NOTD - NYC Gel Gloss Polish In Harlem Figure

Hello Lovelies, 

Today I have another NOTD (nail of the day) post for you, today's polish is a lovely summer coral/pink shade from the brand NYC and up until recently I had never tried NYC until one of my lovely friends Gemma introduced me to their polishes when we were chatting about nail polish one day, since then I have tried quite a few of their shine in a minute polishes but when Gemma told me about their gel gloss range I knew I had to pick them up. 

I used to have gel manicures quite a lot but they started to have an effect on my nails and my nails became brittle and would break very easily so I stopped having them, but I do miss the effect I got from a gel manicure especially that gorgeous high gloss finish. I purchased a couple of shades from the gel gloss range and the one I am sharing with you today is Harlem Figure a lovely coral/pink shade and one that is perfect for the summer. 

I used 3 coats of the NYC polish allowing each to dry fully in between and then I used my beloved holy grail top coat the Orly Glosser and I loved the finished look. I adore coral and pink shades for the summer months and Harlem Figure is a perfect mix of both it really is a beautiful shade. 

I'm not sure I could go as far as saying my nails look like I've had a gel manicure but they do look lovely and glossy and I always receive a lot of compliments when I wear Harlem Figure, the polish lasts for 4 - 7 days on my nails depending if I catch them or not, I have a habit of catching my nails when opening things and chipping a corner but if I don't do that I can wear the polish for a week and considering the price of £2.49 I think that is amazing! 

I would highly recommend the NYC gel polishes they come in a range of lovely colours, they give a lovely high gloss finish and the wear time is brilliant for such an affordable polish, I need 3 coats of the gel gloss polishes I think because of the gel like formula the first coat can look a little streaky but allowing each coat to dry fully in-between and using 3 coats gives me a gorgeous opaque finish with a high gloss shine, these gel finish polishes definitely give some of the more expensive polishes on the market a run for their money and I will certainly be purchasing some more shades from the range. 

If you would like to try Harlem Figure you can find it at Superdrug for £2.49 here or if you want to check out the other shades in the gel gloss range you can find them here. 

Have you tried the NYC gel gloss polishes? Which one is your favourite? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always 

Zoe x

Getting Your Feet Summer Ready

Hello Lovelies,

If you live in the UK you'll be very aware that so far apart from that couple of blink and you'll miss it sunny days we had a few weeks ago, we've not had much of a summer,  in fact it's been absolutely dire! But whilst watching the weather report on breakfast television a few days ago, I was excited to hear that we are (hopefully) in for some nice summery weather during August.

Summery weather often means one thing, I start wearing sandals and flip flops and in order to wear sandals I like my feet to be looking "sandal appropriate" today I'm going to share with you how I prepare my feet so they're looking their best in my sandals or flip flops after all there is nothing worse than having dodgy feet on display is there?

Preparation

Preparation is key when it comes to summer ready feet, in the UK nice summery weather often comes from nowhere, lasts a couple of days and then leaves us again so personally I think it's best to be prepared, can you tell I was once in the Brownies?

First of all I like to keep my feet exfoliated and I find exfoliating gloves a good way to keep on top of exfoliating my feet, the gloves in the above photograph are from Primark and brilliant for exfoliating there's 2 pairs in a pack for just £1.00 which is the most affordable I've found so far and they do a great job, you use them in the shower or bath and use your regular shower gel or you can use a body scrub if you'd rather and exfoliate your feet, this is also a great way to exfoliate your body too. If you use the gloves every time you shower or bath or even 3 times a week it will keep your feet (and body) summer soft. 

 Another thing I think is a great way of keeping your feet super soft and summer ready is to use a foot file, I like the one from Boots, the best time to use a foot file like the one in the photograph above is when your feet are dry so before you shower or bath, use it on any areas of hard skin you may have, if you have a lot use it daily and once it's under control use it once or twice a week, they really are good and you'll soon see a difference, they are really easy to keep clean too running them under the tap and a clean with some anti bacterial soap does the job brilliantly.

