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!

The Philippines Haul!

So in my Sweetheart Nails post I mentioned that I had just gotten back from the Philippines, and also managed to get a few goodies while I was over there! The exchange rate meant that I was a *lot* richer there than I am in England, and I'm kicking myself now for not buying  more! The currency in the Philippines is Philippine pesos (PHP), and there is an exchange rate of 65 PHP to 1 English pound.

★ A collective look at my nail goodies! ★

Now, me telling you the exchange rate won't sound too impressive until I tell you the price of these products. As a whole, these nail products cost me a total of 171 PHP - that converts into exactly £2.63!! I could not believe my eyes when I was standing at the nail varnish counter and saw the prices of these products!

★ Oh My Golly Nail Colours by Klik - from left to right: Salsa, Demure and Banana Boat ★

I picked these 3 polishes up for only 18 PHP each, which is around 27p! Looking back now, I *definitely* should have gotten more, but I had no idea what the quality would be like, so I limited myself to 3 colours that I needed anyway. All polishes are by Klik's Oh My Golly Nail Colours range, which I wasn't familiar with at all. After doing some online research it looks like this brand is only sold in the Philippines, so if you're ever in the country, check these out! I used both Salsa and Demure in my Sweetheart Nails post. Demure is a true nude, and has a very sheer consistency - it took 4 coats to become completely opaque, however with a colour like this I'd prefer a more translucent finish, so will probably stop at 2 coats in the future. Salsa is a true telephone box red - completely warm and vibrant. This colour became opaque in 2 coats. I've yet to try out Banana Boat, but I've been trying to get my hands on a yellow polish that doesn't need 97745473 coats to become opaque, so let's hope this is the one! I'll keep you posted ☺.

★ Sassy Nail Art Pens (10ml) in Gold and White ★ 

These two aren't actually marked as specific colours, but I think they're pretty obviously gold and white so let's just go with that. I found these in a tiny little family-run corner shop for 36 PHP each (55p) and couldn't resist buying them! There was a wide range of colours, but they seemed a bit obscure for my use, so I limited myself to just these two. I used the white yesterday and was pleasantly surprised! When first applied, the polish is very runny, and it seems that you'd need at least 2 coats (which isn't ideal when I'm doing fine nail art detailing), but this baby dries opaque in just one coat, for 55p what more do I have to say?! On the bottle these pens state that they're are produced by Unistar Asia Manufacturing Company, so I presume these are only available for purchase in Asia. 

★ Various glitters, sequins and nail jewels ★

I found these in the same shop that I found the nail art pens in. This pack included the toe separator featured in the first picture, and a cuticle pusher, all for the irresistible price of 45 PHP (69p)! I plan on doing some glitter gradient nails with the glitter, and will wait and see what springs to mind for using the sequins and jewels - keep checking back for new nail art designs!

★ Cream Silk Weekly Straight Shine hair masque ★

Not featured in the top picture is this Cream Silk hair masque that I found. 75% of television adverts in the Philippines were dominated by various hair brands, all promising straight hair if you bought their products. This particular product boasted effects of 4 times straighter hair, and seemed to be the most popular brand, so I thought I'd try it out! At 245 PHP (£3.77), this product didn't follow suit with the extremely cheap prices I had become so accustomed to finding, but in the Asian heat and humidity my hair didn't stand a chance against curling and frizz using my regular products purchased in England. I was forever seeing Filipino women with sleek straight hair, so this product seemed promising. I've yet to use it, but expect a post  on it when I do!

So that was my little haul from the Philippines! Have you been anywhere recently and brought anything back? Let me know, I'd love to check out your haul posts ☺!

NOTD: Sweetheart nails

First of all, apologies for the infrequent posting on Secrets of a Wannabe Charlotte! I went on an 11 day holiday to the Philippines and had very limited access to the internet while I was away, but I touched down in England yesterday so I can go back to posting as normal ☺.

While I was away I also missed a month-aversary with my boyfriend (yes we're sad and still celebrate those!), so I decided to celebrate it any way by trying out a new nail design. The exchange rate between English pounds and Philippine pesos is great, and I managed to get various new polishes, nail art pens etc. for ridiculously cheap prices - I'll be doing a Philippines haul soon! After I bought these new polishes I was absolutely itching to try them out, so I did!

I limited myself to only using polishes I bought over there, with the exception of a top layer of MUA's clear polish just to seal it all in. The heart detailing was achieved by using the standard brush that came with the red polish, as the heart design is quite chunky I didn't need to use a fine nail art brush.

Both polishes were from the Oh My Golly Nail Colours range by Klik, which I'd never heard of before, but the quality of the polishes surprised me! I'll do in depth reviews in the Philippines haul coming soon.

So what do you think of the sweetheart nail design? And do you have any beauty brands from overseas that you swear by? Let me know! ☺

The Beautiful Blogger Award!

Over this past week and a half lots of you must have been blogging like bosses as you all seem to have been tagged in the Beautiful Blogger Award! Well done to everyone that has, and thank you to Becky, Nicola and  Georgina for passing that tag onto me ☺.

Onto the tag!

1) Thank the person that nominated you and link to their blog:

I think I jumped the gun on this one as all the links are up there at the top - and thank you to every one of you!

2) Tell us how the idea of making a blog popped up and what makes you continue it?:

I had been addicted to beauty videos by the likes of  Dolly Bow Bow and Beauty Crush, and always turn to YouTube tutorials whenever I'm trying a new nail art design or make up look. Reading blogs is actually pretty new to me - my friend Holly introduced me to them as she writes a wonderful beauty and fashion blog which I read religiously, and she inspired me to follow suit! I carry on writing because I love doing it, if I could do this as a full-time job I would, and I would love every minute of it ☺.

3) Describe a usual day in your life:

A usual day in my life would include waking up with my boyfriend and us both taking our new puppy for a walk around the park. If I have the day off we'll spend the day together with Jasper (our puppy), but if not I'll go off to work until the late evening and then crash into bed afterwards! Any free time is used up blogging and internet shopping!

4) The best collaboration with a blogger:

None as of yet! Let me know if any of you fancy it!

5) The worst collaboration with a blogger:

Ditto to the above.

6) Describe what having a blog means to you: 

It means being able to have completely in-depth conversations about all things fashion and beauty with like-mined people who are as obsessed with these things as I am! I have a pretty varied friendship group and not all of them are into beauty products as much as me, so it's nice to have a place where everyone shares the same interests.

7) Nominate 5 other bloggers:

I'm going to make this an open tag - you all are beautiful bloggers and you all deserve this award!