Fluffy Prickly Pear Sandwich

Happy Friday peeps - it's the weekend whoop whoop! Hope you've got some fun plans? I'm off house-hunting - yep, fiancee and I are jamming all the possible stress inducing things we can think of into 2014; a wedding in August and now a house-move. Still, house-hunting is exciting, methinks. Although I'm worried I'll fall for lots of houses that I can't really afford and have a bit of a paddy!

To sooth my house-hunting nerves I shall be rocking my current favourite polish - it's busted its way into the top 10, dun dun dun. And it cost me £3. Bliss. The name of this new love - Fluffy, by Claire's. A white matt glitter polish in a clear base; large, meduim and small hexes with bars thrown in for good measure. 

I've used it here over Prickly Pear by Barry M - the stunning lilac with the white over the top creates a subtle yet pretty effect, well, I think so anyway.

 (ps - please excuse the dreadful pictures - I have a new camera and we're not getting on - it seems to want to take pictures that resemble those awful soft-focus 80's glamour shots, and I'm refusing to play game, but losing......:( There's no bottle shot of Fluffy as it was just too.....well, crap!)

I almost feel like there should be some naff jazz playing whilst you look at these blurred pictures....or maybe jazz flute......anyway, I'm sure you'll agree that Fluffy is awesome (and I'm so glad that Claire's have started naming their polishes properly). I loved it so much that after this I tried it with a different combo - this time in a jelly sandwich! This will make me smile all weekend, I'm never taking it off! 

Sadly, my camera decided that, no, it would NOT capture the stunning neon pink of the Barry M Summer Special Edition jelly, nor would it focus on anything I wanted. &*%$£"£U!!!

This is 2 layers of pink polish, with 1 of Fluffy, then pink again, then more Fluffy for luck:) So I shall enjoy my Fluffy sandwich this weekend, hope you have a great time too xxx

My Christmas mani - a sparkly skittle!

Merry Christmas Eve peeps - are you all prepared for tomorrow? I'm wrapped, packed and full of chocolate roses, so as ready as I can be:)

I've ummed and ahhhhed over my Christmas manicure for a while now. I'm off visiting family for 5 days, so it had to be something that would last and that would fit in with most of my outfits. It had to include glitter (because duh, it's Christmas!). And it has to be nail art, because I need to practice.

Tadah!

These were heavily inspired by the amazing work of the The Nailasaurus, so I can't claim originality, but I'm pleased with how my skittle turned out. I also love the Skandi colours, so very fashionable right now (because, I'm like, all about fashion lol - as I type this, I'm in my pjs with walking socks on to keep my tootsies warm and a scarf wrapped around me). 

I think my favourite is the heart; I have to confess, after messing it up several times, eventually I painted the heart of to a plastic poly-pocket and then peeled it off and stuck it on my nail.

 Legen- OMG my nails look hot - dary! 

These are the polishes that contributed to this mani; from the top, clockwise- Claire's unnamed glitter, Gold Giles Green, Models Own Nail art Pen in White, Barry M Matt White, Barry M Blood Orange, Sinful Colours Rich in Heart, Barry M Red Glitter. 

Have an amazing Christmas peeps - I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends and family and that Santa brings you all the nail polish you could ever wish for. x x x x x

Snow....I wish.

Ahhhh, a snowday - wouldn't that be ideal? I'd pop on my warmest socks, keep my pjs on, eat buttered toast and drink hot choccie and sit on the sofa watching Home Alone, Muppets Christmas Carol, any classic Chrimbo movie................bliss.

But - not yet. So I'll settle for snowy nails. This white glitter polish is one of the many I picked up in Argentina. It cost less than 75p and has no name, simply an unintelligible amount of beautiful Chinese characters. I'm sure you can imagine the quality.............

I so love the glitter mix; red, white, gold and blue glitter, happiness. I really like the mix of matt white and shiny colours. Sweet:)

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE this combo - but the glitter top coat is a killer - it just doesn't dry. At all! I waited for soooooo long, and then painted a topcoat over the top simply so I could go to bed. As you can see, this didn't work well; instead it just bubbled like a b^&%$. 

Ahhhhh, but it looks like snow, so it's ok:)

Clouds!

Some nail art for you today guys:) I totally nicked this idea from Jane at nailside, so no kudos for originality, but I do love this manicure, particularly the colour scheme.

Btw, you'll notice by the length of my nails that this is a few weeks old - I actually hated having them this long, they get in the way! I don't know how some of you other blogging lovelies do it:)

The blue is an un-named mini Accessorize polish that I got in a gift set a while ago, while the beige is the wonderful Lychee by Barry M. 