The next thing I do to ensure my feet are super soft and looking summer ready is to moisturise, I love the brand Flexitol they are brilliant for foot care but also have some great products for the body, hands and nails. One of my favourite moisturisers to use for my feet is the Flexitol Moisturising Foot Cream available here, it feels very luxurious when applied and sinks into the skin nicely, I like to apply a nice thick layer at bedtime and then sleep in a pair of socks, in the morning my feet are super soft and looking lovely, you can also use the Flexitol cream as a moisturiser for your legs but this is something I am yet to try. 

The last step is to paint my toe nails, at the moment I'm loving pastels and the polishes above are some of my favourite polishes to use right now, all look equally amazing on the toes and fingers.

So that's how I like to keep my feet looking nice for the summer months, it's something I keep on top of all year round and then when we do get a sudden and often unannounced spell of sandal appropriate weather here in the UK, my feet are ready for me to don my sandals without any worries. I do also like to book in at my local beauty salon for a pedicure a couple of times a year as this helps my feet to stay in perfect sandal wearing condition it isn't a necessary step,  just a nice treat that helps along the way. 

Do you have any tips to keep your feet summer ready? Let me know in the comments and I'll reply as always asap. 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x

Smartsun UK UV Indicator Wristbands

Hello Lovelies,

I have always been very aware of staying safe in the sun both at home in the UK and on holidays abroad, in our house we always use a factor 30 sunscreen both when we're at home and out in the sun and when we're away on holidays, I am very cautious of being sun safe and always have been but more so since my godfather was sadly diagnosed with skin cancer 4 years ago. 

When I received the Smartsun wristbands I was intrigued by them, I've never seen anything like them before and couldn't wait to read the information leaflet that came with the wristbands to find out more about them. 

About Smartsun

Hailing from Sweden Smartsun* are dedicated to helping people stay safe in the sun, they understand it can be hard to keep on top of sun protection especially on holiday when you're having fun and that's why they have created the Smartsun wristband, a quick and easy way to remind you when it's time to apply your sun protection. The wristbands are suitable for use in and out of both the pool and sea water. 

One of the Smartsun wristbands

How The Wristbands Work

The Smartsun wristband is a one use UV indicator meaning it measures the amount of UV radiation you are exposed to over the course of the day. If you're safe to stay in the sun the wristband will stay yellow, if it's time to re apply sun protection it will change colour to beige and if it's time to stay out of the sun altogether the band will change colour to pink.

How To Use The Sunsmart Wristbands

Put the wristband on first thing in the morning and apply sun cream to both your body and the wristband ( you also do this when re applying sun cream) The wristbands are adjustable to fit depending on the wrist size. 

 My Thoughts

When I first saw the Smartsun wristbands and before I'd read any of the information on them I honestly thought they would be a gimmick but after reading all the information on the wristbands I think they're a really good idea, we haven't yet been on our family holiday but one of my close friends and her family have and they kindly took a couple of the wristbands on their holiday abroad and tested the wristbands out for me, my friend has 2 small children and they loved wearing their wristband, my friend said it made things a lot easier as usually she has to tell them more than once to come out of the pool and re apply sun protection but all she had to do was say "when your wristband changes colour it means more sun cream" she said it was great when she wanted the children to come out of the pool and sit under the umbrella for a while because they could see the wrist band change colour they were happy to come out of the sun,  she was super impressed by them.

I feel they're a great idea for children, my girls used to hate having to stop playing to have more sun cream on and most children are probably the same, I think children would find the idea of the wristbands quite a novelty as my friends children did making it easier for their parents/guardians to re apply their cream, for adults I think if you were playing sports or maybe gardening or just generally busy and could potentially forget to re apply sun cream they're a great idea too, they are easy to use and comfortable to wear, you can't tell you are wearing the wristband when it's on.

I was shocked to read the facts regarding skin cancer,  my god father is extremely lucky to be alive but suffered extensive plastic surgery to his face and is severely disfigured as a result.

