Studded Skittlette - Born Pretty Store Review

Hi!

It's been a while, again! We all know technology hates me, and my camera decided it wasn't going to transfer the pics I'd lovingly taken with it onto my computer. But I threatened it with a sledgehammer bought a new USB cable and it seems to be working again...

So, I'm back with a rather kick-ass mani, even if I do say so myself! The lovely Daisy from Born Pretty Store sent me an awesome nail art wheel full of studs to play with, so play I did! The wheel contains 12 little compartments, each containing a handful of studs of various shapes, sizes and colours. The lid turns so you can take out one group of studs at a time, which is useful if you're clumsy like me because if you dropped it you'd only be chasing around one compartments worth of tiny studs!

I like the variety I got in my wheel. There are: 3 different square studs (silver, gold, and a slightly smaller bronze colour), 4 different round studs (tiny gold one, medium black ones and larger ones in silver and gold),  rings in silver and gold, large silver stars, gold hearts and gold petal shapes. I think the stars might be a little big for my nails, but you can use these to decorate practically anything, not just nails.

I decided to create a skittle mani using some of the gold square studs and neutral colours. For this manicure the polishes I used were Color Club Nomadic In Nude, Seventeen Rock Hard Nail Effects Grey (textured polish), Beauty UK Slate Grey and a black striper. I used topcoat to attach the studs, although you could also use nail glue (I can never manage to not stick my fingers together though...)

As you can see, I can fit 4 of these studs down the length of my middle nail, which I was pleased with. I loved the finished look and got lots of compliments :) Look out for these in lots of future looks because I loved it and they were so easy to work with! They're a bit heavier than glequins or normal rhinestones, so I did have to be a bit more cautious when placing them, but so worth it. And as I was able to remove them carefully with an orange stick, I'll be able to use them again!

The studs are available from Born Pretty Store here for just $4.89, and they have a huge range of other studs and nail art goodies too. And of course you can use my discount code NBL91 for a further 10% off - and delivery is free to! Huzzah!

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Purple Crumpet Spring Challenge - Day 14, Pastel Skittle

Bonjour!

You may recognise this as the base for my Cherry Blossom mani from day 6 or 7. It actually came about because I couldn't decide what base to use for the cherry blossoms, decided on a skittle then realised pastel skittle was a challenge later on. Two birds, one stone my friends. That's how I roll. These pics are without topcoat. Can you say shiny! Colour me impressed, especially with the lilac, which is 17 Lasting Fix Woo Me. For such a pale pale lilac it applied brilliantly, and it was less than 3 quid. bargain.

Lilac - 17 Lasting Fix Woo Me, Yellow - Rimmel I <3 Lasting Finish Fruities Lemon Drop, Blue, Peach and Green from Beauty UK Urban Girl set

Tomorrow's theme is Mr Blue Sky...stumped!

Hx

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NOTD - 17 Supreme Shine Moon Dust

Morning bloggy peeps!

Today I have to show you a polish from 17's Supreme Shine range. I only had one polish from the range as the colours don't usually grab me (and they're £1 more than the two other 17 polish ranges, which have more on-trend colours, not that I'm tight or anything...). In Boots the other day I had picked up two of their Lasting Fix polishes and everything on the 17 stand was 3 for 2. Mr NN was hassling me to hurry up because the car park ticket was about to run out or something equally unimportant, so I grabbed this one. It's a pretty dark taupe cream, and unlike anything else I have. This was two coats, no topcoat - so you can see it lives up to it's shiny name!

You can also see I got sheet marks. My own fault completely. So I topped it with OPI Gold Shatter the next day. Not great, but bearable.

I didn't wear it for long... Love Moon Dust though, what do you think? I was hoping for a You don't know Jaques/A taupe the space needle/Over the taupe dupe, but I think this is a shade darker. It'll do me though!

Hx

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We Stamp on Sundays!

