Essie Gel Couture - Ballet Nudes

Hey... Remember me?  I've been gone for a while and I've had a couple of unsuccessful goes of getting back to my blog since I took a break.  My blog has always been a hobby, and I never wanted it to become a chore, so I didn't let it become one.

I've finally decided that I wont post about every single nail design that I create, or every colour that I wear, but I'll blog when the mood strikes.  When I was lucky enough to win the gorgeous Essie Gel Couture Ballet Nudes collection with Vicky from The Polish List and Essie I thought that they would be perfect for a post.

November - Odds and Ends

I have had a bit of a mix and match month this month, with some darker nails, some lighter ones, and a bit of fun nail art.

I was inspired by the colours in my October Nailbox box, and for my first design this month I did some cute owl nails.

I started off bt masking my nails with round stickers on my middle finger and ring finger.  I then painted a base colour of NailsInc Kensington High Street on all fingers.  I had to peel the stickers off carefully to create the ears of the owls.  I decided to add a reverse glitter gradient on the 'non owl' nails with Essie Summit of Style.  This is just such a pretty antique gold glitter that really sparkles.

For the details on my owl nails I used Rimmel Caramel Cupcake for the tummy feathers, with individually placed glitter particles from Summit of Style.  Then I dotted on white and black for their eyes and orange for a beak.

With a little less time to come up with a nail design I tend to fall back on to nail stamping because it's quick and easy and looks really effective.  I went for a lacy butterfly effect with this design using Essie Ballet Slippers as a neutral base, and white stamping over the stop using MoYou London White Knight and the number 10 Princess Plate.  I really liked the overall look, but wish that I had been able to vary the stamped image.

I was recently having a look around in Kiko, and I was taken with three sparkly shades.  I was going leave them and put them on my Christmas, but my fiancé wouldn't let me leave and bought them for me.  This is 531.  How pretty is this?  I am a little disappointed that it doesn't have a fun name to match the beautiful sparkle.

To finish off the month I decided to go with a metallic and black plaited nail design.  I only added the plaited effect on my ring finger and thumb because it can take quite a bit of time to get the finished look depending on how long your nails are.  I used True Brit London Taxi Cab, Barry M Grey, and OPI Turn on the Haute Light for this look.

So, as you can see, a bit of a mixed bag overall.  I think the owls were my favourites this month.  What;s yours?  Leave me a comment and let me know.   I can't believe December is already knocking at our door, but that does of course mean it's time for Christmas nails - yay!

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Coloristiq July Manicure Box - Summer Getaway - Swatches, Review, and Nail Art Tutorial*

The lovely ladies at Coloristiq contacted me a little while back and asked if I'd like to put together a tutorial for their July Summer Getaway Manicure Box.  It took me all of a few seconds to say yes.

I got the lovely gold box through the post filled with gorgeous polishes worth almost a whopping £50 and started planning my design to fit the theme.

*Press sample - sent to me for review

Pink Ombré Nail Art

I think sometimes simple can be more effective, and that's what I've gone for this week with a pink ombré.

I've done a similar look before with purple tones, but it was a long time ago now.  I think the colours that I picked this time around compliment each other much better and I prefer the light to dark ombré starting with the lightest shade on my thumb.  I think it looks more balanced.

From thumb to little finger I have used the following colours - Essie Ballet Slippers, Models Own Strawberry Tart, Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream, Revlon Fuchsia Fever, and China Glaze Traffic Jam.  To match the finish up on all the shades I've finished with a coat of Collection Sparkle Top Coat.

I've got some exciting reviews and a nail swap coming up on my blog so keep an eye out for those soon.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Dotty Flower Nail Art

I have been lacking inspiration for nail art recently so I thought what better way to get some ideas than by browsing through my Pinterest boards to be inspired.  I fancied using blue as my main colour so at least I had a starting point.

I came across this lovely design by @naildecor (on Instagram) which I had pinned quite some time ago, but thought it was perfect.  I didn't copy it like for like, but really love the combination of blue, white and silver.  