Overall Thoughts

Overall I think the Smartsun wristbands are brilliant and a really great idea especially for children, reading the facts on skin cancer in the leaflet provided I was horrified and I am so glad I have always been cautious with my family and staying safe in the sun. The wristbands are easy to use and comfortable to wear and I like that they can be used in both the pool and the sea too, I think they're ideal for holidays abroad and hot days at home and if I had small children I would definitely be buying some for our holiday abroad.

My only negative would be the price of the Sunsmart wristbands, in my opinion they're a bit pricey, they are £4.99 for a pack of 5 so assuming you have 2 children and are going on a 14 day holiday you'd need 6 packs costing £29.94 which for me is a lot of money but then I suppose we really can't put a price on our children's health and well being so I would pay it if it meant my children were safe in the sun and at less risk of skin cancer.

For more information visit the Smartsun website here, Smartsun also have a Twitter page which you can follow here and a Facebook page here.

To buy the Smartsun wristbands you can find them here for £4.99 for a pack of 5 wristbands.

Would you use the Smartsun wristbands?

Thank you for reading, much love as always,

Zoe x

Nars Satin Lip Pencil In Yu

Hello Lovelies, 

I have a few of the crayon style lip products in my make up collection but I had never tried one of the Nars ones, the Nars lip pencils come in a choice of 3 different finishes, satin, velvet matte and velvet gloss and each finish comes in a range of shades, I'd heard a lot of great things about the Nars lip pencils but never picked one up.  I have a few Nars products in my make up collection and every product I have I love so I was really excited to see if I'd love the Satin Lip Pencil* in the shade Yu too.

What Nars Say About The Satin Lip Pencils

Satin Lip Pencil dresses up lips in statement shades that seduce with rich, colour-bright pigments while drenching them in decadent moisture. A modern, long-wearing, vitamin-enriched formula in a jumbo pencil format to provide great wear and intense color with a satin finish. Use for lining, all-over lip colour, or pairing with another lip product

High-impact intense colour
Convenient, easy and precise application

My Thoughts

I love to wear bright lip colours and pink is my favourite colour so I couldn't wait to try Yu, I was a little concerned it may be slightly too blue toned for me as some blue toned products don't suit my already very blue lips (thank you medication). I really like the packaging of the lip pencil it's sleek black with the corresponding colour of the product at the bottom of the pencil.

As soon as I took the lid of the pencil I knew I was going to love the shade, it is a beautiful bright fuchsia pink shade, perfect for the summer months and one of my favourite lip colours to wear. 

The lip pencil applied with ease and felt very moisturising, it has a slight sheen without being glossy and is a beautiful colour as I expected, it feels very moisturising on the lips and is extremely pigmented, one of the stand out things for me is the wear time I got from Yu it lasted for hours and hours and wore off nicely, it didn't leave a ring of colour around my lips as some moisturising lip products I've tried have done, it wore away nicely. I was chatting on periscope the day I wore the lip pencil and someone asked me what my lip colour was, it was 10 hours after I'd applied it! I was so shocked that they could still see some of the colour but when I went to remove my make up a little later I could still see some of the product on my lips, it had obviously faded it was over 11 hours since application but I could still see some colour which I find amazing. I would say I get at least 6 hours wear time of full colour without fading from the pencil and then it starts to fade away nicely and evenly after that. 

Me wearing the Nars Satin Lip Pencil In Yu

Overall Thoughts & Would I Re Purchase?

I adore the Satin Lip Pencil it applies well, doesn't bleed or feather at all despite being so bright and being a moisturising formula and the wear time is incredible, I recommend this 100% and I would definitely re purchase Yu, I am super impressed with the Nars lip pencil, I can't believe I have never tried them before but I will certainly be picking some more up.

If you would like to try Yu or any of the other shades in the Nars Satin Lip Pencils, you can find them at the Nars website, Space NK, Selfridges or John Lewis for £19.00. 

Have you tried any of the Nars lip pencils? What shade and finish is your favourite? 

Thank you for reading, much love as always, 

Zoe x