Wednesday 31 December 2014

My Christmas Nails



Hello Lovelies, 

Today's post is to tell you all about the polishes I used to create my 'Christmas nails' you'd think having just had a easy Christmas nails series featuring 10 nail looks here on my blog that I'd have used one of those looks and believe me I almost did but then I decided against it, I think I was all nail art'd out if that's even a saying!!

Instead I went for the look in the above photograph, a red sparkly look and I loved it, I have received so many compliments on my nails and lots of people including Cole have asked if I have gel nails, which I take as a huge compliment. I do need a manicure so please ignore my tatty cuticles in the photograph but hopefully you can see how lovely the polish is. 




To achieve the look I used ~

1. Orly bonder base coat, this is my favourite base coat and one I always recommend, it's brilliant. It is expensive but I've had mine for over 12 months and still have some left.

2. Two coats of Ciate Mistress polish, this is a beautiful red polish, this polish belongs to Cole and I have never used a Ciate polish before but I love it, it is easy to apply and drys fast in between coats. 

3. One coat of China Glaze Fairy Dust, I adore this polish, until now Orly's shine on crazy diamonds has always been my favourite glitter top coat but I think this is going to take over, I love how it is finely milled glitter but so so sparkly, unfortunately the photograph doesn't do it justice, it is soooooo sparkly! 

4. A coat of Orly Glosser top coat, this has been my holy grail top coat for years, I love it and it really does make a huge difference, it is expensive but lasts for months and months, I've had mine for almost 12 months and theres still around a third of it left and Cole and Lissy also use it. I feel it makes the difference to the longevity of a polish too. 

I painted my nails on Christmas Eve and as I write this post it's Sunday 28th December and I took the above photograph today, as you can see there are no chips, it has grown out a little at the base of my nails but I think you'll agree it still looks great. I put it down to the Orly glosser top coat, I usually get around 7 days out of a polish apart from Barry M and China Glaze which last around 3/4 days but other brands do usually last around a week without chipping which is amazing and I do think it is the Orly top coat, which I highly recommend you try. 

I hope you liked my Christmas nails, thank you also for all your support and kindness regarding my easy Christmas nail series for 2014, if you missed any of those posts you can find them by looking in the side bar to the right of my blog under 'December' there you'll find each post from December including all 10 in the easy Christmas nails series. 

How did you paint your nails for Christmas? Let me know in the comments.

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x

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Wednesday 24 December 2014

Easy Christmas Nails 2014 - Numbers 9 and 10 - A Festive French and Father Christmas

Hello Lovelies,

Well my easy Christmas nail series for 2014 comes to an end today with numbers 9 and 10 of the series. Number 9 is a 'festive french' look and number 10 is Father Christmas, although I stupidly didn't wait for the nail to dry fully before top coating and I smudged him :( you can still see the design though so forgive my dodgy looking Santa!

So here goes with the final looks, first of all, number 9.

A Festive French



What you'll need 

1. A pale pink polish for the base, I used Rimmel 445 Brit manicure.
2. A white polish, I use Barry M nail paint in white.
3. A red polish, I use Barry M bright red.
4. A green polish, I use Barry M spring green.
5. A silver glitter polish, I use Barry M silver glitter.
6. Dotting tools, I use ones from e-bay.
7. A base and top coat of your choice.

How to create a Festive French

1. Apply a base coat.
2. Apply 2 coats of the pale pink polish, allowing each coat to dry fully in between.
3. Apply 2 coats of white polish to the tips of the nail, allowing each coat to dry in between.
4. Using a dotting tool or cocktail stick/bobby pin and the red and green polishes, make dots in a line along the bottom of the white polish.
5. Once the red and green dots are dry, using the glitter polish and a dotting tool, place dots of glitter between the red and green polish.
6. Once the nails are fully dry apply a top coat of your choice.
7. All done!

I think this is the look I am going to go for on Christmas day, it looks lovely, I did smudge a little as you can probably see but it is a lovely look and one that will look amazing on every nail I think or you could have a french manicure and do this look on the ring finger as an accent nail too. 

Keep reading for look number 10, Father Christmas.

Father Christmas

 


What you'll need

1. A base and top coat of your choice.
2. A white nail polish, linked above.
3. A red nail polish, linked above.
4. A pale pink polish, linked above.
5. A black nail polish, I use Barry M nail paint in black, available for £2.99.
6. Dotting tools, linked above.

