Summer Top 5 | Nails

Say what you will but as soon as it hits June it is summer for me. Like it or lump the weather we are dealt with in the UK, you have to make the most of it. So regardless if it's thunderstorms or sweltering heat waves... I'll be rocking summer-ready nails. 

Spring Top 5 | Nails

Much like lips - a pretty obvious way to easily switch up your looks is via your digits. Spring is probably the easiest way for me to embrace pastel shades as I can never seem to find the right shade of mint knitwear...

Transitional Nails

The one thing that annoys me most about mid-January is the fact people tend to assume the UK will immediately launch into spring, the sun will be shining and we'll all be wearing dresses come February...

There is one setback; we are still in winter. I couldn't get into my car this morning since it was frozen completely shut and I can't even bare the thought of baring skin quite so soon and it makes me want to hide under my duvet until summer...

I'm of course being extremely negative; but there is one easy way to get that early bird take on spring, with an easy transitional nail colour.

Essie Winter 2013 Collection

I think I'm not the only one in saying I am down for any of Essie's seasonal collections, no? Here's the deal though, I usually only pick two a year - either between the summer or resort and likewise fall or winter. There is usually a similarity between the colours after all and it helps saves the pennies. This year, you've already seen I chose the Summer collection, and for the more colder months it had to be the winter collection...

In this years mini cube (there are two more shades available not in this cube,) you get four delicious shades, pretty beautiful for this time of year. First up is 'Mind Your Mittens' which is a deep (almost navy) teal. Second is Shearling Darling (for which the collection is named,) which is a super glossy plush burgundy red. The glitter of the bunch is called 'Toggle to the Top' which is described as a 'sparkling crushed garnet red' - pretty spot on. Last but not least is 'Sable Colar' described as a 'pearlescent cocoa plum' - this almost looks like a greige/aubergine/purple concoction (pretty similar to Rimmel Hot List,) and has a slight shimmer running through. 

As with all Essie polishes, wear time is great (a full seven days with Seche Vite as your top coat before any sort of chips appear,) and the finish on all of these polishes is literally the most beautiful. Yes, I'm in love.

This collection is pretty beautiful and I'm glad I picked it up, I got mine from ebay here, which has sold out but you can still get some here or pick the three cube collection at Boots and Superdrug, so I'm told but they are selling out quick! 

Have you tried the Essie Winter 2013 collection yet?

Peace!

Nails | Autumn/Winter

There is nothing I love more than (anally) organizing my nail polish collection on the best of days; factor in new seasons and then I'm a goner for at least an hour with my ikea storage. This year, I couldn't narrow it down to five - some aren't easily available anymore, some I've found ridiculously cheap online (but still great quality,) and so without further ado, my personal choice of seven Autumn/Winter ready nail polishes...

Lilac Charm

I only had one lilac shade - a quite pretty shade from the Essie Summer 2013 collection called 'Full Steam Ahead' and it's pretty similar to this shade that I picked up from Fragrance Direct recently; the Maybelline Forever Strong Pro in Lilac Charm. 

There is a subtle difference however; which has me rocking this shade as a nice season transition colour - it has a grey-ish undertone that makes it just off-pastel, so a pretty September shade for when it's starting to come in cooler - but the sun can crop out and surprise you with a random heatwave. 

The wear time on this polish is awesome; no chips for six days and counting and the only issue I've encountered is when my nails are growing and my half-moons start cheekily peeking through. 

For 99p this was a pretty lush bargain - and one I'll be wearing throughout the tricky transition from summer to autumn.

Have you tried this nail colour? 

Peace!

autumn nails; nailed it...

 images via google.

Been pretty swamped this week and a little poorly - so sorry for a lack of posts.

Being extra lazy in my boyfriends jumper, watching films and finally 'nailed' my autumn nails. :)

Peace!

december wishings - beauty

1//2//3//4

Getting closer to Christmas and the throes of winter means that I truly want to pamper my poor skin, nails and hair to some good old (er, well some are new...) quality brands that we know and love, but may not always be able to justify spending the funds on... maybe I am speaking for myself... but whatever. I ain't rich. :)

I've tried Dior's new foundation in Light Beige and it truly is a thing of beauty. I will definitely be purchasing this bad boy come pay day. 

