NOTD: Glitter Gradient

 Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're all having wonderful days doing wonderful things, here's a little scheduled post to add to the mix!

I'd seen these nails absolutely everywhere last winter - every nail blog I followed seemed to be doing them and making me incredibly jealous of their beautiful nails. Last year I didn't have that perfect glitter top coat that I wanted to try it with, but this year I cracked out my Kardashian Kolor for O.P.I 'Rainbow in the S-Kylie' (as I always do).

Here's the result: 

 

I used a nude glitter base by Paul & Joe, then topped off the glitter tips with two coats of Seche Vite. I love this look as the technique is so simple, but the large glitter flecks are really eye-catching, perfect for accenting a Christmas party outfit. Be warned though, this was an absolute nightmare to take off!

How are you wearing your nails for the Christmas party season?

 

OOTD: Back to Autumn

Instead of fulfilling our winter dreams of snow on Christmas, where I live it's as warm as 13°C and giving nothing but torrential rain. Boo. In light of this, I thought I'd share a (sort of) layering outfit post, and show you my favourite way to deal with this weather. 

Vest top: Topshop - Disco pants (dupes): Motel - Pleather boots: River Island

Fashion scarf: Independent stall

Hooded fur-lined parka: Ebay seller

How are you wrapping up this Winter?

NOTD: Half-Moon Manicure

I've seen a lot of half-moon manicures across the blogs over the past months, and I thought it was about time that I joined in on the action too. I tried to carry on the festive nail polish choices as we are well into December, and went for Topshop's 'Zodiac' for the base, and Avon's Mirror Shine polish in 'Gold Foil' for the half-moon accents.

I do like the colour combination, but I think in future I'll opt for something a little more dramatic. I'm also hoping to get my hands on some Konad stamping plates in January so stay tuned for more professional looking nail art!

What's on your nails for the festive period?

The Christmas Tag

As you may know by now if you frequent this blog a lot, I am a sucker for tag posts. I don't know why, but I just love answering odd questions that don't normally come up. Here's another one made by Makeup-Pixi3 that I couldn't resist while I'm feeling so festive!

1) What's your favourite thing about Christmas?

LIGHTS. I love all Christmas decorations - especially lights, and how festive everyone becomes when the lights get turned on. There's a very fine line between being annoyed at seeing the decorations up in shops in early October, and being incredibly excited when the end of November rolls around. Show me a piece of tinsel and I'm a very happy girl.

2) Real or fake tree?

Although I've only ever been around fake Christmas trees my entire life I absolutely adore the idea of having a real one. I know they're very high maintenance though - what with all the dropping needles etc., but all the American Christmas films just make them look so romantic!

3) Giving presents or receiving presents?

I'm definitely more of a giver. I love buying and giving people presents and being able to see how much they love something. Funnily enough that's the exact reason I don't like receiving presents. There's always the awkward moment when everyone is staring at you and even if you really like the gift you somehow become unable to show any positive emotions!

4) Do you open your Christmas presents in the morning or evening?

Morning! I would like to know who these people are with enough restraint to wait until the evening to open their Christmas presents. I'm 20, teach me.

5) Homemade or shop bought Christmas cards?

I'm not usually one to hand out Christmas cards. I think I'm in that awkward phase where I'm too old for it to be cute if I were to hand them out to uni friends, and too young to commit to handing them out to work colleagues. I would definitely sway towards hand-crafted shop bought cards if I were a card-giver though, man I love those things.

6) What's your favourite Christmas film?

I am an incredibly guilty party when it comes to watching Christmas films early. There is also absolutely no way that I could narrow it down to just one, so here's my top 3: Home Alone, Love Actually, The Santa Clause.

7) What's your favourite Christmas food?

PIGS IN BLANKET. No more to say. Pork wrapped in pork tastes good.

Feel free to join in this tag with me!

Christmas Party Outfit Blogger Challenge!

I recently received an email from the lovely people behind Fashion Vouchers, telling me all about their £100 blogger challenge. To enter bloggers must choose one shop affiliated with Fashion Vouchers, and create a Christmas party look for under £100. There are 3 £100 vouchers up for grabs for the store that you choose to draw your look from, and the competition is open until December 17th. If you want to enter too, email a link to your blog post to competition@fashionvouchers.com.

Here's my look:

ASOS:

Lace Contrast Skater Dress: £35

Skull Knuckle Ring Clutch: £40

Pointed T-Bar Heels: £25

I love simple, classic looks, so this was perfect for my taste. The flowing, feminine cream dress against the harsh clutch and heels just kicks it up a level from 'the girl next door' look, with added studs and pleather.

Will you be entering the Christmas Party Outfit Blogger Challenge?

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?