Simple nail art 2 ...

I first saw this look on the Beauty Department website (click here ), and thought that it looked really interesting and unique, so I thought I would give it a go. I used three nail polishes and self adhesive washers. The colours that I used for this  nail look are the ones that are free with InStyle magazine by Nails Inc. They are Powder Pink, Bluebell and Peach Sorbet. This technique is quite easy to do but there are some pitfalls. Firstly, you paint the base coat, which in this case is Powder Pink and wait for it to dry (after applying the normal clear base coat). This is important because if you apply the self adhesive washers when the nail polish isn't dry, when you take them off the nail polish will come straight off too. Not ideal. After applying the first set of adhesive washers in a peak design, apply the second coat of nail varnish and wait for it to dry before peeling off the washers. Then apply a second set of washers and the third colour of nail 

polish and wait for it to dry. Finally, peel off the washers and apply a top coat to make the nails look shiny, and it also evens out any ridges between the colours nicely. I really enjoyed doing this design, and it was really easy to do. The Beauty Department have some really interesting ideas, and is definitely worth taking a look at. Some things to watch out for if you want to try this yourself are peeling off any of the base colours which can look so messy but is so easy 
to do, so make sure the bottom 

colours are properly dry before applying the adhesive washers. Also, be very careful when you are peeling off the washers as they can pull the design of the upper coat and make it look a bit misshapen. Finally, take care to make sure the peaks are in line with each other so it looks like a uniform design. I have tried this with other colours and I would definitely recommend doing this if you are interested in doing some simple but unique nail art.   

L-R: Powder Pink, Bluebell, Peach Sorbet (all Nails Inc for InStyle)

Self adhesive washers

L-R: Essie Capri, Topshop World's End, Nails Inc Bluebell

xxx

Magazine freebies ...

May has been a really good month for freebies with magazines. Nails Inc has paired up with InStyle magazine, and created three shades that are free with the June issue of InStyle which is available to buy now. Nails Inc have done this sort of thing before. I bought Saville Row with an issue of Glamour last year, and I wish I had bought more copies to get the different colours, so when I saw that they were doing the same with InStyle this year I decided to go for it and buy all three. They are all lovely summer shades and the InStyle magazine costs £3.80 so a lot less than the £11.00 normal price. 

L-R: Powder Pink, Bluebell, Peach Sorbet

Powder Pink - Nails Inc

Bluebell - Nails Inc

Peach Sorbet - Nails Inc

L-R: InStyle magazine, Marie Claire

Another really good freebie this month was with Marie Claire and it was a Body Shop liptint in bronze or red. I chose the bronze one as the red one wasn't in any of the magazines in the shop and I was really interested to try it as I haven't tried Body Shop make up in a really long time. The first piece of make up I ever had was a Body Shop cream eyeshadow and I absolutely adored it, so this did make me a bit nostalgic. It is like a lip gloss packaging and has a doe foot applicator, which is pretty standard. I have tried lip tints before but only a red one, Benetint from Benefit. This was thicker than Benetint and I preferred it as a lip stain than the cheek stain, however, it was nice to taste and if you licked your lips or ate or drank it tasted pretty horrible. It costs £10.00 from the Body Shop but the magazine costs £3.70. There are some negatives; it is really drying on your lips, and when you put it on your cheeks you have to blend it pretty sharpish as it sets quickly. However, I really like the gold/bronze tones it creates, especially on the lips. 

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