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Review: Inside the Ciate Advent Calendar 2013

Why am I talking about advent calendars in January?
No I’m not trying to make a head start, and no I’m not a bit slow either.
I’m not someone who is bothered by Advent calendars, so I never get myself one.
Even so I still wanted the Ciate advent calendar last year but didn’t like the price tag.
Don’t get me wrong, you get a lot for your money, but £42 was a bit too steep for me.
So I decided to wait and see what would happen after Christmas and if it would be reduced.
Well luckily for me I managed to grab the last one in the Selfridges in-store sale on Boxing Day.
I’d been thinking about it for ages and as a nail polish addict I figured it would be worth it.
I even used it as an excuse to throw out all of my old nail polishes.
The Calendar contains:
19 x 5ml Mini Ciate Polishes
1 x 13.5ml Ciate Polish
2 x 10g Ciate Caviar Pearls
1 x Ciate Caviar Pearl Funnel
2 x 5g Ciate Sequin/Glitter Pots
– With a total value of £119 –

I removed them all from the calendar, which was still fun even after Advent by the way.
And looking at them all together made me realise that they are actually great value for money.
Even though the majority of the polishes are mini pots, you’re going to get plenty of uses from them.
I liked the inclusion of Ciate’s famous caviar pearls, even if they are slightly off-trend right now.
They’re still a fun item to play with and are still sold in stores for full price, so it’s not bad value.
The sequin and glitter pots excited me immensely, as did the amount of glitter polishes – I live for glitter!
The full size polish wasn’t exactly to my taste but I thought it was a good colour to include.
The majority of the polishes are inoffensive and would suit most tastes and styles.
There are a couple of shades I’ll be giving away but I’m pretty happy with the rest.
You can purchase the Ciate Advent Calendar 2013 at Ciate for £21.
In case it sells out, it’s also available on ASOS for £33.50.
bloomzy /

Review: Topshop Nails Polish in Mardi Gras

Topshop Nails Polish in Mardi Gras

Two Topshop nail polish posts in two days?! Yes I am spoiling you I know.
This one is an effect polish though so it’s again it’s a different type of polish.
Mardi Gras is made up of small, colourful foil pieces to give a confetti-like effect.
Swatched on my nails, over Topshop’s Drink Pink Matte Polish

Pros:
+ Feather/Confetti-like effect
+ Great effect top coat
+ Foils are colourful and noticeable 
+ Fast drying

Cons:
– Difficult to apply evenly
–  Too sheer to wear by itself

Notes:
This is a great feather/confetti-like effect top coat that I will be sporting on my nails this New Years Eve. The small foil pieces are colourful and apply onto the nails well. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to get an even application, something that happens often with this kind of effect polish. I love how it looks on top of a base coat, but wouldn’t wear it alone as it would be too sheer. Of course it is perfect for the Christmas season, with blues, reds and greens, but this is a polish you could wear anytime. I’d like to try this with a darker colour next time to see the outcome. At £6 it’s not too pricey for an effect polish, and I can’t say I’ve seen a similar polish that I like as much as this one. 
You can purchase ‘Mardi Gras’ at Topshop for £6.
bloomzy /

Review: Topshop Matte Nails Polish in Drink Pink

Topshop Matte Nails Polish in Drink Pink

I don’t own many matte nail polishes so I was happy to receive this for Christmas.
This is a dark pink, magenta shade from Topshop’s Matte Nails collection.
So what did I think of ‘Drink Pink’?

Swatched on my nails

Pros:
+ Easy application
+ Dried quickly
+ Colour in bottle is same on application
+ Opaque in one coat

Cons:
– Brush could be bigger

Notes:
Topshop have created a highly pigmented matte nail polish with a great finish. I’m not a fan of most of their polishes – they’re too sheer and don’t come out the same as they look in the bottle – but this one is different. Topshop recommend you use a base coat and two coats, but I actually didn’t have any base coat handy (forgetful traveller) and only did one coat. Yet the polish applied easily – although I felt the brush could have been slightly bigger – and was opaque in only one coat. The colour looked the same as the one in the bottle and dried quickly – like most matte polishes. During the drying process it gets to a point where you think it isn’t going to dry matte and may just stay shiny, but the final outcome is a wonderful matte finish with a slight sheen. I was very impressed. For £6 I will definitely be thinking about purchasing one of the other shades in the collection. Even better when they currently have a ‘2 for £9’ offer on their polishes.
You can purchase ‘Drink Pink’ at Topshop for £6.
View the other shades in the Matte Nails collection here.
bloomzy /

My Visit To The Cheeky Parlour

Just before Christmas I treated my friend Anna to a trip to the Cheeky parlour. I had heard of the mini beauty salon in Shoreditch and was dying to visit with a friend. Located on Redchurch St, above Aubin & Wills, the salon fits into Shoreditch perfectly. The idea behind the parlour is brilliant, offering walk-in manicures, blow outs and food. You’re handed a small paper card when you enter, and this is filled in throughout your visit. Whether you have a manicure & coffee, or a hair style & cake, it is jotted down onto your card. Now this may seem dangerous to a beauty addict, but with such great prices it’s not scary at all.

