NOTD: Black & White

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just can't seem to be inspired by anything, well for me, it's one of those weeks. However, I looked down at my plain boring nails, and I just wanted something on them. So I cracked open the bottle of ELF's black polish and gave myself a black manicure. Feeling satisfied I left it there. It wasn't until late last night that I wanted something quirky on my nails and I remembered about the L.A colors Art Deco pens I picked up from the Poundstore earlier that day. So I went back to my nail station and got the white pen and just let my brain do the painting.
This is what I came up with. Please excuse the state of them though! I went in the shower with what I thought were dry nails, and they started to smear a little. So yeah, these are currently what I'm sporting on my nails.

NOTD: Bows & Stripes

Please excuse the writing on my fingers, they're my tattoos.

I realise I've been a bit MIA when it comes to blogging, and I apologise for that. But I am nearing 50 followers! And there are still 12 days until the release of the Beetlejuice Collection from Models Own. Can we do it?
Anyway, I thought I would end the absence with a little NOTD post. I got inspiration to do this from a YouTube video (I can't remember for the life of me the name, sorry!) and it's a simple(ish) design to do. I say simple-ish because if you're like me and SUCK at doing bows, then it's a bit harder to master, but I think I did an alright job, don't you?
The whole manicure was done with Models Own polishes; Base; Purple Ash, White; Snow White, Black; Nail Art pen, Bow; Lilac Dream. Unfortunately, my nails no longer are like this :(. As I've accidentally smudged 3 of my fingers (after they'd had 20 minutes drying time!) NOT HAPPY.

However, as my birthday is coming up, I have requested I get a Konad stamping kit, and made sure that my parents are aware this is HIGHLY ranked in what I want. Let's hope they get the message!

I'm currently rummaging through my collection to find some dupes, so be on the look out for those! And ALSO I'll be posting my Winter Nail Trends asap. So keep an eye out for those!

Ciao for now

NOTD: Pastel Hearts

Seeing as I was unhappy with my previous mani, I decided to do something different. I saw something similar to this on YouTube, but the hearts were stitched round the edges. I did originally start to do this, but some of them didn't even look like hearts in the end, so I decided to just do normal styled hearts. I do like how this turned out, but I know I could have done better, and I definitely need some practise painting with my left hand, the hearts on my right nails are absolutely horrendous, so these will be coming off shortly after this post has gone up!
For the base colour I used China Glaze - Pelican Grey. I then used BarryM - Berry Ice Cream (Purple), Strawberry Ice Cream (Pink) and Blueberry Ice Cream (Blue) and Models Own - Jade Stone (Green) and Snow White (Polka Dots). For the outline I used Models Own/WAH Nail Art Pen.

I think this is SO cute, I just wish that my right hand turned out as well as this, otherwise I'd have been sporting this until it chips. Hey ho, that's life I suppose...If anyone has any tips for getting the right hand to look like the left. Leave me a comment below!

NOTD: Minnie Mouse Tips

I decided I wanted just a simple french, with a twist. So I decided to do a Minnie Mouse inspired french tip. I definitely need more practise when it comes to the bows, and I was in a rush so it could have been a lot better if I'd had the time. I used Collection 2000 - Big Hair to do the tip and dotted it with Models Own - Snow White. I then used the Models Own Nail Art Pen for the bows (or what was supposed to be bows). I then sealed it with China Glaze - No Chip Top Coat.

Models Own Haul & Swatches.

As you all may know, I recently did the Nail Trends for Autumn. In doing so it made me realise that I don't really have many nude/pink shades. So whilst browsing the Models Own website I thought it would be as good a time as any to pick a couple more up! As they do the special deals where if you buy 3 polishes you get them for £12 (£3 off) or if you buy 5 you get them for £18 (£7 off). So as you can see, I got 5. I was going to stop there, but I've been craving the Models Own Nail Art Pen for AGES now, so I thought whilst I'm treating myself I may as well get that too. This brought the total to £24, and you qualify for free standard shipping for orders of £25, unfortunately there's nothing on the website for £1, the cheapest thing I saw was £2.50...so that's the reason for the two Nail Buffers!

Anyway! On to the colours; (Apologies for the swatches! Blame the dull English weather)

Peach Puff: A dark peach pastel colour with brown undertones.
Nude Beige: I expected this to be a neutral beige colour with a tiny hint of brown, However the colour itself is more of a dark brown with a pinky/purple undertone than a beige.

