Thanks Sarah.

Hiii everyone, I'm so excited to be back and ready to blog again. I've finally got settled back into my Mum's after nearly 4 years away and have set up my own office space in my bedroom which I LOVE :) It's going to be so much easier to regularly post as I won't have to use my dying laptop anymore! Hurrah! 


This is just a quick post to say thank you to Sarah who ran a competition on her blog, 'Beauty Geek' a while ago which I entered, completely forgot about and won! I don't think I've won a competition before in my life (apart from winning a personal cassette player from puppy in my pocket magazine, about 15 years ago ;)) I'd been having the worst week in the world when she emailed me and needless to say, it definitely put a smile back on my face!

The prizes I received are absolutely amazing! They are all products that I would purchase myself and nearly did.. I had been planning to buy the Real Techniques brushes literally the next day so I was so, so pleased to receive them as a prize :) 

Real Techniques Core Collection

L to R: Contour Brush, Pointed Foundation Brush, Detailer Brush, Buffing Brush

After only owning one makeup brush for the past goodness knows how many years, it's been so nice to get to grips with these brushes and to use different brushes for applying different products. My favourite of the four is of course, the bloggers favourite - the Buffing brush. I use this for both my liquid foundation and powder. I've been applying my foundation with my fingers as usual, but then finishing off by using the buffing brush to buff it all into my skin nice and evenly. I've also been using the Contour brush regularly to apply blusher and it blends powder really well giving a seamless look. I'm actually so surprised how much of a difference it makes using brushes and I won't be going back to using my fingers anytime soon! I'd really recommend this set to anyone unsure of which brushes to buy, the set is worth it for the buffing brush alone!

Tangle Teezer 

  

My hairdresser has been using one of these bad boys on my hair for years and I had always been meaning to invest but never seemed to get round to it. My hair is bleached blond and relatively fine, so after washing it can be a total nightmare to try and brush (anyone else with bleached hair will feel my pain I'm sure!) I'd got to the point where I didn't even bother attempting to brush it damp and just blasted it with the hairdryer and hoped for the best. This little plastic brush has changed all that! I really don't have any idea how it works, but it does, in a big way. Brushing my hair out now takes about 2 minutes which makes it so much easier to style. Total god send, plus it's pink and anyone that knows me knows I'm a sucker for anything pink :')

OPI Minis

L to R: Play The Peonies, I Lily Love You, Be A Dahlia Won't You and Come To Poppy.

Last but by no means least, I also received this gorgeous set of OPI minis. The colours are so cute and are all shades I'd pick out myself - my friend even bought me the full size 'Lily I Love You' for my birthday. I've saved and put aside the mini version to include in my own giveaway I'm looking forward to hosting soon, as I thought it was only fair to share! Don't want to be known as the "I Lily Love You' hoarder now do I ! :')  

^ Two coats of Play The Peonies and one coat of I Lily Love You.

Well this post came out a lot longer and more ramble filled than I first planned but hey-ho! I think I'm just glad to be back. Thanks so much again to Sarah. I really appreciate all my goodies.

Has anyone else tried any of these products? What do you all think? Is there anything I've featured on the blog in the past you'd want me to include as a prize? I'm thinking of getting a couple of packs of nail wraps as they seemed pretty popular!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day so far :)

Katt xo  

Nail Wraps - Review

Nail Wraps: £4.50 Asda

So last night.. I lost my nail wrap virginity! I'd been wanting to try out some of these for a good while after seeing various bloggers raving about them, but just wasn't sure if I'd be even be able to get them on my own fingers! I'd seen a lot of amazing designs on Asos, but for almost £7 a set, I just couldn't do it knowing that there was a high chance of them going hideously wrong. I spotted this set, and a few others hidden amongst the clothes section in Asda and thought I'd give them a go, at the slightly cheaper price point of £4.50. They had about 6 designs in store, some of which you can see in this blog post I found on google. The watermelon style wraps are so cute as well, as are the pink flowery ones! Though I'm confused as to why all but the ones I purchased, are only £4? Maybe the people at Asda have cottoned on to the fact that these are the most desirable of the selection and can get away with that cheeky extra 50p... I can't really complain too much though, I am so happy with the results and would say they are definitely worth the price. 

The wraps come sandwiched between sealed plastic wrapping and are easy to peel off ready for application. You literally just stick them over your nails like you would a sticker, I never used to understand how this would possibly work, but trust me, it really does! The wraps sticky adhesive side hardens after a few hours and fuses the wrap to the nail. It says on the back to use as soon as the packet is opened to prevent the wraps drying out, but it took me about 2+ hours to get them all stuck on and they all worked fine :) 

I think the key to getting good results with wraps like these is patience. They are fiddly and it can take a good few attempts to get the wrap to sit in the right position on the nail, but once you nail that part (budumdum tshhh) it's pretty much plain sailing. You just fold the excess wrap over the end of the nail, pull it tight and file it off. Though again, patience is key, I got slightly file happy and ripped off half of one wrap accidentally and had to cut the larger spare wrap to fit a smaller finger, but it worked ;) 

  

So far the wraps have lasted a day with no chips or tears and I was pretty sure they weren't going to last the night. The adhesive really does harden well and I'm no longer worried about them peeling off while I'm in the bath or asleep! :') I don't think they'll have the staying power of my usual nail routine, but I'm hoping they'll last a few more days at least! 

These wraps have definitely inspired me to try out different brands of nail wraps and I'm thinking of repurchasing these same ones for my birthday weekend in a few weeks time. I really do love them!

Has anyone else tried these wraps from Asda? What did you think? I'll keep you updated on how long they last!

Katt xo

[EDIT: They lasted around a week which I was very impressed with, not in perfect condition, but the pattern of the wrap disguises any imperfections really well!]

Tweezer Review

Tweezers: £22.50 Tweezerman / Boots

Just thought I'd do a little review on these tweezers I bought the other day. My eyebrows are a nightmare, and I find myself plucking them every other day at least! So having a decent pair is fairly important. I've had a pair of Ruby and Millie, plain grey tweezers for around 3/4 years (!) and to be fair they were amazing! and lasted for so long. However they were starting to finally loose their gripping power which meant it was about time to find a new pair. 

Honestly £22.50 is a HUGE amount to spend on something so tiny, but in this instance I would say it's more than justified ;) The design is so cute (much more attractive than my previous boring grey pair) and you get a little pouch to keep them in, to prevent knocks and misaligning the tips. Tweezerman also offer free sharpening if you send your tweezers off to them, so with these tweezers you pretty much have a pair to last a lifetime.

Not only do they look great, they also have grip, and I mean serious grip. Using these you never miss a single hair and you can remove even the smaller, finer strands quickly and efficiently. They are also very sharp, which again, helps with the removal of the more stubborn hair, as they are extremely precise. Although I did manage to gauge a small hole in my face during the first use - must have got a bit too pluck happy :') Other than that they are PERFECT! and I would definitely recommend these tweezers to anyone looking to invest in a new pair! 

xo