Nails of the Week - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Sun Kissed

I thought I would do something a little different today and do my nails of the week using my toes instead of fingers.

This is one of two Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear colours I own and I think they are just the best polish as far as the wear you get out of them. Here is the link to my review on the gorgeous granny smith apple green colour 'Green With Envy' is anyone is interested.

I am totally obsessed with this colour which is called 'Sun Kissed'. It is a super bright orange that is just such a fun shade to wear. I haven't gotten up the courage to put this on my fingernails as yet but am absolutely loving it on my toes. It's a real summer kind of colour.

(With flash)

(Without flash - please excuse the faint leftover fake tan tinge on the tops of my toes, I really need to exfoliate that off!)

I have now had this polish on my toes since Christmas Eve and it has not had the slightest chip or wear yet, and it's still so shiny. They aren't kidding when they call it 'Xtreme Wear'!

The only downside with these polishes are that they stay quite tacky for a while when applied so you really need to just have some time to sit back and relax for at least a good half an hour or so to let it fully dry. I usually apply my polish at night after showering anyway so this doesn't worry me as I just read a book or watch some tele while it dries.

It also gives me a good excuse to make husband attend to bub if he wants some attention or needs anything after I've applied this polish. I love flapping my hands or feet about and saying "Sorry babe, I can't get him because my nail polish isn't dry yet", Hehehe!

What do you think of this colour?

December Empties

So I'm a bit late with this post as I just couldn't seem to get time to get any photographs done over the past few days and then the whole process of getting them onto the computer, and blah, blah, blah.

Anyway, here is everything that I got through in December. There were quite a few things due to some items being only of sample size:

1) Garnier Roll-on Deodorant Invisi Mineral - I love the Garnier deodorants and use them regularly. I bought a roll-on to try something different for a change and actually quite liked it. I'm normally a spray kind of girl but didn't mind using this roll-on instead.

2) Clinique Rinse Off Foaming Cleanser Mousse - I received this as part of a gift with purchase not too long ago and found it to be a really nice cleanser. My skin didn't feel dry at all after use and it didn't cause me to break out at all either. I'd definitely repurchase this.

3) Urban Rituelle Organic Hand Cream - This came in one of the monthly beauty sample boxes I get (I can't exactly remember which one) and I totally fell in love with it. It's got a gorgeous smell and made my hands feel so soft and moisturised after use without being overly greasy. A definite repurchase item.

4) Kerastase Ciment Thermique Heat Activated Reconstructor Milk - I received some samples of these again in one of the monthly beauty sample boxes and quite liked how this made my hair feel after use. I used it after shampooing and conditioning one day and then blow dried my hair a bit before using my GHD and my hair did feel super silky afterwards. Not bad considering I have fine curly hair which usually has the consistensy of straw.

5) Lancome Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector - This sample also came in a monthly box and I just loved it. My skin felt so silky smooth after applying it at night before going to bed and it didn't make me feel greasy or have smell that was too overpowering either. Except for the super high price tag, I'd most likely purchase this again.

6) Bobbi Brown Cleansing Oil - I just haven't been able to get on the cleansing oil bandwagon yet. Maybe it's because I haven't found the right one for me or maybe they just aren't the product for me in general. I really didn't like using this cleansing oil, much the same reaction I had when I tried the Shu Uemura one as well. I'd rather stick with my cream, gel or foaming cleansers instead I think.

7) Elizabeth Arden Intervene Stress Recovery Night Cream - This would have to be my most favourite night cream of all time. See my review here. I almost shed a tear when I finished this product. I hinted and hinted so much for hubby to get me another for xmas but to no avail. I'll just have to try and work up the courage to spend the money on getting another one.

8) Pantene Split End Fuser - I received some of these to trial for the Beautyheaven trial team and am loving them so far. I don't really have any split ends but they make my curls look really nice and eliminate all signs of frizz which is a miracle in itself. Even though I'm not benefitting from this product in the way I'm supposed to I still think it's great so far.

9) Derma Intensive Facial Wipes - Three words to describe these wipes...... Worst Wipes Ever! I've never used facial wipes before that have been so useless. I needed at least two in most instances to clean my face as they are so thin and flimsy that they just don't seem to remove anything. I will definitely never be buying these again.

10) Neutrogena Build-a-Tan - I started using this on my mission to tan. See my review here. I will definitely not be purchasing this again as I just didn't like it one bit.

11) KUR Haircare Protecting Curl Spray - Another bad, bad product. It's not anywhere near empty but it's going in the bin anyway. I don't even remember where I got this from but it's just awful. The smell is horrendous and it makes my curls feel crispy and sticky and just plain awful. I could imagine the feeling of using this product a bit like drenching your hair in hair spray when it's wet and then letting it dry. Not a nice feeling to me.

