Ask a British Nail Blogger... "What is your most wanted polish (or polishes)?"

WHAT IS YOUR MOST WANTED POLISH (OR POLISHES)?

Oh I could go on an on here!

But I've whittled it down to this list:

piCture pOlish festival (A rainbow of flakies, need I say more?) :

Nfu.Oh 51 (Ah, such a famous polish!) :

Shimmer Oh Splat!:

The rest of the Color Club Halo Hues that I don't have. Halo Graphic, Kismet, Cosmic Fate, Blue Heaven, Cloud Nine (Seriously they are THE BEST holos out there in my opinion) :

More O.P.I Designer Series (I only have a couple but I NEED MORE! They are sooooo luxe!)

That list is basically of all the polishes I REALLY really want but will probably never manage to get hold of... :'( I can dream can't I? *sigh*

Nail Art Hauling

So you all probably know that I like nail art right? Well, its true I do. But I realised that all the nail art I do is generally painted or stamped! So I thought I should invest in some 'other' things to use for nail art and this is what I ended up with:

Some nail art glitter:

 Some nail art studs and gems:

Some nail art brushes:

And some more stamping plates:

And here's a quick look I created using some gold square studs:

I used Barry M Black Multi Glitter as a base, which in the bottle is a black creme with loads of scattered holo glitter, but on the nail it just looks like a black creme. I then just added a layer of topcoat and placed the studs on. Easy!

I bought all the NPW stuff from River Island/Topshop/New Look and the GALS stamping plates from Amazon.

31 Days of Nail Art Challenge - Day 20 - Water Marbled

Water Marble.

A technique I was scared of doing because of the mess involved.

But for the sake of the challenge I gave it a go. And after two failed attempts, this is what I ended up with:

I used all three foil Limited Edition Barry M Xmas polishes and no base or top coat.

Hmm, I actually really do like the finished look but knowing how much work was needed beforehand (and the clean-up!) makes me weary of doing this very often.

31 Days of Nail Art Challenge - Day 19 - Galaxies

Galaxies.

Something I had never thought of creating on my nails.

But now that I have, I love them!

They were really straightforward as well!

What I did was first paint my nails with A England Tristam, then using the corner of a makeup sponge, dab on on A England St George and Color Club Eternal Beauty and Harp On It. Then once that was dry I very lightly sponged over it all with Color Club Beyond and topped it all off with Barry M Diamond Glitter. Then sealed it all in with some topcoat.

I love the fact that all the colours merge together but can all still be seen and the holographicness from the polishes and glitter topper just ties it all together.

So easy and so cool!

Ask a British Nail Blogger... "What is your nail care routine?"

WHAT IS YOUR NAIL CARE ROUTINE?

Well, I'm slightly ashamed to say that I don't really have a proper 'routine'...

So this is going to be v-e-r-y basic.

What I use:

Not much basically. I generally cut my nails every other week or so (they grow pretty fast), and I never really file them or moisturise/remove cuticles. I like them to be a squarish shape and I rarely cut them to a particular size, just right back down to my fingertips.

1) NAIL POLISH REMOVER - Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover. This is basically a wonder product. All you have to do is stick your finger in, twist, wait a few seconds and tah dah, the polish is gone! The only time its not so great is with glitterbombs. But then again, it does still loosen the glitter so when I use a bit of acetone and a cotton pad it just slides off. Best of all, it lasts aaaaggeees!

2) NAIL CUTTER - These are just a standard pair of metal nail cutters. Nothing special or fancy but they do the job. Plus with just one cut, it cuts my nails to the exact shape I like.

3) BASE COAT - Bourjois So Perfect Correcting Base Coat and Collection 2000 Base Coat and Ridge Filler. These are the only two base coats I really use. The Bourjois one I use when I know a polish has the possibility to stain or needs a super smooth base to look its best (hello holos!). It says 'Texture Gel' on the front and I agree with that because it applies quite thickly, even though the formula is pretty runny, e.g. like a gel (if that makes sense?). The Collection 2000 one I use any other time. Also, because it dries to a similar finish and colour to my natural naked nails, I can get away with wearing it at school ;)

4) TOPCOAT - Seche Vite Dry Fast Topcoat. Omg, I swear by this topcoat! It basically dries in like one minute and to a super glossy, super smooth amazing finish! The only downside to it is that even though I use it up pretty quickly, it does go gloopy ever quicker so the last few ml I end up using as a suspension base, haha. So technically no actual bad points since I do use it all!

