Coloristiq Nail Polish Rental Service Review*

Do you ever see nail polishes that you'd love to try, but their price tag is just a little to steep for you to justify buying the whole bottle for perhaps only a few uses?  If so, it sounds like you could benefit from Coloristiq's nail polish rental service.

*Press sample - sent to me for review

Neon Flower Nails

We have been treated to some beautiful summery weather recently in London so I thought I would match my nails to the bright weather.  I skipped right over the pastels for this one and looked at the brighter polishes in my collection.

In the end I opted for Let's Get Lost from Essence as my base.  You could almost get away with one coat of this polish as it's really pigmented, but I always tend to prefer two coats anyway.  I really like the brushes in these bottles because they are flat with rounded tip, so you get a really good coverage in just a few strokes, but I find I have to be careful not to flood polish at the sides of my nails.

To add the extra bright factor to my design I used neon studs from the Born Pretty Store as petals for flowers.  I added a small dot of yellow polish as a guide for the centre of the flower and then painted a thick coat of top coat over the whole nail.  Whilst it was still wet I carefully pushed the studs onto my nail, sticking them in the wet top coat.  To pick up the studs, I used an orange stick with a small bit of blu-tack on the end shaped into a point.  Once I had finished the placement, some of the studs covered up the yellow for the centre of the flower, but nothing another dot of yellow polish in the centre wouldn't fix.  I couldn't decide if I wanted to add a flower to all of my nails, so I worked from the outside in, and when I had finished the pink flower I really liked the accent feature I had created and thought that any more might spoil the look.  What do you think?

One thing to note is that the ends of these studs do lift away from the nail slightly, as they are flat, and nails are curved.  I added a thick layer of glossy top coat over my finished flowers to seal them in place and prolong the life of my flowers.

If you'd like to get these studs, or anything else from the Born Pretty Store you can get 10% off using code HFG10.  You can see how I used the square ones from this wheel at Christmas here.  I particularly like this shape combination because there are so many different ways you could use them.

Thanks for stopping by
Aimee x

Models Own: Polish For Tans* - Review and Nail Art

Hello all,

I am sure you've heard about the new Polish For Tans collection from Models Own and can't wait to get your hands on them.  I have three of the colours to show you today.

From left to right I have Shades, Bikini and Sun Hat.  These are gorgeous pastel neons that dry with a slight matte finish.

*Press sample - sent to me for review

Pink Punch with Black and White Dots

Hello all,

So, last week I had a nail disaster... I attempted painting my nails twice before settling for something simple and hassle free.  I was trying out a new design and it wasn't going right, not even a little bit... To put it simply it was a mess! So off that came!! So then I went for a glitter gradient with Models Own Jack Frost as one of the glitters, but that was also a disaster - sad times! Jack Frost is really thick and just didn't dry along with the other glitters so that just simply slid off my nails, so back to square one I went.  At this stage it was getting late, but I didn't want nudey nails as I was off to a BBQ the next day, so went for Models Own Grape Juice and Rimmel Disco Ball Glitter.  You can't go wrong with yummy smelling nails and a go to glitter.  I will attempt both failed designs again, but with more time and more practise first!

This week I am back with something a little more arty.  Seeing as the sun seems to have disappeared again I thought what better than something from the Ice Neon collection from Models Own to jazz things up?

Pink Punch is such a lovely colour and it really is neon bright, I have always had so many compliments when wearing it, I think because it's so hard to miss :-)  I don't really ever know how to describe Pink Punch when talking about the colour because it changes depending on the light you're under at the time.  Here you can see my first post about it.  It's named pink, but I think it's more of a coral orangy pink.  In this picture, compared to the last picture I posted of it I think it looks more orangy red.  Right now whilst typing because it's different light again it looks more pink.  This is one of the reasons I love this colour it can look different depending on where you are or what you're wearing really.  I decided to go a bit dotty this week using black and white alternately on my nails adding a mixture of larger and smaller dots.  It reminds me of Minnie Mouse!

I hope you are loving this one as much as I am?  Have you got any of the Ice Neon's? I'd be interested to know if anyone does keep theirs in the fridge and if it has made a difference in your opinion.  Leave a comment below and let me know x

Models Own: Splash Polish Golden Shore - Summer Ombré

Hello all,

I just have a quick post this week to show the new Models Own Splash Polish in Golden Shore.  I haven't seen that many swatches of them yet, but I'm not sure people really know what to do with them.  The whole of the Splash Polish collection is gorgeous to look at in the bottle with hand cut shards of glitter in a translucent coloured polish.  I had my eye on Golden Shore right from the word go when the collection was announced, but I wasn't too sure about the others.  I resisted and just got the one in the Bottleshop when they launched with the idea that I could always go back if I wanted others.

Despite there not being too many swatches about, well not that I have seen anyway, I wasn't sure where to start, so I thought I'd test some things out on some falsies first.  I got an idea and went with that, liked how it turned out so I went with it.



 

 

I decided on a summer ombré finish to show off the shards of golden glitter.  I started off with a base of white painted over the whole nail as I really wanted my colours to pop, and I also knew that this would be covered over by Golden Shore, creating the lightest orange later on.  Using Models Own for the rest of my ombré, I sponged on Fuzzy Peach for my mid tone orange and then Pink Punch over the tips for my darkest shade.  To smooth out the sponging I added a top coat.  After this had dried I then added a coat of Golden Shore.  I would describe it as a sticky polish, it's very thick and reminded me a little bit of jam.  The glitter shards are quite tricky to evenly spread over the nail which I was a little surprised about as the Mirror Ball collection glitters are so simple to use for a great coverage in just one coat if you want.  I had to work a little bit to get the glitter to stay on my nails, dabbing the brush in places to move it around rather than a lot right at the ends or in one large patch in the middle.  I was going to add another coat, but at this stage Golden Shores had made my nails very thick with polish and I didn't really want to add anymore to them other than a top coat.