How to create Father Christmas Nails

1. Apply a base coat of your choice.
2. Using the pale pink colour, apply 2 coats allowing each coat to dry fully in between.
3. Using the red polish, paint the tip of the nail, use 2 coats of red allowing each to dry fully in between.
4. Using the white polish, at the base of the nail make a half moon shape to create the beard.
5. Using a dotting tool or cocktail stick/bobby pin create the moustache.
6. Using the white polish and a dotting tool create the white "fur"at the base of the hat, I use 2 coats.
7. Again using the white polish, make 2 dots for the eyes.
8. Using the black polish and a dotting tool or bobby pin/cocktail stick create the mouth and place 2 smaller dots on the white dots to finish the eyes off.
9. Using the red polish and a dotting tool, create the nose.
10. Once fully dry, apply a coat of your favourite top coat.
11. All done!

How cute is he? Mine is slightly smudged as I said because I stupidly didn't let him dry before top coating, this is my very first attempt at Father Christmas nails and I worried it wasn't good enough to show you but since this series is for beginners I thought I would. I hope you like him. 

Both looks are nice and christmassy, obviously the Father Christmas is much more festive just because of what it is but I think they both look nice and again the Father Christmas can be used as an accent nail or on every nail. 

And that's it, that's the last in this years easy Christmas nail art series, I hope you've enjoyed the looks I created for you and if you do re create any of them, I'd love to see them so if you don't mind, please send me a picture of your creations :) I love to see them. Some of my photographs have looked blurry in this series, I apologise and this isn't something that has happened before, I am going to look into it and hopefully my photos will be clear from now on, I do hope it hasn't spoiled anything in this series for you.

I've had a lot of fun doing this series and I hope you've had fun reading the posts too. 

I shall be back with another post soon but for now all that's left for me to say is, have a lovely Christmas and thank you for all your support over the last year, it means the world to me. 

Happy Christmas everyone 

Zoe x

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Tuesday 23 December 2014

Easy Christmas Nails 2014 - Numbers 7 and 8 - A Snowman and a Pudding

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have numbers 7 and 8 in my easy Christmas Nail art series for 2014.

A snowman and a pud, so as I say in my you tube video's, I'll crack on with the post :)

A Snowman


What you'll need

1. White nail polish, I used Barry M nail paint in White, available HERE for £2.99.
2. Black nail polish, again I used Barry M nail paint in Black, available HERE for £2.99.
3. Orange nail polish, I used Collection polish in Orange Zest, available HERE for £1.99.
4. A base and top coat of your choice.

How to create a snowman

1. Apply a base coat of your choice.
2. Apply 2 coats of white nail polish allowing each coat to dry in between.
3. Using the black polish and a dotting tool, create 2 dots for the eyes and around 5 or 6 for the mouth.
4. Using the orange polish and a dotting tool or cocktail stick create a small triangle shape for the nose.
5. Once the snowman is fully dry apply a coat of your favourite top coat.
6. All done! 

This is really easy to create but looks great and can be used as an accent nail or on every nail depending on what you prefer. keep reading for the next nail look :)

A Pudding

What you'll need

1. A brown nail polish, I used OPI suzi loves cowboys, available HERE for £7.95.
2. A white nail polish, I used Barry M nail paint in white, available as above. 
3. A red nail polish, I used Barry M bright red, available HERE for £2.99.
4. A green nail polish, I used Barry M spring green, available HERE for £2.99.
5. A dotting tool, I use a set from e-bay that were £1.95 inc P&P, you can find them HERE.
6. A base and top coat of your choice.

How to create A Pud 

1. Apply a coat of your favourite base coat.
2. Apply 2 coats of brown nail polish allowing each coat to dry fully in between. 
3. Using the white polish and a dotting tool or cocktail stick/bobby pin create 4 dots around a third of the way down the nail. 
4. Then using the white polish again, create the 'icing' by using the dotting tool to fill in between the dots and fill in the rest of the space where the white needs to go, you can use the brush from the polish for this also dependant on the brush thickness. 
5. Allow the white polish to dry fully.
6. Take the green polish and a dotting tool or cocktail stick and create the holly leaves.
7. Take the red polish and create 3 dots in the centre of the holly leaves.
8. Once fully dry, apply a coat of your favourite top coat. 
9. All done!

Both these looks are really easy to create, the pudding is harder than the snowman and more time consuming but looks good, I made a mistake with my berries and should have put them in the middle of the holly leaves and not on top of as the colour isn't as vibrant as I'd have liked but this was my first attempt at a Christmas pudding. 

Both looks are great for Christmas and can be used as accent nails or on every nail dependant on your preference. I hope you enjoyed both looks. 

I have looks 9 & 10 coming up tomorrow and an appearance from the man himself so keep an eye out for those. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x





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Easy Christmas Nails - Numbers 5 and 6 - Santa Hats and an Updated Sparkly French

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have 2 nail looks for you in my easy Christmas nails series, numbers 5 and 6. Number 5 is an updated look of the sparkly French manicure I showed you for look number 2.

