Simple Valentine's Day Nails

Hello everyone, I hope you are well!

As it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, I thought I would post a picture of the nail design that I will be wearing.

I have been LOVING  triangle accent nails recently so instead of going for my usual heart designs, I decided I wanted to do something simple and a little different. 

 This is the design that I came up with:-

(Taken with iPhone 4s)

I used a baby pink and a shimmery purple for this nail design. I think the two colours go really well together and I like them of my traditional pink nails with hearts.

The polishes I used are both from the Essie range, I used 'We're in it together' and 'It's genius'. This design is so simple to do and works with many different polishes and colours!

What nail designs have you come up with? Comment below and let me know!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day! 

Natasha Carly x

 Prettylittlelives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

Follow on Instagram - @prettylittlelives

We're in it together.

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well!

Today I'm sharing my current favourite nail polish/nail looks with you, featuring Essie's 'We're in it together' - This cost me just £1.99 from the Fragrance Direct Website I ordered a few other colours too as they were such a bargain!

This is such a beautiful colour, to me this is THE perfect pink! I've been enjoying mixing it up with other colours and glitter polishes epecially Barry M 'Diamond Glitter' and China Glaze 'Champagne Bubbles' (as shown below).

(pictures taken with iPhone 4s)

If you would like to see a step by step tutorial of how I did this triangle design then let me know in a comment below. There are many videos on YouTube that show you how to do this but it's really simple to do and I would love to share my tips with you.

What are your current favourite nail designs?

Natasha Carly x

Prettylittlelives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

Follow on Instagram - @prettylittlelives

Let It Rock!

Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas holidays!

I certainly did! I ate a lot of food and and spent lots of quality time with my family, just what I needed!

Today I'm going to share a perfume that I got for Christmas that I have been loving!

Vivienne Westwood - Let It Rock 30ml

 (Pictures taken with iPhone 4s)

When I opened this I instantly fell in love with it as the packaging is to die for! The bottle is extremely cute! It's tall with a 'lipstick effect' logo on the front along with the signature Vivienne Westwood orb on top!

This is a very feminine fragrance, which smells sexy and woody - it's divine!

Top notes: bergamot and freesia

Heart:  jasmine

Base: patchouli and amber

Let It Rock is available on the Fragrance Direct website.

Have you tried this perfume? 

What has been your favourite perfume this season?

Natasha Carly x

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

Follow on Instagram - @prettylittlelives

INIKA - Review

Hello everyone, I hope you are well.

I have now finished all my assessments at university and have come home for Christmas! It has been a while since I last posted as I had so much work to get through.

Today I am going to be reviewing three INIKA Mineral eyeshadows and a skin illuminisor.

Mineral Illuminisor* (3g) £17

(Close-up of illuminisor powder on the skin)

I wasn't overly impressed with the illuminisor, I didn't find it gave my skin a natural glow as I felt it looked far too glittery on my face. I prefer products that are more shimmery than glittery, I did find that the illuminisor worked really well as a highlighter on my brow bones.

Directions

• Apply to the highlight areas of the cheeks, brow bone and temples.
• Dust over cheekbones and decolletage to enhance complexion and create an all-over healthy glow.
• Mix Illuminisor with moisturiser for glowing legs and arms.

Summary

Pros:

• Non-comedogenic
• Lovely packaging

Cons:

• Too glittery
• Pricey

 Mineral Eye Shadow* (1.2g) £14.50 each

 (Left to right: Coco Motion, Gold Dust, Gunmetal)

I was extremely impressed with these eyeshadows, I have enjoyed experimenting with them and have come up with some really lovely makeup looks.  The colours are highly pigmented, they are easy to apply and they blend beautifully!

Here are the 3 colours I tried out:
Coco Motion -  a divinely earthy matte brown.  Perfect for creating depth and definition. 
Gold Dust - a pale, shimmery gold. Great as a highlighter or blended with other colours. 
Gunmetal - a metallic silver (with a hint of purple) which looks like mercury when applied wet or over black eyeliner.

Directions

• Pick up a little powder, press the product into the brush, tap off the excess and apply as desired.
• Create amazing metallic or iridescent looks by layering one colour on top of another.
• Add water for use as a liquid eyeliner.

