Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts

Saturday, 11 October 2014

Halloweenie with Charlie's Nail Art!

Hi!

We're well and truly into Autumn now, with this week seeing me digging out the boys woolly hats to replace their sun ones (and me putting on my winter coat for the first time this year resulting in a spider crawling out of the hood and making it's way down my face...eek!). I know to many of you, Halloween nails should be reserved for a few days running up to the event, but I received these glow in the dark gems from Charlie's Nail Art to review, and they just screamed halloween to me! Feeling inspired, I created these slimy nails using the gems as eyes and lumps of slime (which delighted my 7 year old!). The gems were really versatile; I turned them into eyeballs just with a dot of black polish, and they even glowed through a green jelly polish (Sinful Colors Irish Green). They need a little charge in sunlight to glow, but I was surprised that they actually needed very little and were glowing straight out of the envelope! They cost just 99p for 100 and come in white or pink.






Have these inspired you for halloween? Check out Charlie's Nail Art for more spooky nail art goodies, I'm particularly loving the cute pumpkin decals!

Hx
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Friday, 19 September 2014

Barry M Autumn Gelly Collection Swatch and Review!

Hi!

It's not often (in fact, I think this is a first) that I swatch an entire collection, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's not often that I like an entire collection enough to buy the whole set, and as my polish budget is fairly limited I can't afford to buy a polish just to swatch if I don't love it. And secondly, I rarely have the time to sit and polish my nails over and over in one sitting. Nor do I think my pictures are anything special! However, when I saw the Autumn Gelly nail paint collection from Barry M I wanted, nay needed, them all, my youngest bubba just started full time school (sob) so I managed to spare an hour for some swatching, and the sun was shining so I hoped to get a decent pic. No excuses, so off I swatched!

Barry M has come up trumps with this collection of 6 polishes from their Hi-Shine Gelly range, all named after spices (with the exception of Cocoa) that are perfect Autumn colours. Most are unique to my collection, which is getting rarer and rarer these days, and I think filled a gap in Barry M's range too. It's great to see some more muted, unique colours. All of my swatches show two coats with no topcoat. The formula was thinner than I've come to expect from the Gelly range, which isn't a bad thing as some of them, especially the white-based colours (I'm looking at you Huckleberry) can be a little on the thick side. I had no issues with application, and the dry time was great.

Mustard is exactly that; a mustard yellow cream. This is probably the most unique of the set, unlike anything I've got in my collection. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do, but it has a warmth to it which means it avoids the baby-poo look!



Cocoa is the darkest of the bunch, a dark brown that's not too red but avoids looking black. I can imagine this looking beautifully cosy with some gold glitter.



Cardamom was my favourite, although it is slightly darker on the nail than in the bottle it is still a lovely dusty mid-green.



Chai is a perfect grey cream. It comes a close second to Cardamom for me and I've already worn this again.



Paprika is Cocoa's redder, paler sister and reminds me a silky melted milk chocolate.



Lastly, Chilli, which is the reddest of the collection, and I think it will make a lovely autumn pedicure colour.



It's hard for me to pick a favourite here, but if I was pushed I'd go for Cardamom with Chai a close second, and Mustard bringing up the rear! I've already worn Chai with some stamping, but I broke a nail before I could get a good picture :( Anyway, I can see myself reaching for these over and over in the next few months! Which is your favourite?

I purchased these myself from Superdrug, where they are currently on 3 for 2 - so you can get all 6 for a few pence less than £16. What a naughty enabler I am!

Hx
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Sunday, 17 August 2014

Fight for Life and Live

Hi!

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it?! Almost 2 months since I blogged last, and I am so ashamed of that for a multitude of reasons. The thing is, life just sometimes gets in the way and recently a lot of "life" has happened. My beautiful Mummy was taken seriously ill, and as she doesn't live close to me a lot of two-ing and fro-ing has ensued. She's got a long journey of recovery ahead of her, but hopefully she's on the mend. My own health hasn't been fantastic, I'm having trouble with my eyes and earlier in the year I had two miscarriages within the space of 4 months, which was painful both physically and emotionally. We also lost our lovely cat George, who had been our furbaby for almost 10 years. Mr NN has had work trouble and was made unemployed (again), leaving us with no car and uncertainty over a lot of things. He's working now, but only agency work, which is never reliable and could end any day. The end of term was busy for me and my boys, and now they're on their summer holidays and running me ragged. We were planning a house move, which fell through at the last minute and was very stressful and upsetting. As a result of that, we decided to do some decorating and rearranging of the house we're in, which honestly was just as stressful! All of this sounds like excuses, right? I wont blog tonight, I'm too worried about Mum/ stressed about money/ tired from painting. But it all contributed to me feeling just too overwhelmed to take anything else on, or some days to even function enough to get dressed. Which is why today seemed like a fitting time to break the silence and make an effort to blog.

