Avon's Stardust Nail Enamel in Teal Glitter

Just in time for the myriad of Christmas events that are beckoning Avon have released a new range of nail enamels. 

As a rep my customers have been loving the magnetic effect polishes this month. 

I have also sold a lot of this Stardust brand. 

On paper they look good. Promising a matte finish with opalescent glitter in different sizes for a unique 3D effect. 

On the nails they look even better. Easy to apply, I've had this colour on for 3 days now and barely a chip in sight. There is a bit of wear of the edge of my ring finger, but that isn't bad - considering I can chip varnish in a matter of minutes of applying it. 

It dries quickly. And I mean really quickly. 

I barely got the chance to smudge it! 

I have also bought the enamel in Radiant Rose which appears to be a bright cerise colour and I have my eye on the Cherry Dazzler for Christmas. 

Radiant Rose

 

Cherry Dazzler

Currently £3. You can buy online here or find your closest representative here. 

Dairy Milk Oreo

Oh my glittery goodness. 

Last year when Cadbury released their Oreo bars I was a very happy girl. What wasn't there to like?

Thick milk chocolate, with a creamy white filling and small pieces of the dark, dark, chocolatey biscuity goodness.

The only problem is when they come in a big bar, it is very difficult (if you are me) to stop at just one block or strip. 

Finally, the chocolatey powers that be have seen fit to deem us mortals fit to receive a smaller bar of this gorgeous nectar from the gods. 

I love chocolate and I adore Oreos. Ever since I discovered them on a Barnamint Baileys icecream cocktail in TGI Fridays more years ago than I care to remember.

Anyone who has seen some of my foodie posts in the past is probably aware of my issue with texture.

There is something about certain foods that even though I like the taste, they just feel really, really horribly wrong. On this list is salt and vinegar chipsticks, Pringles, Crunchie bars, well done bacon (there is a really small window between perfectly crispy and wrong), and yogurts. What can I say I'm a complex soul. 

But which do I prefer? The big bar or the (what I would call) handbag-sized bar (but then with the size of my handbag a brick could be described as a handbag-sized bar).

Just look at those chunks. The 41g bar has knocked it out of the park for me. The chunks are slightly bigger, with a bubble like feel to the shape. The chocolate creamy goodness gods have delivered more biscuit and more of the creamy filling into one bite of this smaller bar than was originally in the larger bar. 

Result I say. 

Now shush while I finish the rest of this bar! 

Blonde Ambition: Part Two

Earlier this year I began the journey from bright red hair to blonde.

I knew it was going to be a long and windy road heading from this:

To anything anywhere near blonde.

So my first set of highlights brought me to here:

A shade I lovingly named pinge, part pink, part... well I think you get the jist.

So here I am. A good 6 months later, frequently working longer than my contracted hours and without the time to spend the time being pampered at the hairdressers.

I turned to the dye section in my Avon catalogue and chose the lightest Ash Blonde they have. In fact my natural hair colour is a dark ash blonde. That is if you were going to try and find a colour match for it.

I used to dye my hair a lighter blonde during my early twenties, so I'm not a complete novice. Although it was the first time in a very long time that I had lightened my hair myself so I took my 2 boxes of lightest ash blonde (currently £4.50 in campaign 15) into the bathroom.

This kit differs slightly from those that I have used in the past. It is a three part system. 

Part one: a pre-treatment. Almost like a conditioner texture. You add this to the hair that is already coloured (ie not your roots). Massage this is well. 

Part two: the mad chemist bit. You add your tube of colour to the bottle and shake what yo mama gave you. 

I get the wonderful job of doing this bit twice. The joys of having uber long, and extra thick swaths of hair. I used almost a full bottle covering my roots. As directed I left this to cook for 20 mins. 

Then I added the remaining colour to the rest of my hair and made sure that it was well coated. 

I left this bit on for a further 10 mins. I could have gone for longer, but I was against the clock and about to go out for a presentation at the library. 

Part 3: The post dying treatment. What is it about hair dyes? They include the best ever conditioners. After gently wetting the hair, and working it into a lather, rinse until it runs clear. Be patient. If your hair is anything like mine it will take what seems like forever. Then using a wide tooth comb coat your hair in this very thick conditioner and leave for 2-3 minutes and again rinse until clear. 

Then you are done. Style as you see fit. 

I've loved how it hasn't completely lifted the colour on my ends. I'm rather attached to the reddy tinge that is left. There is something about having a bespoke colour going on that I like. I love to be slightly different to the rest of the crowd.

After photo doesn't quite capture the full lightening that happened, the joy of Autumn's changing lights. I've already added another two boxes to my next Avon delivery.

May your day Glitter & Sparkle!

BeeBee

What I've Been Eating: Chicken & Chorizo Sandwich

Picture the scene...

You wake up late, the loaf of bread that you programmed the bread maker hasn't finished (yes my programming and maths both suck) so you have nothing for lunch. Before you run out of the door for that shift in the office you remember that you have some of Taste Inc.'s pre-made goodies in the fridge.

I'll hold my hands up and say that they are not items on my usual shopping list. But on day's like today they are a godsend, and when you only get a 30 minute break for lunch - speedy too. Handy when you have one microwave between 50+ people in a shared kitchen.

I wasn't expecting much from the sandwich to be honest. Chicken and Chorizo is a crisp baguette ticked all the boxes for me on a taste point, 380 calories didn't make too bigger dent in my daily allowance either.

