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:)