I've posted about depression and how it's affected me and my family before (you can read about it here), and recently I just can't keep the black dogs from creeping in closer. And I don't know what to do to make myself feel better. Nothing I do is going to lift this heavyness from my chest for now. It's there, it's real and it's bloody scary. Sometimes, when I feel like this I get obsessive about not feeling adequate. I've still been painting my nails, stamping, glittering and nail art-ing them, but feeling like the final result hasn't been good enough to post. And when they were good enough, the photos didn't come out well, when I even bothered to photograph them at all. But of course they're good enough (some of my photos have been cringeworthy and I still posted those!) It's just, in my mind, I'm not good enough. I'm the same with other things in my life. Food, make-up, my house. If it's not perfect I give up, binge eat, ignore the mess, hide away. But I enjoy blogging and the community surrounding it. I know my nails aren't perfect, that I don't photoshop my mistakes, I'm an honest blogger. It shouldn't be a stressful thing.

So, I'm going to make an attempt to get my blogging mojo back. I'm not putting too much pressure on myself, and I certainly wont be posting everyday or pushing myself to be perfect. I am what I am and it's about getting me to accept me. Any additional support is just a bonus.

The death and apparent suicide of Robin Williams on Monday hit me hard. I grew up watching Mork and Mindy, and I don't know anyone who could honestly say Mrs Doubtfire isn't one of their favourite films. It came as a shock to many that a comic genius could suffer so badly from depression that he would take his own life, but it just goes to show that these black dogs come in many shapes and sizes, and they don't discriminate. Whatever form it takes, if you even suspect that you're suffering, tell someone. No one is going to laugh, or tell you just t cheer up and get over it. Depression is real, and there are so many things you can do about it.

My green mani in support of depression awareness comes in the form of Picture Polish Tail Feather, which embodies so many of my favourite things - mint green, sparkles, peacocks and one of my favourite bloggers, Kayla Shevonne. Peacocks for me have huge connotations. Many people see them as bad omens, because of the eyes on their tail feathers, and because they have strong stomachs and can eat things that would poison other birds. But to me, this epitomizes strength, and only adds to their beauty. It reminds me to be proud of myself, that I am strong and beautiful despite, or even because of, my imperfections. I even have a peacock feather tattoo, a permanent reminder to just be me.








I hope I didn't ramble too much, and I hope to be able to post again sometime this week. Please have a look at everyone else's beautiful green manis - but if you only look at one please make it Debbie's over at The Crumpet. It's so beautifully written it made me cry.

Hx



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Thursday, 19 June 2014

GOT polish? Freestylin'!

Hi!

Sorry I've not posted for a few days, technology has not been on my side! For this week's Golden Oldie Thursday we could do what the hell we wanted, so I did! Actually the base was a brand spanking new Barry M Summer Ltd Edition from Boots called Bikini, a lovely perriwinkle blue, my "oldies" were the stamping polishes and the glitter. I stamped peacock feathers (I rather like peacock feathers, in case you didn't know!) using Color Club Perfect Mol-ten, Cold Metal and Hot Like Lava from the Foiled collection, and the glitter gradient tips were done with Icing Lemme See Your Peacock. The stamping plate was MoYou Pro 03, and Nails Craze NC01 on the thumb. Loved this mani, perfectly me.






I'm currently sporting a gel polish pedi, but when it comes off I think something similar to this will be replacing it! It'll match my tattoo nicely ;)

Hx



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Sunday, 1 June 2014

When I met you in the summer...

Hi!

Today's Adventures in Stamping Sunday theme was summer nails, and I decided to go a bit beachy. I used to live in Cornwall and it was a few minutes drive in any direction to get to the most beautiful beaches, but now I'm pretty landlocked and I miss it. So what better way than to bring the beach to my nails! I used sooooooo many polishes for this manicure - starting with one coat of Barry Greenberry Gelly and then two of Seventeen Turquoise from their new Juicy Neon collection. To me, they don't seem very neon, but pretty summer polishes none the less. I then added a dabbed on coat of a blue glitter by Technic called Mermaid before letting that all dry with a coat of Poshe. The accent nail is Models Own Bora Bora and ELF Golden Goddess. Once that was ready I stamped seashells from Cheeky plate CH 38 in Konad white on the accent nail, and Barry M Gold Foil on the blue nails. In hinsight, I should have used white, or maybe blue, on the "sea" nails, as the stamping is hard to make out. I tehn added more Bora Bora and Golden Goddess to imitate sandy tips. It is really pretty, even though the stamping errs on the subtle side!





