Negative Space Candy Cane Inspired Festive Manicure

Cough cough!
Is dusty around here..here is my little effort to glam myself up today. It's been all too domesticated and wholesome lately. I used BUDGET polishes, nothing over three pounds, and the fun little crystals were around a pound from B and M.

whoa! grainy city...

a little touch of glitter

Boba Tea Manicure

I am intrigued by this delicious beverage that has lovely big pearls of chewy tapioca in it. Reminds me of being little and being made to drink barley water for some reason. Anyway, my lovely friend Wendy sent me the Ballet Slippers by Essie and so I have been dying to exploit its gossamer sheerness. I dotted black NP with a cocktail stick and after 3 coats of Ballet Slippers I went back over some of the dots to give it an impression of the black pearls in their milky sea.

The Great Gatsby

I love a good scapegoat film. The Great Gatsby is about as good a scapegoat film as I'm likely to get. Baz Luhrmanns production of the novel is Moulin Rouge-esque whacked out hip hopped technicolour splendour. So I wanted to do a 20s inspired mani, but there are already so many nude moon exquisite creations about that I had to put my own twist on it.

I used a cream for the bottom coat, red for a second coat, not taking it all the way down to the cuticle, and used a thin paintbrush with nude on to drag a raggedy half moon upwards. Glitter on the top third of the nail for sparkle and you're done.

Clinique Concrete Jungle Review

I was paying for the Urban Decay Naked Basics pallette in Debenhams yesterday when my eye was caught by Cliniques new nail polish line. Lindsey the Clinique Assistant explained that they were formaldehyde free and had all the baddies taken out, yet the ingredients tell me there is still a form of cyanide in there. To be honest, Ive never lost much sleep over the Big 3 anyway.
I fell in love with Concrete Jungle instantly.  It's cool and sophisticated, doesn't knock you out with mannequin yellowness..just a gorgeous groomed shade of white-grey-cream.I coughed up £12 and couldn't wait to get home and play with it.
I like the heaviness of the bottle and the shiny cap. It will stand out among the almost exclusively black lids in my NP drawer. It comes in a box which always feels special, but will be lost in a fortnight.
Even my friend who abhors nail colours of any kind said it was pretty!
It applied easily with the brush which, though wide is not cuticle splodging wide. and was completely opaque after 2 coats which dried within 5 minutes.
Sadly, after washing up and emptying my hoover filter this morning, it is wrecked. When I'm reviewing I don't like to add top coats and unfortunately, my new treasure did not survive its ordeal.
I shall just reapply anyway because I love it.
So, worth it for the colour and opacity, but definitely needs top coat.

Mint For Life Review

AKA Mint Candy Apple dupe..I HAD to have this as soon as the weather started getting less snowy and more..well. Let's leave it there. Available for the small sum of £2.99 at Superdrug and many other places I'm sure.
I adore the colour. The glass bottle feels expensive and the longer handle is helpful for pudgy fingers..I'm talking to you Chanel.
The brush is a paddle shape, and there are strange indents running vertically along the shaft (!) which I presume to be helpful to wick polish to the brush.
The colour is rich, one coat is opaque but a little patchy so 2 is your best bet. It dries super quick, and I could eat pizza almost immediately after the second coat, but I did leave a good 15 mins between applications. Of course it shows up the red in my fishwifes hands, but for the sheer joyfulness of the summery minty aqua green, it is so worth it.
In essence, I'm mint for life!

*UPDATE*
After 2 days of wear I broke my nail so I have to remove the stuff.
Notes: there is a little tip wear that I would be able to very quickly touch up. However, I haven't washed up in those 2 days (I'm unashamed) and only had 2 baths so not the most strenuous test. Also this 'gel finish' polish is considerably less glossy than on Day 1.
Not bad for the money, but clearly, the only way to get a gel finish is to use a gel product.
Still love the colour though

Washi Tape Manicure

I was so excited to receive an unexpected extra in my order from my absolute favourite online store Fushigishop this weekend and as I'm sporting long false nails these days, I immediately saw the lovely candy stripe tape as a manicure feature.
It took around an hour to do these nails, and that consisted of sticking anything and everything on them I could find. I was going to do little fabric bows, and really wish I had, but I had to go out for cocktails and never felt the urge when I got back home. We're so emotional with our little works of 'art'
Hope you like them..let me know!

