Spooky selection!

Heh heh heh, couldn't let the chance to do some awesome Halloween nails pass by......so here they are. I couldn't choose one design, so I chose a few:) Very pleased with my lucky black cat, my pumpkin, my spider and my ghost. The rest I'm a bit meh about, but I like them altogether:) 

 I'm off to the pub now, so will list the polishes I used in my next post:) 

Happy Halloween peeps! 

My polish's home:)

I simply cannot take the owl nails off, so I don't have a new manicure to show you:) Instead I thought I'd show you my nail polish storage solution. 

This summer it became very clear that my polishes were now too many in number to be contained in the small plastic tub they had previously lived in. For a while I ummed and ahhed, and looked at other bloggers' solution, and looked at the Ikea website to see if they had anything appropriate.

Then, a lightbulb went off! Years ago, when I was 14 and the charts and my ears were filled with The Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls and Madonna, and my heart was filled with love for Nick Carter (1998 for those of you who are too young to know), I started using polish for nail art. It drove my parents crazy, and eventually they took me to the local (newly opened!) Ikea to find something in which I could tidy my polishes away (and thus not leave them everywhere around the house, as was my teenage way!).

This bad boy was the solution (the tacky, eye watering royal blue and zebra print was added by moi, proving how odd my taste was in the 90's). 

I use the first draw for those little extras - striping tape (obvs), nail art pens, glitter pots, sequins, brushes and rhinestones.












The next draw contains polishes by Accessorize, Nails Inc and Barry M glitters. 

Then Models Own polishes (eep, that collection's grown overnight!)

Then my real addiction, the rest of my Barry M polishes!

Then all of my little 'others' - Rimmel, Maybelline etc. 

Lastly, the bottom draw contains more 'extras' such as sponges, remover, tape, cotton wool etc. Btw, see the CD case there? That contains the naffest, most horrid, tacky little silver stickers that I used for nail art in my teens. Goodness only knows what I was thinking! I found them in this box......talk about a blast from the past!

Swit swoo, twit twoo!

Ok, I can't actually describe how much I love these nails! I've wanted to do them for so long, but felt didn't feel confident enough. But, after finding the wonderful tutorial by Let Them Have Polish I finally did it:) Whoop whoop!

Presenting...........drum roll please.......................OWL NAILS!

I'm so flipping pleased with these, I can't stop staring at my nails. I used a lot of polishes for these bad boys, so I've pictured them below. 

Top row - Barry M Blackberry, Indigo, Watermelon, Raspberry, White, WAH gold nail art pen, black nail art pen.

Bottom row - Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream, Berry Ice Cream, Blueberry Ice Cream, Mint Green, Models Own Disco Heaven, Gold Rush, Maybelline Rose Poudre. 

I feel hungry after listing all of them:) Hope you have a good weekend peeps, I'm off to buy some ice cream.

Ps - as I simply cannot take these nails off until I have no other choice, my next post will be showing you my snazzy new nail polish storage unit - I'm really rather pleased with it:) So are my polishes! 

Barry M Gellies!

Ahhhhh, these little babies were hiding in my unused polishes and I decided that they needed an airing - and to be used in a mani together. Presenting Blackberry (darker polish) and Prickly Pear (paler polish, obvs). 

The first thing to note is how shiny these polishes are - gel like indeed! The Prickly Pear is a bluey lavender-like pale purple. It's very sheer - this is 3 coats! Unlike other polishes (no names, ahem, cough, Models Own, cough) there was no bubbling, even though the coats I painted were pretty thick. 

Please note that these look dull because I got sheets marks on them - I was soooooooo sleepy.

To test the theory that the Blackberry was a one coat wonder (a view put forwards by many bloggers) I decided to test it in a tape mani. What? A tape mani? Me? I know, pick yourself up off the floor, it is indeed a massive shock:) Lol. Sorry, but it was the ideal way to test it.

And it worked a treat. It went on smoothly, dried quickly and was perfect in one coat. I think if I was wearing it on it's own I'd do two coats, but still. And the colour.......oh the glorious colour. It's so autumnal and sexy and shiny and deep and yummy. Flipping amazeballs!

Ps - please excuse the shabbiness and lack of clean up in this mani - it was a bit of a rush job as I'm keen to start work on a bit of a personal nail challenge.......all will be revealed soon:)

Striping + skittles + glitter = yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

He he he, you might notice that I'm a teensy tiny bit obsessed with striping tape at the moment. The thing is, my job is pretty intensive, so rarely is there a time when I get to sit down and do a base coat, then wait for it to dry, then stick tape on, then paint, then peel tape off..........you get the idea, it's labour intensive. 

Aaaaaaaaaanyhoo, I was going to do a simple skittle mani to show off my large collection of blues, but then the tape caught my eye, and as it's the hols...you know what happened next:)

Presenting, stripy blue and gold (and glitter, of course!).

Pinkie - a base of Models Own gold Rush, topped with MO Disco Heaven.

