NOTD: Rose Bowl

2 coats of American Apparel Nail Lacquer in 'Rose Bowl'

This shade may not be the most Wintery shade, but after almost a month of dark reds and blues, I fancied a change. Rose Bowl is a pretty pink creme nail polish, with no shimmers or glitters. I thought the colour would be similar to Rimmel 'Rose Libertine', however Rose Libertine is brighter and Rose Bowl is a little more muted. American Apparel nail lacquers never disappoint. The formula is a little runnier than other brands, but the colour is opaque in one coat. (I always do two for good measure). I find that American Apparel nail lacquers don't last too well on my nails, as I usually experience chipping after a few days.

xoxo, Joy

French Manicure with a Minty Twist

I was talking to one of my friends recently about how much we love French manicures. I think they are the perfect nail look if you're stuck for what colour to paint your nails and are really classic.

I really fancied doing a French manicure today, but didn't have any of those little half moon stickers, so I did them free hand. I am usually awful at doing the tips neatly, but this time I don't think it went too bad. I think the key to neat tips is to not have too much polish on the brush, as I usually put far too much on and make a mess.

I fancied something a bit different to the typical white tips and vaguely remembered Zoey Deschanel tweeting a picture of a French manicure with mint tips, so I used 'Office' by American Apparel which is one of my favourite nail polishes of the moment. Then I used 2 coats of 'Rose Lounge' by Bourjois over the top. I really like how it turned out. I think it's a nice summery twist to a classic nail design.

Do you like French manicures?

xoxo, Joy

Blog Birthday and May Favourites 2012

Hi! Today's post is primarily about my May Favourites, however before we jump into that, I wanted to make a quick announcement...

Image: Google

My little blog turned two earlier this month and I sincerely cannot believe how fast the past two years have flown by! Thank you to all the old and new readers for your continued support. I truly appreciate all of your comments and thank you to those who take the time to read my little blog. To celebrate my blog turning two, I have given the design an overhaul. What do you guys think? For some reason, I couldn't sleep last night and ended up working through the night to make the design perfect and personally, I am rather proud of it :)

Moving onto my May favourites. This month I have been loving a variety of things, ranging from make-up to nail varnish to skincare. I have also included a 'random' favourite of the month too. 

From left to right: American Apparel Nail Lacquer in 'Office' - Rimmel 60 Seconds Nail Polish in 'In Style Coral' - La Roche Posay Effaclar K & Solait Mattifying Face Sun Fluid - H&M gold hair cuff - Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub - NARS Laguna

Sleek Life's a Peach

What products were you loving this month?

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy

NOTD: Office

2 coats of American Apparel nail lacquer in 'Office'

I tend to steer well away from green nail polishes, as I don't think they suit my skin tone, however I have a soft spot for minty green shades. I found the formula of this very runny, which was a little bit annoying as I managed to drip a few splodges on my hand. I noticed that the colour can be opaque with one coat. But due to the formula, I found it difficult to get the right amount on the brush so settled on two coats and ended up with a lovely streak-free opaque colour. It dried quickly, which is great and dried to a glossy, but matte-esque finish. I don't think that description makes sense, as glossy and matte are complete opposites, but hopefully you can kind of get an idea of what I mean from the picture...? Without a topcoat, this chipped on me within 2-3 days :(

Have you ever tried AA nail polish? What colours would you recommend?

xoxo, Joy

Hey Mr. Postman (Part II)

This is the second part of my accumulative purchases posts (with giveaway wins and a JWLRY purchase). The first one (with eBay and blog sale purchases) is here.

Left: 9 Bars, Right: American Apparel Nail Polishes in Office, Rose Bowl and Echo Park

9 Bars: I won these 9 bars from Lily's giveaway. In case you're wondering what they are: 9Bar is a deliciously nutritious seed bar designed to get the maximum nutritional goodness from seeds in a convenient and tasty way, so its no great surprise to find the main ingredient of a 9Bar is a blend of wholesome seeds. Sunflower seeds form the main base of the bar but the mix also includes pumpkin, poppy, sesame and the legendary hemp. The flax variety has added flax, or linseed as it is often better known, one of the best plant sources of Omega 3. Seeds are a nutritionally dense food containing a wide range of nutrients including minerals, vitamins, essential amino and fatty acids. As part of a balanced, healthy diet seeds can provide a wide range of nutrients. The bars were a good size and very filling. All but one (I can't remember which one!) had a thin layer of chocolate on the top. Calories wise, they have about 200 and something calories, which is in the same realms as a chocolate bar, but these bars are so much better for you. I really enjoyed all the bars and I will definitely be buying more! You can buy them online and you can get certain varieties in health food stores or your local supermarket.

Nail Polishes: I won these AA polishes from Joellen and they are the prettiest colours ever! I've heard so many good things about AA polishes, so I'm excited to try them once I take Orly 'Blackout' off (As a sidenote: After approximately a week, apart from a little more tipwear, 'Blackout' hasn't chipped at all! I am very impressed indeed!)

Thank you so much, again, Lily and Joellen! :)


I've wanted a double finger cross ring for ages! I bought this from Lily's jewellery shop for £6 recently and have worn it pretty much every day since I received it! It's a mini cross, which I really like because it looks girly and dainty, without being too overpowering :)

Thank you for reading. xoxo, Joy