Holiday's are the perfect time to throw on a white dress and show off your tan, one evening we went for a walk around the harbour to find a nice little seafood tavern where we could stop for dinner (and wine).
After recently ruining one of my favourite dresses I was lucky enough to replace it before I left for Croatia with this little white dress from AX Paris! I teamed it with my New Look backpack and a pair of flip-flops to give it a more relaxed/casual vibe, grabbed my sunnies and we were ready to go!
Shop:
Dress here
Backpack here
Watch Michael Kors
Sunglasses Michael Kors
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I was browsing the internet at some crazy hour in the night when I found myself clicking on this little UV lamp for gel nails.. being so small and from a shop on eBay it only cost around £8.00. Now I love going and getting my nails done and having a bit of a pamper, but unfortunately there is no such thing as a reasonably priced nail bar in Jersey (prices of gels range from £25 - £40+.. god help you and your bank balance if you want gel extensions or acrylics!) With this in mind, I thought why not give it a try. at least if it didn't work I wasn't going to be loosing a lot of money.. so into my basket it went. I figured before I paid I'd better check out the price of the gel polish, I was pleasantly surprised and ordered both the base and top coat for around £3.00 each. Then it came to choosing which colour I wanted, and we all know that this can be a long process, especially when you're faced with 70+ colours.. in the end I decided I would buy a gel colour from Boots, that way I could see what the colour was actually like in person (even though it cost a little more). I picked up the Rose Gold Glitter polish from Sensationail as well as their Gel Polish Remover and the Remover Tool.
Now I knew I wasn't going to get that 'salon quality finish' especially after paying for a cheap UV lamp, base and top coat, but I was looking forward to the experiment and it is safe to say I am pretty pleased with the outcome!
If you would like to know how they turned out or how you can achieve this at home then please keep reading :)
Step 1: First of all I had to remove the gels that were already on my nails (please don't judge..I had been drunken picking at them the night before)
Simply get yourself 10 pieces of cotton wool and 10 pieces of tinfoil
Soak each piece of cotton wool and pop it over the nail, then grab a piece of tinfoil and wrap it around the top - this makes sure that the gel remover stays in place as you have to leave it for around 10 minutes, and the heat also helps with the removal!
Oh.. and if you are doing it yourself then it's best to do one hand at a time!
TIP! Definitely make sure you do this over an old magazine or newspaper.. it can get a bit messy
Step 2: After 10 minutes remove the first cotton pad to see if the gel is ready to come off.
Using a remover tool like this one is better for your nails so it is definitely worth the purchase! (I can say this from experience after trying to remove gels a while back and butchering my nails after using a wooden stick. It was quite tragic)
Place it at the bottom of the nail with a little pressure and the gel polish should come off nice and easily
It is probably a good idea to put something on those poor dry, sad nails here.. but I didn't have anything. Nail technicians would be horrified by this I'm sure buuuut never mind
Step 3: Apply a thin layer of the base coat to the nails and whack them under the UV lamp
I had to do this a fair few times (I half expected this from buying such a cheap lamp, luckily for me I had no plans for the rest of the evening so time didn't matter too much!) and even then they didn't feel quite dry and had a sticky feeling to them..I gave up trying to get them any drier and moved on!
Step 4: Apply a thin layer of the colour and again, put them under the UV lamp
As before with the base coat, I had put these under the lamp a number of times and I won't lie, it was getting a bit boring. After the first coat of colour I started to think that maybe I had picked the wrong one, but I powered on
Step 5: Apply another layer of colour.. so basically repeat step 4!
After the second coat had been applied I realised that I HAD picked the right colour, this is exactly the colour I was after!
*Huge sigh of relief*
Step 6: Finally, apply the top coat and again dry under the UV lamp
I think it's safe to say the UV lamp isn't great, I wouldn't recommend this particular one..unless you're on a budget and don't mind waiting what feels like forever for them to dry! Also it got really hot after a while, so whatever you do, do not leave it plugged in even if the light is not on!
The base coat, top coat and gel polish I was really happy with and I will definitely be buying some more colours from Sensationail. I was also really happy with the Sensationail Gel Polish Remover, as well as the acetate it contains some oils and vitamins and it had a much less offensive smell than acetate by itself! The remover tool was also great and I didn't feel as though I was completely ruining my nails which is always a good thing
So far I am really pleased with the finished look..now to see how well they last! I will do an update over on IG (@SGX____) to let you know if they stand the test of time
Shop:
Gel Polish Remover here
Removal Tool here
Base coat here
Top coat here
Gel colour here
UV lamp here
Next month I am heading to Croatia for 2 weeks of sun, so of course I started premature bikini shopping like a crazed woman about 4 months too early.. It's an obsession, I can't help it (and I don't think I really want to either!)
