NOTD: Nails Inc Diet Coke Exclusive "Heather Grey"

I had a lovely weekend in York and even squeezed in a trip to IKEA and got myself some Swedish food and furniture :)

And I managed to get "Heather Grey" from the Diet Coke exclusives from Nails Inc! I tried to get away with one coat here as I was in a hurry to do my nails, but it's not as opaque as "Denim"... This is still 1 coat with no top coat but my index finger is a bit thin towards the edge of the nail.

I love this colour with it's cool mauve-grey hue :) I haven't really got any dupes for this. Essie "Angora Cardi" is a lot warmer and more rose than mauve. I'm going to take a photo of this in daylight as I think this may be slightly warmer than it is in real life.

I'm off to watch the repeat of "Alice" on Syfy, as I missed the first episode!

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NOTD: China Glaze "Ingrid"

I got this polish in a swap. I loved it from the first swatch I saw, but it's a bit weird - it's a bit like Chanel "Particuliere" but with a gold shimmer :) Very cool! I kept thinking about swamp water when I applied it...

This is 2 coats with Sally Hansen MegaShine top coat. I've not got any other colours like this one.

I am gearing up for hitting the shops tomorrow for the sales... Lets hope it's not too busy!

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NOTD: Mavala "Velvet"

So I had a day off on Friday to do some xmas shopping and I picked up this little beauty in John Lewis. It was once part of a set that I eyed up but decided against as the other two colours were just 'meh' to me. But I finally saw this one sold separately! :)

I am still in love with the muddy colours, greige and dusky pastels. 'So last year' I know but my goodness they are addictive...

Anyway back to the polish! This is 2 super-smooth layers with a slick of MegaShine top coat for the speed drying effect, but I managed to get a nice fat bubble in my top coat on my middle finger there.. Oops. This is a super polish. I wish that more polishes had the instant gratification of opaqueness in 2 coats and super gloss...

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NOTD: Beauty UK "Smokey lilac"

I am very disappointed I couldn't catch this colour on camera. It looks all grey, not the lilac-grey it is in real life :( it is a spectacularly unusual colour!

Very cheap and cheerful, this is 3 coats with Megashine. I think this polish retails for £1.99 or something like that. The polish formula is ok, it easily becomes streaky if you're not careful. If you have ridged nails, put on a ridge-filling base coat!

I am eagerly awaiting a special polish in the post however I don't think it will be here before I go on holiday in a weeks time but I should have plenty time on holiday to showcase my new Isadora Grafitti Nail polishes my mum has very lovingly bought me :D

Anyway I am off to knit a special present to a dear pal of mine!

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NOTD: No7 "Beanie" and some exciting news!

Hello there! Got a little comparison today for you, No7 "Beanie" which is touted as a kind of dupe for Chanel "Particuliere". "Particuliere" is the on my ring finger. I hate to spoil it for everyone but... it's not. But "Beanie" is close, and still nice! "Beanie" was a streaky mess at one coat, "Particuliere" was opaque buttery smoothness. This is 2 coats of both. And "Beanie" is a lot darker and greyer that the Chanel. The formula on "Beanie" suffers a bit from 3-free syndrome, gloopy but thin. "Particuliere" certainly shows why I paid £15 for it!!

Anyway, today was another mega-exciting day as Topshop FINALLY released their makeup collection! I got a 3 nail polishes (Sunset, Carry on camping, Copper Coated), the Matte Top Coat, khol pen in "Petrol", Skin Tint in "Light" and Lip and Cheek tint in Berry Bitten. They should be here tomorrow, so look forward to excited photos and swatches over the weekend!

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NOTD: Chanel "Particuliere"

This is only my second Chanel ever! Yep, I've just not been tempted til now - not even by "Jade". Not even by "Kaleidoscope", even though it was unique I didn't really fancy it. My other Chanel is an ancient one called, ehm, uh... *hobbles off to Helmer to check the name* .."Electric". It's a 'safe' corally-red with gold shimmer I bought in Schiphol airport some years ago.

"Particuliere" however has won my heart. And the formula - to die for! Super-opaque and super-smooth, no clean-up required as you can see! Please excuse the scaly cuticles, even a super manicure isn't doing it for my poor hands lately. I am hoping this week on the sofa will allow lots of jojoba oil and my Soap & Glory manicure mittens will nourish them back to health...

This is 2 coats over Sally Hansen Diamond Strength 2-in-1 and with a slick of Sally Hansen MegaShine top coat. I love it. So much. It's so much more than a mushroomy grey nail polish, it's the s/s 2010 fashion season in a bottle! :)

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Post-Op Chanel, and Soap & Glory!

I made it through my foot surgery ok, but post-op is a painful event. Guess that's what co-codamol is for... And while getting my analgesics, I also picked up my pre-ordered Chanel "Particuliere" nail polish! :) This colour is so different, and I love it. My boyfriend describes it as "mud or some other building material that you lay bricks with". I think the word he was looking for is "grouting". I am getting totally into the new nudes for s/s 2010, the so-called "greige" trend. I think it all started with Essie "Angora Cardi".

I will do a proper manicure with this, but slightly too much in recovery at the moment to put nail polish on, so I will review some of my Soap & Glory products instead!

I blame my obsession with Soap & Glory on the work colleague who got me a manicure set from the brand for Secret Santa. A fantastic hand scrub, hand cream and a lovely nail file has been grooming my mitts since Christmas. However, my cuticles are seriously dry and cracking still - the weather is again back to snow and cold winds so guess they're just rebelling...

My absolute favourite Soap & Glory is Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser. It comes in a plastic tube with it's own muslin cloth. It smells fantastic as it's loaded with essential oils. To use, rub into the skin with circular movements; keep massaging for about a minute then wet the muslin with hot water, massage it over the skin to remove the product. Amazingly soft and smooth skin is yours! However I wouldn't recommend using it to remove eye makeup - it's quite stingy if you get it in your eye... I use No7 Makeup removing wipes to remove eye makeup then I clean with the hot cloth cleanser to remove the foundation etc. This retails for £9, but it is totally worth it!

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