NOTD: Just a Little Frosting

There's an extra little Christmas present coming your way if you know what my favourite film is from the quote in the title. Well, not really - but I would be very impressed!

I'm continuing with the festive vibe, but I decided to ditch the amateur nail art and channel a (hopefully) more classic look. Here's what I came up with: 

So, what do you think? Are you changing your nail polish to suit the holiday season?

The 10 Day Beauty Challenge: Day 5

My day 5 update of this long drawn out 10 Day Beauty Challenge! Read days 1, 2, 3 and 4 first if you like!

So today's challenge is to write about 6 wishes - let's do this.

1) University:
The biggest and most important thing in my life right now is my degree. I'm 3 years into a 4 year BSc Psychology degree, and just have my fingers crossed that I can put in enough work to finish with a 2:1 grade or higher (basically the equivalent of a B grade).

2) Moving out:
This coming September I'll be moving out properly, including moving out of student accommodation. I'm hoping for a smooth transition and I just can't wait to have a little flat that is completely mine (as long as I keep paying the rent of course).

3) More free time:
When juggling my work placement, paid work, friends, family, my boyfriend, and looking after my puppy I often find myself with no free time whatsoever. It does stress me out, so one wish is that I can have a bit more relaxation time.

4) Learning to drive:
One of the things that have been sacrificed this year due to a lack of time and funds is learning to drive. I am still without a licence and hating it! Hopefully this time next year I won't be moaning about it any more!

5) Career:
After finishing university, my biggest wish after that is to actually be able to put my degree into use and pursue a career in the field I want. If everything goes perfectly, one day I want to be an Educational Psychologist, uni has gotten me one step closer, but there's still loads more to do before that can happen.

I think I'm all out of wishes now! Let's leave it at 5 rather than racking my brain to come up with something I'm not really wishing for. What are your wishes? Do we have any similar?

Garnier's UltraLift Pro-X Anti-Wrinkle Roll On

I mentioned this product in my Here For a Day Haul, where I couldn't resist sharing how cheap I managed to snag this product for! Now, my feelings have changed - I feel so relieved that I didn't pay the £12.19 RRP for this product because to be honest, I can't see what it does.

 

I don't usually find myself buying into the gimmicks that come with many products, 'dries in 60 seconds', 'see results in 3 days', you know the ones. The fact that this product had a roller ball tip did actually appeal to me though, as I could see how it could potentially increase the effects of the product by massaging it into your skin - but that's not what happened.

Although the roller top is in fact designed to massage the product into your skin, there are instructions on the bottle telling the user to just rub the excess into the face with their hands. I can't see any point in the roller top after that, because the product just seeps out of the top, and it's basically just like applying a serum from a regular bottle. The product doesn't make my skin feel especially different, but I will keep using it until it's finished as I don't want to waste it. 

In my opinion, the product could have been £3-£4 cheaper, and much less of a disappointment if it came in a regular screw-top pot or bottle. This product retails for £12.19 and can be bought here.

Have you tried this product? What were your thoughts?

My Christmas Lust Have

Do you ever spend hours browsing for one particular thing, fully knowing that you're not actually going to buy it? This is a silly habit I've developed over the years - I can do it over things I don't even want that much! Mainly it's over expensive products that I don't fancy shelling out for, or for things that I love, but wouldn't necessarily fit with my 'style'.

My latest obsession are Religion Royalty clutch bags.

Religion Royalty crowned skull black clutch bag - RRP £45

Religion Royalty crown and skull black clutch bag - RRP £45

Is it just me, or are these things beautiful? I've been eyeing these clutches up for a long time, but at the moment I can't see an event that I would be able to bring one of these to, to justify the RRP whilst I'm on a student budget. Sadly for now, these clutches will just stay on my lust list, maybe when my degree has paid off I'll be able to own a dozen of these babies!

These clutches are stocked at Oldrids & Downtown, and are also available in silver (it's just something about the contrast between black and silver that does it for me though!). Beware looking at the website - you'll find your Christmas lists magically filling up all by themselves...!

What do you think of these clutches? Do you ever internet browse with no intention of buying, like me?

NOTD: Let The Festivities Commence!

There is officially no denying it any more; we are well into the countdown to Christmas. To get into the Christmas spirit I sat down to watch one of my favourite Christmas films of all time (Elf), and let the nail polishes flow as they may. When I started this design I had an image of a wintery snow blizzard scene in my head, and was planning to adapt it from my Galaxy Nails and Pastel Galaxy Nails technique, but as I started painting, things just changed.

 

In the awkward event that I need to explain the design, the white polish is the snow building up across my nails, and increasing over each nail across a blue background with snow still falling. Let's just pretend that the nails are self-explanatory!

