I went to watch Maleficent a little while ago and I've been a bit obsessed with the soundtrack ever since. While most people tend to liken themselves to Disney princesses, I am weirdly proud to say I share more similarities with Maleficent! It's a running joke with my friends that I prefer puppies to children so Jolie's indifference towards the young Aurora definitely fed into that! The film got me thinking about my other favourite villains and since it's been ages since I drew or painted anything, I decided to embrace my inner villainy with some watercolour paintings. Then it struck me - I could take this one step further and  create an OOTD and NOTD to match! First up is my polar opposite, the devilish dog-hating Cruella De Vil!
 

White shirt - Primark Leather look leggings - Dorothy Perkins Dalmatian Print Creepers - Fashion Union

Whilst I admire her commitment to monochrome, I'd never ever wear fur so I went for a slightly more modern take on the De Vil classic! I bought these Dalmatian Creepers probably over a year ago now but I've hardly worn them; I've been too scared to get the Dalmatian print dirty! I love them though, creepers are perfect for adding a subtle bit of height but are still comfortable and casual. My leather look leggings are probably one of my staple items, so easy to style and great with all types of top, from smart shirts to baggy tees!
For my nails I used Barry M's Matt White for the base and then Maybelline's Onyx for the paw print and the Dalmatian print spots. I had a bit of help from a wooden skewer to write the 'woof' but overall, I'm pretty proud of this nail art attempt!

In Part 2, I take on the Evil Queen from Snow White. Deliciously devilish!
 

Follow me here: Bloglovin' | Instagram

Follow me here: Bloglovin' | Instagram 

 

Blogging has definitely had a positive impact on me. It's made me venture out of my comfort zone and along the way, I've found some wonder products, stumbled across TV shows to obsesses over (as if I needed any more) and found a whole new love for knitwear. Here are my favourite finds of 2013:

1. Barry M Nail Hardener.

My absolute wonder product. I swear by it and I even persuaded friends and family into purchasing it too! I use it as a base and top coat without fail, and my nails have never been stronger or longer. Could not recommend it enough!

 

2. ABCs Scandal.

(source)

Thanks to the free 30 day trial at Lovefilm I stumbled across a little show called Scandal and I'm pretty sure I watched Season 1 and 2 in an under a week. If that doesn't grant me gladiator status, I don't know what does! (Inside joke - watch the show!) In all seriousness, it's like my perfect drama. Kerry Washington is an incredible female lead (point 1); it's about America (point 2); it's political but in a very accessible, dramatic way (point 3); it has a fabulous cast (point 4) and it's far from predictable. Can you tell I'm a little obsessed already? I don't know when (or if) Season 3 is coming to England but it had better is all I'm saying!

 

3. Loverdose Tattoo Perfume
 

I got given this for Christmas so it's not like I had it for the whole of 2013 but I caught of whiff of it in a magazine months back and was determined to get myself a bottle. Only once university started up again in September, perfume purchases were put on hold and it wasn't until Christmas that my wish was granted. It was so worth the wait though - the bottle is gloriously designed, which is really important to me as I collect perfume bottles (weird, I know) so I love them to have intricate, edgy designs.

 

4. New Look Knitwear

 

 

Okay so New Look selling knitwear isn't anything new but I've managed to secure two absolute sale steals this winter and I probably wear them both far too often. My black bulldog jumper is by far the item I've worn most this December, it just goes with everything! And my new zip detailed grey jumper is the perfect addition to my winter wardrobe.

 

Jade :)

I paint my nails too often. This is a fact of life and one I am not at all ashamed by! With Christmas literally just around the corner, I thought I'd use some of my presents from last Christmas to create a simple Christmassy NOTD.

 

I've had a few Christmas related events recently, including a friend's Christmas party last Saturday, a day trip to Winter Wonderland and Oxford Street with one of my closest friends and an early Christmas day with family coming up on Monday. So I wanted some seasonal nail art that would work with multiple outfits and this is what I came up with: the perfect combo of glitz and glamour!

 

 

The Gold Mine Glitter and the Gold Foil varnish compliment each other perfectly and it isn't Christmas until there's a splash of glitter! Red is such a festive colour too, so two birds, one stone!

 

Have you any other Christmas nail art recommendations?

 

Jade :)

 

It seems I change my nails more often than I change TV channels, not that I'm complaining - what's the point of buying nail varnish if you're not going to use it! Plus it gives me something to blog about since I can't really afford to buy anything new for the indeterminate future. Sob, sob, sob.