Wild Nailart

So nothing about the almond shape says demure to me.
These nails are so vulgar and over the top, only a tinny Jaguar ring accessory will do. I adore them. I wouldn't leave the house in them, especially coming from Wythenshawe, but as an experiment in how far you can push a pink, gold and black classic manicure, I'm pleased with them for sure.
I used the ever present Max Factor Pinkandescence, Revlon Gold Coin and Kriston 56 (Black) and a number 1 nailart brush for smaller lines, everything else was straight off the polish brush.

Neon Studs and Nudes

You will have noticed my nails getting shorter on each post and though I've done plenty of short nailed manis I really, really wanted almond long talons. Good old Ebay.
A bit of shaping and filing and I'm really happy with the look.
My nude polish kept sliding off, but for a first attempt they'll do.
I used Revlon Smoky Canvas, Max Factor Pinkandescence, American Apparel Neon Yellow and Orange, inP 48 (pro colour) Fruit Vibe (?) in lilac, studs from Ebay and Seche Vite top coat
Link to Ebay seller I bought the studs from

*UPDATE*
Exciting News: The ever lovely @Catfink (Wendy from MASPOOASE) and @unnakednails (Catrine from unnakednails have also done posts on this theme so click the links and treat yourself to some neon nudey eye candy!

Glitter Stripe and Studs Manicure

Pretty Valentine Nails

Simple Valentine Nails

Cupid Nailart

Tis the season of love and even though I am a bitter old hag, to let the love fest pass without doing something, anything would be terrible. Because of course I really do believe in love.  An old fashioned kind of love I think now

The kind of love that can make you forget your inhibitions, worries and fears. Love that is reflected back at you with commitment, loyalty and desire. May you find that love if you want it and if you already have, hold tightly onto it.

Winter Floral Nailart

Totally inspired by, but not doing justice to the SAIPUA {Finnish for soap, which is what the business started out being} website. They do the most amazing natural floral arrangements from a lovely shop in New York. Ranunculus and daisies and winter berries tumble in white from a nudey pink background.

Shouldn't it always be like this?

Simple Feather Nailart

All the stamped feather manicures I've seen are too perfect and pretty for words. But you may have noticed I'm a simple woman, and like simple things.
The best tip I can give you with this, is dip your paintbrush in nail polish remover before every stroke. It keeps that wispy look you want when making feathers for your nails.
I used Revlon Smoky Canvas as a base, and used a few micro beads for shimmer down the spine of the ring finger nail.
Then I couldn't stop, so i added some teeny rhinestones. 

Then I stopped.

Robin Nailart

Still cold, and frosty here in Manchester. No snow yet, which is good, although
I do like that first fall when everything is clean and fresh.
Still using my favourite polishes as they're to hand, and this is the colour pallette
I love at this time of year.

• Two blobs in black make up the little chilly robins
• Define with a beige, leave some gaps
• Tiny blobs of white and red in that order
• Go back in with black for feet and white for snow 

Make some hot chocolate and pop your onesie back on

Brrr.

Paisley Nailart

 I was in love with a turquoise paisley shirt when I was a teenager. ALL my crushes wore them, Morrissey, indie lead singers with their floppy fringes and chelsea boots. I've never really got my head round what makes up a paisley pattern though. I am patient and willing to waste a ridiculous amount of time getting something right however, so this is my paisley manicure, and some tips for you if you want to give it a go

• Google images is your friend. Save a stock photo and blow it up so it fills your screen
• Pick out shapes you recognise. The most complex pattern can be split into familiar shapes.
• Paisley is teardrops, with polkadots attached to all sides. 
• The rest is up to you

I already had the nail polishes handy after my top ten post linky here if you want to see it and just needed to grab a white. I had tried it in browns too but they were too harsh for the look I wanted. I used a tiny dotter for it all the design in the end. I swore no more toothpicks and got a snazzy cheap set of nailart brushes, but even the thinnest striper was too thick for the intricate work.

I could have used acrilic paint but can you believe I'm out of top coat?

I am suitably ashamed.

I'm rather pleased to have cracked paisley.

Next on my mission list is houndstooth.

What are your challenges? What is the one design you've never got on with? Are you just starting out and live for tutorials or have you any good tips you found worked?