Another polish group I've joined on FB, Adventures in Stamping, decided to do some Sunday stamping challenges. This week's challenge was to use green in your design, whether as the base or the stamp colour. I saw this design on LaqueredMe and decided to recreate it. My nails aren't too bad after taking the gels off, so I am pretty pleased, and they have a bit of length, although I'm not expeting that to last long. The base colour is an apple green shimmer by MNY and I stamped with China Glaze Holly-Day and BM19 before adding the lady bird with BM13 and 17 Risky Red, filling in the spots with a dotting tool and adding some eyes.

With flash, before I added the eyes

Natural light, right hand

Natural light, left hand

What do you think? I quite like them, and was looking forward to doing them which made taking off the gels less of a chore.

Hx

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31 day challenge - day 31! Recreate your favourite challenge

It's over1 I did the 31 day challenge (in 42 days, but we'll ignore that...) and finished today by recreating my favourite manicure, which was my rainbow design from day 9. I used pastel colours this time, instead of brights and I love the look, so I'm happy not to have to take it off right away! The colours I used, over a base of white, were:

Red: Barbara Daly Think Pink

Orange: barry M Peach Melba

Yellow: Barry M Yellow

Green: Barry M Mint Green

Blue: Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream

Indigo:  Beauty Uk no name from Wild Child gift set

Violet: Barry M Berry Ice Cream

Topped with Collection 2000 Sparkle Top Coat and 17 Glitter Top Coat.

Here's a collage of all of my nails from the challenge :)

Now, onto some Christmas manis!

Hx

PS The Nail Newbie is now on Facebook - click here to like me!

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31 Day Challenge - day 27 Inspired by artwork

I decided to stamp again and recreate Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe Pop Art Image. The plate I used is Fab IV by FabUrNails Shop. The base colours are 2 coats each of (pinkie to index) Beauty Uk Yellow Peril, Models Own Pink Blush, 17 Lasting Fix Mint Choc Chip and Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours 344. I stamped with Metallic lilac, silver and metallic blue stamping polishes from FabUrNails and Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours 320 on the ring finger. On the thumb I used Yellow Peril again and topped it with W7 Earthquake red.

The plate was so easy to use and there are a lot of fun patterns! Can't wait to use it again :) The Middle pattern would look great in silver over black.

Tomorrow is inspired by a flag. I'll give you a clue - my surname is England... ;)

Hx

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October Favourites

Evenin'

I gave my nails a break and kept on my blue mani for an extra day, so today I have my October favourites for you. I didn't buy an awful lot this month, due to being penniless! So there are just a few bits that I've picked up or rediscovered that I'm loving.

Polish first, of course!

2true Fast Dry Colour Quick Shade 10, 17 Magnetised Green, China Glaze Ruby Pumps, Accessorize Baby Blue

My favourite mani this month (although I didn't like the formula of the base colour)

17 Fast Dry Fury, Stamped with 2True Fast Dry Colour Quick Shade 8, Maybelline Orange Couture and  BM04. Full post here.

Brunette eyebrow pencil by Vital Radiance, Beauty UK Pearl Eyeliner in Eclipse, Garnier BB Cream in Light, Rose and Co Apothecary Rose Petal Salve

I always used to use a matte eyeshadow to fill my eyebrows when I needed it - which wasn't very often - but I saw this eyebrow pencil in Poundland and thought I'd try it. Now I know what a difference it can make to "do" your eyebrows. It makes my whole face look more defined and really frames my eyes.I don't do it everyday, but when I'm doing my "full face" or a strong eye it completes the look.

I now have 5 of Beauty UK's pearl eyeliners and can't recommend them enough. I got Eclipse as an "extra" from a blog sale and love it. It's a very dark slate grey and is great for lining a smokey eye.

I wasn't sure about buying a BB cream from Garnier - at £9.99 it's a lot more than I'd usually pay for foundation or tinted moisturiser, so I sent off for a sample to try it. The first time I used it I used way too much and ended up super shiny and felt like my make-up was sliding around my face all day. The next time I made sure I used it over primer and didn't use as much and it was much better. Somewhere in between a foundation and tinted moisturiser is perfect coverage for me as I have good skin and barely ever get spots, but have a few uneven patches of colouration and freckles. I'm still not sure if I would buy this for a tenner, but it's on offer in Tesco at the moment for £8, or I might try 17's one for £5.99 next time I'm in Boots.

