NOTD - MINT GLITTER/MATTE GRADIENT NAILS

If you've read any previous posts you'll know that I am a huge nail art fan and I try to jazz up my nails in the most easiest ways. Today I'm sporting a mint nail with glitter gradient tips topped with a matte coat. I'm a huge fan of glitter and had just bought a matte top coat, so I was intrigued to how they'd work together.

What I used:

• OPI MERMAIDS TEARS - A creamy, glossy mint colour.
• OPI SERVIN' UP SPARKLE - A sparkly top coat with little glitter and larger hex glitter that have a holographic shine.
• RIMMEL 5 IN 1 BASE AND TOP COAT - A shiny clear varnish used for top and bottom coat.
• RIMMEL MATTE FINISH - A velvety top coat that transforms any polish to a matte finish

How I did it:

1. First I applied Mermaids Tears. I used 2 coats and then waited to dry.
2. I then dabbed Servin' Up Sparkle on the tips. I then kept layering, adding a varied amount of glitter to create the gradient effect. I used about 5 coats, and on the last coat made sure I had a few larger hex glitter to create more of a variety. 
3. I then applied a coat of the Rimmel 5 in 1 base and top coat to even out the surface ready for the matte coat
4. Lastly I applied 2 coats of the Rimmel Matte Finish varnish.

And that's it! It's pretty simple and took no amount of skills - Just time! I took me an hour while sitting in front of the television to complete both nails as I wanted each coat to be completely dry before applying more. I will be reviewing the Rimmel Matte Coat and 5 in 1 Base and Top Coat very soon!

I'd love to know what you think!

Would you give it a go?

Thanks so much for reading, beautiful!

MUA NAIL CONSTELLATION IN PISCES - A DIFFERENT WAY TO USE NAIL BEADS.

I picked up the MUA Nail Constellation in Pisces not long ago, and used it as the standard 'paint my nails and sprinkle the beads on top'. I loved the way this looked but I wanted to try a different way to use the beads. I wanted to use them to create a simple yet easy look. For this I needed a small glass, tweezers, clear polish and nail beads. You can get some gorgeous colours from the MUA collection for a small £3, or £2 if you buy them now. You can get them here. 

• First I poured a few into a small glass to make it easier for application.
• Then I painted a clear polish over my nails.
• While the varnish was still wet, with a tweezer I applied the beads individuality along the bottom of the whites of my nail. You can either stick to one colour, or mix it up like I did below.
• I then waited for them to dry, and repeated on all my other nails.
• Try this technique to create different nails looks!

So there we have it, another way to use the beads! I'm aware that this look isn't for everyone, but it's such a fun and an easy way to use the beads creating unique nails. This look lasted a while  before it started to fall off. It all depends what you get up too! It really is that simple to do. It may be a bit fiddly and first, but I soon got into it - And wasn't as time consuming as I thought it would be. So grab you're MUA beads and get creative!

What do you think of this look?

Too daring for you?

Would you give it a try?

And do you have this MUA product?

I'd love to hear from you, and if you have used this product, link me - I'd love 

to see it!

Thanks for commenting.

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

MUA - FUR EFFECT NAILS IN FLUFFY PUFF. HOW TO AND REVIEW.

I was really intrigued when I saw these in Superdrug and needed to try them. I wasn't sure how this product wasn going to turn out. I used Sally Hansen Diamond Strength in clear to achieve the look I wanted. You can also use the a similar colour to the fluff, but I didn't have one, so I used the clear varnish.

I popped the sieve topper off as I felt I couldn't get as much fluff as I wanted. So taking it off meant that I could access the fluff easier, but I know a few bloggers who prefer it on.

I paint a layer of the clear nail polish, and while it's wet I pushed my nail into the fluff. I left it for about 20 seconds before taking it out, and I noticed it has a full coverage - Even though I had a clear coat. That aside, I do think a solid colour would look more stronger than a clear coat. I then repeated this to all my nails and left to dry - It's that simple.

