Summer Union Jack!

Hey Guys! Long time no see! Normal service should resume once I've officially moved into my new house! I've been painting walls not nails!

Anyway I couldn't let the Jubilee weekend pass without some kind of manicure tribute! I didn't fancy the traditional colours so I went for a more summery version despite a 100% chance of rain tomorrow and a temperature of 9°c in JUNE!!

I used Barry M Bright pink for the main colour and Essie Mint Candy Apple for the accent nail. I used the Topshop nail art pen for the white and then I used a dotting tool to create the pink lines over the white! It's not the best work I've ever done, in hindsight I'd start the diagonal lines a little further away from the centre so you don't get that big blob in the middle! I also wish I'd done my pointer finger too!

My plans for tomorrow have been scuppered by the weather somewhat! My village is hosting a picnic on the green tomorrow however you won't catch me sipping champagne out in the rain! There is an all day long beer festival with beers brewed in the village, loads of games for kids and then there is a BBQ in the evening. I was really looking forward to a good village day out in a 50's style dress and loads of bunting!

What are your plans for tomorrow if you are in the UK?!

xoxo

NOTD - Gargantuan Play Date!

Essie's Play Date is a bright pastel purple that is a huge colour in fashion for this spring and summer. Essie have captured the most amazing colour here as it is super bright for a pastel shade. I teamed it with an accent nail in OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape a pastel minty green shade. I love the colours together and I will wear this again but I think I will do polka dots on the accent nail in the Essie colour, I think that'll be really fun for the summer. 

Essie's Play Date applies smoothly and perfect in two coats, OPI's Gargantuan Green Grape is a monster to apply. It's thin, watery and streaky which is probably why I've never worn it as a full manicure which is a shame as its such a pretty colour. I only had the patience for two accent nails this time!

xoxo

Cobalt VS Coral - NOTD and OOTD

Today I discovered my spring crush....

Nails Inc Baker Street is an almost neon bright cobalt blue and I am completely obsessed with it! As worn by Beyonce last week, I purchased this polish in this weeks Nails Inc, QVC Todays Special Value which if I'm honest I only bought for this colour! I painted it on late last night, virtually in the dark but this morning when I opened my curtains I did a double take when my nails flashed in front of my eyes! Blinding!

Baker Street is still available at QVC, here,  however this polish will be available on the Nails Inc website in March, just in time for the summer!

My second fashion crush of the day is my outfit,

I bought this bright coral shirt from Monsoon this week and today was it's first outing. It's a casual linen shirt that I wore with black leggings and I wore my tribal scarf for the first time too. I felt more comfortable cinching in the shirt with a belt as it's a looser fit, I chose a tan belt today but it would look equally as good with a black or gold belt. I love the contrast with the cobalt blue in the scarf and on my nails! I can't wait to wear this outfit with gold sandals in the summer. 

Apologies for the iPhone picture in the mirror, I would have taken a proper picture this afternoon but linen is not the best fabric for keeping pristine and I'm looking a little creased right now! 

I think these colours will be a big part of my summer wardrobe! 

xoxo 

NOTD - OPI Bring On The Bling

OPI's Bring On The Bling from last years Burlesque collection has been on my wanted list for a long time. I finally found it at a stand at The Clothes Show at the beginning of December as soon as I saw it I grabbed it!

With flash

Without flash

I have included both pictures, however the colour is truer in the picture without the flash although the previous picture shows of all the different colours in the glitter. I was surprised at the amount of green and red glitter in the polish as I was always sure it was mostly gold. In reality it is a mix of gold, silver, green and red and its gorgeous! I used it over Orly Luxe as Bring On The Bling is not opaque and would need three or four coats to get that look.

Wear time was poor unfortunately, I only had this manicure for about 12 hours as the polish literally popped off my nails sometime in the afternoon! Despite the poor wear on my fingers, on my toes it lasted weeks! I can forgive the polish for jumping off my nails as glitter is notoriously brittle and prone to this action anyway.

