Pretty Nails and Crochet

Gorgeous weather and it's a Saturday too.  I'm making the most of being up before him indoors and I'm catching up on my blog, reading everyone else's and having a quiet coffee.

I painted my nails yesterday and had to tell you about another favourite product of mine. 

I have said before that I err on the side of grunge most of the time.  Whilst I would love to have perfect make-up all the time I just can't do it.  I'm in awe of people who can do fancy blending things with eyeshadow.  I just feel like I'm wearing muck on my face when I try.  Plus I have fat eyelids (ha!) and look puffy-eyed in eyeshadow.  I tend to stick to glowy skin products and the most adventurous I get is to use a green or blue eyeliner instead of my usual grey.  I love nail varnish though.  I keep my nails natural for work but like to go bright for the weekend.  This colour is a favourite of mine; it's a gorgeous glossy red (OPI Vodka and Caviar).  I wear it a lot.  Now I know what you're thinking.  Painting nails is a faff, right?  Well here's where my product recommendation comes in:

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat is truly awesome.  Your nails are dry within minutes.   Properly bash-me-on-whatever-you-like-I-won't-smudge dry.  I can't recommend it enough.  I would never paint my nails if it wasn't for this stuff, I just get too impatient waiting for them to dry.  I buy it from here (which, incidentally, is a great site).  It isn't cheap but if you like painted nails without the faff you should give it a whirl.

We've got my step-son here this weekend so I generally get to fit in quite a lot of crochet whilst I watch them kill zombies on the XBox.  I've been practising the bobble stitch so that I can have a go at making one of these gorgeous blankets that Mrs Cuckoo makes.  I am insanely jealous of this blanket and my life won't be complete until I have one!  Here's my attempt at the stitch.

I love learning new stitches and I think I need a couple of WIPs at any one time so that I get a bit of variety.  It can be quite monotonous making granny squares, however pretty, when you're desperate to try other projects!

Nicki 

x

Bit of Bling

I've been sorting out my accessories today.  My necklaces hang on one of those little headless lady stands (what are they called?) and it is always toppling over.  

It seems I've acquired quite a collection over the years.  I have put loads in the charity bag and these are some of the keepers:  

I go for either small silver pendants or big statement necklaces, like the ones in the pic.  I like the look of long necklaces and lariats but they get in the way and irritate me.  The ones in the photo above are mostly from good old M&S.  The particularly glitzy one at the very bottom is from Butler & Wilson.  I bought this necklace years ago and have always saved it for evenings out but just lately I've been wearing it with ordinary t-shirts and jeans for the day.  It looks quite cool - I think because it isn't quite as sparkly as it was.

I have another with pearls and spangles which I wore yesterday with a breton top.  

(Oh.  That's not a very good picture, sorry, it's a bit blurry.  We had been out for the day 

and I had enjoyed one or two glasses of wine.)

This necklace is from Jigsaw.  Pretty, no?  I wore the top with my indigo denim leggings (no, not jeggings, that's a silly word) and ballerina pumps.  I thought the necklace pimped up my clothes a bit for a mooch around Cambridge and slightly boozy lunch with the other half.  

We had three delicious courses in Cafe Rouge, wandered around the town and loitered by the river.  We were planning to punt but the weather was iffy.  Rain and river rage [husband's] could be disastrous.  I bought a gorgeous cornflower blue silk top in Reiss and then we came home and ate rum and raisin ice cream cones watching a bit of telly.  All loved up.

Back to normal this morning.  Had a bit of a tidy up, showered and popped on my Bliss Softening Socks.  These socks are pricey but they rule.  They are gel-filled and you cover your feet with cream then pop on the socks for half an hour.  My hideous trotters are soft and pretty (ish) after a session with these.

Husband typically chose to enter the bedroom at the precise moment I was wearing nothing but these and a big old pair of fluorescent pink pants.  

'Babe, they clash' was his passing comment.  

If ever you didn't want your new husband catching you unawares...

Nicki 

x

Summer Skin

Another gorgeous day and this time I got my legs out.  Scary.  This is not a decision I took lightly and, let me tell you, it took quite a lot of prep in the bathroom for me to feel confident enough to leave the house!

I don't really enjoy getting ready in the morning - putting on make-up, deciding what to wear and sorting my hair out always seems to take ages and I get impatient.  Not only that, it frustrates me that I spend so long getting ready (anything from half an hour to a an hour) yet look as though I take no more than five minutes.   But I love showering and bathing.  I spend ages and have a very particular ritual that I follow every single morning. I love beauty products, choosing shower gels, soaps, body scrubs and body lotion - you name it.  I buy these things a lot.  Some products are a real disappointment but there are others that I buy again and again because they do such a great job.  Here are my current faves:

Bliss Soapy Suds:  this shower gel is fresh and zingy, perfect for summer, and makes me feel squeaky clean without drying out my skin.  

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Sugar Body Polish:  Love love love this stuff.  It's a very thick sugary paste and smells absolutely divine - like actual roses.  Ones that have been freshly rained on.  My skin always feels super soft when I've used this.  It's quite a coarse scrub -  I usually use it on wet skin but on dry skin it gives an even deeper scrub and really gets rid of scaly or peeling skin.  It's quite expensive (£30 a pot I think) but definitely worth it.  I think I'm on my third pot of this stuff.   

Dead Sea Spa Magik Body Lotion:  I discovered this by chance recently in Waitrose.  It was lurking on quite an empty, slightly dusty, shelf.  They obviously don't stock it regularly because I'm now on my second bottle and the display doesn't look any fuller.  Whatever, I love it.  It is quite a rich lotion but sinks in quickly and leaves my skin very soft.  It also smells beautiful; fresh, clean and doesn't interfere with my perfume.  My only, very minor, complaint is that it makes the soles of my feet a bit slippy (gives yoga an element of danger!).  A bargain buy though for just under £4.

The MD Formulations Facial Cleanser and Illuminating Mask are quite simply the best facial products I have ever used.  End of.  I've tried all of the usual suspects (Clinique, Clarins, Origins, Lancome, Decleor etc) and nothing comes close.  I started using them because a patch of skin on my forehead is a little pigmented (sunbathing and the contraceptive pill don't really mix).  The pigmentation is still there but it's fading more all of the time.  The cleanser has a little acid in it I think (it tingles when you first use it) so it brightens, firms, tones and closes pores.  I wear the illuminating masque whilst I sleep, twice a week, and when I wake up my skin tone is definitely more even.  I can't recommend this range highly enough.  Not cheap at around £25 each but worth it all day long. 

In the foreground of this photo you can just see the bristles of a brush.  I use this on dry skin all over my body before I hop in the shower.  I've done this for years and it wakes you up if nothing else! 

What products do you rely on to give you confidence to bare all (or a little)?  

xxxx