Little Hulas.

I've been biting my nails a lot more than usual recently and it's due to this that it's taken me so long to get round to this little review. That and the move, I may have mentioned it?



Little Hulas Mini Nail Lacquers from the Hawaii Collection by O.P.I*
After being sent these so generously, I figured that the least I could do was give them a fair review on fingernails of a decent length, which sounds silly but it's honestly taken me so long to not bite them - not quite as bad as I was but bad enough. I feel like it's something I'm probably always going to have to try and keep at bay, I can't describe it but it's just constantly so tempting.

So, despite the fact that summer doesn't seem to know what the hell it's doing right now, this collection is perfect for summer, as well as, in my opinion, featuring colours that will take you right through to Christmas time if you like.

They're the perfect size to be taken away in hand luggage or popping in your bag but have a decent-sized brush so they're not fiddley or difficult to use, like other similar type of nail varnish minis.

Two-Toner.

When I first got into nail art and painting my nails as a means to quit biting my nails, I used to change my nail varnish on a daily basis, if not more than that. I must say that making my nails pretty really did help to stop attacking them and now, although I do occasionally fall back into it, I am nowhere near to where I was a few years ago, and I'm pretty proud of myself.

I think nail biting is something you just stop when you fancy it, you can't be told to or really make yourself, at least those are two things that never really worked for me.

After cutting my nails really short, it took forever for them to grow, so aside from the tie-dye (perfect for festivals) design I was obsessed with this time last week, it's taken a little while for me to get into nail art again. I picked this design after seeing a similar two-tone design on someone's Twitter at the beginning of the week with a minty green and pastel pink - and I just will always love leopard nails - I think it's really pretty and goes well with this beautiful summery weather we've had for the last few days.


Base: Nail Envy – O.P.I (amazing base coat, particularly good if you're giving your nails a break and need to strengthen them)
Colours: Sweet as Candy – Rimmel / Utopia – Models Own
Design: Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen (it's like an actual pen, couldn't recommend it enough)
Top Coat: Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (hides a multitude of sins)



I must say that using better base and top coats makes all the difference to how my manicures look and feel, and I've been finding myself a lot more willing to keep the same designs for more than a day. Seche Vite, where have you been all my life?!

Bespeckled.

I guess with Easter approaching it seems only fitting to feature a bit of nail art that mimics Easter eggs, not quite as fun as my efforts last year but still a neat effect and I've definitely found a couple of polishes that will see me well into summer.


Seche Vite Top Coat and Matte Nail Envy Nail Strengthener by OPI are two products I definitely couldn't do my nails without since discovering them, two fantastic finds that I owe to browsing beauty blogs.


I first saw these on Hello Terri Lowe and knew I had to have them right away, the packaging was so different from any other polish I've ever had and they were just so cute. I do like glitter polishes but I'm always put off because I feel like they're hassle to take off, these ones aren't really any different but each layer adds a lovely mixed glitter layer like a sparkly speckled bird's egg, and at just £3.50 they're an affordable dupe of Illamasqua Speckle Polishes.

I picked them up in 'Mintchoco' and 'Strawberry Stars Candy' (because I figured they were most ice creamy and springy) from this seller on eBay as recommended in Terri's post. I think I disagree with her in that it 'doesn't dry hard' as I found it was pretty solid. With 'Strawberry Stars Candy' I found a few coats did do the trick but being a bit of a nitpicker, I ended up doing around 6 or 7 coats just to get the combination that I wanted. I'm yet to try 'Mintchoco' but I must say that it looks like it provides a thicker coverage, either way I think they're a great find and the perfect polishes to perk up my collection which is in need of a good spring clean – if spring ever gets here.


*scuse the poor lighting, I ran out of daylight, I hope you get the idea that this polish is kind of a light milky pink, the photos don't show the tiny flecks of holo glitter that well though, but that's there too!

What I Wore: Polka Dot Creep.

Here's what I wore when I went to Gathering Festival on Saturday. It wasn't too cold but it did get drizzly in the evening and I didn't want to take any chances having only just recovered from being ill for the two days previous to this. I was really pleased with this outfit, it was cosy and warm but I didn't feel too wrapped up.


Coat: Primark
Cardigan: H&M
Dress: Izabel London @ House of Fraser
Belt: Another dress, Primark
Tights: M&S
Socks: Primark
Shoes: Timeless @ ASOS


Necklace: Vintage
Pin: Cath Kidston


Bag: Marc b. @ Topshop


This dress was a total bargain from when I was having my shopping spree fail at the beginning of the month. It was originally £32, marked down to £18 but I got it for £12. I really love the shape and I don't have enough polka dots in my wardrobe at the moment. It actually came in super useful as a semi-smart-casual dress when I was shooting Nick and Cat's wedding the weekend before too. I really like the frilly waist detail and I'm just so pleased, it's definitely one of my best finds in ages.

