Dipped In Gold

This week I tried out a new nail look and I have absolutely loved it! I have had so many compliments!

I used Nails Inc Wellington Square with Sephora By OPI in Only Gold For Me as the Glitter. I just love the gold and peach together!

I was going for a glitter fade but I love that the nails look like I've dipped them into a pot of glitter. The glitter from the Sephora polish is so sparkly it really does look like little diamonds!

 The glitter tips also meant that the polish was extremely hard wearing and is still going strong after 5 days!!  I will certainly be re-creating this look with other colour combos this summer!

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 

Aztec Addiction!

So I am being consumed by another obsession! 

Aztec or tribal prints!

On anything!

This trend has been in fashion for a couple of seasons now and I didn't really think it was my style however small accents are going to be all over my wardrobe this spring!

Ok, so I may be over-exaggerating a little bit here as I currently only own one accessory on this style, a scarf I purchased on Saturday from Accessorize - Link!

It's a circle scarf, it's my first one in this style and I have to say I find it a little annoying to get it to sit just how I like it! Never mind, I'll deal!

I just love the colours, cobalt blue and a bright coral, I can't wait to wear in bit more when the weather improves!

Another way to wear the trend is on your nails. I have always admired WAH Nails amazing work and their Aztec nail designs are amazing! 

Inspired by this final image I decided to try out my own last night!

Now before I show you the picture I want you to know that this look will take a bit of practice and I lost my cool a bit with the nail art pens and I ran out of room on my nail!! So I am calling this work in progress but I still like it!

They are not Easter eggs as my friend thought!

I love the colour combo but obviously I have got a bit of work to do on the pattern! I need to work on making it smaller so there is more room for squiggles and zigzags!  I used the WAH Models Own nail art pens and the colours are both from Nails Inc, Portobello Road and Portobello Market ( Both Portobello's are just a coincidence!!) 

Please ignore the grotty label on the black pen! I hope Models Own release more colours soon as they promised when they first announced the nail art pens, they said they would be available in the whole Models Own colour range, I fear they may miss the boat if they don't act soon.

I'll be practising this more for the summer, I can't wait to get out my black maxi, gold glads, Tribal scarf and bright Aztec nails!

What do you think? Do you like this trend? Have you tried this nail look?

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

What I Wore This Week!

This week I was certainly on a cool toned polish theme!

I started the week with one of my favourite Nails Inc polishes, Albert Place. Its a fresh pale cornflower blue. I absolutely love it, I got it in a five piece set in the summer, I wore it for three days! It looks fab with white.

Then I wanted to wear a grey polish as I was wearing grey and white for work, I couldn't decide between a darker shade or lighter but plumped for OPI Skull And Glossbones. I only wore it for the one day but I enjoyed it, it has a slight green undertone and looks quite nude toned on the nail.

Then on Friday I chose to go with H&M's Spending Cash With Carl to go with my new Zara cardi and my rust dress. I bloomin' love this one! It has an amazing shimmer in the polish without being glittery, it apples wonderfully with no streaks. I have to admit to getting a bit bored of the shade after two days but I couldn't stop looking at my nails for those 48 hours! I urge you to get this one if you see it in your H&M, it's in the older style packaging so I'm not sure how available it is. I will certainly be reaching for this one again this winter, it looked amazing against the rust dress.

I caught up with Keeping Up With The Kardashians Bora Bora episodes last night, the girls were all rocking bright, neon shades and I was totally envious so expect to see something of that nature next week, they looked ah-mazing!!

xoxo

Nails Inc Battersea Power Station

Nails Inc's Battersea Power Station was recently very kindly and generously sent to me by the fab Leanne from  the Obsessive Cosmetics Disorder blog. We have bonded over our love of Nails Inc and shopping on QVC and Leanne had been watching my Nails Inc video and tweeted me that she had the perfect polish for me in her stash. Unused by Leanne, she offered to send it to a new home!

