NOTD- Seaside Inspired Shimmers

After a lovely weekend at the seaside enjoying the sunshine in Weymouth I came home and fancied some pretty blue nails to remind me of the beach.
I am loving blue at the moment so there was little excuse required to whip out some of my favourite blue nail polishes and create some shimmering sea nails.

I started off by applying two coats of the lovely lilac toned blue Bluebell polish by Nails Inc which gave a soft and even base colour before topping with one coat of the oh so popular Indian Ocean from Models Own which is formulated to give a shimmer reminiscent of when the sun catches calm, clear sea water as it washes onto the beach. Finally, I created a focal nail using Barry M shade 340 Aqua Glitter which contains various sized glitter chunks and gives a very pretty and glitter packed finish with just one coat.

I had forgotten just what a beautiful finish Indian Ocean gives. In the light you can see that it contains a pink toned glitter which gives any blue polish a lovely depth that looks really special in the sunlight.
I go through stages with painting my nails and recently I've had them painted continually so expect to see more nail art posts in the near future :)
What colours have you been loving recently? Have you tried any of these polishes?
Annie xx

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.

NOTD: Seventeen Rock Hard Couture- Bijoux Baby

Just a quick one today because the depression is in full swing at the moment so motivation is pretty low :(
I've been obsessed with the Rock Hard Couture polishes that Seventeen released recently. The colours are gorgeous, the coverage fantastic and the wear pretty long lasting too making them an all round good choice in my eyes, especially at just £3.99 a bottle!

The shade that I love the most is the pretty baby pink Bijoux Baby which I am wearing here. I love the fairy like colouring and the subtle green toned shimmer that runs through the polish giving it an ethereal sort of feel. for full opacity bottle finish you need just two coats and that's quick and easy because it applies evenly and dries in around 60 seconds. The only thing that may put some people off is that these polishe do have a textured finish which I personally like but would need several coats of clear polish to smooth off for peopl who like their nail completely smooth to touch.
You can pick them up either in Boots stores or online *here* ready to wear for Christmas party season! Or they will also make great stocking filler gifts. Either way, I think everyone needs at least one in their nail polish collection :)
Annie xx

NOTD- Illamasqua Scarce Nail Varnish

I posted a couple of weeks ago about a cheeky little Illamasqua order that I placed with a friend during their sale. One of my buys was a limited edition polish from the I'mperfection range called Scarce which is a beautiful speckled pink. I already had the purple version, but the pink just needed to be mine!

In the photo I am wearing one coat of Scarce over the top of a coat of a nude Models Own shade. The coverage is amazing and there is no problem with trying to get even distribution of the black glitter pieces. The colour is a very cute pastel pink that I normally wouldn't wear but I really love how the black glitter gives it more of an edge.
In terms of wear this is also a great polish and I've been wearing it for 3 days now with no chipping and thats with no top coat either.
At £14.50 Illamasqua polishes aren't cheap but for the quality you get I think the price is reasonable, especially as a special treat every now and then :)

What do you think? Do you like the look of Scarce? Do you own any of the I'mperfection collection? Which colour is your favourite?
Annie xx

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 Illamasqua I'mperfection Varnish in Speckle

Its been a while since I've posted a Nail of the Day post hasn't it. Oops! I've been through a patch of not really painting them much, but I was lured back into the nail varnish world recently by the I'mperfection range from Illamasqua and caved in and bought the pretty purple shade, Speckle.

Isn't this such a pretty nail varnish? I love the speckled effect that you get from the combination of both large and tiny specks of black matte glitter. This range of polishes was inspired by the gorgeous natural imperfections found on bird eggs.
The varnish itself gives good coverage and takes just two coats to gain full opacity and get a nice deep speckled look, it also sits very flat on the nail considering the glitter content and feels fairly smooth to touch. I do recommend a top coat though so that any little bits that do stick up aren't a problem.
I painted my nails with this a couple of days before a shift at Lush and found that for day to day wear it wore very well, but as soon as I was working and had my hands in and out of water all day, it did begin to chip pretty badly, even with the topcoat so if you have a job where your hands take quite a battering I'm afraid this won't be all that long lasting.
Price wise, it isn't cheap at £14.50 a bottle but for me I saw it as a bit of a special, one off buy for a polish that is fairly unique and also limited edition so I was able to justify it to myself :)

What do you think of my pretty new polish? Is it something you'll be picking up? The other colours in the range are blue, pink, green and brown. I'm soo tempted to pick up blue and pink if they're still in stock when I get paid!
Annie xx

NOTD-New Years Eve Sparkle

Happy New Year guys :) So yeah, tomorrow is 2013, scary eh.

Yesterday I did a spot of sales shopping at TK Maxx and found this gorgeous Butter London set for just £5 and simply had to bring it home. Rude not to I say.

