Randomness

Currently listening to: Toucher l'Instant by Grand Corps Malade (new obsession)

Good evening,

I'm sitting here waiting for my boyfriend to come home. He's been away for six days, visiting his family, but tonight, at midnight, he'll be back here. I had planned to study for a bit and write a letter to stay awake until his arrival but my eyes are so, so tired right now I just want to go to sleep. My job is so bad for my eyes; spending eight hours a day looking at spreadsheets, invoices and bank statements is a strain.

Anyway, this week I was working on an audit of a primary school. It's been a good week actually and apparently I've been working very efficiently. Today my senior said to the manager (who was only with us today), "I keep giving Laura things to do which I think will keep her busy for a few hours but she finishes everything really quickly!". Well I am new at this so I have no idea what's expected of me or how many things I have to do during the week (I am only working on this audit for a week). If I'm given a task to do but not given an indication of how long it should take me then I do tend to assume that I need to work quickly!
The fact that I have, apparently, raced through everything means that I have no work to do on-site tomorrow and so shall be in the office. That's going to be strange because here's what I've been used to:

Week 1: Induction, 9am-4.30/5pm, lunch 1-2pm (done)
Week 2: College, 9am-4pm, two breaks in the morning, an hour for lunch, break in the afternoon (done)
Week 3: College, 9am-4pm, two breaks in the morning, an hour for lunch, break in the afternoon (done)
Week 4: Audit. 9am-5pm, 30min lunch break (done)
Week 5: Audit, 9am-5pm, 30min lunch break

In the office we work from 9am-5.30pm and take an hour for lunch but when we're out at clients' premises we work from 9am-5pm and take only 30mins for lunch. This means tomorrow, for the first time ever, I'm going to have to stay in the office until 5.30pm. In fact, I'm actually going to have to work in the office, which will be a first. Hmm, should be interesting.

In other news:
- my driving's been really good this week :-)
- the new series of The Apprentice (UK) starts next Wednesday :-)
- I have another exam on Monday :-(
- I will have to spend the whole weekend studying :-(

Hope you're all looking forward to the weekend more than I am!

Bye for now,

Laura

NOTD

Currently listening to: Toucher l'Instant by Grand Corps Malade

Good evening girls!

I bought false nails on Saturday because last week at work I was with someone who had very long nails and I was envious. Envious of the gestures and sounds she was able to make with her lovely long nails. Anyway, I bought some cheap false nails just for fun and painted them purple then admired them while I was studying:

These looked so long to me when I applied them but my own nails used to be the same length. Why oh why won't they grow back? Urg.

I took them off on Sunday but I think I might file them down a bit, change the colour and wear them to work next week. I'm doing a course in the office in a room with another trainee so it won't matter if they fall off lol.

Do you feel comfortable wearing false nails?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mask your disappointment

Currently listening to: Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol (I'm obsessed by this song)

Good morning girls,

I start work a bit later today so I thought I'd write a quick post.

As I told you the other day, I decided it was about time I tried a Neutrogena Hydro-Boost Mask that I was given a while ago.

Neutrogena advertises "smart-fit fabric for immediate hydration" and "increased Hydro-Boost essence deeply penetrates for supply, glowing skin".

The directions for use were quite simple: "Use after cleansing. Open pack, take out the mask and unfold. Press lightly with fingertips to set in place over face. Relax and feel the Hydro-Boost essence infuse into your skin. Remove the mask after 15 minutes. Discard mask after use."

Here's what I found when I opened the pack:

Not really what I was expecting!

Anyway, I gave it a try and pressed it into my face but it didn't fit very well. However, I stuck with it for the required 15 minutes. It didn't feel unpleasant when it was on, I could feel the liquid and felt it going into my skin. The scent wasn't anything special, similar to skin products aimed at teenagers. However, once I removed the mask I didn't know what to do. My hands felt sticky from handling the mask and my face was still covered in the "Hydro-Boost essence" yet I wasn't sure if I was supposed to cleanse my face again or just pat it dry.

This really wasn't as fun an experience as I had expected. I have a few more sachets of these so I guess I'll use them up and see if I experience any benefit. I can't say I feel or see any benefit from this one. After I use my other sachets I definitely want to try a different type of face mask, the type you actually have to wash off.

Is this type of mask something you've tried before? If so, how did you get on?

Bye for now,

Laura

Beauty Buys and Good News

Good evening girls!