I got the Rose and Co Apothecary Rose Petal Salve in my October Boudoir Prive box and it is fast replacing my Lemony Flutter as my favourite cuticle treatment. It doesn't have the grainy texture of lemony flutter and turns into more of an oil on the skin. I even use this on my lips (I do this with Lemony Flutter too). I wasn't sure if the scent would put me off but it just reminds me of Turkish Delight. I'm not a great fan of Turkish Delight, but it's bearable! And makes my lips feel great. I want to try their Cherry Salve too, but I will wait until I've finished this one and the Lemony Flutter (which I feel is never gonna happen since it's HUGE!)

L'Occitiane Shea Hand Cream Hibiscus Flower, Original Shea, Desert Rose, Kleenex Facial Cleansing Wipes

Last month in Marie Claire they were giving away a L'Occitiane Shea Hand Cream in four different "flavours" (am I the only one who calls scents and varieties of beauty products "flavours"? You wouldn't eat it...). I picked up the original shea butter first, and when I used it almost all up within 2 weeks I picked up two more! Yes, I bought 3 copies of the same magazine...and still haven't read it! I can honestly say that it's the best hand cream I've ever used and my hands and nails have felt so much better, especially now the weather is getting cold - which is tough on my hands. If I don't get a huge bucket of this stuff under the Chrimbo tree I will be buying one in the new year!

I am a facial wipe fan, and these ones from Kleenex are really good. Apparently Kleenex as a company started as a way for women to remove make-up, so their new range is going back to their roots. These wipes are soft and quilted, so they're strong and don't make my skin feel dry and I don't feel like I have to scrub at my eyes to get my mascara off!

So, there are my faves of the month. I am on a self imposed spending ban so Novembers favourites will be things I'm rediscovering and digging out from the stash! The spending ban wont be too hard I think, there are only 2 polishes that I think I want (Barry M's Croc Effect crackle and the green/gold one from the Models Own Beetlejuice collection) but I can hold off on those since I don't have a place for them in my 31 day challenge! And then December will be all about Christmas, so maybe my faves for that month will come from Mr Claus!

What have you been loving this month? I tell you I'm not loving this cold weather! Am avoiding putting the heating on for as long as possible...it's chilly in here I tell you!

Hx

PS This post meant to go up last night, but it seems I neglected to hit "publish". Ooopsie! The 31 day challenge will resume this evening!

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NOTD - 17 Magnetised in Grey

Hi loves!

Sorry my posts are a bit sporadic at the moment, technology hates me. I usually bluetooth pics from my camera to my laptop as the cable stopped working, but now the bluetooth on my laptop has stopped working too. So, I was bluetoothing the pics from my camera to my phone, and then uploading to my laptop from there. BUT now the cable for my phone has stopped working too. It charges my phone, but it wont send data. Grr. So now, I'm bluetoothing photos from camera to phone, and then emailing them to myself to get them on the computer. Can you say long-winded? What's worse is that the emails take FOREVAH to come through. I'm writing this post at 4.30pm and I emailed myself the pictures at 11pm last night and they're still not here (Actually now about 47 hours ago and they're still not here...nicked the BF's lappy, then emailed myself from there. LeSigh.). I have ordered a new bluetooth dongle for the lappy, and as soon as it arrives normal service will be resumed!

Anywho, I have the Grey Boots 17 magnetised polish to show you today. This and the green are my favourite, followed closely by the purple Nails Inc one. The blue 17 one is pretty enough, but was a bit trickier formula wise, and gave a more subtle effect. I'll wear it again soon to show you. I desperately want the red one from FashionistA, and a little birdie tells me they'll be in selected Superdrugs from Wednesday, and hopefully on the Superdrug website Monday or Tuesday. Plus, Superdrug has free delivery until Christmas, so although their website is a bit rubbish it's worth a look!

