn't feel as if I was cheating by visiting another stylist.

I told the woman that I wanted to get rid of my scruffy layers, and after months of growing my fringe out... I just wanted it put back in. It was a simple enough task, so she set to work. I can't say that I was ecstatic about what she did - I was always told that you shouldn't brush wet hair as it can lead  to more breakage, but straight after washing she went mad at my hair with a bristle brush, frantically tugging at my poor wet hair. At one point she even said "listen, you can hear your hair pinging!", but instead of telling her to stop as that 'pinging' was the sound of my precious hair snapping under the force of her brush, I just sat there, did a fake laugh and said "yeah," with a smile.

Left picture: before - Right picture: after

She gave everything a general trim and put the fringe back in. She told me that she'd razored out my layers, but I only saw her doing that towards the front of my hair so I'm not sure how true that statement was. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there like me; if I don't like what the hairdresser has done, no matter how awful it is, when they finish up and ask me what I think, without fail I will say "oh yes, I love it - you've done a great job!". Why do I do this?! I really don't know, but it's an age old habit that I'm very unlikely to kick. I am forever destined to lie to my hairdresser and then go home and take the scissors to it myself. 

And I did just that after this visit. I don't know if this is a general thing with stylists, but no matter who cuts my hair, they will *always* try and reset my parting, regardless of where I say it normally falls. As this has always happened, I've got quite used to putting my fringe back to its normal position the second I step through my front door, and snipping a few extra bits here and there. I appreciate that I have quite a dramatic side-parting, but if I physically show them where it lies, why must they always comb it elsewhere?


Since around the age of 16, my favourite pass-time whenever I'm bored is to get a little pair of scissors, and search through my hair for any split ends. I've been told that this is an awful habit (so don't copy me, guys!) as apparently unless you use the super sharp hairdressing scissors that cost £98975874093405 (or something around that mark at least!), you can only make them worse! Usually, after visiting the hairdressers, I'm out of luck whenever I want to indulge in a bit of split-end snipping, but after this visit I still had plenty to choose from! I suppose that is not a good sign after you've just paid someone to get rid of as many of them as possible.

For £15 less than my usual stylist, I can't really complain. She did the basic job, but any extra styling that I normally receive was left out. I'll just have to wait til I manage to pocket some extra money to pay for the top stuff!

Expect part three of this series soon - there is still far more I want to do to my hair! 

What are your experiences with hairdressers? Are you as silly as I am?

P.S. There's only a few hours left to vote in the 200 follower giveaway poll! Beauty prizes are in the lead!

My Hair Journey: Part One

Since I can remember, I have always been the girl with the long hair. I have briefly experimented with shoulder length cuts, and even a bob once (what a mistake!), but I always go back and grow my hair out again. By the time I was 11 years old I already wanted to experiment with hair dye, and for some reason my very laid-back father let me dye my hair purple. As I'm half Asian, my natural hair is a very rich, dark brown (a colour I haven't seen on my head in nearly 10 years!) and so fortunately the colour didn't take very well - not that one little set-back was going to stop me! After that first time I suddenly developed a taste for hair dye. 

After that stint in Year 7 (grade 7 for my American readers), my family moved a fair old way from the Midlands to the South coast, and so I started a new school. At my first secondary school, my purple-haired wannabe-grunger ways had been the norm, but I got bit of a culture shock when my new school seemed to be Chav Capital! The baggy jeans and black t-shirts I had been used to were definitely not in fashion here, and a standard Lonsdale hoody seemed to be everyone's outer-garment of choice to attempt to hide their school uniform. All the girls seemed to be sporting blonde highlights, regardless of their natural hair colour, and so in a shameless bid to fit in - I did the same.

Blonde highlights just growing out from my 14 year old hair

Mind you, this attempt to fit in seemed to work - I made friends and enjoyed my days at school. I no longer had to make an effort to adopt these norms (note the horrific white eyeliner), as they simply became my routine behaviours.

By the age of 15 I had begun to start finding out who I was, and realised that I didn't like my blonde low lights, or the clothes I had persuaded my mum to buy so that I could look like the other girls. This was a big moment in my life, and saw me reaching for Schwarzkopf's XXL Colour in RED. 

Pictured in 2010 and 2011 with my usual long, red hair

I sported this colour and cut all the way until the summer of 2011 when Rihanna and Cheryl Cole both famously dyed their hair red, igniting an absolute tidal wave of girls to rush out to their nearest Boots and pick up some red hair dye. I couldn't stand being the same as everyone else (I know, how hipster of me), so I went for a complete image overhaul. At this point, Made in Chelsea (this is just a semi-reality programme about the filthy rich, for those of you who don't watch it) had also begun airing on Channel 4 and I had taken quite a liking to Caggie's hair.