Vintage Pink: I have been lusting over this colour for absolutely ages, and I could never seem to find it on the website, booo. Until now! Vintage Pink is a pinky mauve colour with a sort purple/blue undertone. The swatch above makes it look a bit darker than it is, but that's due to the 'lovely' English weather. I will re-swatch IF the sun comes out.

Purple Ash: This looks veryyy similar to Vintage Pink in the bottle (so much so I had to double check I didn't have the same polish twice!) and is a dusky Rose colour. It has hints of brownish undertones too. It's REALLY hard to describe, so I apologise, but yes. I love it! (Again swatch seems darker)

Grace Green: A gorgeous khaki/olive creme polish. This is the sort of colour I think of when I think of Autumn. Love it.

If you'd like, I will give a more in depth review/comparison in individual posts, just let me know in the comments if you want to see those! What are your favourite colours from Models Own?

NOTD: Hello Kitty Manicure

I've been feeling really under the weather at the moment and I wanted to do something to take my mind off of the fact I'm 'dying' (goddamn you flu!). So I took the opportunity to get creative. I got the idea from cutepolish on YouTube, and I thought, why not give it a go myself. Unfortunately, my Nail Brushes aren't here yet *BOO* so I had to make do with what I had. So here's what I used to create this manicure;

• China Glaze: 108 Degrees on my thumb, index, middle & pinky fingers & for the polka dots
• Models Own: Snow White on my ring finger
• ELF - Black for polka dots & lines
• ELF: Clear Polish
• China Glaze: No Chip Top Coat
• Cocktail Stick
• Hello Kitty print out 
• Piece of A4 paper 

How To:

Take 108 Degrees (Or a pink colour of your choice...BarryM's Pink Flamingo goes well with this too) and apply 2 coats to your thumb, index finger, middle finger and pinky finger.
Apply 3 coats of Snow White (Again, or a white colour of your choice) to your ring finger.
Once this is dry, take the white polish and paint a triangle across the tip of your pink nails.
Whilst these are drying, get your piece of paper and drop a bit of the pink and black onto the page.
Take your toothpick/dotting tool and place dots of each colour onto the white triangles.
When these are completely dry (to avoid any smudging) take another toothpick/striping brush and dip in in the black polish.
Stripe directly across the nail where the white meets the pink.
When this is done, take your hello kitty print out and cut around the outline so there are no bits of paper around the outside.
Dab a little bit of clear polish onto the middle of your ring finger and using tweezers, secure the Hello Kitty printout. Carefully pressing the sides down.
When this is done, take the toothpick/dotting tool you used for the polka dots on the other fingers and dot around the cutout.
Apply your favourite top coat, and voila! You're done.

 

This is the Hello Kitty print I used! Feel free to take it ^.^

Hope you enjoyed the post! ^.^

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Buff Pink & My Fair Lady

Today's Autumn Nail Trend is Buff Pink by Models Own and My Fair lady by Ciaté. Both of these are very sheer, nude colours, which again I think are perfect for Autumn. They're colours which you can wear without looking like you're wearing polish at all.
My fair lady is a creamy nude shade with a very subtle hint of pink that helps it to look natural and not washed out like some nude polishes have the tendency to do. I found the consistency to be really runny and the drying time isn't fast at all. I managed to smudge after almost 10 minutes drying time.

• Application: 5/10
• Pigmentation: 5/10
• Coats: 3/4

Buff Pink is a very sheer nude baby pink. I bought this with the hopes it would apply the colour in the bottle, however this wasn't the case. It's extremely sheer, I needed at least 5/6 coats to come close to the colour in the bottle. As you can see from the swatch, I used 3 coats and it still looks like nothing is there. I was extremely disappointed with this colour, due to the sheerness of it. However, I do think this is more for french manicures than for a solid nail colour, so that may have been my mistake.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 2/10
• Coats: 5/6

I do have a shortage of Nude shades, so if you have any you'd highly recommend, leave me a comment below with the brand & Shade name!

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Westside Warrior & Starboard

My Autumn Nail Trends for today are by China Glaze. Here we have Westside Warrior from the new Metro collection and Starboard from the Anchors Away collection. Both of which I think are perfect for Autumn.
Westside Warrior is an olive green creme with yellow undertones. It's one of those colours that looks a really solid green colour on it's own, but when paired next to another olive green, the yellow becomes very apparent. The lacquer itself is extremely pigmented and therefore only needs 1 coat, 2 at most.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 10/10
• Coats: 1/2

Starboard is a soft grassy green colour that again leans more towards yellow undertones than it does to blue. Very creamy finish and has that soft, cloudy marshmallow-ish look like the rest of the colours in this collection have. In true china glaze style the polish is very pigmented and needs 3 coats max.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 9/10
• Coats: 2/3

