Chevron tips

Today's post is another of my subtle Valentines mani's.

Using the same polishes as my previous post; OPI - Nail envy, Crabtree & Evelynn - Peony, Sally Hansen - Coat of arms, and Rituals - Top coat. 

These were the nails I wore for my birthday, I love a french tip but often find it too plain. This design is a little more interesting than a white tip. 

Super easy to recreate as you can always use striping tape for precision. 

Although, I did find this mani to chip so quickly! The C&E polish was a little gloopy when trying to do free hand chevron tips and this was not long lasting which was a shame. 

But still a pretty design so it was nice whilst it lasted! 

xox 

Coat of Peony

A little late but here is another Valentines day mani. 

I'm not too mad about crazy nails for an occasion so I thought I'd see if I could do something simple but still with a pink valentines theme.

Using; OPI - Nail envy, Crabtree & Evelynn - Peony, Sally Hansen - Coat of arms, and Rituals - Top coat. 

Crabtree & Evelynn nail polishes have such a nice formula and brush, I absolutely love using them. They are quite pricey but at most UK Outlet stores they have them on sale which is always fab. The Sally Hansen metallic polish was from the poundshop and was such a good buy, love it for accent nails. 

I really loved the simplicity of this design and got a lot of compliments on it which was nice! 

I have another post coming up tomorrow using these same colours but a different design so keep an eye out. 

Hope everyone had a great Valentines! 

xox 

Valentine Affair

Finally! My first Valentines mani of the year. 

Using; OPI - Nail Envy, Ciaté - Dangerous Affair, Essie - Quick Dry top coat and Sally Hansen - No Chip top coat. 

As I am participating in a Valentines Collaboration I decided to do the full on valentines theme. The collaboration is on Instagram with the hashtag #vdaycollab2015 - check out everyone else's designs, there are so many amazing mani's. 

I quite like these nails but think they're a bit too much for me, great for an occasion but not everyday wear. I forgot to take this mani off before going to Uni with it... Only on one hand!

Onto the polish... I actually really love this Ciaté. I'm never a huge fan of red and it wouldn't be my top choice in colour but I am really liking this shade.

You might have noticed I listed two top coats above. I used Essie quick dry for practical reasons but it looked horrible once it had dried! No shine whatsoever. I've never noticed this before but it became very clear once I used my Sally Hansen one over top giving it an amazing shine. I'm really sad about the Essie top coat because I'm a massive fan of Essie as a brand. Think I might have to try it again on a few different polish colours. 

Hopefully I'll have time to do another valentines mani this week. However, it is my birthday at the weekend so I'll be doing some nice simple birthday nails. 

I also have lots of nail goodies on the way such as; Cuter Cuticles bits, more ibd gels, Zoya polishes and a Seche Vite top coat which I have been after forever! Cannot wait to try and maybe review some of them. 

Thanks for reading this far down! Much love.

xox

Matte in the nude

 So this week is deadline week, I needed something low key so it didn't distract me. Yes this is true, don't pretend great nails don't distract you! 

For this mani I used; OPI - Nail Envy, MAC - Style tip, Sally Hansen big matte top coat and Essie - Set in stones.

This MAC nude has slightly pink undertones so I wasn't sure of at first because I have quite a pale skin tone but the matte makes it look great! 

I've seen matte nude floating around Instagram and loved some of the mani's I saw but disliked others. I had to try it for myself. At first I wasn't convinced but then I added some glitter and they really grew on me. 

My nails are all a bit of a funny shape/length at the moment but I would say this matte nude looks a lot better on slightly longer nails. 

It's so classy and goes with literally any outfit. If you're going to have a stressful week at Uni, you might as well have nice nails doing so.

Ps... The cut on my little finger is because I scratched myself. Square shaped nails can be dangerous.

I'll be doing IBD Just Gel tomorrow ready for my weekend away.

xox

Blog Birthday Giveaway

 I cannot believe Nailstori is a year old! So to celebrate I am doing a giveaway on Instagram! 

Included in the prize is;

6 Leighton Denny nail polishes

2 Nails Inc

1 mini China Glaze

2 Sally Hansen

A Cath Kidston nail kit

5 packs of nail art gems 

1 Orly nail polish

Orly hand cream

Plus many other goodies! 

