Monday 29 December 2014

Christmas fingers

I'm back! Slight absence of a week - I was enjoying Christmas with my family! 

Here are my Christmas day nails... obviously I had planned which nails I wanted to do for Christmas day way in advance! However, the design that I wanted to create just did not turn out how I had hoped. With little mani time left I had to just put on a bit of sparkle. Basically, these did not turn out like I'd wished but they were still pretty simple and classy for the day. I also added hand painted snowflakes after I'd take the picture which made them look a little better.
This design was created using; OPI - Natural base, L'oreal - Raven's dream, and ELF - Gold star and the gold has no name because it has rubbed off! 

To achieve this effect I sponged on the gold and glitter which I think gets better coverage and creates an ombre effect. 

I'm in the process of changing my nail shape to almond because my nails break so much when they are square. But growing them out and trying to shape them isn't an easy task so bare with me and my random nail shape! 
Hope everyone had a relaxing Christmas break.
xox



Sunday 21 December 2014

Mani swap with Holly

I had the absolute pleasure of doing a mani swap with Holly.
My recreation was her pink and black with gold leaf mani using; OPI - natural base, Essie - Fiji, Essie - Mystery and Essie - Good to go. (My pics are the bottom two)
I loved the simplicity of this design but it's so unusual, I would never have thought up this design so it was a nice bit of inspiration! 
Holly's instagram is: @holz_nailpage give it a browse and follow! Her nails are beyond gorgeous and she is doing a Ciaté swatchathon - which I didn't have the patience for!
She did such a great job of my negative space nails. I like hers way better than mine! They look so good on the shape of her nails too. I am so tempted to grow mine out into the almond shape, I can't deal with mine breaking all the time these days.
Happy Sunday people!
xox






Saturday 20 December 2014

IBD always

Over the Christmas holidays I've had the pleasure of doing many nails and thought I would share my thoughts of recent polishes I've used. 
After attending the ibd blogger event in October they kindly gave me a gel starter kit and I've been practicing ever since. I've really got into using gels and learning all I can about them.

Using; ibd Peach Blossom and Paint Riot over top.

I impatiently wanted a deep red colour for the holidays so bought a cheap SensatioNail one from Boots. I was so disappointed! The colour shrank when applying and there was lots of unnecessary clean up to be done. 
This is when I realised that like all polish but particularly gels - product quality really matters! 
It became even more clear how great the quality of ibd gel is. The application is really smooth with absolutely no shrinkage. When I had heard that gels can 'shrink' I didn't really understand what this was because ibd Just gel never did this. I now have a very good understanding of it! Just gel lasts as gel polish should and is such an easy process to remove.

Gel polishes are great in the winter months for nail growth as nails are weaker and the gels provide a sort of protective layer, ibd has really helped my nails through December!
Such a fab and yet affordable product - after trying other products I wouldn't compromise the quality of ibd. 
I have already added more ibd just gel polishes to my birthday list!
Much nail love to be had. 
xox 
Twitter: IBDnailsUK
Instagram: IBDbeauty


Friday 19 December 2014

Plaid parade

A plaid Christmas mani was a must!
Using; Ciaté - boudoir (from my mini mani month calendar) Sally Hansen - Black platinum, OPI - Thrills in Beverly Hills and Essie - Good to go. 
I don't think Black platinum was the best polish to use for this but I didn't have my block black colours or acrylic paints with me. However, I still think the colours work together - that's what I love about plaid mani's they are all so different from another. 
Recently I've taken up the challenge of practicing freehand lines with my right hand (I'm left handed)... ambidextrous here I come!   
As for the Ciaté polish, I cannot believe the quality from the calendar, they are incredibly shiny and as far as I'm aware chip-free.