Peace!

november wishes - part one - topshop

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(from left to right, top to bottom...)

all via topshop.com

Wishes time again. This is what I am drooling over for the coming november (october pay day y'know?) all via topshop.

Anything you 'neeeeeed' from topshop? ;)

Peace!

Bourjois So Laque! Ultra Shine Nail Varnish - Review

 Shade 46 - abricot 

Bourjois So Laque! Ultra Shine Nail Varnish - 10ml - £5.99 (boots.com)

I bought this polish a while back, specifically for my particular work environment. I needed a pastel/subtle (turns out it wasn't subtle enough!) shade that was pretty robust, considering the work I was doing was heavy on my hands and nails and usually left my hands dry, nails chipped and considerably ugly.

The brush is good, I can't stand tiny nail varnish brushes that require multitudes of strokes and relish in a thicker one. This is a nice brush to work with, as it stands. 

It takes roughly two coats to make it opaque, but can sometimes require a touch up due to patchy drying.

What I do find however is the drying time takes an age, it can be patchy and can sometimes 'shrink' like rubber almost. That being said, I truly adore the gorgeous peach colour and am a stickler when it comes to seeing a polish through to the end - so although maybe I won't buy this particular polish in the future - it certainly won't put me off the Bourjois brand. 

Have you tried this polish? What's your view?

Peace!

all about nails...

Crazy claw hand returns...

I showed in this post a nail polish named Caribbean Coconut - by All About Nails - A brand I found in Tesco - they also offer face products too...

Deciding to jazz it up ever so slightly, I added 'Shimmy Shake' in Collection 2000's Hot Look Nail Polish range.

I concentrated most of the gold near the base of the nail, so it was a light shimmer at the top - and most of the nude was on show there. :)

It looks pretty. Crazy claw does not.

Hope you have a relaxing weekend!

Peace!

strictly come dancing nail set, boots

i've already shown you yesterday my colour-blocking skillz! haha! but i just thought i'd show you a close up of the colours. they really are all beautiful, but i think my favourites are the salsa and latin range. :)

do you have this set? how have you found them?

Peace!

colour blocking

saw some colour blocking nails here. thought i'd have a go. :)

i had to trim my nails down, because i was getting a fair few breaks as i carried out a normal day. they've already got a few chips on the polish, but not too noticeable. 

these polishes was from my christmas haul not too long ago, one of the gift sets on offer from boots, the strictly come dancing range.

so far with this nail colour collection i've found that two coats just about cracks it to show off the colours, but sometimes the brushes gets over-loaded with varnish, and you could end up with a gloopy nail, as i found out on my first experiment. 

but apart from that, i got mine half price in the sale AFTER christmas, from £16 down to £8... so not something to be sniffed at for 12 polishes!

peace!

addictions

I have a confession. It's not a secret to my loved ones. But to you guys, you have no idea of what kind of trouble I'm in.

I'm talkin' full blown addiction here. I'm talkin' about nails. Nail varnish, in fact.

I was purchasing some foundation at tesco - bearing in mind I haven't worn foundation for about three years,  but due to my own curiosity, I payed out for some, and it is perfect, but back to my addiction...

As I was shopping around I saw a stand saying 'All About...' and there was gorgeous little nail varnishes for 99p, which were what caught my eye and some gorgeous eye palettes that I think I am going to try - I would of even got the coral blusher, but alas, they had sold out!

I purchased 'Coconut Milk' - and I love it! It's almost like a pretty pink/peach neutral, and it really suits my skin tone. :)

It took about two-three coats to become opaque, 

So, if you have a nail varnish addiction head on over to tesco and perk up your day!

Peace!

galaxy/night sky nails...

 I tried my hand at Galaxy nails the other day, it took two attempts of layering to get the kind of effect I wanted... but I'm pretty pleased with the results given that I am a novice. 

 For your own inspiration, and where I got the idea... A Cup Of Jo

I used the nail colours from my recent haul. I started with a dark navy base. Then I had the dark glittery gold, a shimmery silver and just a hint of 'mermaid' green. The idea is once the base is on, to layer like crazy, and to make every nail a bit different...

Peace!