New Year’s Eve Sparkly Nails

So I kept my promise at the end of yesterday’s post and here’s my second batch of New Year’s Eve looks. All glitters, yay!

With flash

Without flash, slightly blurry as it was hard to take the picture with my left hand!

Little Finger

Base colour- NYC Quick Dry Polish in Manhattan

Glitter- NYC Rock Muse Smoky Top Coat

Ring Finger

Base Colour- Catrice Hollywood’s Fabulous 40s LE Nail Polish in The Nude Scene

Glitter- Model’s Own Hed Kandi in Ibiza Mix

Middle Finger

Base- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in City Blackout

Glitter- Nails Inc Nail Jewellery in Princes Arcade (Pink Diamond)

Index Finger

Base- Sally Hansen Hi-Definition Nail Color in Spectrum

Glitters- Color Club in Sexy Siren (blue, one coat, from Inner Vixen 2008 collection)

Color Club in Object of Envy (green, dabbed over parts of blue, from same collection)

Essence Nail Art Special Effect! Topper in Disco Disco

Thumb

Base- Nails Inc in Paddington

Glitter- Barry M in Amethyst Glitter

Lots to choose from! I like the little finger one as it changes the base from a lovely wine/cranberry colour to an almost oxbloody colour, it’s very subtle. The ring finger reminds me of confetti, perfect for celebrating! The middle finger is inspired by this post by Holographic Hussy (it was the reason I bought that shade!). For the index finger I wanted a full coverage glitter look and went for a mermaid inspired theme with blue, green and silver. And I just loved the Barry M colour for the thumb that I HAD to include it.

Again, I don’t know what my favourite look is! At the moment I think it’s the ring finger one, I love the nude colour used underneath. What’s yours? Also, what are your plans for tonight?

Black and Gold, Black and Gold, Black and Gold

Couldn’t resist putting the lyrics in there! It’s been stuck in my head since I had an idea of doing black and gold nail looks for New Year’s Eve. Something to suit everyone’s likes! I don’t know why but black and gold paired together really bring New Year’s Eve to mind. I guess it’s classy and sophisticated.

With flash

Without flash

Index Finger

Gold- Color Club in Sultry Diva (Inner Vixen 2008 collection)

Black- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in City Blackout

Middle Finger

Nude- Nails Inc in Basil Street

Gold- Revlon in Gold Coin

Black- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in City Blackout

Ring Finger

Black- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in City Blackout

Gold- Essence Snow White Collection in The Huntsman

Little Finger

Black- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in City Blackout

Gold- Claire’s Accessories Nail Pearls in Gold

Thumb

Black- NYC Expert Last Nail Polish in City Blackout

Gold- Chit Chat Nail Polish in Gold

The middle finger was inspired by the art deco nails on Beaut.ie. I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll have another nail post up for multi coloured sparkles on NYE!
I don’t know which is my favourite, I love them all for different reasons! What’s your favourite?

New Year’s Resolution Recap

It’s the time of the year where I go over the New Year’s Resolutions I made for the year and see how I did!

1. Be more healthy and exercise more (I really need to lose weight too but I think if I concentrate more on being healthy instead of obsessing over losing weight, I’ll succeed better)

Eek! This is never a good resolution is it?! Best to leave it at that!

2. Get a job

Sigh, so close on some accounts but no dice.

3. Cook 12 new savoury/dinner dishes

15 new things! Yay! Roast Turkey, potato stuffing, bread & sausage stuffing, honey slow cooked chicken, yaki soba, chick pea burgers, turkey mince stir fry, slow cooker chicken korma, naan bread, onion bhajjis, chicken burger, oven cooked parmesan chicken, Chinese 5 spice chicken with hoisin sauce, spiced honey pork chops and potato gnocchi!

4. Make 12 new sweet dishes

22. TWENTY TWO! A record for me! I guess having my own kitchen helped. Here they are: vanilla slices, pecan pie, pumpkin tart, pumpkin muffins, molten chocolate pots, soda bread, lemon meringue pie, cherry bakewell cupcakes, butterscotch blondies, Coca Cola cake, chocolate fudge cake, red velvet cream cheese brownies, cake batter fudge, macarons, banana butterscotch sponge cake, banana and peanut butter cookies, coffee mascarpone bundt cake, peanut butter, banana and bacon bread, honeycomb, Dutch oven pancakes, banana and honey nut muffins and cake in a mug! Phew! (I’ve just noticed that I’ve really loved bananas this year).

5. Finish reading all the books I’ve started (There’s about 20-30 of them).

Right, just as I thought, I got really side-tracked by new books! Typical really. According to Goodreads, I read 28 books (not including the cook books and novellas I read). I’m in the middle of 3 books at the moment, I might finish one before New Year’s Day though.