Caggie Dunlop from Made in Chelsea

I took this picture of Caggie to my stylist and simply said "I want my hair to look like hers". In this same appointment, they also stripped and bleached my hair to within an inch of its life to remove all traces of the red (5 years of dying your hair red will definitely leave you with some hair stains!), and put a nice medium brown colour all over, with a few added low-lights. Although the cut wasn't quite what I'd had in mind, I was very happy with it.

Pictured on NYE 2011

As you can see, my light brown locks were a far cry from my usual red number, and I was definitely happy. I felt that 19 was too old to still be dying my hair red - although I still feel a pang of jealousy when I see other girls with their red hair.

Now, if you know me *really* well, you'll know that I have an irrational fear of going to the hairdressers. Don't ask me why, I can't explain it, but if I was told I'd never have to get my hair cut again I think my outlook on life would be considerably more positive! Due to this ridiculous fear, I rarely go to the hairdressers. It has currently been over 7 months since that hair cut, and I only just got my hair chopped yesterday (pictures of that will be up soon). Obviously in that time, hair will grow out.

Pictured at a friend's birthday in May 2012

The light brown mixed in with my natural dark roots, and any style had been lost in a sea of split ends and uneven length! I gave up heat styling as in true honesty, I prefer my natural waves to poker straight heat-induced hair, and it has saved me a good 10 minutes on my every day routine! By this time I had also decided to grow out my side-fringe, but this got a bit annoying when I wanted to put my hair up - I had to deal with that annoying "middle" stage of hair length which was too awkward-looking to leave down, but would fall back down if I attempted to merge it in with the rest of my hair!

So this is my hair journey to date. As I said, I got my hair cut yesterday, and I'm planning something a lot different again soon! What are your tales of your hair journeys? 

P.S. Don't forget to vote for what prize you want up for grabs in the 200 follower giveaway poll, there's only 2 days left to have your say! (It's up at the top right)!

OOTW: A Very Rainy Sunday

Seen as the weather in Britain has been it's usual miserable self, I have reluctantly relinquished my summer clothes back to the wardrobe and taken out my Autumn/Winter clothes again instead. This past Sunday I woke up to a particularly grey cloud outside my window so thought I better dress accordingly. 

Although we're in mid July, this is what I put together for the current British climate.

★ Block colour jumper: Motel at ASOS ★ White vest top: Primark ★ Leather panel leggings: Topshop ★ Leather workman boots: River Island  ★

I've found that the jumper is a bit of a love/hate item with everyone that's commented on it; half of my friends and family think the mix of colour blocks is great, while the other half think it's a bit weird and question me for wearing it, but I am in love with it!

Do you have any clothes that spark love/hate reactions too? And let's all hope we can put our Autumn/Winter clothes away soon!

P.S. Don't forget to vote for what prize you want up for grabs in the 200 follower giveaway poll! (It's up at the top right)!

Style Crush: Miley Cyrus

In my eyes, Miley Cyrus has come an incredibly long way to transform herself from the face of Disney to an adult style icon. She's done many things to drive the newspapers wild - most recent of which was her engagement to Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth, and through each of these events, we see Miley come into her own.

★ From anashrock.com ★

Gone are the days of Hannah Montana, and the costume outfits. Since leaving the Disney scene, Miley has pursued her own successful music and film career.

★ Miley in a peacock feather outfit for the video 'Can't Be Tamed' ★ 

In my opinion, the biggest turning point in Miley's career (that definitely solidified her place on my fashion watch list) was her 2010 music video for the single Can't Be Tamed. That is easily one of my favourite music videos; her make up, the costume choices, her attitude - she proved she was an independent adult and it was truly commendable. 

★ From justjaredjr.com ★

★ From celeblowdown.com ★

Now famous for her every day up-do's, rounded sunglasses and leg-bearing outfits, Miley's fashion choices are something to be envied. I particularly love how she rocks the tomboy look during the day, but can completely transform herself when on the red carpet.

★ From foxnews.com ★

★ From thesuperficial.com ★

In my opinion, everything as yet has just been onwards and upwards for this little starlet. I love to draw fashion inspiration from her choices, and can't wait to see what she's papped in next!

Who's your style crush? And what do you think of Miley cyrus? ☺

P.S. Don't forget to vote for what prize you want up for grabs in the 200 follower giveaway poll! (It's up at the top right)!