An Updated Sparkly French - Santa Baby



What you'll need

1. A very pale pink for the base colour, I use Rimmel Brit manicure in 445, available HERE for £4.49.
2. A Red nail polish, I use Barry M nail paint, available HERE for £2.99.
3. A White nail polish, I use Barry M nail paint, available HERE for £2.99.
4. A Red glitter polish, I use Barry M glitter in ruby slippers, available HERE for £2.99.
5. A Silvery glitter polish or any glitter top coat, I use Barry M silver glitter, available HERE for £2.99.
6. Dotting tools or a cocktail stick or bobby pin (hair grip) I bought mine from e-bay for £1.95 inc P&P and they are available to buy from HERE.
7. A base and top coat of your choice. 

How to create Santa Baby nails

1. Following the instructions from Number 2 in my series which can be found HERE, create the red sparkly french manicure look, but don't use a top coat. So follow all steps apart from step 4 and 5. 
2. Once the red sparkly polish is dry, using a dotting tool or bobby pin etc, take some of the white polish and create a line of dots under the red sparkly polish.
3. Once the white polish is dry, take the silver glitter polish and a dotting tool/cocktail stick/bobby pin and create a line of the silver glitter polish under the white polish.
4. Once its all dry apply a coat of your favourite top coat.
4. All done! 

Santa Hats

What you'll need

1. A red polish, as linked above.
2. A white polish, as linked above.
3. A silver glitter polish, as linked above (optional)
4. Dotting tools, as linked above or a cocktail stick or bobby pin.
5. A base and top coat of your choice.

How to create, Santa Hats

1. Use a base coat of your choice.
2. Paint your nails with a colour of your choosing or a french manicure works well with this look.
3. Taking the red polish create a triangle shape, this is easy to do using the brush on the polish, no dotting tools required. Apply 2 coats of the red polish allowing each to dry fully in between.
4. Using the white polish and a dotting tool/bobby pin create the pom pom on top of the hat and also the white at the base of the hat, again I used 2 coats of white, allowing each coat to dry fully in between.
5. If you'd like to, apply the silver glitter over the top of the white polish, this is optional as I think it looks nice both ways, with and without the glitter, it's a personal choice. 
6. Once fully dry, apply a coat of your favourite top coat. 
7. All done! 

I hope you enjoyed both the looks today, both are really easy to create but look great and both are really festive and ideal if you want some Christmas nails but don't want Rudolph's or penguins etc. 

I will have more than 1 look per day leading up to Christmas so I can show you the looks I have created for this 2014 series, so be sure to check my blog or follow it so you don't miss out on any of the looks :)

This series seems to be very popular again as it was last year which is great, I'm really pleased you're enjoying my nail looks. If you didn't see last years Christmas nails series you can find the designs by reading THIS POST

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x


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Monday 22 December 2014

Easy Christmas Nails - Number 4 - Sparkly Christmas Tree


Hello Lovelies,

Today I have number 4 in my easy Christmas nails series for 2014, a sparkly Christmas tree, please forgive the photo quality, it looked fine in my editor etc but now looks slightly blurry but hopefully you can still see the image ok. 

A Sparkly Christmas Tree


What you'll need

1. Green nail polish, I used Barry M nail paint in Spring Green available for £2.99 HERE
2. White nail polish, I used Barry M nail paint in White available for £2.99 HERE
3. Glitter nail polish, I used Barry M nail paint in Diamond Glitter available for £2.99 HERE
4. Dotting tools, a cocktail stick or a bobby pin (hair grip) I use dotting tools from E-bay available HERE for £1.95 inc UK P&P.
5. A base and top coat of your choice.

How to create the sparkly Christmas tree

1. Use a base coat of your choice.
2. Apply 2 coats of the white polish allowing each coat to dry fully in between.
3. Using your dotting tool or cocktail stick or bobby pin take the green nail polish and create dots to make the tree, so place 1 dot for the top then 2, then 3 and so on until you have your tree shape.
4. Using the glitter go over the green dot at the top.
5. Dot the glitter all over the tree but quite sparingly to look like lights or baubles.
6. Once the tree and glitter are fully dry, apply a coat of a top coat of your choice.
7. All done!

This is a super easy look to do but one that looks really effective and very Christmassy, you could if you wanted to use a different background colour but I think white really makes the tree stand out. And you could add a couple of brown dots at the base of the tree for a stump if you fancy. 

I hope you enjoyed this nail look and are enjoying the series so far,  I have some more designs coming up so be sure to follow my blog so you don't miss those, you can follow my blog by bloglovin or GFC, the buttons are in the side bar to the right of my blog.

