A Jar Full of Love

It was my friend Sarah's birthday last week and I wanted to make her something special, as it was a bit of a milestone birthday!

You might remember Sarah got me a gorgeous, personalised Nails Inc nail varnish, which I posted about here.

I remember reading a post by Becky from Milk Bubble Tea, where she created recipe, where a whole cake (rainbow coloured at that) was mixed and baked in a glass jar. I loved the idea of creating something lovely in a jar that I decided that was the way to go with Sarah's birthday present.

Like me, Sarah is a huge fan of beauty products. We have had many a conversation and many a Boots trip involving lipsticks, mascaras and beauty balms, oh my! So, I decided to make Sarah a jar of beauty!

First I went to Cargo and picked up a Kilner jar. These are those rustic looking jars with the clip latch, which look lovely in a country style kitchen. They are not the cheapest (between £3-£4 a jar) but they look so pretty! I then headed to Poundland and picked up a bag of iridescent scatter stuff and mini eggs. The pretty sparkly stuff is perfect for lining your jar and making it look like a a jar full of magic and sparkle!

I then headed to Boots and Superdrug and picked up a load of lovely beauty things like nail varnishes, Maybelline Baby Lips lip balm, vintage looking nail files, a face mask and a few other bits.

The next step was to line the jar with the sparkly stuff and then arrange the items in the jar. I carefully placed them in, as I wanted you to be able to see what was actually in there. Then I scattered the mini chocolate eggs in the jar to fill up any spaces...and because girls need chocolate...fact!

The finished result looked so pretty and I was so excited to give it to Sarah! It went down very well and I have already started planning the next jar.

The best thing about them is that you can spend as much or as little as you want on them and make them completely personal to the person you're giving them to.

What do you think of this gift idea? Would you give it a go? Enjoy x

Nails Inc Couture

When I went to visit my lovely friend Sarah the other day, she presented me with a belated birthday present.

I knew she was excited about it because she has been telling me how excited she was about it for about a month before my birthday!

She handed me a beautiful white glossy box with black ribbon around it and immediately my eyes fell upon the "Nails Inc" logo and the "Couture" stamp on the front...heart rate went a little faster at this point.

I opened the box and inside was a simply stunning glittery gold nail polish, nestled snuggly in its packaging. The gorgeous gold glitter polish would have been gift enough, but what I didn't realise was that this was a personalised bottle of polish, designed by Sarah. The lid is an amazing black leather with chunky silver studs! So me! The colour is actually called Chelsea Embankment and then I looked at the base of the polish, and darling Sarah had named it after me - "B'day Belle" and the product code "CBF 30" (those are my initials and yes my age!)

I was so blown away by this incredibly thoughtful and personal gift and I absolutely love it. Sarah then told me about the Couture service that Nails Inc provide online, so I checked it out when I got home. It is an amazing thing to do for someone, of they love nail varnish as much as I do. You start by choosing your lid design, then the colour and then you personalise the name. You also get little stickers to add to the base if you want to.

What do you think of my very own nail polish? Didn't Sarah do well? Enjoy x

Blue vs. Pink

After my amazing Gelish manicure experience, which I was treated to 2 weeks ago, I decided that after 2 weeks, I was ready for a change.

Even though the manicure lasts up to 3 weeks, and I had yet to have a single chip, and I adored the colour of my nails, I usually change my nail colour every week...as I am a bit nail polish obsessed and tend to buy a new shade every week!

Anyway, I took the polish off yesterday and started contemplating what colour to go for...considering Titch can arrive any day, I wanted to realistically paint my nails the colour they would be for the birth...obviously a very important decision! But what colour to go for? If I knew Titch was a boy, I would go for a gorgeous blue, navy or green. However, if I knew Titch was a girl, it would be a pretty shade of pink or lilac. But, as we have gone 40 weeks without knowing the sex, it made my decision a bit tricky.

The simple answer? Half and half! I went through my polish collection and settled on a beautiful baby blue by Nails Inc. called Sheraton Street, which I received as a Secret Santa present at Christmas and a sweet baby pink by Collection 2000 called Marshmallow, which I haven't actually used before. The end result - a pretty pastel effect, which will be perfect for welcoming in either Titch girl or Titch boy! 

Nails Inc. Sheraton Street 

Collection 2000 Marshmallow

Now, hopefully it won't chip before the big day! What do you reckon? Was this a good choice of colours? Enjoy x

What's it going to be?

Nails Inc Metallic Nail Polish

The other day I was out in South Molton Street and I decided to pop into the Nails Inc bar and check out some new colours to add to my ever growing nail varnish collection.

While I was browsing, the sales assistant pointed me in the direction of the metallic effect varnishes. I've heard quite a lit of hype about these varnishes but have always been a bit sceptical. However, I decided to give them a whirl, especially as £1 from every purchase goes to the Princes Trust Charity. The polishes cost £13 and you get a little booklet to see you through the process.

I went with a colour called Whitehall - a beautiful dark sea green - a colour I have never tried before. The nail varnish comes with a magnet on the lid and a little lip so that you can balance the magnet carefully over each nail. The varnish works really easily - you paint on your base coat as normal and then your first coat of the varnish. Wait for that to dry and then paint the second coat on one by one. After painting each individual nail with the second coat, you hold the magnet over each nail for about 15 seconds, and when you remove the magnet, you're left with a really cool metallic effect! Like small waves, very impressive. Do all the nails the same way, wait for them to dry and paint on your top coat.

I'm really impressed with the results and will definitely be looking to invest in the other colours in the collection.

What do you think? Have you tried this nail varnish? Enjoy x