The Radiant Orchid Challenge!

When challenged to find an outfit for £60 to celebrate Pantones colour of the year being ‘Radiant Orchid’ I readily agreed but wow what a challenge it turned out to be.  For those of you who are not aware what the colour Radiant Orchid looks like, here it is:

Described as follows "Radiant Orchid blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination. It is an expressive, creative and embracing purple—one that draws you in with its beguiling charm. A captivating harmony of fuchsia, purple and pink undertones, Radiant Orchid emanates great joy, love and health".

So off I went in search of an outfit that I could purchase to celebrate this colour, I thought it would be easy because a lot of stores now have their spring items coming into stores, but oh how wrong was I when it came to finding something that might represent that above.  For hours I wondered up and down Oxford Street, went to Westfield before finally finding this:

Yes I managed to find a dress which I think suits the Radiant Orchid theme and it was priced at £13 which was at least a start, but an outfit is more than one item. So, as I have an event coming up in a few weeks time I decided that this dress would be the outfit for said occasion but I needed things to go with it and this is what I bought for the rest of the outfit.

Shoes which cost £10, Bracelet and necklace £8 from local boutique, Bag £29.50 from Marks and Spencer and the nail polish and tights are my own and all of that came to £60.50 and I have a lovely black cardigan which works really well should I get a little chilly.

One of the reasons I decided I would quite like this challenge is because I love black clothes, my Husband will tell you all that my wardrobe and drawers contain items that are mainly black with bits of blue and purple thrown here there, so predominantly darker colours which I am more comfortable with.  So, now was a good a time as any to inject some colour into my wardrobe, even if it does have black accessories.

Have you bought anything that could be classed as Radiant Orchid?

**SP

Snails for your Nails!

I have no little people, but I am a mummy of three fur-kids whom most of you now know are my cats. Child issue aside, I was asked if I would like to try some nail polishes designed for little princesses called Snails, which stands for Safe Nails, a French-made chemical-free brand of kids nail polish.

Snails was started when Jeanette Sklivanou, a mum of two, scoured the market for safe non-toxic nail polish to add colour to the imaginative play of her little ones. She quickly found that such a product just didn't exist — so she created SNAILS**.

A brief description

"SNAILS Kids nail polish is unlike any other you will find. You’ll delight in our simple natural nail polish formula which is optimally safe and child-friendly. Our revolutionary patented formula contains just three main ingredients: water, acrylic polymer and non-toxic colorants and is paraben free. This sets us apart from other products. The toxic trio of Dibutyle Phythalate (DBP), Toluene and Formaldehyde dominate many children’s nail polishes currently on the market. Such chemicals are banned in Europe due to their links with cancer, birth defects and other illness. So you will not find a trace of these harmful substances in SNAILS. Just pure ingredients that are kind and gentle on little nails".

Some of the highlights of this brand:

• Revolutionary formula — containing just water, acrylic polymer and non-toxic colorants, SNAILS is safe in its simplicity. 
• Totally water soluble — SNAILS washes off easily with simple soap and water, making harsh solvent-based toxic remover a thing of the past.
• Environmentally friendly — from biodegradable packaging and lead-free bottles, to a strict no animal testing policy. 
• Hypoallergenic — SNAILS is chemical, Paraben and toxin free, so little nails are kept safe and sound and splendidly coloured.
• Vivacious colour choices — every SNAILS polish delivers glorious high-quality gloss and a deliciously gentle fragrance.

Here are the products:

These polishes come in a cute little bottle with a white lid and a pretty little bow to match the shade of polish, almost like a childrens version of Ciate in many ways.  The polish itself is smooth and is really easy to apply, more so than some of my adult brands, a few of whom could learn a thing or two here!

The two shades:

• Raspberry Pie - Glossy purple. Wear purple when you want to encourage fantasy, mystery and imagination
• Gingerbread - A hot, sun kissed orange shade, summer sunset in a bottle!

Raspberry pie I absolutely love, it would fit in perfectly with the whole pantone of the year "radiant orchid" theme.  Once applied it dries in just over a minute, which is perfect for little ones because I know they are not going to sit and wait much longer.  Last-ability is also quite impressive, I managed to wear mine all day without too much wear and tear but when it came to removing it properly there was no need to nail polish remover, I simply used soap and water and rubbed each nail and the polish came off and there was no staining to my fingernails and no trace of colour left on my nail.

Available from safe-nails.com polishes are €8 each, the site also shows all the countries they are for sale.

What are your thoughts on washable nail polish?

Fruity Melon Yankee Candles!

I love the fact my local Asda now sells Yankee Candles, though it can sometimes be too difficult to walk past the aisle within which they reside and not pick up a few everytime I am in there.

The latest additions to my collection is this set - Fruity Melon.  Priced at £13 for the Large jar which has a burn time of 60-95 hours and the samplers which have a burn time of around 15 hours are £1 each they are total bargains.

I always smell the candles before I buy them because if I don't like the scent on first sniff, then I know I won't like it once it is lit.  One thing I am always looking for is a hint of vanilla because it is one of those scents which can give me a headache, so I stay well clear.  This candle though was an instant hit as soon as I sniffed it.

So what does it smell like?  A fresh melon, a watermelon to be exact.  The first time you cut into a watermelon and you pick up that fruity scent, that is what you get with this candle, but obviously no seeds and no mess.  Once it is alight, the same scent permeates the room within which the candle resides and slowly works it way around the house.  The reason I have come to like it so much is because it is such a fresh scent and one that is definitely designed to burn on a chilly spring morning to just add a hint of scent.

I am a big fan of this candle, everything from the bright green colour to the fruity scent, it isn't too heavy and it smells wonderful from the moment it begins to burn to a good few hours after you have blown it out.

Have you bought any new Yankee Candles lately?

Lily Lolo - my introduction!

I have seen Lily Lolo products on so many blogs but have never branched out and tried them myself, so when the chance to do just that was given to me, I jumped at the chance. They claim that "Whether your skin is dry, oily or anywhere in-between, Lily Lolo makeup will give you a light, flawless and seamless finish without clogging or irritating" which I am interested to check out.

Lily Lolo is a British brand launched by Vikki Khan in 2005. Named after her two sisters Lisa (Lily) and Lorraine (Lolo) though for some reason I keep calling it Lily Lilo, don't ask why!

Lily Lolo have just re-branded their make up range which you can see on their website and in recognition of that I was sent two of their products to try and review.

Natural Lip Gloss in English Rose (£7.99)** - I would describe this as being a dusky pink shade which looks really pink when you first apply it and then as it settled down it becomes quite a pale pink which I really like. It is perfect for wearing on its own or over the top of a pinky/nude lipstick to add a little glossy look. One of my bug bears with some lipglosses is the tacky feel they leave on your lips, this lip gloss doesn't have this *hurrah* it is not sticky at all, it simply glides on. This gloss does also contains Vitamin E and Jojoba oil to nourish and protect.

Mineral Eye Shadow in Miami Taupe (£5.99)** - This is most definitely the shade I would opt for, it is perfect for daytime or nighttime and one of those shades which you can have as a light coverage or build it up so that you can have a much deeper coverage, which to do you simply use it wet and the video I have mentioned below shows you how to do this. It is highly pigmented and as the shade suggests it is Taupe which is described as being a dusky browny grey shade or warm grey.

Now if like me you often struggle to decide how best to apply certain items of make-up, I was pleased to find that there are some really handy tutorials online, one of which you can see HERE. 

Which are your favourite Lily Lolo products?

The range itself is  BUAV approved as well as being free from parabens, synthetic fragrances, dyes, fillers and there is no animal testing.