I held the magnet the other way round for this manicure, giving me vertical stripes instead of horizontal, and I think it makes my nails look long and elegant. This is one coat over one coat of Collection2000 Hot Looks All That Jazz, which matches almost perfectly (there's a swatch of that too). I really love the effect this polish gives, it really looks three dimensional! I think I need a brown/bronze one of these, it'd look just like a tigers eye stone - amazeballs!

Collection 2000 Hot Looks All That Jazz as the base

Have you got your paws on any magnetised polish yet? Do you love it as much as me?

Hx

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NOTD - Autumn leaves

Hi!

I'm going to try to make this quick, since I was meant to be in bed half an hour ago!

I picked up one of Boots 17's new Autumn polishes in Fury, because I loved the colour. It's similar to Chanel Peridot but not a dupe. Anyway, for some reason the 17 Fast Finish polishes don't play nice with me and 2 coats were bubble city and looked awful. I took it off after a day and chucked Fury in my polish drawer in disgust. But I couldn't help thinking what a nice autumn colour it is, and then I looked through my stamping plates and thought this up. This time I used one coat of Fury and although it wasn't qite opaque it didn't bubble as badly. There were a few bubbles but it wasn't as bad as the first time. I used 2True Fast Dry shade 8 and Maybelline Orange Couture to stamp the leaf pattern from BM04. The 2true polish stamped really well, but the Maybelline wasn't as opaque, just giving a subtle effect.

I'm quite annoyed that Fury doesn't like me. It's a really pretty almost duochrome true gold that leans slightly coppery and greeny at times. Maybe I'll add some thinner to it and see if that helps.

Have you ever had a problem with 17 Fast Finish polishes? Peacock didn't play nice with me either. The Lasting Fix and Supreme Shine polishes are fine, but the Fast Finish polishes are much prettier colours. Any suggestions?

Hx

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September favourites!

Helloo!

I missed out on doing an August favourites post because of my computer issues, so I'm catching up! First up, the nail polishes that have been part of my favourite manicures this month.

 Clockwise from top: Miss Sporty Electric Beige, (my go-to goldy-y stamping colour), Boots 17 Magentised Polish in Green, Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, OPI Nail Envy, Revlon Galaxy, Models Own Grace Green, Collection 2000 Hot Looks Milkshake, No7 Milan, OPI I Lily Love You

Click the links to the posts to see the manicure's I've done with these polishes!

As part of Operation Fit and Fabulous I've been trialling these supplements which contain Biotin for hair and nails. My nails peel like crazy, so I'm trying to keep them pretty short and square to try and combat them, and trying a supplement can't hurt. I've heard reviews saying Biotin gives people spots, and I have got one at the moment. I NEVER ever get spots on my face - I could probably count on my fingers the amount I've had in my entire life, so I hope this is just a coincidence and I'll stick with them. I have 2 months supply so you'll get a proper review once the two months is up!

Vivo cosmetics eye monos in Dusky Pink, Pale Gold and Mink, and Primer 25ml.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these products. The eye shadows are soft and well pigmented and I've worn at least one of them most days since I got them. great for an everyday eye as they're shimmery but not full on glitterball, which I like. And the primer is the first face primer I've used (after swatching lots and putting them back because they're too expensive, I still want Benefits Porefessional though...) It just evens out my skintone, so I can slap it on with some concealer and be out the door for the school run, or use it under foundation to make it glide on and last longer. I really love how it feels on my skin, silky and soft. My only negative is that there's only 25ml in the bottle, and it's quite a big bottle so after a few uses it feels a bit empty and is hard to get out. But that could be solved by depotting it if I can get some wee jars or something.

ELF Srudio Stipple Brush and Avon Angled Blush Brush

I'd only ever used a flat foundation brush before, but found myself always needing to blend with my fingers afterwards. As I said I've got good skin so when I wear foundation I only need a light touch and the ELF Stipple Brush is great for that. I've read some bad reviews on it, but figured if it was no good it's only £3.50 and I could use it for powder, but for me it's perfect for foundation and it washes well without shedding or bleading. And the Avon brush is a good multi-purpose blush brush, and I use it for blush, contouring and highlighting. And it's super soft!

