NOTD - Essie Nice is Nice

(geez, talons much?)

You may remember the Essie French Affair collection from one of my recent Wednesday Wish Lists.  I finally got round to ordering a few of the polishes from ebay, which arrived this week.  French Affair, a sweet pastel pink, went to one of my besties, whilst I nabbed Nice is Nice and Kisses & Bisses for myself.  

Nice is Nice has been adorning my fingertips for the past few days and I love it.  Everything I need from a lilac - soft, creamy and just pink enough to make it super feminine.  And perfect for Spring!

Kisses & Bisses, an iridescent shimmery beige, is up next...

What nail colours are you going for this spring?

Nail Rock

Having lusted after (but not splashed out for) Minx nail transfers for a long while, I was pretty excited by the recent release of Nail Rock at ASOS and Topshop.  These 'designer' nail wraps promise the chance to get the effect of professional transfers, but applied at home...in a variety of styles such as leopard, lace print and metallics.

I decided to order a packet of the white and gold lace from ASOS and after studying the instructions I got to work!

The concept is fairly simple.  You select a wrap closest to your cuticle size, buff your nail to remove the shine and then lay the wrap at the base of your nail.  Then apply heat with a hairdryer (they recommend a travel size dryer, but I had to make do with my usual one!) to the base, then to each side, and press down each time to ensure they stick.  You then file downwards to get rid of the excess at the top of the nail...and you're done.

I definitely made a few mistakes on the first one or two, but once I'd got the hang of it, things ran a bit more smoothly.  There are still a few lumps and bumps (mostly on my thumbnails) but I think the next attempt could be perfect, and I'm already trying to decide on which style to go for next :)

What do you reckon?

Bonfire night nails and bargain lashes

Whilst snuggled up at home with the sound of pouring rain and fireworks outside, I decided to add some firework themed sparkle to my nails.  I'm not an expert at nail art, so rather than attempting to do something fancy I instead mixed up two of my favourite sparkly varnishes. Two coats of China Glaze C-C-Courage topped with a coat of OPI Designer Series in Original 003 (I think this is the name!) and I think these sum up fireworks night rather well, don't you?

On another note, after dropping my car off at Kwik Fit for what I thought was a simple service & MOT (turns out it needs a LOT of work!!) I trotted into town and had a browse in TK Maxx, where I spotted a stack of Ardell lashes, which you may know are my favourites.  They had lots of styles I haven't seen in Boots/Superdrug so whilst they were £2.99 I grabbed a few - Babies, Luckies, Sweeties and Demi - Luckies are definitely the top ones so far.  So if you are a fan of these...get yourself down to TK Maxx sharpish!

I'm off to our big fireworks display in the park tonight so let's hope the clear skies last!  Are you planning to wrap up warm, crack open the sparklers and hot chocolate tonight?

NOTD

LOVE this colour! I was considering picking up Essie's Splash of Grenadine when I heard of a high street dupe. It's a difficult colour to describe (and photograph) but I'd say it is a bright candy grape.

Sadly it's not around for long as it is the limited edition Barry M nail varnish for Boots...so get yourselves down there sharpish :)

NOTD (and a little rave)

American Apparel Nail Lacquer in Palm Springs.

I picked this up in the American Apparel Outlet in Orlando - sadly not at a discount! I'm definitely impressed with the formula - very creamy and smooth application. I did two coats but could have got away with one. The only problem was the amount of varnish the brush picks up, there is definite overspill if you're not careful - hence my messier than usual application! I'll definitely be picking up some more of these next time I visit American Apparel, good quality, a nice big bottle and a great range of colours.

Whilst on the subject of nails, I also wanted to have a little rave about something I FINALLY picked up in the States.


Yes finally, Seche Vite. All I can say is wow! Love it. If like me you have a slight addiciton to nail varnish yet still end up painting your nails at 10pm and hoping you won't wake up with bed sheet smears, this is a must have. It leaves your nails dry in a matter of seconds and I love the super shiny finish. A definite must buy :)

Diet Coke done good

In case you hadn't heard...oh wait, who am I kidding? Of course you've heard Diet Coke are running a promotion with Boots right now - for every two bottles you buy, you get a free Nails Inc nail varnish.

Although I'm not a massive Nails Inc fan (I have a handful of their varnishes and can't seem to get them to work for me at all) I am never one to turn up an offer like this!

I popped into my local Boots today where they had all four colours in stock - New York (fuschia), Paris (purple), Milan (red) and London (taupe). I was drawn between New York (for my toes) and London (for my fingers) but London won out in the end...and I'm glad it did.


The colour went on smoothly and dried fast - much better than my previous Nails Inc offerings which have been streaky and smudgy. The colour is nice and rich, with just enough warmth to avoid the dead fingers look you so often get with nude and greige shades. All in all - a great bargain. I may just be visiting Boots again soon - Diet Coke anyone?

NOTD

Barry M in Pale Yellow/Lemon Ice Cream. Another of the new ice cream nail varnishes - yet the jurys still out on this one. It's a vibrant yellow - not quite creamy enough to constitute ice cream - more custard! It took 3 coats to get decent coverage, but after 3 days it's wearing well. So what do you think? Yellow fingers a yes or a no?

NOTD

Barry M in Berry Ice Cream.

Yes, it really is that lovely :)

NOTD

Eyeko Pastel Polish.

Apologies for the messy nails! This colour is really pretty, not sure why I never picked it up before. I think I always thought it was more like Barry M's Mint Green, however this is a little more pearlescent. My only gripe was that it took a few good coats to get an even coverage - there's nothing worse than 'blodgy' nails! However with 3 generous coats, it looks great.

NOTD

Barry M in Bright Pink = Barbie pink :)

NOTD

Barry M in Pale Purple.

I bought this from the Barry M website in the summer and wasn't convinced at first - but now I love it. This is only 2 coats as I was feeling lazy - hence the slightly uneven finish - but it layers up well, goes on smoothly and dries quickly. I love the pale subtle pinky mauve...super pretty :)

NOTD

Well, yesterday in fact.

Nails Inc in Victoria...LOVE the colour, HATE the formulation. Any recommendations for alternatives greatly appreciated :)

(apologies for the blurry photo - my camera was being a little disobedient)

NOTD

I'd been on the lookout for the perfect milky lilac nail varnish for ages, until I happened upon the perfect one a few months ago...in Asda of all places.

The colour is perfect and it goes on nice and thick, but dries quickly. My only gripe is the staying power, it chips like anything so be sure to stick a top coat on if you want it to last longer than a day...but for £1.50, I'm not complaining. Any other unexpected bargain buys out there?