Tuesday 26 February 2013

Eurghhhhhhhhhh - caviar nails.

Ok, I'm only showing you this because I feel evil such as this should be exposed.

While trying to work through my untrieds, I came across this. I remember being really excited when I found it, thought it would be new, quirky even. Don't get me wrong, the colours are great, and in theory this seemed like it would be cute.........






...........................but NOOOOOOOOOOOO! 

Messy? Yes. A total pain in the be-hind to cover the nail? Yep. Started to fall off as soon as it went on? Yes, yes, yes.

Maybe it was me. Maybe I just wasn't ready for nail caviar. Maybe it wasn't ready for me. 
But it isn't something I'll be trying again anytime soon. 
Nail fail:(

Monday 25 February 2013

Swatch - H&M Blue My Mind

Hola amigos,

I cannot take my tribal nails off, partly because I'm finding it hard to do much except stare at them and grin! So I thought I'd take this chance to show you the base colour in more detail. This is Blue My Mind (ooooooh, I love a good name!) from H&M. Now, a lot of Dutch blogs seem to be massively keen on H&M polishes, but I'd never tried them before. So when I went into my local branch the other day I was intrigued, but not desperate to buy any.

Then I saw this colour.

H&M-Blue-My-Mind-nail-polishH&M-Blue-My-Mind-nail-polish

H&M-Blue-My-Mind-nail-polish

Oh I love it.
 I love the colour, so eye-catching and bright. 
I love the texture, buttery soft and creamy. 
I love the way it dries quickly.
I love the way it dries glossy.
I love the name, it shows they care.
I love the fact that it's almost neon!

I've got to go, I'm going to take polish out to dinner, then I think I might pop the question lol:)

Sunday 24 February 2013

Blue and grey tribal nail art feat H&M Blue My Mind

Hi de hi peeps,

Thanks so much to so many of you for your lovely words about Monty and Smoky, much appreciated, and one of the reasons I love blogging; you guys:)

Anyhoo, enough soppy stuff lol - here is my favourite manicure of ALL TIME!!! I was feeling the urge to do something intricate again and remembered how much I enjoyed designing and rocking tribal nails last summer. I was also desperate to use my newest polish, Blue My Mind from H&M, so here we go..........

Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold

Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold

 Arggggggggggggggggggggh, I love, love, love, love, love, love, love them:) I'm so pleased with them. I took photos of all the polishes I used simply as an excuse to show them off even more!

Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-Barry-M-Foil-EffectTribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-Barry-M-Raspberry

Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-H&M-Blue-My-Mind
Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-Models-Own-black-nail-pen

Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-Rimmel-Grey-MatterTribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-manicure

I used H&M Blue My Mind as a base (swatch coming soon) and then used striping tape and some free handing to add details using Rimmel Grey Matter, Barry M Raspberry and Gold Foil Effects and my Models Own Black nail art pen. 

Tribal-nail-art-blue-grey-red-gold-manicure

I actually can't take this off, I love it so much - so the next few days will give me a chance to upload some older swatches lol:) Have a great week peeps, toodle pip!




Saturday 23 February 2013

Happy Caturday, feat. Cherry Blossoms.

Hey peeps, anyone else thinking the tag line for this post sounds like a remixed version of some dodgy 90s song? Lol:) Anyway, let me explain.....

The Caturday part comes from some VERY exciting news. As you may know, we lost our beloved cat Monty before Christmas. We were heartbroken, and so was our other cat, Boo. She's been moping around the house for a while now, and seems so lonely. So we've adopted another cat to keep her company. Introducing.....................


Smoky!

He's so soft and cute, and also loves cuddles. He and Boo are still sussing each other out, but all seems well:) 

And now onto the second part of this post; actual nails! I loved the 2True polish I was wearing yesterday so much I decided to try a bit of nail art on them. I'm pleased with these as a first attempt, but keen to try them again and improve them - maybe more cherry blossom, and a lighter branch, black seemed a bit harsh.

