NOTD #1: MUA Nail Constellation

Today's post is a little different for me - a Nails of the Day post! Now, I'm definitely not the best at applying nail polish - as you can see from the photos. I'm a little heavy-handed and messy, especially when it comes to dark colours like today's. I used Nails Inc in shade Motcomb Street (free with December's issue of Glamour - go!) which is a dark navy. This was opaque in one coat which I found amazing, as I usually end up applying 3-4 coats with other polishes. I used two coats here.

I topped it with my favourite top coat, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri which really does what it says on the tin! The main reason I rarely paint my nails is the hassle of waiting on them to dry, as I always, without fail, manage to smudge them whilst they're drying and ruin them, so then I get frustrated and don't bother painting them again! But this wee thing is an absolute saviour for me.

Finally, the much-raved about MUA Nail Constellations... A much cheaper dupe to Ciaté's Caviar Manicure, these only cost £3 from MUA. They're basically tiny wee coloured beads which you press onto wet nail polish to give a textured effect. This was the first time I used these, and as you can see from the bottle, quite a lot are missing already and that's because they are ALL OVER MY FLOOR. I pulled the lid off and they literally flew everywhere. Even as I was pouring them on my nail through the very small funnel, they were falling all over the place and some have already begun to fall off of my nail. I set them with the Insta-Dri carefully, so I'm hoping they'll stay intact until tomorrow at least. They look super pretty, but I'm not sure I can be bothered bringing out the hoover every time I want to use them.

Have you tried Nail Constellations? Any tips for not covering my entire flat in them?!

A little haul!

I can't seem to go into town without coming home with new things that I don't really need, but I couldn't resist! So I thought I'd do a little post on the wee haul that I "accidentally" ended up with a few days ago.

1. The Body Shop Vanilla EDT  - I'd been meaning to pick this up for a while now because I love all things that smell sweet and vanilla-y! I was standing in TBS perusing whether or not to buy it, and a sales assistant approached me to let me know that the Vanilla EDT was being discontinued and that the stock on the shelf was all they had left. And it was only £4.50 instead of the £9 RRP! So, naturally, I picked up 2 of these. I haven't heard any more about them being discontinued, has anyone else heard that?

2. Estee Lauder Double Wear - this was my first ever high end make-up purchase when I was around 16 and I'm not sure why I drifted away from it, but I decided it was time to see if I still loved it now as much as I did then. Plus, I had a £5 Beauty Card reward to spend at Debenhams, so it would have been rude not to... For reference, I was shade 1C1 Shell - the palest you can get. The RRP for this foundation is £27.50, but it only cost me £22.50 with my £5 off.

3. Batiste Cherry Dry Shampoo - I used to rely on dry shampoo when I worked full-time and I just did not have the time to wash, dry and style my hair every day before starting work at 6 or 7am. I haven't used it in about 2 years, but I couldn't resist the gorgeous packaging when I saw it in Superdrug. And, it was half price so only cost £1.45! I think it usually costs around £2.99.

4. Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait - I actually just recently reviewed the Tutti Frutti shade, which you can find here, and I was moaning about how I really wanted Peach Parfait but it was out of stock everywhere in town. So as soon as I saw this the other day, I had to pick it up! It's a lovely shade and I'm glad I finally found it! Only bad thing is the lip butters were no longer selling at the special £5.99 price, so I paid £7.99 for this.

5. Sleek Peaches and Cream Lipstick - Sleek is slowly becoming one of my favourite make-up brands! I picked up this lipstick in Superdrug and it cost £4.39. It's basically the perfect pink/coral shade for summer. I'll be doing a full review of this soon, as I simply love it.

6. Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Top Coat - I'm one of those horribly impatient people who hates nothing more than sitting around waiting for nail polish to dry, so as soon as I saw this I had to try it. I think it cost me £4.99 from Superdrug, can't remember exactly but it was around that. I've already tried this, and I love it. No more sitting around for up to an hour scared to move my hands for fear of smudging my nail polish!

7. Barry M Nail Paint - Every time I visit Superdrug, I end up with more new nail polish! I picked up the shades Mint Green and Teal, and they're such good value at £2.99 per nail polish.

So, that's my wee haul. I'd also like to say that in the space of a week, my nail varnish "collection" has grown from THREE nail polishes to SIXTEEN. At this rate, I'll be drowning in the stuff within a month. Blogging is having a very adverse effect on my shopping willpower...

Have you bought anything nice recently? Are there any products which you just can't resist when you go shopping like my current nail polish obsession?!

PS: I finally ordered myself a new digital camera! So hopefully there'll be no more crappy Blackberry photos in a few days time - yay!