Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!!

Well, well, what a year it's been! I won't pretend like its been the best year of my life, far from it, but it's had its moments! Here are my highlights of 2009! Enjoy :)

I opened a Twitter account in February to see what all the fuss was about. I am now hooked. And I've had a fab time meeting new people. I've even had a few celeb replies!! If you fancy following me, click here.

I also started dabbling in the blogging world in the summer and I've met some wonderful people and am now totally addicted to blogging about everything haha. I'm ending the year with 20 followers - wow! I can't believe 20 of you are interested in what I have to say. Thanks so much for reading and for commenting, you guys are all brilliant. I hope to meet even more of you in 2010!

2009 was the year I first discovered GOSH. My best find all year. I am addicted and love everything that I've tried so far. My aim for 2010 is to try everything else in the GOSH range! I spy a decreasing bank balance haha!

Another brand I've discovered this year is Nails Inc. I love their polishes and my collection keeps growing. Mainly thanks to eBay! But a girl can never have enough nail polish, right?

2009 was also the year I saw Derren Brown in London - if you ever get the chance to go to one of his stage shows - go. It was a fab night! I also saw Jimmy Carr for the 4th time in good old SkegVegas! And I went to see the amazingly talented comedy legend, Michael McIntyre in Nottingham. If you enjoyed watching him on Live At The Apollo and on his Comedy Roadshow, I'd advise you to get tickets to one of his live shows because he is side splittingly hilarious!

I also turned 21 in November. I am officially an adult. Scary! Now I'm in my third and final year of university, I think I need to give some serious consideration to my future. As much as I'd like it to, I don't think my blogging obsession is going to pay the bills.

Is anybody making New Year's Resolutions? I wasn't going to bother because I only ever break them. However, I feel, as a "grown up" I should make a few sensible ones.

In 2010 I will:

* Make a decision about my future career

* Pay off my overdrafts (I know, I know =\)

* Get a job

* Hopefully save up enough money to buy an Apple Macbook. Goodbye Windows. (Shush, it's a long-term investment ;) )

Things I'm looking forward to in 2010:

* Going to see Billy Connolly at the Hammersmith Apollo on the 5th Jan!

* Finishing university in May

* Graduation in July

Things I'd like to do in 2010:

* See Jimmy Carr again in Skeg next summer

* See James Morrison, Leona Lewis, JLS and the legendary Lady Gaga in concert

* Go to the theatre again, preferably to see Love Never Dies

* Have a well deserved holiday abroad

* Learn the art of water marbling

* Learn how to use Konad

* Adopt a cat from a rescue home but somehow I think I need to win my Dad over first

Until next time,

Dottie xx

Review: Nails Inc Catwalk Collection

Hey everyone,

I thought it was high time I got around to reviewing these Xmas goodies. I was lucky enough to receive the Autumn/Winter '09 Catwalk Collection from my parents. It contains 4 must have polishes in 4 gorgeous shades.

The Catwalk Collection

The polishes:

* Belgravia

* Berkeley Square

* Hampstead Heath

* Victoria Gate

Swatches of the individual polishes:

Belgravia

Berkeley Square

Hampstead Heath

Victoria Gate

What do I say about these polishes?

Belgravia is gorgeous, the camera does not do it justice. It is also the only polish in the collection to be a shimmery shade, and the only one that appears to be a one-coat polish. Also easy to remove. Win.

Berkeley Square is a dark grey. The flash on my camera makes it seem brighter than it is. It's a two-coater and surprisingly easy to remove. I do feel it is extremely similar to a George polish I previously bought though.

Hampstead Heath is a pink toned red. When I first saw it, I thought "Oh no not another red." I've already got Tate and I had another red from Nails Inc that I gave to my Mum because they were way too similar and I knew I'd never use them both. However when I applied this I was surprised at the colour. A two coater and a bugger to remove!

Victoria Gate is a nice purple shade. I was disappointed when it didn't acheive opacity on first coat however, as a second coat makes it a hell of a lot darker. I was hoping to not have another dark purple. However, teamed with pink, I think it softens its dark edges a little. Still a lovely colour.

Did anybody else receive Nails Inc products for Christmas? Does anyone else have the A/W '09 Catwalk Collection? What do you think?

