Quick & simple weekend mani

My slight obsession with striping tape continues (I have used it in my last 5 or so manis - which have yet to be blogged) 

I'm just loving it at the moment... And I love this design so much.

I created this using: Essie - Millionails, Crabtree & Evelyn - Peony, L'oreal - Mystery, Sally Hansen - Top coat and some striping tape from ebay.

This was so simple to do and I think the colour combo works great. It was my first time using L'oreal - Mystery and I really like it! I didn't always love the colour in the bottle because it looked a little grey but with two coats it's lush. And I love the C&E polish, it's such a fab brand, and I'm a sucker for a pale pink. 

My middle finger looks a little odd shaped, I noticed the corner had chipped off just after I'd painted so my nails will all have to be filed down asap. :( 

Not too much else to say about this one really. I hope my next post will be up soon but I have a feeling I will want to keep this mani for a little longer than usual.

Have a fab weekend nail bloggers/readers/friends 

xox 

POTW

It's that time of the week again - product of the week.

Today's product is: Nails inc express nail polish remover. 
I am so pleasantly surprised with this product, it is such simple idea and works too well to be true. 
I picked this up in boots at a clearance and got it for £2 just to give it a try -  I am so glad I did. The retail price for this product is around £10 (I think) being the bargain hunter I am I'm not sure I would pay the full price for it but I have seen them in a few clearances so keep your eyes peeled for one.

Basically all the product is, is a pink plastic pot with a big sponge in it soaked in nail polish remover. You put your finger in the hole of the sponge wiggle your finger around for about 15 seconds and all the polish will be gone. The main reason I was interested in this product was for the dreaded glitter/sparkle remover dilemma, it is such a faff. This completely solves this problem, just put your finger in the pot for longer and your glitter nightmares will be resolved. 
I have used this product about 5 times on all my fingers, it shows no sign of drying out or polish residue on the sponge which was my initial worry. If it begins to dry out I would recommend just putting some remover onto the sponge and giving the bottle a shake, no need to spend to get another every time. 

The remover seems to be good quality, it doesn't dry out nails and cuticles. However, the smell is quite strong at first - but I guess that's nothing us nail girls aren't used to! 

I really love this product and didn't think I would at all. I went and picked up another pot after my first use of this. If you are looking for a quick and super effective removal this is definitely worth a purchase. 

More nail posts this week - I have had a lack of painting due to being poorly.
xox

Letting the boyfriend choose the mani colours day

Who doesn't love a chevron mani - I do! 
For this mani I used: Essie - Millionails, Rimmel London Kate collection - Reggae Splash, L'oreal - Pop the bubbles and Sally Hansen - Top coat. 
For this mani I knew I wanted to do a chevron design but just couldn't choose the colours - I know it's a hard life right. So I gave the million dollar question to my boyfriend and I actually really love how the colours came out. I would never have picked the colour combo myself and I think it really works so thank you very much Aaron! They stand out so well together and it is a perfect summer/holiday mani. 
I love the Rimmel colour, such a gorgeous pastel orange and gives great coverage in two thin coats. At first I wasn't sure on the big brush because I generally don't like them but this one wasn't bad at all, easy to apply. 

In the past I haven't had lots of success with chevron/tape mani's and I fairly recently found out why... DO NOT LET IT DRY BEFORE PEELING OFF THE TAPE! Why did I always do this? The trick is to peel the tape off as soon as you have painted. However, you probably know this tip already, I'm not sure how I missed it! 
It's slightly upsetting that my index finger nail broke again - why is it always the index finger! 
So that's my mani for the weekend. 
Have a great (early) weekend nail peeps.
xox 

Sunshine blogger award nomination

I have recently been nominated by Nailartoholic  for the Sunshine blogger award. Be sure to check out her blog to be inspired and get great tips! 

What is the Sunshine blogger award?

I am still pretty new to the blogging scene so this was very new to me too. The award aims to show recognition to a blog with a fairly small number of followers. It uses the motto "positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogsphere". I love this little phrase I think it nails (pardon the pun) why most of us blog and share what we love doing. 

It has a few steps to complete but they aren't exactly boring ones.

The steps are:

1) Display the award logo

2) Show appreciation to the blogger that nominated you by acknowledging them in your blog - nailartoholic

3) Share 7 random facts about yourself

4) Nominate 15 bloggers that you admire and share the award linking them in your blog.

6) Contact your 15 chosen bloggers and let them know they have been nominated. 

The award seems to have chain mail letter type qualities, however, it doesn't include any threats or pointless messages! It is a great way of sharing and appreciating blogs alike and I love the idea of it - hence why I am sharing this post. 

7 facts about myself:

1) I have always had an interest in nail art but started doing it more about a year and a half ago.

2) I absolutely love ice cream sandwiches but they are hard to find in the UK (maybe for the best)

3) I am really into dance - I used to be a competitive irish dancer and absolutely loved it.

4) I am a lover of travel - I have lived in UK, USA, Belgium and Singapore. 

5) I am interested in film, I did it as an A level but decided not to pursue it at uni. 

6) I have the most gorgeous dog, she is a whippet, jack russell, yorkshire terrier mix and is adorable.

7) I am into all beauty products, not just polish. I would love to follow more beauty blogs - I'm always keen to learn about new products and the latest tips. 

