Essie Marshmallow Re-Do // 4th Inspired Star Manicure

Powdery Blue & Gold // Essie Find Me An Oasis

This dreamy pale blue is Essie Find Me An Oasis. It's one of the latest polishes to arrive in my nail mail package from the US. I love the color but it was really difficult to capture in the photos, it's actually a bit paler than it appears, looking almost white at a distance or in certain lights. I included the last Instagram photo since that's probably the best representation of the color. 

Find Me An Oasis is reasonably alright to apply; after a super streaky first coat, the second coat almost evened everything out, but for me, a bit of perfectionist when it comes to my nails, it needed a third coat. You may think it's fine with two. Dry time was no problem but it did need a topcoat for more shine.

Orginally I planned to combine this one with glitter, but then I pulled out an old gem, a gold shimmer polish by Korean brand The Face Shop, and was reminded of this cute mani I'd seen on Instagram. I like the combination, the coolness of the blue and the warmth of the gold really compliment each other, don't you think? 

I'll probably be trying gold tips with other colors from here on out. 

What color do you have on your nails at the moment? Any colors/brands you recommend me to try? 

Manicure Monday // OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian

OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian is, as you'd expect from something with that name and from the "Brazil Collection", the kind of pink that just sings summer. It's a bright, bordering on neon, Barbie pink.  So naturally, I love it. 

I always like using OPI cream formulas, and this one is particularly good, it just seems to glide on so easily. I find that almost all the OPI cream formulas tend to level out well and dry slowly enough to allow for a few extra brush strokes to even out any iffy brushstrokes without dragging. The really great thing is you can add second coats and third coats in fairly rapid succession without creating a manicure that never dries. (I'm looking at you Essie) Don't you hate those?! This polish actually only required two coats, and you'd possibly get away with only one if your application was extremely careful. As I mentioned last Monday, I'm making an effort to do more nail art again. So, sticking to my word, I got out China Glaze I'm Not Lion and the nail tape for a little playtime. 

L to R  //  OPI - Kiss Me I'm Brazilian  /  China Glaze - I'm Not Lion  /  Seche Vite -  Dry Fast Top Coat

So what do you think of the results? I love it, and whilst it's certainly not a subtle manicure, I think it's perfect for summer and my mini-break by the pool this week....don't hate me too much please! ;)

Did you try any of the OPI Brazil Collection polishes? (You can see them here on OPI.com) I also really like the look of the Taupeless Beach and Don't Bossa Nova Me Around, which are both much more neutral grey/taupe shades. Which would be your pick?

Manicure Monday // Sweet Daisy

For no particular reason, I haven't been doing as much nail art lately. I can't fathom why not because it's one of my favourite things to do. As you know by now, I'm a compulsive nail painter - I never have bare nails, and I particularly love how creative you can be with nail art. It's not the world's greatest skill and it's hardly the most useful, but still, it gives me that little sense of achievement when I complete a pretty design, and a rewarding feeling of pride when someone notices them and I get to say I did them myself  :) So all that being said, I've decided to get back to doing more nail art, I'll be aiming to post my humble efforts at least a couple of times a month. 

On Saturday, I was feeling all 'Springy' and decided a muted, feminine nail would make a nice change from the hot pinks and corals I've been overdoing these past few weeks. Daisies are one of the easiest nail arts to do, but the results are super sweet, don't you think?!

Polishes

Base color - OPI Privacy Please

Daisy petals - OPI Alpine Snow

Daisy centres - Etude House Mini French 07 Gold Glitter

Heart Ring - Topshop Link!

Also, can we take a second to talk about this Chanel perfume bottle phone case. You've probably seen it in a few other places too by now, but isnt it so fun?!!

Christmas Red & Gold Manicure

I've been busy doing last minute Christmas preparations this weekend; wrapping presents, baking some sweet treats and giving myself a new Christmas mani. As far as Christmas nails go, there is only one contender for the best Christmas polish in my book - China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

If you don't know this polish, you really should, it's a perfect crimson red with micro glitter that reflect a slightly brighter red, so festive! It's also good for Valentine's Day (see this post here). I love it, and although it looks perfectly fabulous on it's own I thought I'd jazz it up with some gold because is there really any better Christmas combination?!!

L to R // The Face Shop Gold Glitter & Micro Gold Glitter, OPI Big Apple red, China Glaze I'm Not Lion, China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Sugar cookies - I cheated by using the Betty Crocker mix (shhh!) They're so good, it's unlikely they'll be any left by Christmas.

How cute is my little reindeer nail decal!!

I topped off my manicure with Seche Vite in the hopes of it lasting until Wednesday. Seche Vite usually gives me really good wear time, even if it does come at the price of a little shrinkage on the tips. Anyway, only two sleeps to go! :)

So, are you ready for Christmas or do you still have some last minute shopping to do like me?!

x x x

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Cath Kidston Inspired Rose Nails // Take Two

With lots of things going on in my life at the moment and having my brother staying with us for the last couple of weeks, I haven't had the time to blog as much as I like to. But, I did make sure to at least snap some pictures of the important stuff. Important stuff being nails and food basically. Yep, outside of family and friends those are my real loves.

If you followed my blog when I first began (approaching two years ago in August, week!) you may remember I did some Cath Kidston inspired nail art. Well, I like to think my skills have improved a bit more since then, so when I saw Emily on Cupcakes and Cashmere with the same kind of flower nails on a white background, I though I'd give them a whirl again. I added in a little pink glitter because, frankly, glitter makes everything better in my opinion!

