A new way to store my nail polishes!

I've been obsessed with nail polishes for a few years now, always wanting more than I could possibly wear in a year. I would say that I have over two-hundred polishes now from OPI and Chanel to Rimmel and Maybelline. My stash was getting so big it was in two large boxes, so I decided it was time to go big. Lots of people on Instagram had invested in a helmer from Ikea to store their polishes as the draws were tall enough for the polishes to stand upright, which is a must for me. I finally took the plunge and ordered one.

It was a pain to put together (Ikea flatpack!) but we managed it. When I say we I mean me, my sister and my dad. A three-man job...

This is a bit of a picture heavy post but I wanted to show you the mass of nail polishes I own! Probably more than most salons do. I've organised the draws by the colour of polish and think it worked out pretty well.

If anyone wants their nails done, come on round mine.

Do any of you think you'll invest in a helmer? Does anyone think they have more polishes than me?

The Lush Series - Let the good times roll

I hadn't bought a cleanser from Lush until I picked up this Christmas special. I was drawn to the sweet popcorn smell that made me want to eat it.

Let the Good Times Roll - Cleanser

This cleanser contains corn oil, polenta, maize flour and cinnamon.

This is more of an exfoliator than a facial cleanser as it is very fine and gritty with the addition of pieces of popcorn. Unlike other cleansers, to use this you have to pick a bit out and mix it with water in your palms to enable you to spread it on your face.

After using let the good times roll my skin feels lovely and soft. Due to the oils, this cleanser contains my face doesn't feel dry like it would with others. After I make sure to use a toner to wipe away excess oil so that when I use my moisturiser after my face isn't too greasy. Overall this is a lovely exfoliator that I use a few times a week as a sweet treat. I'd definitely recommend this as something different!

Essentials for surviving a cold

I'm not one to usually get ill but this month I suffered from an awful cold. It started out as a tickly throat, turned into a snotty mess and then finished with a horrible cough. It wasn't pretty - sorry for the images I've put in your mind.

As I thought that a lot of people will be getting the bug this time of year I've put together a list of my essential items for surviving a cold.

First off you need some good soft tissues! I really like Kleenex balsam tissues as they are so gentle on my nose.

Next is vapour rub. Although you can do as it says on the box and rub it on your chest, throat and back, I tend to put a little bit under my nose before I go to bed and it helps me breathe much better.

When you have a cold you are constantly blowing your nose and having to rub tissues on your nose. No matter how soft the tissues you have are, you are bound to end up with a sore nose. Nivea Creme is essential for keeping your nose from drying out and helps soothe.

Next is lip balm. This is a must because most of the time during a cold you end up breathing through your mouth. This leads to chapped lips which make you feel even worse. Keep your lips hydrated!

Lastly, if you have a cough it is always useful to have Soothers on hand to suck when you have a sore throat. They can soothe your throat and also help you keep your tickly cough at bay.

Hopefully, you can take some tips from my essentials and they can help you survive your cold.

What else would you add to this list?

Top 3 TV picks

Since having my Virgin TiVo box installed earlier this year I have been addicted to TV. I can record everything I want and noone can tell me I can't. Amazing! This means I can follow my favourite shows without it clashing with other people's or being deleted because someone else needs space.

I wanted to share three TV shows that I am watching at the moment so you have the chance to watch them too.

The Blacklist


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Currently on Living TV

The Blacklist is a new show on Living TV which started a couple of weeks back. This revolves around one of America's most wanted criminals (Reddington) working with the FBI to catch criminals that they don't even know exist. During the show, Reddington asks for newly qualified FBI profiler Elizabeth Keen to be the one that he liaises with. They've never met before but he seems to know all about her. Together they catch criminals!

I love American crime dramas where a team will go out and catch criminals, this is basically that but with an unusual team. Each episode is named after the criminal they will search out; so far each one has been very different from the other. Throughout the show the storyline of how Reddington knows Keen continues in the background as she learns about her past.

I can't wait to see where this will lead and hopefully they will continue with this and make a series 2!

Misfits


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Currently on E4

The first season on Misfits was aired in 2009 and it is now on its fifth. All of the original characters have been replaced throughout the show which produces the cast of season 5.

The show revolves around a group of young offenders, carrying out community service, who all have superpowers. These powers came after a freak storm in the first season and it seems that lots of other people have powers too. Misfits basically follows them on their community service, dealing with their powers and others that they meet. I love this because it is young, British and really raw. They are constantly knocking someone off, doing something inappropriate or saying something off. It is really funny and a light watch.

