NOTD Essie Luxedo

I've been holding off on nail polish purchases of late, as I feel that my nail polish collection is a bit too big currently. However, when in front of an Essie stand in Boots I'm not going to say no. So the latest colour to my collection is Essie Luxedo, a gorgeous dark purple - so dark that you can be forgiven for thinking it was black.

We are officially in Spring now, I should be looking to brighter colours (think Essie Mint Candy Apple) but considering many of us were still wearing thermals and there was still snow on the ground a few weeks ago I think we can all still get away with darker colours. Personally, I think colours this dark (especially as it looks black) can be pulled off all year round.

As usual, this lasts quite a while. I've found this chips much less than other polishes. However I will say that in my opinion this chips more quickly than my Bahama Mama and Fancy Pants polishes. I'm not too sure what could be the reason.

Essie nail polishes retail for £8.99 and can be found online or in selected Boots stores.

What colours are you all wearing on your nails at the moment?

Kate x

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My Weight Loss One Year Anniversary

I've never written a post about my weight loss although I have started to in the past and deleted it, that was mostly about being stuck in a rut but I didn't know where I wanted to go with it. 

At the end of University (in 2011) one of my friends joined WeightWatchers, which was something I scoffed at (for me) I'd been trying to lose weight ever since coming back from my year abroad in Berlin where I did gain a significant amount of weight. I joined gyms, but saw no difference in my weight. Perhaps a 2 or 3 pound fluctuation but nothing ever stuck. 

I always knew I was bigger than I was happier with, but now looking back on it I hadn't realised quite how heavy I had got. When my friend started to see amazing results (I think she lost something like 7lbs in her first week of WeightWatchers) I began to consider it, previously I had thought it was more of a money grabbing gimmick. I then found out one of my neighbours went so one morning I went to the local meeting with her to sign up - I'd had enough and clearly nothing else I'd done had worked. I was incredibly nervous stepping on the scales and felt quite ashamed of myself that the scales flashed "11.05" back at me. 

This photo, which really brings it home to me how big I had actually become, was taken the night of my University's summer ball in 2011. Naturally this isn't a flattering photo, there are much nicer ones of me from that night but this one really hit home:

I started to attend WeightWatchers weekly and was soon surprised to see it was working - it made me realise how much I was eating and that my portion size was way off too. By the time I graduated I had already lost about 7lbs which I was chuffed about and people had already started to comment on it. 

Fast forward to April 2012, my last few pounds to shift took me approximately 3 months, they were incredibly pesky, but I managed it on the 3rd April 2012 I reached my goal weight. My goal weight was 9.07 although I did drop down to 9.06 a couple of weeks later. I couldn't believe in 10 months I had managed to lose almost 2 stone. 

I can only say how glad I am that I joined WeightWatchers - once I joined my perception of them totally changed. I will admit I don't follow the points system to the T now, however I try to be a bit mindful of what I eat and how much now. 

A few months after reaching my goal weight, I started to gain some weight again which I was incredibly conscious of - so I joined the gym. I had done a little bit of swimming previously but I hadn't joined a gym since the previous year. I managed to creep back up to about 10.05 which really got me down and it took me around 6 months to lose that again. When attaining your goal weight with WeightWatchers you become a 'Gold Member' which means you have free membership for a year, during this time you have to stay within 5lbs +/- of your goal weight (and attend 5 weigh ins), so the maximum weight I could be before needing to pay again was 9.12 - this became my new goal. I avoided meetings like the plague until I reached this goal and continued to gym 2-3 times a week. 

I began to think I'd never get there, but I did. Yesterday, I went back to WeightWatchers for the first time since June, stepped on the scales and was relieved to see I was back within my 5lb limit. I'm annoyed at myself for letting my weight slip but despite taking an age to lose it, I've actually lost more inches in the process. I may be 5lbs heavier than I was this time last year but I'm okay with that and I plan to work towards a minimum of maintaining that weight and aim to get back down to 9.07. 

I don't have many full body shots of me now, the closest two I can find are from a wedding in September where my face looks chubby because of the way I'm smiling and a few weeks earlier in London for the Paralympic Games:

Kate x

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April Wishlist

Happy Easter everybody! 

So payday has been and my bank account looks a little healthier (although I doubt this will last for long) so now is the time for me to start lusting after products again. So what is on April's wishlist?

01. Soap & Glory Endless Glove Moisture Mask and Hand Cream - I'm forever buying hand creams and feel very lost without one in my bag. I spotted this on the Boots website last week and I love the idea of this doubling as a hand mask - perfect for night time.
02. Lonely Planet South East Asia on a Shoestring - The first leg of our travels this summer will be starting in Thailand, with the plan to visit Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Malaysia as well. Despite doing lots of online research, I've decided to buy this as something to read in my spare time, and it's quite nice to have all information in one place.

03. Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette - I've tried my hardest to resist this latest palette, and I've failed. I love the idea of having a small palette of everyday colours that can also create a night time smoky look. It looks very travel friendly.
04. American Apparel Black Disco Pants - At the end of January I bought some disco pants at a more affordable price than the £70 that AA are asking for. I absolutely loved them, but two weeks ago I had a nasty accident. I looked down in a crowded Pizza Express only to see that they'd split in the crotch and that my underwear was clearly visible. Cue a frantic look round shops for a replacement pair of trousers while discretely carrying my bag infront of me to conceal my mortification. I have since sent them back and been refunded but find myself missing my shiny trousers.
05. Dr. Jart Water Fuse BB Cream - The only BB cream that I've only used regularly is the one from Garnier, but after having a couple of issues in recent weeks I've decided once my current tube runs out I'd like to try something new. I've heard only positive things about this BB cream so I have my eye on this one. I regret not buying it when it was ridiculously reduced in Boots last year.
06. Lanolips Lemonaid Lip Aid - I have one of Lanolips Coloured Lip Ointments which I rather enjoy, and after reading a glowing review from Sophia over on Tattooed Tealady I'm itching to try this although the thought of spending near enough £10 on a lip balm makes me a little reluctant, but I've been assured this will last me a long time.

Do you own any of these products? Would you recommend them?

Kate x

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MAC Archie's Girls Prom Princess Blush

When I first heard about the soon-to-launch Archie's Girls collection from MAC I wasn't overly bothered. MACs limited edition collections usually just pass over my head (with the exception of a lipstick from the Wonderwoman collection which was launched a couple of years ago, unfortunately I failed to get one)

This time I slowly started to look through the collection on Selfridges website when they had the exclusive. Despite liking many of the shades of lipstick from the Archies Girls collection, I decided that the one product I liked the most from the entire collection was this blusher called Prom Princess which is from the Veronica side of the collection.

I decided to be brave with the bright pink and after googling for swatches I found it looked rather lovely on Temptalia. Pink blush is generally quite a foreign shade for me (aside from the Topshop Cream Blush) and the main pink shade I've used is Benefit's Dandelion Powder which is considerably lighter. 

With Prom Princess it is a very bold colour as you can see from the photos with an extremely high colour pay off - when applying you need a very light hand otherwise it will be far too strong, especially on my pale skin. I think this will really look good on tanned skin (come on summer!)

The colour lasts quite well, it may be a touch patchy after a day at work but I do touch my face a fair bit throughout the day, so it's to be expected.

Overall, I'm glad I went for this blusher (I did have a few doubts to start off with) and I would certainly try another blusher from MAC - there's a couple of shades I already have my eyes on.

I'm sorry I've left it so late to write this review as I can see that this is now sold out, but I couldn't not review it. I'm sure some MAC counters may still have this in stock, and if so this retails for £19.00.

Kate x

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