NOTD ...

I don't usually do Nails Of The Day looks but I really like the way my nails turned out today so I thought I would do a little post on them :) I really struggle with my nails splitting and flaking so they never grow very long at all. I used to bite my nails when I was younger and even though I broke the habit ages ago my nails have never grown much, so I apologise for my nails not being particularly glamorous. I'm always so envious of those people with gorgeous, long nails. Anyway, I used my Sally Hansen maximum growth daily nail treatment as my base coat and then used Topshop's Mermaid 201 with No7 Stay Perfect Glitter Top Coat in Silver on the tips. 

L-R - Sally Hansen Maximum Growth, Topshop 

I really like this nail look, especially the glitter on the tips, because I think it is subtle but who doesn't love a little bit of glitter??? The Topshop nail varnish is £6.00 whereas the other more simple nail varnishes from Topshop are £5.00, which I think is a reasonable price for a really nice nail polish. Like many other people I really like the Topshop packaging, I think the spots are really cute, and the size is pretty reasonable for the price too. The No7 glitter nail varnish is a limited edition one and cost £8.00 but I had a cheeky £5 off No7 voucher so I got it for £3 :) You've gotta love those £5 off vouchers! 

xxx

Spring/Summer Nails

I thought I would do a post on some of my favourite Spring and Summer nails, because there are lots of lovely colours and trends out there at the moment and I thought I would share a few of my favourites. I'm really loving pastel colours for the Summer because I think they look lovely with a tan, and lean towards more dark, sultry colours in the Winter when I'm a bit paler. The first one I'm going to review is the Bourjois 10 days no chips nail polish in 25 - Macaron which is a coral kind of colour. I'm not sure I would say it went 10 days chip free as mine chipped after about 3 and then I took it off because I really don't like chipped nail varnish. However, my nails do seem to be especially prone to chipping so it might last longer on someone with stronger nails. Overall, I really love the colour and the formula of the nail varnish. I bought it for £5.99 from Boots and it was one of two new shades, 25 and 26 - Guimave, which is a lilac colour, which is also lovely but is similar too other nail varnishes I have already got. 

25 - Macaron - Bourjois 10 days no chip nail polish

The colour looks pinker than it actually is in real life but it is still a really lovely coral colour, with a really lovely thick formula. However, the brush is angled and it took me a while to get used to it because I have fairly narrow nails, but regardless of the brush it is still one of my favourite nail colours for the spring. 

My second favourite colour for the Spring is Powder Pink from the range Nails Inc made for InStyle which came free with the June issue (which cost £3.80 and a normal Nails Inc polish costs £11.00 in Debenhams so as it was full size it was definitely worth buying). It is more of a lilac/pink than a pale pink, and is a lovely pastel shade. The formula is also absolutely lovely in the Nails Inc polishes, and creates a lovely opacity after two coats and is very shiny. I love it when magazines pair up with good brands to make good freebies with issues. I own three Nails Inc polishes, all that came with magazines and I will definitely be buying some from a Nails Inc counter at some point because I really like the formula. 

Nails Inc for InStyle - Powder Pink

Another really lovely colour is one I have already reviewed ( see here for a full review) and is a MaxFactor Mini in 20 - Mellow Yellow. Although it takes about 4 coats to reach any sort of opacity, the coats dry very quickly so doesn't take too much longer to do. I wasn't overly keen on this at first, but I have had lots of compliments about it and now I have got used to it, I really like it!

20 - Mellow Yellow from MaxFactor Minis - Top - with flash, Bottom - without

Another really lovely Spring colour is 346 - Capri from Essie and it is a lovely powder blue. I have used it before on my Simple Nail Art post and it is really lovely. It is one of the first Essie nail polishes I bought and it is such a nice colour and the formula is good, although it definitely requires two coats to be opaque. 

I did not realise how many favourite Spring/Summer nail polishes I own, so I think this will have to be a two part post, so look out for part 2.

xxx

Fantasy fire ...