(Not all prizes are included in the picture) 

Onto the rules; 

1.) This is an International giveaway - yay! 

2.) Repost the picture on my Instagram with the hashtag #nailstori1yeargiveaway and tag me in the post @nailstori 

3.) Must be following me (don’t follow to unfollow - not cool) 

4.) Must be 16 or over otherwise will need parents permission. 

5.) Your page must be public so I can view your entries

6.) I will like your entry so you know it’s valid.

7.) One entry per person. 

Ending February 13th.

Tag friends and let them know of the lush nail polish filled prize. 

Good luck! 

I’m planning to have two more nail designs on the blog this week then it’s exam week and I will be absent - so please bare with. 

Much love for reading! 

xox

Ocean Ombré

Firstly, I apologise for lack of blogging - it isn't by choice. I have Uni exams and assignments that are taking over! 

So, here is a simple blue gradient, I wanted something easy to do but really colourful.

Using: OPI - Nail envy, Essie - Mint Candy Apple, Sally Hansen - New Wave Blue, Wynie - 698 and Essie - Good To Go top coat. 

I didn't use a white base colour which I normally do for gradients not sure why I didn't here but turns out I don't need one. I sponged 2/3 times to get coverage, which lasted a good week with no chipage.

This technique is so simple and gives a great mani every time, and works with almost any colour combo - perfect for a quick mid-week mani. 

Keep updated for an exciting announcement this week! 

Much love for reading and sticking around.

xox

NYE

New years eve nails!

Using: Loreal - Mystery and Sally Hansen - Big matte top coat with some gold leaf on the top. 

I forgot how much I love matte black, it is such simple look but great for an evening out. 

It was tempting not to add anything to the black polish because it looked so good in my opinion. However, I did get bored of it not long after haha. So, here is my final mani with gold leaf which I love! 

Short & sweet post today. 

I hope everyone had a great night. 

Happy 2015! 

xox 

Red Zin Mystery

The first Halloween design of the year... Inspired by @ninanailedit. She is so talented, I just had to recreate for the Halloween 'vampire' look. 

Using; OPI - Natural Base, Sally Hansen - Red Zin, L'oreal - Mystery, W7 top coat and Kiko top coat.

First things first, the top coats ruined the colours of this mani. I needed a new top coat urgently and went cheap with W7 which gave a horrible finish on these nails. I then tried to add more shine by adding Kiko and it just didn't work. Waaaah. 

Also, obviously the red was a nightmare to get out of my cuticles, please excuse the messy clean up.

Aside from all that drama - I adore these. 

A colour combo I have never done and studs that I would never have thought to position like that so something different which turned out great. 

This Sally Hansen colour is a great Autumnal colour - I'll be wearing it lots in the next few months.

More Halloween nails to come - I love themed nails! 

xox

Mexican Skulls

This was part of the 30 day nail art challenge; day 16 - accent nail. 

I saw this design on the talented nail tech's instagram @marikonail1214. I absolutely loved the design so gave it a go myself.

Polishes used were; Sally Hansen - White on, Essie - Pure Pearlfection, the eyes; Orly - Passionfruit, Essie - Fiji, and for the rest; Wynie - 698, L'oreal - Mystery. 

I love this mani because it is so different to anything else I would normally do and it was actually really fun do to! 

Will continue to share my favourites from the challange.

xox

Lush inspired ombre

I recently got this models own neon green polish and didn't know how to use it in a design until I saw the lush logo. Then this happened and I love it. 

For this design I used: OPI - natural base, Sally Hansen - White on, Models own - Flip flop, Wynie - 969 (I have never heard of this brand, I got it in Lisbon because I loved the colour) and Sally Hansen - Big matte top coat.

At first the colours weren't showing up as bright as I had hoped so I had to sponge on more than I would normally to achieve this. However, I did do this in the evening so it was dark - when I turned a big light on I was almost blinded. It's safe to say it is a very neon ombre!  

I used the matte top coat for the first time on an ombre and I really like it. I was worried that it would separate the colours but it actuallu makes them look much more blended. 

So glad I bought the matte coat, it is so cool and works so well with these colours.

xox

Pink pyramids

I had seen a design similar to this and have been wanting to try it out forever. However, I now can't find the blogger that I recreated - if anyone recognises the design let me now who's it is! 