This polish was in a set on QVC that was designed to go with a range on handbags that they were selling. I loved the polish at the time but didn't commit to the whole four piece set. This particular one was designed with tan handbags and accessories in mind, another obsession of mine! 

I adore the colour, I'm reminded of milk chocolate as well as my favourite tan handbag! This colour is also perfect for complementing the rust colours that are featured in every high street shop this season and according to Pantone a complimentary shade to the Spring 2012 palette. I bought a teal coloured dress yesterday and this will work perfectly as a contrasting colour for my nails!

I know this polish will split opinion and have have seen less than rosy descriptions of the shade however I am quite smitten. The application was fab as usual, two coats, glossy finish and no colour dragging.

So thanks again to Leanne, you made my day!

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

Nails Inc comes to Sephora!

After much anticipation Sephora has now started to stock one of my favourite polish brands, Nails Inc. I am very pleased for my American friends as I really feel the brand deserves more success. I know there are split opinions on the brand but I personally love their colours, the quality and the exciting things to come from this British brand.

To help out newbies to the range I have taken pictures and done a little video on the polishes that I own from the basic range that Sephora are stocking, I was originally given the idea by a couple of You Tube followers!

Sephora are stocking 42 of the main colours in the Nails Inc line and they will have seasonal limited editions and special effect polishes throughout the year.

I have 19 of the main line, the topcoat and base coat and one of the special effect polishes.

Belgravia, Brook Street, Cadogan Square, Carnaby Street

Belgravia is one of those "Blurple" shades, I feel it's quite a recognisable shade from the range and I have noticed it on friends, I have to admit to only wearing it a handful of times.

Brook Street is a gorgeous summery coral, quite bright.

Cadogan Square I would describe as a true camel shade, it's not beige, greige or any other taupey colour, it's more yellow based and I find it very flattering, perfect for the upcoming season.

Carnaby Street is a vibrant egg yolk yellow! A statement polish for sure but unfortunately one that doesn't flatter my skin tone despite many attempt to get it to work!

Chelsea Square, Devonshire Row, Floral Street, Jermyn Street

Chelsea Square is a stunning sparkly rose glitter, I have loved wearing this on my toes and want to try it as a ring finger polish a la Lorraine of TheCurrentCustom!

Devonshire Row is a more pink based purple, I have to confess to preferring this type of purple that blue toned ones, I'll be wearing this one soon!

Floral Street was originally purchased for French manicure tips however I personally found it too thick for this use, it's great for using on a full nail for a nail art base or if you are confident enough to wear full on white manicure!

Jermyn Street is Nails Inc's You Don't Know Jaques. Their own version of the taupey nude colours. This one leans purple and is like than YDKJ.

Haymarket, Maddox Street, St John's Wood, St James

Haymarket is a gorgeous duck egg blue, amazingly pigmented and a one coater! One of my top ten polishes.

Maddox Street is a gunmetal grey, perfect shade for this autumn, it has a subtle shimmer to it.

St John's Wood is an interesting shade of purple, it definitely has a blue tone to it too, quite unique and I can't think of anything similar to compare it to.

St James is a classic pillar box red, a good staple if you have nothing like it.

Shoreditch, Tate, The Thames, Victoria

Shoreditch is my one of my original purchases, a vibrant bright pink. One of the only polishes I have re-purchased!

Tate, again one of my firsts is a classic deep burgandy, another good one if you have nothing like it in your collection.

The Thames, a grey creme, not too cool a shade again another fabulous colour for the next few months.

Victoria is a timeless blood red shade, one of Nails Inc's best sellers.

Warwick Avenue, Warwick Way, Wellington Square

Warwick Avenue is a sheer pale pink, one of those shades that you would use for a French manicure, I'll be honest I have never used it but I am keen to try it for a French mani soon!

Warwick Way is one of their newest shades, I have yet to try it but am excited to wear this bright teal shade soon, I must emphasise the brightness of this polish it's quite amazing!