I'm so pleased I have this one in my collection, I feel like it's a bit of a collectors one after all the buzz around it last Christmas, it was the Rainbow Connection of 2010!

xoxo

NOTD - Polka Dots

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year celebrations and aren't feeling too fragile today! I had a late night and a very leisurely morning all I've done today is look around the internet at furnishings, watch You Tube videos and eat my Mum's amazing homemade sausage rolls! 

I did muster up the energy to paint my nails earlier today with the gorgeous Essie Mint Candy Apple but I felt it needed something else. I've always wanted to do a polka dot manicure but I don't have a dotter and have never got round to buying one! Still keen to try out my Topshop Nail Art Pen I bought in December I thought I'd give it a go with the pen!

I'm pleased with the outcome but I wish I had done them a bit more uniform. I found the pen very easy to use on my left hand hand but almost impossible the other way around my right hand's dots are bigger and a bit messier. I found I had to go over the dots to make them more opaque, the first coat of white was a bit watery for my liking. I love the look, the white dots on a duck egg base remind me of a Cath Kidston fabric and it feels a bit vintage. I think I'll invest in a dotter if I do this again. I really want the dots to all be the same size and not looking so random! 

xoxo

NOTD - Essie Jamaica Me Crazy

Jamaica Me Crazy from Essie is a bright sparkly fuchsia from the Dive Bar collection released in the Autumn. The collection contains some stunning jewel toned shades including this one that caught my eye in John Lewis amongst the cremes and nudes I also love from Essie.

I love the colour, I have nothing like it in my stash, it's a fab Barbie pink!

The polish itself is thin and applies nicely, two coats is perfect. I would recommend a shiny topcoat as despite is glittery-ness in the bottle it falls a smidgen flat once dry on the nail. My fave Nails Inc Kensington Caviar topcoat sorted that out!

Although I love the colour, I wish it was a tiny bit brighter or a bit sparklier and it's neither! I think I'll prefer this colour on my toes with a glitter topcoat.

xoxo

Dorota! Book Me A Manicure!

Ok ok ok! Calm down! I am rather excited about this post!

This weekend I purchased one of the Gossip Girl gift sets from Nails Inc. I chose the Blair set, well basically because I have a huge girl crush on her! Luckily for me the colours in the set were also gorgeous!

There are three sets in the Gossip Girl range, Blair, Lily and Serena. They all include a dark blacked polish with a complimentary topcoat. The top coats are laced with handcut particles of "glitter" although they aren't sparkly like glitter, they glow from within and look jewel-like on the nail.

The final look is amazing, so eyecatching. It's captivating. 

The Blair set has a blackened teal base colour called Blair, and the topcoat called Privileged, has green tones that sometime hint at blue. I used one coat of each, I felt two coats of Blair was unnecessary and two coat of Privileged would have been too busy. It certainly has a different look to glitter polish, the same kind of fun but it just feels different when it's on.

The bottles feature the Gossip Girl logo however these polishes are actually just a re-branded edition of the versions named after three theatres in the Westend of London, The Donmar (Lily), The Wyndham (Blair) and The Old Vic (Serena).  The same sets are available on QVC in the UK and at Sephora in the US. I purchased mine from Debenhams but you can also get the Gossip Girl version from the Nails Inc website.

I absolutely love these! I love the overcoat especially, I wish they were sold separately I have so much polish I don't need the dark base colours. I am definitely asking for the Lily set for Christmas!

Have you tried this topcoat?

xoxo

Make A Rainbow Connection

If any of you follow me on Twitter you will know I was banging on about this combo all last week! I loved it so much last week I'm wearing it again! OPI Rainbow Connection from the new Muppets collection over OPI Black Onyx is an over the top sparkly glitterfest! I just love it over the black, it makes the glitter look extra shiny and sparkly! Photo's are impossible to capture the beauty of the glitter so I urge you to have a look at this one in reality! I'm so pleased I purchased this polish, I nearly skipped it as I thought it was too much but I've had loads of compliments!