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x






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Sunday 21 December 2014

Easy Christmas Nails 2014 - Number Three - Meet Me Under The Stars

Hello Lovelies, 

Today I have number Three in my 'Easy Christmas Nails' series for 2014 and to be honest this is a bit of a cheat look but extremely simple ;-) 

Meet Me Under The Stars



What you'll need

1. A base and top coat of your choosing.
2. China Glaze polish in the colour Meet Me Under The Stars available for £3.99 including p&p HERE.

How to create 'Meet me under the stars'

1. Apply a base coat of your choice.
2. Apply 2 coats of the China Glaze, meet me under the stars polish.
3. Apply a top coat of your choice.
4. All done! 

I am cheating really by putting this into my easy Christmas nails series for 2014 and this post is a little tongue in cheek, but it is such a beautiful polish that I couldn't not include it. 

Meet me under the stars is part of the Christmas 2014 collection for China Glaze and I purchased my polish from Nail Polish Direct, I love this website and have been purchasing my nail polishes from them for some time now, it's free UK delivery which is fab and they are a great company. China Glaze polishes are £3.99 which is amazing as they retail at around £10-£14, they also have lots of other brands and most at discounted prices. 

I love this polish, it's a lovely black polish with silver glitter running through it, I used 2 coats of polish for the look in the photograph above. I get so many compliments on this polish and it is one of my favourites for the festive season, so easy but yet so effective. 

If you'd like to check out Nail polish direct and all their amazing discounted polishes with free p&p, you can find their website HERE

Thank you for reading, much love

Zoe x






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Saturday 20 December 2014

Easy Christmas Nail 2014 - Number Two - Sparkly French

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have number two in my Easy Christmas Nail series for 2014. Today's look is a sparkly french manicure and I have three different variations of a french manicure for you.

A Sparkly French Manicure

L-R A silver sparkly french, a red sparkly french and a black sparkly french.

What you'll need

1. A base and top coat of your choosing. I like to use the Orly Bonder base coat and Orly Glosser top coat, both available HERE.
2. A pale pink base colour, my favourite is the Rimmel Brit manicure in the colour 445 available HERE for £4.49 (currently on a 3 for 2 promotion) 
3. A Black nail polish, I used Barry M Nail Paint in Black, available for £2.99 HERE.
4. A Red nail polish, I used Barry M Nail Paint in Red, available for £2.99 HERE.
5. A White nail polish, I used Barry M Nail Paint in White, available for £2.99 HERE.
6. Glitter polishes, I used Barry M glitter in Rockstar (for black) Ruby slippers (for red) and Diamond glitter (for silver) all available for £2.99 HERE.

How to create a Sparkly French Manicure

1. Using a base coat of your choice, apply a coat of base coat and allow to dry.
2. Using the pink base colour (rimmel) apply 2-3 coats and allow to dry fully in between coats. 
3. Using the colour of your choice, either black, red or white apply to the tips of your nails.
4. Using the corresponding glitter polish, apply over the painted tips.
5. Once the nails are fully dry, apply a coat of your chosen top coat.
6. All done!

These are super easy to create but look really effective and the red and black are something different to a classic french manicure but if you do want a different take on the classic french manicure then adding the Diamond glitter gives a real Christmassy look to any french manicure. All the colours look equally as nice on the toes. And when I have worn the red or black sparkly french manicure I have always received countless compliments. 

As I always say, if you do recreate this nail look, please let me know and if possible send me a picture please, all my social media links are under the header 'where to find me' to the right of my blog with click able links in the squares. 

If you missed out on number one in this series you can find it HERE

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x


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Tuesday 16 December 2014

Easy Christmas Nail Art 2014 ~ Number One ~ Rudolph Nails

Hello Lovelies,

If you've been reading my blog for a while (well 12 months at least) you'll know that last Christmas I had an 'Easy Christmas Nails' series here on my blog. Recently I have been inundated with requests from my blog readers and also You Tube subscribers to do the same this year, so here goes, here's number one in my easy Christmas nails series for 2014.

Rudolph Nails



What You'll Need

1. Red Nail Polish - I used Orly Haute Red available HERE for £10.25 but you can use any Red polish.
2. Red Glitter Nail Polish - I used Barry M Ruby Slippers available HERE for £2.99.
3. Light Brown Nail Polish - I used Jessica Buck Naked available HERE for £8.25 (free UK delivery) but any light Brown is fine. 
4. Dark Brown Nail Polish - I used OPI Suzi Loves Cowboys available HERE for £7.25 (free UK delivery) but any dark Brown is fine.
5. Black Nail Polish - I used Barry M Nail Paint in Black available HERE for £2.99.
6. White Nail Polish - I used Barry M Nail Paint in White available HERE for £2.99 (free UK delivery)
7. Dotting Tools - I use dotting tools from eBay available HERE for £1.99 inc free UK delivery but you can also use a cocktail stick or bobby pin/hair grip.
8. A base and top coat of your choosing, I always use Orly Bonder base coat and Orly Glosser top coat both available from HERE

If you have them you could use a Black and a White nail art pen but they are not necessary if you don't have them.

