NOTW - The Star-Spangled Banner (28/09/12)

Good afternoon everyone!

SOOOOO excited today, for a variety of reasons, but mostly because of the fact that this evening I've got the first technical rehearsal for Voices - Dream A Little Dream! I CANNOT WAIT! Production weeks are my favourite times throughout all the productions I've ever taken part in. Yes, there's a whole load of tension and waiting around during the first rehearsal, but for me it's part of the experience, as you get to see all the hard work you've been doing for the past weeks months come together - and thus starts the HUGE hyper-energy build-up in anticipation for Tuesday, which is our second dress rehearsal, and also the day which we'll be performing for this year's beneficiaries (which are particularly close to my heart) - Mamma Margherita House and the Salesians of Don Bosco. :)

Anywhose, really, really looking forward to the upcoming fortnight!! In fact, to celebrate (and to add a little pizazz to my solo performance) I was inspired to create a Star-Spangled-Banner nail design - according to our stylist, my song is "the one really American and fun number" (his words, though I must agree) - so I thought it would go perfectly with what I'll be wearing.

The finished look :)

I used Max Factor's Redly Nightshade on the bottom halves of my nails, and Deborah's 35 on the top halves. Then using my brilliant french-manicure pen from Essence, I dotted the tops (the stars - duh!) and drew 3 horizontal stripes down the red part of each nail. I love the way it turned out, and will be applying a top coat (Essence's Gel-Look combined with Essence's Fast Drying) every day, to avoid chipping!

Hope you like the tutorial, and look out for some more Voices updates, as well as nail-polish storage/collection posts soon!

Cheryl

 xXx

Top 10 Nail Polishes - Autumn 2012 (23/09/12)

Hey there all my lovely readers!

As promised on my facebook page, today's post is all about autumn nail polishes - my top ten ones, to be more precise!

1: Max Factor's Wine Red 

2: Nails Inc.'s Savile Row

3: Essence' Choose Me!

4: OPI's Jade Is The New Black

5: OPI's Suzi Says Feng Shui

6: OPI's Grand Canyon Sunset

7: Maybelline's Rosy Sand

8: Maybelline's Deep Violet

9: Deborah's 08

10: Deborah's 35

1. Max Factor's Nailfinity in Wine Red: A brilliant in-between red! Not too dark, not to bright, and slightly metallic, the perfect transitioning colour for autumn!
2. Nails Inc. in Savile Row: Plum - SO AUTUMN!!! I adore this colour!
3. Essence's Colour & Go in Choose Me! - I know, it's turquoise, it's shimmery, it's not your typical Autumn colour... However, I love colour, no matter what the season! This just feels right for this time of year!
4. OPI in Jade is The New Black - A muted kind of green which is reminiscent of the leaves before they change colour... <3
5. OPI in Suzi Says Feng Shui - This sky blue is just milky enough to be on the border of being a pastel.... Transition from summer to winter - ACHEIVED!
6. OPI in Grand Canyon Sunset - Typical Autumn brown with a twist, as it's got a bit of a reddish hue to it...
7. Maybelline's Rosy Sand - My go-to nude colour, it's so chic and polished! I love it!
8. Maybelline's Deep Violet - Another metallic bright, I just feel that these colours are great because they combine the brights of summer past with the cool metallics of winter to come...
9. Deborah's 08 - One of my favourite polishes, and the one I've got on my nails right now, this deep gunmetal grey dries to a matte finish, which is awesome!
10. Deborah's 35 - A deep denim-blue with ever-so-subtle blue reflects to it... Another success story! :)

Hope you guys like my selection! I love making these nail polish-related posts, so if you enjoy them, I'll keep making them!

Next post will be some Polyvore sets showing some autumn-inspired outfits! Also, probably a few updates from Voices - next week we start the most gruelling part of the experience - on-stage technical rehearsals, all gearing up to two weeks of performances - I CAN'T WAIT!! :D :D

Until then,

Cheryl

 xXx

NOTW - Join Me, Wine Don't You...? ;) - and a short life update... (18/09/12)

Good morning to all my lovely readers!

Yes, I am indeed in quite a cheery mood, seeing that lately a lot of brilliant things have been happening... First off, I can finally say that the weather has come to its senses and we are back to 20-degree temperature, as opposed to almost-40... From what I've read in other blogs, I'm not the only one ready to wave goodbye to summer and embrace autumn with open arms (and newer closets...) In fact, I'm preparing a couple of outfit ideas courtesy of Polyvore, which I'll be sharing in another post soon! :)

Secondly, I was awarded Best Choir Member during the Salesian Oratory evening of awards, and I feel truly blessed to be able to work with such an amazing group of youths, who inspire me to keep using my God-given talents for good! :D

My beloved Salesian Worship Team members!

Thirdly, VOICES rehearsals are well under-way, and we sound amazing (even if I do say so myself)... Here's an interview with some of this year's soloists (myself included) to give you a small idea of the awesome people taking part. Also, anyone who'd like to come watch the shows (and here's where some shameless begging comes in - please come! It's for a very good cause and it's sure to be a great experience!), make sure you hurry up and book your tickets before they're sold out!

...do YOU dare to Dream...?