My nominations: (In no particular order)

1) Simplyintomynails

2) Polish and Pea

3) Journails

4) Fife Fantasi Nails

5) Roaring nails

6) La Gazelle

7) Creativenails4fun 

8) The Sequined Nail

9) Dahlia Nails

10) Nailartiste 

11) NicolesnailsUK

12) Jaybee Journal

13) Nailsbykc

14) Nailsfordummies

15) Nailartnovice 

It will be great seeing posts and facts if my nominations decide to share this award and if not that's absolutely fine. You were nominated because I really enjoy your nail/beauty blog and wanted to share it with the blogging world. 

xox

POTW

The first post of my new weekly blog series Product of the Week - POTW.  There are so many products that I love and want to share but never get the chance to, so this is where I will share my weekly favourites. First up is the Sally Hansen Vitamin E cuticle oil. I've been using it nearly every day since I got it, it has moisturised my nails and cuticles so quickly and promoted good growth. It will last a life time, a small drop goes a long way. If you follow my instagram you will know that I have had nail surgery on my toes and it landed me in hospital, since then my nails growth has been weak and slow. Using this oil on my nails every day has really promoted the growth and is making me happy. I may finally have nails for summer!

In the picture below, my nails do not look up to standard but this was after two uses of the oil and my cuticles were in such a good condition compared to a lack of tlc before use. I am ashamed to admit I bite the skin around my nails when I'm stressed so this fixes that and doesn't hurt any sores. 

 I give credit to this oil, it makes cuticles look nourished within about 3 days in my experience. If you are looking for a cuticle quick fix I recommend giving this a fix. And it doesn't break the bank which is always a bonus. 

xox

Practice does not always guarantee perfect

Today's post is showing that no matter how many times you have done a nail art technique - there are still off days! This particular water-marble mani just would not turn out how I wanted and I had done it over numerous times. 

For this I used: Essie - millionails, OPI - natural base, Nails inc - Optic Wave and Ciate mini - Kiss Chase and Sally Hansen - Top coat. 

Starting off with polish; I got Nails Inc optic wave in my boots haul (a few posts down) and I absolutely love the colour. It's more of a bright blue which the picture doesn't show. I'm so glad I got it. The Ciate was a freebie in a Marie Claire magazine and I really like it too. Really nice to apply and one coat is enough for even colour. 

Onto the actual water-marbling ... 

I was going for a specific design on each nail and I wasn't prepared for it to go so wrong! 

I used everything I usually do and it just wasn't spreading in the water and was drying so quickly I couldn't create my design properly. The nails inc was spreading okay but the ciate wasn't.  

I wasn't going to give up so I did the mani on both hands but hated it because it took me so long - it only lasted a day! 

It was a disappointing mani but I love the colour combo. 

Not every design is a success.

xox

Jam n' Jelly

The first swatch from my brill boots haul. It is Essie - Jam n' Jelly - what a b-e-a-utiful colour! It's nothing like any other pink polishes I have (which is a fair few) 

The other products I used were OPI - natural base coat and Essie - Millionails for the base and Sally Hansen - top coat.

Essie is by far my favourite nail brand, it is so easy to apply, drys quick and the finish is so smooth. 

Basically, I have a lot of love for Essie. 

xox

Huge boots clearance haul

It's fair to say I went a little crazy in boots today... But the deals were way too good not to. 

So, these include; 
Nails inc - Optic Wave.
Barry M - Marshmallow (confetti), Bubblebum (confetti), Sour Apple (confetti) and White 351 (sequin) 
Sally Hansen - Star Powder.
Collection Hot looks - Look at me & Parma Violet.
Rimmel London Salon Pro Kate collection - Reggae Splash.
Essie - Jam n' Jelly (my favourite)
Finally, Nails inc express nail polish remover - I thought this looked pretty interesting and was a bargain! 

I cannot believe how cheap these were, none are damaged so I guess they are just out of season. I got all of this for £20 which is a bit of a splash but then I added up the original values.... £59! I never buy polish at full price so I like to go a little crazy sometimes, plus it's way more fun finding the great deals. 

I'm interested in the confetti but am unsure how to make it look good in a mani, I think I'm going to have to do an internet search for some nail inspo. I don't really like the Barry M brand but these 4 polishes just looked so pretty and I have noticed more of fellow nail bloggers using them. 

The real question is... which to swatch first? I know what my first week of summer is going to consist of! I need more hands to paint. 

I think I'm going to push the boat out and try the one stroke technique this week. However, it may go awfully and not be blog worthy. But do be sure to keep a look out. 

Have a great weekend nail peeps.
xox 

You can't say no to a great freebie

Today's post is a little different due to no new nails! 

I'm upset with my poor effort but I have been so busy with work experiencing the past few weeks.

So, I was getting a magazine for my journey home from London when I spotted ciaté polish in Marie Claire. Marie Claire is a good mag in itself but made a whole lot better at £2.50 with one polish and caviar thrown in. My mum followed suite and got the red polish (yay!)

The options were; nude, baby blue, lilac, red, pink and orange (I think that is all) With a great selection of nail caviar to compliment each individual polish colour.

I have never tried ciaté polish before so I'm glad I can try before I buy. I know many of the other nail bloggers out there love it so I am very excited to swatch at the weekend. 

The exciting news doesn't end there...

MC readers get an extra 20% off using a special code inside their magazine, this closes on July 9th which still give us nail impulse buyers to mull it over! 

MC are keen to see everyones mani's, so be sure to tweet them at #MClovesciate - I certainly will be. 

Hurry hurry hurry and get your Marie Claire before the colour you want goes!
If you bag yourself any of the polishes be sure to comment and let me know what they are like!

Ps how is it June already?

xox