Orange Fizz

Today, I finally said goodbye and farewell to the last essays I will ever have to write (hopefully). Not only was this a huge weight off of my shoulders (I've just got four poems to write by Thursday now), but I also got back to my flat to find a parcel waiting for me from my Brother. Inside, amazingly, was the signature black and white packaging of Chanel, something I think everybody likes to see. As much as I'd love to say it was a classic tweed jacket or a 2.55 handbag, it was the next best thing - one of their infamous, cult creating nail polishes. 

The colour was the summer shade 'Orange Fizz' - a gorgeous, orange/peach, which is perfect for the sunny season. I don't have a shade like it in my collection either, as I tend to stick to very dark blues and reds, or the occasional pastel shade.

As Chanel polishes retail in the £16 zone, I don't really indulge in them as I have a lot of faith in highstreet nail polishes and, in all honesty, the Chanel polish doesn't even last long before chipping. However, you're really just buying into the name and the 'cult' shade aren't you? 

The colour is a lot more vibrant in person, especially as I have quite a tan on at the moment, which it seems to be accentuating. I don't know why these photos haven't picked up on its true colour, but it's got a hint of fluorescence about it.

A touch of Chanel has definitely made my day :)

Sunday

Sunday Nails

My Models Own x Salon WAH art pens arrived this week and I'm in love with them, though this picture hasn't done justice to what my nails looked like this week. The white with Beth's Blue looked so pretty, and I'm currently polka dotting every nail in sight (I've got yellow and white fingernails and red and white toenails at the moment!). If you haven't bought them yet, definitely make the purchase because they're so easy to use. I half-heartedly attempted the leopard print like WAH show on their online tutorial, and I still don't see how she gets the print like that. Let me know if you have better luck!

Sunday Photo

I watched Amelie with my boyfriend for the first time last night and it's now reigning as one of my favourite movies. All I can say is: Fur pie doesn't sell.

Sunday Sound

You need to see the official video for this, it's so sweet and the dance makes me smile. It seemed appropriate last Wednesday when everyone was whipping out the hammocks and bbqs in our student accommodation.

 Sun! Sun! Sun!

Sources: Listal, YouTube

Sunday Nails

Yesterday, I came across a tutorial by WAH nails for their famous leopard print design on their Tumblr page. They used the nail art pens which were released as part of their collaboration with Models Own. I haven't bought them yet, but I think I'll add them to my cart as a post-essay treat as everyone seems to think they're pretty good. In the video the woman says to make disconnected triangle shapes, or kind of semi-circle shapes, which didn't work out too great on my first trial. My thumb nail in the first photo was my first attempt, and it didn't really come out looking like leopard print. It started getting a little better across the rest of my nails, but by the time I got to my second hand I went back to my old technique - random splodges - which came out much better.

Barry M Blueberry, Collection 2000 liquid eyeliner, 17 Matte Top Coat

No doubt if you use the art pens, and have a little more practice at the technique, then it will come out better as the tutorial shows. I hope they do more tutorials because it will be amazing to see how they do some of the more complex designs.

Have you tried this technique? Do you use the art pens?

What I Wore: First Day Back At Uni 2011

Vest, Shorts - Topshop, Tights - Primark

Black& Silver - H&M, Pink - Topshop, Fox (on thumb) H&M

Nails - Jadestone by Models Own

I don't know why I feel so against going back to uni today. I think it's a mixture of having been on a break since December 19th, and wanting to get out in the 'real world' of working, away from the tedium of essays, lectures, and seminar groups.

I'm having one of those days where nothing looks or feels right, and you would rather just stay in bed. I've finally decided on my faithful faux leather Topshop shorts, which never look or feel wrong, and a trusty vest in a gorgeous oxblood shade. I realised I have no jumpers or long slouchy, long sleeve tops that I could layer on top of this, so I'm probably going to be feeling pretty cold!
After an episode of grey or black-red nails over Christmas, it's nice to have a burst of Jadestone on them for a change. It really is such a stunning colour and just hints toward springtime frivolity. 

