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!

Christmas by Guerlain 2015

Hello all! Today I bring you a snowball and some snowflakes, courtesy of Guerlain. I know it's still not December, but this collection has been incredibly popular and I suspect it might be slightly hard to come by now.

I am of course referring to Neiges et Merveilles (Otherwise known as Winter Fairytale).

Lush does Christmas 2015!

Hello all! Today I bring you Christmas, courtesy of Lush. I know it's only November, but you tend to find that the really good bits of the Lush Christmas stuff sell out rather fast.

Bomb has me Incensed!

Hello all! Today I bring you a gift from my sister. I don't often say this, but my sister is rather awesome. Having earnt herself the position of head of HR for a Yankee Candle distributer, and passing her driving test first time, she's doing rather well. Anyways, she sent me a delightful Bomb Cosmetics bath blaster called Incense and Sensibility.

Lush went batty for Halloween

Hello all! Today I bring you a bat! A really limey bat. I finally got Nightwing  ^-^

Lush Halloween this year has been fun, and this is no exception.

I feel spooky, oh so spooky

Hello all! Today I bring you two Halloween themed candles from Yankee Candle. Now fair warning, they are repromotes, it seems Halloween scents are in decline. So without further ado, I bring you Candy Corn and Witches Brew!

Halloween Shower Scream Queen

Hello all! Today I bring you a Halloween goodie from Lush. A little secret about me, I love Halloween! The silly spookiness, the dressing up, and the goodies! Now Lush does an amazing Halloween release every year  (Sootballs still remain my top Halloween product though), and this year is no exception.

Kiko does Rebel Romance

Hello all! Today I bring you two bits from the new Kiko Rebel Romantic collection. A very strong collection from an affordable brand that is clearly stepping up their game. Very moody nineties inspired, with mossy jewel tones and strong lip colours, this is sure to impress.

Bath Tea?!

Hello all! Today I bring you a rather curious thing; bit behind the times but Body Shop did a collection called Fuji Green Tea, and one particular item caught my attention. You guessed it, Bath Tea!

Experimenting with The Boy

Mwah-hahaha! So today I bring you a rather sinister/naughty (whatever floats your boat) sounding title and a lovely bath bomb from Lush! I present The Experimenter!

Nars takes me to a Parallel Universe

Hello all! So house hunting is hard, and the property market moves far too fast. Any tips out there for a busy busy girl trying to find a nice apartment? :/ Anyways! Today I bring a delight from Nars and their collaboration with Christopher Lane, otherwise known as NeoNeutral.

The candle that smells of...nothing?

Hello all, many exciting things happening in my world atm including moving job and house! So today (after many weeks delay) I bring you a candle from Kew Gardens. A lovely light summery Freesia and Pear offering in a pretty tin packet...

Cowshed for the Sleepy Cow

Hello all! Today I put the overseas editions on hold, (there's at least three more, including some Spanish products), to bring you a restful night's sleep courtesy of Cowshed.

Overseas Edition: Burts and the Bees

Forgive me for the sporadic posting lately; couple of health issues cropped up these past three weeks. Anyways! Still on the bits I picked up whilst away I bring a lovely little product from Burt's Bees.

Overseas Edition: Charles Worthington does holiday hair

So I'm no longer in Spain *sad face*, but I'm still going to call this the overseas edition given that they were tested whilst on holiday. So today I bring you Charles Worthington's Sunshine Protection shampoo and Conditioner.

The overseas edition: Face fluid sunscreen by Piz Buin

So I present to you blogging from Spain! This week featuring Face Fluid by Piz Buin. Now I know how important sunscreen is, especially on the delicate facial skin, and yet I've never really used a face specific sunblock.

Ghosting away the Summer

Hello all! Today I'm bringing you my summer scent, Ghost Eclipse. A lovely fruity/floral light perfume which reminds me of long hazy warm summer days.