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Peacock Green & Slate Green

Todays Nail Trend is brought to you by Models Own. Models Own is a UK brand mainly based online at www.modelsownit.com or various online stores, such as River Island, Motel Rocks etc. It can also be found in local boots stores all over the country. They retail for £5 each, but they have a 3 for £12 or 5 for £18 offers on their website.
The colours I have chosen are Peacock Green and Slate Green. Both of which I think are good for the Autumn months, as they're not pastels and they're not brights. Perfecto.
Peacock Green is a gorgeous bluey greeny shimmer polish with tiny flecks of green/gold running throughout. I absolutely love this colour, I fell in love with it the second I saw it. It does need 3 coats to get full opacity, but you won't be disappointed!

• Application: 7/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats: 3

Slate Green is a greyed out green polish with a blueish undertone. The swatch here makes it look like a turqouise blue, but I assure you it isn't. I found the formula to this polish a little bit runny, but not so bad that it's impossible to work with. It does apply quite sheer so you need a couple coats just to bring it out more.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 7/10
• Coats: 2/3

What are your thoughts on these colours? Do you own them, or are you simply lusting after them? Let me know in the comments below :)!

 

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Mod Mauve & Smoky Brown

Today's Autumn Nail Trends are brought to you by E.L.F's Mod Mauve and Smoky Brown. E.L.F or eyeslipsface are an online company in Europe and the US. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I THINK you can buy ELF in certain stores in the US? Their essentials line are priced at £1.50/$1 and their studio line from £3.50/$3. They offer high quality make-up at really affordable prices. And I love them!.
Mod Mauve is a gorgeous neutral plum shade with a brownish undertone. I've found that it does apply streaky with the first coat, but that evens out with a second. I did also notice that the colour isn't the same as it is in the bottle, which is a tad disappointing, but for £1.50 you can't really complain.

• Application: 5/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats: 2/3

Smoky Brown is a deep taupe brown shade with a slightly greyish undertone. When I first got this I thought it was going to be a dupe for Below Deck, from seeing the swatch on the website. It isn't in the slightest. This is another streaky polish, but again a second coat takes care of that.

• Application: 5/10
• Pigmentation: 6/10
• Coats 2/3

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Below Deck & Devotion

Today we have two by China Glaze - Below Deck and Devotion.
Below Deck comes from the Anchors Away collection and is a lovely creme polish. One of those ever-popular purple/grey shades. Apparently, this was supposed to be a replica of Channelesque, and although only seeing photos, they do look pretty similar! It's high gloss and very pigmented! Can wear with just one coat.

• Application: 9/10
• Pigmentation: 10/10
• Coats: 1/2

Devotion comes from the Romantique collection and is a metallic polish. The colour itself is a frosty silver with a lavender undertone. I've noticed with this polish that you get the brush lines in the polish, I like this effect, however some people may not.

• Application: 6/10
• Pigmentation: 7/10
• Coats: 2/3

What are your opinions of this? Let me know!

NOTD: Polka Dot

So I thought I would give myself a little mini-manicure, but something that was simple and not time consuming and here they are.
This design is so cute and yet simple to do. In order to do this look, I used a total of 5 things, all of which you will find in your house, if you don't have any dotting tools.

• Base colour of your choice
• A colour of your choice for the dots
• A top coat (optional)
• A piece of paper
• A toothpick/cocktail stick.

First paint your nails the colour you've chosen (you can apply a base coat before this step, I chose not to). For mine I used Blueberry Ice Cream by BarryM.
While this is drying take the colour you chose for your polka dots and dot the brush onto the piece of paper until you have a generous dollop.
Then take your cocktail stick and dip it into the nail polish, for this I used Lemon Meringue by Models Own (note: you have to repeat this step a few times, until there is a build up on nail polish on the end of the cocktail stick to achieve larger dots, you can dot it on the paper to test the size)
Once you've done this, your base colour should be dry. Dot the cocktail stick into the polish and apply to your nails, you will have to repeat this two or three times for each finger.
When all your nails are done, leave them to dry for about 5 minutes and then apply a topcoat of your choice, for mine I used No Chip by China Glaze.
If needs be, tidy up the edges with a cutip dipped in polish remover, and voila.