Sleek Santorino Blush and Sunset palette

I had been looking for a super-bright pink blush for a while when the lovely Liloo held a wee giveaway for this blush - and I was lucky enough to win! It's mega bright and very pigmented, so the lightest touch is needed, but now the summer is over and my tan is fading it's a perfect colour for wind-chilled cheeks! I picked up the sunset palette from a blogsale and love it. Its the first Sleek palette I own, and it's a very considered purchase - I couldn't decide which palette I would get the most use from as I already have a lot of neutrals and better suit warm tones. The golden shimmer in this palette makes the colours really warm and I've even managed to use the blue, which is quite frankly amazing because despite having very blue eyes blue eyeshadow usually makes me look like a drag queen. I shit you not.

And finally my nail wheels! I got these from ebay for a few pounds and have had great fun playing with them (despite getting a headache from the stench of polish everytime I do...) There is a little poll in the sidebar asking which you'd like to see first - if you wouldn't mind voting I'd be ever so grateful!

Things I've not been loving this month:

• Frogs. My cat has become an expert frog hunter and every morning for the last few weeks I've had to rescue at least one frog from the confines of my conservatory...
• My nails. They split, they break, they're stained. Ah the life of a nail blogger...
• Dieting. 3 months or so in and I'm starting to hate it. I've lost 26 pounds, which is great, but I just want biscuits for breakfast, bread for lunch and chips for tea. Porridge, soup and salad is wearing a bit thin.
• Spiders. Seriously, what is it with all the Arnold Schwarzespiders at the moment? I saw one run across the floor from the corner of my eye and thought it was the cat!

What have you been loving (and hating) this month? If you've done a favourites post, send me your links!

Hx

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NOTD - Boots 17 Magnetised Nail Polish in Green

Ok, so you know I wasn't spending anything in September...well technically these 4 polishes came under the opportunity not to be missed category. First up, I'm sure you've heard of the Site BuyaPowa by now (if not sBudgetBeauty has a great explanation here). Basically, you join a co-buy and have the chance to get an item at a much reduced price (because buying in bulk is cheaper). They were running a deal on Nails Inc's new magnetic polish in Houses of Parliament (purple) and as 100 people signed up for the co-buy we all paid £7 instead of the usual £13 with free postage. Bargain, or so I thought.

I'd eyed up the Boots 17 magnetic polishes and when I won a £10 Boots evoucher for painting my face like a pokeball in Klayer's make-up contest and I knew what I wanted. Since I'd got the purple Nails Inc polish I got the green, blue and silver (3 for 2 ;) ) and had to pay £2 plus postage with my £10 evoucher. They all came on the same day and as soon as I got them I swatched them on my grubby paws over the polish I was wearing. The effect was WOW and as soon as I saw it I loved it, but then I noticed something. Both bottles are exactly the same! There is not one discernible difference that I can see, apart from the labels. The magnets are the same, the size and shape of the bottle, brush and cap and the design on the detachable magnet cap - exactly the same. How can Nails Inc charge £13 for a polish that Boots is charging £5.99 for? I'm willing to bet Houses of Parliament is the same colour as the Boots Lilac magnetised polish too, although I don't have the two to compare. I've also heard new brand FashionistA are bringing out a magnetic polish line, available in Superdrug. They have more colours, though they're priced at £6 or £7 a bottle, and you buy the magnet separately for £3. They look exactly the same too...

Anyway, on to the manicure. I used Boots "Green" magnetised polish (I have the Nails Inc on my toes but can't get a good pic). First I used a coat of a Miss Sporty polish in a similar colour, so I wouldn't get it opaque without "wasting" the magnetised polish on two coats. When applying the magetised polish you have to do each nail at a time, so polish the nail and hold the magnet over while it is still wet before moving onto the next nail. As soon as you hold the magent over the particles in the polish "jump" to form the pattern, but you should hold the magnet for 10-15 seconds to set it. The longer you hold the magnet over the crisper the image will be. And if you don't like the pattern you get or you mess up, you can just paint another coat on and try again!

