Boots 17 Glisten Nail Art with Fimo Cane Butterflies.

This is the final polish that I bought from the new Boots 17 Spring collection and it's a pinky orangey shimmer called Glisten. I think I prefer how it looks in the bottle more than on my fingers, but it is really pretty in the light. Pink at some angles and shimmery peach at others, it has a really soft and feminine look to it!

I hadn't cracked out the fimo cane in, literally, months so I thought I'd give them a go! I added some yellow fimo cane butterflies from BornPretty.com to the corner of each nail - very simple nail art today! Simply cut a very thin slice of fimo cane with a craft knife and use nail glue to keep it in place! Very spring inspired!

Thanks everyone! Let me know what you think on the comments! Out of Mellow Yellow, Juicy and Glisten, which has been your favourite?

Also did anyone pick up this month's Glamour magazine with the free Percy and Reed haircare?! My hair feels INCREDIBLE! I'd definitely recommend!

Valentine's Day Nail Art!

Eeeeeevening!

This is a kind of improvised manicure - I wanted to do a "love letter" style design, with a cream and pink heart background and newspaper print over the top. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the STUUUPOIIDIDIDD newspaper to transfer with vodka, so I've ordered some surgical spirit to try instead! I was very frustrated. Bundlemonster to the rescue, I decided to use plate BM09 and stamp the "love" image repeatedly, so it looks almost like a love letter (or weird love graffiti).

I started out with a base of 3 coats of Bloom Nicole and then stamped the swirly heart image from Bundle Monster BM02 using Konad Special White Polish mixed with bright pink. I then used Rimmel Urban Princess to stamp three little love-hearts from BM03 in the gaps.

After a coat of Seche Vite, I used Konad Black Special Polish to stamp the Love image from BM09 repeatedly over the whole nail. This was tricky to get straight! The beauty of adding a coat of topcoat before stamping, is that if you make a mistake you can take it off with nail varnish remover without destroying your previous stamping.

Don't forget you can click to enlarge!! A little bit different from my Anti-Valentines Day manicure...but I can get into the spirit of things!

I hope everyone had a lovely V-Day, single or not! Let me know what you think on the comments :D

xxx

Avon Shine Attract Lipstick Review

Goood evening everyone, we've had some cracking snow in the UK over the weekend, it is sadly melting away now just in time for the working week to start. DAMN.
I have three lippies to show you today that are probably rather different to any other lipsticks you may have seen before - I was so surprised when I took the packaging off! Avon Shine Attract Lipsticks have a coloured core, with a high-shine, gel outer 'layer' - which looks really cool!

See what I mean?! This has the benefit of adding a high gloss to your lips, as well as pigmented colour - a 2 in 1 product, if you like. These apply almost like a tinted lipbalm, the colour is subtle but buildable, if you want a really pigmented effect. The gel is lovely and moisturising, too, so won't dry your lips out - a hazard with some lipsticks.

Top - Guava
Middle - Copper Connection
Bottom - Happy Pink

You can really see the shine on the outside of the swatches on my hand. This does outline the only issue I have with these lipsticks - they are rather imprecise when it comes to application. In order to get the coloured core up to the edge of your lip, for definition, you end up with the clear gel outside the lip line - not ideal. I found it best to apply buy moving in small circles and smacking the lips together regularly. If you like a strong, crisp line in your lippy application, you will probably struggle with these. I don't really mind as I think they are designed as a natural looking product, with soft application.

Avon Shine Attract Lipstick - Happy Pink

Happy Pink was the most pigmented of the three and really is a light, uplifting shade of fuchsia. I don't tend to wear a pink lip, gravitating more towards a coral or nude tone, but this is lovely and makes me think I should wear it more often! It did sink slightly into the creases of the lip, however.



Avon Shine Attract Lipstick - Copper Connection

Copper Connection was my least favourite, but only because it simply didn't suit me. It is rather dark and doesn't really compliment my skin tone. It has a lovely shimmer though and applied very well - on the perfect skin tone it could look incredible.

Avon Shine Attract Lipstick - Guava

Saving the best until last, Guava was the most wearable shade and looked lovely. It is a really warm toned, orangey nude and looks really natural and fresh - I am wearing it most days at the moment! I wish it would last longer on the lips, however, as an hour later I have to apply more. A slick of Lipcote should remedy this, however :)

For a girl who doesn't really wear lipsticks, I am definitely becoming a convert. These Shine Attract lippies, with the coloured core and gel outer layer, are perfect if you don't want to over do it, or are new to wearing a lipstick - they look natural, the colour is really buildable, the gel layer being moisturising with an SPF 15. You can apply a quick slick for a hint of colour, or really build up the colour for more of a statement.They also smell LUSH, a really fruity, fresh smell!

