Easy Peasy Nail Art

Hello!
I thought I would share with you a really simple nail art design which I am wearing at the moment!
With this black and white colour combination (of course you can choose different colours if you wish), it pulls off the monochrome look which is apparently very 'in' this season... and it also reminds me of the '60s which I consider to be a fun and wacky era!

1) Paint your nails with a base coat 

I have several good ones I use for different reasons, starting from the left:

Sally Hansen Double Duty - just the standard top coat and base coat in one.

M&S Growth Booster - I am victim to the hideous habit that is biting your nails... the only way I can stop myself is by wearing nail varnish, and Growth Booster helps my nails to recover and grow whilst I am not biting them.

Sally Hansen Miracle Cure - I must be lacking in some sort of mineral (I'm thinking calcium maybe?) my nails break and peel very very easily. Miracle Cure is helping to repair them and make them stronger, and I use this most often as a base coat. 

2) Paint the colour

I have used this Nail Tip Whitener from Rimmel to do this. I don't think you are meant to use it all over your nail as a polish like I have, but oh well it was the best I could find!

3) It's stripe time!

I chose a black colour to do this - Aubin and Wills is the make I used. 

I suggest you make sure that the white paint is properly dry before you do this!!

Very simply, you just paint a stripe down the middle of your nail, making it as thick as you wish. Of course it is harder to paint with your weaker hand but with some Q-tips at the ready to tidy up any mess you should be ok with a bit of practice! 

4) Use a top coat

I always use Sally Hansen Double Duty (see above). I think it is really good and worth spending money on - it is quite chip resistant which is very important. 

I have received lots of compliments about this look and I am sure I will be wearing it more often, and be experimenting with different colours as well!

Minka x

Just a little time to get to know the other me!

50 facts About Me!

Now because there are two of us writing this blog, I also thought I would do a 50 facts post so you get to know us equally!

1. I have an extremely complicated life

2. I live in 4 different places

3. I think I have really weird ears

4. I am 5ft 2" (last time I checked)

5. Ant and Dec are my favourite TV presenters

6. Like Soph, I love to tidy

7. Organisation is my special talent

8. I avoid using the oven...

9. ...due to my fear of setting the house on fire (yes I am aware this is stupid)

10. I also have some very bad phobias involving medical instruments / equipment

11. I have a dog

12. My Dad is having an operation on Friday

13. I once managed to spend £60 on making a cake! - Don't ask!!!!

14. I like to plan very far in advance

15. I am single

16. The last concert I went to was Capital's Jingle Bell Ball in London avec la blogmate - it was amaze!

17. I hate fruit and vegetables

18. I am an even fussier eater than Soph

19. I used to think different shaped pasta tasted different!!!

21. On Friday I made my friend's cat a birthday card

22. I have too much spare time (clearly)

23. I will not swim in cold water (i.e the British sea)

24. I am a bit of a princess...

25. ...in the sense that I can be rather demanding and dramatic

25. I wish I was in a girlband

26. I wear contact lenses

27. Zoella is my favourite blogger / youtuber I LOVE HER

28. I get over excited very very quickly

29. My voice can get extremely loud if I want it to

30. My favourite album ever is Adele 21

31. Her cover of "To Make You Feel My Love" makes me cry

32. I also love Ed Sheeran

33. The Proposal is one of my favourite movies ever

34. I am slightly obsessed with internet shopping

35. I miss la blogmate TONNES and wish I saw more of her!

36. I am so excited for summer so I can be with her for more than one day!

37. She might kill me for putting that photo on here (she says "it's rancid")!!!!!!!

38. I am so unfit...

39. ...however I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this summer!! EEK!!

40. I often wish my life was a musical (come on how much fun would that be just imagine?!?!)

41. My ideal lazy day would be to eat ice cream, watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Marilyn Monroe movies in my trackies / pjs.

42. I bloody hate maths

43. The South African accent is my favourite accent ever

45. If something is 'miniature' that means I will (most likely) automatically find it cute

46. If I could be bothered I would paint my nails a different colour every day

47. My "girl crush" has got to be Katy Perry

48. My dream celebrity husband is Eddie Redmayne

49. C-H-O-C-O-H-O-L-I-C and proud (seriously the doctor told me I had a sugar addiction once)

50. I am so glad we started this blog and I really hope you're all enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it!

Minka x

Pre-Summer-Over-Excitement Syndrome

Hello y'all,

Oh my gosh did anyone else look out of their window this morning, saw it looked like a summer's day and got oh so excited?! Well I did. To celebrate this turning point I thought I would share with you what I know I will be using over the summer (I'm worried that I've gotten so over excited about a season that my expectations are far too high for what the reality will be... hence the title).

CLOTHES

I just love a pretty summer dress, I can't think of anything nicer. I have two new ones ready for this year, from Topshop and Superdry:

 This is the Topshop one, and I bought it in the sale at the end of last summer for a bargain price... which I have forgotten...
Anyway, I have only worn it once so far on a holiday over Christmas so I can't wait to be in it more often. You can wear it in the day just as it is or add some more glam accessories and makeup to go out, so it's really versatile. I also like the criss-cross detail on the back, just makes it a bit more interesting.

I bought this on Friday, so it really is brand new. I should probably point out that this is not a photo of me wearing it... I just found it on the website!!! It's made of a really soft cotton, so comfy for everyday wearing. I like the fact it's simple and easy to wear and again you can accessorise it up a bit. 

Now, I appreciate it is slightly odd to add a jumper to a summer post but I have good reasons!:

This is from Jack Wills, and it's a knitted white 'holey' sweater with slightly short sleeves and pink lines. Because of the holes it doesn't keep you particularly toasty, so it is perfect for summer as it adds a layer on top just for if it's windy or if you get cold very quickly like me.

