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Nails of the Week - Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear 'Green With Envy'

My nail of the day today is Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in 'Green With Envy'.

This colour is a real Granny Smith apple green and these photos unfortunately don't do it justice and show just how bright this green is.

This polish gives great coverage and only needs two coats to give a completely smooth and streak free finish.

It does seem to stay a bit tacky for quite awhile after application though which is a bit frustrating.

This is probably one of the best lighter greens I have used so far and was my colour of choice for a night out with the girls tonight to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 and then dinner and drinks afterwards while hubby stays home and plays babysitter. Yes, I'll admit I am a Twilight fan and  I am not ashamed at all. In fact, I can't wait!

Has anyone else seen Breaking Dawn yet? If so, what did you think?

Have a great weekend everyone!

Michelle..

November BellaBox - A Tad Disappointed.....

I was eagerly awaiting the November BellaBox this month as I sneaked a peek at some blog posts from others who received their boxes a couple of days ago. I was mainly excited to try the OCC Lip Tar which was one of this month's contents as I've heard such good things about these and have been wanting to try them for ages. Unfortunately, when mine arrived I felt a little deflated :-( The Lip Tar that I received was in the colour of Strumpet which is an extremely dark bright plum colour which is just way too dark for me to ever wear anywhere out in public! I would have been over the moon with any other one of the lighter shades these come in. Boooo, way to disappoint!

Oh well, here is a complete list of the contents of this month's BellaBox:

1) Lancome Visionnaire (5 ml) - Visionnaire is the first skin care with LR 2412, a molecule designed to penetrate throughout all the layers of the skin's epidermis, triggering a range of micro transformations.

2) Erborian BB Creme, Elixir Au Ginseng & Yuza Sorbet (3 x 1.5ml sachets) - This is a Korean product which has selected priority energising and detoxifying herbs to stimulate the metabolism and speed up microcirculation. The result: natural anti-fatigue and strong anti-ageing properties.

3) Gatineau Melatogenine Force Collagene Anti-Wrinkle Concentrate - Helps stimulate the strength, vitality and longevity of collagen fibres.

4) Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics (OCC) Lip Tar in Strumpet (8 ml) - A stunning new innovation in lip colour. OCC Lip Tar combines the longevity of a lipstick with the ease of application of a gloss.

5) Orofluido Beauty Elixir for Hair (5 ml) - A heavenly indulgence for hair containing Argan Oil, Cyperus Oil and Linseed Oil, each producing its own beautifying properties to give remarkable silkiness, lightness and shine.

6) Twistband - A hair tie from California to keep hair secure without snagging or leaving ugly creases.

Personally, I'm a bit disappointed in this month's box and not only because the Lip Tar is practically useless to me. I think all the samples are too small to really give a good indication of any of the skin/hair products and the Twistband is something I could have made myself from some elastic in my sewing kit.

If this had been the first box I definitely would not have stayed subscribing. I know the Lip Tar is most likely supposed to be the spotlight item for this month so because I'm not happy with the one I received that's probably put a dampener on the rest of the contents for me.

Did anyone else receive the November BellaBox? If so, what did you think of it?

Michelle..

Book Review & Giveaway - 'Animal People' by Charlotte Wood

This review is courtesy of Product Talk by Nuffnang.

I was fortunate enough to be selected as part of the review team for the new Charlotte Wood novel 'Animal People'. Being an avid reader at every opportunity I can get this was one review team that I was very excited to be on.

'The hilarious, tender and heartbreaking story of a watershed day in the life of Stephen - aimless, unhappy and unfulfilled, this stiflingly hot December day is the day he has decided to dump his girlfriend. A sharply observed, 24-hour urban love story.' (Taken from the Allen & Unwin website)

This story is not one to read if you are after a happy, lighthearted book to pass the time. It is more a book you would read to really make you really think about everyday life and there are many elements that can easily be related to by most of society. I'm sure there have been times in everyone's life where they have been unhappy with their job, unhappy in a relationship without really knowing why, bitter with family and friends who clearly have a better and/or easier life.

There were times in this book where I felt very sorry for Stephen due to his obvious fear of relating to people and of course his obvious dislike for animals. Some parts of this story made me feel a little depressed with how life actually is for some people who have no direction, and are just plain old unhappy with every aspect of their daily life.

Also, being an animal person myself, I didn't particularly like some of the references to animals that were highlighted in the story but seeing some of the feelings that Stephen had for others who were animal people made me realise how the other half of society must think of us who treat our pets like they are part of our family.

I mainly read this book at night before bed and found it a very quick and easy read. The wonderful descriptive language used by Charlotte Wood makes you feel as if you can almost smell, taste and feel what is going on in the story. This added an extra element to the book which made you feel as if you were a participant following Stephen on his journey that day. The way the story is a complete day in the life of Stephen was very well written and in the end it really makes you think about how the smallest and most normal daily events end up shaping us as human beings.

I was fortunate enough to be given an extra copy of 'Animal People' to giveaway to one lucky reader. This will be my first ever giveaway so I am very excited!

To be in the running you just have to be a follower or subscriber of this blog, leave a comment below letting me know how you subscribe as well as answering the question "Are you an Animal Person or not and why?" Also, make sure you leave your email address so I can contact you. It's that simple!   

This giveaway will be open until Saturday 7th January 2012 and is open to anyone! I will draw the winner using random.org and contact the winner via email.

Good Luck!

My Mission to Tan - Garnier Ambre Solaire Natural Bronzer

My second attempt at finding the perfect tan was with Garnier Ambre Solaire Natural Bronzer in Light.

This is marketed as a 'Velvet Touch Bronzing Gel with naturally derived tranning agents plus apricot extract. It is said to give a natural and uniform tan with reinforced moisturising power.'

I have really liked using this tanning gel and it seems to be virtually impossible to stuff up the application of this product. I am not the most patient person and have a tendency to just slap on my moisturiser and tanning products hastily after showering without taking much heed to perfect application and I have not seen one streak or dark/patchy areas appear anywhere.

I really love the consistency of the gel and it's so easy to blend it into the skin and ensure even coverage over your whole body. Being that this is the 'Light' version of this product I tend to apply it two days in a row to get the depth of colour I think looks good and it seems to last without needing extra applications for at least three days as long as I religiously moisturise every day, something I'm trying to stay in the habit of doing now after being naughty for so long and only moisturising every second or third day. I know, shocking isn't it?

The gel is quite moisturising itself as well so I don't need to use a separate moisturiser on the days this product is applied.

The smell isn't too bad either. It's not exactly great, but it's certainly not too unpleasant and tends to be practically unoticeable by the next morning which I like.

This tanner is so good I'm almost tempted to finish my mission to find the perfect tanner right now. But, for the sake of curiosity and also because ending this mission so early is just plain old boring, I am going to be on the hunt for an even better tanning product instead. I'm sure there has to be one out there.

Has anyone else used this tanner and found it as good as I did?

Michelle