Until next time,

Dottie xx

NOTD

Hello everyone :)

For once, I really think this mani is going to be a NOTD rather than a NOTW. I love it, and I love the colours... but I think as the polishes needed 2 coats to achieve opacity, plus a basecoat and topcoat, I have like 6 coats of polish on. And my left hand is better than my right hand. And I also made the mistake of doing it late at night, then going to bed. So yes, I have sheet imprints, fingerprints and bubbling. Lovely...

Anyway, on to the actual polishes. I swatched all of my new Nails Inc polishes to see what they were like, and to see which I wanted to use. And also for another blog post. Coming soon, watch this space!

Polishes used:

* Nails Inc Underground Basecoat

* Nails Inc Victoria Gate (from the A/W '09 Catwalk Collection)

* GOSH Metallic Purple

* Nails Inc Walton Street (from the Feet Treats set)

* Barry M 3 in 1 Top Coat/Base/Nail Hardener

Materials used:

* Red Butterflies from the Dollar Nail Art Store

Method:

* Apply 1 coat of basecoat and allow to dry

* Apply Victoria Gate to one half of the nail (2 coats for opacity) and allow to dry

* Apply Metallic Purple down the centre of the nail in as straight a line as humanly possible, making sure it covers the edge of Victoria Gate and allow to dry

* Apply Walton Street to the other half of the nail, making sure you get a straight line over Metallic Purple, letting as much or as little of the Metallic Purple show through as you'd like and allow to dry

* Apply 1 coat of topcoat

* If you're going to add butterflies or stars like I did, drop them on to the wet topcoat as soon as you can and allow the topcoat to dry, then add a second layer of topcoat just to seal the nail art

Here's the finished mani:

Pics of the polishes:

Victoria Gate

Metallic Purple

Walton Street

The colours even match my ring :D

If I do this again, (or when - who am I kidding?), I will choose colours that need just one coat of polish. And I'll do it earlier in the day so I don't go to bed and ruin it haha. Also I will take more time with my right hand. I didn't take photos of my said hand because the lines of Metallic Purple are wonky and too thin. Doh! I do love these colours though. Quite possibly my favourites from the sets I received for Christmas :)

Until next time,

Dottie xx

Loving & Loathing

I appear to have lost all track of time. I don't even know what day of the week it is. Anyway, here is what I'm loving and loathing this week:

Loving:

* My Snug Rug!!!

* My Sleek Eye Dusts

* My new ring

* My new Armani Code perfume

* All of my Nails Inc presents

* Being warm and cosy

* Having discovered Carrie Underwood via my friend Lauren

* Spotify

Loathing:

* Having no money

* Student Loans - specifically the part where they reduced my loan to give me a grant, the total of which does not cover my accommodation costs and leaves me with no money to live on... can't afford textbooks... fabulous

* Now having to ask Mum & Dad for financial help

* My selfish sister

* Having to get a job next semester when I don't have the time due to my workload but needs must

* Essays

* Uni

* Law

* Having no idea what to do with my life

* Broken iPod :(

Until next time,

Dottie xx

Christmas Day Make Up & Nails

I didn't want to do two uber long Xmas posts so I split them up. I would have done them before but I really couldn't be bothered to get my laptop out lol. This is the first time I've touched it since the day before Xmas Eve. Bit of a record for me haha!

Anyway, here's the make up that I wore on Christmas Day, and the mani that I had :)

Make Up:

Look at the oomph Clarins Wonder Perfect Mascara gave my lashes:

They actually looked false, I was quite impressed!

I matched my make up with my outfit hehe :) That you totally can't see here haha sorry

And my mani:

George - Deceit

GOSH Holographic

I added the Holographic to the tips by using a make up sponge like the ones shown below:

As I only had a round one, I folded it in half and brushed some polish onto the sponge:

Then dabbed in a rough line across each finger tip to create a frosty effect.

Kinda worked I think! I also added a little star (a bit wonky, but heyho nevermind!)

I am planning on using my new Nails Inc stuff soon and I'll tell you which gorgeous shades I got :) I didn't get Konad for Xmas *sob sob* but I am definitely getting that soon!

Until next time,

Dottie xx

Christmas!!

