Sunday 30 September 2012

Best of British 30/09/12

Emma has had a week of using Barry M Gelly polishes and created her most favourite mani ever multi coloured spots and stripes over at Emma's Little Corner.

Nada'sl penguin obsession is getting out of hand! the little minions are on her nails this week!!

This week on Pie's Eyes Lyndsay has used her new Cheeky stamping plates to create a Double Stamped Manicure plus there's a handy hint for stamping clean up too.

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing is continuing with the 30 Day Challenge (the end is in sight!) and did a Panda Bear Manicure inspired by the book Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

It's been HoloWeek at the Nail Newbie, featuring lots of holo goodness such as a GOSH Holographic Hero wear test, a some tribal nail art and this holo cloudicure with a-England Tristam.

This week has been Carlyn's very first week of blogging featuring some of her favourite stamping designs Pretty Stamping on Sapphire Such a stand out design.

Well today is the last day of the 30 Day Challenge! at Northern Nails but on the Bright side it is Jo's birthday tommorrow !.

Wendy from Wendy's Delights is having a cracking time with her Croc Effect nails by Barry M

As a collector of vodka bottles, a Smirnoff Vodka Manicure was in order on Enigmatic Rambles blog this week!

PishPosh and Polish's Kerrie is wearing shock horror! PINK this week!

This is Carlyn's first blog week Flower stamping on Sapphire polish one of my favourites

Sally of Nail Pron has brightened up a sad week with the brightest green daisy doticure you have ever seen in your life.

PrettyKittyClaws is joined by a hare and a dog this week with the gorgeous Hare Dog Day Dream

Dimpal of Crazy Polishes has almost come to the end of the 30 days challenge and wearing this

Inspired by Supernatural Mani Inspired by Supernatural

Ruth has a new favourite polish that is purple and splarkly, yay!

Sarah Louise, creates a Ghostbuster Manicure Using Models Own and W7 Polishes

Charlotte has decided her stash needs some cleansing, so she's set up a blog sale with some great British brands

Kerry takes an adventure with GALAXY inspired nails.

Vic continues 30 days of untrieds with A Scream manicure inspired by art work

Lou has another KBShimmer polish to share with you all

Saturday 29 September 2012

All of time & space, where do you want to start?


I've always wanted to try the Galaxy themed nails but was daunted by how complicated they looked. After reading a few tutorials I decided what better time to try these then at the finale of Doctor Who and the exit of my favourite companions!

Basically you use a base coat, I used black from Barry M and sponge on other colours to make a space like effect then use a layer of glitter polish as stars. I also used a tooth pick to make little stars. 

I will list below all the polish I used in order but now on to the pictures. I am really impressed at my attempt :3





1. Barry M Black (base)
2. Barry M Amethyst Glitter (over black)
3. Barry M White (create a Nebula like pattern & white stars using tooth pick)
4. Barry M Lemon Ice Cream (sponge around white)
5. Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream (tops and bottom of Nebula)
6. Barry M Retro Pink (around the middle)
6. Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream (tips of retro pink)
7. Barry M Navy (edges of Nebula to make a faded effect)
8. Barry M Pink Iredescent (over layer)

Enjoy!




Thursday 27 September 2012

Essence - Time for Romance


I have today a really pretty Essence colour - Time for Romance. Essence is unavailable here in the UK so I was very happy to recieve some in a summer swap. I finally got around to wearing this one. 

It's a lovely dusty rose colour and application wise it's pretty sheer. It took me 4 coats to get this opaque but I still like it, I'd like to see how it would do layered over something like China Glaze Stella or a light pink. 



I haven't done much nail art recently i've realised, that will be remied this week end as I already have ideas in mind. Till then I leave you with this pretty glitter :3

Enjoy! x


Monday 24 September 2012

China Glaze Stella + Look Beauty Nail Pop Sequin Effect


Back with another Look Beauty Nail Pop - Sequin effect mani. I loved the red so much I want to experiment with some of my other polishes and one that came to mind is my much loved China Glaze Stella. I adore this majestic purple, it quickly became a favourite of my stash. 

This is 2 coats of the lovely Stella and 2 coats of Nail Pop Sequin effect. It is a very pretty combination but admittedly not as loved as my Barry M Retro Red, that was more electric. 

I'll be experimenting this Sequin top coat a lot more over the coming weeks, it should go quite well with some of my stash. 



Enjoy! x


Sunday 23 September 2012

Best of British 23/09/12

Wendy from Wendy's Delights is feeling purrrfect with her Blue Furry Mani with easy to apply nail stickers!