Let me know below!

Winter Nailart

Do you feel like winter should end on Boxing Day?
Honestly there is no fun in snow and cold without the prospect of Christmas Day at the end of it. I remember last years silly snow flurries as wet and cold feet all day, slipping around in Ugg boots and far too many Costa hot chocolates.
We have another 2 months of snow threat in front of us, and that is not fun, so I did this to my nails in an effort to make peace with the season.
Hope your winter is going well. Wrap up, drink hot drinks, sleep well and stay safe.
I'm going back to my snuggly bed.
Brrr.

My Top Ten Nail Varnishes

Nail bloggers tend to be a pretty close knit bunch. Many scoff at this frivolous section of beauty writing, but they miss the point. It is between the staging of the shots, the dull days rendering photography useless, the glittery whimsical fun, the acquisition of the newest release that true friendships and support networks are formed.

One such friendship is so profound, that I felt comfortable in totally stealing her concept for this post.

This is the original post at Maspooase

I'm proud to say I was one of Wendy's first followers, it's an excellent blog, and she is indeed a jolly good fellow.If you haven't already, go and visit her lovely blog

So, my top ten. I thoroughly expected it to be a neon, glitter infused, gilt edged flurry of madness. However, when I looked at my most used bottles, it was the practical, everyday colours that I'm wearing the most. Thus my favourites are revealed.

All high street too. The Chanels, Diors, OPI's, Orly's and Mavalas languish in my drawers.

Lusted after and bought in more financially secure times, the joy of having them exceeds the practicalities of wearing them I find. Chanel is unsatisfyingly thin, Dior thickens too quickly and OPI is chippy as heck on me.

Orly is my favourite professional (if such a category can exist now that 12 year olds are using Mac brushes to smush their £30 foundations onto their tiny faces) brand but I have run out and found dupes on the high street very easy to come by.

• The gold on my right thumb is a new addition to my collection, and was part of a BOX of varnish given to me for Christmas by my lovely Step Mum. It has become an instant favourite. It's got that golden opulent finish but without the VNL or harsh brass of all the rest. Perfect.
• Salsa is a gorgeous toe colour, and remains in perfect condition until you remove it. Even in sandy beach Summer. For this reason I love it dearly, as it reminds me Summer will return.
• Revenge is everything I wanted Barry M's Dusky Mauve to be. Plummy and rich but shot through with a hazy sparkle.
• Pinkandescence was bought on Christmas Eve before I knew I was getting twenty new varnishes, but I'm glad I bought it as the only thing I had like it was N07's Pink Sparkle and that was crap.
• The rest are peachy, nudey nothings, which I absolutely adore

So what are your Top Tens? Now, where's that glitter..

Spooky Manicure

I have tiny sulky people trapped in my nail polish!
I don't care to let them go either
Muhahahahhahaha etc.

The usual splodging on of a lighter contrast (Revlon Stormy Canvas) to form a profile, pad it out with no more than two darker colours, I used Rimmel Black Cab, my favourite cheapie black and Barry M Dusky Mauve. You may use whatever you like.

Top with a matte top coat for blog pictures but a lovely gloss is better for parties, and you're done.

Ombre Nail Of The Day

Yesterday was exciting...I opened my hotmail to find fifty plus friend invites on Bloggers.com which was oddly excessive..at the bottom of that little mountain was a 'Congratulations, you have been featured on our front page' message which explained the sudden influx of friendship.
I find it a strange platform. Earlier in the year I was on a mission to grow my blog and 'play the game'..I tweeted excessively, wrote proliferately, really gave it my all. Then the hashtag #beautybloggers became more like beauty bloggers inc, with a few people trying to fix what wasn't broke, and not particularly likeable people...there I've said it. Feels better. So I kind of ignored all that. Wrote when I want to and stayed away from Twitter. So it was surprising to see a directory featuring a quiet, non starter little blog like mine. Maybe its randomly selected? I should put the lottery on!
So, that out of the way, here is my nail of the day
Blackened red to coral. I painted the first two nails with Rimmels Black Cab. Then starting with index finger I used Revlons One Pound Valentine, which you can see here one-pound-nail-polish post and Rimmels Celebrity Bash and Heart On Fire and the pinky got Barry Ms Coral, which I bought for hot days. And never used.