My Tips For Staying Motivated

I would definitely say I am a highly motivated person. A total career junkie. This post is to share a few of my tips of how I stay motivated, mainly in my work life. These tips can be applied to pretty much any area of your life, just to paint you a little picture of why I may need motivating sometimes! I have been a qualified nail technician since last May, and whilst I build my client base (because it doesn't happen overnight!) I work another job too. So Monday through Friday mornings I am a receptionist for a recruitment consultant firm, then I go to the salon and work up to 9pm when required and I also work Saturdays. As you can imagine, evening appointments fill up quickly as a lot of ladies work until 5/6pm. So it's always a 6 day working week, and a lot of 12 hour days, which can be tiring. As much as I love being a nail technician, it's my dream career and I throw myself in 150%... sometimes I can become unmotivated, and feeling a bit lost and tired, so I put together a little list of things that help me.

Take it one day at a time - I try not to think to many days ahead, how many days left of the working week there are, but just the current day.

Surround yourself with positivity - My friends, family and boyfriend are all amazing and support and encourage me all the time.

Create a dream board - If I need inspiration then I go to Pinterest, create a board and fill it with tons of motivating quotes, nail ideas, tips etc.

Ask yourself what you want and make realistic goals - I know what my ultimate career goals are and I remind myself of them everyday.

Reward yourself - For me a Costa hot chocolate is my treat but it could be anything. If I've worked a long few days and I need perking up that is my go to reward!

Believe in yourself - I know that my goals are achievable and, anyone who wants to succeed has to believe that they are good enough.

Recognize your progress - If I am having a not so great day, I remember the first french manicure I attempted, it looked like a three year old had done it! Now I get to brides and their bridesmaids when they come to the salon.

Vizualize accomplishing your goals - I love to daydream about my goals, where I want to be in the next few years and that helps motivate me to work harder everyday.

Be kind to yourself - You are only human, not a robot! Everyone needs to take time out now and again and have some relaxation time.

So those are a few of my little tips of how I stay motivated, what about you?

Revlon - Girly

I love Revlon nail polishes, but I haven't purchased any in a while which maybe something I will have to change next time I am hunting for new shades for my collection. Girly (I don't really like the name, it could have been more inventive...) is a jelly polish with a milky pink base and fuchsia, rosey gold and purple hex large and small glitters. I love that there are two different sized glitters in the polish, it definitely gives it another dimension. I have had Girly for quite a while, possibly 18 months or so and the consistency is still great, the glitters come out on the brush and apply easily. The polish itself is definitely perfect for any girly girls out there. My swatches are three coats, although I believe this is how it's supposed to look on its own, you could layer it over a bright barbie pink, or a subtle opaque baby pink and it would still look nice. 

 I think Revlon did a good job of embracing the milky glitter trend that you see in a lot of indie polishes over the past few years, but I won't say that this polish broke new ground, or that I'm particularly taken with it, but it is pretty and if I want an accent nail I would consider using it, especially in Spring. 

Do you like Girly? What are your favourite Revlon shades?

Models Own Sale Haul

How exciting are the Models Own 50% off sales??!! I tried my hardest not to go crazy and buy every polish on the website! I wrote a Models Own wishlist post a few days before the sale began which you can find here if you are interested. I didn't purchase everything from my wishlist, there were a few things that upon checking out, I deleted from my basket as sometimes (quite often!) I can be a panic buyer, which is not great for my bank balance. I only wanted to buy polishes I am actually going to use and love. I didn't end up purchasing Copacabana from the Discopants collection mainly because I don't need another neutral as I am eyeing up a couple from Essie which I want a little bit more. Also didn't get the Wonderland collection, I was going to but one of the polishes was out of stock and I wanted them all really so I thought I would wait and get them all together. 

However I did purchase the Polish For Tans collection and 5 shades from the Colour Chrome collection. The Polish for tans collection I had had my eye on these for a while and just for me to get a little more excited that winter will (hopefully) be over in a couple of months and I can start wearing brighter colours. I was also intrigued by the Colour Chrome collection, I don't really own a lot of metallic polishes reason being they aren't easy to apply, in my experience they can be streaky and you can see the brush marks on the nail, in the polish. Having said that, I still really wanted to try these so a review will be coming soon!