What is everyone else up to today? I don't know why I'm complaining about uni so much. I'm only in for an hour!

wednesday wishes (on a weekend) 8

Shorts, Ring: Miss Selfridge, Jumper: Topshop, Dog: Erdem, Bag: Proenza Schouler both at Net A Porter

So Wednesday Wishes is taking place on a weekend this week, because I'm completely overloaded with uni work. I've kind of forced myself to live like a hermit this week though, and now I can almost see over my mountain of books I thought I'd give a bit of time to the blog. 

If you're on Twitter make sure you're following Erdem. Somehow I didn't know Erdem even had Twitter until Most Curious tweeted him. That day he had posted a photo of the fabric Daschund 'ice skating'. As a Bulldog and Daschund lover, I wish I had this guy sat on my desk right now. Sadly, at £150 he's not going to be sat there any time soon. Another thing on the wish list which won't be mine in the near future, is this gorgeous PS1 satchel in the most delicious raspberry colour. It is my absolute favourite bag of the season. 

Some things a little more achievable on my wishlist come from Miss Selfridge and good old Topshop. I spied these suede shorts over at Cocos Tea Party the other day. I fully expected them to be a designer label, but to my happy surprise they're £34! I hope my Dad is reading this because he's wondering what to buy me for Christmas, and these would be ideal. The ring is £12.50, another bargain, and it speaks for itself really.

As any long term Miss Dolly readers will know, I've been obsessing over Alpine themed knitwear ever since the D&G show for this season. I've still not got round to buying any yet for reasons unknown, but I'd pair this jumper with my leather shorts and thick knee socks. Does anybody else get looked at like they're crazy if they wear knee high socks out at the moment? I was wearing a coat, a scarf, a cardigan, a thick dress, gloves and ankle boots, but because I had an inch of thigh showing from my super thick knit thigh high socks, people were looking at me as though I was running naked through the cold!

Hope you're all enjoying the weekend. Who are you rooting for to win the X Factor tonight? Rebecca all the way.

P.S The new nails: 

Barry M Blueberry, 17 Matte Top Coat, Chanel Blue Satin

leopard spots

My hair is getting long!

After being recently inspired by Miss Fatale's immaculate nails, I decided to give leopard spots a go. Here I've used Models Own Nude Beige, 17 Matte Top Coat and a Collection 2000 black liquid eyeliner. Not bad for a first attempt! I kind of just splodged little squiggles around everywhere, which was a bit more of a challenge when I had to use my left hand!

Recently I've been noticing just how long my hair is getting, and also how badly it's in need of a trim. I haven't had it cut since May!! It's constantly knotty and just plain awful, so a think a cut in time for Christmas is shortly in order.

Hope you've all had a good day. I've just spent what seemed like a lifetime writing cards, licking envelopes and sticking on stamps. Tedious...

a little post about a lot of nail polish

After the said lack of blogging, but immense amount of blog reading I was doing last week, I was getting pretty intrigued by some of the nail polish things a lot of you guys have been trying out. Namely the Barry M crackle polish and matte polishes.

The other week I went to Boots and bought the Barry M Nail Effects and nail polish in Blueberry (an icy, pastel blue) for 2 for £5, and 17's Matte Top Coat. Saying you're going to paint your nails, then take the shine off of them, and then put another coat on which will crack the nail varnish, doesn't sound all too appealing at first, but it looks a lot better than it sounds.

Barry M Nail Effects with Blueberry underneath

Models Own Jadestone with 17 Matte Top Coat

Models Own  Pastel Pink with 17 Matte Top Coat

The crackle one does have a good effect, and it got a fair few glances on the uni bus, but I'm not sure I'd wear it very often. It dries really quickly though, which is a bonus and each nail gets a unique pattern, which looks really nice. The matte coat is my favourite. It dries ridiculously fast and leaves a nice, even, chalky effect on your nails. I don't know how it reacts with the polish, but it seems to make mine a bit milkier in colour and almost thins it out a tiny bit as you apply it. If you do it in thin coats though, it's fine. 

