Summer Flowers

Isn't it just so lovely when the sun shines?

Base (orange) - Rimmel - Oragasm

Base (white) - Barry M - Cotton

Glitter Topper - Collection - Sparkle Top Coat

Dots - Barry M - Yellow 134

Loving Barry M

I know I said two months ago that I was back from a blogging break, but for some reason I just didn't seem to get back to it properly.  So here goes again...

I've really been loving Barry M recently.  I always have loved their polishes, and you can't go wrong with such a decent price and with the fact that they are cruelty free.  I've found myself heading to my Barry drawer, and even buying a few new ones to add to my collection.

Starting with the most glittery one first, this is Fashion Icon.

This beauty is a new addition to my collection.  I was out shopping, just having a look around and this was just glittering away on the shelf.  I just couldn't leave it behind.  I already had Socialite from the Glitterati collection and loved it so figured that I couldn't go far wrong with another glitter from the same collection.  Also I do love a bit of sparkle and you'll often find it on my nails!  

December - Christmas Fun and Sparkle

December of course meant that it was time for Christmas nails and what says Christmas more than cute characters and glitter?

It's always difficult to decide which Christmas style to start with, and normally for me it would be snowflakes, as I do snowflake nails each year, but I saw lots of them popping up all over Instgram, so thought I'd save them for later and go for a cute snowman design first.

Back in September I had thought of a snow scene design using China Glaze Chillin' With My Snowmies, so I incorporated this in with the snowman.  I started with a base of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream for a chilly feel and added a coat of the China Glaze topper on all my nails, expect my middle finger.

I then used White Knight from MoYou London to paint a small circle for the snowman's head.  I then used Barry Mushroom, and Graffiti Nails Tuscany for the details.

A couple of years ago I did a dotticure Christmas tree design which I absolutely loved, so I thought I' recreated it, but in non traditional Christmas colours.  I used Models Own Snow White as a base and then used, Kiko 277, Barry M Sparkling Amethyst, China Glaze Frostbite, and OPI Turn on the Haute Light for all the fun dots.  Dotticures are one of my favourite nail designs to do, so it's always lots of fun to add them to a Christmas design.

As I mentioned before each Christmas I do a snowflake design, and inspired by my 'non traditional' colours in my previous design, I decided to use Sparkling Ruby from Barry M for some dramatic snowflakes.  For the base of the snowflake nails I used Happy Anniversary by OPI which came in my November Nail Box.

 

To finish off the year, I went for something simple, but gorgeous.  Thunder and Lightning from Models Own is just the perfect choice for new year's, the holographic glitter looks just like all the fireworks set off to celebrate.  It is a little thin on application, so you need at least three coats, but that's a small price to pay for the amazing glitter.

What was your favourite design this month?

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

Pink Dot Pond Manicure

I really enjoy scrolling through my social media feeds on Twitter and Instagram and seeing all the lovely manicures other people have been trying out, and in the last few days I have been seeing a few pond manicures pop up here and there and just had to have a go myself.

When I was looking at my polish collection I couldn't find anything quite sheer enough to get the right look.  I decided to use Models Own Pink Fever which is quite sheer with one coat, but when you build up further coats it wouldn't work effectively for this technique.  Using an empty polish bottle I mixed my colour with clear top coat to create something more sheer.  For the dots I used my Mo You stamping polish in White Knight.  The opacity of the stamping polish made it a perfect choice as I knew it would be visible through the rest of the layers.

To start I applied one thin coat of my new sheer pink, and then added on white dots in varying sizes. When this was dry I added another thin coat of pink and white dots.  I continued this process for about four layers.  I love the depth this technique gives.  As you build up the layers the dots gradually change in colour getting darker with each layer giving an ombré effect using only two colours.  I have tried overlapping dots like this before using different shades of a colour and it has always ended up looking messy, but I think the depth makes all the difference here.  I decided to leave the last dots white to make it look as though they were floating on the top layer.  I also thought that another layer of pink might have made the first lot of dots blend in too much.

I really like this technique and want to try it again with something more complicated than dots so I'm on the lookout for some nice sheer colours.  Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by
Aimée x

OPI Spotty Nails

When I went away in December I thought it would be silly not to stop by the duty free to see what nail goodies I could find and I came across the travel exclusive OPI  Coca Cola set.  It comes with 6 mini bottles of beautiful colours.  I have used a few of the colours so far and really like them, but this is the first time any of them have appeared in a blog post.

Sweetheart Nail Art

Valentine's is just perfect for nail art as there are so many different things you can do - hearts, flowers, kisses, love letters, the list is endless.  I know I did hearts last week, but I couldn't resist sticking with them this week for this more girly heart print design.

I had a bit of a search through my stash to get together some pinks and reds (you can see them all on Instagram), and came across ones that I hadn't thought about in a while, including Jacava Raspberry Bavarois.  I absolutely love this colour so decided that it was going to be the main choice for this design.  It paints on so smoothly and is perfectly opaque in one coat.  I always use two coats for extra longevity on my nails.