It's no secret that pink is far from my favourite colour but my Misstify nail varnish from Missguided, which I think I've blogged about before, is somehow still one of my firm favourites. Of course I couldn't wear a plain pink coat on my fingertips without at least trying to toughen it up a little bit. Cue another of my old faithfuls - Barry M crackle effect, in black.

The idea was to create some sort of Aztec-y style design on my nails. Fabulous idea.. in my head. Somewhat harder to paint on my nails! After a few failed attempts at drawing on a design, I gave up and nearly settled for plain, old pink. That resolution lasted all of three minutes and in a (very poor) attempt to be (somewhat) edgy and alternative, I swiped a quick flick of the crackle varnish across each nail and this was the end result! I actually kind of like it, it's not too try hard and okay, technically it's not nail art but it was super easy to do and a style anyone can achieve!

Happy Jade :)

Firstly, it feels so good to have a working laptop again! Well, partially working - we've actually had to order a new one since it would really not have been ideal for this one to completely conk out half way through my final year at uni! So I have that arriving to look forward to, though I'm a great barrier to change so trying to get used to Windows 8 is going to cause a bit of a problem!

 

As for my NOTD, hardly any problems were caused in creating this easy-to-do nail art. Spots and dots are done all the time but I like the simplicity of the design. I really wanted to make the most of my bright yellow Barry M varnish before summer leaves England for good and it's back to stuffing poorly painted autumnal nails into two pairs of gloves!

I used the yellow as the base and used the blunt end of a cheap wooden skewer (the type for BBQs!) to dip into the pink FCUK varnish.

It's bright, it's playful and so quick and easy to do. Dots are always my nail art back up and I love how these ones turned out. I'm always on the look out for new nail art designs to try, what are your favourites?

 

Jade :)

I'm procrastinating. With glitter. Or to be more specific, with Barry M's Amethyst Glitter (and friends.)

I feel a bit like a series one Ted Mosby: I have fallen in love with my new glittery purchase very, very quickly.

 

 

I like to think it's fate - my birthstone is Amethyst. Of course, I could instead just be loving the time it took me to paint my nails because I am running out of reasons to keep putting off my uni work, but I've been on a massive HIMYM hype this week and couldn't resist a Mosby mention.

 

I saw a design pretty similar to this on Instagram (only the one I saw was much better. Manly hands don't necessarily make for steady ones.) However, it goes to prove that if even I can make this look half decent, this design is pretty much a given for everyone else. Go you!

 

Putting on the glitz (I swear these jokes will stop soon) using my left hand ended up being annoyingly frustrating, and my right hand has a dodgy looking paint job on the thumb and forefinger as a result. But after a lot of perseverance (and mental proliferation) I managed a half decent job and from a distance, I actually like this design a lot.

It's pretty simple: a base coat followed by painting on the white tips. After the tips have dried, on goes the glitter and the best thing about this design is that the glitter hides the unsmooth application my french manicure usually produces. To top it off, add a top coat of clear nail varnish - I put on an extra top coat to be on the safe side.

 

 

 So there you have it :) A bit of glitz is always good, right?

Jade :)

So peaches isn't technically correct but its a little bit catchier than satsumas with white dots. I blogged about my new Gel Shine Barry M nail varnishes a few weeks ago but I love this one so much it's making a return, this time with a friend.

Normally reserved for my poor attempts at french manicures, my white Natural Collection nail varnish has now found itself a spot in the limelight. (These "witty" puns are getting worse and worse. Sorry.)

This design has probably been done so many times by other (far more artistic) people but it's such a good design to do when you've got a pretty boring morning ahead of you. Which I did have on Sunday.

I am forever painting my nails - without nail varnish, my man hands look even more manly than these pictures depict. Honestly, they're huge. As you can see, I've struggled a bit with smudges but that has more to do with the fact that a) I'm a massive fidget and b) that I have an overactive dog to contend with than the design itself. Oh, and the fact that my man hands really aren't that steady.

Still, I'm looking forward to trying a lot more nail designs this spring and summer. I tend to opt for block colours in winter because my hands are almost always covered with gloves; spring and summer are when I like to experiment a little bit more, with lighter colours and more interesting designs.

If that's not an incentive for this awful wintry weather to disappear, I don't know what is!

Jade :)

At long last, Spring seems to be on the horizon. I'm so happy to be seeing a bit of sun in the mornings and it's almost reached an acceptable temperature to not need gloves and scarves every time I leave the house. Which is nice.