Butter London is one of those brands that I spend a lot of time lusting over but have never really splashed out on, but being pink and sparkly, this stole my heart.

The shade of both the lippy and the nail varnish is Fiddlesticks and as a nail varnish it comes out as a lovely, opaque, one coat coverage fuschia pink. I have to say though that whilst the nail varnish is amazing, I was really disappointed by the lippy; there was hardly any colour pay off and its pretty sticky as well. I might try it over a lipstick next time as a sort of glittery top layer but alone, I found it pretty useless.
But back to the nail varnish!

Isn't it gorgeous? In the photo above I have used two coats of the varnish however I could have easily gotten away with just the one. The colour is completely me and I cannot believe that I haven't come across it before. If you're a fan of Girl About Town by MAC then Fiddlesticks goes with it perfectly for that fun matchy matchy look and thats what I'll be wearing to our party this evening (god knows what with though, the outfit is still a mystery!)

Over all, I think if I had paid £21.00 for this set then I would have been disappointed due to the lippy, but I could totally justify paying the £12 RRP for the nail varnish alone and it is even one of my new top polishes :)

Do you own any Butter London products? Have you had the same experience with the lippys as I have? What's your favourite shade from them?
Annie xx

ps. Have you entered my £250 Boohoo giveaway yet? If not then why?! Enter *here* it closes tomorrow!

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

NOTD- Fluorescent!

Hello,
I am still persisting with my, perhaps overly optimistic, summer preparation.
Last night I decided to do a spot of nail art and came up with these bright pink nails with a white stripe and pearlescent blue spots. I really like the look and think they would be perfect for partying and relaxing on a hot beach on holiday this summer :)

For the fluorescent pink base colour I used W7 "fluorescent pink 1" which I picked up in Next a few weeks ago for £2.50. It has a great formula and you could probably get away with only using one coat but I used two. It dries quickly and streak free and it really is VERY bright (seriously, the pictures don't even begin to show how bright)

Over the top I used my trusty nail art pens to draw a white stripe with the uber thin brush tip and then dotted the blue using the needle tip. I was pretty happy with how the look, even on the pesky other hand and managed to keep both hands looking neat which is a first :P

What do you think of my crazy bright nails? They make me think of Mallorca and drinking way too much.
Annie x

NOTD- Nails Inc Marble Arch Candy Stripes

Hello,
How was everyones bank holiday? Since I'm under doctors orders to do very little and rest I did exactly that and it felt amazing :)
I'm really loving nail art at the moment, its such a fun way to add a little new life into nail painting. Today I've gone with a candy stripe pattern using Nails Inc Marble Arch as the base colour and then my white nail art pen to create the stripes.

Am I the only one that finds that doing the notorious "other hand" even more tricky when using a nail art brush? I swear I am so left handed its unreal, I can hardly even hold the brush with my right hand!

Anyways, what do you think of the candy stripe idea? Its pretty easy when you aren't as ridiculously one handed as I am and I think it looks pretty funky too :) Is it a design you'd use?
Annie x

NOTD Malibu Mojito Manicure

Hello,
I've been playing around with some pretty nail designs today because I picked up some new manicure guides from ebay the other day.
I was sooo excited by the look of the Malibu Mojito manicure I created using my very favourite Nails Inc. colour. What do you think?

The manicure guides themselves are pretty simple but I think they're a little too sticky because I've had trouble with them pulling off varnish already on the nail when I apply the "tip" coat but onplain nails they're great and I really like the effect :)

Annie x

NOTD- Nails Inc Emerald Street

Hello,
Now the weather is cheering up, I am loving bright nails so I was excited to try out one of my new polishes; Emerald Street by Nails Inc.
And I wasn't disappointed! The colour is a beautiful deep green which has a gorgeous sparkle to it. I was also happy to see that it applied opaque in just one coat which is a bonus for people as impatient as me who just cannot bear waiting for coat after coat to dry.

Over the top of Emerald Street I applied a generous layer of my favourite Bourjois glitter polish. Its part of their one second application range so hasa wide brush that you just sweep across the nail once and bam, instant whole nail coverage :)

I have to say that I wasn't overly inspired by this combination so I have now removed it and replaced with Maliblush from the Nails Inc Cocktail Collection topped with a pretty coat of Carnival by Technic. When I get paid I'm thinking about investing in a set of nail art pens so that I can channel a little more creativity than just applying glitter over a base!

In other news, have any of you heard about the first iFabbo conference and meet up in London which is taking place in Kettner's on 26th May. I will be there and am already so excited. Will any of you be going along? It would be great to meet some of you lovely ladies who's blogs I read and put a face to the names :)
Annie x