Emma tries her hand at dry drag and becomes The Girl Who Plays with Fire at Emma's Little Corner.

Helly at the Nail Newbie is showing British brand W7 some love by showcasing their gorgeous Lava Flow.

A little recreation of some Bee style nails, with actual stingers from New York Fashion Week, a Fred Butler Creation from Enigmatic Rambles.

Has twenty three days gone by already? Northern Nails' 30 Day Challenge is still going strong, the themes now are all full of inspiration!

Lyndsay from Pie's Eyes is back from her holiday and showing off her colourful Rainbow Manicure she created with her latest Kiko haul!

Sally of Nail Pron is talking about a nailmas Christmas challenge, adding to her stash and doing nails to match her mood.

Sam from Polished Art re-created an old nautical-themed manicure for day 12 of the 31 day challenge (19 to go!).

PishPosh and Polish is featuring Red and Black polishes on her blog this week. See them here! Which is your favourite?

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing is still continuing on with the 30 Day challenge and her favourite so far has been TRIBAL NAILS. What's been everyone else's favourite challenge?

Ruth goes overboard with the half moon effect to create an easy curved stripe look!

Want some inspiration for elegant nails? Lucy from Lucy's Stash did Lace & Roses nail art featuring OPI, Konad and A England.

Feeling the need for something pretty and super sparkly? PrettyKittyClaws has Smitten Polish You're Turning Violet, Violet blinging out her nails!

Vic's feeling a little behind with the times as she's only just done her first set of galaxy nails. She found a fabulously blinging star to go with them though.

Lou had a quiet week this week trying out her new Indie polishes from KBShimmer which is quickly becoming her favourite polish brand

Alexis at Glitter Tips tried some Autumn butterfly nail art

Sarah Louise plays with her Image plates from MoYou / OMG Nails and creates a Crosses & Dot's Manicure

Despite being poorly, The Crumpet has kept up with the 31 Day Challenge and has even had time to launch a Zoya Giveaway - so make sure you enter!

Thursday 20 September 2012

Barry M Retro Red + Look Beauty Sequin Effect


Today I have this really pretty nail duo, Barry M Retro Red, it's a perfect red. Glides on like butter and is almost opaque in one coat, I always give it two just to even it out. Teamed up with Look Beauty Nail Pop Sequin effect. Packed with pretty gold flakies that shimmer green the right way. 

I added two coats over retro red. It makes such a mesmerising effect, red + flakies = Heaven. :3 


Kind of reminds of a Chinese dress. At least one that I sewed together way back when I did textiles at school which was red and gold lol


Look Beauty Nail Pop is £5 at Superdrugs. I actually got this a while back when it was on offer for £3, picked up Pearl effect as well and had never used either. Will be testing these out some more lately. 

Enjoy! x

Monday 17 September 2012

A England - Guinevere & Morgan Le Fay


These are two nail polishes you'll have seen on my blog before. A England Guinevere and Morgan Le Fay. Guinevere is a beautiful dusty mauve and Morgan Le Fay is a lovely sheer shimmer great for layering. I have wanted to layer these two together for a while and it did not disappoint. It makes a beautiful silvery mauve colour which under the right light shimmers in many colour particles. Stunning!


Pretty isn't it?

Enjoy! x

Sunday 16 September 2012

Best of British 16/09/12

Helly at the Nail Newbie shows her nubs some love with Dollish Polish Expecto Patronum

Wendy over at Wendy's Delights has won a Giveaway from The Hungry Asian and her prize Twenty Ten has been swatched here, also go check out The Hungry Asian's blog and polishes available at Etsy. Going from one extreme to the other see Wendy's Summery Manicure using tape to create a simple & easy square design!

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing has been continuing on with the 30 Day Challenge with Rainbow Gradient Striped Manicure

Emma at Emma's Little Corner has a little success after a frustrating week of failures PVA experiment Blue and Black gradient mani

Ruth has some more fun with gradients this week, refusing to accept summer is over!

Lou once again is on a bit of a Chanel kick with one of the Fashion's Night Out Limited Editions

Charlotte at Charlottes-nails has been busy with apples and glitter this week for the Fall into Autumn Challenge.

Its the end of the favourite things challenge for Steph, here's Steph's Day 10 Favourite Mani. Steph can't wait for the next challenge, will you be joining in the fun?

Lyndsay from Pie's Eyes drops in from her holiday in Spain to show off some NEW Holographic Polish from Kiko!

Putting her nubbins to good use this week, imPRESS - Press on Manicure false nails were put through there paces over on Enigmatic Rambles' blog.