How to create 'Rudolph' nails

1. Taking the light brown nail polish create a dome shape at the base of your nail, leaving a gap at either side so you can see the base colour. 

2. Using a dotting tool or cocktail stick or bobby pin create Rudolph's ears by placing 2 dots at either side of the dome shape you created, using the same light Brown polish.

3. Using a thin ended dotting tool or cocktail stick and the dark Brown polish, create Rudolph's antlers.

4. Using a dotting tool or cocktail stick and some White polish make 2 dots for the eyes, you can if you have one use a nail art pen for this. 

5. Once the White polish is dry, create some 'pupils' using the Black polish and a dotting tool or cocktail stick. 

6. Take the Red polish and create Rudolph's nose, you can do this free hand or use a dotting tool or cocktail stick to draw it in.

7. Once the Red polish is dry, go over the top of it with the Red glitter polish.

8. Once the nails are fully dry, apply a top coat of your choice. 

9. All done! 

This is an easy but really effective look for Christmas, you can choose to have Rudolph on all your nails or if you prefer have him as an accent nail as I have in the photograph above. I got lots of compliments on my Rudolph nails, it doesn't take too long to do but looks great. Always allow your nail art to dry fully before applying your top coat or it will smudge badly an spoil all your hard work. 

I think Rudolph looks great over Red polish but he also looks good on a french manicure or over lots of different colour polishes, it's entirely up to you. 

I hope you enjoyed number one of my easy Christmas nail series for 2014, I will be back with number two for you soon, and don't worry if nail art isn't your thing, I will have lots of variety for you, not just cute Christmas nail art. 

If you do re create this nail look please let me know and if possible please send me a photograph, all my social media links are in the squares under the 'where to find me' section at the right hand side of my blog at the top, the squares all have click able links. It's always really nice to see when you re create the looks I show you. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x






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Sunday 30 November 2014

MAC Lipmix in Red

Hello Lovelies, 

As you know I have a bit of a thing for lipstick and over the last few months I have tried goodness knows how many of the liquid lipsticks that are on offer from countless brands but haven't liked any of them enough to shout about. 

A few years ago (2010)  MAC brought out their Kissable Lip Colours as part of they Peacocky collection and I loved them and still do, they are the only liquid lipstick or lipstick/lipgloss hybrid I have used and loved and still do. But also from MAC is another product that doesn't seem to get any love in the blogging and you tube world and that product is the MAC Lipmix.

Today I want to talk to you about the MAC Lipmix in Red, it is my favourite Red lip product and one that I always receive countless compliments on both on my you tube videos and in general when I'm wearing it.




The lipmix in Red is an amazing bright Red colour with a very subtle orange undertone, it is the most beautiful Red lip product I have and I love it. It has been my go to red lip colour for the past few weeks now and it really is an amazing product, and one I had to tell you about. 

I apply the lipmix with a brush using the amount shown in the photograph above on the left, it isn't too messy to apply although you do need to be careful. I don't need a lip liner with this as it doesn't budge, no feathering or bad bleeding at all which is something I have found with drug store liquid lipsticks, yes Bourjois Rouge Velvet, I mean you! 

The lipmix stays in place for hours and hours without re touching, I can apply it in the morning and chat away all day and drink my Pepsi max and it's still as lovely hours later. The lip mixes aren't sold as liquid lipsticks they are sold as an opaque cream product which can be mixed to create a customised lip colour. They come in 12 different colours and retail at £14.50 each. I don't think its a bad price considering the amount you need to use and it looks beautiful. 



The lipmix is easy to apply and like I said I use a brush and would recommend applying it that way, it doesn't budge or bleed and lasts for hours, it dries to a kind of matte finish but doesn't feel dry at all, I am completely in love and although I am lucky enough to get discount on MAC products because my lovely daughter is a make up artist, I would pay full price for these in a heartbeat. 

The lip mixes are a pro product, meaning they cannot be bought at a MAC counter but you can buy them at a MAC pro store and on line on the MAC website and I would highly recommend you try them, you won't regret it. I am going to get some more colours in the lip mixes either for Christmas or before, once I have them I am going to film a video for my You Tube channel all about them and I'm going to mix some colours and apply them to show what great colours you can make and how easy they are to apply, I will also show them on their own before I have mixed them. I am so impressed that once I have my other colours unless another lip product really catches my eye, I will just make up my own colours with the lip mixes. 