I have heard so many bloggers talking about the nail polish, 45 - Fantasy Fire, from Max Factor that when I saw it in Superdrug I snapped it up pretty sharpish. It was the last one left and I'm really glad I managed to find one, because although it looks lovely I'm not prepared to pay the prices it has been selling for on ebay (it cost me £2.99 because Superdrug have a £1 off the mini Max Factor nail polishes but on ebay they are going from anywhere between £7.99 to £15.00 - which seems ridiculous to me). Apparently, one of the reasons it is so popular is because it is a really good dupe for a discontinued Clarins shade. 

Fantasy Fire is a lovely purple/blue base with green, blue, orange shimmer in it, but it is really sheer and I quickly realised it would take way too many coats and far too much time to reach any sort of opacity, so I applied one base coat of a similar general colour, which was No7 Speed Dry in 44 - Violetta. This coat provided a really glossy, opaque finish which I was really impressed with and provided a really good base for the Fantasy Fire to work with. I then applied three coats of the Fantasy Fire and then one top coat, so a lot of coats were still required. However, Fantasy Fire did dry really quickly in between coats, like the other Max Factor Minis, and the base coat is quite dark, so I think I will try it out with a lighter base coat another time. 

Overall, I would recommend this nail polish but not at the price it is going for on ebay. It is a small bottle and the formula is pretty sheer, and a lovely nail polish to have to spruce up a plain colour, but not something I would pay £10 for. 


xxx

Simple nail art ...

After my exam yesterday I thought I deserved a little bit of a pick me up. I didn't intend on buying anything but then I went into TKMax. I have to admit that this is the first time I have ever been in TKMax but I walked through there yesterday and OH MY GOD! Although I'm reluctant to buy anything for my face there and they can be hit and miss with what they have available, this one had a really good nail varnish selection. I picked up 3 Essie nail polishes for £9.99 (they cost £8.99 for one from Boots). I have heard a lot about the Essie nail polishes and I wanted to try them so I thought this was a good bargain and way to try a few out without breaking the bank. 

L-R: 424 Bordeaux, 116 Tangerine, 346 Capri

I tried out Capri yesterday, and although it took 2 coats to reach the level of opacity I like, the formula is lovely and I love the colour (it's pretty much how it looks like in the bottle).  I also bought an Andrea Fulerton crystal gemstones set which came with a pot of small diamante crystals, an applicator tool and a overcoat. I bought it for 4.99, but I have seen it for £10.00 in Superdrug. I thought it would be a good way to get into some nail art seeing as I haven't got the steadiest hand, but I still wanted to give it ago. 

I thought I would do a sea kind of base with the gems scattered on top, so I applied two coats of Essie Capri and then one coat of Models Own Indian Ocean, which is absolutely beautiful but smells like no other nail polish I own ... it's pretty potent. After the first coat had of Indian Ocean had dried I then applied a second coat on one nail and straight away applied the gems, using the rubber end of the applicator, onto my nail, and then on to the next nail and so on. After I had the Indian Ocean had dried I applied one layer of the Gloss Up Overcoat which came with the Andrea Fulerton set. This really made the gems shine!

Overall, I really love the effect. I applied them randomly and quite densely, but I think I prefer only using one or two, maybe as an accent nail or just randomly. It is quite blingy which isn't normally me but it is all good fun at the end of the day. I did these last night, and I have since had a shower and done loads of things without even thinking about them, and I have lost one or two but overall, they are still intact and for a first attempt I'm really pleased. I will definitely wear them again for a night out, or just  a bit of fun. I also really like the Capri and Indian Ocean combination as I think Indian Ocean takes quite several coats to achieve any opacity on it's own, and will definitely be wearing without the gems in the future. 

I'm really pleased with this nail look and also TKMax. Although I won't be buying everything  from there from now on, I will pop in from time to time to see if there is anything that catches my eye. I'm really glad I was able to try a range of Essie polishes without spending   close to £30 on them, but I do like them so I will probably be buying some from Boots in the future. SORRY bank balance :) xxx

The make up of make up artists ... :)

Recently I have bought a couple of the mini nail polishes from Maxfactor. They are sold in both Boots and Superdrug, but they are currently £1 off in Superdrug at the moment  (£2.99 instead of the standard £3.99). I really like the concept for mini nail polishes because although I do generally use all of my collection a lot, I still haven't ever finished many bottles. Nail varnish lasts a really long time! Or it goes gloopy before you finish it which is even more annoying (quick tip: apparently if  you put a drop of nail varnish remover in the nail varnish it can help make it less gloopy).  Both stores I went into had a really good range of the nail varnishes, and I have collected four so far; 05 - Sunny Pink, 14 - Dazzling Blue, 20 - Mellow Yellow, 43 - Odyssey  Blue. 

