200 blog posts!! This will be celebrated by a NOTD look!!

Hi all, well 200 posts, that's certainly an achievement for me! Some days I hardly find the time to blog, but I'm happy to know there are always people out there interested in what I am writing :)

For Christmas I got a few new bits of clothes - but no makeup and I haven't been buying any in the sales either - I've actually been super good. Hoping it means paying for the wedding will be a bit easier!!

Anyways, today I fancied a bit of gray...the weather hasn't been great! But then I felt it looked a bit sad and lonely so have divided my nail up diagonally with another silvery gray shade and separated it with a white line.
My pictures aren't great as I did my nails as quick as I could and the bottom layer wasn't quite dry enough for the "straight line using sellotape" trick. Nevermind, it's not something you notice up close as I don't know who would be getting that close to my nails in real life!!

Nail varnishes used:
No.7 Base Coat
Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fast Dry in Wham (27)
No.7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in Night Silver (62)

P.s. if you have any ideas for me as to what posts I can do in 2012 please let me know - I am hoping to have a strong year of blogging and vlogging up ahead, and would really love to get my followers to 100 by the end of next year!! Thanks for reading xoxo

Sparkly Christmassy NOTD

After 4 OOTD posts I'm sure you're glad to see a NOTD post. I used two different polishes to see what kind of layering effect it had and I loved the results! Perfect for this time of year too, really brightens up my day!

I used a No.7 Base Coat, No.7 Stay Perfect in Betty Blues, then JRB Nail Enamel 190, followed by No.7 Top Coat.

What do you think and what nail polishes do you go for at xmas? xoxo

Red Magnetism NOTD

Hello again everyone! I know I haven't finished my FOTD series yet, I have the pictures, but I haven't got round to uploading them yet as I had a stupidly busy weekend!! Sorry!

So here is my trying the magnetism look again, I have red, blue, green, silver and purple now. I'm very into red atm, I went in search of some red pumps and red tights today but didn't find any in my size in 2 shops that stocked them! Anyway, here are my pictures:

I was sitting in bed taking the pictures and my cat came to sit on my lap cause he likes to sleep on the bed with me. I couldn't resist adding the picture. I also just noticed that my nails match my bed sheet! hehe.

Hope you enjoyed reading and look out for the final two instalments of my FOTD series! xoxo

Newest Nail Trend - Magnetism!

At the weekend I attended BINTM (Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model). I purchased a few things, being that my birthday is coming up. However from now on I am on a "no-buy" from now on, I have to save every penny for the wedding!! If you live near me and want a manicure let me know and I can give you a special price. I'm a fully qualified Nail Techinician.

Anyway onto the subject of today's post; Magnetism Nail Polish! I got Ego Green & Notorious Silver from FashionistA - who worked with The Saturdays to create this nail polish range.

Purple (Molly), Green (Una), Blue (Vanessa), Silver (Frankie) & Red (Rochelle), they went on sale on 26th October in selected Superdrug stores! The Nail Lacquer is £6 and the Nail Magnet is £3. I managed to pick up 2 polishes and the magnet from the show for £10! I also just had an email from Superdrug about 3 for 2 so I  intend to purchase the other three colours for £12! Bargain.

I think it came out quite well for a first attempt; here are pictures of my manicure:

What do you think? Have you tried any other Magnetism Nail Polishes? I've seen Nails Inc & 17 also have them out in the UK! Thanks for reading!! xoxo

Pink NOTD - Inspired by...

...the girls doing a Nail Polish Blogger Challenge:
Deniz from Emerald Sparkled uses Flor Mar #29
Leslie from Polish Art Addiction uses China Glaze Laced Up
Inge from Polish Sis uses Hema nr 84
Rebecca from Rebecca Likes Nails uses Color Club Peppermint Twist
Ulmiel from Did someone say nail polish? uses Finger Paints Give Pink A Chance
Gejba from  parokeets uses essence Love This City
Sidrah from beauteous blog uses sally hansen pink blink
Sarah from Lucky Lacquers uses W7 Shocking Pink
Caroline from Good Lack, Nail uses OPI Do You Think I'm Tex-y?
Maestra from parokeets uses essie knockout pink

I'm really loving the intricate designs by Polish Art Addiction, you should really check them out, I also really liked today's layering combo by Good Lack, Nail

Here is my pink look for today, although I'm not sure I'll have time to change it up tomorrow like the other dedicated ladies. I've still got a bit of cleaning up to do around the nails but I'll cheat and do it in the hot water after I've washed up. I used Models Own - Pastel Pink, 2 coats were needed as it is quite a sheer polish. I also used a black rhinestone on each thumbnail to jazz it up a little bit.