PrettyKittyClaws put her Nails Inc Sprinkles to good use with a pretty Cupcake Mani.

Sam at Polished Art unleashed her inner geek with this physics-based rainbow manicure as part of the 31 Day Challenge.

Jo at Northern Nails has reached the half way point in the 30 day challenge this week was all about the nail art!

Nada has got her hands on her first set of Models Own nail polish and has swatched them! check it out!

Laura at She Who Does Nails has been continuing the 30 Day Challenge and did a cool rainbow nails design using a dotting tool!

Polished Criminails sticks to the British theme this week by showing us 4 of the new BarryM Gelly Nail Paints in the shades Prickly Pear, Grapefruit, Satsuma & Pomegranate

Kerry at JustTalkNails shows off the new Barry M Burgundy Croc effect teamed up with A Englands Iseult

Vic has been on a major polishing spree this week (13 manis and counting) but she just can't decide whether she wants to show you delicate print or holo bling

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Barry M - Burgundy Croc Effect


I already have the Barry M Black croc but haven't yet used it. That didn't stop me buying the new burgundy one though so I wanted to try this one out first. I'll get around to the black one someday, I have so many untrieds!

For the base I used A England Iseult, 2 generous coats which I've swatched before. I waited 3 minutes till it was touch dry and applied a layer of the croc effect. 

After about 3 minutes it started appearing. It seem to take a little while but it's worth it, such interesting effects. I never jumped on the crackle effect, they never really interested me but I did like the croc effect. 



It's not exactly the awesome little scale look of the promo shots but maybe it takes practice?

What are your thoughts on the Croc look?

I'd love to see some more colours be released, maybe a good croc coloured green, pink any really lol

Enjoy! x


Sunday 9 September 2012

Best of British 9/9/12

Lou is back from her holiday and is showing off her new Chanel Nail Polish in a rare glimpse of the British Sunshine

Emma accidentally signed up to two nail challenges this month, so there will be lots of posts up on Imagination In Colour, including herAntique Nail Art post, amongst others!

Sam at Polished Art produced a special Teal Tuesdays manicure for Ovarian Cancer Awareness.

Lyndsay from Pie's Eyes went under cover this week with her Camouflage Manicure and liked it so much it stayed on most of the week with the addition of a matte topcoat.

Claire from nuthin' but a nail thing is all over the 30 Day Challenge and kicked off Day One with a Ladybird Manicure to cover off "RED".

Ruth relives school and tries to 'do the math' with her Blackboard-inspired nails this week!

It's been a busy week over at Polished Criminails, so let's take a look back at the last 7 days of the 30 Day Challenge!

Jo decided to take on the 30 Day Challenge this Month and is having tons of fun painting her nails a different colour every day!

September is Polycystic Overy Syndrome (PCOS) awareness month what better way to raise awareness than a manicure! And that is just one of the manicures on Enigmatic Rambles' blog this week!

Wendy from Wendy's Delights has made her own Water Decals for the September Polish Day themed Geometry

Charlotte from Charlottes-nails tried out some crayon nail art for the start of the Fall Into autumn Challenge.

Lucie from Lucy's Stash is experimenting with the 'ikat' pattern featuring Zoya Designer polishes! Check it out here!

Steph from Never Mind Suzie may be far away on her holidays so here's her holiday nails hope you're having a great holiday Steph

PrettyKittyClaws has had a blog makeover and did a Tape mani with the new KiKo holographics!

This week Nada turned 19 and to celebrate she did birthday nails!!! Enjoy this wonderfully simple manicure!

Laura at She Who Does Nails has been working on the 30 Day Challenge and particularly liked her piano nails!

The 31 Day Challenge started on The Crumpet this week, as did another awesome Giveaway featuring indie polishes

Kerrie's 300 follower giveaway over at PishPosh and Polish is still running and while you are there you should check out her Geometric Nail Art

Kerry does fimo for back to school with China Glaze Ruby Pumps!!

Sarah Louise creates some cheeky Bactiera Monsters , don't forget to enter her 2000 follower giveaway =D - Good Luck xox

Vic has done her first leopard print mani but it's orange, blue and gold. Leopard print nails are her new favourite but she's on a mission to never use the 'normal' colours.

Thursday 6 September 2012

Check out Spellbinding Nails give away!!


If you haven't already seen Sarah-Louise at Spellbinding Nails is having an awesome give away to celebrate 2000 followers. 

Go over there and check out her blog :3

Primarks Angel #93


Today I have for you a nail polish from Primarks range. These price at £2.50 and they have quite a selection of pastels, metallics, crackles and glitters but none caught my eye like Angel #93 did for it's likeness to Model's Own Indian Ocean. 