Index, middle, ring fingers - base of MO Gold Rush, then Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, Cyan Blue, Cobalt Blue. 

Thumb - base of MO Gold Rush, then MO In the Navy:)

Stripy joy!

Random Swatch - Betty Jackson Teal

A few months ago, one of my friends was awesome and brought me a pack of Betty Jackson nail varnishes. This little beauty was tucked in it and I've finally got around to swatching it:) It's a really lovely colour, but I was a bit worried about the formula (untried polish and all that jazz). Turns out, it's not bad.

This is two coats with no topcoat. It's a very deep tealy green (what, that's a colour lol) and the formula is okish. It is somehow a little chalky when it goes on, and I have to say the brush was poor. But I'd wear this polish again, and I feel that's a thumbs up for this little dude:) Happy days.  Toodle pip!

Striping tape + glitter = gorgeousness!

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek I'm so pleased with this manicure! I saw the amazing manicure at Dressed Up Nails which inspired me to use the striping tape that has been languishing at the bottom of my box'o'polish (to be featured in all it's gloriousness soon) and knew that my new Models Own polishes would work perfectly together. 

I used MO Gold Rush as a base, which is a lovely yellowy/slightly glittery gold which is perfect in 2 coats and dries nice and quickly. I then stuck on the tape (which took foreeeeeeeeeeeeeeever) and painted over using MO In the Navy, an (almost) one coat wonder. I also used In the Navy on my pinkies, and then painted a layer of MO Disco Heaven over the top. My middle finger is finished of with MO Disco Heaven and Barry M Yellow Topaz Glitter, which showed it's wonderfulness over In the Navy. Happy nail days:) 

May I add that Disco Heaven is indeed a truly heavenly polish! Easy distribution of glitter, tiny gold flecks with bluey-greeny-tealy pieces of glitter in as well, which catch beautifully in the sunlight. 

Ps - I've started using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails as my topcaot and I love it. It's so shiny and thick. If you look closely on my ring finger, you can almost make out me holding my camera and taking the photos! Crazy shiny:)

Lost in Space!

Hello peeps, hope you've had a good week? I'm on my hols for a week, super excited. Off for a romantic meal with bf tomorrow night and then a week of lie ins, napping, playing with the kitwits, sleeping, painting my nails, sleeping.......you get the idea. A lazy week.

Nail wise, I've been trying out the rest of my Models Own haul from a few weeks ago. First up was Hayley's Comet, a gorgeous duo chrome pinky-blue. It's really stunning, sadly the pictures below do not do it justice! It's very sheer, so I put it over my fave base colour, MO Nude Beige. The pictures below are two coats of Hayley's Comet, with no topcoat. They photos make it look like dated, like an 80's style shiny pink, but in actual real life it's a shimmery peachy pink with a blue colour in the light. It actually looks like the inside of a shell, stunning. 

After another breakage, my next polishes were painted upon new little stubs. But, for the first time I filed them into a shape that I was pretty happy with. I was keen to use my MO Hed Kandi Ibiza Mix again, so decided that it would look lovely over my trusty black by Maybelline, Black Onyx. The application of the glitter was a bit tricky, in the end I resorted to the dabbing method, but I was super pleased with the results. May I also add, the reason my cuticles look so sad and thirsty here is because this morning bf and I had to clean the house top to bottom (house inspection form landlord) and I got bathroom duties! The glamour! However, the polish still looks brilliant. Glossy, no chipping, happy days:)

I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurve glitter - it sooths my inner magpie. This mani will be staying for a while (and not just because I'm dreading removing the evil twosome of glitter and black polish!) 

Beetle Juice, Beetle Juice, Beetle Juice!

Presenting the glorious, spooky and quirky Beetle Juice! I was in Boots trying to look at polishes whilst trying to look like I wasn't looking at polishes (was with bf!) and trying to pick 3 polishes as part of their 3 for 2 giveaway. I grabbed this to complete the trio, not even realising what shade it was. It wasn't til I got outside that it's true awesomeness was revealed. 

It's a purple/blue duochrome. In some light it's a warmish purple, in others it's an icy blue. It also has a slight bronze tinge to it. Ge-or-ge-ous! See for yourself:) 

Loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove!

Peru or polish?

This weekend, despite several 'notes to self' to not buy polish, I bought 3 more! Argggggghhhhh! Now, this wouldn't be an issue for me if, hand on heart, I could say that I'd used all my other polishes to death. I haven't. I have at least 30 that I have never worn, and countless more that I have worn once, then thought about how cool it was and promised myself I'd use it loads, then just forgotten about it and bought more. 

The title of this post is important. Last year, I finally graduated for the second time and started a job I love. Unfortunately, it does not pay well. My wonderful bf has been amazing throughout my time at uni (no money) and after uni (money, but huge debts). We desperately want to go travelling next summer in Peru and Argentina. We were supposed to go this summer, but my financial situation forbade it. So, bf patiently said that he would wait until next summer whilst I tried to get back on my financial feet.