Hope you like! :) It was my first time using my stamps again for a while, as you can probably tell, some are quite blurry/smudged. It took a bit of getting used to but I hope to be doing more shortly!! xoxo

Green NOTD

I have painted my nails properly for the first time in a while! These days I paint my left hand then get interrupted and do something else. Then I find myself not bothering to do the same with my right hand as I know it will take longer. My colleagues at work often pick up on this and think I'm mad. I used my normal No.7 base and top coat, Models Own - Green Grass and Rio Nail Art Yellow.

What do you think?

Have you created any Halloween looks; nails or FOTD? Doing anything special for the occasion? Let me know! xoxo

Hello folks!!

So as I have recently qualified as a Nail Technician I have tried to get a nail business up and running, first starting with prices, flyers and a website. Well, 1/3 ain't bad!

This weekend I have managed to try something new in the beauty world...rebel nails! They are very similar to the Minx trend that celebrities everywhere are wearing.

You use heat on the transfer and your nail, then smooth it out from cuticle to tip. If any bumps appear you just need to reheat and stick back down. Sounds simple right, well this made me skeptical.

I started off finding it a bit tricky knowing which sizes (out of 8) I needed for each nail. Once you've got that down the rest just comes with practice! I used an infrared heat lamp, but the instructions say you can just use a hairdryer. One hand probably took about half an hour so after a few more tried I could probably do both hands in half an hour. I'm not normally a fan of leopard print but I find this is quite unique and fun!

What do you think?
Have you tried Rebel, Trendy or Minx nails?
Until next time xoxo

Summer Bright NOTD

Today I've decided to go for something really bright and textured. I picked up my selection of jelly nail polishes by Essence. I haven't used these as much as I would like, the Bubblegum pink is lovely!

Here we have Very Berry by Essence, part of their Jelly Baby nail polish collection.

 With flash

Without flash

I also added a bit of flair with the black and white nail art pens. What do you think?

Black Spring

I know it's lovely and sunny here in the UK but I really fancied using my black sparkle nail polish! I cheated and cleaned the edges up when I was in the shower! I think the sparkles manage to brighten it up enough for Spring, and the black is a perfect contrast to all the bright clothes I've been wearing!

What colours have you had on your nails lately? xoxo

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Short NOTD

I am starting netball tomorrow night so I had to cut my nails short :( If you know me then you know it is a sad time as I love my pretty long nails. But I am going to prove that you can have pretty short nails too! So here is my first attempt. Simple to achieve as well!

First I used No.7 So Smooth Base Coat. Then two coats of Models Own Lilac Dream. To give it a bit of edge I added Barry M Instant Nail Effects to give it the crackled look. Then finished off with No.7 Stay Perfect Top Coat. It only took about 10 minutes, each layer dried quite quickly.

What do you think? To let you know what I think, I'll be reviewing the Barry M Instant Nail Effects tomorrow :D

Boring Brown NOTD...

I'm not sure why I've titled this boring - as it isn't to me, but when you say brown nails, it does kinda sound a bit boring, right? Anyway - see the pictures below and decide for yourself :D

This is Becca's Brown after two coats - although I'm not sure who Becca is...it's mine now.

I think it's a great look for this time of year. Not too dull but also quite neutral at the same time, and the browns go well with the weather, very dreary at the moment and brown to me is kind of dreary I suppose - except it doesn't make my nails look dreary which is good!

Anyway I might jazz it up a bit with some nail art stamps tomorrow, but for now it's time for bed :D

Thanks for reading xoxo

Colourful NOTD

This NOTD reminds me of sweeties! Probably why I like it so much hehe.

I used: Fairy Cake, Catwalk Couture, Sherbert Lemon, Royal Indigo and Orange Soda

I think this is really fun look, and hope it lasts a while as I'm meeting up with some friends over the weekend! The varnishes themself are quite cheap - I think I got them on offer - 3 for £5. For the cost they are great quality. What do you think? xoxo

Totally Funky NOTD

Hey everyone, as you may know I tend to go for some strange combinations, I thought it was time for another!! I wanted to used two contrasting/clashing colours, I first thought of green and blue, but then spotted a red and thought red and blue. Then saw these two lovely colours - Foxglove and Totally Teal - both by No.7 at Boots. I thought I would keep it simple with the french manicure style. With bright colours like these you don't need to do much else.

I hope to keep this on for quite a white, I may even add a white nail art design over the weekend - who knows! :D Thanks for reading, and please let me know your thoughts, requests or ideas you've used!