And these little beasts....

Primark Leopard Pumps

...are the evil, toe haters that I told you about in my last post. I guess for £4 they're fine, but they are as comfortable as you would expect a shoe that costs less than a fiver would be eg: not at all comfy.

Like It

Something that's been all over alot of blogs recently (and with good reason) has been Models Own hauls. If you don't know about the sale they've just had, then you've really missed out on a good one. All you had to do was 'like' their Facebook page and then you got 50% off your order. That makes all of their nail polishes (my main buy from them) a mere £2.50, which for the quality and colour range of their products, is a seriously good deal.

I had to refrain from going crazy and buying everything I liked, and just allow myself to buy the shades I really wanted. I ended up getting four more colours to add to my collection, and a lipstick (something I've never tried from their range before).

L-R: Scarlet Sparkle, Lili's Pink, Beth's Blue, Turkish Delight

I'd not tried one of the sparkle varnishes before, but I loved this red colour. It's like Dorothy shoes for your nails. I was worried it wouldn't come out as sparkly as it looks in the photos, but I've put it on over some OPI red nail varnish on my toes, and it looks gorgeous. I'll put a photo up soon when it's on my fingernails, because you really don't need to see my toes up close.

The colours on the photo are pretty much exact, so Lili's pink is slightly more vibrant than a baby pink, but super glittery. Beth's Blue is a really lilac pastel blue, more lilac than it looks on the website. I'm wearing it at the moment, and it's my new favourite shade:

My old camera was rubbish at taking close up photos. My new camera is rubbish at taking close up photos. Is it my lack of skills or are cameras awful at focusing on close up objects?

I usually find I have to apply two coats of Models Own, as they can be a bit patchy/streaky on a first coat, but this one was fine with just one.

I've not tried Turkish Delight yet. It's more my usual kind of shade, so I'm trying out the pastels for a while.

The lipstick is Sheer Sparkle and it's exactly that. The colour is really subtle, and ever so slightly bronze. It has a lot of sparkle to it, and you can feel the glittery bits which is a downside, but it looks really nice. The packaging is clear, not that dissimilar from Shu Uemura. 

All in all, really happy with everything I got as usual and for only £12.50 it's even better.
Did you get anything?

Day Dreamer

I am such a day dreamer. I'm supposed to be revising for an exam, but my mind just keeps going off on it's own little wander. So, while the revision remains a work in progress, here's something I procrastinated with earlier...

I've been buying a lot of Models Own nail varnishes recently. I never realised how good it can still feel to buy the little bits and pieces like makeup, when you can't afford the bigger stuff (like Meadham Kirchoff for Topshop dresses). 

So, when the money is low, I turn to Models Own. At £5 each I think they're a really good price, and they have such a wide colour range there's bound to be something you'll like. The one I'm wearing here is Grey Day, which is definitely one of my favourites so far. It's also the only nail varnish I've ever been complimented on - and a few times too! It's edgy without having to resort to blacks, dark reds and purples and goes with pretty much everything. The consistency is fine with just one coat, but I prefer to do two just to make it deeper and this one has quite a shine to it. It chips in about 5 days, but only in little bits, so it's easy to touch up.

You can find the range here: Models Own It

Now, back to revision....

grey day

I want these shoes badly...but I need the £415 they cost, for a sunny holiday with the lover man.....

I love grey, and far more affordable than these wedges is this nail varnish from Models Own

I've never been complimented on my nail varnish before, but this colour gets a lot of good attention! I tried out the Models Own varnishes after seeing them recommended by Imogen from FoxyLocks, and they're probably the best nail varnishes I've used for the £5 price tag. If you buy 3 or 5 you save more money - they're a great consistency and long lasting on their own, and especially with a topcoat. And online, they're all arranged in groups of shades, which suits my organisational OCD :)

You can find them on Models Own It

Photo: ACNE online and google images.