Rimmel 60 Second Nail Polish Review

Hi there!

I bought a set of these pail polishes a few months ago, and I have to say, I'm impressed! They were cheap, they have a cool flat brush that makes application easy, and the polish dries very fast. You only need to apply one coat of polish to your nails, but applying two coats just makes the colour more opaque.

                          {from left to right: 230 Portebello Pink, 825 Sky High, 415 Instyle Coral}

These were NZD$5 altogether as a set at a Christmas sale. Actually, the price was ridiculously low because the same store was selling these individually for NZD$13. I practically snatched the set off the display, it was the last one, because this other lady looked like she was eyeing it.

My only qualm about these is that after a day or two, the bottom of your nails start chipping. Perhaps putting a clear top coat over them would be a good way to keep the colour on your nails. Overall, my rating is 8/10.


Tina

Struck By Lightning

{Book Review: Struck by Lightning by Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt on Glee}

Hi!

About three weeks ago, I saw this book sticking out of a shelf at my local library. I picked it up “just because” and I’m so glad I did! Struck by Lightning may be the coolest book I’ve ever read. I’m not exaggerating; I honestly have nothing bad to say about it. Chris Colfer is so witty, and his funny outtake on life is put forward so well in this novel. The main reason I loved it was that it was extremely modern. It was relatable and hilarious. I actually had to physically stop myself from bursting into laughter during class - where I was supposed to be studying – because this book is jam packed with satire, droll and side-splitting comedy. I could not recommend it enough.

I don’t want to give away the story, so all I will say is that the book is about a guy named Carson Phillips, an aspiring journalist who will do anything to get into his university of choice. The high school stereotypes are hugely exaggerated in this novel, with surprising twists in characters back stories.

This book was written after the movie, of the same name, came out last year. It is based on the screenplay, which is also written by Chris Colfer. He stars in the movie, too, so I have to give him standing ovation for this amazing achievement…

 *stands up, starts clapping*

I love this book so much that I’m hoping I’ll receive it as an early Christmas present. Maybe they should start introducing Easter presents.  It’s just a thought.

This book, however, is not for the faint-hearted. There are a lot of themes that are not appropriate for younger children. Also, many rude words. Please don't let your younger sibling flick through it, you might get a telling off from your parents when the rascal asks them what #!@*^#% means. 

So, go on, go get this book out of your library. Go!

Tina

Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Hey there!

It's Sunday, it's late, I have an assessment tomorrow and I have only one thing on my mind:  

Baking!

When stressed (or happy, or sad, or just generally) I bake. And what better to make than some warm, spiced apple muffins that can be whipped up in less than an hour? This recipe has no butter, so no creaming, and no waiting for ingredients to come to room temperature.

{I just want to apologise in advance for how bad the photo quality gets, one of the downsides to baking in the evening is that taking photos becomes a nightmare.}

Ingredients:

-2 Cups self-raising flour (even though my grandfather is completely against it - he's a professional baker - sorry, Grandpa, it won't happen again!)

-1/2 Cup Greek-style yoghurt - nothing flavoured

-1/2 Cup milk

-1/4 Cup vegetable oil

-1 Cup sugar (I use brown sugar) 

-1 large egg

-1 tsp vanilla extract

-1 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

-1 large/2 small apples, peeled and grated

-pinch of salt

 and (for the topping)

-2 to 3 tbsp brown sugar

-3/4 tsp cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160°C/150°C fan-forced.
2. Put the wet ingredients, the grated apple and the sugar into a bowl and stir until combined.
3. Sift the dry ingredients together.
4. This is the hard bit. Brace yourself...........Stir the wet and dry ingredients together (gently!).
5. Spoon the mix into muffin cases, until 3/4 full.
6. Mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the batter.
7. Pop into the hot oven and bake until done, or when a skewer comes out of each muffin, clean. Mine were done in about twenty-five minutes.
8. Take out of oven (and this is fairly obvious) EAT!

{This photo just refused to upload properly}

You should get about 12 medium sized muffin out of this recipe. You can obviously frost these babies with icing, but I don't eat icing so having them plain is totally fine, too.

Enjoy!

Tina

Lee Stafford Poker Straight Hair Care Review

Hello!

It's been quite a while, yes, but I'm back now! I was thinking, this is a blog about me, being a teenager, and I haven't put up any beauty related posts! 

Shocking, I know.

Anyway, I thought I'd start with the Lee Stafford Poker Straight Hair Care box, which consists of the dry shampoo, the dehumidifier and the heat protection spray. Firstly, I want to say that all of my opinions are 100% honest, and remember, they are one person's thoughts so if you feel differently, that's fine. Altogether, it cost NZD$40,which is roughly USD$33 or GBP£22. There are more products in the Poker Straight range, but I picked up this one as the products by themselves were more expensive.

This was my least favourite product. I haven't really used dry shampoo before, but even after following the instructions, I still felt that this wasn't doing a great job. I have oily roots and I thought that a dry shampoo might prolong the time between washing my hair, but unfortunately, nothing happened. It had a generally nice fragrance, not overly strong, but I will not be purchasing this again. Perhaps this product works best on people with thinner, or lighter coloured hair. I think Batiste has better dry shampoos so I might give one of them a try. Rating: 2/10

I had no idea what a hair dehumidifier was before picking this up. It is supposed to keep your hair flat and prevent frizz, which it does well. I think it does the job and has a nice scent. I generally spray this on my hair when the weather is humid, as hair tends to frizz when it's damp outside. Rating: 6.5/10

My favourite product, partly because of the spray bottle, which is more eco-friendly than the other two. Good amount of product, nice scent, does the job well. As I don't usually straighten my hair, I use it mostly for blow-drying, and it does keep my hair from drying out too much. Rating: 8/10

To be completely honest, I do not think I will be repurchasing any of these products as I feel they aren't totally worth the price. There are cheaper options out there and I will be sticking to those from now on. However, that being said, I do want to point out that my hair is nearly straight, naturally. Perhaps this range is better for those with more wavier hair. (If you have super curly hair, I don't think you should expect any miracles from this. A flat-iron would be a wiser option.)

Tina