NOTD- Nails Inc Topping Lane

Happy Saturday!
To celebrate the start of the weekend I treated myself to some pretty nails using one of my favourite yet more underused polishes; Pudding Lane from the Nails Inc Sprinkles collection. I love the entire collection but there's just something about the blue base with the pink and silver glitter that draws me in.

Eee, isn't it a cure polish? In the photo here I applied one coat of my trust Nails Inc Malibu Mojito to give a nice opaque base and then a single coat of Pudding Lane. The formula is thick without being gloopy and allows the glitter to spread evenly across the nail. I always top off with a coat of the Nails Inc Caviar top coat which leaves an almost completely smooth feeling finish and that little bit of extra shine but to be honest, it isn't a particularly textured feel polish anyway so I wouldn't say it's an essential step if you're short on time.
In terms of wear, if I'm careful I find that I can get a good few days chip free from Pudding Lane, especially with the top coat. Removal is a bit of a pain as with all glitter polishes but I think it's worth it for cute, pastel sprinkle nails!

What do you think? Do you own any of the Sprinkles collection?
Annie xx

Nails Inc Gel Manicure Service

Yesterday I crossed off another of my Little Wishes and treated myself to a gel manicure with the lovely ladies at the Nails Inc counter in Debenhams Bath. With my job including a lot of time with hands in water as well as preparing food and drinks, normal nail varnish just doesn't cut it and as health and safety demands non-chipped varnish I thought long lasting, gel nails may be the way to go.

There are two options available to you at Nails Inc counters. There is the option of semi-gel nails which allows you to choose any regular Nails Inc shade for your treatment. This is then applied along with a gel top and base coat which transforms the polish into a two to three week chip resistant wonder and costs £38.00. Alternatively there is the completely gel option which narrows down your colour choice to around 25 shades, however what is applied is 100% gel polish that lasts for up to two weeks longer, gives you the option of choosing glitter shades and costs £55.00.
I opted for the more expensive treatment for the extra staying power...and I have to say that I was also slightly drawn in by the gold glitter polish being the magpie that I am. The treatment itself took around 1 hour and is fairly relaxing. I sat and made small talk with the friendly technician as she first shaped, treated and then painted my nails and watched the world go by. The counter in the Bath store is on the shop floor so if you're a bit self conscious that may be something to be aware of but I found this just meant I didn't get bored like I may have done in a plain, characterless room.

I'm very happy with the result, having not had gel nails before I'm taking some time to get used to the thickness but the finish is gorgeous and I'm already loving having pretty nails that are staying chip free!
Whilst the price is less than enticing and was enough to put me off for quite a while, if you can afford to get this done as a treat occasionally then I would definitely recommend it done as the results are lovely and I think its something every girl should treat themselves to once in a lifetime at least!

Do you have gel nails? Where do you get yours done? And how do you feel about their long wear finish?
Annie xx

Disclaimer: I received my treatment at 30% reduced rate (making the treatment £38.50) however I still paid with my own money and have been completely honest in my review.

Makeup Mugshot and Mermaid Nails

Today has been one of those strange days where you just wake up feeling pants for no particular reason. I know I'm prone to the odd gloomy day but this has just been weird.
So plans have been cancelled, calm, happy music is being played and vanilla scented candles have been lit.

I always find painting my nails pretty colours is great for cheering me up so today I've gone for glitter and used a combination of GOSH "Ocean" and Barry M "Amethyst Glitter" and created pretty mermaid nails :)

The photo doesn't show just how bright and pretty the colours are in the light but it gives you a good idea :)

The other thing that makes me feel more like me when I feel rubbish is bright red lipstick. I sort of feel like if you give off confidence from the outside maybe you'll feel better on the inside too.

Whats on my face:

Skin:
Estee Lauder invisible fluid foundation
Lush Emotional Brilliance face powder
Benefit Dandelion blusher
Lush Feeling Younger highlighter

Eyes:
Bobbi Brown Mahogany powder on brows
Lush Sophisticated eyeshadow
Soap and Glory Thick and Fast mascara

Lips:
Lush bubblegum lip scrub
Illamasqua Sangers lipstick

I have to say that just doing these little things has made me feel a lot better about myself :) I'm lots calmer and ready to face the world again.

What do you do to cheer yourself up on an off day?

Annie xx

NOTD: A Matte Tape Mani

Hello,
Now the sun is out it feels like summer is finally here. To celebrate I've whipped out my bright coloured nail varnishes and put together my first ever tape mani. I'm actually really happy with the result, despite a little bleeding on a couple of the nails.

Please excuse the rubbish photo, my camera is on charge so it was webcam to the rescue. To do this I started by painting the whole nail with two coats of the coral colour before letting that dry completely (I actually left it whilst I ate the best sandwich in the world for lunch) before applying strips of normal tape and adding the blue layer. When this had dried I finished with a coat of matte finisher because I love the look of matte nails sooo much.

The colours I used were Coral Flair from Accessorize and Reeves Mews by Nails Inc which are two of my current favourites. Does anyone else find it really pleasing when their favourite colours just happen to also work together?

My top coat is just the E.l.f matte finisher top coat which is only £1.50 on their website and a complete bargain. The only trouble I find with wearing a matte top coat is that it has a tendency to highlight any imperfections and dodgy brush strokes so always be careful to stay neat when you're using it :)

What do you think of my first ever tape mani? Have you found yourself making more effort with your nails now the sun is shining?
Annie x
ps, my 200 follower giveaway is still going strong so don't forget to enter!

Makeup Mugshot #5 and a Glitter NOTD

Hello,
After a mini haul over the weekend from a mixture of shops and blog sales today I just had to play around with some of my new bits and bobs. New cosmetics are so exciting!

On my nails I played around with my new Barry M polish and did a glitter tip mani. I think the polish is just called Turquoise glitter and I bought this one and a light pink glitter in Superdrug where you get £1 off if you buy two. I love the look of bright tips with nude nails, such a bright contrast.

On my face:

• Maybeline BB cream sample (not impressed, won't be buying full sized!)
• Frat Boy blush from theBalm. This is one of my blog sale purchases from Jetley Mess and I love love love it! Such a lovely matte pink shade, perfect for pale girls like me.
• NYC mosaic blush and bronze duo in Rose Bronze to contour. Another Superdrug buy. I've wanted the MUA one for ages but refuse to buy from them after an incident a few months back and this is almost identical so I was so happy to find it.
• MAC brow pencil in Spiked.
• 17 blue/green pressed eyeshadow.
• Max Factor False Lashe Effect mascara in black.
• TINY dab of pout paint in Pin Up bought a couple of weeks ago from Ms Red's blog sale. This stuff is so strong that you only need the smallest amount to get a very bold look so I used literally a pin pricked spot mixed with vaseline for a soft look.

What do you think of the glitter mani? I love all of my new bits and pieces so much. Its amazing how much joy makeup brings me :)

Have you been buying lots in all the sales going on at the moment too?

Annie x