Holiday

Hey guys! I'm away to Turkey on holiday for the next two weeks so there will be no posts from me :( But I'm taking a holo away with me to see how it fares in proper sunshine so expect a post on that when I get back!

Bon Bon ~ Ciate

Another magazine freebie today, this time it's Ciate's Bon Bon that came with this months issue of Marie Claire.

I had heard about the whole caviar manicure fiasco and decided to steer clear of Ciate, however when I saw it as a freebie I decided to give it a go.

The polish is actually really great quality. It reaches full opacity in two coats and smooths out really well, no brush strokes in sight. It also dries really fast which is always a plus.

I applied Rimmel base, two coats of Bon Bon and 2true top coat. All this could be done in five minutes, that's how fast it dries. Fantastic.

Bon Bon is a lovely beige-y lavender shade which could almost pass as a nude, but not quite. It's very unique and is a very pretty colour. I love it, and I think that Ciate is actually a good brand.  Maybe if I see more freebies in the future I'll pick one up.

Thank you for reading!

Aztec

I have a real treat for you today! When I was shopping a couple of weeks ago I bought this gem and it has just sat patiently in my untrieds box, waiting to be used. Well that day has come and let me tell you, I wish it had come sooner. Lots of pictures today to show you the beauty!

Aztec by Accessorize is like a beautiful oil slick on your nails. It is absolutely mesmerising and is equally beautiful indoors and out, although I have to say I think I like it better indoors and I didn't think I would ever be saying that!

Aztec is a multi-chrome full of micro-glitter in a blue-y green base. So basically it is heaven. The multi-chrome throws off green, purple, gold and a dark pink and is absolutely gorgeous.

I applied a  Rimmel base and three coats of Aztec. I then applied NYC in Grand Central Station quick dry topcoat. And man does that dry fast! Fantastic, now I know why everyone loves it.

I applied three coats of Aztec instead of my usual two as it is quite thin and after two coats there was still slight patchiness. This is the only possible draw back from this polish. But really? Three coats is no valid complaint.

Thanks for reading!

Freezing Supermodel

Today I have another magazine freebie to show you. This time I have Leighton Denny's Supermodel which came free with this months Harper's Bazaar.

This is a lovely chocolaty brown shade and even though I have a similar colour from Models Own, I still got it anyway. The other choices were an orange or a pink, I have way too many of both.

I applied Rimmel base to all my nails, two coats of Supermodel to all but my accent nail and 2true top coat. The application was good. The only problem was that a single hair was too long on the brush and was causing all sorts of problems, but I cut it and application was much easier. Coverage was good in one coat, but I used two purely out of habit.  After one night though it was covered in those little grooves you get from your hair after you sleep on it (only me?) and it peeled and chipped easily at the edges...

On my accent nail I again used Rimmel base, one coat of Supermodel and one coat of Avon's Freezing from the Color Trend range. I topped off with 2true top coat.

Freezing is a brown pearly shade and is really pretty. Jazzes up the brown nicely. Only thing is it bubbled a little, but maybe I just didn't wait long enough for Supermodel to dry...

Thanks for reading!

Glamgerine

On a recent trip (all my posts seem to start with that now!) to the B&M store that opened up in my town recently, I came across a nail polish set for £2.99 with seven nail polishes in it. If that's not a bargain I don't know what is!

I didn't have very high expectations due to the price, but the colours were pretty and there was a lovely glitter that I really wanted. So I bought it.

The polishes smell cheap (you know the kind of smell I mean?) and the quality isn't fantastic, but for the price they are pretty damn good.

I decided to start with Glam, a bright tangerine orange colour (hence the name of this post).

This is a jelly which dries kind of dull, but a dash of top coat sorts that out.

I applied Rimmel base, three coats of Glam (it has a very thin coverage) and 2true top coat.

Now I love this colour, it's absolutely perfect for summer and it's so pretty but there is one major drawback.

See the flaws on the index nail? That happened 24 hours after application because the polish was still slightly squishy and I hit it off a door. The other hand is even worse and I have no idea what I did to cause that. No normal polish does that after 24 hours of drying time! There is also slight tip wear after only 24 hours.

So while it is a lovely colour and a great bargain, I understand why it is so cheap.

However that wont stop me from using the other pretty colours, I'll just go in with my teeth gritted.

Thanks for reading!

Fairy Glitter

On a recent trip to Tesco I noticed this pretty colour in their Barbara Daly range. Seeing as it was a three for two offer on, I of course had to buy it.  Fairy is a very pale pink with a subtle gold shimmer through it. The name fits absolutely perfectly!


I applied Rimmel base and FOUR coats of Fairy! It is so sheer, but the colour is so pretty, definitely worth the extra drying time.

I was super pleased with the polish like this and I wore it out for a few parties, but me being me I just had to add some glitter to my nails! So I decided to add Golden Rose's number 70 which I bought in Turkey last year and I have never had an opportunity to wear.

This is two coats of number 70, it consists of strand glitter and small round glitter and it dries super fast, even on top of four coats of Fairy and I was really pleased with the coverage, not too much, not too little. I then added 2true top coat.

Again I wore this out, and I got quite a few compliments. A super pretty, girly mani, without it being too sickly sweet.

Thanks for reading!

Lilac Glitter Bomb

I just can't seem to get enough of glitter manis these days!

Today I have a really pretty lilac mani, sadly it's been raining here, but if I had managed to get a pic in the few minutes of sunshine we had on Wednesday you would have seen how glorious this really is, I even got asked if it was a holo, that's how amazing this looks in sunshine!

First I applied a Rimmel base, then two coats of Lizzie's nameless Love Shine lilac, three coats of the nameless lilac glitter from Claire's and 2true top coat.

