OPI Sprung - #NOTD 12

Hello everyone! Today I'm back with a well overdue NOTD post! I honestly haven't painted my nails in so long as I was letting them recover a bit from having gelish on them for a long period - totally dried them out (boo!) but nail strengthener is my best friend so it's fine. Anyway, onto the review.. (and the photo spam)

This is honestly one of the most beautiful nail polishes I have ever seen - it's OPI Sprung! This was part of the Mariah Carey 2013 Spring Collection and my oh my, it is a beauty. It's also one of the most complex nail polishes I've ever seen, it has so many colours throughout it it's hard to say what colour it really is. For me, it is at it's base a copper shade, however it does have red, rose gold, gold and yellow shimmer throughout it.

When I first applied it, it was pretty much opaque with one coat which is amazing, however just to be sure, I put on two. It's super glossy on the nails and I just can't get over the colour. I just can't you guys, it's so beautiful!! (so beautiful I used two exclamation marks.. That's right.) The staying power is also amazing, it lasted 5 days with minimal chipping - not perfect but there were hardly any chips, it was more just wear at the very tip of my nails just from, you know, using my hands.

I don't actually know if this polish is available online or in store anymore.. which makes me so so sad! I can't seem to find any links for it anywhere :( I bought this in Florida this summer in the July sales in a little beauty shop and I can't remember how much it was.. Sorry I suck :( 

Overall I'm just so in love with this nail polish. I'm not going to go on, but it ticked the box on everything I want in a nail polish, from the colour, the opacity (is that even a word? You know what I mean..) and the staying power. Also, this just screams Autumn to me and it reminds me of the Autumn leaves (so cliché I know) but yes. In conclusion, I LOVE IT.

Please let me know a nail polish you are obsessed with so I don't feel so alone!

Have a lovely day, and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx

September Favourites and Round Up!

Hello everyone! Today we are back with a brand new series of mine which many bloggers do, monthly favourites/round up of the month! I decided to combine them as they are both related, with the end of the month and all, so I thought it would be best to just have them in the same post.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Face Mask: Recently I've had a few pesky spots pop up on my face, so I've used this mask I think 3 times this month. It's really helped to speed up the process of my spots going down/away, however it's not a miracle product in any means - it doesn't eradicate all spots on my face over night. Saying that, using this has helped speed up the process of getting rid of spots. It also smells really good, it has a nice sensation when it is applied for the 15 minutes I have it on, it cools my face down and leaves my face super soft after using it. One thing I should say though is that if you use too much of this mask on your face, it will burn and feel very uncomfortable so I only use a little now. Lesson learnt!

The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil: Along with the mask I've been using this oil and this has worked wonders to get rid of spots. Honestly, out of the two, this definitely worked better to help get rid of my spots. I would just take a couple of drops from the little bottle and apply it onto the spot every morning and night and within a couple of days my spots were completely gone. Perfecto!

Topshop Kohl Eyeliner in Saddle: Reviewed here. This was the first brown eyeliner I ever bought and it was collecting dust in my drawer for a little while. I rediscovered it this month and am just in love with it, at first I didn't really like it but over time I have grown to adore it, it's a creamy deep brown that glides on the lids and stays put all day. The only downside is it does crease if I apply it the eyeliner as a thick line, so I only apply it thinly and it works a treat that way.

Rimmel London Lasting Finish by Kate Moss Lipstick in 107: Reviewed here. Do I even need to go on about this? It's a classic burgundy/deep red lipstick and even though it's absolutely gorgeous on all year round, I wear it very regularly in the Autumn and Winter. It's also my "when I'm having a crap face day and I need some confidence" lipstick - it just instantly boosts my confidence and makes me feel more put together and better overall.

OPI Nail Polish in Sprung: OPI Sprung is part of the Mariah Carey Collection that was launched in Spring 2013. It's a beautiful shimmery glittery copper/rose gold shade with undertones of red, gold, copper and more. Honestly, the nail polish is so complex with layers of shimmer and colour that I can't even describe it. Words don't do it justice, and neither does this picture. I have a blog post coming up soon about it, so I'll go into more detail then but honestly, it is just stunning! Perfect for the season too, reminds me of Autumn leaves.

Tanya Burr Nail Polish in Penguin Chic: I've been really loving monochrome so when I finally found Tanya Burr's nail and lip products in a Superdrug in Glasgow, I knew I had to grab something. I decided to go for Penguin Chic (first off, the name is cute) as I don't have a grey (turns out I did but oh well) and I've really loved wearing it, it's classy and subtle but I just love it on my nails. Again, there's a blog post coming soon about it!

Music: I'm putting music as it's own category because guys, I love music. I have to listen to music every day, music really relaxes me and I honestly listen to music for at least 1 hour a day. That's a lot. Anyway, I've decided to share my favourite 3 songs of each month as I love when people recommend music as I get to discover more and more artists!