You're DONE! :)

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Grey & Pelican Grey

Continuing with the Autumn 'Grey' trend we have BarryM's Grey and China Glaze's Pelican Grey. BarryM's Nail Paints are available in Boots & Superdrug stores across the UK and retail for £2.99, they're usually on offer though too! (2 for £5 or something) or you can buy them online at www.barrym.com. China Glaze is a US brand that is pretty hard to get a hold of in the shops in the UK, I know Sallys sell them at £6.49, but other than that I have no idea. I got most of mine from eBay for roughly £3 each. Bargain.
Grey is a dark grey creme polish, it sort of looks like wet cement. I've found in artificial light, it looks black. Like all dark colours it's extremely pigmented and it goes on so well (as most BarryM polishes do).

• Application 10/10
• Pigmentation 10/10
• Coats 1 thick coat

Pelican Grey comes from the Anchors Away collection. It's a gorgeous cool toned grey with blue undertones and infused with subtle silver glitter. As it has a hidden shimmer to it, it creates a nice soft cloudy look to the colour. The pigmentation isn't the best in this shade, it requires a couple of coats to take effect.

• Application 7/10
• Pigmentation 6/10
• Coats 3

What do you think of these colours? Do you own them or just want them?

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice

Is it just me or is anyone else foaming at the mouth to get their hands on this collection?
Models Own announced that they will be launching the Beetlejuice collection, consisting of 5 GORGEOUS pearlescent shades, this November and I personally cannot wait for them to arrive.
In this collection we have;

• GOLDEN GREEN - a fresh energetic acid; 
• PINKY BROWN - a warm rusty pink;
• PURPLE BLUE - a vibrant punch of fuchsia indigo; 
• AQUA VIOLET - a true sky shimmer;
• EMERALD BLACK - a bold-blackened midnight peacock! 

How Models Own describe them;

"Each bottle contains four pearlescent colours mixed into one gleaming shade, and the complex colour-shifting, with flashes of vivid tones and ethereal hues, gives a shimmering duo chrome finish"

These will be priced at £5 each, same price as their other polishes. Models Own have also been asking whether people would like to see them in a set, and personally I think yes! And I'm not alone in thinking that either. So what do you think? Are you excited for this collection to go National or are you a bit on the fence about it?
Let me know in the comments below!

Disclaimer: Image taken from the Models Own Facebook page!

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011 - Gun Grey & Grey Day

First up in my Autumn Nail Trends are Models Own; Gun Grey & Grey Day. Models Own are a UK brand that are readily available to buy in Boots Stores across the UK and also online at www.modelsownit.com (they ship internationally too!). Their nail varnishes are priced at £5/$8/€6 each or £8/$12/€9 for their Pro range.
Gun Grey is a very dark slate grey colour (it almost even looks black) with a metallic silvery shimmer running through it. Like most dark colours, it's very pigmented and you can get away with only applying one generous coat.

• Application: 8/10
• Pigmentation: 9/10
• Coats: 1/2

Grey Day is a sort of concrete grey colour, in certain light is almost looks like the clouds in the sky (hence the reason for the name, I guess?) The first time I used this colour I found it to be quite thick and it applied a bit like butter. However, after using it a few times, I've gotten to know the amount I need for full, perfect coverage.

• Application: 7/10
• Pigmentation: 8/10
• Coats: 1/2

Do you have these polishes? If so let me know in the comments below what your thoughts on them are!

Ciao for now x

Nail Trends: Autumn 2011

For me, Autumn is season of preparing. Whether it be preparing for the cold months ahead or getting the Christmas list written down, it all happens here. Being the type of person who lives for the hot weather of Summer and just wants to curl up in my duvet in the snow for Winter, so Autumn helps me to get ready for the dreaded coldness. As well as that it's also a time for a new trend! Shying away from the pastels of Spring and the brights of Summer and bringing the deeper shades and nudes.
Personally, for my nails I LOVE this season, I find the darker tones seem to suit my pale skin a lot more than pastels/bright colours do.
Which means I will be posting my favourite colours for Autumn every day for the next week, going from the Greys, to Browns, to Greens and to Nudes.

What are your favourite season nail trends and why? Let me know in the comments below!

China Glaze - Below Deck Review

Hello lovely ladies! Here we have China Glaze - Below Deck. Coming from the Spring 2011 collection 'Anchors Away' it's a beautiful cremé polish. As you can see in the photos, the colour varies depending on the lighting, sometimes looking more of a smoky brown colour and other times looking more like a violet/taupe.
This has to be one of my favourite lacquers in my collection. It applies evenly and is super pigmented which means you can get away with only applying one coat! However, just to be on the safe side and to hide those tiny little streaks we all sometimes get, I suggest applying a second coat.

Application - 9/10

Pigmentation - 10/10

Coats - 1/2