Anyway, as all bikini lovers will know, Asos stock some of the most beautiful pieces of swimwear ever and in every possible style you could imagine! Every day without fail I will browse the swimwear section in the hope of coming across a gem like this one..
Need I say more? Probably not!
I literally love everything about it, the colours are so bright and just perfect for summer.
The only down side, which you've probably already guessed, is the tan lines you will get whilst wearing this beauty. That being said, it is a sacrifice I am willing to make
The style is so fun and stand-out, so if you're heading to the likes of Ibiza or Marbella this summer it would be peeeerfect! It also looks great with a kimono thrown over or with shorts for a more casual BBQ garden party vibe!
Where are you favourite places to shop for swimwear?
Shop
Bikini top here
Bikini bottoms here
Kimono here
I am slightly makeup obsessed, so when the L'Oreal Nude Magique Cushion foundation started popping up all over Instagram I knew I had to get my hands on it.
Cushion foundations have been hugely popular in Asia and now drug store brands like L'oreal have created their own version of this product. Essentially this is a liquid foundation which is cleverly stored in the cushion. It also comes with an applicator sponge/pad making it the perfect compact foundation for on-the-go and everyday makeup.
I picked up both the Foundation (in no. 7) and the Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil. When you open the compact there in another cap which both covers the foundation product and holds the applicator
To apply the product you simply press the applicator down on the sponge (I still tend to use my stippling brush as it is what I use to apply all foundations) and buff the product in to the skin. The foundation promises a dewy finish, which I love especially through the spring/summer months, and it also allows for a buildable coverage
I wanted to see whether the Bronzer would work for contouring so I decided to apply this using the Expert Face brush form Real Techniques
I applied the product under the cheek bone and proceeded to bleeeeeeend away
I found the product to blend really easily leaving a soft contour. Again, you can build up this product if you want the colour to be deeper but I found just the one application to be enough!
I then went on to finish the look, applying the Becca Cosmetics highlighter in Opal which sat on the foundation really nicely and finished off the dewy look
The foundation and bronzer both lasted really well on the skin and the bronzer looked exactly the same hours later, where I usually find other bronzers go quite patchy after a while. I also love how the bronzer worked so well as a contour, it was the perfect shade and blended seamlessly with the foundation. Both of the products will be retailing at £14.99 but can be picked up in boots at the introductory offer price of £9.99. I would highly recommend both of these products if you like a dewy/glowing look and I will definitely be carrying these around all summer!
L'Oreal Cushion Foundation can be found here
Glam Bronze Cushion De Soleil can be found here
Spring/Summer is literally my favourite time of year, I always get ridiculously excited about it especially when it comes to buying new clothes and bikinis. I picked up a few bits recently and figured I'd throw them into a mini haul (please bare with my iPod camera quality..I'm too poor to buy a decent camera at the minute)
I absolutely love this blue floral print body from Missguided and how it can be dress up or down with either a midi/maxi skirt for a night out or pair of high waisted jeans/shorts for a more relaxed look. It will be perfect for the summer at festivals or on holiday
Next is this gorgeous shoulder bag from Mango, it's the perfect addition to give some colour to a plain outfit with the royal blue and silver hardware not to mention the fact that it was an absolute bargain! Mango is one of my all time favourite high street shops and we're lucky enough to have a tiiiiiiny Mango section here in Jersey... better than not having it at all though I suppose!
This gorgeous off the shoulder dress in also from Mango. I'm not usually a red wearing person but I just fell in love with this dress and again, such a bargain. I would warn you though, DON'T buy it through ASOS.. for some reason they're selling it for £35.99 when on the Mango website it is retailed at £19.99! Does anyone know why ASOS do this on some items?
Finally from Mango is this gorgeous clutch and it was only £17.99 ..how could I leave it behind? I'd never forgive myself! Welcome to my every growing bag collection little clutch
Last but certainly not least are these sandals by Faith from ASOS. They'd been sitting in my basket for a while so I decided to take the plunge. My friends will probably be overjoyed that I am finally throwing my gold sandals away that I have been wearing for the past 6 years (some of them have been on a me to do this for a few years now).. it will probably bring be to tears. On the plus side these beauties make me an extra 2 inches taller.. WINNING!
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