I would definitely buy another shade of Avon Shine Attract Lipsticks, and Guava especially is a hit! 

Have a great week, I'll post again very soon :D

*Products were supplied for Avon for review, but all opinions are 100% honest, my own and uninfluenced in any way. I was not compensated in any way for this post, besides the supply of the product. For more info visit my disclosure page! :)

Cath Kidston Nails

I wouldn't describe myself as a girly-girl, but I really like Cath Kidston Prints! I would never paper the walls with it, but I love it on accessories. It will always remind me of my friend Alice as well, because she is obsessed! I'm not sure how internationally well-known Cath Kidston is, but she's a pretty well established High End brand over here in the UK. A British Fashion Designer, Cath Kidston is famous for her signature, nostalgic floral patterns and home furnishings. I decided to incorporate my favourite print of hers into a manicure:

Here is the original print I based the design on, and I think it's as intricate as I can get it, seen as nails are SO SMALL.

For the accent nail I switched up the base colour from blue to Leighton Denny Babydoll - my new favourite Pink from the October Glossy Box.

I created the design by painting a base of either Bootie Babe Blue Baboo (see below) or Leighton Denny  Babydoll, and painted the large white flower shapes and polka dots with Claire's White Nail Art Pen. I then added a blob of MUA pink in the centre of each one. Now, I reckon I'm quite well known for my freehand work, and although I seem to be able to do an alright job on Dinosaurs or Super Mario (like in my previous posts), I have never been able to get the hang of drawing roses - I just have no idea why! Because of this I enlisted a bit of help with this design from Bundlemonster Image plate BM04, stamping the rose image on top of the MUA Pink circle using American Apparel Coney Island. After transferring the image to the stamp, I dipped a cotton swab in varnish remover and cleaned off the edge of the image, leaving only the heart of the rose, because I needed the design to be so small. After I had stamped all of these, I added some green foliage with a dotting tool and American Apparel Office and Barry M Spring Green. After a coat of Seche Vite, I was good to go!

I'm popping in a review here too, as I've been waiting on these polishes for AGES from brand new polish company Bootie Babe. Their polishes are packaged in novelty "booty" bottles that look like little bums! It's a bit gimicky, but it's fun and I think that is important with cosmetics! I was sent Blue Baboo and noticed that it was the perfect shade of sky blue for my Cath Kidston idea. The polish formula is O.K...it drags a bit and is a little paint-like, but definitely workable. Now, as much as the bottle makes me laugh, and I think it's a fun idea, the handle is almost impossible to use. It is absolutely tiny, and tapered so it slips out of your fingers. I gave up after a couple of nails and used a different brush to apply it. All in all, I like the idea and the novelty, but the quality of the polish and the handle design could be improved. Here is Blue Baboo on its own, as well as some shots of the bottles!

See how small the bottle handle is compared to my fingers? Very fiddly. You get just over 9ml of polish in these bottles.

A lovely shade of blue and not quite like any other shade in my arsenal. I would definitely head over to their website and check them out, there's loads of other great shades to get hold of.

I hope you like this one guys! I realise I don't post as much as I used to, but I think the posts I put up these days have much more crammed in to them, and have A LOT more time spent on them! I have some great designs coming up for you all :D

In other news, the Winner of my Glossy Box contest from 2 weeks ago was Vicky at Manicured Maniac - Congratulations to her! She has been notified and her very own Glossy Box is on it's way to her! WOOP VICKKKYY!!!

Glossy Box are also hosting a Nail Art competition, and I urge you all to get involved to win the OPI Muppets Collection! Emily's Nail Files also has a mention as a place to go for inspiration! Well, you're already here so you're one step ahead of the game! I'd love to see some of you enter, I know you're all SO creative xxxx

Leighton Denny Sweetheart Nail Art - Win Your Own GlossyBox !

 This month's Glossy Box is here! If you're unfamiliar with the concept of Glossy Box, once subscribed, you receive 5 (6 this month though, due to it being an anniversary special) high end, luxury samples, with one of them being a full size product. This is for £10 a month, plus shipping, and there are other similar companies out there like Boudoir Prive, Carmine and Birchbox in the USA. This month's box contained a Leighton Denny polish, and mine was a pink, cream one called Babydoll. I'm glad of this, as the other two options were pearlescent, and you know how much I love cream finishes! I'll let you know at the end how you can WIN AN OCTOBER BOX FOR YOURSELF!

