Tulips and Lavender

Astor Pro Manicure Already Dry! Quick Dry Topcoat

Today I want to show you my favourite topcoat, which I’ve been using for the last six months. For years and years I never even bothered with topcoats as I wasn’t keen on adding yet another step to my manicure. One of the things I find most annoying about painting my nails is waiting for them to dry. In my mind, adding another coat of something would probably not make my wait any shorter. I was so wrong however. I ended up picking up the Astor Pro Manicure Already Dry! Quick Dry Topcoat on a complete whim one day and haven’t looked back since.

Now, I have to add that I used to have a bit of a love/hate relationship with this at first which was completely down to me using it wrong. It is important to give the nails some time to dry a bit and not to apply the topcoat too early, otherwise you will move the nailpolish around which then creates gaps and makes the natural nail visible again. Once I found that out (silly me!) I started to love it and like how it finishes off my manicure and gives my nails a nice shine. I will definitely repurchase this once I run out.

Which is your favourite Topcoat?

Juliane xx

 

Autumn nails

Today I wanted to share some of my favourite autumn nailcolours with you which I have been wearing in turns over the past few weeks. At this time of the year I really love deep reds, berry tones and stormy greys, as well as more shimmery and glittery polishes. Essie nailpolishes are (as usual) my favourites and I can’t wait to add to my collection this autumn and winter.

Essie – Dress to Kilt (Limited edition)
Essie – Bahama Mama
P2 – 017 Elegant
P2 – 991 Satellite Dreams
Which are your favourite polishes this season?
Julie xx

Favourite Winter Reds

left to right: Essie-dress to kilt, Essie-forever yummy,Essie-bahama mama,Barry M-raspberry

 

I don’t know what it is but this winter I’ve been craving red on my nails more than any other colour in my collection. Maybe that’s because red brings some life into those dark, grey winter days, maybe it’s just the simple elegance of it. No matter what the reason, here are my four most reached for winter reds:

Essie – dress to kilt

A deep dark red from a recent limited edition which is just the right shade. Neither too bright nor too dark.

Essie – forever yummy

A very classic red from the main Essie range which is an all year round favourite of mine. I love it around Christmas time as well as in summer paired with nautical outfits and navy and white stripes.

Essie – bahama mama

A firm staple in every bloggers collection and rightly so. I love it because it is such a beautiful and vibrant colour. Depending on the lighting it sometimes looks like a dark wine colour or toned down purple.

Barry M – raspberry

A pinky red that is somewhere in the middle between Essie dress to kilt and Essie bahama
mama.

Which are your favourite reds?

Juliane xx

A Parcel from Alice

The other day a lovely parcel arrived on my doorstep from my friend Alice (Pretty Wonderful on Youtube and her blog). The things she sent me came in this cool Union Jack box (an old glossybox) which I think is such a nice personal touch as she knows how much I love Great Britain. She also wrote the nicest card. 🙂

Everything was beautifully wrapped and I just had to snap a picture of it before I unwrapped anything.

First off she got me the Facial Scrub, Cleansing and Toning Lotion, as well as the Face Mask from the
Boots Tea Tree and Witch Hazel range which I had been interested in trying for some time.

She also sent me another Revlon Lipbutter in the colour Pink Lemonade and a Bourjois Rouge Edition Lipstick in Rose Tweed. They both apply like a dream and I really love them.

I also I received a sample of the John Frieda Sheer Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner, a super sparkly Barry M glitter topcoat, a Barry M blusher (I don’t own any Barry M blushes yet so I’m very pleased to be able to try one), some Invisibobbles (you know how much I love them from my last favourites post) and last but not least the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (so handy as I just ran out of mine and can’t buy a new one in Germany).

I’m really happy with everything I got so THANK YOU so much Alice. 🙂
I hope my parcel for you will arrive at yours soon and in one piece.

Have you tried any of these products?

Juliane xx

February Favourites 2014

1. L’Oreal Volume Million Lashes Extra Black Mascara

I picked this up on a whim despite not actually needing any more mascara at the moment. I have way too many already that need using up. I didn’t intend to get the “Extra Black” one and I’m not sure how much more black this is than the original one. Black is black isnt it?
It gives my lashes exactly the right kind of volume that I want and some length too and it has quickly become one of my favourite mascaras.

2. Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil

I’ve been using this for about a month now and I really like it so far. I don’t want to say too much about it though because there will be a blogpost about it on the blog later this week.

3. Essie- Forever Yummy

I was looking for the perfect classic red nailpolish and first wanted to get Essie A-List. When I compared them in the shop though I found that A-List was a bit too blue toned for me so I picked up Forever Yummy instead and haven’t looked back since. It is opaque with one coat although I usually apply two coats, just to make sure. It is easy to apply thanks to the wide and rounded brush and it dries fairly quickly aswell. But most importantly, it looks wonderful.

4. Essence Nail Art Express Dry Drops

The one thing I really dislike about painting my nails is waiting for them to dry. Nine times out of ten I’ve been waiting patiently for my nails to dry only to leave a dent or mark on the polish at some point because they hadn’t dried completely through to the bottom (if that makes sense). Now that I’m using the Essence Nail Art Express Dry Drops this problem has got a lot better. The clear, slightly oily liquid is super easy to apply because the little bottle comes with a pipette to drop one or two drops on each nail. I’m not sure how the magic works here (I think it evaporates some ingredient of the nailpolish and makes it dry quicker because of it) but it does the trick. Somethink I’m definitely going to repurchase.

Have you tried any of these products?

Juliane xx