Bang Bang - Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj - Honestly, I love Jessie J so much and all her albums so far have been so good. This song though, is so god damn catchy, and I love me a bit of the Minaj so, thumbs up from me!

Shake It Off - Taylor Swift - do I even need to explain? No, no I do not.

Dilemma - Nelly - If you don't know this, google it, google it now. It's a classic. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN TO MEeeEeEeeeeE..

TV: Again, I love TV, so I'll be sharing with you my 3 favourite TV shows of the month, or maybe less if I only have a couple!

Unforgettable - This is an American crime/mystery show that revolves mainly around a detective called Carrie Wells who has hyperthymesia (she remembers every detail/thing she has ever seen or done in her life - APART FROM HER SISTERS MURDER DUNDUNDUN!) Her unlimited memory brings a nice unique twist to the typical crime drama, as it helps with every case. The main thing I love about the show is the characters, they are all equally likeable and the on/off romance between the two main characters is gripping! Ultimately, episode after episode, the show never gets boring!

Motive - This is a Canadian crime drama and this again has a nice unique twist to the typical crime drama. Basically, at the start of every episode it shows you who the victim is and who the killer is and it's all about the motive of the kill - so you yourself can work it out at home along with the detectives on screen. Can I just say, I have worked it out several times before the end? Yep, thank you very much. Anyway, it is really good and it leaves you gripped from the start to the end.

Most Haunted - It's back guys. Yvette is back. Gotta love it. Just a cheeky bit of casual ghost hunting with about 90% of the audio being screams and knocks from the beyond. Seriously, if you've never heard of it, google it and watch it. It's such a laugh!

Random Favourites: McVitie's Gold Bar biscuits (so delicious I can't take it), M&S Feta Cheese Slow Roasted Tomatoes Pasta Salad (literally heaven in a pot), my Aunt's homemade tablet (which is low fat so I don't feel so bad eating it), F1 (Jenson Button is my one true love) and organising my life through lists (Uni starts soon and I just can't). That is all.

Round-up of September:

TKMaxx Mini Haul | Empties #1 | FOTD & OOTD #9 | Memebox x CutiePieMarzia Collaboration Box Review | FOTD & OOTD #10/Night Out Look #6 | FOTD & OOTD #11 | Snapshots Of My Life #1 | Nivea Lip Butter Review | My American Football Outfit | Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life Review

I hope you guys enjoyed this monthly favourites and all the posts that I have published this month. What would you like to see for next month? Maybe some more reviews, make-up tutorials, more personal/lifestyle posts? Let me know! What has been your favourite product/thing in general this month? Again, let me know!

Have a lovely day, and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx

Essie Bikini So Teeny & OPI In True Stefani Fashion - NOTD #10

Hello everyone! Today I'm here to talk about one of my guilty pleasures - nail polish! I've just realised while writing this and looking at my nails that this look isn't very summery, it's more wintery in my opinion.. And then I made the connection. I very recently FINALLY watched Frozen - which blew my mind on so many levels, it's one of my favourite films already - and I've realised that these nails are very Elsa-esque. So if you love Frozen, then you'll love these accidentally inspired nails!

Essie Bikini So Teeny in natural light

Essie Bikini So Teeny in sunlight

OPI In True Stefani Fashion in natural light

OPI In True Stefani Fashion in sunlight

I bought both these nail polishes whilst in Florida (post coming soon) last week and I just adore them. I'm an avid fan of sparkles as it is, but I'm surprised I love Bikini So Teeny as much as I do.

I've never really been a fan of light blue nail varnishes as I feel they make my hands look totally washed out and just a bit gross.. However this colour is an exception. It's not light enough to make my hands look really "cold" and white, and it's a pastel shade, which isn't overly bright and in your face.

This polish is opaque in two coats, which is what I expect out of an Essie nail polish to be honest, and it lasts a long time with few-to-no chips. To prove this, these pictures were taken 5 days after I painted them on (is painted the right word? I can't think of another one but it seems weird.. Like I'm painting a wall or something) and even though they show slight signs of wear and tear.. They look great!

Now.. I don't feel like I need to ramble on about how much I love OPI In True Stefani Fashion. It's an all round smashing sparkly top coat, that stays put and will look lovely over any colour. How can you complain?

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this and I will be back soon!

Have a lovely day, and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx

OPI Unfor-great-bly Blue and L'Oreal Bling Bling Bang - NOTD #8

Hello everyone! Today I'm back with another NOTD post, again, going for a more sparkly look. I'm all about the sparkles recently!

OPI Unfor-greta-bly Blue is from The Germany Collection, which was released last year at this time. The shades released were all inspired by Berlin, and the colours on the catwalk that year, which clearly still are in fashion this year as when is navy not ever in fashion?!

