Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas!!

I hope Santa brought you all you wanted and more! :)

See you soon with my Christmas nail polish haul!

Snowflake Nails!

Hi guys, 

Just thought I'd share these with you as I've received quite a few compliments on them today! 

I used GOSH - Tilted Blue for the base, Essie - Blanc and Barry M - Foil Effects 

I really like this, I hope it encourages snow for real! 

Let me see your Christmas/Winter nails!

An InLinkz Link-up

#2014BloggerChallenge

Something a bit different today guys!

I'm excited to be taking part in the 2014 Blogger Challenge, set up by Gaby from Another Girly Blog.

I will be writing two blog posts a month on various topics which will be emailed to me! While my blog will stay mainly 'nails', I am hoping to expand what I am writing about!

If you would like to take part then email Gaby at anothergirlyblg.gmail.com with your name, blog name and email address and she will add you to the list!

For more info, click here.

Shades of Christmas!

Aah!! YES!! It's December, and we all know what that means! CHRISTMAS. And what does Christmas mean? GLITTER!

I absolutely love this time of year, its a good excuse to wear a lot of glitter nail polishes (and regret it as soon as I have to take it off!). I have a serious case of festive fingers (is this a thing? it should be a thing!) right now and went a bit crazy with my winter/Christmas nails so I thought I'd share them with you.

I used Essie - Russian Roulette (red), Essie - Blanc (white), Barry M (Nail Effects 319) and Models Own -Jucie Jules

As you can see I have changed my pinky nail from white to red. I had Blanc with Pure Pearlfection from the Essie Winter 2013 range, originally. Although in real life this combination looks amazing, it did not pick up on camera and as I love the effect Pure Pearlfection has on a nail I really wanted to be able to show you it!

Isn't Santa's hat so cute? Have you tried any Christmas nails? If you have then please share them with me!!

Look forward to lots of glittery nails over the next few weeks! 

Children in Need

Hi guys,

It's been a little while since I posted again! Sorry!! I've just been so busy with work. We had a pyjama day at work today, in aid of Children in Need, which the children absolutely loved (and going to work in my onesie wasn't half bad!). I decided to do CiN themed nails and wanted to share them with you.

These are very basic as I didn't have enough time to draw Pudsey, but I really like the effect :) I just used the Orly Duo Dotting tool.

If you are interested in donating to Children in Need then you can do so here.

French Manicure - With a twist!

Hi guys,

Two posts in two days! Wow.. 

I got a bit fed up with my Halloween mani, and seeing as I'm not at work until Wednesday I figured I'd redo them for Halloween. I decided to do a French Manicure with a twist.

I started with two coats of Essie - Vanity Fairest, I then used Essie - Blanc to paint the tips. I used Essie - The Lace is On with help from a Nail Art Brush to draw the lines and then added the butterfly detail (they were supposed to be bows but turned out like butterflies, hey ho!) and finally Essie - Black for the edge detail.

I really like this look, it makes my hands feel elegant! What are your favourite nail looks?

An InLinkz Link-up

Halloween!

Hi guys,

I know it's been a while since I last posted, I've had a very busy two weeks, couple that with the fact my internet connection is intermittent at best I've not had a lot of time to blog!

Seeing as it's Halloween this week, I thought I'd show you my very basic Halloween nails. I work in a Nursery and I'm going to be working Halloween, I'm excited to carve my first pumpkin and make chocolate covered apples!

Barry M - Black, Essie - Blanc, Revlon - Mango

I'm going to change the pumpkin nail into a spider as Thursday approaches! 

Should I add any other details? I'd love to see your Halloween nails!

An InLinkz Link-up

Essie's Autumn Shades! (Part One (Finally...))

So guys, here's the first instalment of a two post review on Essie's Autumn/Fall Collection "For the twill of it".

Twin Sweater Set

When I first applied this colour, I felt like I already owned it.. Probably because I pretty much do! Russian Roulette, also by Essie, is a very, very, similar colour and I wouldn't recommend purchasing this colour if you've already got a primary red shade, there really isn't anything special with this one!