Hello lovelies, I hope you've all had a fabulous Christmas :) I've given myself 4 days off to rest and enjoy the festive period before I get back to my uni work. It was really nice to lounge around and watch Xmas telly, spend some much appreciated time with my parents and eat chocolate! Not to mention the scrumptious Christmas dinner we had. Om nom nom!

I've seen lots of other posts about what people received on the big day, and I really enjoy reading them, so I thought I'd show you the things that I got :)

What did I get?

* A slanket

* A lovely pink & purple scarf from Dorothy Perkins

* A gorgeous one-off ring from a boutique jeweller's in Lincoln

* Armani Code EDP

* 3 Sleek Eye Dusts

* A USB Cup Warmer

* Michael McIntyre - Hello Wembley!

* Nails Inc Hand Wash & Moisturizer

* Nails Inc Catwalk Collection A/W '09

* Nails Inc Feet Treats set

I absolutely love this ring:

Nails Inc Catwalk Collection:

Nails Inc Feet Treats Set:

Sleek Make Up:

I hope you all got some lovely things. Let me know in the comments :) Full reviews will be coming of the make up and nail products, so watch this space!

Until next time,

Dottie xx

Dollar Nail Art Haul

I was uber excited when my parcel from Leanne arrived today! A couple of weeks ago, we made a late night order to Dollar Nail Art. They have some fab stuff on their website and everything is $1 each! That's roughly 60p per item, regardless of what you order. Their website isn't the flashiest of sites, but who cares when the stuff is this cheap?

They impose a minimum order of $25 and any order under $49.99 has a shipping charge to the UK of $10.40. Unless you want to spend $25 alone, I suggest you do what we did and club together :) The website advised Leanne that our order would be with us within 3 weeks. We ordered on the 2nd and it was here on the 11th! I think right now, that beats Royal Mail hands down!

On to the important stuff - what did I get? Well, my order consisted of:

* Flat Hollow Stars: Pink & Purple

* Flat Hollow Hearts: Pink

* Butterfly Babies: Red & White Pearl

* Pastel Glitter: Blue Pearl & Mint Pearl

* Iridescent Glitter: Fairy Plum

* Micro Glitter: Ebony & Royal Orchid

* Faceted Studs: Ruby Red & Silver

* 1/64x648" Striping Tape: Black & Silver

I opened my jiffy bag to find my DNA order, a lovely note from Leanne and she'd also included a wheel thingy so I can store my bits and bobs in it, and L'Oreal's Studio Secrets Resurfacing Primer. I've been wanting to try this for ages and now I can. Thank you Leanne!

My DNA haul from Leanne plus China Glaze Sexy In The City that I ordered off eBay (top left)

Prepare yourself for heaps of pictures!!

Hollow Hearts & Stars

Butterfly Babies & Hollow Stars

Butterfly Babies & Glitter!!

Faceted Studs

Striping Tape

Micro Glitter

Royal Orchid Closeup

Ebony Closeup

Blue Pearl Closeup

Mint Pearl Closeup

Fairy Plum Closeup - this is GORGEOUS!!

And finally...

L'Oreal Studio Secrets Resurfacing Primer, a gift from Leanne :)

Considering this is £12+ on the high street, this looks like a tiny jar, however there does seem to be a LOT of product in there, and it spreads pretty easily so I hope this lasts a while :)

It's a light pink shade, appears to be a mousse like formula and fragrance free :)

I don't know if you can see the matte spot on my hand? That's where the primer is :)

China Glaze Sexy In The City

Shade label

The eBay image I'd relied on...

Disappointed with this. I bought it because I thought it was a bright opaque blue. It's actually a dark blue-green shimmery polish and it looks the same as Nails Inc Hanover Street. This is what a camera flash does to this colour! I think the motto here is - do your homework before buying nail polish on eBay, especially when the seller can't be bothered to give a description of the polish!

I haven't used any of the Dollar Nail Art stuff yet, but I will get round to it soon I hope! I actually can't wait to start using some of these beauties!! Well, when I figure out how to apply half of it haha! If you've got any hints or tips, they'd be gratefully received :)

Has anybody else ever ordered from Dollar Nail Art? Or found another nail art store?

Until next time,

Dottie xx