I painted my index, middle, and little finger in pink and my thumb and ring finger in white.  Then using different sized dotting tools I created the hearts in Raspberry Bavarois and Strawberry Ice cream from Barry M.  Hearts are really easy to do, but look really effective.  All you have to do is get a good amount of polish on the end of your dotting tool and then drag diagonally downwards to form the point of the heart, then repeat the same again with another dot adjacent to the first.  There were still a few little gaps, so I added in a few little dots in both pinks.  I think they finished off the accent nails perfectly.

What's your favourite sort of design for Valentine's Day?  Leave me some links so I can see yours.  Also, keep an eye on my Instgram later in the week for another exciting Valentine's related post.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Sparkly New Year Dotticure

First off let me say Happy New Year everyone, I hope you've had a brilliant holiday season.  Even though Christmas is over (boo) I'm not ready to give up glitter and to be honest I always like to add a bit of sparkle to my nails.

I wanted something fairly simple to do, but looked really effective, so I decided on this sparkly dotticure gradient.

I started off two coats of Bora Bora from Models Own, it's a beautiful fine glitter that gives full coverage.  I then used different sized dotting tools and black and white polish to create the dotticure gradient.  I started with the largest dots at the tips of the nails and then filled in the gaps as I worked up towards my cuticles whilst ensuring that I left space at the cuticles to give the gradient effect.

Polka dots are my 'go to' nail art staple if I want something quick but effective.  What are yours?

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Multicoloured Dots Nail Art

Hi all,

I don't know about you, but I'm still not quite ready to say goodbye to bright colours, and this week I couldn't decide which one to use, so I used them all!

When I'm short of time my go to nail art of choice is polka dots.  I used my Models Own dotting tools to create various different sized dots for this design.  I started with a base of Models Own Snow White.  I have been using this so often recently, so much so that I just finished a bottle of it, and I don't think I've ever finished a bottle of polish, ever!  Usually they go gloopy before I can get to the end,  It's just fabulous and such a brilliant white to work with.  I then used lots of other polishes that to complete the look.

Orange - Graffiti Nails Tuscany

Green - Essence Roller Coaster

Blue - Miss Sporty Pop Fiction

Purple - Morgan Taylor Bright Side

Pink (pictured) - China Glaze Purple Panic

I have just had a bit of destash and said bye bye to 19 polishes.  I originally thought it was going to be really difficult to go through and get rid of some, but it was much easier than anticipated.  They were ones that had dried up a bit, or ones that I just wasn't going to wear again, but there were some in there that only just made the cut!  It was good to have a proper look through though and it meant I came across the Miss Sporty one and realised that I hadn't used it yet, so thought I'd début along with these other gorgeous colours.  Isn't it pretty?

Graffiti Nails and Essence have been a recent favourites of mine, so I had to include them, and I love the quality of China Glaze and Morgan Taylor.  Whilst they are on the pricier side for nail polishes I really do think you get what you pay for.  Every time I use these it's like using a brand new bottle of polish.

Overall I think this is a fun design and pretty eye catching; I've even had men at work admiring my nails today!

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x

Models Own: Sun Hat Butterfly Nails

Hello all,

Today I have super pink manicure that Barbie would be jealous of.  What better colours to pick from other than neons for this sunny weather that we've had recently so I have chosen to use Models Own Sun Hat from the Polish for Tans collection.

I have used two coats of Sun Hat all on nails other than my ring finger which is Models Own Snow White.  I used my MoYou London Scholar 05 plate to stamp the butterfly on my ring finger.  I love this plate so much, the doodle like images are so cute and fun.  To add a little something extra to my nails I added two coats of Sinful Colors Pinky Glitter on my thumb, middle finger and little finger.  Then on my index finger I attempted a waterfall of white polka dots but it didn't quite work out as I'd hoped.  To finish off I added a matte top coat.

I'm really pleased over all with this and I'm very happy with my stamping.  I'm getting better at it with practice.  What are your go to shades and designs for the summer? I'd love to see.  Leave me a link in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by
Aimée x

Models Own: Summer Updates*

Hello all,

Models Own have done it again, they've gone and added more beautiful polishes to their collection.  The already popular Fruit Pastel collection sees two new additions, Coconut Cream and Peach Melba.  Polka dot lovers will enjoy the addition of Mirco Dots and fans of gel effect nails will adore the new HyperGel Top Coat.

* Press sample - sent to me for review

Models Own: Nail Art Kit Review*

Hello all,

I always wondered why Models Own didn't have a nail art kit because they seem to love nail art as much as we all do, and then the other week I came home from work to find this beauty waiting for me

A brand new Nail Art Kit from Models Own! Fancy that!  Of course I had to take a picture straight away, so this is from my phone, but I was pretty pleased with how it turned out anyway.  Then it was just a case of finding a bit of time to play with it all.