Breaking Bad


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Currently avaliable on Netflix

Everyone has heard of Breaking Bad, some people are obsessed and some people are trying to act as if they don't care about it and that they won't watch it, but I know they will... I am one of those who are obsessed. My boyfriend got me into this a few months ago and from then to now we've watched from season 1 to season 5. Season 5 is the last season and we have just watched the last ever episode! It was very tense leading up to it but finale manages to tie up all loose ends.

Breaking Bad is about Walter White, a high school teacher who develops cancer. In order to make sure his family is provided for when he is gone he starts to cook meth. He then enters the world of drugs, drug dealers and money and it starts to get complicated...

Now if it doesn't sound like your cup of tea I ask that you give it a try. I didn't think it would be, what with me being into lots of American crime dramas and not caring the least about shows with drug dealers, but this show is much more than just the drugs. You start to care about all the characters, get really interested in the science bits and enjoy the clever way the show is filmed.

Watch season 1, if you aren't hooked by then I am afraid we can't be friends.

Have you seen any of these? Do you like any of them? Let me know!

The Lush Series - Tea Tree Water

After being introduced to the skincare world I've only ever purchased one toner. I really have no idea what toner is or what it is for but I was told it should be part of my regime and I started to like it. It feels really nice to wipe a cotton pad with toner over your face to collect any grime that could be left over after cleansing.

I'd heard many good reviews about a toner from Lush filled with spot fighting ingredients which sounded right up my street. I decided to splurge and try it out!

Tea Tree Water - Toner Water

This toner is available in two sizes, 100g (£3.95) or 250g (£7.50). As I was new to this product I chose to buy the smaller.

The application of this product is different from the other toner I have been using as with this you have to spray it directly on your face (making sure to close your eyes tight!). Then you wipe a cotton pad over your face to take the toner and any grime off your face. As described as a water, this toner is extremely gentle on my face, it isn't potent like other toners can be.

On their website, Lush say "Tea tree is a wonder oil for anyone with oily or spot prone skin. It has antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-microbial properties. Where the skin needs balancing, where there are spots, gentle tea tree is just the job". I love the smell of tea tree, it is a really refreshing smell which makes me feel clean. It is also strong enough to make me feel like it is really doing something for my skin.

Overall I really enjoy this product, it is light, smells nice and makes me feel squeaky clean.

It is definitely on my repurchase list, unless another review of a toner sweeps me off my feet before I get chance!

Have you tried this? What do you think?

A new hobby - candle making

After visiting many vintage/craft fairs and seeing lots of homemade candles I really fancied making my own. Ella from E is for Ella had a tutorial on how to make soy candles on her blog so I thought I'd give it a try! I bought soy wax flakes, candle scents, pre-waxed wicks, a pan, a whisk and some pretty jars.

Basically to make a candle - melt the soy wax flakes slowly until clear and then add the scent, stirring continuously to make sure the wax is all the same temperature. The jar should be already prepared - rinsed and dried to ensure it is clean, pre-waxed wick glued to the bottom of the jar and masking tape ready to secure the wick in a central position. Then carefully pour the wax in to the jar and let it set. When it is set decorate the jar and cut the excess wick.

I'm making these for friends and family's Christmas presents at the moment but would love to be able to sell these at vintage/craft fairs!

What do you think? Do you like them? Will you be trying this?

Manicure Monday - Gloopy Nails

This manicure was supposed to be wholly one colour, that colour being Revlon, whimsical. In the bottle this is a lovely mint green with specks of pink and blue glitter. However after three coats of whimsical it still was no where near mint green. In order to improve this I decided to add something to my manicure, gloopy blue and pink tips to be exact.

The colours I used for the gloopy tips were Zoya - Robyn and Barry M - Grapefruit. Both are very pigmented colour and worked great for this nail art. In order to do the tips like this I blobbed some of the polish on to paper and used my dotting tool to apply it to the tip, dragging some down the nail to make the gloops.

Do you like? Would you attempt this?

Mariah Carey for OPI - Christmas Collection Swatch - Kiss Me at Midnight

I am a sucker for new OPI collections. When I hear of a new one I feel the need to get at least one polish from the collection. I'll sometimes have to pick the best of a bad bunch just to say I have one. I know I shouldn't but I feel much better when I can say I own one. Yes I am a strange person that has a slight addiction...

So when the Mariah Carey Christmas Collection came out I knew that I had to have at least one...turns out I needed two. The two I bought were both liquid sand textured polishes - one called It's Frosty Outside, which is a silver texture polish and Kiss Me at Midnight which is a blue glitter texture polish.