6. Watch 50 films I’ve never seen (while completing the A-Z list I started last year).

From my records (and I could be wrong as I didn’t really do a good job keeping track), I got to 37. It could be one or two more, I might have seen some films on TV and just forgot about them. I have 3 left in the A-Z: O,Q and Z! Sigh, I will get it completed eventually!

7. Learn a new skill (as of yet I have not decided)

Hmm, I didn’t really stick to anything. I got back into knitting which was nice. I concentrated more on doing 30 Days of Pinterest and 25 Before 25, which was fun.

Christmas Tree Nails!

Merry Christmas everyone! I meant to post this one earlier but got caught up in pre Christmas madness. Here’s some nails I did the other week (I’ve actually kept my nails bare for Christmas Day as I just didn’t have time to do them!).

Hope you had a great day!

The C Word

Around this time of the year, the C word usually is Christmas. People start saying in November ‘Is it too early to mention the C word?’ or ‘I’m so excited this year for C********’. But that’s not the one I’m one about today. Nor is the more naughty C U Next Tuesday C Word! No, the C word today is cancer.

In March 2009 my father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that week, I was in the middle of my 3rd year college exams when he was admitted to hospital. I remember sitting an exam and managing to convince the supervisors to let me leave early so I could run to get the bus to take me on the 2 hour journey to the hospital. And 2 weeks later I had to move across the country to do work experience. Luckily the treatment worked and this time last year he stopped chemo and went into remission. Dad went for regular check ups and last month something showed up. It happened so fast, check up Wednesday, phone call Wednesday evening and then overnight admission to hospital Thursday and chemotherapy started again following Thursday. I don’t know why but this time it seems to have affected me more. Maybe it’s because this time Dad will lose his hair. Maybe it’s because he’s found it very difficult to wrap his head around it and has been so up and down, it’s hard to watch someone go through something so emotionally. Maybe it’s because this time he’ll have to get a bone marrow transplant, it sounds so scary and daunting.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they caught it early again thanks to the regular check ups. It’s just, even though it’s hard to deal with something like this at any time, it seems especially hard around Christmas time. Next chemo session is this Thursday meaning Dad should feel well for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but will more than likely be ill for my sister’s 21st a few days later. I am glad to be closer to home this time though.

This has mainly been the reason for my lack of posts, hopefully I’ll be able to get back into the swing of things again soon!

YouTube Pick of the Week

A short one this week!

I posted one of Jimmy Fallon and The Roots with Christina Aguilera a few weeks ago and this is a very cute one with Mariah Carey! To get you into the festive mood.

Chandler is possibly my favourite Friend (though I have a soft spot for Monica as we’re pretty alike) and just cracked up at this Moves Like Chandler video. And then I discovered the Chandler Dances on Things tumblr. Could it BE any better?!

This video takes the piss out of the Science, It’s a Girls’ Thing video that the European Commission released earlier this year.

Finally a video for Egg Nog! I’ve never had it before but I plan on using this recipe to make some. Yum!

Snowflake Nails

Another holiday nail look! I wanted to post this earlier than now but never got the chance. I hope to write a blog post about that soon enough.

Anyway! I love the look of snowflake nails. I previously linked Behind Green Eyes black and gold snowflake nails but I love her stamped ones as well! Makes me really covet a snowflake stamping plate. I love Lynnie from Lyndar the Merciless two versions as well (here and here). So I decided I needed to hop on the snowflake nail trend!

Products Used

Blue- Essence Sure Azure (old style bottle, not made anymore)

White- Model’s Own Nail Art Pen in White

Sparkly top coat- Essence Night in Vegas

Essence Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Nail Polish

I was in Dublin the other week and managed to pick up 3/4 of the limited edition Essence Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 nail polishes (few that was a mouthful!). I decided not to get the gold one as I’m not a huge fan of gold polishes and I just wanted to sparkly ones.

From left:

01 Jacob’s Protection

02 Alice Had a Vision- again

03 A Piece of Forever

04 Edward’s Love

Jacob’s Protection is a beautiful midnight blue with that sparkles.

For some reason I found this the hardest to picture but it is truly a beautiful shade.

Next is Alice Had a Vision…Again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is probably my favourite, in some lights the purple really is bright but in others it’s more subtle and vampy (excuse the pun).

And finally Edward’s Love

At first I thought it was a black with gold but it looked black with silver in certain lights. Either way, it’s a pretty black with sparkles! Perfect bit of glam for Christmas parties!

I got my polishes in Penney’s though they will probably sell out fairly quickly! Which one is your favourite?

Christmas Pudding Nails!

Yay it’s December! I’ve been excited for Christmas for a while now and last night I decided to get into the swing of things especially for The Late Late Show. So I put on my new Christmas jumper and did my nails!

