Spring has sprung!

Well, now its officially spring in the UK, I decided to update my nails in to more of a spring look. I really like how simple this mani is, it took me about 10 minutes to do and it looks so pretty!

I used Revlon - Lime Basil (which the Boots website says has been discontinuted, but I know for sure is still in stores?!) as a base, and then created flowers using the Barry M Nail Art Pen in White, which you can purchase here. I then used my Orly Dotter Duo and Barry M Silver to do a small dot in the middle of the flowers. I, of course, used Sally Hansens Double Duty bottom coat as this is by far the best one I have found. And I finished the look off with Seche Vite.

Do you have any favourite bottom or top coats that I should try? 

The girliest nails I have ever seen...

So last night, I decided that I was going to re-do my nails. I haven't done anything other than plain nails in a long time, mainly due to my contracted hours at work being increased I just don't have the time any more. But, as it was a Friday night (I know how to live, right?!), I decided to go wild and do something different. 

One of the children at the Nursery I work in requested I do "pink with diamonds", and while I didn't have any diamonds kicking around to stick on my nails, I went for the next best thing - pink glitter. 

Essie - Blanc, Essie - Romper Room, Seche Vite top coat.

Do excuse the state of my cuticles, they have been subject to a lot of cleaning lately and they really do not enjoy it!

What do your nails look like this weekend?

Essie - Spin The Bottle

Well, it's official. I have a new favourite nude polish. I don't often wear nudes as I find they look a bit weird on my skin tone. However, the new offering in Essie's hide & go chic collection really stood out to me so I picked it up to give it a try! 

It's the best nude I have used and, unlike other nudes, doesn't make my skin tone look yellow.

The only negative I have to say about this polish is the consistency of it. It's quite hard to work with which is unusual for an Essie polish. It took 3 careful coats and even then it was running on to my cuticles. 

Overall, I love this colour! What's your favourite nude? Should I add glitter to this?

Nails

Yet another post for the Blogger Challenge! I promise I will get back in to regular blogging soon but I have been so busy at work and have been really struggling to find time! 

Topic 5 is 'nails'. As you all know, I am way too addicted to changing my nail colour. I've got a bit better lately at leaving my nails the same for longer than 5 hours, and only really change it twice a week. My nails were pretty strong to begin with but I have noticed that the condition of them is much better since I stopped using nail polish remover on them so regularly. I definitely need to start taking better care of my hands as I can be very lazy with it. 

If anyone has a good hand/nail care routine I would be really interested to see it! 

Everyone knows my favourite nail polish brand is Essie for multiple reasons. Firstly, I love the range of colours - there truly is something for every occasion. Secondly, the consistency and the opacity of the polish is definitely some of the best around. Finally, aesthetically, the bottles are a very nice shape which makes my collection look neat!! 

It's absolutely impossible for me to choose a singular favourite colour, however my favourite general colour would be lilac/purple. Essie- Play Date, Essie - Full Steam Ahead and Ciate - Sugar Plum being definite contenders for number 1!

What is your current favourite colour??

Essie Gradient!

Hi guys,

I went out at the weekend and was sick and tired of having boring nails! My creativity wasn't exactly high so I decided on a simple gradient!

I love using Essie - Rock the Boat and Full Steam Ahead to do gradients as I think they blend really nicely together!!

What do you have on your nails today? Let me know!!

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

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.

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?  

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!

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!!