Stamping with MoYou London

Hello all! Today I bring you something new to me via MoYou London. Stamping!

The quality of the MoYou stamping plates is unreal. They look like little works of art, really sturdy little artworks. The plate feels solid and is backed by white plastic to give you something to hold on to when cleaning etc.

The little envelope that each plate comes in features instructions on the back, and is an excellent place to keep your plate when not in use to prevent scratches and any other potential damage. Now it seems obvious, but don't forget to take the blue plastic off before stamping!

The eagle-eyed amongst you will spot that the plate I'm featuring is Kitty Collection 11 (oddly enough the only one that actually features any cats...). The plates themselves run at £4.99 per plate, and I'd say give the quality and detail of each plate they're well worth the price. I perhaps should have started with a more pattern based plate as a beginner, as trying to get the images straight and centred was incredibly difficult. I'd also highly recommend the XL plates for anyone just starting out stamping, as they're easier to line up with your nail.

I also really should have gone will the round stamper instead of this rectangular one. The edges of my stamping don't quite catch right and I've been ending up with bits missing! As they say, hindsight is 20/20. The stamper is lovely and squishy and a pleasure to use when it goes right. I do wish the scraper was a little bigger. It was a bit of a nightmare scurrying around with the tiny scraper trying to cover a full size image whilst the polish is drying.

On the subject of polish I've learned that you can't stamp with every thing. Matte polishes and anything with glitter (except microglitter), do not work, and your polish must be a certain thickness to achieve a full solid image. Best tip I've had so far is to open the bottle and pull the brush straight out, if the entire brush is covered and you can't see the black bristles through the polish then you're onto a winner. Of course MoYou London do their own stamping polishes which I may investigate next...

You can purchase MoYou London stamping gear here, with plates starting from £4.99.

What about you guys? Ever tried stamping? Anything you can recommend?

NPW does Owl Hand Cream

Hello all! Today I bring you an owl. No, seriously look at this thing! It's so cute. A Christmas gift from one of my work friends, I can't help but find it adorable.

Lush does Valentines 2016

Hello all! Today I bring you the brand spanking new Lush Valentines collection freshly purchased from Lush Cambridge. I have three bits from the collection, as I missed out on the Lover Lamp bath bomb due to it already being sold out!

Twig + Dot Candles: a soy delight.

Hello all! Today I shake off the Christmas dust that develops here, and restart blogging fresh. I won't make a resolution to improve my blogging frequency, because realistically I will let myself down, as life in retail gets hectic. Anyways! Candles!

Now today I bring you some very lovely little candles from Twig + Dot.

I'll be telling you about two of these four, as the other two seem to be discontinued now (shame as they were lovely!).

Twig + Dot are a small batch British candle company, very proudly stating that each candle, with its mix of soy and mineral wax, is hand poured in Great Britain. Essential oils provide the delicate scents, and for such a small company they're doing rather well. My favourite little quirk of theirs is the ability to sample the scents before you dive into a  larger candle. Now, the scents themselves:

Cinder + Smoke is a deep scent, mostly encompassing, as the name suggests, a smokey element tempered by lavender and earthy tones. I love this as a rich scent, and it fills a room with a warming smell reminiscent of bonfires on late summer evenings. It was far more floral than I expected, but not spring fresh florals, instead think more heady sexy flowers and you're there. Perfect for a quiet night in this time of year. I will also note here how much I like the presentation of these candles, the clean look should fit nicely in any home and I find the little white jars quite stylish.

Clean Slate is right at the other end of the spectrum; light florals with a hint of rain, I find this perfect during the day. This is one for those who enjoy an aquatic element in their perfume, and who love irises. Seriously, that smell of freshly rained on irises pervades like nothing else I own, I adore it.

Twig + Dot have done an amazing job with these candles, and I can't fault the sophisticated air that they invoke. Grown up scents in beautiful presentation is always a win, no tins in sight for these guys!

And now the prices, would you believe me if I said that each votive here only cost me £3? I know right. Once you've decided on which scent you adore the most then you can get a 230g jar (which will, according to their website, burn for 30/40 hours) for just £16. I received a little set of taster wax melts with my order too which was a nice touch.

You can buy Twig + Dot here, and I highly encourage you to do so!