How are you all getting festive?

After Shower Products: Part Two

Todays post is a continuation of my After Shower Products: Part One, so if you missed it or are interesting in reading about those products first, you can click the link before you begin here! 

Again, please do excuse the puppy paw, whenever I'm taking pictures he always has to sabotage them!

These products are listed in order of use, rather than left to right in the picture because I seemed to lack clever ideas when taking the pictures!

5) Jergens Ultra Healing Extra Dry Skin Moisturiser: 

Someone once told me that the key to youth is moisturiser, and whether that statement is true or not, I will happily spend any extra cash trying to find out! I used to swear by using body butters, but have recently decided that I don't like the thickness and weight of the product sitting on your skin, so have started using this instead. Let me just say, I cannot believe what I was missing all those years that I used nothing but body butters. This stuff is so much better! It's lightweight, absorbs easily, spreads so that you only need to use a tiny amount, and is only lightly scented. I can happily say that I am converted, and will be repurchasing this when needs be! This product is £5.99 for a 350ml bottle from Boots.

6) Bio Oil:

I only have one thing to say about this product. This stuff works! I cannot stress it enough. I am usually very sceptical about bold claims made by these types of products, but I am a complete advocate for Bio Oil. Now don't get me wrong, don't expect results straight away, and don't expect miracles on 10 year old scars, but for more recent scars or stretch marks, this stuff just works! I've been using it every morning and night on stretch marks that I absolutely hate, and somehow it has blurred their appearance and making them a lot less noticeable. Don't expect results until after a couple of months of constant use, but for stretch marks that I have hated for a good few years, a couple of months is hardly any time to wait.

7) The Body Shop's Hemp Foot Protector: 

I wrote an in-depth review of this product back in August when I first bought it, and it is still part of my every day routine. I apply this product to my feet liberally every night, and am still amazed by the results in such a short amount of time. This product is a best seller on The Body Shop's website, and retails at £10.00 for 100ml here.

I hope you liked that little peak into my post-shower routine.What are yours like? Let me know if yours are similar!

After Shower Products: Part One

There seems to have been a recent wave of posts featuring what products you lovely bloggers use in the shower as inspired by MissGlamorazzi of YouTube. In this sort-of-following-suit-way-but-not-really post I thought I would go down a slightly different route and share with you the products I use after the shower. I'm never really any good at sticking to beauty routines, purely out of laziness or my poor memory, but one thing I always stick to is my post-shower beauty routine. Everyone has their own specific things, and these are mine!

Excuse the puppy paw, whenever I'm taking pictures he always has to sabotage them!

I'll be listing the products in order of use, rather than in what order they appear in the picture because that clever thought didn't occur to me while I was photographing!

1) The Body Shop's Seaweed Clarifying Toner (combination/oily skin):

When I'm in the shower is when I cleanse my face, so as soon as I get out the first thing I do is tone. This product is a bestseller on The Body Shop's website, and I bought it in the hope that it would reduce the appearance of pores and reduce shine. It has done the trick, and leaves your face feeling incredibly clean. This 200ml bottle retails for £8.00 and can be bought here. 

2) Vaseline:
I feel pretty confident in saying that the majority of beauty bloggers are obsessed with some form or brand of lip balm. Mine is the old classic, Vaseline. I never stray from it, and always have at least 2 portable tins on me at all times. This huge pot stays in my bedroom, and is by far my favourite and most used beauty product of all time. I'm always worried about dry lips after a shower, so this comes second in my post-shower beauty routine.

3) The Body Shop's Nutriganics Smoothing Night Cream:

I have to admit that I cheat with this product and use it in both my morning and evening beauty routine. Please let me know if you know of any unpleasant reasons of why you shouldn't use a night cream during the day! As frequent readers of this blog will know, the topic of anti-ageing is the underlying factor of about 50% of beauty-related posts, and that is the exact reason I bought this product. I can't say I've noticed any smoothing of wrinkles as yet - although I am using this product for more of a wrinkle prevention technique, so I'm completely happy with it so far. It absorbs into the skin quickly, and a little product really does go a long way. One bonus when using this product as a day cream too is that it leaves your skin matte, rather than shiny. This 50ml bottle costs £15.00 and can be found here.

4) Garnier's UltraLift Pro-X Anti-Wrinkle Roll On:
This product featured in my Here For a Day Haul after I got it for the bargain price of £3.49 reduced from £12.19 in a Here For a Day flash sale. I'm so far undecided about this product; it hasn't secured a place in my favourite products just yet, but I'll give it a bit longer before I judge it completely. This product can be bought at full price here. 

And in true Secrets of a Wannabe Charlotte style, there is nothing more boring than an overly long blog post, so check back in a couple of days to read part 2!