I should start by saying that I have a lot of nail varnish, some may say I have too much but you can never have enough glass pots of pretty colours. As a result I paint my nails A LOT and I'm always looking out for a top coat that claims to make nail polish last longer on the nail. I have used plenty of top coats over the past couple of years and it could be the awful condition of my nails (it probably is) but none of them seemed to prevent chipping. After hearing numerous reviews of people raving about the Seche Vite top coat I thought I would take the plunge and try it. 

I had high expectations for this and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. It dries your nails very quickly and gives a really good shine - I've had people think I'm wearing gel nail polish but it's just been down to this. The consistency is quite strange, I was used to quite runny, "just bought" nail varnish consistency top coats but this is fairly thick. I have heard of it going very gloopy quite quickly but I've used about half the bottle and I'm still yet to experience that. 

Overall, I do think this is a great product; however, I don't think it's the be all and end all of top coats. You can find cheaper top coats that perform nearly as well (Sally Hansen Insta-Dri is a good one) and if you're not an avid nail polish collector or don't really paint your nails that often I don't think this is a necessity.

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat is available at Boots for £9.

Do you have a favourite top coat? 

Tate 

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Hello all, I hope you've been enjoying your weekend in the sun! A little delayed but better late than never - this is 2/3 of my Spring Picks - just a little selection of products I love to use during spring and one or two that I want to get my mitts on to use throughout the season. I personally think make-up during the spring looks lovely more natural, using less products and keeping it simple with the odd bold lip thrown in for good measure. 

1. Essie Nail Polish: These two colours are 'Topless and Barefoot' and 'Absolutely Shore'. I have topless and barefoot and adore it. It's the perfect pinky nude and looks really clean and sophisticated on the nail. Unfortunately it isn't available in the diffusion line sold in Boots but is available on Amazon. The second shade is another that also isn't available in Boots but after seeing it frequently mentioned on Anna's blog I need this in my collection for spring and summer.

2. Dr Jart BB Beauty Balm's: I never wear full coverage foundation but during the summer I prefer to put the light coverage foundations to one side and opt for a more dewy BB cream. I've had the Dr Jart Platinum BB cream for a few months now and I really really love it. Although it's the one aimed for aging skin, I much preferred the texture and finish in comparison to the Water Fuse one which is often raved about by beauty bloggers. This has the perfect coverage for me and makes skin look supple and healthy. 

3. L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara Waterproof: After momentarily panicking that this had been discontinued as it's not on the Boots or Superdrug website I managed to track this down on Amazon (fingers crossed L'Oreal has not discontinued this)!! No mascara holds a curl and lengthens like this does, so on days where you only want to wear mascara this is fantastic (although a bit of nightmare to take off without an oil based eye-makeup remover). 

4. Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in 110: Now and again a bold lip is very welcome during spring and this bright red/pinky lipstick is beautiful. Teamed with a simple base and long lashes this is great spring look.

5. By Terry Baume De Rose : As upsetting as this is, I think the By Terry Baume De Rose will forever be on my wishlist as I could never justify spending £35 on a lip balm (this may have to go on my christmas list). Although I've never used this I have seen it and can imagine that for days when you can't be bothered to maintain a bright lip, a bit of this glossy (but not sticky) balm would add a little something. (I've just bought a lip balm that I'm hoping will be a 'dupe' for this so I'll be sure to keep you posted.)

6. Jemma Kidd Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Creme: My spring beauty picks would not be complete without a cream highlighter. Very sadly, Jemma Kidd make-up is no more and after hitting pan on this product a couple of months ago I've been holding back from using this until I find an alternative. This product is so easy to apply, blends like a dream and isn't obviously sparkly/glittery but I think any highlighter swept across the tops of the cheekbones looks gorgeous on a sunny, spring day (not that we've been having many of those). If you know of a dupe for this please please please let me know in the comments!

Have you tried any of these? What are your go to spring beauty products?

Thankyou for reading! 

Tate 

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I'm sure most of you will agree with me when I say that recently Rimmel London have been absolutely nailing it with beauty products. Seeing as quite a few of them make a daily appearance in my everyday make-up I thought it was about time that I gave them some recognition. 

Firstly, two absolute staples. Mascara and concealer. The Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara was my first branch out from the L'Oreal Telescopic Waterproof mascara that usually coats my lashes. I've been using this mascara for a couple of months now and I wouldn't say it "extends lashes by up to 99%" which is what Rimmel claim but it does give decent length. If you love volume this may not be for you though. Now on to the Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer. My thoughts about this are short and sweet. It's a great light coverage concealer, that for me isn't drying, doesn't crease, is great for everyday use and is available in a pretty good colour range and that's coming from somone who is relatively pale.

Secondly, the Rimmel Scandaleyes Kohl Kajal Eyeliner in Nude and Bronze. Like any eyeliner that you use on your waterline it's not going to last hours and hours but these do last longer than many kohl eyeliners I've used in the past. The nude colour is great if your eyes are looking a bit red and just makes you look a bit more awake which is something I need on a daily basis. The bronze is a lovely alternative to black eyeliner on the waterline which I personally find sometimes too harsh for everyday makeup and also looks gorgeous smudged just under the lashes for added smokeyness in the evening. Beautiful.