Identical!

I lurve this polish. You know I love shatter? Yeah, magnetic polish is the new crack-le. See what I did there? *insert tumbleweeds* Ok, I'll shut up. But seriously, I need as many colours as I can get my paws on and as many different magnet shapes as I can too. But Boots definitely wins over Nails Inc, for the insane price difference alone.

Have you tried magnetic effect polish yet? Will you?

Hx

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NOTD - New Boots 17 Crackle Topcoat

Hullo!

Just a quick post tonight to show you this new crackle polish from 17 at Boots. They already had a mediocre gold crackle topcoat (which you can see here and here), and now they've released a purple and, most exciting for me, a black with gold glitter! Seriously I nearly wee'd a little bit when I saw it (ahem, I do have a life, kind of...) The purple is pretty, with a kind of golden shimmer to it by the looks of the bottle, so I don't have anything like it and I'm sure I'll be adding it to my extensive crackle collection shortly, but I had to have the black one. Here it is layered over China Glaze Peace on Earth, a yummy golden metalic olive green that I've had for ages and never worn. Shame on me, it's lovely. I left the ring finger plain, coz you know how I love me an accent nail.

Odd texture at the tip of my ring finger here...not visible IRL

I do like this combo, I think it looks kinda snakeskin-esque, and the topcoat crackles well, but I wish I'd put a more visible colour underneath. I bought No 7 Poolside blue (with my £5 off No 7 voucher which is Boots current promotion) and the OH said on the way home I should put the crackle over that. I didn't agree but I wish I had now. Oh well, you live and learn.

Talking of Boot's promotions, thought I'd just mention just some of the ones I saw while I was there. If you buy 2 things costing over £4 from Collection 2000 you get a third free, there's the No 7 £5 voucher when you spend a certain amount (£5 I think?) and with any two purchases of 17 products you get a free Summer Nudes palette, consisting of two eyeshadows, a lip colour and a cream blush. It's actually a nice sturdy little palette, I picked up my polish and a lipstick for £2.29 (also on offer - the original price is about £3) and got the palette free. Bargainous.

Picture credit - boots.com

So, I said this would be a short post but I've rambled on as usual. Happy Sunday everyone, I hope Monday treats you well!

Hx

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Pink Wednesday - I know, right? (O.P.I I Lily Love You funky french)

Bored of the Mean Girls quotes yet? Well, if you are, tough! :P

Teehee, sorry. Anywho, for Pink Wednesday this week I wanted to use I Lily Love You again, so I created a funky french manicure using MUA Shade 16 for the tips and accent nails. Shade 16 is a really pretty deep fuschia and has a great formula - I LOVE these products. I haven't found one yet that I don't love - they eyeshadows in the MUA range (regular and Pro) are exceptional, and I really want to try their new primer. Anyway, I digress. After my base coat I used tip guides to create a french tip using the pink polish on all but my ring finger and thumb on which I painted the whole nail, then once they were dry I added 2 coats of I Lily Love You.

I wore this all day feeling a bit "meh" about it. I think it's the pink tinge to the ILLY that was making me unsure. I think it was making my nails just look a bit stained. I did love it over the MUA polish though - such a great combination of high end and absolute bargain! In the end I decided to slap a layer of my trusty matte top coat by 17 over the top, and it was transformed from "meh" to "oooooh"...

 It softened the whole look down and gave the flakies in ILLY a kind of ethereal quality. Prettyful. If I were to do this again I think I'd do the tips over ILLY instead of under so that they were more prominent. And maybe wear a nude polish under the whole lot  - I'm not used to seeing "real" nail under my polish anymore!

Are you sitting with the plastics this week?

Hx

PS I am working through verifing all the entries for my giveaway and hopfully will announce the winner tomorrow, or certainly by the weekend. Thank you to everyone who entered, and hi to all my lovely new followers! There are now 181 of you, which is incredible!

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