What do I think overall? Once on the nails I treated it as clothes, after all it is a material-like substance on your nails. When my nails get wet the fluff has to dry. Also I noticed is that it gets slightly dirty, but that's to be expected. The wear of this to me is good. I had mine on for a few days before taking it off, but even then it had no chips, but the quality of your own base coat would prolong the wear. Another great point to this beauty is how quick it came off with nail polish remover. There was no scrubbing or buffing - a few sweeps of the remover on a cotton pad and you were good to go. If you don't like the look of this baby pink, try out their other shades which include a deep purple, bright blue, bright pink and fuchsia - There's a colour for you! If you're into statement nails these are a affordable £3 - £2 if you buy them now - with a decent amount of product. Get your fluff worthy fingers on them now, from Superdrug or MUA Online.

What do you think of fluffy nails?

Your favourite MUA product?

Have you used this product before?

I'd love to hear what you have to say, and I read

and respond to every comment.

Thanks for reading, beautiful!

NAILS OF THE DAY - VALENTINES INSPIRED GLITTERY NAILS

Instead of being whisked away to a romantic meal or been bombarded with flowers some of us are sitting in their homes twiddling their thumbs. Instead of twiddling them - I'm painting them! To keep boredom at bay I have a habit of playing around with my make up and nail varnishes. I picked up two varnishes, Models Own Show Stopper, an exclusive shade to Clothes Show which I was lucky enough to be given by the lovely Holly Arabella. The second one was Nothing Else Metals by Essie. You can also win this shade in my giveaway.

Nothing Else Metals is a metallic silver with gorgeous pink tones. This really looks stunning on the nails only only needs one coat!! Show Stopper is becoming one of my favourite glitter polishes, and is full of fine pink, silver and violet glitter and also larger blue and silver glitter which change colours in the light - stunning!

This Essie polish has a really wide brush so it covered my nails effortlessly. As I said it needed one coat, so a win for me!! As you can see the shine on this gorgeous colour is just perfect and the hint of pink gives it a unique look. I then dabbed the Show Stopper at the tips and waited for it to dry. Then I built the colour up by adding layers of different amounts of glitter to create a gradient effect. How simple!! Show Stopper and Nothing Else Metals dried so quick so I was able to carry on with the day and not worry about any smudges. I was so pleased with how it looked. A perfect princess looking mani. Try doing it with colours of your choice!

I hope you enjoyed reading and link me up with your Valentines and glittery manis! 

Thank you so much for reading!

NAILS OF THE DAY - CIATE COLOUR SMASH REVIEW USING VARIOUS VARNISHES

I like fun nails during my days at Uni. As we're allowed no make up, I make sure I make my nails as amazing as I can! I hadn't tried my Ciate Colour Smash varnishes yet (I got a set of the silver, black and white last year on a trip to Northampton) so I decided to try it out. I wasn't sure what colours to use as the base so I used a bunch!

First I applied the base colours and waited to dry, and then painted a generous amount of Ciate Colour Smash in white over the top. Overall I really loved Ciate's take on the crackle effect and they did a great job. See the products I used for making this look. What do you think of crackle effects? What is your favourite crackle effect nail polish? Thanks for reading! I love having a rainbow of glossy colours and these are the ones I selected. We have:

• Dating A Royal - OPI - A gorgeous deep electric blue inspired by Kate's engagement ring. The formula is great, as I know a lot of OPI's can be hit and miss. It has a long wear too!
• Fly - OPI - A gorgeous teal colour. This is one of my to go to polishes as it just looks stunning on the nails. This is part of the Nikki Minaj collection.
• Green With Envy - Sally Hansen - A lovely lime green. It's a dream to apply as it's creamy formula is so easy to work with. It has great wear too.
• Hampstead Gardens - Nails Inc - A gorgeous brown/yellow which is set to be a 'trend shade'. This was all over the catwalks last autumn and I expect it to make a return! I wasn't huge on the wear of this as I find Nails Inc chip not long after application.
• Chubby Cheeks - Essie - I love this colour! A gorgeous coral with a pink tone to it. I am completely in love. I think the wear to this is very similar to OPI. However this shade had a better pay off compared with many OPI shades I have.
• White Ciate Colour Smash. I love this. It has a better wear than a lot of crackle effects as many of them rub off, but this baby stays put. You can get this online from Ebay, Amazon etc, but not from Ciate anymore I'm afraid! Search online for it or outlets, I've seen these in TKmaxx a few times.