Taken on iPhone 5

Taken on my camera (crappy lighting, sorry!)

Unfor-greta-bly Blue is a shimmer lacquer meaning it is enriched with a soft undertone of sparkly gold or silver, in this case silver, however I can't really noticed it, it's only when you really shine it in the light and look at it with a microscope that you can see it.

However, saying that, it's a lovely navy blue and it's opaque in one coat, however I always put two coats on with any polish, no matter what. The only thing I have to complain about is it doesn't stay perfect for that long, I don't know if it's the glitter top coat but a few of my nails chipped after 2 days which I was a bit disappointed with, however I genuinely don't know if it was this polish or the glitter top coat as I've wore this before and it's been fine.. If you don't mind just repainting the edges though, I highly recommend it.

Taken on iPhone 5

Taken on my camera

L'oreal Bling Bling Bang is part of their Color Riche Carat Collection where they released 4 nail polishes which are 3D glitter and have a matte textured effect - I didn't actually realise this was meant to be matte until I read that two seconds ago and put a glossy top coat over it.. Oops.

Anyway, I saw this in Boots and I had to have it, it looked so pretty and I knew I would pair it with a navy nail for perfect navy sparkly nails. It looks gorgeous on and depending on what light you are in (I deliberately took the above two pictures in different lighting) depends on the colour it comes across as, as in one light it's navy blue and the other it's purple - it's such a cool effect.

Overall, I am happy with this combination, however I'm not as happy as I thought I would be. The fact it chipped so soon I was quite disappointed with and it's ready to peel off now basically after 4 days. Blah. However the fact that it's really pretty is keeping me positive. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this, what's your favourite navy nail polish?

Have a lovely day, and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx

OPI Chic From Ears to Tail & Minnie Style - NOTD #7

Hello everyone! Back with my weekly nail post, no idea why I call it NOTD (Nail of the Day) as it is a weekly thing.. But lets just roll with it! Now I know what you are thinking.. It's September and you have bubblegum pink nail polish on, what?! I know.. But I wanted to bring it out one last time before Autumn truly sets in.. Anyway today we are here to look at OPI's Chic From Ears to Tail & Minnie Style.

Both of these are from the Couture de Minnie collection (surprise surprise) that was released this Summer. I actually got 3 out of the 4 limited edition shades and the new Liquid Sand shade, as it was part of a set my Dad got me at the airport as a present (he knows me well!) Last year OPI created a Vintage Minnie Mouse line, so this year OPI wanted to go for the more "fashion-forward" side of Minnie and go for brighter, more intense girly colours - so this collection was born.

“This year, OPI is exploring a different side of Minnie Mouse. The Couture de Minnie collection draws inspiration from Minnie’s iconic style and incorporates trends most recently seen on the runways, from standout shades to fun textural elements.”

Chic From Ears to Tail is the bubblegum pink shade which is a crème lacquer, meaning the formulation is to give opaque, solid colour easily. Minnie Style is the red and white podka dot glitter shade, which I personally loved the minute I saw it in the set!

As per usual I absolutely love both polishes and even though they are not season appropriate, I still love them both so much! They both applied easily, each coat dried within minutes and with 2 coats I had full opacity! Also, with Minnie Style, it acts as a really good top coat as well as it is a thick clear nail polish with glitter particles throughout it.

The only things I have to comment is with Chic From Ears to Tail, the colour looks a lot brighter on the nails than in the bottle, in the bottle it looks like a muted, dull pink but on the nails it is a bright bubblegum colour - not a bad thing, I was just surprised! Also, I had to apply 2 coats of Minnie Style which I did not expect as even though there are about 2 billion glitter particles in the bottle, about 5 are on the brush so you really need to scoop them up to get some on the brush, which isn't a bad thing really - means a better top coat!

I as per usual, love these polishes. OPI has not failed me yet with their formulation, their lasting power, their colour range.. Overall yet again, I am seriously impressed and will slowly keep expanding my collection, even though it breaks the bank. UK peeps, you can buy these here and as for anyone outside the UK, google is your friend, use it wisely!

That's about it for this post, thank you for reading. Have you tried any OPI nail polishes? Please let me know what your favourite shade is!

Have a lovely day and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx

OPI Danke-Shiny Red - NOTD #6

Hello everyone! Today I'm back with another NOTD, and I'm thinking of turning this into a weekly series kinda thing as I change my nail varnish every week so I think I'll just show you every week what I'm wearing and review it at the same time. Anyway, today I'm here with Danke-Shiny Red by OPI.

Danke-Shiny Red is part of the Germany Collection OPI launched last Autumn/Winter at the same time as all the fashion weeks, so the nail polish shades were similar to the colours seen on the catwalks. They had 4 different types of nail polishes in this collection, Danke-Shiny Red being a shimmer lacquer, meaning it's enriched with a soft undertone of sparkly gold, which I personally think is gorgeous.