Wellington Square has been one of my favourites from this summer, again a recent addition to their line it is a soft yet still noticeable peach.

Farringdon Crackle

I am so excited to wear this gold glitter crackle despite not being totally convinced I like the crackle trend yet, this is somehow different. I think it's because it's a glitter and not a solid colour. I will be wearing this over brown shades and teals this autumn!

Kensington Caviar base coat and top coat

Finally the start and finish of any of my manicures, which ever brand I am using. I love these as they have conditioning elements to them and the top coat in particular is amazing. 

It dries in 45 seconds and allows me to quickly change a polish if I want to but the best aspect of this top coat is the glossy, wet look finish it gives.

ALU has a list of all the colours in the line and at which Sephora stores they will go to, the whole range is online too.

Of the other colours on the list I can highly recommend Fouberts Place, this will be my next addition, it's an olive toned taupe and I love it! Sephora also has the new Autumn Winter four piece collection that I will be buying this week. I have also seen the special effects polishes that are coming this Christmas and they are blooming amazing!! I can't wait to get my hands on one!!

I hope that helps a bit, I know it was a bit of a long post but here's the video of me banging on about the polishes mentioned above!!

xoxo

Post Holiday Blues Haul!

In an attempt to cheer myself up post holiday I did a little shopping this week! Some necessities that I had run out of whilst away and some major sale bargs!

I actually got this in France from Esprit, well my parents bought it for me as a birthday present! It was in the sale with 50% off then another 20%! It worked out at about 30 Euros. It's a very fine stripe that could be either blue, black or grey it's so fine I can't tell and it seems to work with all three colours! I love the lining pattern too, a grey floral design.

Wrap top from Monsoon. I love this cute top, I bought it to wear with linen trousers and it was a total barg! Reduced from £45 to £22 to £13! The lady was just changing the prices, I would've bought it anyway! It's lilac, a colour that I didn't realise until recently really suits me! It has butterflies and birds on it, needs a vest top underneath as it's completely see through!

Rings, left one from H&M, coral veined effect stone it was about £3.99 I think, need to put some clear polish aroung the ring before I wear it, all my H&M rings have left a lovely green mark on my finger after a couple of hours! The gold rubs away too and it doesn't look quite as nice! Right one from Accessorize obviously bought to go with previous top! Another 70% off item too, it was about £3!

Elemis All About Eyes set from John Lewis, I ran out of eye cream while I was away and had to wait until pay day to purchase another, I probably had about 5 or 6 days with no eye cream and I really felt it! I did enjoy the Decleor one that had run out but this set was a good price, it was £58 in total, fairly expensive but the Pro Intensive Eye and Lip Contour Cream is that price alone, then the Eye Serum which I have bought many times is worth £27 and then a travel size of my favourite cleanser and I reckon there is probably about £12 worth in there! 

Elemis Frangipani Monoi  Shower Cream, a whim purchase but one that I am thoroughly enjoying nonetheless! I used to HATE the smell of this product but since using the Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt oil in the bath I have fallen in love with its rich scent. It reminds me of luxury spa's and tropical islands!

Nails Inc Special Effects in Farringdon Crackle, this is a gold glitter crackle that I thought I'd wear over coral and peachy shades, I get in a bit of a tiz when JL gets new nail varnishes in and this was one of those instances, I'm not sure if I even like crackle that much yet!

Hmmm, I have the most buyers remorse over this purchase! Bobbi Brown Tortoiseshell Eye Palette in Bronze I absolutely loved this collection of palettes when the first pictures surfaced but these are expensive. It was £48.... The quality is fab and the palette feels special, I love the tortoiseshell effect but I still can't really justify it to myself, ahh well too late now!

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

Nails Inc Sunshine Collection

This five piece set features all of Nails Inc's newest colours for the summer all of which are bang on trend for this season. Featuring pastels and a bright coral I had to have this set!

