Power claws with Elegant Touch Hall of Mirrors

Posted in Beauty, nails by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

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Confession: as a natural long nail wearer, I always looked a bit down on falsies.

Then came Elegant Touch to blow me away with their amazing Hall of Mirrors set.

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Image taken by Derek Bremner at The Apartment, with Comb

Application was a breeze. It took me a while to get used to them, but very soon they felt like my own at that length.

They feel very secure and comfortable, I can do everything – wash hair, type… I do not feel they are glued on.

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Now, let’s take a minute to admire the beauty of this colour: a holographic white technicolor dreams are made of.

I am totally, madly, deeply in love.

I had it on for a whole week, no hiccups. Only thing is that you notice the growth of your natural nails and it starts looking less neat, but only noticeable on very close inspection.

Now I just want to wear them all the time. There are so many amazing designs and finishes, from your super classic mani to the out there fab fashion designs (House of Holland, I’m looking at you).

Taking them off really requires some patience. Dripping nail polish remover, poking them out… the excess glue is a pain.

As I my natural nails are destroyed from carrying boxes moving houses, I am cool with that. Otherwise, I would be quite upset.

Next time, strong base coat. If you never tried, do it now. There will be no regrets!

This fabulous shade will be in the shops very soon. Elegant Touch nails come in a variety of colours and shapes and are super practical.

The sets of 24 nails cost between £6.95 and £12.50

They were applied by the lovely Jessica at the more-than-fabulous The Apartment at LFW. Thank you so much for having me.

This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

29Oct2015

Nails: nude and rose gold

Posted in Beauty, nails by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

How long has it been since I posted nails on the blog, you ask? Let’s not talk about that. Let’s just say it is so long I am no longer entitled to call these type of posts nails of the week.

In fact, I’ll touch on it. Known for my ever colourful nails, I took what can be considered a sudden turn for the worst for a nail blogger: I fell in love again with plain reds and nudes.

Yes, there you have it. And is not limited to nude and red. Any simple, plain, block colour I will be all over.

So I bring you my latest in a string of nudes; the pretty essence I ❤ Trends “The Nudes” pure soul (o5).

This is a fabulous very light peach beige has very subtle pink shimmer undertones that are way too pretty. It is however, quite sheer by nature, so I needed four coats to reach a deeper colour.

As most light nail varnishes, it stains a bit on the first coat, less on the second than pretty much nothing from the third.

It dries pretty quickly (especially taking into consideration how many coats I used) and last well. You wouldn’t believe this nail polish is only £1.80. Yes, you heard it.

To finish the look off (and take the edge of the plainness), I added some cute essence nail stickers which cost only £1.30 (!!!).

These are met’ addict and it is basically a pack full (more than 65) of tiny and delicate rose gold outlines of classic shapes like hearts, rectangles, circles, chains, stars, triangles and others.

I put a double heart on my ring finger nail and a single one on my indicator.

So there you have it. Nails. breaking the dry spell. I hope to post more from time to time, but only if they have anything interesting.

And while I’m at it, I must confess I had never before tried essence products. Have to say I am rather impressed by the quality and the value for money.

Their range is superb, covering most corners of beauty and there will be popping up on the blog soon.

You can get essence in the UK at Wilko. This nail polish is part of their “The Trends” line and it is limited edition, once it’s gone, it’s truly gone.

And while you’re at at it, you can see all my nail art, paint jobs and designs here.

This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

27Sep2015

Pam Hogg’s Lawless SS16 catwalk show

Posted in Fashion by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

I am a huge fan of Pam Hogg. Everything about her designs scream that rebelliouness London fashion has been historically known for in the fashion week circles.

Last season, her autumn/winter was all about childhood tales gone a bit wrong and the story telling on the catwalk was just fantastic. Continue reading →

26Sep2015

Nominate So Many Lovely Things for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015

Posted in Beauty, beauty news by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Those who know me will know I really blog for myself. It’s something I love. But I suppose getting an award wouldn’t be so bad…

I would be forever grateful if you could nominate So Many Lovely Things for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015 under the Best Beauty Blog (ambitious, I know).