NAILS OF THE DAY MAC GLAMOUR DAZE NAIL VARNISH LOOK - BLACK BORDER/FRAME

Who ever saw the gorgeous Mac Glamour Daze collection may recognise this picture, and these gorgeous nails. I fell in love with them but for some reason never brought myself to do them. I'm not very steady so I put off trying. After browsing past Mac collections I came across this picture again and wanted to try it straight away. Before you read on, I must say that I really am not steady when it comes to make up and nails! 

I used Illamasqua Nail Polish in Jan and Rio black art pen. I love Illamasqua nail polishes, although I've had a little hiccup with one of their colours, see that post here. I also used the amazing Rio pen in another look here.

The nip on the Rio Art Pen is perfect for creating precise nail art so I thought this was ideal in recreating the Glamour Daze look.

And here it is! A sleek and simple look that just oozes stylish chic. To do this look I applied two layers of Jan and waited to dry. I then used the nip on the Rio Art Pen to frame my nails. There's no wrong way of doing this, I literally just lined my nails. As you can see the black line is a bit shaky, I have the worst technique to achieve a perfect look, however I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The Glamour Daze look is done with mint polishes, and a pastel pink. I think this would work best with more powdery colours as it would create more of a contrast. Feel free to experiment with new and different colours, as I'm sure I will!! The lipstick in these pictures is Cupcake by BeautyUK - You can see that post here.

What are your opinions on this look? Do you like it?

Thank you so much for reading!

OMBRE NAILS. HOW TO AND FINAL LOOKS

It's no secret that I am in love with nail art, and I will continue to blog about my nail finds. This is my first attempt at the 'Ombre' trend. A look that sees two colours blend into one another to create a edgy and chic look. I put this off for a while as I expected it to be so much harder than it was. I regret leaving it this long - It's so easy and anyone can do it. I know a lot of people have tried it, and I just wanted to document my first time doing it, so people who have yet to try know that they can achieve it. First I took took contrasting nail polishes. I took Shade 2 by 2True and Andrea Fulerton Julia. Now all you need is a sponge, tooth pick (I used a Ear Bud and took of the cotton) and a top coat. Then you're good to go!

Then cut your sponge to size. Realistically you need it no bigger than your nail, but make sure it covers your length and width of your nail with some extra. Then paint your nail with the lightest colour. Mine where very equal, but as my blue was thicker, I chose the pink first.

Using a scrap piece of paper dab on your two colours side by side then mix the middle with a tooth pick as it looks in the picture above. You don't need too much nail polish and don't cover too much area either - It's only got to cover your nail.

Then dip in the sponge. You may need a fair bit on the sponge to get a good coverage of the nail. Then dab it onto the nail until you get the desired look. It may take a few dabs to get it the way you want.

As you can see after it dries it looks very messy. I cleared it all up with an ear bud soaked with nail varnish remover. Then I put on a top coat to sort out the uneven surfaces. As shown below, there is my finished product. This is my first go so it's not perfect but I am so happy with how easy this is to do - Even on the right hand!! The 'Acid Look' is with Who The Shrek Are You? and Strawberry Margarita, both by OPI. Have you done it before? If so, link me in the comments.

What do you think of this look? Let me know. 

Thank you so much for reading!

NAILS OF THE DAY: BLACK, GOLD AND CLASS

I love nail art, and being very creative I always make my nails a statement. I wanted something classy yet edgy and came up with this design. It's so easy and so simple. I used Andrea Fulterton Sparkle & Stripe nail varnish in India. I'm a huge fan of Andrea Fulerton. Always bang on trend at affordable prices. This one was £4.99 from Superdrug. An absolute steal as it has an amazing thin applicator and an end where you can add sparkles to any mani. I also used Rio Nail Art Pen in black which you can get in a set, or singly for £5.95 from Rio Nails.

 First step is as simple as the rest. With the India colour I used the small brush applicator to go from one corner to the opposite corner over clear painted nails. Then filled in the top half with the same colour. Then using the Rio Nail Art Pen I followed the gold line to make a defined difference between the bare nail and gold. So there we have it.

A simple, classy yet edgy look for the posh bird and the punk, and everyone in between.

ACCESSORIZE 4D 'CAVIER' NAILS IN LILAC SORBET REVIEW AND HOW TO

I've used the 'Caviar' technique before, but using the beads from a local craft store. This is the first Accessorize beauty product I'd used, and was pretty excited. The beads came in a little container with a pointed applicator which was perfect for applying the beads, it's pretty much identical to the MUA packaging. The nail varnish 'Lilac Sorbet' wasn't bad quality. It only took 2 coats to achieve a good colour, but I felt I was waiting a while for it to dry - I'm not the most patient of people! You can get these sets for £5 from Superdrug - And I do believe they're on a special offer at £3, which is a bargain for a nail varnish AND some nail art beads.