*EDIT - COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!*

I'm not sure if there's a name for this type of manicure, so I'm giving it one - the Sweetheart V-gap. A variation on V-gap pioneer Sophy Robson's original design, I made this to look like a pink heart, and added some rhinestones because - well, blue, sparkly heats just make everything a little more fabulous, don't they? I started with a white base of Natural Collection White, then freehanded in the sweetheart shape with the (very pliable) Leighton Denny brush. I then added some BundleMonster Blue, Rhinestone Hearts, and a coat of Seche Vite:

This has become my favourite pastel pink, it's beautiful in two coats, high-gloss and a really rich shade of pastel pink/rose. Here's a comparison with a few other pastel pink shades that I own:

Remember, you can click to enlarge!

As you can see, Babydoll is slightly more red-toned and deeper than the others I won. It's lovely! Also, ten points to whoever can guess which of my nails is a falsie hahaha - damn these breakages!

This is what also arrived in this month's Glossy Box. They usually have a variety of different products and it's a lucky dip which ones you get, but this month all boxes are virtually the same as it's a celebratory box for their 6 month anniversary:

• Dermalogica Age Smart Multi-vitamin Thermofoliant
• Dermalogica Age Smart Multi-vitamin Power Recover Masque
• Leighton Denny Expert Nails Colour and Care
• Stila Smudge Stick Eyeliner in Moray 
• 3 Robert Piguet perfume samples
• Dermalogica Age Smart Lip renewal Complex
• Dermalogica Beauty Bag

All in all, it's a very good box for me. I don't feel put off by the anti-aging products because I don't 'need' them, as an intense moisturiser is always good in my books! The lip gel is very small, but absolutely lush, it smells really nice and I'll definitely be using this at night time, while the winter cold creeps in on us Brits. The Stila Eyeliner deserves a post of it's own as it is really lovely and I have a lot of positive things to say - so I'll do a makeup look with it next week! Yay! I tried the Face Mask today and it really is lovely. It is a cream and doesn't dry tight on the face, leaving it soft and smooth! I have yet to try the exfoliator, but I reckon it will be just as good.

The only downside to this box is that I HATE perfume samples. I never, ever, like how they smell (even though I know it's just me being very scent-fussy). These parfums are really floral, and not up my street at all. You can't even re-use them as stocking fillers, because that would be naff - who wants tiny vials of flowery old lady perfume from Santa? Exactly. Not me. Nor from Glossy Box. I'm sure plenty of people out there would love them though.

NOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN THIS MONTH'S BOX?!?!

YOU DO?!

THEN IT'S YOUR LUCKY DAY! (If you live in the UK - I can't accept international entries this time, ladies, I'm so sorry!)

*EDIT - COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!*

Glossy Box have kindly provided me with an extra box, and being the wonderful, loving, giving person that I am, I'm giving it away to one UK-based winner! All you have to do IS:

•  Make sure you live in the UK
• Make sure you are a follower on GFC or Bloglovin'
• Leave a comment below with your email address - feel free to write it in some sort of MI5 code so the spam-bots don't get it, just make sure I can understand e.g JaneDoe(at)gmail(dot com)

I will leave the competition open for 1 week, ending on the 26th OF OCTOBER - That is next Wednesday! I will pick the winner via a random number generator. Good Luck Glossy Girls!

*EDIT - COMPETITION NOW CLOSED!*
xxxx

Aloha! Tropical Sunset Manicure!

Y'all know how much I love my tropical manicures. I was stuck for ideas (hence the lack of posts this week), and decided to to a gradient manicure, and see if inspiration struck. Reminded of a tropical sunset, I added some palm trees and fimo cane fruit, and the Totally Tropical manicure 2.0 was born:

 

I started out with a base of Bloom Flamingo Sands, and used a piece of sponge to apply China Glaze Papaya Punch to about 3/4 of the way down the nail. once this was dry, I then repeated this on the tips using Miss Sporty Taxi. Because yellows are generally sheerer than most other coloured polishes, I sponged the yellow tips twice, for a brighter fade. This Sponging/Gradient technique works best when the colours are close in shade and tone, as it creates a neat, even fade.

I then added the black palm trees and "Aloha" using Konad Plate M29 and Konad Black Special Polish, and used MUA shade 2 to add a little, silouetted desert island at the base of each one. I used Claire's Black Nail Art Pen to freehand in the little birds.