I wore Kiss Me at Midnight recently and fell in love. I already love OPI's liquid sand polishes and didn't think they could get much better until I tried this.

This polish is so thick and full of glitter! I absolutely adore the blue colour of this polish and the addition of the silver flecks of glitter push it over the edge. Even though this is a textured polish I always tend to use my Seche Vite top coat over the top to ensure I get the longest wear possible out of it. Due to the fact it is textured these polishes tend to chip quicker, even with the top coat which is a real shame. I would say I had four days from this polish before it came away at the edges.

This polish is going to be perfect for Christmas and I can't wait to wear it again.

The Lush Series - Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

I have to admit, I've been going a bit wild in Lush recently. I used to hate the place! The intense smell of Lush used to drive me away but since becoming a blogger it has drawn me in. Beauty bloggers posting rave reviews about the products has made me get over my fears and enter the strongly scented world of Lush.

Now I am over the threshold there is no holding back! Although it is quite expensive I find it so easy to pop something in the basket and justify it's cost later. This way of thinking has given me quite a few Lush products for me to try out and love.

First product is the one I've had the longest and love the most...

Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

As you can tell, I took these photos earlier in the year when you could see the lovely green grass...

If you are into doing your nails then you should know that a cuticle butter is essential in keeping your nail beds/cuticles looking hydrated. Your nails could be painted beautifully but if the skin around your fingers is a dry mess then it really ruins it.

Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter promotes itself as not only being good for cuticles but other dry parts of your body, such as elbows, knees and toes. That has to tell you it is good stuff. The cuticle butter is a thick yellow cream that smells, as you can imagine, of lemons. It isn't tangy or sickly like some others are but it's rather subtle. I only need to dab a small bit of this on each cuticle and rub in. It doesn't sink in straight away so I usually use this before bed rather than on a daytime when I'll be touching other things. Due to the fact you don't need a lot for your fingers this will last me a long time!

I can definitely see a difference in the look and feel of my nail beds which in turn makes my nails look much better.

If you are on the look for a cuticle butter then look no further, I've found you the best one.

Lemony Flutter is currently £6.50 for 50g.

Have you tried this before? What are your thoughts? If you've review this then post the link in my comments!

What's cooking? Recipe ideas!

I've always said on my blog how much I love to cook. I much prefer taking some time out of my day to make a meal than to sit with a ready meal after five minutes in the microwave. It's better for you to cook and I think it makes you feel good about yourself like you've achieved something for cooking a lovely meal.

Over the past few weeks, I've been cooking up a storm making all sorts of hearty meals for the rest of the family.

So what have I been cooking?

Beef casserole - This was really easy to make with a store bought sachet and fresh ingredients. Simply cut the beef and carrots, add them to a casserole dish with water and the sachet and then cook in the oven for an hour and three quarters! Yum!

Cauliflower cheese - Super easy to make! All you need is cheese sauce, which you can make fresh, buy or use a sachet and cooked cauliflower. Mix these two in a casserole dish and cook for 10/20 minutes.

Chilli con carne - Again I cheated and bought a sachet to help. Basically this entailed cooking the beef (and I added mushrooms) then adding a tin of tomatos, kidney beans and some water. You then let this simmer for 20minutes. Done!

Nachos - This was one of those days when you just can't be bothered to cook anything! So all I did was put some nachos on a plate, added salsa and cheese then place under the grill for 5 minutes until the cheese was melted.

Pie, mash and vegetables - This was a store bought pie that took about 30minutes to cook and whilst it was cooking I made the mashed potato and vegetables!

Butternut squash soup - We bought a butternut squash in the shopping hoping to make soup and the same week I came across Abundance of Erica's recipe. This made a yummy sweet soup!

As you can see these are all pretty simple dishes that you can easily make in no time. Although I did take the cheats way out on a few of these dishes I think it is much better for you than eating ready meal rubbish!

I hope I inspire you to get in the kitchen a bit more? Let me know if you cook anything!

Halloween Blood Spatter Nails

For Halloween I didn't have any plans or an opportunity to dress up, so I thought the least I can do is ensure my nails are looking the part. Instead of spending hours, that I didn't have, trying to create a pumpkin or a goul on my nails I wanted to go with the simple blood spatter.

After trying to use the straw method (blowing through a straw with wet polish at the end to create a spatter effect) and it epically failing on me to the point I thought it was the straw or me that was broken, I decided to go at my nails with a nail art brush and some red nail varnish.

It turned out better than expected, after I'd cleaned my red hands up, and I am glad that my first attempt failed. It does look a bit messy, but hey blood isn't supposed to look neat and tidy!

What do you think? Would you create this effect next Halloween?