Meanwhile, the silver is one the many drug-store polishes I bought whilst in Argentina over the summer - it's surprisingly good considering it cost me less than 50p! Great coverage, this is one coat only. 

An easy manicure, I urge you to visit the nailside to follow the tutorial if you fancy giving it a go:)

Red Chevrons - Barry M Blood Orange and Nails Inc Luminous Red

Searching through my nail pictures last night, while fiancee watched a truly dreadful movie, I came across this; some chevron nail art that I remember loving, yet somehow totally forgot to post. Doh!

So, here we are; red chevron nail art in red. 

I used the Nails Inc polish that I got as part of my free haul a while ago; as you can see from the pictures, it's called Luminous Red. I can't say it's my favourite colour; to be honest, it looks like tomato soup. It's far too orangey-red for my liking.

So, to improve it, I painted a layer of Barry M Blood Orange over, marking out the triangle using some striping tape. To finish it off, I added a triangle of the awesome Red Glitter by Barry M. 

Triangle-tastic!

I think next time I try something like this, I'll start with the Blood Orange - it's such a stunning colour.

Barry M Special Edition (Boots) swatch - pic heavy!

Ahhhhh Barry M - you're too good to us; more special editions, whoop whoop! 

I've noticed a lot of companies are doing bar glitters now, so I've been keen to try these for a while. This is the Boots version, a lovely mix of gold and pale pink glitter bars in a clear base. I popped it over two different bases, one pale and one darker.

The first swatch is over Mod About You by O.P.I. It's a lovely pale pink, which I think works as a subtle base for the glitter.

 Yeah, I like this. 

But I LOVE this..................

Ohhhhhhhh this is so much better over dark colours - it makes the gold pop and lets that pink stand out as well:) This is Barry M Blackberry, a colour I've fallen back in love with; perfect for autumn days. This manicure is so lovely that fiancee commented on them without even being asked! Unprecedented! 

As for the glitter? Well, it's a total pain in the ahem, but it is bar glitter, so we already knew that. It needs some serious spreading as it has a tendency to clump together, but a bit of gentle spreading solves that. And it's worth it. 

Mini haul - and it was free!

Ahhhhhhhhhh, Superdrug's loyalty cards - how would I survive without it? This haul comes courtesy of loyalty points, friends and toothpaste.......I'll explain:)

So, my amazing friends somehow worked out that nail polish was my thang, and bought me OPI I Juggle Men and Topshop Adrenaline. Both a gorgeous, and both are NOT dupes of anything I own, which is, at this point in my collection, BLOOMING AMAZING. But the, I do have amazing friends:)

Models Own Utopia, Posh Polish Pinkabloo and Barry M Blood Orange were paid for with Superdrug points - so they were FREE (although it does beg the questions, "I've spent HOW much to accumulate those points??!"

And lastly, most flippingly fun of all, I wandered into a branch of Boots to be confronted with the sign 'Free Polish' - yes, I'd read correctly, FREE Nails Inc polish with Colgate toothpaste. WTF???? Well, my teeth do need to be kept clean.........:) 

Barry M Blue Grape Swatch

Happy Tuesday peeps!

A quick one today, as I've got to tidy my house...it's a state! So, here's one of the most perfect blue polishes I have in my (vast) collection; Blue Grape by Barry M, from his wonderful Gelly collection. 

It applies like butter, dries quickly and is so glossy you can see your face in it! This is three coats as I found this a bit too sheer for just two, but I'm happy to wait those extra few minutes for this colour. Amazing:)

Summer, summer, summertime.......watermelon nails!

Ah, the sun is out, beers are chilling in the fridge, BBQ meat is being purchased.....and I have the most summery nails EVER.

                                                                                                             

 I used Shocking Pink and the aptly named Watermelon (from the Gelly collection) by Barry M, thus restoring my faith in Barry M after sequin-gate.

I used my ever faithful nail art pens to add the details that, I feel, make these the shiz!

Enjoy the sunshine peeps, I'm off to laze in the sunshine while bf cooks meat on the barbie! 

Loreal Confetti over Barry M Greenberry

Hi de hi!

I couldn't resist trying another colour combination with my newest favourite polish, Loreal Confetti. This time it's over Barry M Greenberry, from the Gelly collection. Again, it's stunning, and got me loads of compliments:) 

Please excuse the lobster hands; it was the only way I could capture a reasonable likeness of the Greenberry. The application of the Greenberry is classic Barry M; quick and easy with a super glossy finish:) However the Confetti was a bit tricker; only the second time I'd applied it, and it was already pretty gloopy. Sad face. 

But still, AWESOME!