I'm going to take this opportunity to review the Fimo Canes that I was recently sent by BundleMonster (well known for their affordable nail art supplies), because the fruity appliqués you can see on the ring finger came as part of a pack they sent me.

Fimo Cane is rubbish if you get it wrong, and great if you get it right - it can be a bit tricky to master. All Fimo Canes come as little sticks that have a picture all the way through the core (like seaside rock!), and you then slice it very thinly, with a craft knife, to be left with a little Fimo picture that can be stuck onto the nail with clear polish or nail glue.

If they are sliced thinly enough, you can use a couple of coats of Seche Vite and have the Fimo completely flat and smooth to the nail, but some prefer to slice it a bit thicker and simply "perch" them on. I really liked the Bundle Monster Fimo Canes, and are definitely of better quality than the ones I purchased off eBay. I find the designs are generally clearer, nicer and more usable than some of the very odd ones that come in the eBay packs! (evil, teddy bear Frankenstein anyone?...No, didn't think so.) All in all, I got on with these Fimo canes very well, and would definitely recommend them! :)

One of the packs offered by bundlemonster, which you can also buy from Amazon.com

I added slices of the Lemon, Watermelon and Kiwi to my Tropical Design! :)



Thanks guyyys, let me know what you think! I will also be announcing the winner of my Apothica Giftcard giveaway very soon :) Sorry for my absence, I'm back on the ball!



x

The girliest you will ever see me!

Don't worry, these are MY nails, not those of Katie Price or any of the cast of The Only Way is Essex. I would never call myself a girly-girl (she says with a blog centred entirely around nail polish art and makeup), preferring to do more colourful, eyecatching and badass designs. This manicure is, however, the most trashy-fabulous you will ever see my nails haha. All that's missing is a giant 3D acrylic bow.

I've got exams coming up (BOOOO), so wanted something on my nails that would tempt me away from removing it and doing something else, to maximise revision time. Anyone whose ever had a full glitter manicure on, will know what an utter ARSE they are to remove. I am hoping that the fear of removal will make me concentrate harder on revision, and resist using nail polish as a distraction!

I started with two coats of Catrice Be My Millionaire, a silver polish, then added 4 coats of Models Own Juicy Jules. Juicy Jules is AMAZING, it's a holographic glitter, and catches the light beautifully - perfect for sunny days. I could have got away with 3 coats, but I wanted maximum glitter coverage. I had a hard time photographing the sheer awesomeness of this glitter, and I'm sure that if I had got it perfect, your eyes would have exploded anyway. I resorted to using a lamp directly over the nails, and using the macro setting (as opposed to the SUPERmacro setting) on my camera to blur the image sliiiighttly so you can see more of the holographic-ness. *gets a bit pic heavy from this point onwards...*

Juicy Jules on its own:

blurred so you can see the holographic sparkle

a sharper picture that doesnt show the colours as much! also sorry for my STUPID index finger that broke, I know it looks ridiculous!

I added a coat of Seche Vite to smooth it out and create a base for Barry M's new pink crackle polish Pink Fizz. I find the best way to use the Barry M crackles is to apply them thickly, as they crack better, with larger spaces between the pink bits. I hate it when you use a crackle and it barely cracks, so you can only just make out the base colour (I'm looking at you Boots 17!).

I added another coat of Seche Vite to top off the whole thing, and because the Barry M Instant Nail Effects dry Matte.

under the lamp

under the lamp

natural light

I tried my best to capture it, but imagine all that holographic glitter shining through! BLINGTASTIC! Now, this was somewhat of an experiment, but I took a video on my camera to see if I can better show you the sparkle. The quality is pretty poor, but it does give you a good idea of the shine. (bloody nicked my cuticle right before though didn't I?!)

 

Hopefully you get an idea! I actually tweeted this manicure at Amy Childs from The Only Way is Essex (a trashy reality TV show over here in the UK - IT'S BRILLIANT), she is yet to reply though haha :P

Let me know what you think everyone, was it worth it to include a video? I really wasn't sure about it, but thought I would get some feedback from you :) I realise this isn't strictly Nail Art, but that's what I love about crackles, they add instant interest to a Manicure with minimal effort. I know they've been around a while now, but I've not seen this combo before :D

Em x

Cherry Blossom Freehand

Hi everyone! Today is a new day, and you can vote for my Bundle Monster Contest Entry! You can vote once per day, I would LOVE it if you could give me a cheeky thumbs up! Cheers m'dears!

Todays Manicure was actually very quick and easy, although freehand. No tiny shapes and intricate parts to consume time, you can do the whole thing in 4 steps (I should really do a tutorial for this). It was inspired by Sakura, Japanese Cherry Blossom Trees - They're beautiful and are my favourite flower (is a blossom a flower? It is now.)

