Autumn Favourites

Tis the season to wear chunky knits, snuggle up in front of the fire, drink hot choccy and go running and bounding through giant piles of crisp golden leaves! Yes Autumn is here and it's my fav time of year. I love the Autumn shades, the season is full of rich, warm colours with all the added frost of winter on its way. What better way to show these beautiful colours than with beautiful nails!

This post is on my current favourite collection of varnish, Sally Hansen's Complete Manicure. I've picked six of my must have shades for Autumn from an affordable highstreet name to show you all.

Each varnish is currently £6.99 in Boots and are available in loads of other highstreet stores. My favourite thing about the Sally Hansen Complete Manicure range is that each colour has a really good shine to it and it usually only takes on coat of varnish to cover the entire nail. As well is this the extra thick brush means you can cover the nail in pretty much one stroke.

The above are swatches of my favourite colours. The first is called 'Pat on the Black', number 660 and is a really dark shade of red, almost black. This shade is the one i'm thinking of Halloween because it looks so blood like, pretty gory right? 

Number two is 'Blue Rose' and makes me think of winter. It's a deep blue but not quite navy, it's a really gorgeous dark varnish that makes a nice alternative to black. The third is called 'Pumice' and is probably one of my most used shades at the moment. Grey nails (any shade) are currently a big trend in the nail art world.

Number four, 'Ivory Skull', is definitely my most used shade at the moment! If you don't have a white nail varnish these season what are you even doing!? You can get a decent white varnish for just £1 from MUA so price isn't an excuse! White nails continue to be the most popular shade for fashion and nail gurus world wide as well as celebrities including Rihanna and Kendal and Kylie Jenner.

Five and six are what i'd class as the warmer Autumn colours. Five is called 'Bandage' and is a creamy beige colour, I love a neutral nail so I just had to have this shade! It's a brilliant varnish for every day wear and work. Number six is called 'Nude Now' and is a rosy nude shade, again a brilliant neutral varnish for every day wear!

If you don't already now I do freelance nail art so if you'd like to check out some of my designs you can follow me on instagram (@alicesnailart) or like my Facebook page by clicking HERE!

Let me know what your favourite Autumn shades are and what your favourite nail varnish brands are in general in a comment below! - Alice x

London Baby!

Those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram etc. will already know that I went on a mini holiday to London this weekend. Me the mother and step-father went to celebrate their wedding anniversary and because I haven't visited the capital in over ten years!

I've had an absolutely amazing weekend and just wanted to share a few pictures and stories from the trip with you all. There are more photos from the trip on my Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (links to the right) if you really want to know more about my London adventures!

The pictures from left to right - Top row: My first look at the London skyline from the overground train, Buckingham Palace at night time, Parliament and Big Ben from the open top bus tour.

Middle row: The London Aquarium and the London Eye, me and my mummy dearest outside The Tower of London, The Tower of London and a cheeky plane sneaking into my picture!

The 'Big Bus' open top bus tour that I spent most of my weekend travelling from one landmark to another on, the giant golden Freddie Mercury statue outside the Dominion Theatre where I went to see We Will Rock you, Big Ben and the London Eye taken from the open top bus tour. 

I arrived in London on Friday threw my bags in the hotel and ran back out to go see Oxford Street and for a meal at TGIF which was sooo yum! Then we went to see We Will Rock You before having cocktails at a bar next door. After this it seemed necessary to have a cheeky drunken pizza from the greasy shop next to the hotel.

The Saturday we went to see all the landmarks like the Tower of London, the Eye, Buckingham Palace and of course Hamleys toy store! We then headed to china town in a rickshaw (easily the scariest experience of my life) and had a meal at a chinese restaurant before heading back to the hotel and pretty much passing out from exhaustion.

Sunday we met up with family that live in London and had a meal and a drink at a bar/restaurant called The Alice House (I'll be doing a separate post on this later because it was so beautiful and named after me!) then my mum and my step-dad headed back to my home town Barrow and I hopped on a train back to Liverpool!

It was such a brilliant weekend and I was very sad to return home and leave my family but I'll cherish the memories forever! Let me know all about your trips to London by leaving a comment below! -Alice x

Primark AW13 - I'm in love!

So Primark's AW13 collection has arrived and is working it's way into the stores already! Grunge pieces, baroque prints, beautiful simple pieces that look like something you'd see the cast of Made in Chelsea sporting, animal print, BIG bling and shoes that look like they belong in Kurt Geiger all seem to be a running theme in the collection and I AM LOVING IT!

I have to admit it's the best high street AW13 collection I have seen so far. I can't wait to get my hands on these beaut bargains (my student loan is disappearing right before my eyes already!) and I've decided on a few must have pieces to show you all thanks to the Primark PR team! Get ready to write your shopping lists girls!

