My insane nail varnish collection....

I've been painting my nails for quite some time, but it never really occurred to me just HOW many nail varnishes I've built up in the last few years. At the last count it was over 100, and I've got them all in a bag under my bed, so I thought I'd get a few out and show you my favourite ones!

I must have the most eclectic nail varnish collection ever. Some of them cost over £40 each and some cost literally 50p. Some are over 40 years old and quite honestly I'm not even sure if they are safe to use! Anyway... here's a few choice picks, let me know which ones are your favourites.

Here's a pic of the entire collection, minus multiple colours and top and base coat, which makes up around 30 (yikes).

Yep, it's a pretty big collection. I think the coolest thing about having such a massive stash though is literally being able to match any outfit ever to your nails. I've also gotten epically good at painting them, and that includes both hands!

I've got a bit of a trick though to share with you about that -

Say you are Right Handed (if you're a leftie, the opposite would apply) - well, your left hand will always be the easiest to paint. The trick comes when you need to paint your right, instead of moving the brush, you move your hand. So - holding the brush in your left hand steady and still, you move it up and down with your right hand that's moving.

Does that make sense? I figured it out a while back but I know loads of people struggle putting varnish on their opposite hand so I thought I'd write it up here. Works for me anyway. :D

The most expensive nail colour I have is Christian Louboutin nail polish, which is absolutely amazing, but was an eye-gouging amount of money. Luckily it was a gift from a very special friend! (Thank you xxxx )

They have a whole load of different colours, and I have to say, it's worth the price. Not only do you get the stunning varnish pot, but there's also a top and base coat for around £40. It lasts for absolutely ages and doesn't chip at all (it sort of just peels off). You can get it online or in Selfridges in London, which is where I got it from. I'm a total sucker for this stuff, but it's just amazing.

Here's a bunch of links on Amazon if you are curious. The different shades are awesome.

Christian Louboutin Python Vulcano
Christian Louboutin Nail Care Kit
Christian Louboutin Nail Polish - Rouge 

Of course, there's the other side of the coin - and I've got loads of really cheap ones as well! I picked these up in a shop in Westfield for £1 each - I just kind of grabbed a handful and hoped for the best but they are really gorgeous colours. They don't last nearly as long as my expensive ones but unusual colours rock!

Everyone knows I'm obsessed with all things glittery :) So of course I have a huge glitter collection as well, there's cheap ones from Avon and expensive ones I've been gifted, just loads (see centre pic)

Probably the most interesting story though is my red Chanel nail varnish (bottom). I bought this when I was about 13, and I was so excited because it came in a little white Chanel bag that I kept on my dresser for years in my bedroom. It was probably the first designer thing I ever had and I remember getting so excited when I bought it! I was showing it off to everyone!

It actually works really well in conjuction with the red glitter nail varnish top coat from Illamaqua. They can always be relied on to do unusual colours, so every time they have a sale I always see if I can get one or two!

Anyway - I hope this has given you lots of ideas! You can get Illamasqua products on Amazon or direct from their store, they have incredible makeup products that last and last, I'm always in there hunting around for new ideas. I tend to try and find a look and stick to it but lately I've been experimenting a bit, now I've found a hairstyle that works for me!

By the way - KITTY TIP OF THE WEEK - Nizoral Hair Shampoo. This stuff is simply magic. I've been really struggling with dry and brittle hair for weeks and was recommended this product by a special friend from Belgium. It's incredible. It's actually meant for flaky scalps and dandruff, but it also makes hair incredibly silky, and hasn't drained the colour out of my hair either.


Get it here: Nizoral Anti Dandruff Shampoo 60 ml - you won't regret it! Use a regular conditioner as well but you will notice the difference almost right away. I'm never using another shampoo! Ever!

xx Divahugs
Kitty

London Fashion Week - Bloggers Hangout

I've been going to the Bloggers Love parties for years now, pretty much ever since I left X Factor. They have some amazing brands and it's amazing how many young entrepreneurs and start ups there are in this country. It's a great opportunity to meet these brand owners in person and get a feel for things that will be the next big thing in months to come.

I came home with more bags than I can carry (always a good sign!) and so sat down tonight to look through everything.

The first thing I tried out was the new Australian product called Exfoliate. It's a simple idea, to have something which will scrape off all the dead skin and leave you with a nice dewy looking face. I have to say, this product RULES!!! Not only does it get all the excess dead skin off, it takes off old makeup that's caked on there as well.

However, I might have discovered the best thing ever. Having a slight brainwave, I sellotaped it to my pink dildo electric toothbrush, and made it into a vibrating spot-getter-outer. Not only does this thing exfoliate, but it also got literally EVERY SINGLE BLACKHEAD out of my chin with minimal effort. Epic Kitty Hack of the week.

You can get it from Amazon here: Exfolimate - Face and Body Exfoliator

Sellotape you can find anywhere. Office desk, under your bed, school drawer. Failing that, blue-tak also works. I tried it!

There's so many bags here it's hard to get through them all! I met the lovely ladies at Pink Parcel, who have the genius idea of sending you a parcel out every month in line with your...well...er... monthly. And, if you are a guy reading this - trust me, your girlfriend/mum/sister will love you just as much for understanding.
It's basically a "care package" but it's filled with heaps of goodies. Something for now (a little bag to put in your handbag), something to put in your cupboard for later, and a fantastic little product from Sass, who make creams specifically for female hygiene.