As the title suggests, I have some good news to share with you :-) I found out this morning that I passed yesterday's Assurance exam, yay. This is my first step to becoming a chartered accountant. So, one exam down, 14 to go! In addition to that cause for celebration, my boyfriend was offered a job yesterday and accepted it :-) He had his final interview yesterday morning at the same time and in the same building as I was sitting my exam in. Positive vibes were a-flowing.

Yesterday evening we decided to go shopping as we were both after a few items. I wanted to go to The Body Shop for a new perfume. I haven't worn perfume for a while. My absolute favourite is Gloria by Cacharel but unfortunately this has been discontinued. Anyway, I was disappointed by The Body Shop's offerings and was ready to leave empty-handed when my boyfriend noticed these sprays:

They are suitable for body, rooms and linen so they aren't true perfumes but I quite liked the scents and they were on offer (buy one get one half price) so I chose Green Tea & Lemon and Pomegranate & Raspberry.

My shopping continued this evening when we went to Tesco. I was after a body scrub and some moisturiser and spotted a St. Ives offer, buy one get one free. A couple of weeks ago I bought St. Ives Apricot Scrub when I saw it for £2.29 in Savers (compared to over £4 elsewhere) and quite liked it so I was willing to try other products in the range. I ended up with a tub of Apricot Body Scrub and some soothing Oatmeal & Shea Butter Advanced Body Moisturiser for around £4.99.
I haven't tried them yet but I'm hoping they'll be good. I can tell already that I'm going to have issues with the body scrub though- I hate having to scoop a product out of a tub and getting the product under my nails. Hate, hate, hate that.


And this isn't something I purchased but something which I've had for a while now, a Neutrogena Hydro-Boost Mask. I have a few packets of these so tonight I'm going to try using a face mask and see how I get on. Do you ever use face masks?

Bye for now,
Laura

NOTD (Grey and White)

Currently reading: ICAEW Assurance Study Manual (first exam is on Monday morning)

Good evening ladies,

Just a very quick post from me tonight as my boyfriend's just told me off for taking an extended study break.

Anyway, thank you for all your positive feedback regarding my previous NOTD. I hope you'll like this one too :-)

This was done on Thursday evening after it was pointed out to me during the day that I'd had my current manicure (the beautiful pink and white one) for three days. My college classmates are becoming cheeky.

This is my first grey polish, courtesy of Beauty UK, a random brand I found in Superdrug. I bought a lilac as well and had great plans for a grey and lilac manicure (grey background, purple hearts) but alas, the lilac didn't show up when I stamped it so I went for white as my stamping colour.

I love the colour combination although the manicure itself is a bit of a mess due to me stamping before the grey had properly dried and getting lovely smudge marks as a result.

I chose two Bundle Monster images, a floral design and lines with hearts dotted over them. It's not usual for me to mix patterns but I like this!

Bye for now,
Laura

NOTD

Good morning girls!

Here's my NOTD from Tuesday, which I've taken ages to post.

This was done using pastel pink, Konad special polish in white and a Bundle Monster image plate. Unfortunately this design was hard to photograph so I don't think any of these photos do it justice because in real life this looked amazing :-) The pattern was great, the colours were a winning combination, it went well with my outfit...

There was a downside with this design however: clean up was a nightmare. When I stamped, the image went on my nail, at both sides of the nail, under the nail and below the nail. My Essence nail polish remover pen is usually fab for stamping clean up but it was rendered pretty much useless time.

(This is the truest representation of the real colour)

Has anyone else used this design and had problems with clean up?

Bye for now,

Laura

Primark Haul and Recommendations Request

Hi girls,

Hope you're all looking forward to the week ahead. I'm feeling rather miserable at the moment. My college work completed defeated me at the weekend and now I'm also suffering from a cold. The show must go on though. First exam is next Monday so now is no time to crumble.

Yesterday I went into town as I desperately needed some casual wear. I got a bit of a shock when I discovered English trading laws mean that most shops either don't open at all on Sunday or don't open until 12. It's true they all stay open until about 8 at night during the week but that's not much good to me when I'm laden down with heavy textbooks. Anyway, good old Primark opened for browsing at 10.30 and for purchasing at 11. This was the first time I'd been in Primark for ages. They have some really nice things at the moment but wow, their prices seem to have increased quite a bit; £11 and £13 are the most popular price tags these days.