I love Christmas puddings as a Christmas symbol (but not to eat!). Two years ago I made myself a Christmas jumper and put a pudding on it. For this nail art design I was inspired by the lovely Lynnie on Beaut.ie (also found on her own blog Lyndar the Merciless)

Colours Used

Brown- Catrice Ulimate Nail Lacquer in CO2 Reggaeton (Cucuba Limited Edition)

White- Art Club

Red- Art Club

Green- Art Club

Black- Wet n Wild in Black Cream

Top Coat- Colour Club

I have a few more Christmas nail ideas which I’ll hopefully get down. I saw a great snowflake design on Behind Green Eyes which is inspired me, check it out here!

25 Before 25: A review

Ok, so this post has been a long time coming. A month actually, seeing as I turned 25 exactly a month ago!  Needless to say, I did not complete it. I got 13 out of 25. Some I knew where ambitious, such as the visit an unvisited country. Others were not done due to sheer laziness (sock monkey springs to mind). And others were not done due to distance (I had a voucher for a manicure to use in Dublin but couldn’t get up there on time to use it. Same goes for the photo booth pictures too). I got very close with the IMDb list as well (I got to 90 films watched) and I did look up the language phrase, just never learnt them! And I do know a tiny bit more of the National Anthem, more than I did at the beginning!

It was a fun experience and I enjoyed it. I shall probably do something like this again for my 30th birthday, but plan more around and start it so I have more time to achieve it, not 8 months! I was going to rush to get a lot more of the stuff crossed off the list the last week of the challenge but instead I decided to concentrate on the Halloween party I was planning (and that paid off!).

Most fun things? Definitely the trip to the Aran Islands, surfing and the cocktail party. Most rewarding thing? The fundraiser, I managed to raise 500 Euro for Breast Cancer Awareness, something that has been close to my heart after my Nana died from it. And I really enjoyed planning the tea party for it, all the foods and decorating. Thing I’m most impressed with doing? Being vegetarian for a month, it showed I could stick to something and complete it (even if this challenge as a whole wasn’t completed!).

I’d definitely recommend to someone to try something like this. But as long as you don’t take it too seriously. It’s great to achieve something on the list but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t. Sometimes you get swept up in life doing and enjoying other things and that’s ok too. I think if you find you’re in a bit of a rut and would like motivation to try some new stuff and to challenge yourself, doing something like this is definitely for you!

Here’s my list with links to some of the stuff I completed. And I will continue to try and finish the list anyway, even if the timeline is up. I still want to learn to crochet and make the sock monkey.

YouTube Picks of the Week!

Some more of my favourites from YouTube this week.

This video comes from Richard Wiseman’s Quirkology YouTube, where he predicts which square you’ll end up on at the end. Needless to say I’m as predictable as hell!

Once again V Sauce managed to read my mind and answer a question that has plagued me for years!

A very sweet video from Coca Cola. Made me smile.

The Big Bang Theory cast and crew do a flash mob to this year’s biggest song!

Ellen has been on TV for 10 years! This video shows some of the best moments down through the years. And this video here shows 10 Years of Giving on Ellen and I won’t lie, it made me shed a tear or two!

Science.

YouTube Pick of the Week

Even more YouTube picks!

So I posted a Gangnam Style post before but I love the MIT one! So much going on, I think it’s my favourite spoof.

For the week that it was last week, I rewatched this Funny Or Die video featuring ‘Obama’ and a bunch of ‘past Presidents’.

Last week also saw Hurricane Sandy, which was utterly devastating. But all the news on it left this Grease song stuck in my head.

I mentioned how I saw the new Bond in a previous post and I then came across this video, cleverly cut with clips from Casino Royale and Judi Dench wittering on to poor ol’ Bond.

While I had briefly heard of Bif Naked before, last week was the first time I had ever heard any of her music. This has so much energy and edge to it and it’s a great message, to love yourself.

And the WTF of the week goes to Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion I suppose!) with Drop it Like it’s Hot remade for Hot Pockets. Bizarre and yet you won’t be able to take your eyes off it!

Rimmel Precious Stones Nail Polish

I was like a magpie when I first saw these online, I knew I HAD TO HAVE THEM! There’s two shades, Diamond Dust which is grey and silver sparkles and Ruby Crush which is red and gold (maybe silver, it looked gold in some lights, but silvery in others!) sparkles. They are so densely packed that you only need two coats to get an even cover, so no undercoat colour is needed.

Diamond Dust, with flash, which shows the underlying steely grey background, with the silver sparkles on top.

Without flash

Ruby Crush, with flash

Without flash

I’m in love with these colour, perfect for Christmassy nails. And I would love if there was a dark sapphire blue and an emerald green version. Oi Rimmel, sort that out and I’ll snap them up straight away!

