Fix-all Smoothie

It's heading into party season regardless of which hemisphere you're in. Northern hemisphere ladies (and boys for that matter) will be going out to Winter Christmas parties, whereas those of us in the Southern hemisphere are heading back into summer (FINALLY). If you need something for recovery or to pep you up and give you a bit of a meal this is my favourite. I drink one like this pretty much everyday and I think it's really helped get me through that "sick" part of winter.

Honestly the best thing about this one is you can make a blender full then have half before you go out and the other half when you get back/the following morning. Being prone to colds, being a lightweight or needing something easy to drink on the go this is the perfect option.

OK, without anymore pre-amble here's my anti-hangover/immunity booster/recovery smoothie

All in a blender:

• 1/2 - 1 cup of blueberries - these little berries have so many antioxidants in them, they're great for helping give your body an extra boost. I like to add a few raspberries too if I want something a little more tangy. 
• A banana - a big one, not a tiny wee bobby one. These have potassium in them so if you're drinking anything alcoholic your potassium levels can get depleted. 
• A cup of almond milk or soy milk - whichever you prefer. This helps make the drink more of a "meal" and will fill you up and line your tummy. 
• LSA - this gives you some protein and good fats - it'll also help you feel full for longer. 
• OPTIONAL: grated ginger and spinach or kale. The ginger makes the smoothie taste amazing with the blueberries and the spinach, well it's spinach. It's good for you innit? 

Blend it all up, serve in a nice glass with a straw and drink throughout the day/evening before you go out. 

Claire x

The Weekend Post: A Long Weekend

I don't often take leave (in fact this is the first day I've taken all year) so it was wonderful having Friday off last week for my boyfriends birthday. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos but it was a pretty quiet weekend with a spot of shopping, a movie, two home cooked dinners and the All Blacks.

To make up for the fact my usual Friday post didn't publish on schedule I'm going to have an extra one next week. Aside from that, I have a few exciting new "payday" purchases to share that I received either in the post or bought this weekend. (Does anyone else have a list of things they want to buy saved o their phone...? Just me...?)

xoBeauty brushes - left-right: tapered crease brush, lip brush, blush brush, small tapered face brush. 

I got these in the post on Friday morning (I ordered them on Wednesday). I love Shannon Harris and her brush line lives up to expectations. I already had several of these brushes and felt like splurging a bit so I added a few to my cart. These hair ties are also limited edition - they're the snag free variety. I can't bring myself to actually wear them in my hair because I don't want them to stretch - I've been wearing the black spotty one on my wrist as a bracelet (even Jack commented on it...!) If you've not heard of Shannon her youtube is here and you can purchase from her store (international shipping available) from here.

Jack and I were in the city, Newmarket/Queen Street, I bought him an extra fine merino cardigan for his birthday and a few makeup bits for me.

MAC mineralise blush in Warm Soul and Nars Laguna Bronzer

I'd been keen to get my hands on this bronzer for a while now, given that I love Nars and due to the fact that it has such a cult following. I can tell you now, it's worth the hype. On a side note, if you're in Auckland and are shopping for makeup, the girls at Mecca Cosmetica are amazing. They're so polite, beautifully made up, very approachable and very helpful.

On a side note, I can finally show you what my pint painted nails are - the inspiration behind my blog title. I painted them on Wednesday night so they're starting to chip already (d'oh!) but I can probably eek them out for a few more days. I'm madly drafting up some posts for the next few weeks for you all now. 

Mod About You - OPI

Wearing one of my xoBeauty hair ties - love them. Rings by Pandora

Sadly that's all I really have to report for this weekend - hopefully next weekend I'll have a new outfit post or something a little more exciting. The weather this weekend has been horrible - so cold and miserable. I may have something exciting on its way to me I the post as well, I shall update you on that when it arrives! 

Claire x

Shellac - Yay or Nay?

So, last last weekend I made a post about how I went and got my nails done (if you're interested you can find the post here. Not sure why this didn't post on it's scheduled time (grr!) so I'm posting now...! Weekend post soon to follow. 