If you'd like to try the MAC lip mix in Red or any of the other colours, you can find them here for £14.50 each. 

Have you tried the lip mixes? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x




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Thursday 27 November 2014

Hudl2 Tablet - Unboxing And First Impressions


Hello Lovelies, 

Today's blog post is all about the Hudl2 Tesco's own take on a tablet. I have never owned a tablet or even used one so when Tesco got in touch and kindly offered to send me one of their Hudl2 tablets I was over the moon.

About the Hudl2

The Hudl2 is Tesco's own brand tablet, it is their newest version following last years Hudl. 
It comes in 8 different colours, Black, Blue, TurquoiseOrange PinkPurple, Red and White. 
It has -
8.3" screen
16GB of internal storage
Android Kit Kat and Google Play
Fast Dual Band Wifi
Up to 8 hours of battery life
Dolby optimised sound
Front (1.2MP) and back (5MP) cameras
Intel quad core processor

The software/apps included are -

Google Play
Google Chrome
You Tube
Google Mail
Google Maps
Google Now
Google+
Hangouts
Blinkbox Movies
Blinkbox Music
Tesco

There is also a micro SD card slot so you can expand your storage to up to 48GB if needed, there is also a headphone port. 

My Thoughts On The Hudl2 - Apps, The Internet & The Camera

Like I said I have never used a tablet before so am a complete novice, I do have an iPhone 5 so am used to swiping up and down and clicking on apps but that's about as far as it goes. 

I found the Hudl2 really easy to use and from me turning it on for the first time it was super easy to get to grips with, and very self explanatory. There is a small instruction booklet that comes with it, but I'd say it was more of a tips book than an instruction booklet as it didn't really instruct me of much. I found using the Hudl2 for the first time really easy, it was easy to connect to our wifi and sign in to my Google account. 

Whilst filming the video I downloaded Instagram and Twitter and both downloaded very fast and I was signed in and using them in seconds, I love using Instagram on the Hudl2 it's so much better than on my iPhone, the pictures are clear and a great size and the same goes for Twitter too, it's super easy to use and much better than on my phone. Since filming I have downloaded more apps from the play store, and found it really easy to do, you can move the app icons between screens placing them where you'd like them too. The tablet comes with some apps already installed which is great, it already had You Tube which for me is great and it also has gmail amongst other things which is something else I use on a daily basis, and when I wanted to find some more apps to download the play store was really easy to use and find my way round too.

As I said I downloaded quite a few apps from the play store, 2 of the apps I downloaded are BBC iPlayer and Netflix, I think the Hudl2 is great for watching films and TV series, the screen is a great size, it is bright and the volume is great. I love to use the Hudl2 for Instagram as I said and Twitter and it is also great for playing gaming apps, Simon is a Candy crush addict and loves to play it on the Hudl2, he also downloaded a Star Wars game which he said it brilliant to play on the Hudl2, he said the graphics are good and the colour and brightness plus volume are good too. I won't bore you with all the apps I've downloaded but I have found the Hudl2 great for all the apps I have downloaded, the play store is easy to use and the apps download quickly and can be moved around on the screen of the Hudl2 so you can place the icons where you want them. 

I have also used the Hudl2 for surfing the internet, I do 99% of my shopping on line so I have visited the sites I would normally use, I found the Hudl2 easy to use for surfing on line and also internet shopping, I have also googled a few different things to see how the Hudl2 held up with that too, I found it to be fast, google found the sites very quickly and once I'd clicked onto a site it was on the screen in seconds so I had no problems at all with surfing the internet. I also read my own blog and a few other blogs using the Hudl2 and had no problems at all with reading blogs or clicking any available links, viewing photographs etc. 

The Hudl2 comes with a selection of different wallpapers to use as your background but you can upload your own photographs to the tablet easily through your laptop or computer and use one of those if you wish, I found the settings really easy to use and found my way round them in no time. 

Child safety on the Hudl2

One feature I particularly liked is the Child Safety app, I don't have small children but as a parent I found this to be a really good feature of the Hudl2 tablet, you can create different profiles for different children and within those profiles depending on age you can block websites and apps you choose to and add a time restriction feature. I decided the best way to be able to tell you about the child safety app was to use it, and that's what I did. When you first go onto the app you can either choose to read some safety advice or create a profile, I decided to create a profile so I could tell you more about the app. When choosing to create a profile you are then asked to select a lock, there are 6 different lock methods, None, Slide, Face Unlock, Pattern, PIN and Password, obviously choosing none would be pointless but you do have that option, I thought it was good how there were more than the usual password option as this might not suit everyone. I selected password and then continued to make the profile, it asks for the child's name and age so I chose Zoe (original) and age 12. The first thing I noticed was the home screen only contained a couple of the installed apps including website, gallery and calculator, all the apps I'd previously downloaded weren't there and even when I clicked onto the button that shows all the apps on the Hudl2 it still only showed a few and none of my previously downloaded apps. The play store app icon was available but when I clicked on it it said it was unavailable for use so I couldn't get on it meaning as a 12 year old I couldn't download anything from the play store, again I thought this was a great feature. 