12) Bio Oil - I love what this oil does for my skin but seriously wish they could change the smell of it. It just doesn't agree with me at all and it's such a shame as I'd live on this stuff if the smell was better.

13) Montagne Jeunesse Facial Masks in Deep Pore Purifying and Anti-Stress - I used two of these this month, one was a fabric mask infused with essential oils which you laid over your face for it to work and the other was your typical mud type mask. The fabric mask just felt a bit too weird for me and it looked utterly frightening as well! I much preferred the mud mask instead. These are great value masks that you can really feel the difference in your skin after use. I have a little stash of them that I forgot about so I'll now start using these on a regular basis again.

So, that's it for December.

Hope you all had some nice relaxing time off over the Xmas and New Year period. I didn't really as I only work two days a week anyway but hubby was home for almost two weeks which was nice.

2012 Chunkster Challenge

As you can all probably tell I have a bit of a love for reading as well as my one for beauty products. I guess being an only child I used books as an escape because if I didn't have friends over it was kind of lonely being at home so I turned to reading to pass the time. I was actually thinking the other day I should have named this blog a little more appropriately something like Beauty and the Books or something similar :-)

 

Anyway, I have recently decided to sign up for the annual Chunkster Reading Challenge which has its own blog here.

 

 

 

 

Definition of a chunkster:

A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature, whether non-fiction or fiction. A chunkster should be a challenge.

If you read books in large print, your books will need to be 525 pages or more. The average large type book is 10-15% larger or more so it’s a fair estimate.

The rules:

• No audio books. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
• No e-books allowed. This was discussed in much detail in the 2011 challenge. The short version: a chunkster isn’t a challenge if you’re reading it on an e-reader. (There are exceptions to this rule.)
• This year for the first time, essay, poetry, and short story collections will be allowed. Collections have to be read in their entirety to count. If you’ve needed a reason to finally pick up your copy of The Collected Works Of ____ now is the time.
• Books may crossover with other challenges.
• Anyone may join. (If you don’t have a blog, just leave a comment on this post with your challenge level and your progress throughout the challenge.)
• You don’t need to list your books ahead of time.
• Once you’ve picked a level, that’s it. You’re committed to it!

You must pick a level of participation:

1. The Chubby Chunkster – this option is for the readers who want to dabble in large tomes, but really doesn't want to commit to much more than that. FOUR Chunksters is all you need to finish this challenge.
2. The Plump Primer - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to SIX Chunksters over the next twelve months.
3. Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the reader who can't resist bigger and bigger books and wants to commit to SIX Chunksters from the following categories: 2 books which are between 450 - 550 pages in length; 2 books which are 551 - 750 pages in length; 2 books which are GREATER than 750 pages in length (for ideas, please refer to the book suggestions page for some books which fit into these categories).
4. Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to EIGHT or more Chunksters of which three tomes MUST be 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

I'm going to go for level 2 The Plump Primer as I think 6 sounds like a reasonable number to commit myself to over an entire year. Most of the books I read are over 450 pages anyway so we'll see how I go at achieving this goal.

I'm currently also participating in the Summer Reading Challenge through Goodreads but have not been doing so well on this. I'm only up to my second book so far and have another 8 to get through before the end of March. Ha! Don't think it's going to happen but I'll keep trying anyway.

Has anyone else set themselves reading challenges for this year?

2012 New Year Resolutions

I know I'm a bit late in making this post but it's taken me a few days to actually decide on what New Year Resolutions I'd specifically make. I didn't want just the usual boring ones that I never seem to stick to. I wanted to make ones that would inspire me to improve as a person and ones that I knew I could actually stick with achieving.

So, in no particular order, here are my 2012 New Year Resolutions:

1) Be less stressed - I admit it. I am a huge stress head. I am very routine focused and struggle to function when my routines are disrupted. Something that I have struggled with greatly since having a new baby as there are no such things as routines anymore. I am also a big thinker and I struggle to 'switch off'. This year I really want to focus on not letting things get to me as much and just try to go with the flow a bit more.

2) Get back to my pre-baby health - I've struggled with losing my baby weight and now it's almost been 10 months I don't think I have any excuses anymore. I am going to aim to do some form of physical excercise at least 4 times a week and get back in the habit of walking our dogs when hubby gets home and can take bub off my hands, at least while the days are longer and I can take advantage of it being light a bit later in the day.

3) Be more adventurous - As mentioned above, I am a routine freak and therefore don't handle change or spur of the moment things very well. This year I want to try and embrace being a bit more adventurous and agreeable to things that are not in my comfort zone.