Summary

Pros:

• Highly pigmented
• Can be used wet or dry to add different textures
• Multi-purpose can be used as eyeliner as well as eyeshadow
• Blend well
• Natural ingredients - suitable for people with sensitive eyes
• Lasts a long time 
• Lovely packaging

 Cons: 

• Slightly pricey

Overall I've had a good experience with the products, I think the eye shadows are fantastic and I will definitely be purchasing more of them in the future! I like that all the INIKA mineral products are non-comedogenic, this means they don't clog your pores or cause breakouts! 
These products are slightly pricey but for the quality of the product, I think it is worth it. They are in a similar price range to MAC eye shadows and think they are just as good, they will last me a while too as a little bit goes a long way!

Have you tried any of the INIKA cosmetics?

Natasha Carly x

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

*Disclaimer PR sample - My opinions are still 100% honest

Favourite Autumn Polishes

Hello everyone,

Today I'm sharing my favourite Autumn nail polishes that have been loving and wearing a lot this month.

They are all Essie nail polishes and are the first polishes that I have tried from the collection.

 I have to say I am very impressed with these polishes, the consistency is perfect and they apply nice and smoothly!

This lovely trio cost just £9.99 from Tk Maxx - you can't beat a good bargain so I just had to have them!

I got a few other bits and bobs from Tk Maxx too, if you want to see what else I got then let me know and I will do a post on them!

Here are the polishes:-

                                  

 (Pictures taken with iPhone 4s)

It's Genius 

A violet purple with golden flecks/shimmers.

Brownie Points 

A creamy rich brown.

Mamba 

A warm-toned nude with a hint of peach. 

(It has very fine shimmers that you can see in the light if you look close enough).

I hope you enjoyed this post!

What were your favourite polishes this month?

Natasha Carly x

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

ASOS Treats!

Hello everyone, I hope you are all well!

University work has been taking over my life lately as there are so many work deadlines to get out of the way before I can relax and go home for Christmas.

So... to encourage myself to battle through my assessments, I decided that I would treat myself to some goodies from ASOS! I don't normally share fashion related items on my blog but these pieces are so cute and I wanted to share them with you!

 (Pictures taken with iPhone 4s)

Pearl Bow Hair Barrette (Cream) - £6.00

Pearl Hand Harness (Cream) - was £12.00 now £6.00

Smooth Ponytailer Hair Tie (Gold) - £10.00

Mini Spike Chocker Necklace (Gold) - £8.00

I absolutely adore everything I got, I have had my eye on them for a while!

ASOS is such a lethal website! They have so many gorgeous things on there right now!

Have you treated yourself to anything from ASOS lately?

Natasha Carly x

 Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton

I now have a Formspring profile so if you have a question for me, feel free to ask-

www.formspring.me/NatashaCarly

Area H2O Shampoo and Conditioner - Review

Hello everyone, hope you are all well!

Today I am going to be sharing my review on the Area H2O shampoo and conditioner*.

You can purchase these products from lookfantastic.com or through the Area H2O website.
Each bottle of shampoo (250ml) and conditioner (200ml) retails at £9.95. The products are also available in duo packs which are priced at £17.50. 

(Pictures taken with Nikon D3100)

These products are available in two categories, normal to fine hair and coloured hair. 

I have been using the shampoo and conditioner for medium water types and colour treated hair and I have to say I think it is brilliant!

I now use these products at least once away as a 'hair detox' I like my hair to feel very clean and because I use a lot of products like dry shampoo and hair oils etc I need a shampoo that will restore my hair back to it's 'natural' state.
Since using these products I have noticed that my hair has become a lot more manageable!

Before trying out these products I didn't know anything like this existed!

The benefits:

• Area H2O is scientifically tailored to work with your water type.
• Area H2O gives a more thorough and effective cleansing of the hair.
• Area H2O gives an improved lather using less water.
• Metal ions, present in the water which can react with shampoo to form mineral deposits are washed away.
• Hair is less flyaway and has a noticeable smooth texture.
• Both the Shampoo and Conditioner contain a PH of 5.5 - (the body's natural PH)

Summary

'The scientifically formulated by biochemists to combat the effects of mineral deposits and work with your water type. Area H2O attracts the metal ions that are present in every water type allowing you to wash them away more easily before they react with your shampoo to form deposits. This means your hair will feel noticeably cleaner, smoother and shinier. '

Pros:

• Smells gorgeous
• Good amount of product
• Lathers well
• Leaves hair feeling squeaky clean
• Smooth, soft hair

Cons:

• As far as I am aware there are only 2 hair type categories.

Have you tried this hair care range yet?

*Disclaimer PR sample - My opinions are still 100% honest

Natasha Carly x 

Pretty Little Lives on Facebook / Twitter / Hellocotton