L-R Albert Place, Hyde Park Gate, Sumner Place, Wellington Square and Blandford Street

Albert Place is a pastel cornflower blue, completely unique in my collection. I love this shade, it's a delightful colour to wear, it makes me smile! The formula on this one is great, it could be one coater if you are slow, the picture is two coats. 

Hyde Park Gate is a bright, well, green I suppose. I have found it very hard to find the right descriptive colour for this shade and again it's very unique in my collection. I really love it!!The picture is washed out, this lovely is extremely bright. There is no getting away from it, this is most definitely a three coater. The first coat is thin then the following coats can drag if you aren't careful. Pastel shades are notoriously difficult to work with. 

Sumner Place is a light primrose yellow. This polish has to be three coats, unfortunately it applies rather streaky however the polish is thin so if you are careful you could maybe pass with two. Yellows are known for being difficult anyway but make that a pastel yellow and you are making it twice as hard! This type of yellow shade suits my skintone and I love the hue. When I first received this polish I was convinced it was exactly the same as a polish I've recently posted about, Spitalfields.

Spitalfields came in a pastel collection from a couple of summers ago and I thought Nails Inc were being sneaky and re-releasing the colour under a new name. When I applied Spitalfields to my index finger, it's more chalky, Sumner Place is slightly more yellow.

Spitalfields is on the right of the picture. You can just make out the difference! There's no way you need both, but if you like the shade Sumner Place is extremely close. I prefer the colour of the new one but the application is so much better on it's predecessor.

Wellington Square is a girly subtle peach. I adore it! It's a very fresh colour and a shade I have never worn before. It almost blends in to my fingers but not quite. It is more peach than it is orange and therefore completely on its own in my vast collection! I have yet to purchase Illamasqa's Purity but I imagine they are similar. 

Blandford Street is a vivd coral. This polish is dazzling, it's so bright. Perfect for the summer and for tanned days. I have it on my toes now and its the perfect shade for summer holidays, I wish my toes were in the sand! Two coats give you the more intense colour but one would suffice. The colour itself I'm sure is not unique but it's the luminosity of the shade that makes it stand out.

I bought these polishes as a set from QVC for £25.75 which makes them amazing value as Nails Inc polishes sell for £11 each elsewhere. If you don't like the whole set these colours are available individually, I have seen Albert Place and Wellington Square at Boots, Sumner Place and Hyde Park Gate are available on the Nails Inc site and I believe Blandford Street will be released on the site soon.

xoxo

NOTD - Ding Dong The Bells Are Gonna Chime!

With the royal wedding happening on Friday and inspired by FleurDeForce's YouTube tutorial on this manicure, I am celebrating using my favourite accessory, nail varnish!

I used Jessica Majesty Blue, of course the name is perfect, for the main colour then I striped the Union Jack using the white WAH and Models Own nail art pen and Nails Inc Aspen.

I wanted it to have some sparkle and I knew glitter would be extremely difficult to work with! It was hard enough with out adding glitter to the mix! I have to say from a distance it looks good but the perfectionist in me isn't happy with the wobbly lines on the flag. 

Majesty Blue is such a gorgeous colour! I actually couldn't decide between blues and lined up many for the task. I matched the sparkly-ness of the blue with an equally sparkly Aspen but I also needed a colour that was opaque in one swipe, no room for second coats here! The opacity of the white nail art pen was a problem for me, I needed a second coat and that made it look a little messy however I'm not sure I could have done it without the very fine tip of the art brush.

Are you planning a royal wedding manicure?

xoxo

NOTD - Neutral Leopard Print

Now you know I love a bit of a leopard print nail and I have been experimenting with different colours. So I tried a less blinged out version with my newest polish purchase, Essie's Sand Tropez.

I used my trusty Models Own nail art pen for the black detail and Nails Inc Cadogan Square for the brown spots. 

I'm really happy with it and I'm sure I'll be doing this again soon!!

Whaddya think?!

xoxo