All Things Bright and Beauty-Ful - Beauty Reviews - Festive Nail Polish Picks.

Hi!!

It's Blogmas Day Nine and I'm going to do that really annoying thing and ask - how are we already at Day Nine? Today's post is a beauty related one. I always say that one of my favourite easy ways to feel festive is to paint my nails in a super Christmassy fashion and today I wanted to share my favourite products for doing so.

For most beauty-lovers, Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without red nail polish and I must say I agree. Maybelline Colour Show nail polish in the shade Downtown Red has been my go-to red nail polish for ages now. It's a slightly darker, wine-like red than a bright cherry red but I really like it because it's really wearable and it has quite a winter-y feel to it. It lasts well and I can usually get a good few days out of it before it starts to look a little worse-for-wear.

If you're looking for something different but still very festive, then I'd recommend a forest green shade like this Barry M's Gelly High Shine polish - the one in the photo is the shade Watermelon but I can't find it online so I've linked the very similar shade Black Pistachio. It's the darkest shade of all the products I'm showing you today and as such it makes an amazing base for glitter polishes and also looks very sophisticated when worn alone, making it ideal to wear to any slightly more formal or fancy Christmas parties. This one also has a fair amount of staying power, which is a big plus.

From the darkest shade of the bunch to the lightest, next up is a clean, crisp, white shade, like Rimmel's 60 High Shine polish in White Hot Love (I adore Rimmel nail polishes, they are amazing, they last so, so well and have great pigmentation). I love white nail polish, I think it looks so effortlessly cool and it's perfect for Christmas-time because I'm sure all of us dream of a White Christmas (and if you don't, then you're wrong and you should). It's also a versatile choice that will look good with nearly all of your outfits and makeup looks so if you've got lots of plans that are all polar opposites (haha) to each other, then this could be a good choice for you.

  

My current favourite way to jazz up a manicure is to paint each of my nails a different colour - wearing the red, green and white on alternate nails and I absolutely love it - it looks really cool and super pretty and a little bit different.

Thanks for reading Blogmas Day Nine!

What are your favourite nail polishes to wear at this time of year? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

I hope you enjoyed today's post!

Have a beautiful day!

GingerSnaps xxx

I've Been Thinking... - 7 Little Things To Get You Feeling Festive

Hi!!!

Hands up if you are excited for Christmas - I know I am! And to help get you feeling super duper excited too, I've made this list of seven little things you can do in the run up to the big day that will make you feel just like Buddy the Elf. Let's begin, shall we?

Swap your normal shower gel for a Christmas shower gel.

It's probably unlikley that you'll get chance to use your Christmas bath bombs everyday, but by treating yourself a festive shower gel (and maybe also a scrub/moisturiser/lip balm), you still get that feeling of being pampered and to use those lovely seasonal scents. Check out Lush's Snow Fairy, Lush's Lord of Misrule and The Body Shop's Vanilla Chai.

  Buy yourself some Christmas socks.

Never underestimate the power of a good pair of festive socks. Buy any with snowflakes or reindeer or snowmen or Father Christmas on, and feel that little sprinkle of joy when you get dressed everyday (and when you get home and take your shoes off). Its such a simple thing,  but so fun. Primark always do some cracking ones.

Treat yourself to a Christmas Costa.

Whether you stay in the café or get yours to go in one of their adorable Christmas jumper inspired take away cups, it'll put a smile on your face. There's something to suit all tastes - hot chocolate and coffee - so take a look next time you pass one. Or, y'know, just make yourself a really snazzy hot chocolate at home. Also, big thanks to Elf Girl for helping with the presentation in the above photo (and for reading the list of drinks for me each visit -#shortsightedproblems). Check out the menu here.

Have a movie night.

 Line up some of your favourite seasonal movies - see a list of mine here - get in your PJs, grab a blanket and a hot chocolate and work your way through all of them. Laugh, smile and enjoy them all at your own pace. Oh, and turn the big light off, and get the fairy lights going instead - it gives it all a much cosier vibe.

Play Your Favourite Christmas Songs At Top Volume.

 Normally on the way home from going to see a pantomime, we have a huge family sing-a-long in the car. Last year, we outdid ourselves - playing songs top volume, screeching along to them, dancing in the car and laughing at each other. We even had a dance off with another family at the traffic lights. So whether yours is part of a car journey or in your house, and whether you perform solo or with a group, go for it and have fun. Play all of your favourites and pretend you're on stage. All the fun. And FYI, I wrote a post about my playlist last year if you need some inspiration.

Paint your nails in a Christmassy way.

  Maybe a red, maybe some glitter, maybe if you're super fancy and talented some penguins or presents or something. Or get some pretty pre-designed false nails if you're lazy or don't have much time to spare like me - look at these cute Henry Holland ones!!! (they also have Christmas Tree and Candy Cane designs if that's more your style).

Get the Christmas jumpers out.

Wrap yourself up in the cosy, cheesy-ness of them and love every second. Every time you look down at the fair isle/gingerbread men/reindeer/etc  on your jumper, you'll be filled with joy. And, what better excuse than donating to Save The Children's annual Christmas Jumper Day campaign and being charitable in the process?

And those are some of the things you can do to reach peak Christmas.

What are your favourite things to do at Christmas time? Do you have any comments or suggestions for future posts? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks so much for reading.

I hope your day is magical.

GingerSnaps xxx