L-R - Dazzling Blue, Odyssey Blue, Mellow Yellow, Sunny Pink

I  thought I would include a picture to show how small they are. To be fair, models own nail varnishes are quite large but just don't be put off if you were expecting bigger; in my opinion they are still worth buying. If you would prefer a larger bottle, Maxfactor 10ml nail varnishes costs £5.99, but they aren't the same colour range. The first colour I tried is the Mellow Yellow. It's probably my least favourite of the four colours and it takes a good 4 coats to reach the level of opacity I like, but my boyfriend said he really liked it and I think it would be really good for summer. 

, 

It was also fairly chip free for a couple of days, which on my nails is quite good because my nails seem to chip like nobody's business. 

This is one, Odyssey Blue, is probably my favourite of the 4. It is a really nice glittery blue but it does also need a fair few coats. I think in this picture I have applied three coats as well as a base and top coat. 

This one is 'Sunny Pink' and is probably the most sheer, and in this picture I have applied 4 coats, but I do really like it and definitely don't regret buying it.  Also, because the individual layers are so sheer, they dry quite quickly, so it isn't too much hassle having too apply so many coats. 

I really like this colour too (Dazzling Blue). It reminds me of the sea and mermaids :)  In general, these are all really easy to remove but Odyssey Blue is harder because of the glitter. Overall, I would definitely recommend these to anyone really; they are good for people who don't wear nail varnish that often as they are so small, but are also good for people who have loads already and want to try something new.

xxx

My first exam is tomorrow  morning! AAAAARRRGGGH! Wish me luck :) xxx

Croc vs crackle ...

I recently bought the Barry M croc nail varnish in black, and as it is similar to the crackle nail varnish, which I also have in black from Barry M, I thought I would do a little review comparing them.  Both nail varnishes cost the same at £3.99 in Superdrug, and Superdrug currently have a buy 2 get £1 off deal. The croc nail varnish only comes in black at the moment (to my knowledge), but the crackle effect has a really large range of colours, including pink, white and purple. Personally, I'm kind of over the crackle nail effect but I thought I would try the croc effect to see if I preferred it. 

After doing a clear base coat in my Sally Hanson 'maximum growth - daily nail treatment' polish, I did another base coat with my Rimmel Lycra Wear nail varnish in 367 Chocolate factor on both hands. With the croc nail effect, it's really important that you apply the croc nail varnish when the base coat is touch dry. It really does make a difference and it takes longer than the crackle effect to work so don't worry if it isn't changing instantly. 

I apologise for the standard of the photos but I had to use my phone and the camera is pretty shocking. I preferred the croc effects a lot to the crackle effect. The finished effect is much darker and glossier, and also a bit more interesting than the crackle effect. However, the crackle effect nail varnish is a lot easier to remove. The croc effect nail varnish is preeeetttyyy stubborn, to say the least. 

Overall, I definitely prefer the crocodile effect to the crackle effect in the Barry M range, but the price for both is pretty good and also the crackle effect is less hassle. I also received my first glossy box today, so there will be a review on that coming soon. It's pretty exciting getting one in the post :) but I want to thoroughly test the products before I review them

xxx

Foil effect nails ....

During my shopping trip yesterday I bought some nail varnishes including the new barry m foil effects one in silver. They are currently on offer for 'buy two get £1 off' in Superdrug, so if you fancy one you should pop down and get one soon. They also do the foil effects in purple and gold, and barry m are definitely a good mid-price range if you don't want to take the plunge with a more expensive brand like nails inc. Anyway, this is the effect and I really like it :) ....

In my opinion it is fine with just the one coat and it is really easy to remove. Overall, I really love this product and can't fault it. However, I will let you know how long it lasts as it could chip very easily :( 


xxx