 

I ended up using two coats of top coat to stop the glitter being too bitty and sticking out all over my nails.  It seems to have done the trick, but my finished nails are very thick with varnish and I worry about it cracking and smashing on my nails with the impact of my typing and everyday wear and tare.  I will see how I go.  Does anyone else get cracking or smashing in their polish when it's thick?

 

Overall, I am not disappointed that I got Golden Shore, but I don't think I will be getting the other Splash Polishes.  This might become one that's 'perfect for toes!'.  I do like my finished neon summer ombré and I think it looks a little bit like candy corn.

 

What do you think?  I'd be interested to see what other people think about the Splash Polishes, leave a comment below to let me know x

Sinful Colors: Nail Junkie with Stripes

Hello all,

This weekend saw some more nail vanish purchases as you may have seen from my Twitter or Facebook page.  I couldn't resist the Models Own Bottleshop and the launch of the new Splash Polishes.  I had my eye on Golden Shore since I had seen the press pictures of the Splash Polish collection.  I was lucky enough to pick out a 'prize' ticket in the lucky dip at the Bottleshop at got a make up bag with attached mirror.  I also got a Sinful Colours polish in Nail Junkie.



I decided to use my Sinful Colours polish for my design this week, but I have something in mind for Golden Shore next week.

I wanted to have a go at a tape manicure with the colour peeping through and I thought Nail Junkie was perfect for this.  I was originally going to do the taping on all my nails, but I wanted to let the glitter shine away, so opted to just do my thumb nail and ring finger.

To create this look I first painted all my nails with my base colour and left it to dry.  I added a top coat over this to smooth it out as the glitter is quite chunky and gritty.  After this had dried I added four strips of nail tape across each of my accent nails and painted over the strips in a coat of black polish.  Before this is dry you lift the tape away from the nails following the pattern that you have stuck the tape in.  I used tweezers to add and remove the tape as it can be quite fiddly otherwise.  I finished off with a top coat to protect my design.

I think I did well for my first go at a tape manicure where you remove the tape, I'll have to try some different colour and pattern combinations in the future as it was a lot of fun to do.  I'd love to see your tape manicures if you have had a go, leave a link in the comments so I can take a look.

This week I am very excited as tomorrow is the day I will be in Look magazine - I'll be itching to get away from work as quickly as possible so I can go and get my copy x



Models Own: Pukka Purple

Hi all,

This week I decided to go neon with my nails! I have had lots of pastels on recently for Easter and spring, but I felt the need for something bright this week for a change.

I did a post a few weeks ago about Models Own Ice Neon Collection (you can see it here) and I don't really have anything extra to add about Pukka Purple that I didn't already say about Pink Punch.

 

 With the Pink Punch, I recommended two coats, but with this gorgeous Pukka Purple I have only done one coat.  The formula is so good that there aren't any streaks and I didn't feel the need for a second coat.  The colour is very difficult to photograph as it tends to come out blue in pictures, but I managed to get it in the end!

 

As you can see I have finished this off with a simple gold stripe down the middle of each nail and a top coat.  The Ice Neons dry with a matte effect finish, but as I said before, I like a bit of shine!

 

 

The gold striper is from Primark and I am actually very impressed with it.  Primark are selling two nail art pens for £2 and 3D nail art kits for £2.50.  The nail art pens are stripers and pens in one, so you can either use the thin brush for lines like mine, or if you pull the top of the cap off there is a pen nib that you can use for dots or smaller details.  At the bottom of the striper/pen, there is a clear compartment that screws on with nail gems in a co-ordinating colour to use along with the striper if you want to.  I wasn't expecting something as good for the money, and for a simple stripe down my nails what's not to like! It's gold, it's shiny, it's a stripe! What more can you ask for?

 

 

Let me know your thoughts on the Ice Neon collection; if you've tried it, if you keep yours in the fridge like Models Own suggest (I don't), if you can't get enough of the bright colours x

Models Own: Ice Neon and Fruit Pastels

Hello all,

Models Own have some new collections and they have a campaign to see which team you are on with #neonVpastel.  I just couldn't choose a 'team' as they are both so nice, so I got three from each collection!

Today I will be reviewing Pink Punch from the Ice Neon collection.

These are the Ice Neon colours that I got, from left to right, Pukka Purple, Toxic Apple, and Pink Punch.  They are called neon for a reason, the colours are so bright and vibrant.  Models Own suggest that to keep these polishes at their brightest they are best stored in the fridge.  You don't have to though - it's up to you.  I'm not as I am sure they will be bright enough anyway.

Although this is labelled as Pink Punch, I have to say I originally thought it was orange.  Depending on the light the look can change.  I would say that this is more of a coral pink, but Models Own do have Bubblegum, a bright highlighter pink in the Ice Neon collection as well.

The polish goes on nice and smoothly with very little streaking.  I always tend to use two coats of polish as I find it lasts better, but you could get away with just one coat of this if you wanted.  The neon's dry with a matte effect, but I found that this was not at matte as other polishes that give the same effect.  There was still some shine to the polish when it was dry, but if you wanted to keep the matte effect you could use a matte top coat to protect the colour, but still keep the effect.  I am not keen on matte nails, I like a bit of shine, so I used my normal top coat to give the shine you can see here.

I would recommend the Ice Neon collection if you want a super bright manicure to help bring on that summer feeling early!