Pretty and sparkly summer nails!

I have a very exciting post scheduled for tomorrow morning, and you'll definitely want to check it out so see you soon!

Hx
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Thursday, 15 May 2014

GOT Polish? Texture!

Hi!

Another one from before the break today, and in fact it was before the mini-break that lead me to shorten my nails a little a few weeks ago. I had intended to do some nail art on top, but the tip of my middle finger broke off before I had a chance, so for the first time ever it's a no-nail-art GOT polish from me! The polish is Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Sour Apple - my love for this kind of green is never ending!




Short and (hopefully) sweet today, lots of little things seem to be conspiring against me at the moment and I'm in a bad mood! Plus my cat has been missing since Monday and I'm really worrying about him. I'm sure he's got stuck in someone's shed or garage somewhere, he's that dopey but he knows which side his bread's buttered and he's always usually home for dinner. Here's hoping he finds his way home soon :(

Hx



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Sunday, 11 May 2014

Stained Glass Springtime

Hi!

This week's adventures in stamping theme was spring, and I thought I'd try out a new technique. I blogged a while ago about some sheer tint-esque polishes I made, with this technique in mind. The idea is that you stamp a pattern on a white base, and then "fill in" the image using these sheer polishes and a little brush or dotting tool, making it look like stained glass (or leadlight). Because they're sheer, the colour will only show over the white and not the black stamping lines. For a first try, I'm quite pleased with how this manicure came out - I used MoYou XL Pro 06 and pink, raspberry, purple, yellow and green home made sheer polishes. The unstamped nails are China Glaze Keep Calm Paint On, which is my favourite mint and as such has gone a little gloopy. I love it so much though it finally made me order some thinner!





It's not perfect but for a first go I don't think it's too bad! And a little bit of wonk adds to the charm ;)

Hx
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Saturday, 19 April 2014

Models Own Speckled Eggs skittles!

Hi!

I know these polishes have been blogged to death, so I'll keep this short and sweet! When I saw the Models Own Speckled Eggs collection I wanted them all - not something that often occurs (honestly!). But when I got them I was underwhelmed so they sat in the untrieds drawer for a few weeks until I decided it was close enough to Easter to whack them on my nails. Well, I wish I hadn't waited now, because I really love them! Even the yellow is super pretty on the nail. These are all just two coats, which gives perfect coverage and just the right amount of glitter. They're not bumpy or rough either, and I think they'd even look good with matte topcoat. Pinkie to thumb, they are Goose, Swan, Magpie, Dove and Duck.




I'm not always a fan of everything Models Own brings out, but this time they hit the nail right on the head. Can we have neon versions, please?

Hx
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Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Introducing Moyra UK - Swatch and Review!

Hi loves!

Today I have an exciting European polish range that is new to us UK lacquerheads to share with you! According to their Facebook page Moyra is a European nail brand loved by nail technicians across the world for the world class quality, affordable prices and amazing colors. And what an array they have! There is a huge classic range with every basic colour you could every need, and then there are suedes, gel effects, sands, glitter, neons, holos - literally everything you could want and bang on trend too. Today I have a pastel shade, a gel look and a cheeky holo to share with you!

First up is this perfect lilac creme, a must have shade in any collection. The formula on this one is thin, but not unmanageable and I hardly had any clean up to do. Despite it being thin it wasn't at all streaky and here I used two easy coats. I couldn't resist adding a little stamp to this one!




Next I tried the gel look, Nathalie, a lovely shimmery red. It makes a nice change to have a gel effect polish with shimmer, as usually they're cremes. The shimmer in Nathalie makes it look so lush and juicy, I don't often wear red, but this one I could reach for over and over again. This was two perfect coats, with no topcoat. No topcoat, people! Shiny!




Finally the star of the show for me. Luna is a light green holographic polish which, for a budget brand, has the most amazing linear holo rainbow you could ever wish for! Again, two easy coats and no application issues at all. And the stunning result? I could stare all day...






I am super impressed with these polishes, especially at the price point. The pastel and holo polishes are just £3, while the gel looks cost £4, for a full size 12ml bottle. Bargain! At the moment you can purchase from Moyra's Facebook page, with a website coming soon. The range really is huge, so I'm sure there's something you'll love! I'm eyeing up the neon texture polishes next ;)

Hx

The product featured was a PR sample provided to me for free for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own and 100% honest. Please see my disclaimer in the tab above for further details.
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