I've never liked the Lizzie's lilac, it always felt too babyish as it has a slightly darker purple, pinky shimmer to it, but with things layered over it it actually looks okay! Maybe it won't just sit on a shelf gathering dust anymore!

That said I still felt like I had Barbie nails, although I kinda enjoyed that, they were very pretty.

The glitter was great too, it wasn't grainy on the surface of my nails and the coverage was alright, yeah three coats is a lot for normal polishes but I think it's okay for a glitter right?

Thank you for reading!

Bluebell Glitter

Not a very imaginative name but HEY!

This polish came free with a recent issue of InStyle, who seem to do polish promotions quite regularly! Which is always a plus when buying it!

I chose this colour out of a possible three, the others were a pink and a peach (which I really loved too!)

The application of this polish is great! It was practically opaque in one coat, and I only did an extra because I normally always do at least two.

I applied Rimmel base and two coats of Bluebell by Nails Inc. I decided to add a little something to it, not because it was boring (it is seriously such a pretty colour on its own) but because I had recently bought a blue iridescent glitter that I really wanted to try and it looked like it would match.

So I added two coats of this nameless glitter from Claire's and 2true top coat.

Overall I loved this mani and got a number of compliments, although I would have been happy with Bluebell on its own too.

Thanks for reading!

Nails of a Prom Queen

If the title didn't tell you then let me say... I WON PROM QUEEN!!

So unexpected! I just sat there thinking 'What do I do? Was that really my name or am I hearing things?' But yes it was me.

Prom was such a great night, even without that and as I was told many times, I had nails fit for a queen!

I applied a Rimmel base and two coats of Avon's Deluxe. This polish is fantastic, application is great and the colour is one of my favourites in the world. I then used my new striping tape for the first time properly. Its really easy to use and super cheap. I got 10 rolls  of all different colours for 99p free postage on eBay! I then applied OPI top coat.

I loved these nails and got lots of compliments at prom. I was even told by multiple people that they had been looking forward to seeing what I was going to do with them for prom!

They also matched my dress perfectly, here it is :)

Thanks for reading!

Eenie Meenie Prom Nails

So it is my school prom this Friday and I have no idea what to do with my nails for it. I don't want to have plain, one-colour nails, cause I've always been known as 'the girl with the fancy nails' but at the same time I can't think of what would suit my dress and the occasion...

So I came up with five ideas. I have a definite favourite but I'll show you guys and if you have one you think is best, or any other ideas please let me know!

This is my dress

It is a Jonathan Saunders dress with a bright pink lining and black chiffon over the top, creating a dark wine colour (my favourite). My heels, bag and shrug are all black so I need something that will go with the whole outfit.

This is a shot of some of the options

First option

A bright pink bottom (nameless polish) with a black top (Primark, nameless) and separated by some silver striping tape.

Second option

A nude (Revlon, nameless mini) and purple (Nails Inc, Victoria) gradient with silver glitter (Essence, Blair)

Third option

Excuse the bubbles, I was getting impatient     A purple (Avon, Deluxe) bottom with a black (Primark, nameless) top, separated by silver striping tape.

Fourth option

Revlon Facets Of Fuchsia (Scandalous).

Fifth (and final) option

Nails Inc Victoria with a black (Primark, nameless) tip.

Like I said, please let me know what you think and if you have any ideas let me know!

Thanks for reading!

Off To The Carnival!

I had seen Bodycare being discussed on a number of British blogs as being very good for cheap nail polishes/nail art materials, so when I was in Livingston I decided to have a look.  I came home with a bag crammed full of polishes, stripers and a little holo to try!

When I spotted this polish I was pretty excited. I love glitter, especially multi-coloured glitter and when I had seen this on other blogs it looked great! So I scooped a bottle up (despite having an almost identical multi-coloured glitter at home).  I compared it to my similar glitter, Essence's Circus Confetti, and the colours in Essence's are much more pastel than this one, so it is acceptable to own both!

I used a Rimmel base, two coats of a nameless black polish from Primark, two coats of Carnival by Technic and Essence's matte top coat Soft Touch. The coverage of the glitter was fantastic, with plenty of glitter in one coat, I just wanted a little extra!  The black, however, was super gloopy. I don't know if that was because I was painting my nails outside in the heat of the sun or if it's just happened anyway, but it isn't even an old polish. But it's Primark so I don't really care too much!

Messy cuticles alert!! The polish has red, green, blue, gold and silver coloured glitters with varying sizes.

While Carnival is a super pretty polish, I wasn't too happy with the unevenness of the black underneath. It just made the manicure look quite lumpy and messy, so I wasn't fully satisfied with the way it turned out... I guess I'll just have to try different colour combinations of bases until I find one that suits the glitter just right!

Thanks for reading!

Angel Flowers

Guest appearance from my mum's nails today!

So for ages (I'm talking months) I was hankering after Max Factor's Angel Nails and when my Tesco's finally put their make-up products on three-for-two I could finally justify the purchase of more polish, despite having a box full of untrieds! But it was three-for-two! I had to do it!

This week my mum asked me to do her nails for her and what polish did she choose? Angel Nails.

So here is Max Factor's Angel Nails from their Nailfinity line with added purple stamping.

I applied OPI's Chip Skip, Barbara Daly's Goodbye Yellow Base and two coats of Angel Nails.  I then stamped with Nail Supreme's purple and Bundle Monster plate BM-224 and topped that off with OPI top coat.

Angel Nails has fantastic application. It's a thin polish but the coverage was great and the colour was opaque in two coats. It is a very pale champagne pink micro glitter and it is soooo shiny, people kept asking my mum if she had foil on her nails!  She received so many compliments at her work and she was super happy with this mani. I'm pretty sure most of that bottle of polish is going to end up being used on her instead of me, she loves it that much!

Thank you for reading!