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the followers, the comments, the interaction with people who share the same love as me, the fabulous brands that believe in me and in what I do.

And oh, the unique ability to inspire, even if one person out there, and to perhaps give them a little nudge to enhance their amazing selves… it is truly priceless.

But my blogging has a more selfish reason to be: me. My passion for beauty, style, fashion – and shoes – that is so huge that leaks out from my small person into these virtual pages.

Most importantly, it has given me comfort when I needed the most.

I never thought that, in claiming my little corner of the internet, I would be exposed to so many amazing things.

It has given me the chance to work with amazing brands, it has exposed me to a wealth of knowledge which is ever growing, backing up my love for the subjects. And the people… I met amazing people.

I feel extremely lucky, privileged and humbled. Oh, and eternally grateful.

However, I take an award wouldn’t go amiss, right? So please (I say again, just in case) nominate me for the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2015 in the Best for Beauty category. It’s super quick, and you can do it by filling the form on their page.

You never know, I might even get shortlisted! Should I be, there will be a little post asking you (yes, I always ask too much) to vote for me.

And thank you. Not just for this, but for being here. There’s a lot of love going round.

23Aug2015

How I feel about trends

Posted in Beauty, Fashion, Make Up, Style by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Trend. Such a powerful word nowadays. Everyone uses it. There’s a trend overload in all aspects of life.

Now, let me get this out of the way: I don’t dislike the word trend (or real trends themselves). In fact, I quite like it, as helps give you guidance to easily update your wardrobe, but sometimes I do think it is overused to mis-sell stuff.

Continue reading →

20Aug2015

The perfect manicure: how I care for my nails

Posted in Beauty, nails by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

I love my nails, but they go through phases. Sometimes they are very strong, long and indestructible. Sometimes they are quite brittle and struggling to get length.

Continue reading →

28Jul2015

Nails of the week: a whole lot of blue

Posted in Beauty, nails by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

I know the “nails of the week” title is currently a bit of a lie. They haven’t been coming weekly, but they are still coming.

Do not despair, I haven’t been walking around with appaling talons, I promise, but lately I have been going back to basics more often than not. Not sure why, but my love of plain red and nude has been reignited big time, and there isn’t anything exciting to show every single week.

Having said that, I did get quite excited about this one. First because I love blue. Second, because the enjoyed my previous metallic dot manicure. Third, there are five shades of blue.

I used, from thumb to pinkie: Collection Blue My Mind, Kiko 385, GOSH Sea Foam, Nails Inc Oxford and Topshop Boy Next Door.

Topped off with the gorgeous Nails Inc Electric Lane holographic topcoat and added lovely silver dots from Seekers of the Sun temporary metallic tattoo, which are of great quality on skin and on nails, I have to say.

Seche Vite sealed all off.

Quite happy with this one!

Rating:

4Jul2015

What I’ve been wearing, June 15

Posted in Accessories, Fashion, outfits, Style by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Now that I am posting the Dani’s Little Book of Fashion articles, I am limiting my “what I am wearing” posts to one a month.

The posts differ a bit in the sense the book of fashion is one particular look, taking trends or occasions and breaking it down in wearable chunks.

What I’m wearing brings my daily ensembles – what I wear to work and to events. Instead of the sporadic round-up of outfits, I will be sharing a selection of my favourites of the month to provide a bit of an insight on my style and hopefully a little bit of inspiration.

Outfit #1

I love this flowery suit from Matalan. It’s a bit sports luxe and the flowers make it perfect for the season – it looks great in the office too. It is gorgeous and the price is fab – the jacket is £20 and the sports trousers £15. I teamed with a nude colour vest top from New Look, nude court shoes from Christian Louboutin, necklace from Primark and rings from Forever 21, H&M and Primark.

Continue reading →

2Jul2015

All round manicure tools: Stylfile Infuse review

Posted in Beauty, nails by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Have to say to start with, I was a bit sceptical about Stylfile, after all, I used nail files most of my life and they seemed to do the job just fine.