Monday 28 October 2013

My first attempt at a Galaxy Mani!




Yoda In Space!


Today I am going to share with you my first attempt at a galaxy manicure-will it be out of this world? (excuse the pun!) 

First of all I shall show you the tools I used (you don't need fancy tools at all and can make so with a bit of sponge and a cocktail stick!)





First of all I chopped off little bits of a makeup sponge, nail art brush, piece of cardboard for dabbing the polish off of and tweezers for  precision control.



Quite a few different polishes went into creating the spacey effect! Including: a base of Wingdust-Like Yoda...but less Green! China glaze-fairy dust, spoiled-the parking meteor expired!, Funky fingers-mermaid lagoon, china glaze-white out, color club-wink wink twinkle, ciate-bon bon, nails inc: Diet coke-Paris and Instyle-Power pink, Models own-Jack frost and all topped off with Glisten and glow top coat....so not a lot really!! 



I started with a base of 2 coats of wingdust: Like yoda...but less Green! Well, what can I say I was inspired and had to have a go at a galaxy manicure! (which unfortunately doesn't involve the yummy chocolate-dam it!!




I then put a few drops of white polish onto some card and picking up a piece of sponge with the tweezers dabbed it into the polish. I then sponged a diagonal line. Then using a dark polish and a thin edged piece of sponge I dabbed around the white, blurring the edges. I then just went with the flow and carried on adding other colours: Pink, plum, glitter, flakies, etc. I did this on every other finger and on the blank fingers I added a coat of fairy dust, for some extra twinkle!








The great thing about a galaxy mani is that there is no wrong/right way of doing it. Meaning it will always look slightly different and unique to the individual. My only advice would be to build the layers up gradually and to stop before getting too carried away-dabbing here and splodging there etc...and then top it all off with a hard wearing, fast drying topcoat, like glisten & glow.

All in all I was quite pleased with the finished result and am looking forwards to trying it again with other colours and variations. 

What do you think of the galaxy nail trend, have you tried it?

thanks for reading, come back soon!! 
xoxo



Thursday 17 October 2013

Wingdust polish: Like Yoda...but less Green!





This polish, I loved for the name alone, but add the fact that it's purple, has a scattered holo effect and glitters, I knew I had to have it, and when I found out it was being discontinued I panic bought it...do I regret it?? Lets find out!


As I mentioned it is a mid/dark purple polish with a scattered holographic effect and contains sparkly green, fuschia and purple micro glitters. I have never seen glitter in a dark base twinkle so much! In fact I'm finding hard to do anything other than stare at my nails! Formula wise, I hate to say it wasn't so great. It was so thick (I shall try a little thinner) and gloopy and dragged a lot leaving bald spots-the first coat was nothing short of a nightmare. Luckily the second coat covered to full opacity and was a much smoother, less stressful process. It's a good job this polish is so gorgeous and therefore worth the hassle! I finished with a generous coat of Glisten and Glow H K Girl topcoat, which Is fast becoming  one of my cult nail items. You can buy both products here: rainbow connection!


Now for the piccies! 








First two pictures taken in natural outdoor lighting.

And now to add flash and sit back and watch the rainbows!










 See how twinkly the glitter is, in the above picture? When it catches the light, it is the same in real life too!







For my first Wingdust polish, I can overlook the formula as I'm so in love with the colour! I definitely don't regret my, panic buying, alter ego taking over..this time anyway! Isn't it just gorgeous, I'm such a sucker for purple polishes! 

Have you tried any Wingdust polishes, If so what's your verdict?

Thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo

Monday 14 October 2013

Enchanted Polish Haul!!

In which I add a few new additions to my Enchanted polish collection!

I got a little lucky at the Enchanted restock and managed to get September 2013-a gorgeous ballet slipper pink! However, I missed Vampires suck, after it was in my cart it sold out...cart hold anybody?! So I thought I would console myself by looking at EPs I've acquired over the past month or so.

Warning: Picture heavy post! 







with flash


Ok, so the first two Enchanteds I received were; Seven Nation Army and August. I was desperate for August, as I was 21 on the 9th of August and thought it would make an extra special keepsake! 




Such was my struggle to get my mitts on August, I ended up with two! One of which is in the process of a swap, So here are the EP twins, before they were separated.




with flash


Next Up is January and March 2013. I don't think I have much chance at completing the months I have missed, but as and when they come up, I shall pounce! If you know of anyone looking to part with May, Please let me know! (my biggest EP monthly lemming) As for December...one can only dream! Haha 





with flash


Next is Purple Roses and Sprinkled! Two huge EP lemmings, that I managed to acquire from lovely ladies! Just my sort of colours! 





with flash



And last but not least: Life in Plastic, It's Fantastic! Which I had to have for nostalgic reasons! When I was little, I never stopped singing 'I'm a barbie girl' and this was stocked in one if the 'right place/right time' restocks. For once in my life, I was in the right place at the right time, to get my mitts on this beaut! It is eye searingly bright and absolutely gorgeous!!

