Nails | Barry M - carousel

This week on the nails is the new boots limited edition shade in carrousel.

Firstly I adore the love heart packaging - makes such a welcome change to the ordinary black. 

An old favourite of mine is pink flamingo and when I saw this new colour that's exactly what it reminded me of. The only difference really is the slightly gold undertone so maybe not worth the purchase if you already own pink flamingo. 

I got this shade when it was on special offer in boots, when you spent £6 on Barry m you got this shade completely free so was definitely worth picking up! I'm not actually sure whether or not that offer is still running. 

I also got the new matte top coat and was dying to try it out so I chose to do an accent nail on each hand with it and I just loved it, you can't really see in the images  though which is a bit annoying. I plan on doing a separate post soon on the matte top coat so look out for that! 

Overall I loved the colour and as always the consistency and chip resistant finish. 

Work life | Not so mid week mini series | The work saga: part 2 (1)

It's time for part 2!

I'm sure a lot of you will be in the same boat as me. 1 million pairs of shoes and nowhere to keep them. I am a shoe hoarder and I'm not afraid to admit it. 

In part 2 of the mini series I will share with you what shoes I turn to for the office. 

Style 1

These beauties were from primark, you may have seen them in my haul post the other week. They were the only leopard ones left and they were my size - it was meant to be! I try to steer clear of the standard dolly shoe if I can and I think this pointed style looks smart whilst still being comfy! The best part of all is that they were just £6!!!

Style 2:

A very similar style here from topshop in black. I saw a girl on the train in these and fell in love, however I don't feel they look as good on my fat feet! :( there also not that comfy and came in at £16. I still think they smarted up a plain outfit though and I try to go to these rather than black dollys. 

Leopard: primark £6

Black: topshop £16 

http://m.topshop.com/mt/www.topshop.com/en/tsuk/product/shoes-430/flats-459/vixen-slingback-pointed-shoes-2790375?bi=25&ps=24

Make sure you subscribe to catch part 2!! 

Beauty | Nails | Barry M - Arabian

For those of you who follow me on Instagram (@passion0527) then you may have seen that I made a few purchases last Friday after work. 

I had seen that Barry M had launched new limited edition colours, 2 for boots and 2 for super drug and I was intreaged.. Then I found out that boots were giving away one of their limited edition colours if you spend £6 or more on any Barry M products! 

Being a recovering member of acrylic nails anonymous (1 year clean) I have got really into Barry M nail paints. I love the price firstly at just £2.99 for such a wide selection of colours. But I also love how easy it is to apply and what how good quality they are. 

Up until recently the only, 'special effects' I'm going to call them, I had used was the crackle effect which I had loved at the time. Then when browsing for a colour to match a dress I discovered the gelly colours, then the matte and then low and behold the aquarium collection. You could say that I'm now a huge fan if the effects ranges. 

I have been a great lover of mermaids for as long as I can remember and more than most other things in the world I really wish mermaids were real. *Sobs at the fact I'll never be a mermaid* when I spotted this colour my first thought was omg mermaid nails I have to have it! 

Anyway back to the point.. I had been lusting over this and dying for a matte top coat for so long and when I saw the great deal with the free limited edition colour I new it was time to pop in store and throw my money at the sales assistant and give these beauties a loving new home. 

I was waiting for my nails to chip, for the first time ever I think, so that I could re-paint them in this colour.. so finally I got to do it. The colour went on effortlessly and with 2 thin layers looked amazing! In some lights it's very blue, others green, and it has lots of gold undertones! 

I finished it off with a clear top coat and it lasted on my nails around 3/4 days without any chips! Overall a great product which I would highly recommend to fellow mermaid lovers. 

Work Life | Mid week mini series | The work saga: part 1 (4)

I cannot believe we are on the final week of part 1 already! It feels like time has flown by since my first post. I found this so much harder than I thought I would and realised just how much I love buns and braids and just how hard it is to style such long hair in a smart updo for work.

So here goes the last 2 looks. 

Style 1: 

If you follow my blog you will probably remember me already featuring a braided bun previously, however this one is a little different. It's loads easier to do and stays put a lot better and is done using smaller braids. 

Hello grumpy. 

I always feel like I have princess hair when it involves being up AND being braided! 

Style 2: 

Sometimes you just need to let your hair down!

My hair is super long so i tend to wear it up for work 99% of the time as it is so annoying to have it dangling in front of your face whilst your trying to work! 

I also think because I am quite young, and I do have long red hair.. It can look so much more professional having it up.

Well that's it girls, we have come to the end of part 1 of this mini series. I hope I have managed to inspire some of you into mixing things up a bit with your hair for work. I have certainly helped to inspire myself! 

Please do let me know if you want any tutorials! 

Next week.. SHOES!! 💕💁

Make sure you subscribe so not to miss out. 

Beauty | How I clean, condition & disinfect my make up brushes

This is something I think very few of us enjoy doing and I for one don't clean my brushes as often as I know I should. When I think about all the germs that I must 'reapply' to my face on a daily basis it makes me feel a little sick. 

We all have our own methods so I thought I would share with you all mine. The brushes I am using at the moment and have been using for quite a while now are the real technique brushes. They are amazing quality and at such a good price you can't go wrong. 

To clean my brushes, I mix together standard hand soap with anti-bacterial gel and then mix that with the oil (this is what conditions the brushes as soap can dry them out). Kitchen roll or throw away cloths are great to rest the brushes on or to dry them on. If you are using anti-bacterial hand soap there is no need to add the anti-bacterial hand gel. 

I mix the solution together with a dirty brush in circle motions on the plate or whatever surface you are using, I then repeat the circle motions with the brush on to my hand. 

As you can see it can be quite messy and sometimes it shocks me the amount of product that the brushes can store, especially a foundation brush! 

Repeat these steps with all your brushes and rest them on the kitchen roll until you have finished this step with all of the brushes you will be cleaning, sometimes you may have to mix up more soap/oil solution if you find your brushes are soaking a lot up. 

One this is done I like to run the tap until I have a nice lukewarm temperature then run the brushes under facing downwards so not to get water into the inside of the brush where the glue is!

Again do the circle motion on the palm of your hand untill the water runs clear and then squeeze the excess water out. 

Place them all onto a clean piece of kitchen roll and try to press the brush back into its original shape so that it does not dry misshaped. 

Leave your brushes to dry and woahla.. they are good as new, I love when you can see the white tips again and they are no longer discoloured! 

What method do you use to clean your brushes? Do you do them regularly or like me, try to put it off? 

I am super excited to have clean brushes to use tomorrow now! 

I'm not sure if you are all aware aswell that I am now on twitter @passion0527 as well as Instagram passion0527 so would be great if you wanted to follow me. 

Lots of Love