2True-shade-49-cherry-blossom-nail-art2True-shade-49-cherry-blossom-nail-art
2True-shade-49-cherry-blossom-nail-art2True-shade-49-cherry-blossom-nail-art








Have a lovely day peeps:)




Friday 22 February 2013

Swatch - 2True Shade 49

Ahhhh Friday - what a brilliant day, I hope you're all enjoying it:) I have a lovely polish for you today, another from the 2True range, Shade 49. The photos here make it look blue, but in real life it has a more teal-y tinge; I tried to capture it using my camera, but all that happened was that the camera gave me lobster hands:( 

2True-Shade-49-teal-blue-nail-polish

It's shot through with incredibly fine silver micro-glitter, which gives it a pearly look on the nails; oddly, I usually hate pearly colours, but this one I love, it's so cute.

2True-Shade-49-teal-blue-nail-polish2True-Shade-49-teal-blue-nail-polish






                                                                                                         








I loved this colour so much that I kept it on to do some nail art..........coming soon. 

Wednesday 20 February 2013

Hello Kitty Beat Box and Claire's glitter topper

G'day peeps, hope you're well, anyone else gutted that the sun seems to be hiding again?

As mentioned, I've been on my holidays, and this has afforded me plenty of time to pick up some new polishes. I nipped into Claire's again and found some amazing glitters, and even better they were 3 for 2 - and only £2.50 each! Happy days:)

So here's one of them, an unnamed glitter topper; a clear base filled with lilac hexes and tiny blue specks of glitter. I've placed it over a lovely polish by Hello Kitty, with the odd name of Beat Box (totally 90's-tastic!). Can you believe this has been in my untried tub for a couple of months? I got it from my secret Santa at work, it's gorgeous, a really creamy lilac with great application. 

Hello-Kitty-Beat-Box-Claire's-lilac-and-blue-glitter-nail-polishHello-Kitty-Beat-Box-Claire's-lilac-and-blue-glitter-nail-polish

Hello-Kitty-Beat-Box-Claire's-lilac-and-blue-glitter-nail-polish

Hello-Kitty-Beat-Box-Claire's-lilac-and-blue-glitter-nail-polish

The Claire's polish went on easily, as with most polishes of this kind, the larger pieces needed some placing, but generally it was quick and easy. My only complaint with these polishes? No names! WHY? For some reason it really bugs me, it's like they don't care lol! 


Tuesday 19 February 2013

Swatch - Models Own Disco Mix

Hey peeps,

Hope you're having a great day, I'm on my hols so I've been relaxing and shopping today with one of my best friends. We headed to Selfridges and ate some of the most amazing cheesecake - salted caramel and almond! I'd have taken a photo, except I ate it so quickly there wasn't time lol.

Anyway, this is part of my haul from the past few days, Models Own Disco Mix. It's a clear base filled with blue and pinky purple glitter - this is 2 coats over my faithful Respect from Hello Kitty.

Models-Own-Disco-Mix-nail-polish

Models-Own-Disco-Mix-nail-polishModels-Own-Disco-Mix-nail-polish
Models-Own-Disco-Mix-nail-polish

I think I like this polish.......I'm kind of sad, because I loved it when it was in the bottle:( I'm going to try placing it over a purple, instead of blue, to see if that makes the purple stand out more, which is what I'd prefer. Hmmmmmm - still undecided about this one.

Monday 18 February 2013

Dots and hearts using Models Own Nude Beige

Hey peeps,

I've been MIA for a few days as I've been travelling round the north of our fair country visiting people and drinking beer. Happily I do have a rather smashing mani for you - can you tell I'm proud of this one?

This is based on a top I wore at the weekend - I used the dotting tools from my Bundle Monster kit and cut out tape templates for the hearts, I'm chuffed, chuffed, flipping chuffed with these:) 

heart-dot-manicure-Models-Own-Nude-Beige

heart-dot-manicure-Models-Own-Nude-Beige

heart-dot-manicure-Models-Own-Nude-Beige

I'm a bit gutted as my Models Own Nude Beige, the base for this, is getting a bit gloopy - can anyone recommend a good thinner? 

Thursday 14 February 2013

Swatch - NYC Smoky Top Coat

Hola peeps,

This is a very quick post as I'm off for a lovely meal soon. Behold, my newest love, NYC Smoky Top Coat, a black jelly with small and large pieces of silver glitter. 

NYC-smoky-top-coat-black-with-silver-glitter

NYC-smoky-top-coat-black-with-silver-glitter
NYC-smoky-top-coat-black-with-silver-glitter

This is one coat over Barry M Black, I'm going to investigate whether it will build up to be totally opaque but I'm not sure that it will tbh, it's incredibly sheer. 