So I thought I'd write a little summary/review of my Shellac experience. it is quite an investment to get done and rather a faff to get removed so I thought I'd weight the pros and cons for those unsure about whether to adventure into this UV light and paint filled world.

 One day after painting - natural light

One day after painting - artificial light. 

How long did it last? I got it done on Saturday the 30th, and removed it on the 9th which was a total wear of eleven days. It was starting to peel a little bit around the edges and my self control can only hold for so long and peeling shellac is very bad for your nails. They were also starting to grow out a little - nothing noticeable unless you looked really hard but because I'm super picky about my nails it was getting to me...!

How to remove it? I didn't want to pay to have it removed as 25 bucks to have nail polish taken off seems a little steep for me. I purchased some acetone from the pharmacy for $6.99 and did it at home. It was pretty awkward and took a while to get right. Essentially I'd soak a bit of cotton wool in the acetone, put it on the nail and wrap the nail in tin foil. You need to let it soak like that for a few minutes and then scrape the shellac off with an orange stick. It was very messy and acetone is incredibly drying on your hands, especially if you have dermatitis like I do.

How does it affect your nails? My nails were fairly good after, however I had scraped one of them a little too hard and peeled the top layer of nail off which isn't good. Also, even with acetone there was still a bit of residue left on them. I was apprehensive about putting more acetone on them as I didn't want to dry the nail bed out even more. The strength of my nails was still the same though.

Nails - one day after shellac removal. As you can see - a little dry!

Shellac again? I think yes, I would shellac again but I'd probably prefer it on my toes rather than my fingers and I'd only get it done if I could afford to get it removed professionally. I'm not a huge fan of having to use really harsh chemicals to remove anything, I usually use an acetone free nail varnish remover anyway. Aside from that, I get kind of bored of my nails after a week and want a change of colour. Knowing you have to go through the whole acetone and foil rigmarole wasn't really worth it in my eyes. I think from now on I'll most probably just stick to my old reliable OPI!

By the time this post is up my nails will be back to their usual Pink Friday/Mod About You shade of pink! *breathes a sigh of relief*

Claire x

First Impressions: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip-brow

Again, super late to the party but purely because of the whole New-Zealand-gets-everything-after-everyone-else. This still isn't actually stocked in any stores here so I bought it on Beautybay.

I'd been super keen to try this as with summer creeping up I'm all for anything that says it's water/sweat proof as where I work/my office can get pretty damn hot. That, and when I go to the gym I like to know by brow isn't going to slide off my face. 

First impressions of this one is immediate love - I'd heard a lot of people saying you only need the tiniest bit and you really do. This little glass jar will last me a lifetime at this rate. I apply it with an angle top brow brush from Eco-Tools. 

The colour pay off is amazing, it's quite a waxy texture and is very easy to apply and blend but once it's set, it really stays there. I've worn it through 9 hours at the office, the gym and then got home for it to still be in perfect condition. I got it in the shade Blonde, I sort of wish there was an even lighter shade but generally speaking I do like dark brows. If you're a very warm toned blonde you may want to go for the auburn instead - this colour is fairly cool toned, I have a white/gold cast to my hair but again still fairly "cool". 

As for swatches here I have it in natural light then a more shaded area. 

Natural light - Dip-brow in Blonde

Natural/Artificial Light - Blonde

Finally I have a few images to show you what it looks like after about 10 hours wear. Again in both natural and artificial light - the natural light one is a little dark because we're just coming out of winter. 

 Artificial light - 10 hrs wear. Dip-brow - Blonde

Natural light - 10 hrs wear. Dip-brow - Blonde

Personally I always like to read plenty of reviews on a product before I purchase it, so even though this has been around a while hopefully it'll be of some help. All in all, the verdict is I 100% recommend this product. For $22 New Zealand and free shipping for a product that will have a lot of use it it's definitely worth a try. The descriptions for each colour on the website and on Beautybay I believe are very accurate as well - you'll almost certainly see this in my September monthly favourites. 