We had a manicure (only £10!), with nail art (£1.50 per nail). Now the amazing thing is, every manicure comes with a free polish! Yep, you get a 10ml pot of nail polish, in the shade you choose for your manicure. If that isn’t a bargain then I don’t know what is. So my whole manicure, with nail art, cost only £13. We ordered a couple of coffees and they were brought to us as we chatted and relaxed at the nail bar. Afterwards we retired to a comfy sofa and waited for our nails to dry, whilst we browsed the menu. I was pretty impressed with the food on offer, all of it sounded delicious and reasonably priced. We had mini red velvet cakes and chilled out, whilst drinking in our surroundings. Finally we checked out all the Cheeky products on offer, before paying.

The concept behind the Cheeky Parlour is any beauty lovers fantasy. Prices are reasonable, and the treatments offered are perfectly executed. The parlour is perfectly Shoreditch, on-trend and great for visiting with friends. All-in-all I will definitely be going again, and taking friends & family with me. I may even go for a hairstyle next time, if I have the occasion to.

You can find Cheeky Parlour on Redchurch St, Shoreditch.

bloomzy /

Review: Mavala That’s My Colour Nail Polish Set

Mavala That’s My Colour Nail Polish Set*

Mavala recently brought something very special to the beauty industry.
They decided to take inspiration from the fans and asked them to create 3 colours!
They did this by getting them to take photos of surfaces, materials etc. that would make great colours.
Thousands of people entered and finally the 3 finalists were chosen and their colours were created:
Argentum & Iridescence swatched

Pros:
+ Opaque in one coat
+ Good application
+ Easy to remove
+ Good consistency

Cons:
– Only lasted a couple of days

Notes:
Mavala is probably my favourite nail polish brand as they’re affordable and good quality. It only ever takes one coat to get an opaque finish with their polishes and these are no different. They’re also lovely polishes to apply as the consistency is good, as is the quality of the brush. Yet I feel that Mavala missed the mark ever so slightly. The colours are lovely, but I don’t think Argentum & Iridescence do justice to the items that were chosen by the finalists. That said, Hearth is a great replica. These polishes look great but they only lasted a couple of days on my nails, and that’s with a base and top coat. I’d like to try them out again but with maybe a different top coat, so hopefully they would last longer. 
Mavala’s That’s My Colour set is available at John Lewis.
Currently sold out online.
bloomzy /

Wishlist: Staying Fashionably Festive

Fashionably Festive Wishlist
Sometimes we can all get a little too caught up in the Christmas spirit.
That doesn’t mean you need to look like a reject from a 90s Christmas special though.
This year the stores and brands are trying to out-do each other with their festive treats.
No I don’t mean mince pies and mulled wine, I mean sweaters, dresses and beauty products!
Every big brand has jumped on the Christmas bandwagon and are putting up their collections.
So I decided to pick 10 of my favourite ways to stay fashionable and festive this Christmas:

How do you stay fashionable and festive?
Do you love tacky Christmas jumpers, or do you prefer chic designer?

Source: 1
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Hot Dogs, Street Art, W♥C & Polaroids

Looking at these photos makes me so happy. I’ve been having so much fun lately, and I’m so glad to share it on here. I went home to Norwich for a couple of days to sort some stuff out and see family. Whilst I was there I really started to feel like it really was going to be Christmas soon. I brought out my Nuxe travel set and fell in love with practically every item inside of it. I also brought out an old polish that felt slightly seasonal and got tons of compliments. I’ve been experimenting with layering shirts & sweaters at work, thanks to the recently chilling weather. I also popped along to the launch of the Drop Dead Winter Collection in their Soho store. That meant I got to bring a plus-one so Laura and I finally got to meet up – love her! My friend in Japan sent me some of the new W♥C items that have just come out. It really took me back to my time living in Tokyo and made me miss everyone so much. This weekend I also took a walk around Shoreditch and caught up with Anna over cake and coffee. I’ve really sucked at keeping in touch with friends lately (due to work), so I’m trying to remedy it. Also food. There was lots of food. Always with the food.

You can follow me on Instagram: @bloomzy