* Press sample - sent to me for review

Christmas Tree Dotticure Nail Art

Hello all,

I have my last Christmas nail art of the season and more importantly it will be what I have on my nails on the big day!

This was a 'pinspired' design this week.  This year I have seen lots of Christmas trees done with striping tape, so I was looking for something different and came across this pin.  I loved it so much that I just had to have a go.  Clicking through and reading the blog post about this I found out that it was inspired by another blogger as well, so it's really going around now!

I started off with two coats of Snow White from Models Own.  This is a fab white polish.  A bit streaky of first coat, but perfect in two.  I then used Barry M Red Glitter, China Glaze Emerald Sparkle and Models Own Bora Bora to create my dots.  Using different the two different end of my dotting tool for the large and medium dots and then end of a cuticle stick for the tiny dots.  I repeated this pattern on all my nails, but left my ring finger free for my Christmas tree.  For the tree I started by dotting Emerald Sparkle in a single dot in the centre of my nail just below the cuticle.  Then two dots at the tip of my nail to create a triangle pattern.  I then filled in the rest of the tree with some extra green dots.  I then added three Red Glitter dots for baubles and three Bora Bora dots for tinsel.  The star had to be something a bit special so I added a yellow gem to sparkle away at the top of the tree.  Then came the tricky part... Top coating without causing drag on the dots over the white! And look... It worked!!!!!!! Yay!!

I love how festive this manicure is and what was even better was that it was so simple!  I also did some nail art for my mum and sister as well...

A fancy swirly tree for my mum and snowflake for my sister.

I hope you all like my Christmas tree dotticure and have a very Merry Christmas x

Polish Party: Disney - Mickey and Minnie Nail Art

Hello all,

It's the end of the month, and you know what that means? Polish Party time.  Out theme this month is Disney.  I have loved Disney since forever and Mickey and Minnie have to be my favourite so when our theme was picked I knew they were going to feature.  I couldn't decide how to do them first of all, but then settled on hints of both characters.

Then all I had to do was decide how to include them both on one hand... Or did I?

I went for Mickey on my left hand and Minnie of my right hand.  Both have nails that are the same, because these features match on both Mickey and Minnie, so on both little fingers I chose to use yellow to represent their shoes.  Then on both index fingers I have a white base with three simple black lines to represent their gloves.  For Mickey I have on my ring finger and thumb, his iconic red shorts with yellow buttons, and for Minnie I have her red dress with white polka dots.  For my Mickey hand I used a little dotting tool to create mini Mickey's (hee hee!!) over a white base, and then for my Minnie hand how could I not include her bow?

I had so much fun doing these and I love that I have a different character on each.  As I type it looks like Mickey and Minnie dancing across my key board.  They certainly brighten up my day when I look at them.

Don't forget to keep up with what of the rest of the Polish Party girls have done for their Disney themed nails.  Follow the links below to take a look

Barry M: Matte Dots

Hi all,

I have a first on my blog today... matte nails.  I haven't ever left any nails with a matte effect before, but since I won the whole of the autumn/winter collection from Barry M which included their matte collection in coffee shop colours.

I decided to use Caramel and Brown Mocha first.  On my thumb, index and middle finger I have Brown Mocha as a base and then Carmel on my ring finger and little finger.  I have then added some simple dots in various sizes along the sides of my nails in the opposite colours.  I found that the colours were a little patchy on the first coat, but on adding a second coat it's perfect.  To keep the matte look I went out on a search for a matte top coat and decided on Bourjois So Matt which did just the trick.

As this is the first time I have had matte nails they have taken a bit of getting use to.  When I finished them they almost didn't looked finished!  I do like the effect though and it's growing on me.  I think what has helped that these are the first truly matte effect finished polishes that I have tried, despite others claiming to be matte.

I'd love to see what other looks people have come up with with the Barry M matte polishes - leave me a link so I can take a look x

China Glaze Purple Panic and Maybelline Pretty in Polka

Hello all,

I've got a really quick post this week to show off my new goodies that I was bought from America.  China Glaze Purple Panic and Maybelline Colour Show Polka Dots, Pretty in Polka.

As you can see Purple Panic isn't really purple at all, but more of a fuchsia pink.  It's such a pretty colour.  I first saw this on another blog and had it on my wish list from that point onwards (along with another China Glaze which has been discontinued - boooo!!)  I was surprised to find out that it was a matte finish though.  I had only seen it glossy!

The Maybelline Colour Show Polka Dot colours are such a pretty collection.  Pretty in Polka has black and white polka dot shapes in various different sizes in a light pink base.  As I chose to layer this over my China Glaze I don't actually know what it looks like on it's own, but I would imagine you'd need quite a few coats for it to be an opaque colour without a base.  I love the dots, in this polish, it's a fun textured look without having glitter.

I am loving the fact that this manicure still fits with Breast Cancer Awareness Month - I can still show my support in pink!  I'd love to see other people's swatches of Polka Dots - leave me a link in the comments x