Top That!

I don't post a lot of swatches or plain nails but I wanted a simple mani today and I love what I decided on so I wanted to share. It's very glitzy which is slightly out of my comfort zone but after seeing all the sparkly New Years manis that everyone was coming up with, I think a bit of twinkle is in order.

I hope everyone had a good start to their 2012. After stressing about not having any plans for New Years I just decided was going to stay in and watch a movie but ended up going in to town very last minute (at 11.30!) to join some friends and we ended up staying awake until about 6 in the morning. It was definitely one for the books and I hope the rest of the year will bring as much fun.

I layered Essence Choose Me over Barry M Cyan Blue and finished it off with a top coat of NYC.

I had loads of questions on Tumblr today which some of you might be interested in seeing. I answered questions about how to get followers (or not), weight loss, free samples and more so if you might want to read what I had to say, click over here.

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Happy New Year!!

Another year has come and passed, I had a great 2011 and I hope you all did too! Here's to an even better 2012!!

I used Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream as a base and black acrylic paint for the writing. The underline is GOSH Metallic Purple.

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12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 11... Festive Glitter Fiasco

Christmas panic began to set in for me today. I still have so many presents to buy and so little time! 

I think this mani perfectly represents the manic atmosphere that we can all feel in the air these last few days before the 25th, while still looking quite pretty and festive at the same time!

I used BYS Astro Gold as a base, then sponged on Barry M Red Glitter and BYS Dazzling.

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12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 10... Christmas Crackers

I can't believe I almost forgot Christmas Crackers! The best crackers we ever had were a set my Grandmother bought years ago and each one had inside a little whistle which were all different notes and numbered. We had to line up according to the number on our whistle and a elect a 'conductor' to attempt to make us play Christmas carols by pointing frantically at the right number from the song sheet! It was a barrel of giggles.

I used Barry M Matt White as a base. The outlines were done using black acrylic paint and I used George Buttercup Shine for the yellow, La Femme Cherry Red and Barry M Gold Foil for all the detailing.

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Lana Del Rey Inspired Nail Art

The video for Lana Del Rey's new single, Born To Die, was released on Wednesday and I'm not exaggerating when I say I've been listening to the song on repeat ever since I first heard it (apart from the hours I spent at work or sleeping). This chick is just gorgeous and she's my hair idol. Mine WILL look like that one day!

Lana's nails in the video are so sexy. These were the best screen shots I could get of the nails but you can watch the stunning video in full here.

I used Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude as a base then freehanded the chevrons with La Femme Cherry Red (3rd day in a row I've used this shade!) using a striping brush.

I used Barry M Gold Foil with a smaller striping brush to freehand the gold lines.

If you don't have steady, line drawing hands, you can use scotch tape to mark off the area you want to paint red, just make sure your base colour is completely dry before you go sticking tape on your nails.

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12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 8... All of the Lights

Credit for today's Christmas nails design goes to Joya at Blanket Print Nails who posted a great and simple tutorial to get the holiday lights look on your fingertips. You can find the tutorial here!

Even though mine look more like bunting than holiday lights, I love the way they turned out. The snowy gradient is gorgeous too - I think I need to do more sponging!

I used Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream as a base and sponged Wet n Wild White on to the tips to make a little gradient.

For the lights, I used black acrylic paint, BYS Fern, La Femme Cherry Red, George Buttercup Shine and No7 Poolside Blue.

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12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 7... Sweet Talkin, Sugar Coated Candy Cane

It's starting to feel very Christmassy around here. I've had my first glimpse of snow yesterday and our house is completely decked out with lights and decorations! 

As I type this, I'm watching 101 Dalmatians which I think qualifies as a Christmas movie because there's snow everywhere. It takes me back to being about 6 years old although I have a completely new appreciation for it now I'm old enough to know that Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams (Horace and Jasper) are British comedy legends!

Today's nails were inspired by Christmas Candy Canes and they look quite tasty if I say so myself!

I used Barry M Matt White as a base and used a striping brush to freehand the stripes with La Femme Cherry Red.

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12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 2 (Reindeer Nail Art)

Here goes Day 2 of my Christmas themed manicures! Coming up with ideas for this theme is so much fun and it's really getting me in the mood for Christmas. I thought I'd struggle to come up with 12 designs but as it turns out, I may have a job narrowing it down to just 12!

