NOTD: Barry M Speedy Quick Dry Nail Polish - Pit Stop

Hi there!

It has been a long time since I bought a nail polish - mostly I've bought so many that even with new colours coming out I've always got something similar. 

Lately though the '2 for £7' deal in Boots got me good, I've always wanted to try more of the Gelly Hi Shine range and the Speedy Quick Dry was another range that caught my eye.

I've been wearing lots of nudes the last few months and that doesn't seem set to change, it makes it so much easier at work and I think they look chic whatever you're wearing - also there's a massive range available!

This shade is called Pit Stop - it's a light grey colour that I don't have so far in my vast collection, surprisingly, and I couldn't leave it behind.

I love the Speedy Quick lids - the racing checkerboard lid is very clever and I love that they translated this into the names of the polishes too. There are others called Full Throttle and Lap of Honour, and Eat My Dust is a gorgeous coral (can never ignore the corals!)

So how does it look on?

This is with 2 coats applied plus top coat.

I can't decide if this polish was too thick, it is quite thick which i normally like - with my average application skills thicker polish is easier to control and as long as it's done slowly it can work fine.

However you can see from the picture above that on my index finger nail there is a little patch where it goes thinner. This may just be my shoddy techniques at application but it's a little annoying.

That said though, it is a great colour and perfect for me for work. I really like it.

It will definitely get a lot of use from me, particularly due to its fast drying capabilities.

This did dry a little bit faster than a normal polish, though i didn't think there was too much difference. Any decrease on drying time is extremely preferable though and I did seem to be able to get base, 2 coats and then top coat done in a quick pace.

Have you tried the Speedy Quick range? Do you live wearing nude polishes like me?

I saved metallics and pinks for the weekends!

L xxx

Life Lately

Hey All

It's been a while since I've done a life post. As I don't post as much on here when I do I tend to share my latest new product so I thought it was time for an update.

A few weeks ago I went on an amazing holiday to Iceland. I'm planning on doing a few travel type posts on it as it was the best holiday ever and I put a lot of research into so thought it would be good to share some tips. Here's a few of my favourite photos

When we got back from our holiday it was 6 nations seasons. It's the time of the year L and I become enemies (as well as my OH now!). This is the first year in a long time L and I haven't watched the Wales v England match together. As it was a Friday night and I had a kickboxing competition the next day I decided to watch it in the my house. I still managed to drink a bottle of prosecco! Ooops, I was celebrating though. I love six nations and going out to watch the matches! L and I are preparing a day and night out for super saturday!

The result of my kickboxing competition was my first injury! A baby black eye, I was lucky mine wasn't as bad as some others. I am totally in love with this sport. It's been a long time since I've felt like I have a hobby I enjoy and I'm so glad I found this one. I got Silver at this competition so was pretty pleased!

I've been trying to get myself sorted again with meal prep. I used to be great at it when I lived in my own flat but I've let myself slip lately so have been getting back on it. This was an amazing sausage and mash, I boiled the potatoes over purple cabbage so they went purple. When I have kids I'm going to be remembering this trick. Mojitos have definitely been a theme over the past few weeks and I've finally mastered a pretty good one. I prefer mine with spiced rum hence the colour of it! (maybe I should bring back a cocktail friday post to share this one!)

I feel so lucky to live in such a pretty city! This is in one of the many arcades. I love sitting outside of the arcades with a cup of tea. I usually end up in barker tea house they have such an amazing selection and the silver tips is the best! I definitely needed the treat this weekend after a busy week in work which included teaching some fourth year students! Scary.

Hope you all had a great weekend! Back to the grind of work!

Love M

xxx

NOTD: Deborah Lippmann

Hey there!

I haven't bought any new nail varnish in a long time but when I saw these in a set in TK Maxx I couldn't leave them behind. Deborah Lippmann polishes are really well known especially their glitter ones - who doesn't love the Birthday polish with multiple coloured pieces of glitter?? Its beautiful!

So when I was there and saw a bundle of them together I couldn't resist.

In the set that I bought there was a beautiful classic red, a dark vampy purple and a bright summery coral.

First up is the red; aptly titled My Old Flame. 

This red is a classic colour that can be worn any time, its so beautiful on that I've been wearing it a lot recently.

Two coats of this is usually enough but it is quite thin so three can be required to make sure there aren't any streaks, I guess its all dependent on your painting skills! FYI mine aren't great as I'm too impatient so three is normally required for a smooth streak free finish.





Surprisingly I don't have a red like this in my collection and it has definitely filled a gap. The consistency is quite good and I was initially impressed but it can chip easily so it needs a few coats of topcoat and needs to be regularly replaced.

The purple; Dark Side of the Moon. This is also a beautiful dark purple that was probably one that I wouldn't have bought individually if it hadn't have been in the set.