If Twitter is anything to go by, pale greens and bright corals are the colours to crave this spring which is something I can definitely see myself embracing. It'll certainly make a change from my typically all-black attires. Maybe turning 21 really has changed me..

 

Although it hasn't changed me that much as I have added yet another two nail varnishes to my ever-growing collection. Clearly got my student priorities in the right order (who needs food anyway?)

 

I've been after a few of the Gel Hi-Shine Barry M nail varnishes for a while and after popping into Superdrug for a much needed new mascara (a week of applying stage make up really batters your make up bag) there was an offer on nail varnish that I was obviously never going to ignore.

 

Without exaggerating, I probably spent a good thirteen minutes trying to decide which colours to purchase and eventually settled on these fruity fellows.

 

 

 

 

 

I hadn't been able to wear these both yet for dance-related reasons but as soon as this weekend is over, the man hands will once again become manicured (and I cannot wait. I hate not having my nails painted.)

I really didn't wait long at all. Woke up this morning, had breakfast, jumped in the shower and pretty much smother my nails with colour. Hence the atrocious application pictured below (apologies.)
 

 Anyone else tried any the Barry M Gel range? So far, I'm pretty sold. And I can class wearing this as one of my fave a day, right?

 

 

It's the first day of lectures for our second semester and I'm am - hold the front page - genuinely looking forward to getting back into a proper routine. I'm lucky because I only have one lecture on a Monday and top it off, the sun's finally shining. (I am actually happier about this than this post perhaps suggests)

 

 

It's still a bit chilly though (hence the jumper) and I also have dance rehearsals straight after my lecture so in an attempt to save time, I tried to wear something suitable for both activities.

 

 

I got the jumper a couple of years ago from Jack & Jones and I love it. It's a bit short to wear with leggings though and I don't really like pairing it with most of my jeans because I look just a little too blue.

 

 

Like the jumper, I bought this nail varnish a couple of years ago and though I usually only wear it sparingly in the summer, I got bored of all the reds and blues I've been wearing on my nails and fancied something a little bit brighter (and this certainly ticks that box).

 

 

Aptly named 'Yellow', this Barry M nail varnish is one I only break out occasionally: yellow is a difficult colour for me to work with but I do love a challenge..

Although looking out my window as I sit in my uni room, it would be more appropriate to title this post Fields of Snow. We've had a good couple of inches the last couple of days and everywhere looks so pretty. Perry, our snow creation, also looks pretty. (Pretty odd.)

Meet Perry :)

In an attempt to stop my revision-driven comfort eating, I tried out a box from Graze. I think the idea of graze is brilliant but it turns out it's just not for me. Surprise, surprise. I am probably the world's fussiest twenty year old and whilst there are tons of healthy snacks to choose from, my palette is particularly limiting. Nevertheless, it's worth a try if you're a fan of healthy food or just fancy something a bit different.


Another reason I'm glad my exams and essays are finally over? I can paint my nails again. I don't cope well (at all) with exams and have a terrible tendency to bite my nails when I get nervous. Accordingly, I haven't bothered to paint my nails whilst I've been working because either my nails are too short or I chip all the varnish. But after handing in my last essay, blitzing my bedroom and having a celebratory browse online, I sat down, caught up with Big Bang Theory and painted my nails. It's the simple things.



You can't see particularly well but I used the gold foil varnish as a base and the Gold Mine Glitter for the tips. I got these two nail varnishes as a Christmas present from my mum and I love them. I wear black a lot: both for dance and for day wear so these colours match at least 80% of my wardrobe. My mum is way more than just a pretty face.



Who else has been bombarded with the white stuff? I can't wait to head home (trains permitting!) and take my dog out in the snow. Like I said, simple things :)

Perfume is one of my favourite things in the world. I'm not a one-perfume person: I very, very rarely stick to the same one. I was lucky enough to receive 3 different perfumes as presents this year. My brother bought me DKNY Red Delicious as part of my present and I'm already addicted to it. I've had so many compliments on it too so looks like I'm going to have to up my game for his present next year. Jammy boy.

Excuse my man hands.

I also got Barry M's Red Glitter in a set of three nail varnishes from my parents and I've worn it almost every day since Christmas. It's such a strong colour and really adds impact to my otherwise plain and boring winter ensembles. And anyway, you can never go wrong with glitter. Reverting to my childhood loves since 2009.

 

Revision however is most definitely not one of my childhood loves but is a necessity nonetheless. So whilst I go and spend the rest of the afternoon revising and essay writing, I thought I'd leave a little Red Army propaganda (of the chocolate variety of course. I haven't revised enough to warrant any other.)