I'd already seen that this was a sheer polish, 3 coats will still give you nail line so I opted to layer it right away. I choose my favourite blue Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream. Blueberry Ice Cream is a gorgeous one coater sky blue creme. Probably my most used polish so I swatched that as well to show off it's gorgeousness. 

Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, one coat, applied like butter. 


Beautiful or what? Ignore my tiny nail, it snapped today :(

Now onto what this is really about, Primarks Angel. 

This is a beautiful blue with a lovely pink shimmer through. I've already said how sheer this is so this is one coat over one coat of Blueberry Ice Cream. 

I tried really hard to show that sweet pink shimmer but my camera was having none of it!




Well worth the £2.50 I'd say, they make a splendid pair :3

Have you bought any of Primarks polishes yet?

Enjoy! x





Monday 3 September 2012

Back to School - China Glaze Ruby Pumps


September already? Where does the time go ehh? It's back to school or work for some of us this week. So I thought a nice back to school mani would be cute for my first day back to work tomorrow and perfectly I had a cute apple fimo cane, teachers and apples go hand in hand right?

For my base I used China Glaze Ruby Pumps, beautiful. I've used this before but I didn't photograph it as my nails were little stumps after some bad breaks. This polish was opaque in 2 good coats and was easy to apply. The extra glitter on the tips is Barry M Pink Iridescent which I lightly coated over the apples and tips for a little sparkle. 

I added one large fimo apple to the tip of my nails and an extra smaller version of the apple above, pretty  cute?

Quite Autum/Fall like too yes.. bobbing for apples anyone?



Sorry about my not so clean cuticles, the camera really picked that up more than my eyes lol.

Enjoy! x

Sunday 2 September 2012

Nails Inc - Topping Lane


Got today swatches of my last Nails Inc swatches. Topping Lane a real girly polish for those who love their pinks!
This one is a lovely pink with purple, magenta and white matte glitter. Really easy to apply and opaque in 2 coats. 
I have loved these sprinkles despite how difficult they are getting off but that's the price you pay for pretty glitters ;)



I really must add Pudding Lane into my stash soon. 

Enjoy! x


Best of British 2/02/2012

Lucy from Lucy's Stash shows how to do a perfect Fishtail Braid manicure

The Nail Newbie tries a braided manicure too, but it is a peachy plait or a fishtail fail?

Emma's been feeling arty this week at Imagination In Colour, starting with a Purple Dotted Manicure and later a first attempt at 'brush marbling'!

Nada has been busy swatching the Orly Mineral FX Collection Fall 2011 sadly shes missing one of the polishes from the collection to make it complete!

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing has been rainbow gradienting it up!

Things have been looking a bit patchy over at Never Mind Suzi as Steph tries out some MUA polishes

Wendy from Wendy's Delights has found W7 Magnetic Nail Polish at New Look in store & on line!

A simple nail tutorial for seaside nails perfect for the last weeks of summer 2012 over at Enigmatic Rambles.

Abi falls in love with A-England's Percevaland doesn't seem to realise its not autumn yet.

While reviewing some of her recent nail buys, Ruth also created a simple blue matte finish with some striking gold tips this week!

Lyndsay from Pie's Eyes discovers some great stamping polishes from the UK High Street and shows off her latest ColorClub purchases

Jo at Northern nails has been Paralympic nail art.

PrettyKittyClaws went to the Paralympic Opening Ceremony and celebrated with a Saran Wrap Mani featuring the new OPI Germany collection.

Rachel-Karina over at Polished Criminails gets ready to undergo the grueling giveaway featuring some holographic and great British Polishes!

Laura at She Who Does Nails has been trying out her new stamping plates and rhinestones with a Tiffany-esque floral manicure.

Charlotte at Charlottes-nails broke her laptop charger this week so has only posted one challenge post for the lazy days of summer challenge

Sarah Louise plays with Laquistry's Placid on Acid over Nails Inc's Great Dover Street to create Sparkly Leaves! , she also thought it would be a good thing to reorganise her polish stash....Bad idea.

The Crumpet has been celebrating her birthday this week. You can see this purple ruffle mani as well as some of her favourite purples.

Alexis at Glitter Tips takes a step towards becoming the craziest cat lady by painting her cats portraits on her nails!

Vic at Glowstars.net has probably pushed her nail art obsession to the limit with her Carnival mani.

It has been loads of nailart week for Dimpal at Crazy Polishes with Sea Life and Flowery Water Decals mani.