NOTD: Harlequin Nails

I did a bit of sales shopping recently (I really shouldn't have been doing that), but limited myself to just one buy. I picked up a pair of high-waisted tailored shorts from River Island.

I bought these to wear to a semi-formal  evening at my boyfriend's parent's house, and was planning to team them with black block colour tights, a white vest top, and cream cardigan with lace detailing.

As always, I wanted my nails to match! I was also itching to try out my new nail art bits and pieces I picked up in the Philippines (read more about those here), so I set to work!

Here is the design I came up with...

As I had diamond shaped silver flecks/sequins to use, I decided to go with a recurring pattern - aiming to achieve a somewhat Harlequin effect. I did all detailing by hand, and with the use of a fine nail art brush and nail foil glue. Fixing all the pieces into position took a *long* time, so after seeing how long the thumb took to complete I knew it wasn't possible to do the same for all the nails; instead I opted for silver tips in keeping with the colours of the harlequin design.

Colours used:

Base: Collection 200 Maxiflex 5 Day Polish in shade 'Electric Punk'.
Tips: No 7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in shade 'Disco Nights'.
Diamond flecks: bought in nail art set from the Philippines.

So what do you think? Have you taken inspiration from anything for any nail art or make up? Leave a link to your post and I'll check it out ☺.

P.S. Don't forget to vote for what prize you want up for grabs in the 200 follower giveaway poll! (It's up at the top right)!

Upcoming: 200 Followers Giveaway!

Second post in one day! This is just a short one from me. It's been a crazy old time since I wrote my first post on Secrets Of A Wannabe Charlotte a little over a month ago. I had no idea what I was doing, or how to take pictures, and had no knowledge of how to write a blog! Since then (as of writing this now), I have gained 196 beautiful followers across GFC, HelloCotton and BlogLovin' - and I just want to say thank you!

In light of this, I will be hosting a giveaway on Secrets Of A Wannabe Charlotte when I hit 200 followers, and I want to know what you guys want to be in with a chance of winning! As I cover fashion, beauty and nail art in this blog I want you guys to choose which category you want your prize to be from.

I've installed a polling system to the right for you all to cast your votes, and I'll tally up the numbers in 7 days!

Cream Silk: Vitamin Treatment for Straight Shine

In my Philippines Haul post I mentioned that I had bought a Cream Silk hair masque, as that seemed to be the most popular brand of hair products over there. I wanted to wait until I was back in England to try it out so that my opinion of it would be fresh in my mind for a review. Now, I understand that not many of you will have access to this hair masque however to me it is simply a high-street budget hair masque product, and so is pretty similar to those found in England.

I expected big things from this product. Seen as it was targeted at women in the Philippines who experience extreme heats and humidity every day, I thought it must be more powerful than regular straightening hair masques that you find in colder, Western countries. 

The first notable thing about this product was the smell - it smelt exactly like the original Garnier Fructis shampoo and conditioner range, if like me you have an odd memory for obscure scents, you'll know what I'm talking about! It is sweet smelling, with a dash of fruity-ness. 

It looked like any regular hair masque, but the consistency was a tad thicker than any other one I've tried  - think of the difference between a regular body moisturiser and a body butter and you'll understand the difference of this product. I applied as instructed and left it in my hair for 3 minutes before washing it out. 

I combed my hair through and let it dry naturally, as I tend to avoid using heat styling as much as possible, and waited to be wowed! ...But nothing different happened. My hair dried more or less the same, and the curls and waves were still in there usual place. Rather than making my hair 4 times more straight as the packaging suggested, the product instead seemed to have just made my hair 4 times less volumous, which isn't an effect I wanted for my thin hair!

All in all, this product didn't deliver it's bold claims, as with most other high-street brands. I think I'll hold out for the more expensive high-end products next time I expect big results.

Have you been surprised by any high-street branded products? Let me know and I'll definitely try them out ☺.

OOTD: My favourite outfit

In my recent Liebster Award post I mentioned that I had a favourite shirt dress from Motel. Now, I wear this dress a *lot*. If you ever meet me in person, the chances are very high that I will be wearing this dress in some form, with various bottoms and accessories. I received it as a present last year, and what a good present!

★ Shirt dress: Motel at ASOS ★ Belt: Topshop ★ Leggings: Jack Wills ★ Gladiator sandals: Topshop ★

And also teamed with my favourite cardigan...

★ Cardigan: H&M ★ All other items as listed above ★

I don't know why that cardigan is still my favourite, it's so over-worn that it's completely stretched to about 3 sizes too big for me but I can't bring myself to buy a new one!

What do you guys think? Do you have one item of clothing that you *always* wear? Let me know!