Shades in this haul... 

Polish For Tans - Flip Flop, Bikini, Beach Bag, Shades, Sunhat

Colour Chrome - Rose, Silver, Gold, Pink, Blue

Do you like Models Own? What are your favourite collections / shades?

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine - Dragonfruit

I absolutely love the Barry M Gelly Hi Shine polishes, for a high street nail polish I think they are brilliant. Today I am reviewing Dragonfruit, which is among my favourite summery Gelly Hi Shine shades alongside Greenery which I have reviewed here. Dragonfruit is a beautiful shade of pink, probably just slightly darker than a bubblegum colour. Also if you look really closely (you can barely tell from my pictures!) it's really subtle but there is a silver shimmer throughout the polish it looks lovely in the light/sun. Also I believe this is the only polish from the range to have a shimmer in it, correct me if I'm wrong! Dragon fruit is definitely a blue toned pink, which I love. Application is as always with the Gelly Hi Shines, perfect and easy to paint, with a smooth consistency. The only thing I would say is that this is one of the sheerest polishes from this range and took three coats to become opaque where most of them is two, and sometimes even just one coat. But because the shade is so pretty I really didn't mind, it's a perfect summer pink and would look amazing with a tan. There has been a lot of controversy in the blogging world about wether these polishes dry quickly or not. As a nail technician, I would always suggest the thinnest coats possible is the best way to get your polish to dry quickly. If you have to apply 5 thin coats of a polish, that will always dry quicker than two thick coats. But I find the dry time on these, the same as any other polish. The consistency is a little thicker so it's all about the thin coats. 

Do you like Dragonfruit? Which are your favourite shades from the Gelly Hi Shine range?

Technic - Cactus Flower

Hi everyone I hope you all had a lovely Valentines weekend, I was spoiled rotten and had an amazing weekend off! Today's post is a little review on one of my favourite Technic polishes, (more of a rave than a review!) you all know I love Technic, they are a little harder to get a hold of but you can find them on Ebay, in Bodycare stores in the UK or from Love Thy Makeup online. Their polishes never seem to disappoint and the quality for what you pay I think is outstanding. Cactus Flower has been in my collection for over a year now but I never get tired of looking at it. It's a vibrant fuchsia pink, with blue shimmery undertones. It takes three coats to become opaque but once applied, it's so beautiful. I don't think I have any other shades like this on in my collection and as I only paid £1.00 for it, I think it's a total steal! It's so silky and easy to apply, no streaking to speak of. Dry time is also normal, a few minutes for each coat. It looks really amazing with a glossy clear top coat, it brings out the colour and shimmer.

Another thing I would like to mention about Technic polishes in particular, if you tighten the lid properly when you are finished with them, they do not dry out and go gloopy and unusable even the glitter topcoats. They are such good quality, I wish Superdrug and Boots sold them and they bought collections out all the time!

Do you own any Technic nail polishes? Which are your favourite shades?

Essie - Beach Bum Blu

In around September last year, Beach Bum Blu found it's way into my nail polish collection. It was just at the end of the summer, so I was a little bit disappointed that I discovered it so late in the year as I wanted to wear it, but for the autumn time it just wouldn't have matched my outfits or accessories. However, now it's edging towards spring time and the darker colours are slowly being stored away, I can justify bringing Beach Bum Blu out to play! This polish is absolutely stunning, my photographs don't do it justice at all. It's a bright silver pearlescent blue and it does just remind me of a tropical blue ocean. As the formulation is very sheer, my swatches are three coats on the nail wheel but after three coats it was completely opaque. I have to also add what an absolute dream this polish was to apply, it glides on the nail with ease. I am definitely going to start wearing Beach Bum Blu really soon, I just know I won't be able to stop looking at my nails!

What do you think of Beach Bum Blu? What are your favourite Spring / Summer Essie shades?

Sunglasses Mini Haul!