This colour is also quite thin and needs three coats for opacity which is definitely the best with darker colours like this. Truthfully this isn't a colour that I would choose and  I probably won't wear it very much, I love vampy reds and dark navy or blacks but purple isn't something that I wear very often.

That said it is a gorgeous colour and being pale seems to set it off, I will probably donate this polish to a friend who will get the full benefit of it.



Last up is Daytripper - the gorgeous bright coral that's going to be just perfect for spring and summer!

Again this is a thin polish, are they all like or just the colours that I have?

It needed three coats for full opacity but did apply well. You could probably get away with 2 coats if you're more careful but generally I'd say it was a 3 coater!

Below shows the polish with flash to show the true colour of the polish, I'm not convinced that after a few days it didn't get a bit more orange so maybe the sunlight can affect this particular colour.

That said it is my favourite out of the lot and I can see my fingers and toes getting a lot of wear out of this colour.

Overall I'm pleased with my purchases however I'm not sure I'd pay full price for any Deborah Lippmann polishes if they are all like these. Needing three coats for full opacity means you will get through colours a lot faster, high street brands such as Essie manage to create polishes that can be opaque in 1 or 2 coats for half of the price so its a shame that these ones aren't either. As mentioned I also had an issue with chipping even though each layer was quite thin and allowed to dry in between each coat.

That aside they are great polishes and the range is fantastic, the glitter's are something that I always have my eye on...........I guess I'll just be waiting for when they are all in the sale to be getting them so my money can be saved!

What do you think of Deborah Lippmann polishes? Do you think the formula could be improved?

What's your favourite nail colour from DL?

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Hazel Wallace The Food Medic - Health Happyness and Me

Hi all!

Today's Fitness Friday post is a review of Hazel Wallace's latest ebook. More commonly known as The Food Medic, Hazel is an Irish medical student studying in Cardiff and has a huge passion for food and fitness. She has her own website and blog which you can visit here (Hazel Wallace) and not only details her Sunday Service workout suggestions but also recipes and reviews of foods.

She also has her own ebook called 'Health Happyness and Me' which I purchased a few weeks ago.

It costs £10.99 and has 110 pages in total.

The ebook is full of amazing illustrations which is what attracted me to it most - I'm a sucker for a superhero theme especially when its a female one, who doesn't wish they were like Catwoman or Black Widow?! The book is full of them too, it definitely creates a positive vibe that you can most certainly do anything you put your mind to!


The ebook contains some background to Hazel's life and how she came to be so enthusiastic and passionate about fitness. After this she details how she gets motivated, her nutrition and diet myths, how to plan and prep your way through clean eating, and training. There are also a few recipes at the end of the ebook.

If you've ever seen her instagram it will be enough to motivate you to buy this ebook as she is absolutely beautiful and and her dedication to her workouts is clear.

I loved how easy this ebook was to read - it had some really great advice and would be great for anyone just starting out or someone like me who needed a few new ideas and a bit of motivation.

One thing I absolutely loved was the quotes she used within the text, there are lots of them from many people but one really stood out to me and it was one that Hazel herself created:

'Striving to succeed according to someone else's definition of success will not offer you the personal triumph that you're searching for'

This really struck a chord with me - trying to please everyone else will not make you happy nor will it help you in your own journey in life. It's something that I definitely need to make a bigger effort to do, I'm mostly happy with my life as it is and need to stop comparing myself to other people and their ideals just because they aren't the same.

This ebook was a really good read and I've come away with a few new suggestions for workouts and slight changes in my diet. I am yet to try any of the recipes as I've been away with work but they look really yummy and are clean versions of food that many people will eat.

If I'm being picky I would have liked to have seen more recipes and also a few days of workout plans. I know that she is neither a personal trainer nor a nutritionist but any more meals or workout ideas I can get to keep my body guessing and keep me motivated would be great.
She also has a lot of recipes on her blog so it seems a shame to only have a few in the ebook when they could all be in one place together. There is a separate ebook for recipes alone which I don't own and maybe all of them are in there, I just think having them all in one document makes it easier to manage, but that may just be me. Some of the meal ideas sound amazing!

I've previously bought other plans such as Emily Skye's 28 Day Shred so I guess I'm comparing the two plans but Hazel Wallace is a normal person with normal struggles just like everyone else and this makes her a lot more relatable. 

I'd definitely recommend this ebook if you're looking for some motivation and if you need some tips to help you get started on your fitness journey. It's something you can refer back to when you need some help changing an aspect of your eating or exercising and I will be using it over the next few months to make sure I'm getting the most out of my workouts,

Have you heard of Hazel Wallace or The Food Medic? Do you like reading ebooks from normal people who have a passion for fitness?

You should visit her website and try out some of her meals and workouts - the smoked paprika and chorizo burgers just sound divine!

L xxx