Obtained through Google Images.

I painted American Apparel L'Espirit over my base coat, a beautifully smooth Lilac Creme, opaque in ONE COAT (although did two anyway). Using Barry M Mushroom, I then used a small paint brush to paint jagged tree branches in straight-ish, horizontal lines across the nail. Once this was dry, I used a small dotting tool to dab in spots of American Apparel Coney Island at the end of the banches, and then repeated with Superdrug MUA Medium Pink. Here are the results:-

all pictures in natural light - no sun!

my camera HATES purples - this is slightly more lilacy IRL, and less cornflower blue.

flutter by!

As you can see, I added some Fimo Cane butterflies, purchased from eBay. For those of you who don't know, Fimo canes are a nail art applique made from polymer clay that come in a long cane, with a design through the middle - see THIS post for more info. You can then slice them very thinly, with a craft knife, and stick the resulting piece onto the nail design. I was awful at slicing to begin with, but, like everything else, practice makes perfect, and I managed to slice these thinly enough that, with two coats of Seche Vite Topcoat, they were smooth to the nail and incorporated flat into the design. I prefer it this way because then I don't catch them on things, or pick at them, but you could cut them thicker and "perch" them on, to look like "real" butterflies - it's up to you!

It's a very Springy look, and I like the way it came out, but if I could change one thing it would be that it's maybe a little crowded - a few less branches next time :)

I BUM American Apparel polishes - the formula is perfect and their shades are great. the types of creme polishes are right up my street aswell - I love matte block colour, can't be doing with these shimmery polishes I'm afraid! They've bought out some new shades too, check it ooowwwwt. As I mentioned, L'Espirit is more lilacy and less blue, but my camera has a little cry when it sees purple - I have NO idea how to adjust the colour in any kind of editing program, either, so you will have to use your....

 Imaginaaaaaaation.

Hmm. Too obscure?


x

BundleMonster Contest Entry

If you haven't heard, BundleMonster (the creator and distributor of the Image Plates I use to create some of my designs) are having a Nail Art competition over at their Facebook Page. There are 25 sets of their NEW image plates up for grabs for those with the most "likes"! Voting opens on the 13th, and I would REALLY appeciate it if you could wander over, take a look at my entry (and the others of course) and see if I deserve a thumbs up! I implore you to enter yourself, too, what have you got to lose eh?

Here is my entry, you had to use Bundle Monster products and I wanted to submit something that showcased some skill, as opposed to just a simple painted base and stamped image, so I whipped the pan scrubbers out and did a pink to purple, sponged gradient base. I hope to do a sponging tutorial in the near future, as it definitely requires a "knack" and I think some people might benefit! I then stamped the flower image from BM16 in pastel blue.

I started with two coats of Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream, then painted a blob of MUA's Medium Pink Shade onto a small piece of sponge that I cut from a standard, kitchen pan scrubber. I then repeated this on the tips with Barry M Ltd ed. for Boots.

Now, I needed the stamped image to be very opaque, and I don't own Konad Special Stamping Polish in Pastel Blue, but I DO own the White - I'm going to quickly show you how I mixed my own Blue stamping polish:

I started with The Konad Special Polish and Barry M Cobalt Blue. I then popped a blob of each onto the image on BM16, next to each other (as opposed to on top of each other) so as not to gammy up the brushes:

I then used a paintbrush to swirl them together, you can create a cool gradient image if you only mix them up a  little bit.

Make sure you still do this mixing quickly, as if the polish begins to dry on the plate, it will be difficult to scape and stamp a complete image. Once you've scraped off the excess polish, and rolled your silicone stamp over it, you're ready to stamp the image in Pastel Blue:

BOOM! The stamping polish world is now your oyster -you can literally do this with any coloured polish to mix your own pastel Special Polish - this will save you splurging on all the different coloured Pastels that Konad offer, because you can still get a good quality, opaque image when using this technique. Cool!

I added clear Rhinestones to the accent nails with Nail Glue, silver dots to the centre of the flowers with Claire's Silver Nail Art Pen and then added 2 coats of Seche Vite - what do you think, was this good enough to be entered into the Bundle Monster comp? Some of the designs over there are really good, but my nails just aren't long enough to do something fancy-pants with lots of different stamps. I really like how a gradient Mani looks - I get asked if they're Minx all the time!

Don't forget I have Giveaway going on! Win yourself some sexy stuff!

PEACE OUT