Another thing I like about the child safety feature is that for children aged under 11 social media websites and apps are completely blocked, I did mention in the video that Twitter and Facebook have an age limit of 13 and wondered why these are blocked from age 11 and under on the Hudl2 and I said in the video I would look into it so I have tweeted Tesco about it and they responded with, and I quote " Facebook and Twitter implement age restriction policies in order to use their services, this is not a Hudl issue" is it just me or is that not incredibly helpful? Maybe if a website or app has an age restriction the Hudl2 should block up to that age restriction? But as a parent you can also block certain websites and apps so should you not want your 12 year old to use Facebook or Twitter for example, you can block them very easily, this can be done with any app or website you don't want your child to access. 

I also thought the time restriction was a great feature of the child safety app, you can choose when your child uses the Hudl2, for example you could choose for the Hudl2 to be used on weekdays between the hours of 4pm and 6pm and all day at weekends but at the weekend only for a maximum of 2 and a half hours a day meaning your child cannot sit on their tablet until the battery runs out. I think that is a really good feature, each child has their own profile icon too and their photograph can be added if you wish.  

All in all I was really impressed with the child safety app, obviously it is ultimately a parents responsibility to take care of how and when their child uses a tablet but I think the child safety app is a brilliant feature and as a parent I was very impressed with it. 

Photographs and videos

Unfortunately I wasn't impressed with the camera on the Hudl2, I didn't find it to be brilliant and it wasn't as good as my iPhone, I sometimes use my iPhone to take blog photographs but couldn't use the Hudl2 as they just weren't clear enough I'm afraid. I also feel the same about the video aspect, I filmed a short video and the quality and sound weren't great for me, that said I do film my you tube videos on a Canon video camera so that should be good quality as it's Canon but even without the comparison to the Canon it just wasn't great at all I'm afraid so I wouldn't use the Hudl2 for photographs or videoing but to be fair I wouldn't buy a tablet of any description for the camera or video aspect anyway so this isn't a major problem for me. 

My overall thoughts & Pro's and Cons of the Hudl2 

Pros

* I found the Hudl2 really easy to get to grips with, it was very self explanatory and I didn't get stuck with anything at all, I basically played around with apps and icons and found my way around the tablet very easily. 

* The play store is easy to access and apps were very easy to find and download. 

* The child safety app is fantastic and I was extremely impressed with it. 

* Watching films and TV programmes was easy to do, the volume and brightness are great but can be adjusted in the settings should you wish to do so. 

* The settings are easy to use such as changing wallpaper etc.

* I was able to access the internet quickly and had no problems with google or surfing on line including on line shopping. 

* The Hudl2 was completely charged in a couple of hours and the battery has lasted well, no problems with charging or the battery life. 

* I found the Hudl2 easy to use for both reading and sending emails. 

* The selection of pre loaded apps are useful. 

* It looks sleek and is available in 8 different colours. 

Cons

* I didn't find the camera very good or the videoing aspect of the Hudl2 to be good. 

* The smudge proof screen isn't exactly smudge proof and the Hudl2 is now completely covered in marks and finger prints.

* I didn't like the way the Hudl2 had to be updated and re started as soon as I switched it on for the first time, taking around 7 minutes. 

* I did find the Hudl2 to be a little heavy after a while but given my health that could be why.

Overall thoughts

As you can see the pros far outweigh the cons, and the cons are pretty minor things really apart from the video and camera aspect should you want a tablet for that reason. I am quite fussy about things like finger prints and it drives me mad but it's hardly a first world problem, and the same goes for the having to update and restart the tablet when I first switched it on, neither are massive problems. And as for the tablet being heavy, I did manage to use it by putting it on a cushion on my lap. If you were buying a tablet purely for the camera facilities and video feature this may not be for you but for me as I said I wouldn't want a tablet to use as a camera or video camera anyway and if I had the tablet and was out and about and there was a photo opportunity I'm sure it wouldn't be so horrific I wouldn't be able to view it so again it's no biggie to me but this is a review so I need to point out the bad as well as the good. 

Overall I think the Hudl2 is a great little tablet, and to be perfectly honest had I not been sent the Hudl2 to review, I would never have bought one and was considering buying an iPad for Simon as his Christmas present but I am so glad I have had the opportunity to try the Hudl2 as it has shown me that there are other options out there for a lot less money that will do exactly the same thing that I'd want from any tablet. As an apple kind of girl I wouldn't have ever considered Android but having used the Hudl2 over the last few days I am really impressed with it. As I said I am a complete technophobe and I had no issues at all with any aspect of using the Hudl2, it was so easy to use and understand, and basically if I can use it, anyone can! 