Have you acquired any new Enchanted Polishes lately? I have to admit I am a little (ok majorly) obsessed with them! I even pulled an all nighter for the Mei Mei Restock...Only for it to happen at 3pm!

Thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo

Sunday 13 October 2013

Glossy Box October 2013 Review.

The Dark Romance edition-A BAD Romance!


With Halloween just around the corner, I'm guessing GlossyBox decided it would be funny to scare us all with a horrific box...

Firstly, the theme 'Dark Romance'-there is only one item in the entire box that even remotely fits this theme, right before I slate the entire box, I better show you why I'm making such a fuss...



Looks promising??




It fooled us all! As always I'll show you the contents in order of my favourites...this will be tricky!


First up is Katy Perry killer Queen Perfume sample, I'm not impressed with a sample you can pick up from any department store for free...
Price: Full size: £29.50 for 50ml
sample value:  60p apprx for 1.5ml or two sprays!


Next up MeMeMe Cherub's Blush-cheek and lip tint. I'll be sticking with my Benetint...However 'YAY' for the fact that Glossy box managed to pick one item that fits the theme of this months box!
full size: £5.50


Premae Multi-vit smoothie serum. Now the world serum instantly puts me off as I have oily skin. This claims to be for combination skin, but in all honestly it's just not worth the risk..
full size: £22.50 for 50ml
sample size: £10 apprx 20ml


Monu illuminating primer. I like Monu and i like primers, but add the word illuminating and I'm really put off. In my experience illuminating products just emphasise any imperfections.
full size: £24.95 for 50ml
sample size: £10 apprx 20ml


Finally Dark Romance eat you heart out Broadway nails imPress, press-on manicure (stick on nails) in a sparkly/glittery french manicure design. I detest these!! I know it's a strong word but seriously the last time i used nails with those sticky tabs I was 10? 
Full size: £7.99

Box inc p&p: £12.99
contents: £34.00 apprx


Hmm..I hate being so negative, but I really don't like one item and I probably wont be using anything from this months box. Although the value was higher than what I paid for the box, I feel that the items were cheap, they didn't fit the theme and didn't suit my beauty profile-yet again! 

I'm staying until Christmas, then I'm leaving (after nearly 2 years!) So Glossy box you have two boxes to make me change my mind-WOW me!!


Was your box any better? Or did you like the box?

thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo

Friday 11 October 2013

November 2013 Magazine Freebies!

Beauty Bargains!



November magazines have lots of amazing beauty bargains to be found-all of which are out in the shops now! 

Starting with Marie Claire:


Which has 4 L'Occitane hand creams for you to choose from: dry skin (original), subtle violet, Rose tenderness and the one I chose; Passionate Jasmine. 
Mag: £3.90
Freebie: £8 each.


Instyle: Ren: mini skincare trio (Gentle cleansing milk, global protection day cream and eye gel) 
Mag: Special value: £2
Freebie: £12


Red: This Works: Really Rich firming lotion or daily boost body scrub.
Mag: £4
Freebie: £10.75


Cosmopolitan: St Tropez face and body instant tan.
Mag: £3.60
Freebie: £5



Also, not beauty related, but I received my free sample (mini bottle) of Baileys Chocolat! Yum-Yum!






So there you have it; lots of gorgeous beauty bargains to be had!

Have you come across any different freebies? 

Thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo





Thursday 10 October 2013

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Mani!

OPI Pink of Heart 2013 set:







The set contains: More than a glimmer and Pink-ing of you. Also are little pink ribbon stickers and tiny crystal dots.

Today I have chosen to wear more than a glimmer. It is an amazing polish-think China Glaze 'It's A Trapeze' but pink and with similar glitter to OPI rainbow connection, only matte.

This is my first polish with matte glitter and I'm hooked. I must apologise for my little nubbin nails, I've had one break after another-my left hand is just too bad to show! 

Pictures show 2 coats of more than a glimmer, first picture is without topcoat and all the others are with Glisten and Glow
 H K Girl topcoat (blog post soon!) 












with flash.

Are you wearing pink this October??

Thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo


Tuesday 8 October 2013

End of September mini polish haul!




My little polish haul:







Jindie nails: Just Claus, Daily Lacquer: Moon Kitty, OPI: Teenage Dream, Girly bits: Daddy's little girl and Enchanted polish: Ciao Milano-ISO box for it, let me know if you are parting with one, thanks!




Row 1: OPI: Pink of hearts 2013: More than a glimmer &
                                                pink-ing of you.

Row 2: Barry M: Boots limited edition polish. (I'm calling it tinsel as the bar glitter reminds me of it) OPI: wonderous star, I snow you love me and matte top coat.

Row 3: Crows Toes: Cheshire, Wingdust: Like Yoda...but less green, Kelara: Blue steel and H K Girl top coat.

Row 4: Illamasqua: Pink Raindrops and Pocket Money Polishes: Brown Eyed Girl.

..and I still have a few more pretties on the way!! 