I won't pretend these were easy. The flowers themselves aren't that difficult, you just need patience and a very steady hand. But...using a pin to pick up individual pieces of glitter and place them in a neat pattern.... yeah, that was a labor of love!

x x x

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Easter Nails // Pastel and Patterns

Easter Nails

L to R  //  OPI - Lucky Lucky Lavender  //  China Glaze - For Audrey  //  The Face Shop - YL202 & PK102  //  InnisFree  - 56 

I'll take any excuse to do some fun nail art and it just so happens that Easter is actually a pretty good one. It's especially good because it's the time of year for soft, pretty pastel shades. This year I chose to be a little more subtle than last year. I picked my favourite pastel polishes and did white zigzag and polka dot designs. Still couldn't resist adding a cute little chick hatching out of a shell though!

If you're looking for easter nail art inspiration, check out the chicks and bunnies I did last year -  HERE. I also did a pastel water marbled manicure which is a great option for Easter too if you're up for a challenge and want something different and very pretty.

Have you already done an Easter mani? Leave a link if you've written a blog post about yours so we can all have a peek

xxx



PS: Last few days to enter the BEAUTY BOX GIVEAWAY!  <<< Go enter here  :)

Lovey Dovey // Valentine's Nails

Left to Right  //  Shorts Story - Pinking Of You - Alpine Snow - All OPI 

 Pink Glitter - Korean Brand (Available via my shop)

It's approaching that lovey dovey time of year and sadly, just like last year, I am going to be alone. The Mr is away working in Dubai at the moment. He's been there for the last six weeks but thankfully I'm headed out to join him for a vacation in just a couple of weeks and he'll be coming home after that.

It's strange to live with someone and then have them disappear out of your daily life for such a long time. Although it's not nice to be apart it certainly makes you appreciate a person when they're not just there for a while. I expected to have much more free time when he was away but it's turned out to be the complete opposite. All the odd jobs, chores and errands that we usually split are my responsibility, not to mention it's left me photographer less (you may have noticed my outfit posts are lacking lately) and without a co-dogwalker/stroker.

Nevertheless, I decided there's no reason why I can't embrace the valentine's day spirit anyway. You know me, any excuse to paint my nails!! I perused Pinterest for a long time for some inspiration, but in the end I decided on something simple, using easy-peasy nail stickers - to save a little time for all those extra jobs I have to do, you know?!

Do you have a date this Valentine's Day? What will you be doing?

Who else is doing their nails for Valentines? 

If you need a quick and very easy idea, you could try out my Indecisive Girls Manicure or the simple Valentine's heart nails from last year in any mix of pinks and reds.

Indecisive Girls Manicure

Valentine's Nails 2012  //  Use a toothpick or nail pen to make little hearts

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Spring Pastel Water Marbled Nails - My 1st Video!

This morning I've been a busy bee. If you follow me on twitter I mentioned yesterday that I was thinking of trying to water marble my nails. I wasn't too sure how it'd turn out though and I was worried it could be too hard to do. Well I decided to go for it...

...and..

..I'm so happy with how it turned out!

It really wasn't as hard as I'd been thinking it would be. Yes, I'll admit it wasn't a total breeze, I re-did a couple of the first few nails but once I'd done a few I really got the hang of it! They don't look perfect but they definitely don't look like the globby mess I'd envisaged them ending up as!

I decided to make a very basic video tutorial, not because one successful attempt makes me a pro but just to help anyone else who wants to give it a try. It's my first video ever and also my very first upload to YouTube. Eeek! So...I'm really hoping you'll all watch it and that you all find it useful!

Let me know what you think! I haven't included audio because I wasn't sure if everyone would be ready for the British accent and I'm a little nervous about talking in videos, I might work up to it one day though!

Have a fantastic weekend everyone! 

 xxx

PS: if you haven't entered the Deborah Lippmann giveaway for the chance to win two polishes of your choice, click here to enter now!

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'

 

I Wore: A 'Schoodie', La Mer Wrap Watch & Leopard Print Nail Art

After a productive Saturday packing up the apartment we decided to fit in a spot of Christmas shopping  today. It's icy cold here at the moment so all hopes of looking chic go out the window, unless you're prepared to freeze. I prefer not to, so when the weather is like this I like to wrap up in cosy cute knits instead. This scarf is a favourite of mine, well actually I think the official term is 'schoodie' since it's a scarf and a hood combined. Either way I love it because it's so warm and wintery.

Jumping shot - FAIL. I learned today that I suck at jumping.

 

I paired my schoodie with a cream jacket from F21, simple black tights and skirt combo and my tasselled boots. I even found time to coordinate my nails. I did a metallic gold polish with a leopard print design on my ring finger. You can see how to do leopard print nail art in a post I did - here. This week my boyfriend surprised me with a late birthday present a La Mer wrap watch! I love it. You might remember I wrote a post about them a while back. He'd actually ordered it about three weeks ago but their service is shockingly slow. If you plan on ordering one as a gift for anyone I'd recommend you do it now. It's a lovely watch though and goes great with loads of my outfits.

La Mer black studded wrap watch & leopard print ring finger nail art design.

Seoul's main shopping district - Myeongdong. Do you still think it's busy where you shop?!

Christmas shopping, complete with the Starbucks red cup and some festive decorations.

The Christmas haul & me wishing you a (very early) happy New Year!

I managed to pick up lots of nice gifts for friends and family. I purchased a couple of little things for myself too (and something extra special that will be getting it's own post later). I haven't even made a start on packing my clothes and accessories away yet and instead I'm adding to the collection, ooops!

So what did you get up to this weekend? Have you begun your Christmas shopping yet?

xxx