5) HAND CREAM - Soap&Glory Hand Food and L'Occitane Date Bouquet Hand Cream. Right so I would be lying if I said that hand cream was actually part of my 'routine'. It isn't. It's just a product that I have lying around everywhere so just apply it if I can be bothered... oops :S

And thats basically it. My 'routine'.

What about you? Are there any products you swear by?

Red Nose Day 2013

If you didn't already know, today is Red Nose Day in the UK and so people up and down the country are doing "something funny for money". 

Red Nose Day is a huge thing at my school and its one of those rare days that the teachers join in with all the silliness and fun and 'let their hair down', aha. And if you don't believe me, watch this video, of Red Nose Day '09 at my school and see for yourself! (Btw, everyone dancing is a teacher!)

So this year, my form decided to be animals and so I was a tiger! I didn't want to go OTT so this is what I came up with:

And of course, the nails. Because I was a tiger, I was originally just going to do plain black to represent the 'claws' but then at the last minute decided to add on some red noses! They aren't the best but hey ho, who cares ;)

To find out more about Red Nose Day, and maybe even make a donation, click here. :)

Kiko 645 Burgundy

Texture polish is EVERYWHERE right now. And although O.P.I. started the trend, I wasn't hugely blown away by them. And the new Barry M's didn't impress me at all so I started to think textured nails couldn't look all that good. But after popping into the Kiko store and spying there new Sugar Mat polishes I snapped some up right away!

And the first one I've worn is Kiko 645. I wore it on my nails on Saturday for a fashion show I was in with my friends from my old dance class.

And ahhh I love it! Its basically a pinky toned burgundy coloured polish with gorgeous duochrome sparkles that dries to a textured matte finish.

This is two thin coats and application is actually really good for what is basically a really dense glitter polish. It dried fully within 10 minutes and removal was actually surprisingly easy!

I didn't try it with topcoat but if it looks like what it looks like when its wet then I think that'll look gorgeous too.

And here's a quick collage of some photos from the fashion show :)

31 Days of Nail Art Challenge - Day 18 - Half Moons

Half Moons.

Something that never appealed to me much...

But I tried them out.

And as I suspected. They look awful. I did these quite a while ago, hence the rubbish painting skills, and before I thought about using hole reinforcers to get the shape -_- 

I'm not prod of these. At all. They are messy and ugly and look weird.

But every time I see others doing them, I think they look great! Sigh...

Maybe I'll try them again and give them another chance soon.

31 Days of Nail Art Challenge - Day 16 - Tribal Print

I realize now that I missed day 16 - doh! So here it is...

Tribal Print.

Something I hadn't actually done before.

But now that I have, I know I'm going to do it again. It's so easy!

All I did was paint my nails pink, with Barry M Dragon Fruit, then painted on the turquoise with Barry M Green Berry. When they were both dry I freehanded the black patterns and then topcoated. Easy!

And I actually like these! They're not the neatest but considering it took less than 20 minutes, I think its pretty good!

This month I'm loving... Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub

First of all, sorry I haven't posted since last Tuesday. Life got a bit hectic and my textiles deadline came around so all of my energy was focused into making my coursework folder and the dress I made the absolute best it could be. But now its all handed in and it really does feel like a massive weight off my shoulders! So much so that today felt like the first good day in a very long while! And for probably the first time this year it was sunny AND warm :)

Anyway, this post should have gone up a week ago but obviously didn't.

So, what am I loving this (last) month? Well, there were a few products but out of them this one stood out. And it is the Soap & Glory The Breakfast Scrub!

I originally bought this on a whim after reading about it on a blog and I'm glad I did! As soon as I opened it the gorgeous smell wafted out and after using it a few times I can say that it does linger on the skin which is a bonus! It's a deliciously sweet maple scent, like pancakes! And while I was showering it filled the room, simply divine! Also, the fact that it smell so good means I actually remember to exfoliate too.

 The scrub itself is pretty thick and contains oats, shea butter, banana, almonds and honey. The scrub is sugar based and when you scoop some out and rub it in you can feel the different grains working away. Because it is quite thick a little goes a long way and when you use it, it doesn't instantly dissolve which is good.

The fact that the tub is actually really big is a huge bonus because it really does last a loooong time! I've been using it for about a month and a half so far and I'm not even half way through.

What I love the most about The Breakfast Scrub is that even though it is actually very grainy and you can feel it working, it is actually quite gentle in a way and definitely not harsh on the skin. As soon as you wash it off you can feel that your skin is much softer and it also gives it a lovely glow.

When this runs out I know I'll be re-purchasing!