I'm really sad that these flatform/creepers didn't get more use when I bought them in the summer, but I like styling them up the way I have here and I think I might do it more often. They were really comfortable too, great for standing around for ages, perfect for gigs!

I really hope that this coat is a real bargain and lasts, I'm not hopeful as it's only Primark but it's doing really well so far. I really like the cuffs and it definitely does the job of keeping me cosy now it's colder.


I really enjoyed this manicure. I feel like it might be my first successful attempt at Aztec/Tribal nail art, which I'm definitely putting down to the fantastic Topshop nail art pen.
Proper Copper, Top Turquoise, Vintage Rose & Disco Heaven (Hed Kandi) by Models Own
Country Bumpkin by Topshop
Nightrider, Topshop Nail Art Pen


I finally feel like I've adjusted to the seasonal change now, especially seeing as the weather is behaving more as I would expect it to. Have you been wrapping up warm recently?

Izabel London

Rain and Sun in Rye.

This morning feels like it was yesterday and I'm so sleepy. I essentially worked 6 days last week, so I'm a little sleepy after being back at work again today after just one day off. Saying that, it was a super-productive weekend, and I'm glad I'm done and dusted with my second 'gig' as a wedding photographer. I must admit that it completely throws me out of my comfort zone but once again I'm really pleased with the results and I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with the images when I get down to editing them.

I'm not sure if I've really mentioned it before but my friend Abbie and I were photographers at a wedding on Saturday. Wedding photography is something Abbie did quite a bit of in the summer and has done a fair amount of before, but not something I majorly seek out. Abbie is from my University course and we went to Paris Photo and Disney Land together in our final year. The wedding was that of a man who interview me for a job (I didn't get) earlier in the year. I wasn't suited to the role but he liked my website and remember him saying so in the interview. He got engaged and got in touch with me but wanted a second photographer and that's where Abbie came in.

I'll get around to showing you more of a collection of images from the wedding over the next week or so, but for now here are some quick snaps from the weekend, as is apparently now standard practice on a Monday evening.


Being up before the sun on a Saturday should be banned, saying that the journey went really quickly even if it was just under 3 hours.


How great is this teddy hole punch?



The 'less than promising' wedding weather started showing itself fairly early on.

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...but it soon brightened up and even if it came and went, all of Camber Sands looked beautiful.




You might recognise these as the blue version of the red ones from a couple of posts ago, I'm still totally in love with these boots, they're so comfy! These ones are kind of filled with sand now but held up really well considering their £8 price tag.



I'm a big fan of little details but unfortunately these are the kind of images that the bride and groom weren't really bothered about, even if it was these accents that helped pull the event together.




All those pom-poms were handmade from tissue paper!









The cake was so adorable ♥



Candy bars seem to be a pretty popular thing to have at weddings nowadays, I've seen them all over the place. Nick and Cats was quite small but full of yummy treats and the guests went crazy for it.

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Mine and Abbie's room at The Aviemore, a great place to flop down and watch the second half of X Factor on ITV+1 once we got back.



I love how flat this area is, it meant you could see for miles and miles.


Supernice is just one of the shops I wish we'd had a chance to look in, I'm so happy they sell so much stuff online.


Interesting artwork facing out onto the street.


Laura Oakes


Enjoying 'Ribena Bricks' at the beginning of our long journey home.



My tired, makeupless face after my lovely travelling companion left me.


My favourite manicure in forever, love the neutral shades and so happy with the length of my nails at the moment.
Base/Top: Rimmel Lycra Pro in 421: Clearly Clear
Colours: Models Own in Grace Green, Concrete Mixer and Vintage Pink / La Femme Beauty in Grey Creme
Spots: Nubar in Black Polka Dot / Topshop Nail Art Pen in Nightrider


The journey took way less than I thought it would and I was back before 2pm, I had a little sleep and enjoyed Dominos and X Factor in the evening, a well deserved rest.
It was a stressful and long day but not without great results and some good experience. The weather was incredibly hit and miss but the sun shone when we really needed it to. Despite having to go by train, our timings were perfect too which definitely took some of the stress out of it. The wedding was held in The Gallivant in Camber, which is a beautiful venue with an amazing, laid back beach theme, as it should really due to it's setting.

We were put up in a lovely B&B in Rye and managed to have a quick look around on Sunday morning before we left, it was just such a shame that none of the neat shops were open. It's definitely somewhere I'd like to explore again, as it's part of the country that I've ever really been to before.

You can check out some of Abbie's photography over at her Facebook page, be sure to 'like' it. ♥