Using: OPI - natural base, Sally Hansen - White on, Jessica - pink explosion and Kiko - top coat. 

I love this design but hate my clean up on this! 

I did not get great pictures of it, such a bummer when that happens. The camera doesn't capture how neon these really are. 

I am in love with neons at the moment so was loving the bold nails. 

Definitely going to do another neon design this week.

Getting those last summer nails in! 

Happy weekend blogging world.

xox

Inspired by my best friend

I decided it was time to share my beautiful furry friend with the blogging world, so I did a simple mani inspired by Daisy my gorgeous 10 year old dog. 

For this mani I used: OPI - natural base coat, ELF - Desert haze and Sally Hansen - White on. 

I'm not going to lie this took me forever because it kept going wrong! I hate it when the most simple mani is sometimes the most frustrating because we want perfection. 

I have no idea why they all kind of look different colours - I think I may have done more coats on a few - oops. 

I went for half moon nails because Daisy is a cross between a Whippet, Yorkshire Terrier and a Jack Russell - quite a mix. I liked the colours together and it is like the colouring of her fur. She is the most adorable, cuddly, happy dog and brings so much happiness to my family. I couldn't help but share a few pictures. 

xox

A sandy chevron

Another chevron design... I'm a little obsessed. Hopefully this passes soon and I can start creating different designs! 

However, I wanted to use as many new polishes as I could get in one mani.

Using: OPI - Natural base coat, OPI liquid sand - Solitaire, Sally Hansen - White on, Sally Hansen - Lacey lilac and Kiko - Top coat. 

I did use Sally Hansen - Big matte top coat but it did not look as good as I had envisioned, so shiny top coat went on top.

First things first, if you do not own an OPI liquid sand - find a clearance and get one! It is just the coolest polish I own and I am in love! 

As for the rest of the mani - I like the idea of my design but I'm not loving it as much as I would hope! 

Nevertheless it is a simple and pretty quick mid week mani.

Check out my Orly review which will be up tomorrow.

xox

Massive American Haul

Some of you may know that I've been in America the past few weeks - the reason behind my lack of posting. However, I did not come home empty handed so this post will be showing off my new purchases.
I cannot believe how cheap everything is in the US, every year I go back and forget! You American blogging lot get it so cheap. 
These products are from; Victoria's Secret, Sally's, Walgreens, Target,  Tjmaxx and dollar tree. All of the polishes I got were on offer - there is no other way to buy polish in my opinion. 
I had saved a long time to get all these products and stuck to the list I made very well (surprisingly)
Leaving polishes last (from left to right) the other products I got were;
Dermalogica, Dry skin kit - absolutely amazing stuff. The only products that got rid (and kept away) my teenage spots. It is ridiculously expensive in the UK but I picked this up for around $35. 
Naked Palette 3 - been on my list for months. Only used it once but am loving the fact all the colour work together. 
Orly nails rescue - heard great things about this so couldn't resist, can't wait to see how it works. 
Orly spritz away - I needed a new polish dryer and it looked pretty good.
Orly nail lacquer thinner - I was fed up of putting polish remover in my polishes to make them thinner I wasn't sure if I was making them better or worse. So it was time for some proper thinner. 
Victoria's Secret - Passion struck, Sheer love and Amber romance. Adore these my fave is Amber Romance! 
Lastly at the front - Maybelline - colour show fashion prints, Essie - sleek stickers (love love love the print on these) and some simple dotting tools. 