I know it's probably seen as a bit of a taboo to talk about stuff like this, but in all fairness, my hormones are always completely out of control every month and I find myself spending days in bed. There's even a little box "just for you" filled with mascara and nail polish and other girly things. Love, love, LOVE this idea and I hope these girls are really super successful. It's £12.99 a month, but to be fair, it's stuffed full of useful things and to me it's a pretty lovely thing to have drop through my letterbox at just the right time.

Get yours here: https://www.pinkparcel.co.uk


I'm going through these bags one by one...bear with me.... ok.

Shea Moisture has the most deliciously smelling hair products ever! I could eat them. She gave me the Strengthen Treatment Masque - get it here: Shea Moisture Treatment Masque
I also brought home the Curl Enhancing Smoothie ( Curling Gel Souffle)...ahhh it smells so so good. Coconut and Hibiscus. I don't even have curls and I want to try this. Anything that smells this good must be good for your hair.

Talking of hair products, I got seriously overloaded with them. I think someone took a look at my pink and purple hair and went "OMG that girl needs some serious conditioner". Anyway, now I've got lots of stuff to try out instead of going to Boots ever so often to get John Frieda shampoo.

I'll probably do a blog at some point specifically about how I colour my hair and what products I use. There's a total method to this and I stick to it religiously, but it took ages to perfect, and I still get the odd disaster. Soap and Glory for instance, was a total disaster. That crap nearly made my hair fall out.

Beauty Works gave me their "Miracle Spray" which does pretty much everything in one. They tried it out on my hair and I got a lovely blow-dry as well! Thanks!! I can't wait to get to grips with this because it looks amazing!

Skin Chemists London gave me their Wrinkle Killer Snake Serum to try out. It sounds ridiculously scary but actually feels really smooth and lovely on my skin. I've been trying it out for a few days now, it's very soothing and calming on my skin. I've always been a bit of a skeptic when it comes to 'miracle creams' but I'll definitely keep my eye on this one!

Here's the link: skinChemists Wrinkle Killer Snake Serum 30 ml It's a bit pricey at over £62, but perhaps that's proof it actually works? All I know is that you tend to get what you pay for. I've been using Creme de la Mer for years and it's insanely incredible stuff but it sure does dent my wallet.

Bag delving once again....ahhhh yes!!! This amazing goody bag of beauty products...

I can't resist a good nail polish, so imagine my excitement when I got this in a huge goody bag. I'm literally constantly painting my nails. It's therapeutic, when I have to think about something I just find a colour and paint. I've never actually tried gels before, but I see people getting it done in the salon all the time and wonder what the difference is. Apparently it lasts a LOT longer...I will have to try it out and get back to you!

Heres the link if you want to try it yourself:
SensatioNail Gel Polish starter kit


They also gave me an awesome packet of eyeshadow brushes. I'm a MAC girl mostly, with Illamasqua colours (yay!) but I have to say that MAC really overprices their brushes - paying £50 or more for a blusher brush is a bit extreme. At £16.99 for a set of 5 is a total steal in my opinion, and the quality is amazing - they are going straight into my makeup box!
You can get them here: Lab 2 Brush Set

I also got a TeaTox set which I'm not going to blog too much about until I've tried it - I'll report back in the next posting! Also some really interesting Skin formula which apparently stops you getting spots and acne. I've been blighted by that all my life and it would be a relief not to suffer any more. The before and after's on their website looks amazing... but I'm going to try it myself and see!

I've got so many emails to catch up on before tomorrow - I'm going into the studio to record my guide vocals for my Broadway album! That's 12 tracks I've got to get through... so got to get some rest tonight before then.

Divahugs!!! Let me know if you try any of these products and what you think!

xxxx Kitty

Divaland is open!!!

Hi Divas!!

I am so excited to be launching my blog for you all. This is something I've been working on for the past few months and I'm now ready to launch it!

I've been working hard on my new album for ages, but I simply love writing and I've always wanted a platform to be able to share with you what's going on in my life, but also things that happen along the way. It seems I'm always having adventures!

Before I write any more, I want to give a big shout out to a few people who helped me put this blog together - Erin, who did a LOT of work on the coding with all the menus - she worked so hard on it, so a huge thank you to her! You can see her blog here actually: http://fashionconsciousfeminist.blogspot.co.uk She'll be launching that soon, so keep an eye out for it :D

Big huge shout out to Ant as well - thanks for sorting my template out and all the pictures! His graphic design work is awesome, so go check him out - https://www.facebook.com/anthonymw?fref=ts

I've always thought it would be great to have a place where you could go to find all the cool crazy stuff. There's not really any blogs that really focus on the things that I really love, it's all sort of very specialised, so I figured I'd make one myself! Divaland is a place where you can find everything about everything, from how to dye your hair rainbow coloured, to where to get decent vitamins from, how to have Tea at the Ritz for £6.50...and much much more. At least, that's the idea! We'll see where this goes...

At the moment, I'm also writing an X Factor blog for the Mirror Online - you can see all my posts here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/all-about/kitty-brucknell - which is super fun...and basically gave me a boost to get this blog going!

I'm about to get ready for an LFW (that's London Fashion Week) party so.... please follow and check back! I'll be posting hopefully once a day, but even if I don't, that means there's lots to catch up on!

Let me know in the comments what you want me to write about, give advice on, anything really!

Big HUGE Divahugs xxoxo

Kitty