The H K Girl top coat and Wingdust are from a new UK indie seller: rainbow connection. This shop is amazing, it stocks a range of brands from all over the world making indie polish easily available to us UK girls!
(Disclaimer: I am not to be held responsible for the amount of goodies you discover on their site!)

Have you bought any new pretties lately?

thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo









Wednesday 2 October 2013

OPI Alcatraz Rocks, Ruffian style!

My first attempt at a ruffian style manicure using OPI liquid sand-Alcatraz rocks and Eurso Euro.


Pictures show one coat of OPI Eurso Euro and two coats of Alcatraz rocks and no topcoat.

Under normal lighting, I must say I was less than impressed with Alcatraz rocks-in the bottle it looks so sparkly and pretty and yet on the nail it looks a little dull. At least it wasn't the roughest feeling polish, which is an unexpected bonus! 









Now that's better...The flash from the camera shows all of the sparkly/glittery goodness that was missing from the normal piccies.












For a first attempt at a ruffian style manicure I am quite pleased with how it turned out! (No major mishaps and the lines were quite neat-I'm such a perfectionist!) 

Have you tired Alcatraz rocks? Take it or leave it?

thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Why, Hello there Mr Burgundy, May I say, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!


Today I'm going to show you one of the most beautiful polishes I own-The rather dashing Mr Burgundy, from Enchanted polish.

Let's face it unless you are willing to offer a limb or swap a basket full of kittens, this EP will have alluded you. I, myself, tried for ages to get my hands on it and as luck may have it, it was offered to me when I was sniffing around for OPI holos!! So never give up hope as you never know which EP may be just around the corner!!

Onto the piccies:

All were taken with flash as the sun was not coming out to play!




Pictures show two coats of Mr B, although one probably would have been enough, and topcoat.



I must admit in normal/indoor lighting it is quite a subtle holo, but none the less it is still a beaut!



With my cute, lady bird midi ring from good old Topshop!





Wow! 



Next up is a comparison between Enchanted polish- Mr Burgundy and Colors by Llarowe-Dirty Diana.





I would say that DD has slightly more pinky/purple tones than Mr B and is almost metallic in finish. The holo is also punchier, whereas Mr B has quite a subtle effect in most lighting conditions, DD shows a very strong linear holo in any lighting. 



You can see the difference between the two. DD is on the pointy finger. I have to say I love both equally! Mr B is like the more grown up version of DD!

Which of the two do you prefer?

thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo

Monday 30 September 2013

Blog Your Heart Out Award!







I was very happy to be nominated for the blog your heart out award by the lovely Sarah from Penny Pinching Polish
The rules for this award are to answer the 5 questions and nominate 5 other bloggers.

Here are my answers:

What/who encouraged you to start blogging?

I have always enjoyed reading other peoples blogs and I have always been obsessed with makeup and more recently nails. So I guess I  started it as a way to share my passion with other people and to make use of the pictures of nail art i have always taken!

How did you choose what topic(s) to blog about?

The topic (nails and beauty) is what I enjoy talking about and I love experimenting with my nails.

What is something that most people don't know about you?

I will keep this light, so I love rock music and even some heavy metal-Love a bit of Metallica! Not always what people expect from a girly girl!

What 3 words describe your style:

hmm...Girly, quirky and glam

What do you like to do when you are not blogging?

I love to shop and find bargains. I also love going to London to see musicals every now and again. I love to read (favourite author is Dan Brown) and play xbox (favourite games are Borderlands and Gears of war series) I also love going to the cinema (long live Orange Wednesdays!!)


The five blogs I would like to nominate for this award are:



You don't have to accept this award, If you have already completed it, However, I'd love to see you answers! Please leave the link to your post in the comments. 

Thanks for reading, come back soon! 
xoxo


Monday 23 September 2013

Nails Inc Cadogan Gate and Lynnderella The Telltale Heart.




Today I'm going to be showing you a polish from a bargain set I picked up in TK Maxx.

It's from the Nails Inc iridescent collection, which I believe was a QVC exclusive.

 The polish I picked to use first was Cadogan Gate. A gorgeous cherry red in the bottle which leans slightly more pink on the nails. The pictures show two coats and I think in hindsight it could have done with a third as there is some VNL. These dry to a similar finish to OPI's liquid sands. They have a slight sand papery feel and a textured look, the sparkly bits help to break it up a bit though. It's a shame under most lighting the sparkles were nowhere to be seen! For the first time I left it without topcoat, I've always had a slight aversion to gritty nails but I didn't find this polish too bad.


indoors

Excuse the cuticles! They are undergoing some serious TLC at the moment! 


with flash
 With flash you can see the little twinkly bits of red glitter coming out to play!


indoors



Finally I added one coat of Lynnderella-The telltale heart on the pinky finger. It was more an 'ooh nail mail, let's try it!' moment than a planned feature of the mani, but I actually quite liked it!

What's your take on textured nails?
To topcoat or not to topcoat that is the question!

Thanks for reading, come back soon!
xoxo