This last year has been a killer. Every month I get paid and my money has to be spent on paying back debt accumulated whilst at uni. I don't resent this, as I knew it would happen. Having such an exciting thing to save/pay back debt for is almost exciting. But it has occurred to me that the money I am spending on polish is growing month on month. My polish is no longer a 'small treat', it is a full blown(expensive) obsession. In January bf and I will need to buy flight tickets (it's cheaper the earlier you book them, but they will still be near to £1000). So, I am going to challenge myself. 1 more polish this year (I would say none, but I'm actually dreaming about a flakie by Models Own that will be the basis of most of my Christmas manicures) and that is it for 2012!

This will give me the next few months to use the polishes I do own. It will force me to be more creative by combining polishes I own in new ways. It will remind me that I am in a lucky position; I have a job I love, a bf who I adore and the chance of a lifetime next summer. And I own 30 nail polishes that I have not yet used:) 

In the meantime, here's to my last haul (for now). And here's to saving some pennies and buying my plane tickets in January:) 

L to r - Hayley's Comet, Purple Blue Beetle Juice, Gold Nail Art Pen. 

Btw, dear readers, this challenge may also benefit you. I suspect that there are polishes in my collection that I  will realise I don't want. Come January, I will be having a clear out of all those polishes. I'm thinking of organising some sort of swap shop thing if people are interested. More details later x

Corset nails:)

Finally, an evening to myself where I could experiment with something new:) Last night I sat on my sofa (I know, Saturday night on the sofa, I'm so cool, but in fairness I was still hanging from a wedding the night before!) and spent ages on the internet searching various blogs and ideas for something new. I really wanted to use my new Purple Imperial from Models Own and my Wah/Models Own gold nail art pen. After much searching, I hit upon the idea of corset nails. I'm pretty pleased with the results, although my hand wasn't quite steady enough on the laces. But glad I finally got time to try something new and push myself a little bit.

I used my favourite pink for the base, Rose Poudre by Maybelline - it's all kinds of awesome! 

A word on the purple. The word is - bubbly! Another Models Own polish that bubbles regardless of layer thickness/drying time. It's incredibly annoying. I'm wondering if it's the colour purple as my other purple bubbled terribly as well, but maybe that's a bit mad. Any ideas peeps? 

Black pointy claws!

Heh heh, no, not my little kitty cat's claws. My own. I'm off to a wedding this weekend and have a gorgeous cream and black lace dress to wear. My only issue with this dress is that for some reason it's crazy hard to get a polish that compliments it. To be honest, it's hard to find a polish that doesn't look downright odd with it! 

However, my new Nude Beige from Models Own has come to the rescue! Paired with my trusty Maybelline Onyx Black, I've found something I'm really, really pleased with:) 

 And for you lovely lot, gratuitous kitty photo! 

Boo wasn't in the mood to be papped, but Monty was as keen as ever. Btw, awesome story: I've had my cats for a few years, before I met my wonderful bf. He has always looked after them well, and has slowly grown to love them, despite protesting this fact when they run around his feet and trying to trip him up. But this morning, I found out how much they'd grown on him. I came downstairs, leaving for work, and bf was eating his brekkie at the table. Next to him was Monty, with his own  bowl of milk. Apparently, bf and Monty regularly breakfast together! Wow!

Models Own - mini rant:(

I didn't have a huge amount of time this week, but couldn't stop myself from ripping off the wrapping on my Models Own polishes and trying them out and ...........................I was a little disappointed:( Boo hoo.

I had to try three times to get the Purple Passion, shown below, to go on evenly. The first time I tried it, it bubbled after the first coat. I tried again. It did it again. Finally I managed to do thin enough coats (it's a blooming thick polish) and it was beginning to look ok, but then.........bubbles! ARGHHHHHHHH!

So, trying to find the silver lining, my glitter obsessed brains started churning and found upon a possible solution; Ibiza Mix:) It is awesome, stupendous, superlative, superlative, superlative! A glossy clear polish filled with small and large hexagons in a variety of lovely colours; turquoise, lilac, gold and orange:)

I'm not sure it's great over the purple, but I love Ibiza Mix. I may set up a little shrine to it. 

So my next polish to try was Nude Beige (another Models Own). I LOVE this polish - it's the ideal beige with a lovely shine. Unfortunately you'll have to take my word for it as I stupidly polished over it before getting a good picture. 

Sadly for me, I painted over it with In The Navy. I gorgeous colour, but my goodness, it took a while to dry. I did it 2 hours before I went to bed and woke up with horrid sheet marks. Hence the photo below is deliberately blurry.

So all in all a mixed bag - I thought it would be more consistent really. some gloopy, some perfect, so fast drying, some quick. 4 of 10 down, 6 more mini reviews (hopefully not mini rants) to go:) Have a good end of week peeps!