Wintery NOTD

Tonight I have been going through my nail polish collection wondering what shade I should use....I came across Temptress, a No.7 shade which I got for my birthday in November and haven't used yet - perfect. It also describes the characters from Lipstick Jungle which I have been watching lately - similar to Sex In The City if anyone hasn't seen it!

Once on, I felt it needed two coats to show the true colour. But I love it, it's such a great wintery colour, such a rich, deep red. I'm not normally a fan of red nail polishes but this has won my heart. I might dazzle it up a bit with some nail art tomorrow, but for now I'm going to relax before bed as today has been a very busy day. And when the boyfriend gets home we're going to be watching an episode of 24! Enjoy your evening :)

Orangeade NOTD

I thought it was about time I painted my nails again. And I tried to use another Models Own shade I hadn't yet tried. I chose "Orangeade". It's much brighter than I thought it would be, and less sheer too which is good. I am really pleased with the colour because it will brighten up the dull days we are having at the moment!

It was a very quick manicure today, using a base coat, 2 coats of Orangeade and a top coat. Overall it probably took about 10-15 minutes, and I was watching TV so time flies.

It shows up almost as bright in the pictures as it is in real life, probably one of the easiest polishes to capture in a photo, most look very different! The picture below shows just how glittery it is, which I love because obviuosly the bubbles in orangeade sparkle a lot!

What do you think?

Models Own NOTD

I still haven't got round to trying all my Models Own nail polishes I bought this year! I suppose that just shows how many colours I actually have! I should have used each one on one finger when I first got them hehe.

Anyway - here I have used Deep Purple. I think it's a really rich colour - great for winter. In the light you get a lovely flash of purple which I love - the second picture shows this quite well.

I cut all of my nails so I apologise for them looking stumpy! But one broke and I hate having them different lengths!! I have to say though it does look lovely and tidy on short nails. It's a brilliant colour - certainly one I would recommend. I have searched for a while to find a perfect purple, I find quite a few are too pale or dull.

What do you think of the colour? Which polishes are you recommending this Winter?

No.7 Christmas NOTD

I got a few more birthday presents today - I will show you them properly when I have more time to blog over the weekend. But today's NOTD used 2 of the nail varnishes I got! I also think it turned out quite Christmassy which is good because it's my work Christmas meal tomorrow.

I used No.7 - Milan and Rose Truffle for the tip. Then No.7 Matte top coat. I love how shimmery Milan is!!

What do you think guys?

Green Glitter Gradient Manicure

I decided I would try the sponge effect manicure - also known as a gradient manicure. I used 4 colours and thought a little bit of glitter on the tip would look pretty. It turned out ok, however if I do it again I must remember to dab a bit more than swipe, as I seemed to just try to paint it on almost as normal. It is weird to get the hang of I suppose after you've been swiping/painting nails for over a decade!

Anyway, a partial success. Sorry the pictures have been taken pre clean up, I was a little bit excited about getting this up and will probably do the clean up when I'm having a lovely soak in the bath tomorrow morning to warm me up as there is still masses of show outside!

First I added a base coat - No.7 So Smooth, then I added 2 coats of No.7 60's Mini Skirt. Next came the first sponging colour - Barry M in Mint Green (as pictured below).

Then came the second sponging colour, what I liked is that you didn't have to leave the sponging coats long until they had dried. The second colour was Barry M in Spring Green.

After that I added a little bit of Models Own in Peacock Green to the tips and then coated that in a purple/blue/silver flecked glitter and left it to dry. And that was it! Quite simple really, but as mentioned earlier it does show in the pictures that I need to get used to the sponging method a bit more as some of the colour changes just look like bold lines, rather than a complete gradient look.

Better luck next time :D

Have you tried this before? Have you got any tips for me? Thanks!! xx

I'm Going Dotty NOTD

Hi all, I fancied a change to my nails yesterday, and I needed something to do whilst watching the football with the other half! This is the design I came up with:

Initially I used a normal top coat for the black base coat, but then I decided it would probably look better as a matte manicure, so once I'd don the blue dots I added a matte top coat. I also cleaned the nails up a bit!!

In this order, I used:
No.7 So Smooth Base Coat
Wet n Wild in Black Cream
No.7 So Strong Nail Care
17 Fast Finsh Nail Polish in Catwalk Couture
Stay Perfect Matte Top Coat

What do you think?

Nails Inc NOTD

I dreamed up this mani because I wanted to use more than one of my new Nails Inc polishes. I used Hampstead Heath and Savile Row. See below for my step by step :)

Nails painted in Hampstead Heath

Masking tape used to create a diagonal line for me to apply Savile Row

Savile Row applied

I then added on some nail art from my Art Deco set

Close up

What do you think? Have you done anything special with your new Nails Inc polishes?