I think I have something tonight that's not quite correct for evening wear...

Hi!

Not blue suede shoes, but purple suede nails! This mani was just intended as a quick stopgap, but I think they turned out too pretty not to share. I'm not usually a huge fan of mattes and suede polishes ( have a few, obviously) but I just think the application is tricky, they show every flaw in the nail and while they look like they dry quickly they stay dentable for hours. Quick dry topcoat is a no no because you lose the effect, and that also means they chip more easily than most. Too much work when you can just use matte topcoat and get the same effect, amirite? BUT I was lucky enough to win a full set of these Moyra suedes and boy do I eat my words. They are all autumnal, wintry shades with pretty silver sparkle, they apply really well, dry (properly dry) quickly and don't make my nails look as bumpy as the Pennines. The only issue I had was a little bit of dragging on the first coat, as they really do dry super quickly, but any bald spots vanished with a careful second coat. This lovely purple is Suede 505. I stamped a simple little paisley design from plate QA 59.

Super pretty, and I imagine it would look gorgeous topcoated too. I can wholly recommend these suedes, and they're really affordable at just £3 too, available here. Like Moyra UK's Facebook page for regular special offers too!

Hx

*Edit - I've just noticed the website is currently down, so I'll try to update once it's back!*

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Picture Polish Illusionist - galaxy in a bottle!

Hello!

I'm going to jump straight in today and say I can't do galaxy nails. The fact I've only actually tried them once, about three years ago is irrelevant. It was a fail and I shelved the idea and never tried again. Galaxy nails are so pretty, I "ah" every time I see one, traditional or pastel, and I think to myself I really should try that again someday. But in the back of my mind I still have the fail and a little niggle that says don't even go there. So I don't try. But now, along comes a polish that does it all for me, in one little bottle! Picture Polish Illusionist is a beautiful glittery multi-chrome polish with just the right amount of holo glittery flakies running through it to make it twinkle like the night sky. So. Beautiful. As multi-chrome polishes tend to be, this is sheer so I layered two coats over Sally Hansen Navy, Baby so you can see the full shift from pink to purple, blue and turquoise, and even a rusty red at the extreme end (which you can see in the underwater pic at the end). I combined it with a silver accent nail and some simple white stamping. But the Picture Polish is the real star of the show.

Stunning! I nabbed my bottle from the wonderful Sally Magpies when there was a sale, but even though it's back to full price now I suggest you grab it because it wont be in stock for long!

Maybe next time I wear it I will attempt some galaxy art over the top...or maybe I'll wimp out and just admire it instead!

Hx

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Why did the banana go to the doctor?

Because he wasn't peeling well! Ba-dum, ching! Joke courtesy of my 6 year old, his first joke that's actually been funny! I'm thinking of getting him a joke book now he can read a bit better, but I have a feeling I'll regret it... Anyway, on to the nails! There is a reason for the banana themed puns, banana nails! this week we could choose between two themes for Stamping Sunday over in AIS, and me being me, I went with both. The first was a re-do of an old theme, pulsating pink and purple (you can see my first attempt here on uber-nubs, almost two years ago!). And the second was positive and negative, so I simply flipped the colours on two nails. The base colours are Barry M Grapefruit and Color Club Pucci-licious, and I stamped with Models Own Pukka Purple and Sally Hansen Insta-Dry Speedy Sunburst. The stamping plate is Cheeky CH42. I need a brighter pink that stamps over dark bases, but otherwise I like this design. My nails are a nice shape now so I face a dilemma - keep them this length and shape, or grow them and almond them again. The problem with growing them is that any longer than this and some of them start to curl under and go funny - much like that awkward growing out a bob hair cut stage... Anyway, I've chatted far too much! Nails!

I've neglected the blog far too much this week, but I have had a busy one. I have a picture polish, last week's GOT polish challenge and awesome zoo nails to post in the next few days!  Yep, I said zoo nails! I went to the zoo with my sons class on Friday, so of course my nails had to match! Not so sure I'll be matching them to the sunburn I got while I was there though...

Hx

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Palate Cleanser of the Week! A England Dancing with Nureyev

Hi!

I've not done a Palate Cleanser of the Week for a while, I can't help but faff! But this polish I just had to wear plain, as soon as it arrived! I don't even know how to describe other than simply beautiful, but I guess I'll have a go. Dancing with Nureyev is a purple toned saphire blue holo from A England's Ballerina collection. But that's not it, it almost has a violet duochrome look in certain lights. It's so prismatic and sparkly, I stared at my hands for more than an acceptable amount of time while I was wearing this polish. And the formula is perfection. Smooth and buttery, I used two coats out of habit but you could definitely get away with one. And it doesn't feel thin and show every ridge and bump on the nail like some holos can. I've talked enough, look!

So beautiful even the sun shined for me!

Hx

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Stardust, swirls and shimmer!

Hi!

