Chanel Frisson // Valentine's Nails

Left to Right  //  China Glaze - Ruby Pumps  / OPI - Mod About You / OPI - Color So Hot It Berns

Despite being crazily busy this last couple of weeks with moving house (yes, again!!) and taking a last minute trip to Singapore for the Mr's work, I still found some time to take part in my favourite Valentine's tradition. Of course I did. A bit of love inspired nail art!

This was inspired by some simple red heart shape tips I'd spied on Pinterest a while back. I just made some of my own enhancements/adjustments: I used two colors, OPI Mod About You and Color So Hot it Berns, to layer some of the hearts; for a more playful look I painted my hearts on slight tilts and kept my rounder, less pointy nail shape, the originals (see Pinterest link) are a bit regimented and too claw-like for my taste; and lastly I added a bit of China Glaze Ruby Pumps, because it wouldn't be right not to have a touch of glitter on Valentine's Day!

Special mention has to be given to the base coat, it's my latest polish addition, Chanel Frisson. It was picked up on a stop-and-grab duty-free haul on our last trip to SG. It's the epitome of a feminine sheer pink, with a subtle irridescent micro-shimmer to it. So pretty! For this manicure I just used two coats but you can layer up three or four to get an opaque finish. No doubt I'll show you a snap of this polish worn that way in the future because it's a definite easy to wear, everyday kinda polish.

Anyway, Valentine's day is winding to a close now around the other side of the world (it's actually Saturday here now) but I hope you all had a wonderful day spent with whoever you love, be it your partner, your friends or your pet :) And, have a great weekend!



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Valentine's Day The Single Way: Nail Art and Outfit Staples

Whilst I'm not single, tomorrow I'll still be spending my Valentine's Day alone. Unfortunately my fiancee is thousands of miles away working in Australia and although I'd love nothing more than to spend the day with him tomorrow I'm not going to let that turn me into a Valentine's Day Scrooge.

Yes, I know it's just a big commercial marketing ploy really but I can't help getting sucked in to the lovie dovie-ness of the day. Perhaps it's all the red and pink?! Whatever it is, I love this day despite the bad press it sometimes gets. Of course the first Valentine related thing I did was send a gift and card to my lovely other half. Then in the spirit of things I attempted to make some Red Velvet cupcakes....which turned out...brown. Fail.

Not satisfied with my poor attempt at themed baking I set about doing these Valentine's themed nails. In my opinion there's only one colour for your nails on February 14th. As if I need to tell you what that is.....!!

China Glaze - 'Ruby Pumps' & OPI - 'Top Coat'

 

Lilac Nail Lovin' and The Zara Saga

Lilac nails have always caught my attention but I'd been struggling to find the exact shade I was after. 

You know what it's like when you have an image in your head of how you want something to look. I kept seeing a lot of very pale lilacs like OPI's 'Rumple Wiggin' and dark lilacs like Rimmel's 'Ultra Violet' but never light and bright!

Well the search is over, I've found that illusive perfect shade and for once in my life it wasn't even from an expensive brand.  Introducing (although it's been around yonks) Barry M's Berry I/C Nail Paint!

Barry M Berry I/C - A lovely lilac nail polish

 

Practically perfect pale pastelly purpleness! I'm in love! 

I'm clearly going to need to stock up on this one before heading back to Korea. As you probably spotted in the post, I picked it up in my high-street beauty haul. It was £2.99 so I figured it was worth a shot. Usually a fan of slightly more expensive nail polish brands like OPI, I was surprised by this polish.

I liked the colour but what I wasn't expecting was to like how this polish goes on. It was so easy to apply (a good consistency and streak free) and I only needed two coats when I usually find cheaper polishes need three. Admittedly I still used three coats but that's because I'm a bit OCD about my nails not because it was necessary! I also went ahead and spruced things up just a touch with a coat of China Glaze 'Snow Globe' as an accent nail. I think it's the perfect combo....what do you think?

As if I wasn't chuffed enough with the new polish, I finally (been wanting one for a loooong time) spotted, and of course, promptly bought....a contrasting tuxedo blazer!

I literally went in to Zara, all in a huff, to return the ill-fitting-major-disappointment-waste-of-postage-money-I-am-not-shopping-here-ever-ever-again items from my previous post and then walked back out with this.

Oh Zara...why do you do it to me?! How will I ever give you up?!

Love can be so cruel.

xxx

China Glaze Snow Globe, Blue Years Eve & Let It Snow Winner

Silver charm bracelet - Links of London. Silver ring and Bangle - Mont Blanc.

This was my main reason for purchasing the China Glaze 'Let It Snow' gift set. I'd been eying up the color Snow Globe and thinking about how it would look layered over white. As we all know by now I'm a big advocate of a little sparkle, on nails in particular! So when I spotted a swatch of the white, very iridescent Snow Globe I had to get it. Up close it has gorgeous flecks of pink, blue and soft yellow glitter.

I had a vision in my head of a white base coat with a thick coat of the glitter over the top turning out like a snowy looking type of nail.

Well....I think it worked! I'm sort of surprised because usually my imagination does a better job than I can ever do in real life. Sadly, as with most glitter polishes, the pictures don't capture how it twinkles under the light. But let me tell you, it's very eye catching and...I love it! It looks like winter, in my head anyway. What do you reckon?

White polish base coat with China Glaze 'Snow Globe'.

Before going ahead and doing this I actually tested out both of the colours (Snow Globe and Blue Years Eve) in the 'Let It Snow' gift set. I get a bit over excited about new polishes and have to try them as soon as possible.

China Glaze 'Let It Snow' nail polish set - 'Snow Globe' and 'Blue Year's Eve'.

I'm a big fan of the blue on it's own as a block color. It has a very metallic foil like finish. For me it doesn't seem to work with Snow globe though. I feel like it's too fussy and the colors don't seem to compliment one another. Just my two cents. I'm excited to try Snow globe over a lilac though. I think it will go well with the soft pastel colors in the glitter. I've seen it over black too which looked cool so I may possibly try that at some point.

One lucky person has won the giveaway for a China Glaze 'Let It Snow' gift set all for them. The lucky lady is...

Bri!

Congratulations Bri! I hope you like the colors and find a way you like wearing them best.

Thank you to everyone else for entering and for all of your support. Reading everyone's lovely comments is what keeps me blogging so thank you all very much!

xxx