After School Boy Blazer

I tried to get a good picture of this colour, its a dark navy blue, which with two coats looks almost black. This is a lovely colour which, if you're looking for a dark shade but not wanting black, is perfect! 

Vested Interest

Surprise nice colour of the bunch! When I first picked this colour up I thought it was hideous but I bought it for the purposes of this review! I put it on my nails and I was seriously impressed. It's such an unusual colour and I do not own anything remotely similar (surprising for me!). 

As always, these polishes are £7.99 from Boots but are currently on a buy one get one half price!

I must say, the wear of these nail polishes isn't great and the formula isn't as good as some of the other Essie products but I do really like these 3 colours! 

Is there anything you'd like to see me do? Let me know!

An InLinkz Link-up

Autumn's here!

So guys, it's officially that time of year again. I love Autumn, its my favourite season. And a new season means its a great excuse to go back to the old favourite colours from last year! My favourite Autumn shade is Bahama Mama by Essie.

Essie describes the colour as a "warm, rich, creamy deep plum". Plum, in my mind, is far more purple than this polish, however. I think it's definitely more of a red than purple.

I obviously couldn't leave this plain, so I added Models Own - Juicy Jules to the tips of two fingers and used my Revlon - Top Coat (more about that soon!).

I love this so much and I seriously can't wait to get my hands on the Fall collection from Essie (no where near me seems to be stocking it?!)

.

Do you have a go-to polish for Autumn? I'd love to try out some new colours and brands if anyone has any recommendations!

I'd really appreciate it if you could go and follow my blog via bloglovin!! There's a link on the side :)!

An InLinkz Link-up

Liebster Award

I have been nominated for the Liebester Award by Bite No More. The Liebester Award is a great way for people to discover up and coming new blogs, who have less than 200 followers.

The rules are, you must nominate another 11 blogs who have less than 200 followers, and let them know you've nominated them. You are given 11 questions by the blogger who nominated you, which you must answer. You must give the blogs you nominate 11 question for them to answer. Finally you must link back to the person who nominated you

1. Where did your blog name come from?

Oh, crikey! I had posts ready and waiting to be published but I just could not think of a name! It took me around 2 weeks of thinking up names and discovering they had already been used for me to think this one up! I was going for a nail inspired  name and as I was thinking of different colours the word 'shade' came to mind, I then thought it translates well if I branch out from nails :)

2. What inspired you to start blogging?

After reading blogs like Zoella, Sprinkle of Glitter, Tanya Burr and Fleur De Force for so long, it became something that really interested me. I enjoy reading blogs in the evening and I wanted somewhere I could show my nail creations :)

3. Favourite and least favourite colour?

My favourite is purple and teal, and my least favourite is probably green.

4. How do you relax?

A night in front of the soaps, or playing The Sims 3.

5. Summer or Winter?

Can I be cheeky and answer this with Spring and Autumn?

6. If you could have one wish, what would you wish for?

More time!

7. Has anything good ever happened to you as a result of your blog?

My confidence in my own writing and ability to create is the best thing to have come from my blog

8. Best tip advice, beauty or other?

Don't do anything that doesn't make you happy. What's the point?

9. Comedy or horror?

Anyone who knows me will laugh at this!! Comedy, every. single. time. (I'm scared of Scooby Doo!)

10. Has blogging taken over your life?

No, not really! Added to it :)

11. Where do you see your blog 10 years from now?

I don't know where I see myself 2 years from now...We shall see!!

The people I nominate:

1. Emily Lovess

2. Adalias Closet

3. Big Beauty Bag

4. Amy Alaska

5. The Net Doll

6. The Nail Noodle

7. Little Tip Off

8. Sassy Little Nails

9. Life in Lacquer

10. Lanes Lacquers

11. Anna's Polish Addiction

Now 11 questions for you!!