Sometimes it's good to just wear what you like on your nails. As a blogger I sometimes get buried in challenges, reviews and themes and don't actually get to just dig into the stash and grab what I want! Now I'm up to date with challenges, reviews etcetera for a week or so, so I'm going to get some "me" manis under my belt! Starting with this one! I bought three polishes from Nails Inc's Stardust collection, and I combined this pretty Paulton's Square with Barry M Prickly Pear. Paulton's Square contains blue metallic glitter in a shimmery pink and blue duochrome base. It is fairly sheer, but Prickly Pear is a perfect match and I bet it would look great over a dark base too. There's the perfect balance of glitter and shimmer, I used two coats and the bigger pieces of glitter don't get buried by the shimmer, and it isn't bumpy on the nail. I left it plain for a while, but the morning after I did it, my Pueen buffet set arrived and so I had to have a play! I stamped a simply swirly pattern in Color Club Cold Metal.

I'm really happy with how well these matched! I have two more of the Stardust collection and I think I might use them the same way! I have lots of new stamping plates to play with after all ;)

Hx

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Tri Polish challenge blue, green and purple #4 - Flossing...

Hi!

For the last TPC of the month of March I decided to try something a little bit silly! I started off with an off-white base - Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud, and then used a little dental flosser to make the lines across the nail using all Barry M polishes - Key Lime, Cobalt Blue, and Plum. I topped it with a sparse gold glitter, Nails Inc Glamour Glitter, and overall it looked quite abstract and interesting.

I felt like it was missing something so I added a couple of stamped accents using MoYou Pro XL 6.

Next month's TPC colours are pink, yellow and blue - will you be joining in?

Hx

An InLinkz Link-up

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Enchanted Polish February 2014

Hi!

I'm excited about today's post! I have never understood the whole Enchanted Polish hype to be honest (I'm the same with Lynderella or anything limited edition, slap a limited label on anything and it somehow makes it less desirable to me...maybe I'm odd), yes they're pretty but are they really that special? I have always been curious, and since EP release a "monthly" polish I decided I would treat myself to February's for my birthday. Now this was a risk for two reasons - the most obvious being that recently EP has been releasing the monthly polishes as 'surprises', meaning you don't actually get to see the polish you're buying until you have it in your hands (or the first person who gets theirs puts it on Instagram). So it's a big risk, but I knew that if I didn't like it I would be able to sell it on quite easily, as this time there was only a half an hour "window" in which to order so people were bound to miss out. The second risk is one I used to take all the time, but not so much recently. It was an expensive polish (probably the most I have ever spent on one polish) and it is obviously sent from the states, which to my mind brings up all sorts of images of customs fees, damaged packages and Royal Mail hiring a bomb squad to destroy the little bottle of pretty...

Anyway, it arrived, I love it and all is well! February 2014 is a pink toned dusty purple holo that is just about as me as you can get. A lot of the earlier swatches I saw showed it as more pink, but to my mind it is definitely a dusty purple leaning to pink. I'm on the fence about the formula - it is very thick, forming strings and blobs almost imediately, and application was tricky as it dragged a little bit. If you were careful you could get away with one coat, but I stuck to my usual two here. I stamped a little leafy pattern from the new Pueen buffet plate set as an accent, and left it topcoatless, worried about affecting the fiery holo.

The sun even came out for it's debut! I am happy with my purchase, for the most part and I'm sure the formula can be fixed with a bit of thinner (when I eventually get around to buying some...) and I'm sure it will stamp well. The pre-order for March and April 2014 is this evening I believe, but I wont be ordering. I don't think I like buying polish before I know what it looks like, it's scary! I got lucky this time, but usually Lady Luck is not my friend!

Did you go for February 2014? What do you think about the whole blind buying thing?

Hx

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Tri Polish Challenge, Blue, Purple and Green #3, Flutterbies!

Hi all!

Silly Mr NN got me a mug for valentines day this year (don't ask) and I noticed that the colours were perfect for this month's tri polish challenge so I decided to recreate it, or at least try! I actually changed the colours a little but they still fit. I used Rimmel Salon Pro Barmy Blue as my base and then made butterfly decals with Barry M Gold Foil, Barry M Greenberry and Beauty UK Lilac Girl. The single butterfly is from a Salon Express plate, and the other butterflies are from Pueen 39 (I don't know why I've not used it before, it's beautiful!) I like how this came out, I changed the clear polish that I used for the decals (LaFemme clear) and it works much better - and it was really cheap AND it doesn't smear stamping. Win! Excuse the awkward hand poses, it's a big mug and it was hard to hold and photograph!

There isn't a huge amount of the green and purple, but it is there! Quite a girly look this one, not very fitting for a clumsy oaf like me!

Hx

An InLinkz Link-up

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GOT polish - purple!

Hi!

I've had the mani for the purple Golden Oldie Thursday prompt planned for what seems like months! I've had some purple nail art feathers knocking around in a my kit for ages, but never been brave enough to use them. I'm not gonna lie, they were faffy, and hard to apply, but the result is so pretty! My purple polish is China Glaze Creative Fantasy, a purple jelly with an odd but not unworkable formula. I used three coats of Creative Fantasy, and the nail line you can see here is not visible to the naked eye. The fathers are stuck on with lots and lots and lots of topcoat, on top of Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud. the edges are a little raised, and although they've lasted through washing dishes so far I don't think they'll last the day, more because they're catching on things than anything else!

Faffy? Yes. Worth it? Totally! Would I do it again? Probably not...

Hx

An InLinkz Link-up

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