Onto polishes and names! 
Sinful colours - we no longer get this in the UK we had it for a few weeks and then it vanishes. So upsetting so I got some basic colours of theirs. 
Jolly, Dream on, Teal the end, High strung and 24/7. 
Sally Hansen - Big Matte Top coat (want this for so so long!) Colour foil - Titanium flush and Leaden Lilac. I had no idea these existed until I found the clearance section in Target. They look amazing in the bottle! Xtreme wear - White on and Lacey Lilac. Finally, Lady lavender. I went a bit lilac crazy with the Sally's polishes. 
Orly - Retro red and Live wire. 
Essie - Come here - looks a beautiful deep pink. 
OPI liquid sand - Pussy Galore (what a name) and Solitaire. I am so in love with liquid sand and both at only $8 it was an absolute dream. I cannot wait to try them but want my nails to grow a little longer first.
Finally onto the massive ELF collection I acquired. So the deal was 15 polishes for $6 I just couldn't not. I have never tried ELF polishes so they could be really bad or really good. Left to right the names are; Gold star, Mango Madness, Wedding bells, Desert haze, Nude, Blush, Raspberry sorbet, Gina girl, Purple dream, Purple pleaser, Sea escape, Love me, Smoking hot and High tide. 
So, that's my BIG American haul, I am so happy with all these products and cannot wait to try them out.
Some stamping on its way in the coming weeks too.
I'm happy to be back.
Have a great relaxed Sunday nail peeps. 
xox 

Last minute mani

 Well, I was planning on sharing some stamping I've been up to... however,  me and my mum planned a very last minute trip to Lisbon! So I've had to do a quick holiday mani, I just can't leave it a plain colour these days. 

This mani includes; Essie - Millionails, Nails inc - Optic Wave, MoYou - White, L.A colors, Sally Hansen - Top coat and striping tape.

I liked my last post design but decided to add to it and use a different blue. I really loved the Optic Wave on my toes so matched the colour with my fingers - I never have matching mani/pedi but love it for holidays. 

You can faintly see some dotting on my index and pinky finger that are very off centre! I realised way after it had dried so couldn't change it! 

I wanted to add gemstones (which I have on my toes) but I find they never stay on my nails as much as I would like, I didn't want any falling off and not be matching the whole trip. I think adding gemstones into the design would look good for any recreations. 

For coming weeks look out for more MoYou related posts. In this post I used their white nail polish. I initially got this polish for stamping but wondered what it would be like for regular painting, so gave it a go. My first MoYou polish experience was a good one! The colour is great, it isn't an off white, making it really stand out in a design like this one. The formula seems great, dries super quick which is also good when adding polish on top of it. And overall, gives a nice shiny finish before using a top coat. I cannot wait to share what I will be reviewing in the coming weeks. 

Have a sunny week and I will be posting very shortly. 

xox

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 

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 

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 

Pastel tuesdays

Iphone camera pictures only. 

I keep seeing pastel ombre nails online and they are my favourite! I was hoping mine to be the same but unfortunately these aren't my favourite.

I used: Sally Hansen nail strengthener for the base (didn't have OPI with me) OPI - My boyfriend scales walls, Barry M - Berry ice cream, Essie - Mint Candy Apple, Essie - Fiji and Sally Hansen - UV top coat.

I really like the idea here but it just didn't turn out right for me. 

First, bubbles!! Why the bubbles?! My white OPI never does this, I'm thinking it's because I let them dry in the sun for about an hour, could this be why? 

I'm not sure on the colours used, I did set out to use a fourth colour but it didn't come out too good so I stuck to the three. 

I'm not usually a Barry M fan, I only have a few of their polishes but it works really well on the ombre, shows up well on white so I liked it for this.

The next time I try this - which will be in the next month I expect. I want to get a pastel yellow, test out the colours more and maybe add some studs to it.

I didn't have my Nikon with me today so these pictures will have to do, which isn't too upsetting because the bubbles aren't too much on show!

I won't be posting for a few days because I have an exam friday but will be back shortly!

xox

Houndstooth

I apologise for not posting for a while, I've been really bugged down on uni work and haven't had much inspiration or motivation to do my nails. What a first! 
This is my first houndstooth design. One of my favourite patterns on anything of all time. I have so many clothes of dogtooth/houndstooth. For this design I used: OPI - natural base coat, Models Own - French white, L'oreal - Top coat confetti, Sally Hansen - Top coat and then black acrylic paint. 
I really like the houndstooth design, it wasn't too neat because I am a leftie and I used my right hand to paint this. So I'm sure when I do it again on my right hand it will be much neater. 
I love the top coat confetti, I don't have anything else like it. However, it is horrible to get off so you're going to need to use the tin foil trick here ladies!
Also, I highly recommend the Sally Hansen top coat, it doesn't chip and gives the nail such a nice shine. Got mine for super cheap too which makes it even better.
More designs soon. I finish for summer on friday! Yay!
xox