1. What made you decide to start a blog?

2. Anything you love that you thought you would hate?

3. Whats your favourite thing to do in your spare time?

4. What's the best thing to have happened to you because of your blog?

5. Are you proud of what your blog has achieved so far?

6. Do you usually blog in the morning, afternoon or evening?

7. Favourite food?

8. Favourite colour?

9. Do you plan your blog posts in advance?>

10. One product you couldn't live without?

11. What was the last beauty product you bought?

Wow, that was hard!! Remember to link me to your responses!! Cant wait to read them!!

x

Models Own: Juicy Jules

Sometimes I get stuck in a rut when it comes to buying nail polish and I always go for the same brands I know I'm going to like. Believe it or not, I'd actually never used a Models Own polish, even though I'd heard such good reviews as there's never a very big range in the Boots near me. 

I was hunting for a new glitter polish and decided to give this one a go, and have to say, I LOVE IT. I used it as a top coat for the polish I was already wearing (Essie - Mint Candy Apple), and for an accent nail. The colours in the glitter are just so pretty! It's so sparkly! 

The accent nail took 3 coats and the nail is still visible, which is expected from a glitter.

I think this looks really beautiful on top of any colour or to use solidly as an accent nail. I'm not a massive fan of having every nail as solid glitter as it's a bit too much for me, but using this as a top coat and accent definitely adds some glitz to my hands.

Could this be The One to start a Models Own obsession? Are there any colours I need? Do you have any brands you would recommend to me?  

Tutorial: Gradient Nails

Whenever I wear this style of nail, I always have people saying "how do you do that?!", so I figured I would show you all! I originally saw this technique in Amarixe's video. It's actually pretty easy and can be done with 2 or more colours. I find that 2 colours works fine for me. You may want to put some tape around the edges of your nails to make clean up easier as this can get quite messy!

I start with getting all my equipment ready, you will need a triangular make-up sponge, which can be found in any drugstore, a pair of scissors and your nail polish colours. I'm using Essie - Rock the Boat and Full Steam Ahead.

Cut the sponge to a size that will fit your biggest nail.

Barry M - Matt White

Start by painting your nails white, or the lightest colour if you have more than 2 colours. (optional)

Paint stripes of the polish on to the sponge, be sure not to use too much polish or it will just pull the bottom layer up.

Line the sponge up with the side of your nail and roll across. Dab around the nail and slightly up and down to create the blended gradient. Repeat until you are happy with the opacity. It took me about 4 coats.

After clean up:

Hope you like this nail look! I'd love to see your attempts! 

What else would you like to see?

Tutorial: Hawaiian style flower

I recently purchased a Dotter Duo tool from Orly and was so excited to use it to create nail art, something I've always wanted to try. I attempted to create flowers using dots for the petals with a yellow dot in the middle, but it turned out looking like a fried egg!

So I tried to figure out a way to use this tool to create flowers (because, lets face it, who doesn't love a flower!).

Start by painting your nails any colour you want. I've chosen Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Guava. This nail art works on any colour. My only advice would be; if you're using a dark base then use a lighter colour to create the flower and, similarly, if you use a light base use a dark colour to create the flower.

You then get your dotter duo (which can be found for £1 or so on eBay!) and draw 5 dots, with the larger end of the duo, close together but not too close that they run into each other.

Lastly, get the small end of the duo, and starting from the centre of one dot drag into the middle of the 5 dots. This creates a petal. Repeat this for all 5 dots and your flower should look something like this:

Additionaly, I sometimes put a tiny dot of silver polish over the centre of the flower.

You can use this flower for an accent on a nail, or cover the nail completely. 

If you don't have a dotter tool there are many household items you could use such as the head of a pin (carefully!) and a toothpick which would create the same effect!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial. I'd love to see your attempts at this look!!

What would you like to see next?

Essie - Full Steam Ahead

Essie's Summer range was beautiful this year, and I have already reviewed one colour, Rock the Boat, which can be found here. Full Steam Ahead is a stunning lilac colour with a 'pearlescent punch'.

The colour applied smoothly for me and with two coats was completely opaque, a third coat really deepens the colour. I always start with a thin coat of colour, and then add a thicker. The brush is the perfect size for my nails and the formula, I found, was not sticky, nor runny. As with the other colour's in this range, the shimmer really brings something more to the lacquer and as its such a subtle shimmer I think it definitely makes this product stand out.

