Models Own Hedonist

First time painting my nails in a month! None of the shades I have were taking my fancy, and I hate the process of painting my nails anyway! Definitely couldn't paint them daily like some. Models Own Hedonist is one of my all time favourite shades, so I'm surprised I've never swatched it for you guys before! It's a neon coral red. Like most neons, it's difficult to photograph. I'd say it's more coral in person, and much more beautiful. It takes 1-2 coats, and dries quickly, almost to a satin finish. I personally keep it how it is, but you can easily add a top coat if you prefer to always have a high shine finish.

What do you think? Are you a fan of super bright nail polishes? I love them, but also love dark, muted shades and everything in between!

My Favourite Brand for Mascara

My favourite brand for mascara has to be Maybelline. I've purchased and repurchased their offerings for years, and always like to try the newest edition!

The four above are the ones I currently have, and I've also had the Colossal in the past. The first three, Mega Plush, Rocket and One by One, have plastic brushes (Mega Plush is different than the other two, though, in the sense that the wand isn't as plastic. The bristles are flexible and try to imitate that of natural ones), which is a quality I avoided before these. I think it's because I tried a Miss Sporty one when plastic brushes were starting to make an appearance, and it was a terrible, clumpy mess. 

These, however, don't clump my lashes at all, and that's one of the main things I look for in a mascara. The mascara also has to darken, but that's a given. I'm not fussed if a mascara claims to curl or lengthen because I use curlers and believe the length is down to how long your lashes are to begin with. 

I normally use the normal version of the Falsies, but the waterproof one is featured here. I keep this one stashed away for when I go swimming or to a theme park etc. It's definitely waterproof! So waterproof that I have a hard time getting it off without pulling any lashes out. So, I would repurchase or try another waterproof formula from Maybelline, but not for everyday. 

Back to the Mega Plush - This is my first tube, and although I like it, I'm more likely to repurchase one of the others. It gives a feathery look and is incredibly lightweight, but it doesn't give me as much volume as I'd like. The others have more of an impact, but still manage to look natural. 

The Rocket and One by One varieties are my all time favourites, and will be the two I'm most likely to repurchase again. Until they bring out another, anyway!

Do you like Maybelline for mascaras? Or do you prefer another brand?

Throwback Thursday

Seeing as it's my nanny Mary's birthday today, I thought I'd show you a few photos I have of us together! I've put them in chronological order (I only know the order because I get bigger in each one!), and the last one shows me smiling very enthusiastically... There's probably more of us somewhere, but I only own these three myself. I'll ask her if she has any more next time we're visiting!

August Update!

Well, the Summer is over and I'll be heading into my final year of university this month - Crazy! This Summer hasn't been amazing, but it's been a lot better than last year, where I was ill for most of it.

In my last update, I said I'd emailed my lecturer about a dissertation idea and was waiting for his approval. He approved it, thankfully, and I've been doing a little research in preparation. When I say little, I mean little. I only have a list of narrowed ideas and a few references at the moment, but I'm planning on finding more before I go back.

It was my blog's 4th birthday on the 3rd August! I made cupcakes to celebrate, which you can see in the birthday post. 4 years is a long time. I wonder how much longer I'll blog for? Could be a year, could be another 4. Who knows?

It was also my sister's 18th birthday on the 18th August. I made her a cake (above), 30 cupcakes, a giant cookie, and chocolate sheep. It was a lot of work, and the cake didn't look perfect, but it tasted delicious. I was so tense when it was being cut and handed to people because I just wanted them to like it! It seemed to have gone down well, but they could've been lying, you never know! It tasted great to me, though, and I'm my biggest critic.

I got my hair cut as well. 6 inches taken off and now I have shoulder length hair! It's the shortest I've had it in years, but I'm liking it. I'm tempted to go shorter, but I want my long hair back for graduation (if I survive the next year, that is).

I had an issue with my modules for year 3, where they'd given me 2 for semester A and 4 for semester B (instead of 3 and 3). It was just my luck, but it's been sorted now! I'm doing 2 compulsory dissertation ones, 2 compulsory English ones (my major), and 2 optional media ones (my minor). These optional ones are in photography and marketing. I've already done a photography module, which I enjoyed, but I've never done a marketing one. Hopefully I like it, but I'll just suck it up if I don't.

The 31st August was the day in which I'd had Jessie for 4 years. I can't believe how fast it's gone! And I've just remembered that I got her the same year I started blogging (and the same year I finished GCSEs and went into A Levels). I posted a photo on Twitter of Jessie sleeping with Jacks (one of our cats. He's the same age as Jessie, so he's only a kitten in the photo himself) just a few hours after we'd brought her home. So cute.

Now, I'm going to bathe the dogs and make a crumble with freshly picked apples (not at the same time. I'm not THAT talented!). I'm also going to be upgrading my phone today, which I'm excited about! The rest of September will consist of meeting up with some friends and starting year 3 of uni. You'll probably hear all about my days on Twitter anyway (where I also post lots of photos of my animals). How was your August?

NSPA Lime Hair and Body Wash

The scent of a body product is important to me, and I like my shower gels to really pack a punch. The juicier and stronger, the better! I've used Original Source's lime shower gel for years, making it a staple in my shower routine. I've tried store own brand lime shower gels, and while nice (they're lime, after all), they didn't have that kick. I don't mind other scents being like that, but to me, lime is known for its kick! Anyway, while in the beauty isle of ASDA, I spotted this gem: NSPA's Lime Hair and Body Wash. I smelt it and was actually taken aback by how strong and juicy it was. Once home, I compared to my beloved Original Source, and you know what? I think this is zestier. For £3, or 2 for £4, I'm even more pleased. With the black packaging and 'hair' in the title, it looks like it's designed to appeal to men as well. Even so, I used it as a shampoo myself, and it cleaned my hair like any other shampoo would, but made it smell amazing afterwards. I won't be replacing my everyday shampoo for it, but I'll use it every so often! As a shower gel, or 'body wash', it also works great. It cleans my body, and that's what every shower gel should do!

Do you like strong, fruity scents? Or are you more of a subtle scent devotee?

Wordless Wednesday

NSPA peach products

I've come to love peach products over the last year. Whether it smells like peach, or is a shade of peach, I'm all over it! I absolutely love The Body Shop's Vineyard Peach range, and even though the products are more expensive than what I usually pay, I've bought them because the scent is harder to come by than others (such as mango and strawberry). So you can imagine my excitement when I saw that NSPA, the inexpensive face and body range that can be found in ASDA, had recently brought out their own peach scented products. There's a body butter and shower gel available in the scent, both of which are £3 each or 2 for £4 - Bargain! They smell like peach, obviously, and therefore smell amazing. I've compared them to The Body Shop's varieties, and thought they smelt the same at first, but after using them a few times I can say that they're not as juicy. It's a shame because I like my body products, especially my shower gels, to pack a punch. However, they still smell incredible, and I'll definitely be repurchasing. In terms of performance, the body butter is creamy (rather than greasy), it absorbs into the skin quickly, and doesn't leave any residue behind. It then leaves my skin feeling moisturised, like a body butter should! The shower gel is like most shower gels; it lathers, it cleans, and it does its job. 

I also picked up a couple of other items from NSPA the same day I bought these, so expect some more reviews to come! The lime shower gel smells amazing. Have you tried any NSPA products?