I can remember as a child being read the poem, 'Twas The Night Before Christmas' every Christmas Eve and I always tried so hard to remember all the names of the reindeer. I'll list all the ones I can remember and you guys can fill me in on the rest... Dancer, Prancer, Donner, Blitzen, Comet, Cupid, Vixen? Haha, am I right so far?

I used an unnamed Collection 2000 white as a base colour.

I outlined the main shape of the reindeer with Barry M Mushroom and then used black and white acrylic paint for the details. The antlers were done with L'Oreal Black Bean. Rudoph's nose is Barry M Red Glitter over La Femme Cherry Red.

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12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 1

It's December! My countdown to Christmas has officially started and I'll be documenting it on my nails (of course!). It's my plan to post 12 Holiday themed manicures before Santa pays a visit . Apologies in advance if I don't manage to post 12 but I'll try my best!

I used A-England Galahad* as a base and sponged on Barry M Blue Glitter from the tips. I stamped the snowflake from Bundle Monster plate BM14 and finished it with a rhinestone and a top coat of NYC.

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♪♫ This could really be a good life...

This week is shaping up to be a very very good one! I had a job interview yesterday for a Christmas temporary position as a sales girl in a record shop which I nailed so I'll be starting that next week. Then today, I got a call from another job I applied for which is basically a Chalet Girl position but without the Alps! It's live-in so it also means I'll be able to move out of parents' place for a while. I have to go for an interview/trial kind of thing this Sunday and if I'm successful, I'll start in January - I'll keep you guys posted on that!

And to top it all off, this blog hit 2000 followers today! Thank you all so much for reading and following! I hope I say it often enough but I really don't think I could say it enough. It means the world to me that you all like my little piece of the internet enough to keep coming back and showing your support. THANK YOU!

Today is a Wednesday so here comes the pink!

Stamping Plate: Bundle Monster BM205
Base Colour: Models Own Utopia
Stamping Colour: Barry M Raspberry
Accents: BYS Flirty Sparkle
Top Coat of NYC

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What Did I Do?

I realise that using song titles/lyrics is oh so very unoriginal but I'm really struggling to come up with interesting post titles!

I had an overwhelming urge to use this poptastic colour combination today and I wanted something simple and sophisticated. This stamping design just never gets old and I always get compliments about it so it's a winner in my book.

Stamping Plate: Bundle Monster BM209

Base Colour: Primark - Yes Cyan!

Stamp Colour: Barry M Gold Foil

Top Coat of NYC

I made a few nail sets based on the Michael Kors studded design this week and Esther from Fab Fingertips was my first customer! She did a quick post on them today which you can see here. If you like what you see, send me an email and you can have your very own custom set, I take requests so anything you've seen here on the blog can be made in to a bespoke set just for you (see my shop for more details)

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In the Army...

I'm going to a birthday tonight and there is a dress up theme - 'army'. I'm not one for spending money on fancy dress costumes that I'll never wear again so I'm going in khaki clothing and mud/face paint, hopefully I'll look convincing! 

Fancy dress is always such a great opportunity for me to create some fun and original nail art so I painted my nails in a camouflage pattern to match the theme!

I used MUA Shade 23 as a base. To get the camo effect, I painted on random patches using BYS Fern, Barry M Mushroom and W7 Black. The insignia was created with black acrylic paint and Barry M Gold Foil.

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Day 17: Glitter

So today we come to Glitter manicures. Glitter and I have a strained relationship. I go through phases of loving it and at other times I just detest the stuff and get the urge to throw away every polish I own that contains glitter! The main reason for the hatred is the hassle it takes to remove it. I always use the foil method for removal these days to minimise any stress!

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's glittery nails too!

Barry M Blue Glitter

BYS Gold Finger sponged from the tips down

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Day 14: Flowers

I have something very simple for you guys today... I used a dotting tool to create this simple flower print and I think it turned out really pretty. There's definitely a retro, 60's vibe going on with this mani.

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's flower nails too!

Barry M Cyan Blue
Barbara Daly Tattoo
Barry M Gold Foil

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Day 11: Polka Dot Nails

Polka dots are so fun and easy and yet they make your nails look completely amazing!

When I first got my dotting tools I hated using them and was just never happy with my results but after a bit of practice, I absolutely love them and they're SO versatile. I use them for all kinds of nail art, not just dots.

Today's nails are in my favouritest colour ever - purple, purple and more purple!

Head over to see Rie and Cristina's Polka Dots challenges too!

Polishes used

Base colour: Barry M Berry Ice Cream

Dot Colours:

Nails Inc Victoria

Collection 2000 Minx

Barry Bright Purple

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