NYC-smoky-top-coat-black-with-silver-glitter

NYC-smoky-top-coat-black-with-silver-glitter


It's a bit of a tricky one to apply, you'll need to dab the larger glitter where you'd like it, but I love this polish; in fact it's been on my nails now for 2 whole days! In my world, shocking. Anyhoo, have a good evening peeps:) x

Tuesday 12 February 2013

Swatch - 2True Shade 54

Oh my goodness, what a surprise, I've got another 2True polish for you:)

Pick yourself up off the floor and feast your eyes on this beauty - a gorgeous, shimmery blue.

2True-Shade-54-blue-nail-polish

2True-Shade-54-blue-nail-polish

2True-Shade-54-blue-nail-polish

2True-Shade-54-blue-nail-polish

Now, I did say I would now only buy polishes that had a certain something about them. Regular readers may know that I have a lot of blues, so what makes this one different from the rest? Well, in particular lights this has the most beautiful teal/green shimmer, something my camera refused point blank to capture, making is extra lovely!

P.s. - The application on this is easy, but as usual with 2True shades, sloooooooooooooooow lol. The wear is good though - I only wore this for two days, but my tips were absolutely fine:)


Monday 11 February 2013

Swatch - 2True Shade 5

Hey guys!

You know when you just need that perfect shade of neon orangey-pink.....er, nope, neither do I. And yet, I find myself oddly drawn to this eye-wateringly bright creme by 2True. It's an easy to apply, happy and bright colour, perfect for a night out or a summer day. Somewhat less suitable for a Sunday in Antarctica Birmingham, but the minute it's summertime I shall be rocking this shade:)

Nail-polish-2True-Shade 5

Nail-polish-2True-Shade 5


The above is 2 coats, with a fast drying topcoat (it's a bit on the slow side to dry, but only £1.99, and for a bargain I'm willing to wait a bit longer!) The brush is nice and long so it gives good coverage and all together, I'm pretty sold on this little pretty:)  

Sunday 10 February 2013

Pink and gold mash up:)

Hi peeps, hope you've had a relaxing Sunday? I've been watching the rugby and eating roast beef - lovely:)

I hit Superdrug yesterday in search of a few more 2True colours; they're ridiculously cheap, £1.99 each, or 3 for £4.99:) Can't complain at those prices!

So one of the colours in my haul was the elegantly named Shade 21, a very hot pink with a slightly bluish shine in the right light. The application wasn't fab, it definitely needs a fast drying top coat, but the colour is gorgeous. As I'm not the biggest pink fan, this is high praise indeed from me:)

2True-Barry-M-pink-black-white-and-gold-glitter-manicure
2True-Barry-M-pink-black-white-and-gold-glitter-manicure

2True-Barry-M-pink-black-white-and-gold-glitter-manicure
2True-Barry-M-pink-black-white-and-gold-glitter-manicure





















I have to admit that this manicure was not my own idea; it was based on a mani I found on Pinterest, and is also on Beautylish.com. I didn't have the patience to do zig zags on the accent nail, so went for stripes instead:) 

Excuse the smudge stripes - I didn't wait long enough before applying topcoat:( Fail!

More 2True swatches to follow peeps, have a brilliant week whatever you get up to, toodle pip!


Saturday 9 February 2013

Swatch - 2True Limited Edition Shade 2

Ahhhhhhhhhhh good Saturday peeps:)

I had the best start to the weekend last night. I headed to China Town for some nommy dim sum, not realising that it was Chinese New Year. Half way through our meal, the most amazing Chinese Lion danced through the restaurant we were eating in, amazing:) Then I got home and discovered a lovely letter from HMRC, with a large tax rebate enclosed - whoop whoop!

And it keeps getting better; it was actually light enough today to take photos of the gorgeous 2True Limited Edition Shade 2. Oooooooooooooooh so much glitter:)





It's a lovely pale pink jelly, packed to the rafters with orange and pink hexes and laced with fine silver glitter. Like it's brothers, it's a thick polish, and takes a while to dry, but it so glossy and sparkly that it's worth it:) This swatch is over an unnamed peach polish I found, as Shade 2 doesn't layer up to total opacity, and I can't cope VNL lol:)

Have a great Saturday people!

P.s. - I've ordered a light box - no more deciding whether to wait to daylight or take rubbish photos:) Yaaaaay! Can't wait for it's arrival.