Eyes of steel

I had a couple of minutes left before work this morning and couldn't resist popping into Topshop to have another look at their make up range. I loved every single one of the blushes and could have picked up half of the nail polishes... Also, the packaging is just too cute! But I decided to be good and only buy one polish: a beautiful, metallic purple called "Eyes of Steel". The flat, wide brush makes application super easy, it only takes one coat to be fully opaque and dries very quickly. I love both the formula and the shiny, metallic finish of this polish which is why I don't regret spending £6 for it at all! However, I don't really understand why the metallic polishes are more expensive than the normal ones which retail at £5.

My nails are still tiny stumps :( I tried so many different nail hardeners but my nails still break as soon as they reach a "normal" length which is so frustrating! Has anybody got recommendations for nail hardeners that actually do the trick? Much appreciated!

Payday Lust List

Finally, payday is approaching! And so is the cold and windy autumn weather which is why I'm looking forward to laying my hands on some of these little gems! I've been browsing the shops for a new winter coat and I fell in love with this beautiful navy faux fur one from Topshop. Thick snoods and gloves are absolutely essential in this weather anyway, and for me, a cosy dressing gown is just as important. I think they're amazing for snuggling up on the sofa on a lazy day, and this blue-white stripy one is just too cute! 

• Navy Faux Fur Collar Wool Coat, Topshop £75 
• Self Stripe Roll Sleeve Top, Topshop £26 
• Fleece Hooded Striped PJ Robe, Topshop £36 
• Louche Jezebel Spot Playsuit, Joy £45 
• Pamela Mann Fairisle Tights, Joy £10 
• Vent Bow Trim Suede Glove, Accessorize £22 
• Mischa Georgie Shoulder Bag, New Look £59
• Mixed Metal Russian Bangles, Topshop £10
• Nude Zig Zag Snood, Topshop £16

Review: Topshop blush 'Powdered'

Hello dolls,
as promised yesterday, here is a review of one of my new favourite products: a super pretty pink blush from Topshop called Powdered! The name confused me a little when I was trying to work out what the shade was called - I thought 'powdered' just meant it was a powder blush, which it is, but it's also the name of the shade! Anyway, I received a very late but amazing birthday present from my best friend Kerstin last week, including some lovely products from The Body Shop, a Soap&Glory body mist and of course, the Topshop blush (she knows me too well!)! I got super excited because I spent the last few months lusting after Topshop's new make up range.. The packaging is just adorable and have you seen all these beautiful nail polishes?! Thanks to Kerstin, I finally got my hands on one of their make up products and all I can say - I am in love! Even though I have a lot of blushes in all different shades and finishes, I reached for my new Topshop blush every single day for the last one or two weeks!

The colour is described as a "bright pink" to which I can only agree, but you need to be a little careful as it is super pigmented! A little and gentle swirl with your brush will be enough to leave your cheeks with a lovely, pink flush. It's really easy to blend and the staying power is brilliant too - it stays is place all day without fading, no touch up required. All in all, for £6 this really is a lovely product and without a doubt I will keep using it for another couple of weeks... until I go out and pick up some more products from Topshop's make up range! :)

Have you tried anything from their make up range? Any recommendation?
Mona x

Face of the day

This is what I looked like today - a really easy and quick look as I never have a lot of time in the morning before work... I prefer spending an extra 10 minutes in bed :) I was wearing two of my new favourites today: Dior Addict lipstick in 'Diorkiss' and Topshop blush in 'Powdered' - I am such a sucker for pink! Reviews of those two beauties will follow very soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Face: Missha Perfect Cover BB Cream #21, Rimmel Stay Matte Powder 'Transparent', Topshop blush 'Powdered'
Eyes: Artdeco Eyeshadow Base, NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil 'Slate', grey/silver eyeshadow from the NYX Palette 'Haute Model', Artdeco Eyeshadow #27, Essence Longlasting Eye Pencil 'Black Fever', Chanel Inimitable Mascara
Lips: Dior Addict 'Diorkiss'

Pink Glittery Tips

This is a manicure I did about two weeks ago but I loved it so much, so I decided to share it with you. As soon as I have seen Leanne's 'Tips with a twist' post on her blog Do Not Refreeze, I knew I had to recreate it as I fell in love with it right away. My nails didn't turn out as pretty as Leanne's but I still got a lot of compliments on them - such a nice feeling being told that your nails look lovely!

I used Barry M All in One as my basecoat, Boots 17 Lasting Fix in "Pink Grapefruit" for the pink tips, then Essence Nail Art Twins "Glitter Topper" for the pretty sparkles and a coat of Catrice Quick Dry&High Shine to finish it all off and make sure it lasts for a couple of days without chipping.
By the way, 17's Pink Grapefuit is one of my favourite nail polishes ever! I absolutely adore the colour and the formula is top notch - a proper review will follow soon :)

I hope you like it as much as I did.. Such an easy manicure but so pretty! Love, Mona x

Space Nails

Hello lovelies,
here is my attempt at "space nails" which I wore a couple of days ago. After applying a base coat, I painted my nails with two layers of plain black polish which I let dry completely before randomly dabbing on green, blue, pink and yellow polish with a little unused make up sponge. To finish the manicure off, I added some glitter and sparkle to make extra space-y and a thick layer of top coat to make it all smooth and shiny. I am quite happy with the way it turned out but excuse my nails - I seem to break at least one nail a day when I'm working which is really frustrating... I hate having short stumps! Fingers crossed they will grow back quickly though, especially my index finger nail as it ripped very low (so sore!!).

These are the nail polishes I used to create my "space nails". From left to right: Barry M All in One (basecoat, nail hardener and topcoat), p2 Color Victim "Eternal", Eyeko "Vintage Polish", Barry M "Peach Melba", p2 Color Victim "Charming", 17 Lasting Fix "Pink Grapefruit", Essence Special Effect Topper "Circus Confetti", Gosh "Rainbow" and Essence Nail Art Twins Glitter Topper.

Do you like them? Mona xx

Cupcakes Galore

Last saturday, I spent about four hours in the kitchen baking 85 cupcakes... Never again!
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore baking but it was just tiring, and also very annoying when you have to work with three little mixing bowls and without an electric mixer - my arm is still sore from all the mixing and whisking! However, the cupcakes did turn out really yummy and all the costumers seemed to enjoy them too (I baked them for a little A/W launch party at my work).

I made vanilla cupcakes with green and blue vanilla frosting and lots of sprinkles, chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and strawberry cheesecake cupcakes with pink cream cheese frosting and digestive biscuit crumbles - all recipes are taken from the amazing Hummingbird Bakery cookbook! If you are into cakes, muffins and pies you have to check it out, I promise it will make your mouth water! :)

Love, Mona x

Hello there!

This is my first ever blog post and I am incredibly excited! I've been reading beauty, fashion and cook blogs for a long time and thought about starting my own blog lots of times. I don't even know why I waited so long to actually do it!
I've spent the whole morning lying in bed, sipping tea and hoping for this horrible cold to finally go away, being ill is just so annoying and boring - which is why I decided that it's finally time to do something productive: starting my own little blog! I buy way too much make up and beauty products, spend hours in the kitchen baking little treats and wander around the high street shops trying my hardest not to spend all my money... So I'm sure I'll have quite a lot to write about and hopefully I can share some of my favourite things with my readers :)

Lots of love, Mona x