Ciate's - Sugar Plum looks quite similar to this in the bottle, however, I definitely prefer Full Steam Ahead because I find the Ciate polish requires a lot more coats (and patience!) before the colour stops looking streaky. The Ciate brush is also very thin in comparison.

I didn't want to do just a standard nail so I used Orly's dotter duo and Barry M's Matt White to create the flowers. If anyone would like a tutorial on this let me know!

(The colour definitely looks less blue in real life)

I've worn this nail look for a week now, and there's no chipping and hardly any noticeable wearing, even around and edges of my nails which I was very surprised with. In fact, they look like I have just applied the colour which I love!

I think this is such a pretty look for Summer!

Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover

This will be a quick post today!

I know this is not a new product, but as this blog is new I thought I should still write about it.

The magic nail polish remover claims to remove nail polish in one second per fingernail, and while it doesn't do it quite THAT quickly, it is an amazing product that each nail polish addict should own! I find taking my nail polish off to be a tedious and boring task - especially glitter polishes! With this remover, you put your finger into a sponge in the tub and wiggle it around a bit. This removes the polish a lot quicker than your ordinary bottles of nail polish remover. I'd say around 5 seconds per nail, maybe a little longer for glitter, but it definitely breaks down the glitter easier than standard removers. 

I've had two tubs of these since Christmas and they are very reasonably priced (around £6.99). This may seem a bit steep for a polish remover, but for what the product does I think it is so worth it! 

Once you try this, you will not go back!

Sally Hansen - Girl Flower!

Sally Hansen's nail products have only recently been introduced to the Boot's store near me, so I've had very little experience with anything other than the polish remover. I'd heard many a good thing about Sally Hansen's products and as I'd never tried any sort of nail polish strip before, I decided to buy a packet.

I went for the floral pattern, called Girl Flower, as all the others were a bit too OTT for me. I had no idea what to expect and would have liked to have used two strips as a way to accentuate two nails on my hand, however the strips come in two packets, with 8 in each packet, and the unused strips have to be thrown away as they are real nail polish and will dry out once the packaging is opened.

Packaging of the strips

Instructions come in the packet and, following these, application is fairly straightforward. The instructions say you can stretch each nail polish strip to fit your nail, however this can and does stretch the pattern, giving white hairlines through the design. You then have to choose which end of the nail strip would fit best on your nail and holding the strip in the middle, place on the nail and stretch to fit. I found that there were good matches for all my nails and I wasn't required to do too much stretching!

The product claims to last up to 10 days. I applied the nails on Thursday night and by Monday night I was ready to take them off due to peeling, fading and chipping, which was particularly disappointing as I don't feel I put any real stress on the product.

For the £7.99 I paid for them I was very underwhelmed considering they lasted half the time they were advertised to. I would, however, buy these for a special occasion as they do look beautiful upon application and not like they have just been stuck on.

How do you feel about nail polish strips? Ever tried them?

Essie - Rock the Boat

Essie's Summer 2013 range has hit the shops in recent months and as soon as I saw the “Naughty Nautical” collection, I knew I wanted every single colour! I held off and so far only have my 3 absolute favourites, which I'm quite proud of! All the colour's in this collection have a hint of shimmer which makes for a lovely addition to the formula and doesn't make it difficult to remove, as so many glitter/shimmer polishes do (and which I was slightly apprehensive about when I saw them!).

 £7.99 from Boots

Rock the Boat is described as being light blue with a hint of periwinkle, and as periwinkle is one of my favourite colours I knew this was the one I had to review first!

The shimmer is subtle, however is still visible.

This nail lacquer is quite sheer and takes about 3 coats to reach full opacity. However, as you can see, once on the nail the colour is beautiful and whenever I wear it I get complimented! I found the formula to be easy to apply and wasn't messy or sticky. The first coat can seem a bit uneven but after putting a second on this evened out and I only added a third for complete opacity. After wearing this lacquer for 4 days I found that the colour had lasted extremely well, which is to be expected from Essie polishes and there were no chips (aside from general wear and tear!).

 I LOVE this lacquer and would recommend going and getting this before the shops take them off the shelves!!