Have you bought Rainbow Connection? Do you love it?

xoxo

NOTD - Essie Mesmerize

Purchased in my most recent haul Essie Mesmerize is a stunning bright cobalt blue. I love it as a contrast to all the mustards and rusts that I'm wearing this autumn. This was two coats and as creamy and perfect as I expect from Essie! It's an older polish from the line but it's a classic!

xoxo

NOTD - Gettin' Miss Piggy With It

Gettin' Miss Piggy With It is one of the amazing glitters from the OPI Muppets collection. I've used it over OPI Comet Loves Cupid as the glitter itself is in a sheer base. 

It has three types of glitter in it, small red glitter, large red hexagonal glitter and the more obvious large silver hexagonal glitter. I thought I would be bothered by the silver glitter but actually I really don't mind it, I kind of wish it was more prominent in a way as I had to fish out a few more of the pieces because occasionally I would only get one on the brush and that really did look random! To place the glitter down I dabbed rather than painted, that allowed me to almost choose where the silver glitter was placed however it is still really quite random!

The glitter is very sparkly and looks gorgeous and of course very festive!

xoxo

NOTD - Designer De Better

Designer De Better from the OPI Muppets collection, is my most recent purchase, only yesterday in fact! I applied it first thing this morning!

With the flash

Without the flash

The colour is gorgeous but so difficult to photograph! I'm showing both pictures because they both represent the colour! It's very sparkly and so pretty! It's a champagne coloured base with goldy orange shimmer within it. I feel like it will make a fabulous "winter white" for the upcoming season. I initially bypassed this colour online however the fab Rachel or Cupcakesandscissors on You Tube convinced me to buy it her most recent haul video along with actually seeing it in John Lewis yesterday, it literally shone on the shelf and stood out amongst all the others!

I really can't compare it to anything else I have in my stash, it's completely unique and I love it!

I have bought some more from the Muppets collection and I'm loving them all so far!

Have you bought this one yet?!

xoxo

NOTD - Nails Inc Seven Dials

Seven Dials from Nails Inc is a bright shade of turquoise that leans more toward green than the blue. I've wanted this polish for a long time, I love the hue and it's totally different from other minty or blue polishes I have. My only issue, and it's not the polishes fault, is that my top coat tends to yellow the colour. I think it's something to do with it being a fast drying one. Love this for the winter! 

xoxo

NOTD - Essie Cute As A Button

Essie's Cute A Button is a summery, salmon, coral shade. It remains bright yet is demure and very attractive. I purchased this on my most recent polish buying binge and I am really pleased with the colour. It applied thinly and needed three coats. The colour is from Essie's Summer 2009 and collection but is a perfect colour for this summer too!

xoxo

NOTD - Neon Leopard

Woah!

I thought I'd freshen up my China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy with a spot of leopard. I first did this look on my cousin in France, she loved it and so did I! 

I don't really know how to describe my feelings about this look other than amazing, tacky, cool, trashy and glitzy all at the same time! It reminds me of something WAH nails might do on a trendy girl going to Ibiza for a posh clubbing holiday! I bloomin' love it!!

Of course my camera can't capture the brightness of the neon base colour or the sparklyness of Orly Luxe but what do you think? Too much or the perfect summer manicure?!

xoxo

NOTD - H&M Going Bananas

Today I'm wearing a polish that was very generously and kindly sent to me by the lovely Katherine aka ProductPixie. After posting that this colour did not suit her on Twitter I expressed an interest into what it was and Katherine kindly offered it to me and it was waiting on my doormat when I got back from holiday on Friday! Lucky me!

Fortunately for me this is a colour that suits me! 

I really like it, it's a shade stronger that my favourite yellow, Nail Inc Spitalfields. In the top picture you can just see the beautiful shimmer in the polish, green and pink shimmer that is very visible outside, it gives it a different dimension than a flat creme polish.

I have mentioned before that I like H&M polishes, not expensive, high fashion colours, quick colour changes and fairly good wear.

Thank you Katherine!

xoxo

Birthday NOTD - Candy Apple Leopard!

So today has been my birthday! I haven't done anything today and have mostly hung out with my family and eaten.... a lot!!

I wore a plain black maxi dress from H&M and wanted to something cool with my nails, it was a choice between this look and China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy!

