Nails of the Day...French Manicure

I haven't had time to paint my nails recently, so on Friday I decided to return to my favourite nail look and painted them with a french manicure, which I think looks pretty and you don't have to worry about the colour clashing with your outfit!

I used Seventeen's Nail Whitener for the Tips and my pale pink Chanel polish for the rest of the colour and sealed with a clear top coat by Natural Collection. I used to find it too time consuming getting the white tips just right but since I discovered Nailene Perfect French Tip Guides it doesn't take much longer than using a plain polish.

Chanel 'Le Vernis' Nail Colour Review

For my last birthday I was lucky enough to receive a Chanel nail varnish which had been on my wishlist for some time. It is a versatile light pink shade, named as 'ballerina', and here's what I thought of it:

The Pros:
- It is a lovely colour and leaves a shiny gloss finish on your nails, giving a salon-manicure look
- It is easy to apply, and applies with no streaks

The Cons:
- The biggest negative for me was how durable it was, (or wasn't). I've worn it a few times now and the longest it has lasted without chipping is just a day, and the shortest is a few hours. It chipped far too easily once it was dry.
- It took several coats of polish to obtain a solid, noticeable colour, which meant it took a long time to dry completely and was easily smudged in the mean time.

For me, when you consider the high price tag (approx £20) for a bottle of nail varnish, the quality just does not match up to what I would expect from such a well-known brand, and having searched for other reviews of the Chanel Nail Polish, it seems to be the consensus. Whilst I was thrilled to receive the nail varnish, I don't think it will be joining my regular make-up purchases when it runs out, as although I love the colour and glossy appearance, this does not make up for it lasting for such short lengths of time, and considering how much I like my chanel foundation, overall I am disappointed with the quality of this particular product.

P.s...today the resident pheasant learned a new trick...if no food has been put out for him he knocks on the glass with his beak to demand the situation be rectified immediately! I don't think it'll be long before he's venturing in the house to help himself to breakfast, lunch and dinner!

Favourite Perfumes ♥

I have been looking for a new perfume for a while to wear every day, as although I love my regular one, Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche, its quite expensive and I seem to be getting through my bottle quite quickly, so I've decided to keep it for wearing in the evenings and days out. I've finally found a perfume to wear every day, quite by chance as I found an old postcard sample which had been sat in my drawer, so here are my favourite perfumes:

1. Chanel Chance Eau Fraiche
    I love this floral, slightly fruity scent. It is sweet and feminine without being overpowering, and features top notes of lemon and cedar, middle notes of jasmine and pink pepper and base notes of amber and iris. The scent is fairly long lasting too.

2. Boss Orange

    Another floral and citrus-y sweet scent, but again a subtle one that isn't overpowering or too sweet, with lovely and distinctively sophisticated warm orange over tones blended seamlessly with vanilla . I think this is ideal for wearing every day especially in Spring/Summer and the scent lasts all day. 

 

3. Amarige Marriage

    Described as "A feminine floral bouquet composed of magnolia, Egyptian jasmine and Ceylon cinnamon bark" and "the scented emotion of the most beautiful day of life", Givenchy have created a perfume dedicated to the Wedding Day. It wasn't a perfume I had previously noticed, thinking the colour suggested perhaps an old-fashioned scent, but decided to try upon seeing it on sale in Boots for just £5 as it was on clearance. I was pleasantly surprised with this perfume, it has a luxurious and uplifting scent that lasts well, but unfortunately it seems harder to find these days as fewer places seem to stock it.

My make-up must-haves ♥

Having sorted out my overflowing make-up bag this afternoon, I thought I would post about my essential beauty items. I tend to find my skin is a little dry so to ensure my skin is primed enough before I use foundation I moisturise with No 7 completely quenched moisturising lotion . Although not specifically a facial moisturiser, I find having tried many others that it's the only one which moisturises my skin enough to help prime it. Another essential I would recommend is the 17 Even Tone Corrector Stick . This is a green concealor which neutralises any areas of red, and I find it blends easily and is easily covered under your foundation, and i think it works much better than using a skin-coloured concealor alone.

My all-time favourite beauty item however is the Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing Foundation. Whilst the most pricey item in my make-up bag, retailing at £34 in the department stores, I really think it's worth it, having tried L'oreal,  No 7 and a few others along the way. So what's so good about it...Firstly it's very easy to apply, I use a foundation brush to help blend it in properly and it gives a good even but natural-looking coverage, which when dusted with a light powder will last all day. Left bare it gives a dewy finish which I like, as i think it gives your skin a healthy glow, but if you prefer a more matte finish, a quick dusting of powder takes it away. It also has an SPF 15, so helps protects your skin from the sun and prevent skin damage, I find this very useful as I always forget to use sun cream on my face. Additionally, although it is expensive a little goes a long way, I find that a bottle generally lasts a full year, and I always wait for either a money-off voucher from boots in the post to combine with extra points from the in-store card machine, or for Debenhams to run their 10% off all beauty products promotion, making it slightly more affordable.