I don't feel like I need to comment on the packaging, as it's the standard glass nail polish bottle with the matte lid - I don't really know what to say.. It's good for storage, the applicator is big so it's easy to apply the polish and it's overall great. Lets just look at the polish inside the bottle, shall we?

When I saw this colour, I just instantly fell in love. It's the perfect bright, intense, almost neon traffic light red. I would personally consider it a neon red as when it was on my nails it caught my eye all the time (plus my boyfriend loves it, he actually picked this one for me to wear - yay!)

As I said above, it's a shimmer lacquer so it has undertones of sparkly gold which unfortunately you can't really see in the pictures but honestly, it has the most beautiful golden shimmer when the light hits it, I never noticed it at first, I just saw the neon red and thought "I'll have that!" but now that I see the golden shimmer I love it even more.

Basically, what I am saying is it's a bright intense neon red with a golden shimmery undertone when the light hits it aka the most beautiful red nail polish EVER and you all need to get it now!

For application, it takes 2 coats for full opacity, obviously with a base and top coat also. It dries reasonably fast for someone who is extremely impatient *ahem* me *ahem*.. As for chips, I had this on for 5 days and it had chipped slightly, but nothing major as I never really wear nail varnish longer than a week because I get bored of having the same colour on my nails and end up picking it off. Beauty blogger failure. :( Also, taking it off was fine and it didn't stain my fingers/nails as last week I was taking off a Topshop matte nail polish and it stained my fingers so bad! I was raging, totally unimpressed with their new matte collection.. But that's a different story!

Without flash

With flash - now can you see the neon factor with me?!

Overall, this is a beautiful polish in the bottle and even more beautiful on the nails, honestly the pictures do not do this polish justice. It's just the perfect neon red that stands out with subtle golden shimmery undertones that show when the lights hit your nails. I think it's perfect for all seasons and I'll be wearing it a lot this Autumn/Winter, I think I've already decided that this will be my Christmas nail polish! The application is easy, it lasts for a long time and it's just gorgeous, I'm seriously so impressed with OPI nail polishes and I've never had a bad experience with them.

For UK people, you can buy OPI from here for £11.50, which isn't cheap but it's the one place I've found that sells all the OPI polishes, obviously other websites sell them for cheaper but they don't sell every polish. I personally just googled "opi UK" and found loads of places that sell them but I've only found the one website that sells every polish.

Anyway, that's about it for this post, I hope you all like reading these NOTD posts and are as happy as I am that I'm making it into a little series! Have you tried any of the OPI nail polishes, and if you have, what's your favourite?

Have a lovely day and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx

OPI Tomorrow Never Dies - NOTD #3

Hello everyone! Today I'm here to tell you about this lovely nail polish I picked up in New York which I've been wanting for a while, which is OPI Tomorrow Never Dies. Tomorrow Never Dies is from OPI's Skyfall James Bond Collection, which is a gorgeous collection with a huge variety of colours which you can see here.

Picture taken on iPhone 5

I'd seen this polish online before and I automatically fell in love, so when I got my chance to buy it I practically rugby tackled anyone in my way. I was drawn to this polish just from the colour, it's a bright intense purpley/blue depending how the light hits it. When I applied it, I was immediately impressed. I only had to apply two coats to get to full opacity and the colour is so bright, the pictures do not do this colour justice! I was also really impressed at how shiny and reflective this nail polish is without a top coat, it almost looks metallic! (however I always put a top coat on to prevent chipping.)

So far I have had this nail polish on for 3 days and I haven't had one chip, which has made me a very happy girl. Overall I'm very impressed with this colour and in general OPI nail polishes, so you'll be seeing a lot of them in my NOTD posts.

Picture taken on iPhone 5

Also, if people in the UK are looking to buy this nail polish, because I know how hard it is to find OPI in the UK (which sucks), this is actually on sale here, down from £11 (usual price for UK peeps) to £6.50 (WHAT A BARGAIN!) so if you want to get your hands on this then there is the place! I've also found the John Lewis, very.com, nailpolishdirect.co.uk and more sell it for UK peeps just from googling "opi nail polish uk" so if you are looking to buy OPI nail polish in general I'd google it and there are plenty of places online, just none in stores anywhere (at least for me..) As for the US, I think you can pretty much get them anywhere and as for anywhere else, I'm afraid I don't know but google solves everything!

Anyway that's about it for today's post. I hope you enjoyed reading this and if you can find OPI nail polishes anywhere online that ships to the UK please let me know! Also, what OPI nail polishes have you tried, and do you like them?

I hope you are having a lovely day and don't stop smiling. :)

Hannah, xx