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!

Outfit of the Week: Lunch Date

Yesterday the weather was fairly reasonable in my little part of the UK and so my boyfriend and I decided to make the most of the unusual sunshine and go for a casual lunch date in the town centre. Since getting my puppy (see him here), I've felt as if I've just been living in leggings and trousers as they are easier to wear when taking him for walks, but as my mum kindly took him off my hands for an hour or two I seized the opportunity to squeeze myself back into a dress! 

★ Dress: River Island ★ Waist belt: Ebay ★ Gladiator sandals: Topshop ★

It has also been rare for me to get the chance to wear make up lately as I've been getting up at what seems like the crack of dawn to take Jasper for his morning walk. As soon as I was home alone I reached straight for my make up bag and hair products!

   

Make up products used: 

Face: Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in shade 'light' (get one shade lighter than you normally would to make it match your skin tone - I would normally purchase 'medium'!).
Blush: Revlon Matte Powder Blush in shade '002: Blushing Berry'.
Eyebrows: E.L.F. eyebrow lifter and filler in shade 'Ivory/Dark', E.L.F. eyebrow kit (brow gel and powder) in shade 'Dark' - applied with Nars eyebrow brush No. 5.
Eyeshadow: Maybelline 24 Hour Colour Tattoo in shade '35: On and On Bronze'.
Eyeliner: L'Oreal Gel Intenza Eyeliner in shade '02: Golden Black'.
Mascara: one coat of Benefit Bad Gal Lash, one coat of L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes in shade 'Extra-Black'.

What are you wearing now the weather is heating up? Let me know! ☺

NOTD: MAC Inspiration

Although I didn't want it to happen, the hint of a chip in my galaxy nails meant that it was time for a new design. The only one I have left on my to-do list is marble effect nails, but I wanted a relatively quick design so chose to put that off until I could do it properly.

If you have been at all active in the blogging world you'll be able to recognise this design instantly, and if you don't - time to catch up!  This was a simple design to execute, and just needed the use of a fine nail art brush as well as the regular brushes that came with the polishes I used.

Here is what I took inspiration from - the adverts for MAC's Ruffian Collection; a collaboration with two designers (Brian Wolk and Claude Morais) from Ruffian design house. 

And here is my attempt to replicate. My favourite nails are actually the black with the added gold but I felt that I couldn't recreate that look without using gold foils which I sadly don't own, so I went for my second favourite!

★ Base colour: No. 7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in shade '98: Pillar Box' ★ White crescents: Barry M Nail Paint in shade '66: Matt White' ★ Black tips: MUA Nail Varnish in shade '2' ★

I definitely prefer the ones by MAC, but these will do as a free replica! What do you think? What are your latest nail designs or inspirations? ☺

Going against The Grain: Why I Don't Like Batiste Dry Shampoo

I don't want to be carving a name out for myself as 'the one who only writes bad reviews', but here we are again! I've had this product sitting on my dresser for such a long time, and didn't even realise it was such a big hit amongst bloggers! 

★ Batiste Dry Shampoo in scent 'Tropical' ★

I don't have any issues with the product performance; it claims to banish oily roots, add body and texture, and leave hair feeling fresh and clean - and that's exactly what it does. That bit I am happy with. My problem lies in the fact that the product itself is a off-white/grey colour, which wreaks havoc on my brunette hair!

Warning: the following pictures show me on my hair wash day! Expect a little grease - this is a dry shampoo post after all!

★ My hair before the dry shampoo (I din't notice the fluff in my hair 'til after taking the pictures!) ★

As instructed by the bottle, I then sprayed it approximately 30cm (I did around 3/4 of an arms length) away from my head and in the direction of my roots. I lifted up a few layers to make sure all angles were covered. Also, excuse the roots - I'm trying to refrain from dying again!

★ My hair straight after applying the dry shampoo - I'm going grey! ★

As you can see, the colour of the product does not match brunette hair at all, giving me a lovely aged look whilst I'm still in my ripe old 20's! Of course, this isn't the finished look - it's not that bad don't worry!

★ My hair after rubbing in the dry shampoo for around 2 minutes ★

The product has had a lovely effect on my hair, the biggest comparison can be seen in the bottom-left picture, that shine definitely wasn't there before! My only issue is this grey-ish tinge that has covered my roots and just will not budge! The camera hasn't picked up the extent of it, but when comparing it to the first picture you can see that my hair has suddenly become a lot lighter.

I love the actual effect that this dry shampoo has, I just wish that instead of releasing all these various different scents that Batiste seems to be coming out with, they would bring out dry shampoo tailored to a wider variety of hair colours. I know that they do a brunette dry shampoo, but by the looks of their reviews, that product even gives this greying effect so I'm reluctant to buy another Batiste product! I was recommended this product by my blonde friend, and have seen many rave reviews on it from blonde bloggers, it just doesn't agree with me! 

Do any of you fellow brunettes have the same issue? Or am I applying it wrong? Please let me know, I really want this product to work for me!

NOTD: Galaxy Nails!

Carrying on the theme of trying out new nail art techniques, once my lovely newspaper nails chipped I took that as a sign to move onto the next one - galaxy nails! I first saw this technique on Spellbound Nails'  blog (you can see that post here), where she had a Dr Who themed Dalek accent finger, with the rest of the nails painted in galaxy design. I instantly fell in love with it and it's been on my to do list for weeks!

As an absolute novice to galaxy nails, I watched a YouTube tutorial to get me started. If in doubt, head to YouTube!

Here are all the polishes I used, don't be put off by the vast number of them, each one only serves a minor job! 

★ From left to right: Topshop Nails in 'Gypsy Night' ★ GOSH Nail Lacquer in 'Rose' ★ Barry M Nail Paint in 'Gold' ★ E.L.F. Nail Polish in 'Twinkle' ★ Barry M Nail Paint in 'Matt White' ★ Collection 200 Maxiflex Polish in 'Electric Punk' ★ M.U.A. Nail Varnish in 'shade 04' ★            

I also used a fine nail art brush, but took the picture before I started using it - I used it to do the small and large stars that you'll see in the next pictures. This look did take just under an hour to complete, but if you have enough patience the final effect is so worth it, I can't stop looking at my nails!

Here is the finished product...

I haven't done a tutorial on it as I followed someone elses tutorial myself! The link is at the top if you want to give it a go. Link me your nails if you decide to try it out, I'd love to see what everyone elses look like! ☺