First off the all the jewelry Primark has presented us with could rival just about anything from Pat Butcher's crazy big bling collection! There are some amazing statement necklaces that resemble the heart of the ocean, over-sized diamante earrings and a pretty bizare bug arm cuff that I can't wait to add to my own over-sized jewelry collection! 

What I call the Chelsea pieces are all simple, clean cut items that I can just picture being modeled on the beautiful streets of Chelsea. My absolute favourite pieces from the above are the beautiful wine coloured fedora (also available in black), the bead embellished white collared shirt and the gorgeous over-sized grey coat! A lot of the pieces remind me of collections from Zara.

There's a big splash of grunge and punk in this years AW13 collection. With tartan prints, leather look skirts and some cute Doc Marten look alikes you'll look like you've stepped right out of the 80's! I absolutely adore the grungy metallic top shown above (top right) and the frayed denim/tartan shorts would look so good with so many outfits!

I absolutely adore baroque style and pieces of this collection look truly inspired by the original 17th century style! I love the cut of the high waisted shorts and cropped jackets above and the prints are truly beautiful! If you're not feeling brave enough to mix prints then team a jacket or pair of shorts with a simple white shirt (like the one bottom left) to give a cool chic look to the mad baroque prints!

Overall I'd give Primark's AW13 collection an easy nine out of ten. It's by far one of my favourite collections of the season and for a gal on a VERY tight budget it's just about perfect!

Benefit Bargains

I'd been thinking of treating myself to some new foundation and decided to give Benefit's 'Hello Flawless' after reading some really good reviews. I went to Debenhams to have a proper skin match test and noticed it was Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara's second birthday! To celebrate if you buy one of the full size mascaras for £19.50 you get the half sized one for free!.....how could I resist! As far as designer make up brands go I'd say Benefit is one of the most beautiful and affordable available.

I think I have finally stumbled upon the holy grail of foundations! The new oil-free brightening liquid foundation promises a natural complexion whilst making your skin look luminous and healthy at the same time. It comes in nine different shades ranging from 'Pure For Sure - Ivory' to 'Gota Know Me - Nutmeg'. I would strongly recommend going to a store like Debenhams or  Harvey Nichols to get a shade test to make sure you get the right foundation for your skin colour. My shade is 

'I'm So Money - Honey'. 

The foundation makes my skin look amazing, it does everything it promises and more! I have two small scars on my face that have always been really hard to cover but this foundation kept them hidden all day! As well as this my face is absolutely covered in freckles (which I despise) and this foundation covers them all. Usually you would need a really thick, gloopy foundation to cover such blemishes but Hello Flawless is really light and gives my face a nice matte complexion.

In true shopaholic style I just couldn't resist the fab offer on the mascara and treated myself (again). Benefit's 'They're Real' mascara is the UK's number one best-selling mascara as well as the Beauty Club Awards 2013 winner! It promises to lengthen, curl and volumise your lashes as well as lift and separate them. It's 'jet black' in colour with a long-wearing formula that ensures the mascara wont dry  out or smudge. 'It reveals lashes you didn't know you had'.

I adore this mascara it's one I've used before but never have I gotten such a good deal on it! It makes my lashes look long and feathery but dark and thick at the same time. It gives a full sultry looking lash without needing false eyelashes or excessive amounts of  eye make up. It's by far my favourite mascara around and I suggest you grab it while it's on offer!

For spending so much at the Benefit counter I got a free make-over which I have yet to book an appointment for and a free sample of 'The PoreFessional' which is usually £24.50 per tube. PoreFessional is the UK's number one best selling primer as well as the winner of the 2013 Beauty Club Awards. It promises to minimise the appearance of pores and fine lines for 'smoother than smooth skin.' It's a light weight balm that can be applied over or under make up that's translucent, oil-free and suitable for all skin tones.

The primer contains a vitamin E derivative that is known to protect skin from free radicals and so far it's worked for me! My skin has truly looked flawless whilst using this product combined with the flawless foundation. I applied this sample by dabbing it around my T zone and underneath my eyes using a concealer brush and it has helped to hide any pores and the awful bags I always have under my eyes! I will definitely be buying the full product when pay day comes around!

As you can see from the pictures below my skin looks flawless, glowing and very smiley! I love the way my eyelashes look with this mascara and haven't been remotely tempted to wear fake eyelashes since buying it, success! As well as the Benefit products I've used; Naked Basics palette for my eyebrows from Urban Decay, shades 'Faint' and 'Naked2' and Mac's powder blush in shade 'Peaches'.

To get the FOTD look or any of the products below visit the following links! Benefit's Hello Flawless foundation - £25.50, Benefit's They're Real mascara - £19.50, Benefit's PoreFessional primer - £24.50, MAC powder blush in Peaches - £18.00 and the Urban Decay Naked Basics eyeshadow palette (used for eyebrows) - £20.00.