4) Make better use of my time - I used to be the most efficient person around pre-baby. Now, I am the best time waster known to man. There just isn't enough time when you have a small baby who craves your attention every waking moment and the productive time I do get when he's sleeping is what I really need to make better use of so that I don't feel so overwhelmed and lose days without getting anything done that I wanted to. I'm going to make a plan of things to do when bub is having his two sleeps a day (normally this is when I catch up on sleep or just crash on the lounge until he wakes up!) and I am going to stick with it. If he wakes up early or only has one sleep on a certain day, I'll just try and catch up the next time he sleeps for longer. This will hopefully assist with Resolution No. 1 above too.

5) Be more creative with my hair and makeup - This is not such a serious resolution but it's still something I want to try and achieve this year. I've gotten really lazy lately due to only working two days a week and the fact that I don't have to dress up in my corporate wear with full hair and makeup done every day anymore. My current job is still in the same industry I've always worked in but it's in a much more relaxed environment so I really don't have to make any effort at all with my appearance when I'm there. This has made me lazy on other days as well and this has to stop. I have to get out of my 'pony tail' rut and start actually making an effort again with my hair (I haven't actually had a haircut since March last year!) and I also need to start circulating my makeup a bit more. I get favourites that I use every day because they don't require thinking and I'm normally rushed but I want to start getting creative again and actually putting time aside to try and look nice again.

6) Finish my CPA - This is more of a goal than a resolution I guess but it's still something I want to achieve this year. If I keep going with the last two subjects I have left and actually pass them I'll finally be qualified by the end of this year. I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do with this once I've gotten it though. At the moment I work for myself doing contracting work so I have the flexibility I need with bub but can still earn some money but if the right offer comes along I may decide to go back to commercial work. We'll just have to wait and see.

7) Make more of an effort with hubby - We seem to be like ships in the night lately where we pretty much just pass each other in the hallway on our way to doing whatever we need to do. Poor hubby has two casual jobs he's trying to juggle on top of his regular full time job just to make up for the income we lost when I stopped working full time and this means there is very little time we have just to ourselves anymore. I want to aim to make more effort in the small amount of time we do have so we don't end up being no more than just roommates under the same roof.

So, there you have it. They're not exciting or anything but they are all things that I really want to make an effort in achieving this year.

Has anyone else gotten on the New Year Resolution bandwagon?

Liebster Blog Award - Yay!

 

First things first..... Happy New Year!! I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve and came into 2012 on a good note. Personally, I'm hoping 2012 is a bit less full-on than 2011 was for us. Dealing with being pregnant with very high blood pressure and a separated pelvis, having one of our dogs get cancer that needed emergency surgery 5 weeks before our baby was born, then having our other dog develop epilepsy at virtually the same time, then finally having our gorgeous little man, then me having to deal with going from a professional accountant working extremely long hours to being a semi stay-at-home mum and beating my head against a wall to kill time, to us having to completely overturn our life financially as well, 2011 has frankly been exhausting! I'd love 2012 to be completely uneventful please :-)

 

Anyhoo, when I last logged into Blogger I noticed I received a lovely comment from Melanie at Yeah, yeah, ragger, ragger saying that she had nominated me for a Liebster Blog Award. I've seen these going around here and there lately and thought it was extremely nice to get a nomination and obviously it makes me feel happy and priviledged that someone actually reads what I write! Thank you so much Melanie :-)

 

"Liebster" is a German word which means dearest or beloved, but it can also mean favourite. The idea of the Liebster award is that it is given to bloggers who have less than 200 followers, all in the spirit of fostering new connections and to bring attention to these brilliant blogs!

 

The rules are :

1. Thank your nominator/s and link back their blog/s.
2. Select & reveal your five chosen blogs with fewer than 200 followers.
3. Advise your chosen blogs of their nomination via a comment on their blog.
4. Copy and paste the award onto your own blog.
5. Request that your award nominees then forward it on to their own chosen bloggers.

So, after careful consideration I have finally chosen the five blogs that I want to nominate for this award if they haven't been already. These five are:

1) Beauty Down Under - A great blog containing lots of makeup reviews, EOTD's and hauls.

2) Beauty in a Bottle - I just love the Tip of the Day!

3) ChloeBlue Likes to Sparkle - Some good reviews and NOTD's.

4) Lather, Rinse, Repeat - Very entertaining and lighthearted blog full of witty reviews. Always guaranteed to make me laugh.

5) Makeup and Me - Great blog full of variety in the form of reviews, hauls and NOTD's.

So there you have it. Please go and check out the above blogs if you get the chance. Hopefully you will find them as enjoyable as I do!

Wishing everyone a lovely week!

Michelle