In my defence, the weather outside may be cold but over the past couple of weeks, there have been a few really sunny days and I've been finding it hard to see when I'm driving! Haha, I know it's possibly too soon to go sunglasses shopping but I found a couple of pairs from Dorothy Perkins that I just fell in love with (along with a black fedora hat, which you will see soon!) and I just thought, what the hell. In a few months I would have been buying sunglasses anyway so now is as good as any time to get them.

The first pair were £8.00, I wore them last weekend for the first time and just love them. Aviators are my favourite type of sunglasses to wear, they do make me look a little bit bug like because I have a small head, but still. They are comfy to wear and I really like the style. These have a rose gold trim and a kind of brownish / auburn shade to the lens's which are faded. Perfect for any time of year.

The second pair I purchased are black, with a floral design on the rims and a dark purplish / grey faded tone to the lens's. I wasn't sure about the shape of these to start with but once I tried them on I decided to keep them. For £5.00 they were a bargain! I love the floral detailing too.

Which pair do you like best? Where is your favourite place to buy sunglasses?

Spring Nail Polish Haul #1

Okay, so I may have had a little splurge the other day in Superdrug. I needed a little mid-week pick me up and the natural choice for me was to head to the nail polishes. I love Barry M Gelly polishes I think their pigmentation, formulation and colour selections are spot on. I found 4 shades that I haven't tried yet, although they aren't newly released. For some reason I just hadn't bought them. I picked up (from left to right) Almond, Coconut, Olive and Elderberry. I love these shades, they are perfect for the start of springtime, transitioning into the brighter months. I have read good things about Coconut especially so I am eager to try it. Almond is a beautiful shade. I don't own anything like it already just like Olive - which isn't typically a colour I would choose but I really liked it on the shelf. Elderberry is also lovely, I needed a new blue nail polish I haven't seen one that I've liked for a while.

Overall I think I picked some really lovely polishes. What are your favourite Barry M Gelly Hi Shine shades?

Topshop - Profound

I don't have many Topshop nail polishes, something which I want to change this year! They have so many lovely shades yet I never think of them when I want to splurge a little. So the next time I order, I will pick up a few, I may even post a little wish list first! Profound is the perfect shade for Spring. A dusky muted pink, it's a really lovely colour. The consistency was okay to apply, it took a three coats to build up to an opaque colour. I love the dusky spring shades, the brighter ones are coming in and the darker ones are fading out. Profound is so versatile, I can imagine this on my nails with a glitter over the top on the ring fingers. It could also be worn all year round, and for £5.00 it's a total steal. What are your favourite Topshop shades? Which ones should I try out?

Barry M Gelly Hi Shine - Greenberry

Greenberry is the kind of shade that gets me excited for Summer. It may be slightly too soon to be digging out such a bright colour but I'm trying to focus on the warmer months ahead, I am so bored on winter now I just want to go outside without losing all of my body heat and it taking me hours to warm back up again! Plus I was to wear skirts and dresses. There is nothing new about Greenberry it's been around for a while but I saw it whilst sorting out my nail polish collection (I was having a spring clean / clear out) and just wanted to play with it for while. It's a beautiful, bright turquoise / aqua shade. It has a creme formula and as with all of the Barry M Gellys, so easy to apply and drys perfectly. Greenberry is so bright, it's almost verging on neon. It would look amazing with a tan, and I just know I will be wearing this so much in the summer it makes me think of a tropical beach and coconuts haha! I have seen on a few blogs that Barry M have 3 new shades in the Gelly range this Spring, I can't wait to pick those up too.  Which Barry M shades are your favourites? Do you have Greenberry? 

