bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Boots, Bites & Business

What have I been up to lately?

Well my internship with Finchittida Finch is going great!
We’re getting down to the final hours of a very exciting, and big, order.
Of course I still had time to pamper myself and do my nails in some Spring pastel shades.
In the meantime my good friend Anna returned from Norway with treats!
She brought me back some speciality cheese, and a gorgeous neon glitzy necklace.
We made plans to grab some food and catch-up, so we went to a great Turkish restaurant in Islington.
I wore my new boots (spent with my birthday gift card from Sami), which are so cute and comfy.
I also joined Vine this week! You can follow me on: bloomzy
My new business cards for the blog arrived too, featuring my Tatty Devine name necklace.
Then finally this past weekend I popped down to Shoreditch to do a bit of shopping.
I bought a Uniqlo x Keith Haring t-shirt that called to me as soon as I stepped into the pop-up.
I also indulged in some okonomiyaki along Brick Lane – the place for street food!
You can follow me on Instagram to stalksee what I’m up to: bloomzy
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Neon, Nails… & Cake

Last week I caught the nasty stomach bug that’s been going around.
So when the weekend came I was pretty excited to go out and enjoy myself.
I didn’t go too crazy as I was still feeling a bit gross, but I did indulge a little bit.
I stopped by both Fika and Kahaila, two amazing foodie gems right on Brick Lane.
I also popped up to Tatty Devine to order my first name necklace.
I can’t wait for it to be finished so I can show you all!
As for loves right now, I’ve hopped on the neon bandwagon.
It’s bright, it makes me happy, and I’ve covered myself in it.
I’ve even added a few neon pieces to my home decor.
I also did a bit of nail art last week, which I’ll be posting tutorials for soon.
Unfortunately that lead to me organising my nail polish collection, something I’ve needed to do for a while. 
It meant saying goodbye to old polishes, but also welcoming new ones that had started popping up on my dresser.
The polishes have been reproducing by themselves, honest.
You can follow me on Instagram @bloomzy
bloomzy /

Review: Angelica Nail Polish in Crystal

Angelica Nail Polish in Crystal
 
I haven’t done many nail polish reviews as of late.
So it might be a shock to see that my latest one is of a polish bought from Primark.
Angelica is a UK nail polish brand that sells their polishes to Primark, and also online.
I’d never paid much attention to their stands in Primark stores, as I was probably being a bit of a snob.
I’m all for buying high street make-up as well as high-end but because of my sensitive skin I have to be careful.
Hopefully that will help you understand as to why I’ve never paid much attention to the make-up sold in Primark.
Anyway, as I was waiting in the queue to make a purchase at Primark, this little beauty caught my eye.
I can’t get enough of iridescent everything lately, and this was on sale for only £1 (usually £2.50)!
The polishes themselves are at a good price anyway, but I had to snap up this bargain.

 

Glitter polish is always so awkward to photograph
Pros:
+ Gorgeous iridescent glitter shade
+ Only needed one coat
+ Great coverage
+ Easy to apply
 
Cons:
– Consistency is slightly gloopy
 
Notes:
I’m really impressed with this polish!
I wasn’t expecting much, to be honest I thought I was taking a gamble.
The cheaper brands of polish I have used usually don’t cover well or the shade doesn’t pay out. However this polish applied easily, even if the consistency was slightly gloopy. I just had to make sure that the cover was even and it wasn’t difficult. The iridescent glitter catches the light wonderfully and really you only need one coat – although I did two as I will be wearing it alongside a darker colour (more on that later). I will admit when I’m wrong and I was wrong to misjudge Angelica Nail Polish. This really impressed me and I would definitely try other shades in the range – I’ve been converted.
You can purchase Angelica Polish in Primark stores across the UK.
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Celebrating in Style

Photo Diary Catch-up – Celebrating in Style
I’ve been accessorising like crazy lately!
That’s all thanks to the lovely people who bought me these lovely presents.
The neon accent leather cuff (Whistles) is from my parents and the studded bracelets (Zara) from a friend.
My Tatty Devine crowns look amazing layered, thank you to Dodo & Randa, as well as my grandparents!
I’ve also been nibbling on treats from Japan.
Zak bought me some leopard print chocolate & banana sponge cakes.
You can purchase them in the Tokyo Sky Tree – Tokyo’s latest tourist attraction.
Of course I have to nibble whilst having perfectly manicured hands – I used Mavala polish & glitter.
For my birthday I visited the Victoria & Albert Museum.
We had a look around and had lunch in the amazing food hall.
The same friend who bought me the bracelets also bought me macarons.
They were gone in only a couple of days – and that was after holding myself back!
I also took my parents to The Breakfast Club, who haven’t stopped going on about it since.
Finally, a big thank you to Nintendo who sent me a Nintendo 3DS XL and a copy of the new Style Boutique game.
Expect a review soon, because I can’t get enough of it!!