Also from Jack Wills, a summer necessity.... A bikini!

I lost the bottoms to my favourite frilly black bikini over last summer so I decided to treat myself to a new one. I haven't owned a floral bikini before and had been after one for last summer but I'm very petite so couldn't find something I liked which also fitted. But finally my search has come to an end!

BEAUTY

(sorry if you don't feel nail polish should count in a beauty category but I do)

from the left:

MODELS OWN BEETLE JUICE AQUA VIOLET

Seriously this is such a cool one, it looks bluey-purple in some lights and sort of grey-blue in others. I just think it's so funky. 

ESSIE NICE IS NICE

Last summer I got quite into pastel colours and this was my fave. It's a very light lavender lilac and I find it's a really nice base for nail art too.

MODELS OWN NORTHERN LIGHTS

This was a Christmas present from la blogmate because she knows I love pink and sparkles. I often find sparkles in mass amounts can get too OTT and look a bit garish, as much as I love them - but because of the really light pink shade of this polish it's perfect.

TOPSHOP DAYDREAM

If you want to read more about this, look back to my February Favourites post... it was the winner of the random category and I expressed my love for it there and won't bore you by doing it again here.

NATURAL COLLECTION CORAL SHIMMER LIPSTICK

Again, I wrote about this in yesterday's post "Getting Glam" so refer back if you're interested!

ACCESSORIES 

from the left:

ASOS GOLD LEAF HEADBAND

I bought this two years ago (I think) from ASOS for a wedding, to accessorise my hair a bit. I was pleased to re-discover it when clearing out a draw a couple of weeks ago, because it looks so pretty on and jazzes up the hair-in-a-very-messy-bun sort of look I often end up going for. The only downside is, it's rather hard to get off my head because it gets stuck very easily and can result in a painful situation... but I shall suffer to be beautiful.

RIVER ISLAND PINK DAISY EARRINGS

A new buy from River Island for £5. I was looking for some big, statement stud earrings but none took my fancy until I found these! And I was pleased to find that they don't feel too heavy on my ears at all - something which has put me off big earrings in the past.

SILVER BANGLE CUFF BRACELET

I have no clue where this is from I'm afraid as it was a birthday present. Because I am a January birthday, I have been living in winter clothes since owning this and have found it a bit difficult to coordinate with a baggy jumper. Therefore I am looking forward to wearing it all summer long.

Now that I have written this it's dark again outside which has rather saddened me because I was enjoying listening to the birds tweeting outside my window with the sunlight streaming in but never mind.

Minka x

Feb Favourites!

Hello one and all!

My dear blogmate is still on her trip in London, and has been making me incredibly jealous, what with going shopping yesterday and the One Direction concert tonight - I have therefore made her promise she will do a post on it all when she is back home with some proper internet!
I thought I would do a February Favourites post in the meantime to keep you entertained. I'm hoping to do one each month, and hopefully la blogmate will too, so you can compare and enjoy our favourites (don't get too excited). I have made a few categories (yes I have a lot of spare time), to keep it consistent and also easier for me to choose what I'll write about...



SONG

I thought it would be a nice idea to start with this so you can listen to it as you read on. This month I have been loving Valentino by Diane Birch. It just sounds so happy and summery which is a nice thing when its artic temperatures outside:

PRODUCT
My favourite product which I have been using constantly is the Jack Wills English Velvet Body Butter.

I have tried a few body butters over the years but never found a really good one that I could call a proper favourite. But this stuff is amazing... firstly it smells so nice, it's soapy but a little floral (quite a hard one to describe) and it has the perfect thickness to it. The major benefit is that it's in a large tub so you can get so much use out of it. I've been using it a lot since Christmas time and it looks like I haven't made a dent in it!

ITEM OF CLOTHING

I was in Topshop a few weeks ago when I spied these shoes...

I do not regret spending £70 on them. They are amazing... you can wear them with anything and because I am so short I can get away with wearing them in the day and not look too dressed up, whilst gaining some extra height! They are so comfortable and unlike some of my other boots they are easy to get on and off - you can't see in the photo but they do have a zip on the side so there's no need to bother with the laces.

MOVIE

Recently I thought to myself "Omg I have never seen a Marilyn Monroe movie! I will buy some!" so I had a bit of an Amazon splurge and bought about 7... I have now fallen in love with these old movies and my favourite so far is The Prince and The Showgirl. If you have seen My Week With Marilyn , The Prince and The Showgirl is the film Marilyn and Laurence Olivier are making in that movie (MWWM is such an amazing film, one of my all time favourites and what introduced me to the wonderful world of Marilyn Monroe... and Eddie Redmayne -*faints dramatically*). 

I loved it so so much because it's funny, its girly, and it has some of the biggest stars of the time in it.. and it is set in London just to make it more exciting! Here's the old trailer:

If you have seen it or plan on watching it - my favourite scene is where she does a little dance infront of the sofa (it is also in My Week With Marilyn though thats obviously Michelle Williams version).

RANDOM

And in the random catagory this month, the winner is a Topshop nail polish. You will soon find out that I am a nail polish addict however I was lacking in pink shades and had been on the hunt for a while. I then came across "Daydream" when I was on a mini Topshop spree:

As with all Topshop make up products I love love love the packaging and I have to say it is quite good quality (I didn't have much experience with them before I purchased this) and the colour comes out amazingly after just one coat.

I also tried it out as half moons against a nude (Topshop - Nice n' Neutral) and it came out like this which I thought was cool (my hand looks like it belongs to a ghost because of the flash, sorry!):

And there we go.

Hope you had a good little dance to Valentino, feel inspired to watch a Marilyn Monroe movie and try out some body butter amongst other things!

Expect a post from the blog mate sometime soon, as explained above ^^^

Until next time,

Minka x