Essie - Island Hopping

I picked up Island Hopping from Olympia Beauty in 2013, Essie had a stand that year and I bought a ton of polishes but this one really took my eye. There are a couple of things I didn't know about the polish before I bought it which makes it slightly more interesting! Island Hopping is from an Essie collection that was in collaboration with the Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas which has always been my dream holiday destination! Another shade in the collection I should have guessed is well loved - Bahama Mama. The formula is a dream to work with, a really smooth creme. Two coats and it's opaque, since my birthday I have had acrylic extensions on my nails, for many reasons. The main on being that I can't seem to get gel polish to stay on my nails (looking perfect) for a long enough time and I had to redo them every other week, due to my work being a nail tech and the fact that my nails have never been very thick, long or strong. The extensions I have are sculpted acrylic only - no glued on tips and they look incredibly natural. Anyway, back to the polish! I had my nails infilled this week and have been wearing Island Hopping on my nails, so many people have complimented me on the colour. In these pictures it comes across as a dusty dark pink, but in some lights it looks more of a light purple mauve. I think this shade could be passed as an Autumn or Spring shade, it's understated but still really lovely to look at. I can see myself wearing this shade a lot more this year, it's a little rediscovery for me. What do you think of Island Hopping?

January Favourites

January just flew by for me, I can't believe we are in February already! After recovering from tonsillitis over Christmas & New Year I finally feel healthy and back to normal. I had a lovely birthday (on the 15th of January) and I was utterly spoiled. Other than my birthday I had a bit of a boring month! I spent most of my time working hard, as I'm saving to do some travelling with my boyfriend in America next year. I ordered quite a few nail polishes from the Models Own sale at the end of January which I can't wait to try out when they arrive! I am also dying to try the Essie Cashmere Matte collection which isn't a resort collection, they are usually released in February so hopefully we will see another collection released soon too! Anyway, on with the favourites of the month!...

Song - Earned It by The Weeknd (Fifty Shades Of Grey Sountrack) I don't want to jump on the bandwagon, however..... I love the Fifty Shades books, I read all three and fell completely in love with the story. This song has been getting me excited for next friday the 13th, as I have booked tickets for my friend and I to go and see it on the opening night!

Blog - Rotten Otter which is written by Katy. I love her blog and every time I see a new post on Bloglovin that I haven't read I immediately stop what I'm doing (If I can!) and give it a read. Plus Katy's photography is lovely. Her posts are short and sweet but not without her personality shining through. Rotten Otter is a must read. You can find it here.

Drink - I just can't stop drinking Black Forest Hot Chocolate's from Costa. Shoot me.

Food - I don't know what to write in the category, as I love so many foods. But I discovered Lychee's and have been loving them! Also my favourite Sable South African Grapes are back in Sainsburys so I have eaten a few punnets of those!

Nail Polish - After all of those dark, rich and luxe polish shades around Christmas I am now well and truly ready to transition into Spring and opt for brighter colours. My favourite that I painted in January was Fruit Sangria by Essie.

Makeup Products - Revlon Lash Potion Mascara is just wonderful, I wore it all of January. And Too Faced's The Bronze & Beautiful palette has been a godsend making me look slightly more sun kissed and alive in cold, dark January.

Randoms - I know Christmas is over, but I was still burning a ton of Cinnamon / Spiced Apple candles in January. I realise in February this is completely unacceptable and I need to stop this, however they are my favourite scent in candles. On the subject on scents, I have been loving my new perfume that my parents bought me for my birthday, Flash by Jimmy Choo. The bottle is beautiful and the perfume even more so. 

What were your favourite things in January?

Dreaming Of Mint

I have been obsessing over this necklace & bracelet set since I received them at Christmas. They are so beautiful, when I unwrapped them the biggest smile appeared on my face. I have been pairing this set with jumpers, dresses and long chiffon tops they really go with everything. I had a lovely lady in Prezzo approach me last week to ask me where they were from! I know they are both from Miss Selfridge, I did look on the website to see if I could include the links in this post, but it looks like they are sold out. They do similar pieces online but these ones are no longer on the website. Statement jewellery has been a creeping obsession with me for a few months, I always dip in and out of buying jewellery. Some months I buy loads, then I go a few months without buying any. Recently I am a huge fan of this style of necklace and I have a couple more that I purchased that I have been loving too. They are easy to wear and really jazz up a more relaxed outfit.

Have you found any cute statement jewellery pieces recently? If so link them below in a comment I would love to have a look!