Claire x

I'm now on Bloglovin!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

You can follow me here for easier reading - and you'll get an update when I post (always post on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday/Sunday but you'll get a notification when I do).

And apologies for the ever changing colours/theme and sidebar, I'm still trying to iron a few things out!

Claire x

The Weekend Post: The First Weekend of Spring

After last weekend being an absolutely shocker (winter, you will not be missed) I'm so pleased with the stunning weather we're having now. I'm a huge sook with the cold and I'm amazigly wearing a crop top and shorts. Again, it's been a pretty quiet weekend seeing Jack, watching the All Blacks and gardening. My seedlings are about ready to be planted into the ground so I now have Kale for Africa and lots of little echinacea and bergamot still growing into existence.

For those of you that are interested my Shellac is still going strong one week on - I'll do a proper post on this once I eventually take it off. My nails are starting to grow out a little but thus far it's not noticeable.

As I work for an ice cream company there are a lot of these big 5 litre containers that go to waste - snagged one, nailed a few holes in the bottom for drainage and transferred a whole lot of kale into it.

Morning tea warranted some nice frozen raspberries -  very refreshing on a hot day.

The king of the garden a.k.a my cat enjoyed the sun too.

I eventually joined him and tried to make an early start on my ghostly white skin.

Next weekend will hopefully be a little more eventful - I'm having Friday off work and will be on the shore for half the weekend. Fingers crossed the weather will stay this beautiful...!

Claire x

The Summer Wishlist

Now that it's spring, my summer wishlist is growing. New products, clothes and the such...my "payday" list of things never seems to get any smaller. These are a few things on what I call the ~high priority~ section right down to if-I-ever-get-the-money/maybe-someone-will-get-it-for-me-for-Christmas *deep breath* kind of purchases.

Nars Laguna BronzerEssentially I want to see what the hype is about. That and my current bronzer has hit pan and if you read frequently you'll know I've never encountered anything from Nars I didn't love. 

Triangl Bikini - Black Neon Orange Burst

I bloody love the look of these bikinis and the prospect of something sturdy that can withstand west coast beach waves is impressive. Neoprene is tough stuff and LOOK AT THE COLOUR. 

Havaianas - Black with Gold

These aren't the exact ones I want but they're pretty close. I've never had Havaianas before and seeing as jandals are acceptable footwear at work and I always have my nails done to show off, why not? 

Frank - Coconut and the Cacao variety

I bloody love this stuff. I've just about finished my original Frank and I'm ready to try these ones too. They may or may not have already been purchased/on their way to my mailbox...ahem.

Kevin Murphy Hair Resort

I'm feeling the beachy waves idea with my slightly shorter hair, I love the current products I use from Kevin Murphy so this one is another on the list. Aside from that they're pretty natural, smell nice and are cruelty free.

Ray Bans - Clubmasters

I'm practically frothing to get my hands on these - they're the perfect counterpart to my Ray Bans Aviators, they're comfortable and amazingly actually suit my face shape too.

Hello Hair - Hair Mask

I love the beach and the sun, I even love how much lighter my hair gets but I don't like when it starts to feel dry. This treatment sounds amazing and I'm all for more natural alternatives to every-day kinds of products. 

Urban Decay - Naked 3 Palette

I know I'm super late to the party with this one but a) I live in New Zealand, shit isn't easy to get here and b) I don't like to commit to makeup unless I'm pretty sure I'm going to love it. These cool toned pinks and taupes have been calling me name however and I think I'm going to need to order one as soon as dip-brow is available in taupe on Beautybay again. 

Viktor and Rolf - Bon Bon

Urrghhh it smells so good. Sweet without being too "girly" and of course it comes in a beautiful Viktor and Rolf bottle - I always think their packaging is stunning. I'm a huge fan of more vanilla based fragrances but am very picky with them. This one is just gorgeous and actually sits nicely on my skin without ending up smelling "chemically" (does anyone else get what I mean by that...?)

Those are the main things gracing my pay-week list - no doubt some will be getting purchased and sent me way. I'll let you know how they all live up to expectation. As for the others...I shall have to keep my fingers crossed. 

Claire x