The product:



The taste:

Not bad. The chicken wasn't the best quality, but then I've had worse cooked for me in restaurants, there was a bit of something tendony. The chorizo was like a bacon rasher... that I liked. Not too spicy but enough kick to beat it's way through the thick, creamy mayonnaise that was in the packet. The bread wasn't crispy though. It wasn't bad either, as a person with an aversion to overly crispy food the texture, if a bit wooly, worked for me. It could have done to be a little less sweet. The baguette reminded me of Bimbo bread I've eaten in Spain.



The preparing:



A time consuming 45 seconds per side!! Swift fast food.

What did I think?:



I am really surprised to say I really enjoyed this product and at roughly £1.99 (current price at Morrisons) I will probably buy this again as a standby meal, for those 'oh crap' days or when I'm in double shift mode at the office.

They do have a fairly short shelf/fridge life but surely that is a good thing.

When I first heard about the snacks, and the majority being under 500 calories I immediately wondered if they would be suitable for fast days on 5:2. Sadly, although they look good on paper for this this particular sandwich isn't. The satiation from it isn't great, and it almost begs for something to be eaten on the side (steaming chunky chips do come to mind).

Overall:

Not bad, but not great either. My mind has been blown by the idea of chorizo bacon though.

May your day Glitter & Sparkle.


*This is a sponsored post. All my views are impartial.

What BeeBee Read: Bones Never Lie by Kathy Reichs

So while I've been on my blogging break, I have been picking up some extra hours at work. Which has left me with a couple of hours to spare between finishing and starting again.

I've packed my handbag, stocked with fine fare like jelly babies, notebooks and obviously a novel or two and a kindle. Last month one of the books in my bag was this thriller by international best-selling author Kathy Reichs returns with another novel from The Temperance Brennan series.

Tempe is called in to consult on a case, alarm bells start to sound as it becomes clear that she has searched for this child-killing monster before.

This is her ‘one’ that got away.

Picking up from where the last tale dropped off Detective Ryan has fallen off the grid, grief stricken since the death of his daughter.

So before she can get down to business Temperance Brennan must first track him down.

This time the forensic anthropologist gets help from an unexpected avenue, her ill mother. Quickly coincidences begin to mount until it becomes clear that the murders are all, in some way, connected to Brennan.

As the search heats up and evidence begins to mount, Ryan and Brennan find that their prime suspect has also been killed and the body hidden in a barrel of maple syrup. Which turns out to be a successful preservation tool.

Question is - who is killing these girls?

Asda Stuffed Crust Spicy Meatball Pizza with Garlic & Herb Dip

I rarely buy supermarket pizzas, this one I first tried after finding it in the Whoops.... section. I love a good Whoopsie bargain. 

On the box it looks appealing, I don't think that they'd let it look like a dog's dinner on the box. 

So how does it stand-up to the box? I have found on the times I have bought it that the toppings have slid off the base. I have transported it straight, on a side and generally thrown it around. Not once has it arrived without needing a makeover before going in the oven. 

Taste-wise it's got a kick. Not a huge one, but enough to know that the mini meatballs are there. The garlic & herb dip is a great complimentary side for this. Even my non-spicy child demolishes this when I serve it up for tea. There is a mildly spiced tomato base with a smattering of cheese on top on which the mini meatballs sit. 

It is probably just as well that there isn't too much cheese as the crust hides a tube of gooey molten goodness - I personally would have liked there to be a touch of chilli in here too. I am a bit of a chilli fiend though, just ask @thechillijamman 

Overall totally worth the £3.50 it costs. 

Product Trial: Colgate Max White One

Over the years I've had lots of things done to my teeth. 

From fixed braces, stretching bars, retainers to the prospect of having my jaw broken and reset. All before my late teens. In fact, I was training as a secretary at college when I had my fixed brace, I was 17.

Thankfully, all the metal work did the trick so I never did get to have my jaws reset. 

All this because my bottom jaw stopped growing before the rest of me! I think I was about 12. 

What I have been left with though, as well as an overbite, is a resigned hatred of dental work and things being in my mouth that shouldn't be. I'm not scared of the dentist, so it's not a phobia, but definitely an intense dislike. 

So couple that with an extreme dislike of anything minty, that's not covered in chocolate, and a strong gag reflex you can probably guess brushing my teeth is a daily ordeal. 

This should however highlight that I meant business when I decided to test this product out. 

Colgate is a brand I like, and more often not their products aren't reactionary to me, which made this slightly easier. 

The blurb says: "One shade whiter in one week with Max White One, with whitening

accelerators it safely removes stains and prevents tartar build-up. 
Continued use will help keep them whiter for longer"

I decided to test this claim, I used it in conjunction with the new MaxWhite toothbrush with whitening star. Which promises: "Brighten your smile with a unique tooth-polishing star. Colgate® Max White® is proven to remove stains to help reveal the natural whiteness of your teeth."

The instructions say to brush your teeth for a full 2 minutes, 3 times a day. 

So basically not that different to usual. Apart from the extra lunchtime session, so for me this worked out as getting ready, getting in from work then finally before bed. 

I found the toothbrush much firmer than my usual medium bristles, so my gums were sore for a little while, on day 4 this started to die down though. I liked the squeak that you got from the silicone polishing star that is in the midst of the bristles. It's even managed to shift a stain I've had since I was 19 when my fixed brace was removed. 

I didn't change anything else. I'm happy with the results for just one week. 

Before using The Max White

 After using The Max White for 7 days

this is a bad flash shot but again you can see the difference.

For £5 at Boots for both products I am more than happy with the result. I'm going to be sticking with this toothpaste for the foreseeable future.

Click here for similar products in the offer.