I got mine on ASOS, where there’s 30% off Rimmel at the moment. AND free worldwide delivery! What’s stopping you?!

Favourite Bond Theme Songs!

I went to see Skyfall the first night it was released and I thought it was amazing! I’ve loved Daniel Craig as Bond seen I first saw him in Casino Royale and this one does not disappoint! I love the colours in it (especially when he’s in China), they are so vibrant. And I also love the theme song, as sung by Adele (and possibly the worst kept secret ever! Everyone knew it was going to be her!). The theme is very ‘Bondy’ and while I liked it when it first came out, I loved it even more after seeing the film!

Listening to the song got me thinking about my other favourite Bond themes, so I decided to list my 3 other favourite ones.

You Only Live Twice- Nancy Sinatra

In the world of YOLO, Bond YOLTs. I’ll admit, I don’t know this song from watching the film, but rather from looking it up after hearing the opening was copied by Robbie Williams in Millennium (which is probably my favourite of his songs). I immediately fell in love! I’m a sucker for strings in songs and the opening is so heady and dreamy, it sends shivers down my spine. I love Sinatra’s voice too. I love Bjork’s cover of it too.

Live and Let Die- Paul McCartney

I love the tempo changes in this, how the song itself is almost like a Bond film that hints at chases, dangers and love. Again, I also love the strings in it and it’s why I like eScala’s cover of it.

Chris Cornell- You Know My Name

A rocky, edgy Bond theme for a new edgy Bond. This song was perfect for the reboot, where Daniel Craig plays Bond to a T in terms of not being polished and a lot rough around the edges. Chris Cornell’s voice adds a grittiness to it yet still sexy, just like Bond. I also love the opening credit sequence to the film as well.

What are your favourite Bond songs?

Nails of the Week!

I wanted to post more this week but thanks to this stupid illness it’s thrown everything off for me. I even said last night that I can’t wait to feel fully better so I can clean the house properly! Luckily my friend came over to visit me to today and she did a kitchen clean (while I pathetically tried to chip in and help!).

I have however managed to doing my nails this week. I got two Nails Inc polish from Glamour magazine, which I will show on their own in another post, but this post is for the Galaxy nails I did over Motcomb Street. It’s a very dark, almost black, navy creme polish and I thought it was perfect to try as a Galaxy mani!

This is without a flash, I first put on the Motcomb St, then dabbed some white on it, some Rimmel Night Before and some Catrice Wrapped Around My Finger. I then did a layer of Model’s Own Indian Ocean on this, dabbed a tiny bit more white and then over the white dabbed some GOSH Galaxy over that. The Indian Ocean and Galaxy make it seem very different in real life, much shinier.

I love the colours in it though! Next time I might try it without the Model’s Own Indian Ocean.

My Halloween Party

Ok, so two posts in one day about Halloween, probably should have done them earlier than this but I wasn’t feeling great. I had a Halloween party for my birthday Saturday night (I will be doing a 25 Before 25 update seeing as I am now 25!). I had a great time organizing it!

This was the bathroom. We added a red light bulb for an extra creepy feeling, added cobwebs all over the place, wrote REDRUM on the mirror and put the creepy doll complete with axe and ‘blood’ (strawberry syrup!).

Here’s Mike the Mummy! We got some white clothes, stuff with them newspaper and then wrapped him in a ripped old sheet. Luckily the sheet was off white anyway so we didn’t have to tea stain it or anything. Got the idea from this video. We also added a red light bulb to that half of the kitchen.

I also got some warning tape from Tesco that said ‘Enter if you Dare’ and put it on the front door, but never got a picture of that unfortunately.

My cupcakes! Jack Skellington and vampire puncture marks. All I did was cut the top off cupcakes to level them off, add a bit of icing to it (jam would work too), rolled out and cut out ready to use fondant, stuck on top of cupcake and then used icing pens to fill in details. Simple but effective!

Brain cake pops! I got the idea from this post here. The broken ones happened because the chocolate wasn’t thick enough, I suggest doing a double layer of white chocolate at the beginning to make it stronger.

Brain hemmorrhage shots! Inspired by this post. But instead we used pear schnapps.

These weren’t made, my boyfriend bought them for me, but they’re too cute not to add!

I also had a jelly brain made from a big jelly mould I got from 2 Euro shop, Jelly shots and Jelly Shots in the shape of pumpkins and skulls that I made in a silicone ice cube tray.

We played snap apple and also I made a pinata in the shape of a Mummys Head but didn’t get a good shot of that.

 

And you can see my costume here, I was Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games.

We had a great night, I really enjoyed it. If you are looking for other Halloween treat ideas, check out my post on Witches Fingers and last year’s post about random Halloween treats I made. Enjoy!