November faves

Eeek! It’s the first of December! Seriously can’t get my head round the fact that we are in the last month of 2016. That also means that it’s time to share my faves from the month of November. Here are my top 5:

1. Batiste Dry Shampoo 

I don’t know why but I’ve been using dry shampoo like a trooper this month. Maybe it’s because my bed has been too warm and cosy to get out of during the cold November mornings and that has meant less shower and hair washing time. I would be seriously lost and definitely more greasy haired without this in my life.

2. Hot chocolate 

After months of not having much hot chocolate, I’ve definitely made up for it in November. We have a snazzy coffee machine that makes the best hot chocolates so I have been making the most of it this month. It’s this lovely red one if you want one in your life too.

3.  The Elephant in the Mirror

In November this book arrived through my letter box and I couldn’t wait to get started! I was really interested in the concept of the book – that we all have things about ourselves that we don’t like or aren’t happy with, but that we have the power to change how we think and feel and can become much more fulfilled. Ive not had chance to finish this book, but you can expect a review when I have. If you fancy a read you can get it here in paper back or free on the kindle (for a limited time – from the 1st-3rd of December so be quick!)

4. Gel nails 

If you’re an avid ASOJ reader then you’ll know I’ve been using my Sensationail Polish to Gel Transformer Starter Kit this month. I’ve reviewed it in a blog post already (find it here) so won’t go into too much detail, but I’ve been seriously loving it in November! I have this shade on at the moment but am planning to do my festive nails very soon! 

5. My hair colour

Bit of a random one you’ll probably be thinking, but I’ve been loving my hair colour in November! I’ve been blonde since I was 16 and it seems to get lighter and lighter each time I visit my hairdresser which I was happy about. However this year I have just got bored with my hair. Back in June, I had it all chopped off and then near the end of October I decided I wanted a change on the colour front too. So I mixed in a bit of a darker colour with some blonde still kept in for good measure. Initially I wasn’t sure and thought I would revert back on my next visit to my trusty blonde locks, but during November I’ve really taken to the colour! It seems to work for  this time of year and it looks a bit more natural on me. 

So that’s my 5 loves from November. What have you been loving this month? I would love tof hear in the comments!

Until next time…

Jean xoxo 

P.s. Have you entered my competition yet? Make sure you check out My Joules Review and COMPETITION post to find out more!

Sensationail Polish to Gel Review

So I’m a tad obsessed with nail polish. And when I say obsessed I mean that when I moved into my house they took over a whole room whilst I organised storage for them all. Honestly. I think I have every shade you could ever need for any occasion. So as you can imagine I love painting my nails. But I get so annoyed when they chip all the time! I guess nail polish doesn’t really fit in well with being an early years teacher when I’m forever washing my hands, covered in paint and picking glue out of things. Sometimes, mainly for special occasions, I have gel nails done professionally. I love how shiny and pretty they look and most importantly how long they last and don’t chip! But this isn’t something I can maintain so I needed another option. After some research and talking to friends I discovered Sensationail. They claim that their starter kits give you everything that you need for salon quality nail manicures in the comfort of your own home so I was eager to give them a go! 

So there’s lots of different variations of the starter kit – mostly offering different coloured gel nail polishes such as raspberry wine, scarlett red and pink chiffon. However I discovered that there was a set that allowed you to use your own nail polish that you could then turn into gel. This was perfect for me with my immense collection so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! I picked it up from Boots and like most of the other kits it was £49.99. It is available here on the Boots website. Other retailers also stock it and Sensationail have a website where you can also buy it.

So as soon as I could I wanted to get started! I decided on the colour polish I wanted to use and emptied the box. This was what was inside: 

So my kit contained: 

• Gel cleanser (14.6 ml)
• Gel primer (3.54 ml)
• Polish to get transformer (7.39 ml)
• Pro LED lamp with USB lead and mains adapter 
• 12 lint free wipes 
• Mixing pot
• Double sided nail buffer manicure stick 

I followed the instructions given inside the box which were pretty straightforward. The basis of this kit is mixing your own polish with the gel transformer, painting your nails, sticking them under the lamp and then sealing them with the gel before getting them under the lamp one last time. The kit also contains bits you’ll need before you get started and once you’re done such as the manicure stick and cleanser. One thing I will say about the kit, it suggests using 6 drops of nail polish and 6 drops of the transformer gel for each hand. However I found that this was too much. It’s just a case of trial and error really, depending on how thick you like the polish and the size of your nails. 

And I was so pleased with the results! Whilst my own nail painting skills leave a lot to be desired, I love how my nails actually looked like gel nails! And they lasted really long too, a similar length to if I had them done at the salon. 

This was the colour I used and here are the results: 

Apologies for the wierd angle but I loved how they matched my pretty floral dress! You can see how shiny they are particularly from my thumb. 

There’s also another option to paint your nails using your polish and just doing a top coat using the gel transformer. Personally I didn’t like it so much as the previous way and it didn’t last as long. It just depends what you find easiest and prefer I guess! 

When it came to getting the gel off my nails it was actually quite tricky which shows they’d done well! I ended up ordering a kit of the internet that allows you to soak them off but there are plenty of different products on the market that help with this. Just make sure you look after your lovely nails 🙂 

So overall I really like this product!  Although it may seem a little pricey at a snip under £50, if you’re willing to have your nails done in a salon normally, it would only take a couple of trips before you’ve spent this much any way! Plus it’s nice to be able to chill at home in your pjs with a glass of wine and pamper yourself with a manicure! It’s really simple and straightforward to use, I mean if I can do it, anyone can! 

So what do you think? Have you tried this kit before or any of the other Sensationail products? Let me know in the comments! 

Until next time…

Jean xoxo