Now all that's left for me to do is find something else to buy for Simon for Christmas! 

If you would like to purchase the Hudl2, you can find it here for £99, you can also purchase a wide range of accessories here should you wish. 

Have you tried the Hudl2? What did you think? 

If you have any questions regarding the Hudl2 or any app recommendations for me, please leave them in the comments and I will get back to you asap. 

Thank you for reading, I hope you found this post and the video helpful.

Much love

Zoe x




* The Hudl2 was kindly sent to me for review purposes. 
































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Friday 31 October 2014

Easy Halloween Nails Number 5 - I'm Dotty For Halloween

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have number 5 in my Halloween nail series, Going Dotty For Halloween. Today's look is super easy but looks great and is good for those of you who want to get into the spirit of Halloween but don't want pictures of Ghosts or Frankenstein on your nails.

Going Dotty For Halloween

What you'll need


1. Dotting Tools, if you haven't got dotting tools don't worry, a cocktail stick or hair grip/bobby pin is fine. 
2. Any Black nail polish.
3. Any Green nail polish.
4. Any Orange nail polish.
5. Any Purple nail polish (not shown on photograph - sorry) 
6. Any White nail polish
7. Base Coat.
8. Top Coat.

How to create Dotty for Halloween nails

1. Apply a base coat of your choice and allow to dry fully.
2. Paint your nails with 2 coats of the Black polish and allow to dry fully in between coats. 
3. Using your dotting tools, cocktail stick or bobby pin, make different size dots on top of the Black polish using all of your other colours of nail polish, this can be done randomly, I think it looks better like that too. 
4. When the nails are fully dry, apply a top coat of your choice. 

My dotty Halloween nails

Where to buy products used

1. Dotting Tools - Mine are from Poundland 
2. Black Polish - I used Barry M Nail Paint in Black 
3. Green Polish - I used Barry M Nail Paint in Spring Green 
4. Orange Polish - I used Collection Work The Colour in Orange Zest 
5. Purple Polish - I used Barry M Gelly High Shine in Lilac/Prickly Pear 
6. White Polish - I used Wah London Your Love Is One 
7. Top Coat - I used Orly Glosser 
8. Base Coat - I used Orly Bonder 

I hope you enjoyed number 5 of my Easy Halloween Nails series, unfortunately as its Halloween today this is the last in my series, I hope you enjoyed today's look and the whole series, I have had some fantastic feed back and seen some amazing photographs of your nails when re creating the looks I've posted, thank you so much it means a lot to me. 

Please send me a photograph if you do recreate any of the looks in my series, it makes my day to see them, all my social media links are in the click able cubes to the right of my blog under the heading 'where to find me'. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x

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Thursday 30 October 2014

Easy Halloween Nail Art Number 4 - Ghostly Nails

Hello Lovelies,

Today I have number 4 in my easy Halloween nail art series, Ghostly nails. This is a super easy ghostly look that is easy to do but looks great and is perfect either all the nails or as an accent nail.

What you'll need


L-R Dotting Tools, Wah London polish, Barry M Nail Paint, Wah London nail art pen.

1. Dotting Tools, if you don't have dotting tools a cocktail stick or hair grip/bobby pin is fine.
2. Any White nail polish.
3. Any Black nail polish.
4. A Black nail art pen (optional) 

How to create Ghostly nails

1. Apply a base coat of your choice and leave to dry fully.
2. Apply 2 coats of White nail polish, leaving each coat to dry in between. 

2 coats of white polish

3. Using either a dotting tool or a nail art pen, make 2 oval shapes at the base of the nail for eyes, 2 short lines on a slant for the nose and then a smile with lines through the smile to create a stitched mouth. 

My Ghostly Nails

4. Once the nails are fully dry, apply a top coat of your choice.
5. All Done. 

Where to buy the products used

1. Dotting Tools - I bought mine from Poundland
2. White Nail Polish - I used Wah London, your love is one 
3. Black Nail Polish - I used Barry M Nail Paint in Black 
4. Black Nail Art Pen - I used Wah London nail art pen
5. Base Coat - I use Orly Bonder base coat 
6. Top Coat - I use Orly Glosser top coat

I hope you liked my Ghostly nails, if you missed the other 3 nail art looks in the series I will link them below. 

If you do recreate the Ghostly nails or any of the nail looks in this series please send me a photograph, all my social media links are to the right hand side of my blog under the header where to find me and all have click able links. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x







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