I started with Essie Bikini So Teeny on my thumb, index finger, and thumb.  Its quite a thin formula, so I used three coats to get full opacity.  For the white base I used Models Own Snow White and then used a medium dotting tool to create my flowers and dots.  I started with the silver centres for the flowers so I could position them where I wanted, then I went in with the blue for the petals.  I added in random silver dots with OPI Turn On The Haute Light once the flowers were finished to fill in the spaces.  I was really pleased with these, and I got lots of lovely compliments.

Hopefully this will get me back into the swing of things with some better nail art soon.  Have you tried any new techniques recently that you'd recommend trying out?

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

My Favourite Nail Products

Hello all,

A bit of a different post this week where I thought I would show you some of my favourite nail products that I use the most when I do my nails.

First things first, to take of the previous week's design or colour I use Cutex Nourishing Nail Polish Remover.

Apologies for this being a phone photograph, but I decant my remover into a bottle with a twist and pump lid so I didn't actually have a bottle any more.  This says it's for weak nails, which I don't consider myself to have, but I love the moisturising and nail whitening of this remover.  I have very flaky nails and I always find that I need added moisture and this is perfect.  I do think it does a good job of removing basic stains, although I have worn some colours recently where stains have not budged.  Having said that I don't think that's because of this remover, but just the colour of the stain.  Compared to the smell of most removers this has quite a nice smell which makes taking polish off that bit nicer.  This is £1.60 for a 100ml bottle in Boots.

Next up, it's generally time for a buff and file down or shape.  I use an Andrea Fulerton buffing block, a basic 4 sided buffing block and QVS nail files.

Essie: The Girls Are Out

Hello all,

I had a very busy and hot weekend clearing out the loft and it was not a friend to my nails at all! I was going to take a picture of the damage, but it was just too sad!  But as a treat after working so hard I happened to stop by the Essie display at Boots and find my nails a lovely treat!

 

 

The Girls Are Out is such a pretty pink with the tiniest fleck of silver glitter in (hence my silver accent nail just to jazz things up a little bit!).  The colour is so rich, and the formula is great.  If you were careful you could get away with one coat, but I chose to do two.  This made the colour even more intense and bright.  My accent nail is Models Own Sterling Silver.

 

 

Nothing much else to add other than... look how pretty!! x

Essie: Jamaica Me Crazy

Hello all,

I was very excited to spot Essie polishes in my local Boots yesterday so thought I'd give it a try.  I started with just one colour to see how I got on with it because at £7.99 I needed to be sure that I liked it.

My nails are very strong, but can be quite brittle and flaky and I have tried a few moisturising base coats before, so I thought that I'd try Essie's 'Norish Me' as well.  This says that it's an 'intense hydration base coat' and says that it can improve hydration of nails by about 50% in 5 days.  I have used this as a base, along with my normal base coat and I will let you know if I see an improvement in the moisture of my nails over the next few weeks from using this.  This was £8.99 in Boots.

Back to my pretty colour though...

 

 

I chose Jamaica Me Crazy which is a gorgeous deep pink colour.  In some lights it almost has a purple look to it as the colour is that deep.  The coverage after one coat is quite good, although I would suggest two for the best look.  I found that the polish dries fairly quickly, means wait time between coats is not too long.  There is a bit of sparkle in the colour itself which is lovely on its own, but I can't resist that extra bit of sparkle and I finished my nails off with a coat of my trusty Collection 2000 Glitter Top Coat.  I always use a clear top coat over that as well to add lots of extra shine.  I think it's safe to say that I might be taking a look at some more Essie colours from time to time when I am feeling like having a bit of a splurge.

 

 

I would recommend taking a look at Essie colours as there are lots of choices and it seems to be a great quality polish.  Hope this helps you if you have been thinking about this brand but you weren't sure before.  Let me know in the comments if you have use Essie colours, which ones and how you found them x