Nail Varnish Comparison - Barry M vs Nails Inc

Now, if someone told me they were comparing Barry M to Nails Inc, I'd have to say there's no contest - Nails Inc every time! (Although Barry M is probably my favourite budget range) but I have recently found myself with two almost identical varnishes.. Barry Ms Arabian and Nails Incs Swiss Cottage. It was an accident, in my defence. I've had the Barry M one for a while, and I was in TK Maxx and they have such good deals on beauty andimsorryitjusthappened. Anyway.. 

To the comparison! To start with, I have painted one nail in each colour. I CANNOT see a difference. The Nails Inc might have slightly more gold.. But it's hard to say, the way the varnish works, changing colour with the light angle means it could be a trick of the light. The formulas are also similar, I did two coats of both, and they both offer great coverage, very similar after the first coat as well. The brush is slightly better on the Nails Inc one, it's fuller and softer. To be honest, I would expect that! The difference in their (full) price is fairly sizeable, Barry M being £3.99 and the Nails Inc being £11.50, although it is worth mentioning that it doesn't appear to be a current colour. 

Nails Inc is on the middle finger, Barry M on the ring finger. Sure, the application isn't perfect, but that's me, not the varnish. 

My own personally snobbery means I'd rather have the Nails Inc one, and the application is a little easier with the wider brush. But really.. There's no difference that's worth paying an extra £8 for. If you find it in TK Maxx though, it's £4.99, and then it probably is worth it! They had a fantastic range yesterday of Nails Inc and OPI, so it's worth a look!

 Do you know any other near-perfect dupes? 

Syn Free Breaded Mushrooms!

I am so proud.. I made up a recipe and it was syn free, and I wanted to share it with you.. Makes a great starter, or a light lunch (which is how I just had it) 

Sorry the photo isn't up to blog-standard, I was only taking it to show friends, then decided it deserved a blogging..

So.. Syn Free Breaded mushrooms. Using bread from the Healthy Extra B Allowance, and everything else is free! I adapted the recipe from here..

 http://momvstheboys.com/2013/03/breaded-mushrooms/

Here is my version! 

1 tub mushrooms - mine had 16 mushrooms

2 slices wholemeal bread

Teaspoon or thereabouts of dried parsley

Pinch cayenne pepper

Salt & pepper to taste

1 egg

Method - 

Preheat the oven to around 475f or 230c.

Blitz the bread in a food processor. I know many people remove the crusts when making breadcrumbs, but I've never felt the need to. When it's nearly blitzed, add the spices and finish it off. I didn't do this, and the little clumps of cayenne were lethal! 

Break the egg into a small bowl and whisk it up a little. Dunk your mushrooms in the egg (wiping off any manky stuff first) and then the breadcrumb mix. Pop them on a foil lined baking tray and bake for around 10/15 minutes. 

I served mine with minute steak as a light lunch, but they'd make a great starter maybe with some dip. My boyfriend recommends them with HP sauce.. If you like that sort of thing! Please feel free to play around with the seasonings and stuff, I will be! I think they'd work really well with Cajun/BBQ seasonings. 

If you try them, please let me know! I'm going to be sharing more Slimming World recipes as I find them! 

Waveya.

I may be obsessed. There's a dance group called Waveya, they're Korean, and possibly HOT. I AM IN LOVE (lust). YouTube search them, especially their version of Psy, Gentleman. It's insane, but I'm now going to hell even more than I was before. 

Just thought I'd share. Seriously, if you like dancing or hot girls look them up. Awesome on both fronts. 

Am I hipster yet?

We've taken to making cocktails in Jam Jars. Partly because we don't own that many glasses (although we have so many mugs its untrue) and partly because it looks cool. The picture is just a vodka & orange, but it looks better with more interesting drinks. :) having said that I fancy a tequila sunrise. Right now.. Which is impractical as I'm writing this on my lunch break at work. I'll stick with my squash.

An Outfit Of The Other Day

Just to see if this is working here as well now.. This is a post to show you an outfit I wore a couple of weeks ago. I love this dress, but it's sooooo short! I had fun curling my hair, I never normally bother, but it looked so cute, I need to do it more often. :)

In my Wonderland..

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Good Morning Starshine..

My Starshine wig, as worn in the park with my cute new sunglasses. I really hope this posts, cos I haven't been able to post any photos so far. :( yay! It worked! Hopefully the app will start working, and I'll be well away. That'd be nice.. 

Right, I said last time that my next wig would be vanilla and mint Icecream. I was half right.. I've ordered Vanilla.. And Galaxy. So pretty. <3