To start using this set, I first took away the front of the plastic packaging as I thought it was ideal for catching  the left over beads. I simply painted my nail with the two coats it recommended, put my nail over the tray and then shook the beads all over the nail until it was fully covered. It took about 10 minutes to fully dry.

It was so easy putting the remains back in the pot too, the tray was a perfect size to tip all the beads back in. After I'd done that I then found a clear nail varnish and just went slightly over the tips of the beaded nail, just to secure the beds in case the end of the nail got caught. This is such and easy thing to do, and makes your nails look amazing in minutes. In the past, 'Caviar Nails' only lasted me up to 2-3 days before the beads started to fall off, so it's not the most sustainable nail look. Overall this look took my about 15 minutes, including drying time, so if you have time to spare, this is such a fun look to do. I loved the finished look. It was very girly and somehow reminded me of sweets! I love this innocent look, and it really catches the eye. I can't wait to wear these out and show my claws off! There are many bead nail kits out there, and I really enjoyed using this. At the moment they are £3, so it's hard not to say no. Let me know in the comments what you think of this trend, and if you've ever tried it. Thank you so much for reading!

GALAXY NAILS HOW TO

The picture of the galaxy in the circle is from Google Images

I've been trying for a while to get galaxy perfect nails and have never found an easy way to do it. But I've now found a way that I find fun doing - Even though it's a bit messy! All you need is a bunch of nail varnishes. I went for metallics. Blacks, purples, greens, silvers and golds. I also took a bunch of glittery shades as well, including a holographic shade.

After the first layer is done, it looks pretty messy. Here's a picture of my thumb after the first layer. Excuse my thumbs, I was born with clubbed thumbs. Megan Fox has them so don't judge!

As I said before, it looks messy. And quite frankly, a bit horrible! Here's a step by step guide how to get to this point.

1. First I apply a metallic black, I did this to all my nails.
2. Apply more polishes in stripes. Keep doing this while it's wet.
3. While it's still wet, apply more polishes. Keep using dark shades and more shimmery ones to create the look you want. I used a gold polish on the top in splodges. Don't use any glittery shades just yet!

After you've done this to all the nails it's time to apply stars and other bits. I used a silver nail polish in little amounts on some of my nails to create more dynamics. Then again in little amounts I used hex glittery polishes, such as OPI's The Living Daylights swatched here in little blotches. I also did this with a rainbow flake glitter, I used Gosh's polish in Rainbow. After all this had dried I applied a few coats of silver glitter. I used OPI's Servin' Up Sparkle which you can see swatched here. Once that is all dried it looks like a galaxy. It's a bit messy to do. This is actually the first attempt I did at this, and I'm a bit rubbish with nails, so if I can - you can! There's no right or wrong way of doing it. It's just about blending, over lapping and layers. It's all fun and games! I hope you enjoyed this, and let me know if the comments what you think of the final look, and if you tried it let me know how you found doing it. Thanks for reading!

007 GLITTER NAILS LOOK WITH OPI SKYFALL NAIL POLISHES

Another swatch from the James Bond collection from OPI, but this time I'll be sharing with you how I've been wearing two colours from the collection. I've got many compliments from this look as the colours really catch peoples eyes. It's so shimmery, sparkly and different. I first apply Golden Eye, I only have the small bottle, but you can get the full size in most OPI stockists at the moment. This look isn't for everyone, but I certainly love it!

After applying Golden Eye, I then apply one of my favourites from the collection, The Living Daylights. I love sparkles, and this is just a perfect colour for me. Santa did well at Christmas! It's sold out in a few places, so if you want to get it, I'd do it now!! It looks gorgeous over black too, and so many more colours!

I love the final look, and I wear a lot of plain clothes with big accessories, so this look really works for me, and I keep getting told how lovely the nails look. This looks certainly isn't for everyone, as it's a little out there, but I really love it. If you have these colours give it a try! Found this little beauty in John Lewis if you're wanting a few from the collection at a great price, including Golden Eye from this post, John Lewis has it. Hope you enjoyed reading!