Last but certainly not least, lip products. The Rimmel Apocalips Lip Lacquer's  have received plenty of attention in the beauty blogging world so I won't say too much. I have the colour 'Celstial'  - a lovely spring/summer pink that has pretty good staying power but does need reapplying a couple of times throughout the day. The pigmentation of these is just incredible and I definitely want to get my hands on 'Big Bang', a bright red colour. Finally, the Rimmel Kate lipsticks both the Lasting Finish and Matte. Although the lasting finish ones are lovely and creamy the colour selection isn't anything ground-breaking. I think the Matte finish lipsticks are amazing! The colours are beautiful. I have 110 a bright pinky/red and 107 a deep raspberry colour which I wore a lot throughout winter. Although slightly drying, if you apply a balm before you're sorted and for £5.49 I really cannot complain. 

I tried to keep this as short as possible but I honestly cannot recommend any of these products enough. All are so reasonably priced and deliver great quality. Let me know in the comments what your favourite Rimmel products are! 

Tate

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A short and sweet but slightly different post today that I hope you enjoy.

I redecorated my room last summer and I still haven't gotten round to doing something with the bare wall above my fireplace until recently I thought of an idea. I absolutely love old and collectors covers of magazines especially Vogue as some of them are just amazing so I thought I might print out my favourites and mount them on the wall. I think it'll look really nice and add something interesting to look at and I might blog about it once I've done it! Anyway, I thought I'd share with you the ones that are likely to make my wall...

I hope you all liked this post and please let me know which one is your favourite!

As always, thankyou so much for reading.

Tate 

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This is going to be the first in a series of "Spring Picks" that I'm going to do and this is a collection of jewellery pieces that I think will make great spring accessories. 

To me the one that stands out the most is the Zara statement necklace which will undoubtedly brighten up any outfit. I think this would look great with a plain t-shirt and instantly add some interest to a simple outfit. 

I love these two Topshop Necklaces. The long boho necklace  is not something I'd usually go for but I quite like how delicate it is whilst still being colourful and interesting. I absolutely love how clean and simple the white and 'rose gold' necklace is. I know black isn't a very spring colour but I wear it a lot and I think this would look lovely paired with a simple black dress, or black top and skinny jeans. 

The most simple piece is this beautiful Whistles ring that not only could be worn throughout spring but all year round and I think this would be a great addition to any ring collection. You can never have enough! 

Finally, the New Look cuff bracelet. Considering this is only £5.99 I think it looks more expensive and would again make any plain/simple outfit that bit more interesting with very little effort required which is something I'm always looking for, I don't know about you! 

I hope you like my spring jewellery picks! 

Which is your favourite? Do you have any favourite spring jewellery pieces? 

Tate 

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I've never really bothered with buying more 'high-end' lipbalms, I've always stuck to my trusty Nivea Honey and Milk balm or Blistex Intensive Lip Cream (which I still love) but a few weeks ago my lips were really dry and sore and nothing I put on them seemed to stop it. I started to find the Nivea lip balm greasy and it doesn't really contain the best ingredients so I thought I would have a look on feelunique.com to see if I could find something better. 

Now everyone in the beauty blogging world has heard about the Nuxe Reve de Miel Baume which is raved about but I just couldn't bring myself to spend nearly £10 on a lip balm (although I think I might after trying this). I decided to opt for the stick form which I have also read  some good reviews about and I have to say this is a brilliant little balm. I absolutely hate oily lip balms that don't set (if you know what I mean) on your lips and I was very glad after trying this to find out that this is not. It feels really nourishing, stays on your lips for quite a while and is good as a base for lipsticks as it's not glossy at all. Since using this I've had no problems with cracking or chapped lips and I don't have a bad word to say about this balm. 

Although not as good value for money as the pot form in which you get 15g it's still only £5.50 which I don't think is too bad and can be ordered from feelunique with free delivery here. 

If you have any good lip balm recommendations please let me know as you can never have enough! 

Have you tried either of the Nuxe lip balms? 

Tate 

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This is just a collection of a few non-beauty pieces that I've had my eye on later and would like to get my hands on (I'm counting down the days until my birthday! (It's 14) ). 

1. Whistles Make Up Bag £35 - Although this is described as a make up bag, personally I would use this as a clutch as I think it's just so pretty and would look gorgeous with a black dress. It's just too pretty to shove it full of make-up! 

2. Mango Jacket £59.99 - I don't think this Jacket and I will ever meet as I just can't justify spending practically £60 on a jacket that I would end up wearing a few months of the year which is extremely annoying as this looks like such a lovely and soft lightweight jacket. The fact that Mariannan  has it also makes me want it, everything she wears just looks so effortless! (I highly recommend having a look at her blog.)

3. Monki Blouse £20 - Now this will be mine by the weekend. I absolutely love monki, the clothes are so simple and very reasonably priced. I thought this blouse was a gorgeous colour and the small cut on the sides make it really flattering (take a peek at the website image). This is something I would wear a lot, all year round! 

4. Mango Sunglasses £14.99 - I did actually go to buy these the other day but much to my disappointment they were sold out on both Asos and the Mango website in the brown. Of course because I now can't get hold of them I want them even more! I know this style of sunglasses is quite popular but I like the fact they have a matte finish and that they're not too small as I find small sunglasses don't flatter my nose greatly. 

5. Zara Bag £29.99 - The main reason I want this is because the one tan colour bag that I have from Mango is looking a little worse for wear and I think it's time for a replacement. This is a really nice structured bag that could be worn on the crook of your arm or on your shoulder as it comes with a longer strap (which I think is detachable) and I think this would be a great addition to any handbag collection no matter how big or small! The only drawback of this bag is that it's not leather but it doesn't look too flimsy so for the price you wouldn't expect much more.

Are there any fashion pieces you're lusting after at the moment? 

Thankyou so much for reading!

Tate 

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