bloomzy /

Review & Nail Art: Mavala

Mavala Spring Trend Nail Polish*
You guys know how obsessed I am with nail polish by now.
So I was very happy to receive these lovely spring shades by Mavala, a Swiss brand.
I’ve not tried the brand before but have heard good things and I completely agree with those views.
The bottles, although small, hold quite a bit of polish.
I prefer to do a couple of coats myself but really only one is needed with these.
I was actually very surprised at how opaque it was, as I thought the shades would make it difficult.
The colour of the polishes themselves are very pastel & spring like, but I still felt they were quite vibrant.
I was inspired by Mavala’s nail art for Holly Fulton’s S/S 13 Collection and tried out my own nail art.
I used:
1. Manicure Stickers
2. Mavala Polish in Lemon Cream
3. Mavala Polish in Lagoon
4. Mavala Polish in Aquamarine
5. Mavala Polish in White
I used the White as a base for my nails, and then once it had dried, placed manicure stickers over top. I did this is several different ways so that no nail was the same. Then I took my polishes and painted over top of the white, making sure to only paint over part of the nail and stay within the border of the manicure stickers. I think the final result wasn’t too bad.
I’ve never been much of a fan of white nail polish but I didn’t mind this one paired with other colours.
I still don’t think I would wear it alone but I would definitely layer it with a glitter polish or other shades.
The polish applied easily, and very well and was opaque with just one coat.
The Mavala Spring Trend Shades will be released later this month.
You can purchase them from various UK stores, find your nearest here.
bloomzy /

Styling in the New Year

NY


Hat: Topshop, Sweater: Oasap*, Skirt: Topshop, Boots: Asos, Bangle: Oasap* Earrings: Regal Rose, Badge: Oasap*, Nail Polish: Barry M & Maxfactor

I don’t particularly like to do year round up posts as I don’t celebrate New Year in the proper sense.
However 2012 did see my fashion loves and hates change, as well as my own personal style.
It probably wasn’t as drastic as I imagine but it did see me write my first ‘style evolution’ post.
I guess that means it was big enough for me to notice, and maybe you guys did too.

As for the end of 2012, well that saw me going back to more simple, smart casual outfits.
That was mainly due to my new job, and it did see me leave my love of urban style behind slightly.
Even so, I still tried to mix it into my outfits whilst staying warm for Winter and unique in my own way.

I’ve had an amazing year and I’m excited to start 2013 in style!!
I hope to get back to more regular OOTD posts as well as introducing more style related items to the blog.

Don’t forget to visit Oasap and use discount code: ‘bloomzy’ for 35% off!

bloomzy /

Christmas Presents from Germany & Japan

Christmas gifts from Rae, in Germany

Christmas gifts from Miyuki, in Japan

Christmas came a little early for me last week.
I was lucky enough to receive not one, but two packages through the post.
One was from the lovely Rae of Love from Berlin who is an amazing person that I met through blogging.
The other package was from one of my best friends in Japan who I studied with a couple of years ago.
Both gifts were amazing, and so very cool in their own ways.
I loved how both seemed to represent a little bit of the culture too.
Rae sent me some German chocolate (we all know it’s the best), magazines and make-up.
I can’t wait to try out the eyeshadow palette, it’s so very seasonal and the colours are gorgeous!
She also knows me very well by including some gorgeous glittery nail polish, which I will have already applied by the time this post goes live. I can’t help it, I’m an addict! 
Miyuki often asks me what I would like and I said I would like to try some new Japanese beauty products.
She also knows that I’ve just moved into my first apartment so sent me a few home items to decorate and relax with.
The nail polish, once again was a delight to receive, especially the Majolica Majorca glass polish – review soon!!
I also loved the Dior products and make-up bag. They’ve already been stashed away in my handbag.
I feel so lucky to know such wonderful people and I am very thankful ♥