Now, onto the subject of my post: NAILS! This week I did something I hadn't done for a while, put on nail stickers! I recently cleared out my room (well, part of it, anyway) and rediscovered a whole load of forgotten nail stickers, just waiting to be used, and since I'd just put on my (favourite) berry-red polish (Max Factor's Gilded Ruby), I opted for a simple gold design on the corner of my ring fingers. I love nail art, particularly in the autumn/winter (as in summer I prefer simple pops of bright colour), so this seemed a particularly brilliant choice...

That's all from me, for now!

Cheryl

 xXx

OOTN - I Wanna Rock With You... (15/09/12)

Hey there all my awesome readers!

I'm on my way to Rockestra (an epic annual concert which sees the Maltese Philharmonic Orchestra collaborate with some of Malta's most talented singers) and I just thought I'd share my outfit with you.

Since the weather's taken a turn for the (slightly) chillier lately, and since I'm still recovering from a bad case of tonsillitis, I thought it best to dress a bit warm, whilst keeping a certain rock-ness to the outfit (as was befitting to the occasion). Therefore, I decided to pair my burgandy Primark dress with a pair of opaque tights, my studded Primark boots and my studded Primark bag (which is just the right size to carry my Dorothy Perkins cardi-blazer just in case).

Hope you like my outfit!

Until next time!

Cheryl

 xXx

OOTD - ...the calm AFTER the storm... (04/09/12)

Hey everyone,

Today's OOTD (my first hihi) is very simple, both in terms of colour and in terms of structure... First off, I'm wearing a plain black shirt which used to belong to my mum, paired with my mint Peacocks skinnies and a pair of black satin ballerinas (forgot where I'd bought these from - Oops...)... My bag may be familiar to those of you who read my London Haul post recently - my black Primark bowler-bag - and I paired it with my New Look black and gold tribal necklace and earrings just to add some "WOW!" to the outfit... I hope you like it!

Peacocks skinnies & flats

Top part - black skirt with minimal statement pieces...

Peacocks skinnies, Primark bag and black flats

In the meantime, those of you who don't live in Malta might not have heard of the great storms that swept through Malta yesterday morning... My house (as well as many others in our street and all over the Msida/Birkirkara area) was flooded and my sisters and I ended up mopping all the rainwater up with towels and large buckets... That's why I'm extremely grateful to have had my new Primark biker boots handy... Pretty AND inexpensive!! (plus waterproof xD) Luckily the worst is over (for now) and today was clear, sunny and somewhat cooler that previous days had been (thank God!!), so all is well once more...

Anyways,

That's enough jibber-jabber.... 

Cheryl

 xXx

Top 10 Nail Polishes - Summer 2012 (02/09/12)

Seeing as how it's (already!!!) September, we'll soon be saying goodbye to our bikinis, beach towels and spaghetti-strap tops, and giving a very warm (or should that be "chilly") welcome to autumn and winter (my favourite seasons, please note). Therefore, to start the heralding of the end-of-summer festivities (because, yes, for me the end of summer brings great joy, as I can't stand summer!), I thought I'd list my top 10 favourite nail polishes for this summer...

The Top Ten

23 - Sundancer

26 - Break Through

46 Wake Up!

55 Let's Get Lost

92 Better Late Than Never

490 Iron Mermaiden

Mod About You

Who The Shrek Are You?

500 Peppermint

10 Deep Coral

1. Essence's Colour & Go polish in 23 Sundancer - you can never go wrong with a bright sunny yellow!
2. Essence's Colour & Go polish in 26 Beak Through - this adorable violet colour makes me think of my beach towel...
3. Essence's Colour & Go polish in 46 Wake Up! - let's face it, tangerine was one of the colours for S/S 2012... I might not particularly like it on my clothes, but on my nails, it's a keeper!
4. Essence's Colour & Go polish in 55 Let's Get Lost - a beautiful aqua colour; quite appropriate, I think...
5. Essence's Colour & Go polish in 92 Better Late Than Never - this amazing strawberry-red is the perfect mid-way colour between red and pink, and reminds me of strawberry slushies!!
6. Catrice's Ultimate Nail Lacquer in 490 Iron Mermaiden - my newest purchase, this awesome duo-chrome colour is very similar to Essence's Where Is The Party, but one crucial difference is the mettallic silver undertone, which adds a slight touch of badassness to the purple/green colour...
7. OPI's Mod About You - I know, I know... Pastels are for spring... I can't help it though, this amazing milky-baby-pink colour has me hooked!
8. OPI's  Who The Shrek Are You? - A summery sour-apple green which instantly draws attention to your nails!
9. Rimmel's Lycra Pro polish in 500 Peppermint - possibly one of the most raved about colours  this season, mint is the perfect way to spice things up without standing out too much...
10. Max Factor's Max Effect Mini polish in 10 Deep Coral - you know you can't have a summery top ten without mentioning CORAL! I love the gold reflects mixed with the bright coral-orange colour!

That's it for the "official" post, now time for some shameless advertising... As you already know, this year I'll be singing with the VOICES choir in the first two weeks of September (I've even got a solo song, if that makes it any more interesting)...This year's theme is Dreams - the concert title is Dream A Little Dream, so you can expect many different inspiring tunes from all your favourite artists! For more info, check out the Voices facebook page here!

Cheryl

 xXx