 

I went with Essie Mint Candy Apple and Nails Inc Portobello Market for the leopard dots, I love the summery feel of this leopard and I ADORE the combo of minty/turquoise with peach/coral. 

I'm keeping this look for tomorrow when I'm off to the cool city of Toulouse for a spot of lunch and shopping with the fam on my last full day on holiday!

xoxo

NOTD - Nails Inc Portobello Market

An older Nails Inc from my collection, Portobello Market is a gorgeous peach coral. No red in this one, most definitely peach toned. I can't really compare it to anything else I have, less orangey than OPI Hot and Spicy and more orangey than Nails Inc Wellington Square.

I've not worn it before and I have loved it, it has been a perfect holiday shade, I wore it with OPI Stranger Tides on my toes, an amazing combo of colours! It originally came in a pastel four piece set a couple of years ago. This was two coats. 

xoxo

NOTD - Purple Leopard

I thought I'd try out another different coloured leopard print nail this time, I saw this combo in a Look magazine a couple of weeks ago and the loved the colours.

I used Nails Inc Cambridge Circus for the main colour, OPI Shorts Story for the dots and my trusty WAH Models Own black nail art pen!

If I do this again I think I'd use a lighter purple or a lilac, I don't think there is enough contrast between the base colour and the pink dots! Anyway it looks really cool with my lipstick today which is Candy Yum Yum and it totally matches the pink of Shorts Story!

xoxo

The Trilogy! OOTD, FOTD, NOTD!!

I've had a wonderful day today, the sun is shining, it's very warm and I think I may be wearing my favourite summer items today!!

I love everything I'm wearing today, clothes,  makeup and nail varnish so I thought I'd break the norm and bust out all three "OTD's"!

I'm wearing,

♥ Top from Laura Ashley, bought last week to go with a pair of white linen trousers that I also bought but it 

matches some of the flowers in the skirt.

♥ Skirt from Monsoon, I love this skirt now! When I first bought it I felt a bit "Granny" in it but it all depends what you wear it with! This is my maxi skirt for the summer as most maxi's are too long for me!

♥ Wedges from Monsoon, I love the espadrille wedge. I bought these about three years ago but have never worn them!

♥ Bag from Tabitha, the colour compliments all of the colours in my skirt and I love the studs against a feminine skirt.

♥ Jewellery from Etsy and bangle from John Lewis a couple of years ago.

I would also wear this with flat gold sandals as the wedges are a little high and not suitable for all terrains!!

I'm wearing,

♥ Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation in Biege

♥ MAC Blushcreme in Ladyblush

♥ MAC MSF Natural

♥ MAC Retrospeck and Mulch eyeshadow

♥ MAC Superslick Eyeliner in On The Hunt

♥ YSL Faux Cils in Black

♥ MAC Everhip Lipstick

I quite sure this will be my go to face for the summer! I picked up an awesome tip from BrushingOnBeauty last night, she said to put creme blush on top of foundation and under your powder. I tried it today and it gives a lovely glow and helps the blush last longer!

OPI Stranger Tides, I know you've seen this but I've worn this for a couple of days now and I love it!! I got lots of compliments at work which surprised me as I didn't think it would be a colour most people would like! I love how fresh the colour feels and it feels like it's a new shade in the colour palette for polish! It still feels feminine despite being a murky colour. Coincidentally this colour is in my skirt too!

In a not normally seen toes of the day, I painted on my favourite summer colour, China Glaze For Audrey, I adore the colour with tan and it's yet another colour in my skirt!!

Well there we go an unnecessarily in depth look at what I'm wearing today! I have thoroughly enjoyed it and will be reaching for this combo again!

xoxo

NOTD - CG Cracked Concrete

China Glaze Cracked Concrete is a mid toned grey crackle. I used it over Essie Nice is Nice, I like the combo of the pastel with the grey and I bought this particular polish with the intention of using it over the pastel shades that are everywhere this summer. I'm not sure that I like the way it has cracked, I think I need to use a thinner coat, I still haven't quite got the hang of this yet! I think I would like the look more if I could see more of the lavender showing through, it's not a look I will wear for long, I imagine I'll get bored after a day or so. 

xoxo