I really enjoy doing tartan mani's so will be doing another very soon!
xox





Thursday 18 December 2014

William did good

As the owner of triple figure nail polishes this is the statement of the year...
I think I have found a favourite nail polish. My mum's reaction... "surely not - how can you choose". I love it, she knows the obsession all too well. My mum also taught me how to bargain hunt - this beauty was £3.
It is OPI - William tell me about OPI.
You've gotta give it to OPI for their creative and somewhat ridiculous polish names. William didn't need to tell me much about OPI before I fell in love with it! 
Only one coat and an Essie top coat and this is it's glorly! 
I couldn't capture the colour quite right in a picture but it's basically a super dark purple and it's amazing.
I didn't even have to do clean up on this colour - I don't think it will even stain. 
Basically, it's a christmas miracle. But I don't want to over exaggerate. 
xox



Wednesday 17 December 2014

Snowflake Solitaire

I'm in love.
Recreated from @stylethosenails - It caught my eye on instagram because it's such a pretty mani. 
Polishes used were; OPI Natural base, MAC - Frosty much adored, OPI liquid sand - Solitaire, Sinful Colors - Snow me white and Essie - Good to go. Also added some tiny beads for the centre of the snowflakes.
Liquid sand it one of my favourite and this time I tried sponging it on which worked so much better than painting, it gave way better coverage.
The snowflakes are hand painted, I'm trying to up my skill in the hand painting area because some nails bloggers out there have mad skill...which I strive towards!  
I absolutely adore this mani, it's so festive without being over the top (like most christmas nails) (but we still love them) 
Apologies for not painting my thumb (which you probably didn't realise until I pointed it out) it was going through a bit of repair so I didn't paint it.
xox




Monday 15 December 2014

Frozen teal the end

Who doesn't love a bit of frozen for inspiration? I certainly do, so when I saw this on @xlaurenelliottx instagram I had to give it a go.
Using; Sinful colors - Snow me white and Teal the end, Essie - Pearlfection Essie - Good to go. So far so good with my first use of the good to go topcoat, though I'm not sure about longevity as a top coat because I never keep a mani for long enough! 
I don't think this is the best blue colour to use but believe it or not, out of my double figure blue colours I couldn't find the perfect one. 
I had to sponge each finger four times to get full coverage which created a slightly more messy result than I would have hoped for but I really think the white and blue ombré combo works and really wanted to share this design. 
Blog posts every other day this week & I have something exciting coming up early January so keep reading! 
Thanks for all the love.
xox



Thursday 11 December 2014

Mani swap time!

I've been rubbish with blogging the past week. I'm ashamed but have had tech difficulties and been coming home for christmas break so have been slightly preoccupied. 
Today I am sharing a recent mani swap with @mynailpolish_addiction - check out Jessica's gorgeous instagram for daily posts!
Using: OPI - natural base, Sinful Colors - Teal the end, Sally Hansen - Gunmetal gray, Gold with no name and Essie - Good to go.
This is a technique I have tried once before, I love it so much because it's really simple to create.
I love that Jessica used two colours both the black and the gold I think it works so well, the gold adds a lush glitter to the nail. 
I really love doing mani swaps, it's so fun seeing how the mani's turn out and getting to see peoples take on designs!
More Christmas mani's coming up and also Ciaté mini mani month swatches.
xox 



Tuesday 2 December 2014

Monochrome Monday


I am posting a mani that I did early last week because I have had some major technology issues this week - currently posting from my uni library (which makes blogging far less appealing!) 

Using; OPI - Natural Base, Sinful Colors - Snow me white, Acrylic paints for the black and Rituals - Top coat. 

Inspired by @adoredollsparlour - I fell in love with their simple negative space mani so had to give it a go for myself. I wanted to practise my free hand lines using acrylic paints - something of which I never do! 
I'm pretty pleased with how this turned out - obviously there is so much room for improvement but when isn't there? I find it hard to make acrylic paints looks sleek and 'non-gloopy' - I think this is down to practise and also in need of new brushes! 

I am hoping to blog my ciate advent calender (on instagram) and swatch the polishes in it. And also an exciting mani swap to come this weekend. However, this may be a little delayed due to my life and soul (Macbook) currently out of use! 

Have a fab first week of December! 
xox