I didn't try all my purchases on (risky), but my eye caught a pair of long length jeans which I thought were worth trying. They weren't the style I was after but they were the only style in long length. I never get trousers in Primark so I was unsure of the sizing but decided to go for a 12. They fit, but there's quite a difference between a Primark size 12 and a Camaieu size 12:

I wear my Camaieu jeans a lot so they have become a bit baggy round my thighs now and don't look particularly great so I'm not complaining about the Primark size 12 being smaller, it's just interesting.

Next up are these two nautical-themed tshirts, which I have seen on lots of blogs:

They have fun anchor buttons on the shoulders too. Not my usual style but I like them. I wore the blue one today and loved it.

Vest tops for college. It may be getting cold outside as we approach autumn but stressed and sweaty bodies make my college classroom a sauna.

Striped long-sleeved tshirt. Not sure if I'll keep this yet. I never wear long-sleeved tshirts.

Cream 3/4 length-sleeved jumper with black heart print. Again, not sure if I'll keep this.

Floral cardigan. Yet another not sure item. What do you think?

And now for the my recommendations request. I've fallen out of love with my L'Oreal Matte Morphose foundation. Does anyone have any good and affordable full coverage foundations they would recommend?

Additionally, I'm after a nude nail polish. I went straight to the MUA range but they don't seem to have a nude. I had planned to get a Boots No7 one using my £5 off voucher but when I went to spend it yesterday, the last day the voucher was valid for, I discovered my branch of Boots doesn't open on Sundays. Missed opportunity. So are there any nice nudes out there you know about? I'd love to know your thoughts!

Bye for now,

Laura

H&M Fashionista Plus Konad NOTD

Currently listening to: Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol

Good morning girls!

Gosh, hasn't the weekend taken its time to arrive? It certainly feels that way to me, and to all my classmates. I've been at college for a week now and half-way through the week became friends on Facebook with some of my peers. I have photos of my nail art up on my profile page so this attracted lots of attention and enquiries from my new friends. I now feel under pressure to have nice nails at college hence when my polka dot manicure started to chip, I felt I had to quickly update my manicure before it got any worse.

I settled on H&M Fashionista, a beautiful purple shade which is always guaranteed to be admired (in fact I myself only discovered this polish after admiring an H&M sales assistant's nails and asking what polish she was wearing).

I wanted to Konad over it with my silver GOSH holographic polish but the polish wouldn't transfer nicely onto my stamper at all so I gave up on that idea and decided to mattify instead:

Then out came my Konad and Bundle Monster kit again so my current manicure now looks like this:

I love it. It's been a while since I've Konaded, especially using a full nail image so I'm glad I still have the knack. As usual, I just wish my nails were longer!

Have a great weekend girls,

Laura

Polka Dot NOTD

Currently watching: This Is England '86

Hi girls, and a big hello to my new followers,

Just a quick NOTD for you today using Natural Collection in Hibiscus to create a spring/summer polka dot manicure:

I love it and received a few compliments on it as an added bonus :-) Too bad I'm experiencing a lot of tip wear and some chipping after less than 24 hours.

Bye for now,
Laura

NOTD Matte Essence

Currently watching: Grey's Anatomy season 3

Oh dear, almost a week has passed by since my last post. My first week of work has taken the best of me. It has also taken its toll on my skin and nails so unfortunately I have no nail growth update for you this week.

The show must go on though so today I present to you Essence Colour & Go Just in Case.

I bought this in June but today was the first time I tried it out. I'm not too impressed with it and yet I don't dislike it, I think I'd like it better on longer nails. It's slightly frosted, which I know would put a lot of people off, but I don't mind that at all.

And here's where the matte business comes in. A while ago I heard that Boots 17 would be introducing a matte topcoat in September. I couldn't wait that long so last month I bought Rimmel Lycra Pro Matte Finish Mattifying Topcoat. In the pictures below I've used the matte topcoat on my pinky and middle finger.

The difference is quite noticeable and I like it, although this isn't the best colour to mattify as in some lights it looks quite coppery, which I don't think suits my skin tone.

Rimmel Matte Finish is available for £4.49. I believe the Boots 17 version will retail for about £1 less. However, there is also a matte topcoat available in the Boots No7 range so if you have a £5 off No7 voucher, you could get that for even less.

I think a matte topcoat is worth having. I'm excited to try it out on other colours. The Rimmel one dries quickly, gives a good mattifying effect and leaves nails nice to touch. The only reservation I would have is that it seems to give some random silvery streaks. I don't know if this is because I used too much or too little.

Do you like the matte finish?

Bye for now,
Laura