Week in pictures!

So, I thought I'd do another of these sorts of posts as I am lacking inspiration on the nail side of things at the minute. I've had a lovely week and done so much that I would like to share with you (which is amazing considering I've worked for most of it!).

It was my birthday last week and I received this enormous box of maltesers from a girl at work. She knows how to make me happy!

This little guy was waiting outside my front door for me when I got home one evening! He was very scared but so cute!

I went to Rutland Water nature reserve last weekend. It was so nice to just have a walk around in the sunshine and I adore being next to the water :)

I work in a pre-school so saying goodbye to my little ones was difficult! Made easier by the copious amounts of chocolate their parents gave me though! I'd never seen these before but they are delicious!

Another shot from Rutland Water of some striped caterpillars.

Me and my housemate's had strawberries and cream in the garden one evening as the weather is so nice, it was lovely!

The sky looked incredible!

What have you been up to this week?

It's Summer!!

Hey guys, been a while again! I have decided to share my summer nails with you. They aren't really very different to last years 'standard' summer nails, and I definitely need to begin to branch out when it comes to thinking of new designs. 

I love this colour, however. It's a scented Revlon shade that smells like mango's. And funnily enough is named "Mad About Mango". 

If any of you could link me to some fun summer nail designs then comment below!!

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!