ASOS Haul Part 1 - Preview

I placed 5 ASOS orders at the weekend thanks to a glitch / discount code that appeared on the net and 3 have arrived.  Even though I've just got in from work, I had to take a pic to show you all!

• Anatomicals Another Bloody Shower Gel (bought for the name!)
• Carmex Cherry
• Anatomicals Energy Patches (needing these at the moment!)
• Barry M polish in Dusty Mauve
• Essie polish in A Splash of Grenadine
• Essie polish in Little Brown Dress
• OPI Teas-y Does It

Look out for NOTD /  reviews of these very soon, and also the rest of my ASOS order which should arrive tomorrow / Weds.  I love getting parcels in the post, it felt like Christmas today (which is only 1 payday away - eek!)

Did anyone else get lucky with the ASOS glitch?

NOTD - Essie Island Hopping and new lipbalm

I couldn't wait to try this beauty out.  I love, love, love this...

This is two coats and fully opaque.  Very similar to Chinchilly and Sew Psyched in formulation, applied very easily and fabulously glossy - no topcoat in the picture!

It's a murky purple not so far removed from OPI Parlez Vous, OPI? however this definitely has a more mauve look to it. It's unique in my collection and fills a whole I didn't know I had.  I can see me wearing this lots!

In general, I'm finding Essie longevity to be very good, I can get a good 3 days without chipping or tipwear whereas my OPIs tend to average at 2 (though I do find the designer series last longer.)  It will be interesting to see if this continues as I collect more Essies, I only have 3 at the moment so perhaps I've been lucky with no duffs.

Onto something else... my lips are feeling the effects of the British winter already so I ordered the following from Dorothy Perkins for £3 each.

I was sucked in by the cupcake packaging and the scrummy sounding flavours.  I opened up Very Vanilla to find the lipbalm was bright red!  Not what I was expecting from something vanilla cupcake flavoured.  Thankfully the garish colour doesn't transfer onto the lip!  The scent is a bit artificial - I get hints of coconut and maybe strawberry but it's quite fake-smelling if that makes sense - not unpleasant, just not what I was expecting!  They are averagely moisturising, my lips feel smooth and soft after application but I doubt it would be effective on full on chapped lips.  I'll stick to Carmex on those occasions, I think.

So overall, not fantastic but not bad for the money and hey, you can never have too many lipbalms :)

Thank you Mr Postman!

Ok so none of my ASOS orders have arrived yet but the postie did bring a few treats with him this morning!

Glamour magazine with  free Nails Inc polish in Saville Row which looks to be a rich, berry toned purple.  I don't normally get the Glamour free gifts with my subscription so I was pleasantly surprised and can't wait to give it a go.  This will be my first Nails Inc polish so I'll report back ASAP!

I'm sure this new cover for my Blackberry is an acquired taste but I love the OTT-ness of it.  I bought it from Ebay for a fiver.  I love the strange mix of graphics - abstract florals with the coloured balls.  It's really unusual.



These are the latest polishes I ordered from Ebay.  I opted for OPI Extra-Va-Vaganza and Essie Island Hopping.  I'm really looking forward to trying the Essie polish, hopefully it will be on a par with Chinchilly and Sew Psyched in terms of finish and application.  I imagine it will be a while before I try the glitter polish; my nails are a bit wrecked from wearing Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice consecutively so will wait until nearer Christmas to road test it :)

What do you think of our pumpkin?

I'm quite impressed with our family effort!

Fin and I are making Wizard's Hats with the pumpkin flesh - yummy!

Happy Halloween everyone... I hope you enjoy your extra hour in bed tonight :)

NOTD - Essie Chinchilly. The love affair continues...

I've applied Essie Chinchilly for the first time today and WOW!  It goes straight into my 'top 5 polishes...ever!'

I'm sure you've seen swatches of these a hundred times over, but here are mine to add into the mix:


Taken indoors




Outside, in sunlight





One of the reasons Chinchilly has jumped straight into my favourites list is its wearability; I love these putty / murky / clay shades, they are, as our Cheryl (Cole) would say, 'right up my street'.  It's the kind of shade I can wear for work, wont clash with any outfit or accessory (not that this normally bothers me, mind) yet still offers a little bit of interest which I miss when I wear nudes.

Consistency-wise, I found this runnier than Sew Psyched, however this is how I prefer my polish to be so no complaints there.  I was expecting that at least 3 coats would be required because of this fact however 2 coats was easily sufficient.  I did find that I inadvertently over-loaded the brush a few times, it's not one of those polishes you can just dip in the brush and swipe over the nail (I'm thinking OPI Sheer Your Toys - so easy to apply.) 

So a big thumbs up for Essie Chinchilly!  I've been pondering over my next polish order and as much as I want to try more Essie in the very near future, the OPI Burlesque collection is now available to buy and, the magpie that I am, the glitter is drawing me in big time.  Hmmm, ponder, ponder...

P.S. HELLO to my new followers!  I'm finding the comments you have given regarding my blog very useful so thanks for those.  For any lurkers out there, there's still time to enter my Nouba giveaway!  Don't be shy :)

I took a big step today...

... and ventured into the world in which nail polish brands aside from OPI exist!

So, this is what I got:

• Essie Matte About You top coat
• Essie 'Chinchilly'
• Essie 'Sew Psyched'

I couldn't wait to try Sew Psyched, and I must say - I'm impressed!

Inside

Outside

I'm impressed with the coverage - fully opaque in 2 coats.  It applied smoothly and I just love the khaki murkiness of the shade.  Very fitting with the current weather!

I think the brush will take some getting used to, this is the first time I've used a polish other than OPI for literally years!

Can't wait to try Chinchilly and also the matte top coat, so fingers cross for equally as impressive thoughts on those two.  I'm excited that a whole new world of nail polish has now opened up to me :)

I'd love to hear your 'must haves' from other brands; let's see if I can add some others into the mix.







Wishlist!

I love looking at other peoples' wishlists for inspiration so here's mine.  Some of these are more within reach than others whilst some are and always will be pipe dreams!

• 
  
  Nude Topshop pumps

• 
  
  Topshop mirror earrings

• 
  
  Essie Sew Psyched and Sexy Divde (Thanks to LeanneOCD for the rec!)

• 
  
  Next cream lace dress

• Mulberry Sparkle Tweed Alex (definite pipe dream!)

• Whimsical Wren Moon Fairy necklace

Nouba Lipstick in no.12

• French Connection Voulez Vous skirt

Phew!

Hopefully, at least a couple of these will become a reality once payday arrives.

Thanks for looking x