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Freckles Polish Swatches & Review

January 20, 2015, 10:13 am
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Hey everybody! Today I have some lovely new Freckles Polishes to show you. There are four shades from two separate collections: "The Coven Collection", inspired by American Horror Story: Coven; and "The Love Me, Love Me Not Collection", which is a Valentines collection based on the fact that you don't need to be in a relationship to have a good time on Valentines Day. There is also a matte top coat too!

Info on where and when you can buy will be at the end of the post, so let's go!


Freckles Polish "Reign Supreme"




"Reign Supreme" is from The Coven Collection. It is a medium-dark smoky grey with signature Freckles holo finish. It is slightly less densely pigmented than other Freckles Polish holos, but still perfectly opaque with two coats. Application was smooth and easy, and dry time was good. Swatches show two coats with top coat.

Freckles Polish "Papa Legba"




"Papa Legba" is from The Coven Collection. It is a rich, deep, pink-toned red with a slight cinnamon tinge and signature Freckles holo finish. Formula was flawless, perfectly opaque in two coats and an absolute breeze to apply. Swatches show two coats with top coat.

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Freckles Polish "Young Free And Single"




"Young Free And Single" is from The Love Me, Love Me Not Collection. It is a rich red jelly base with a variety of different shaped and sized glitters. The jelly base was opaque enough to cover with two coats yet still allow the glitters to show through, and application was very easy - no need for fishing as the glitters are all fairly small, and very well suspended. Swatches show two coats with top coat.

Freckles Polish "You Had Me At Hello"




"You Had Me At Hello" is from The Love Me, Love Me Not Collection. It is a deep purple jelly base with small silver and purple glitter and a sprinkling of larger flakies. The base is very well pigmented, easily covering with two coats, and application was very easy. Swatches show two coats with top coat.

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Freckles Polish "You Make Me So Matte"



"You Make Me So Matte" is a matte top coat. What can I say about a matte top coat other than it is a top coat which dries to a matte finish? It does what it claims to do, and it does it very well. As with all matte top coats, it takes a few minutes for the matte finish to fully develop. I will certainly be purchasing when this bottle runs out! For your information, my swatches show Freckles Polish "Wild Flower Meadow" from last year's Easter Collection over Ciate "Bon Bon", with one coat of Freckles Polish "You Make Me So Matte" matte top coat.

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My thoughts on this collection: As always, wonderful formulas which are a joy to work with and beautiful shades. I can't pretend to know anything about American Horror Story so I've no idea if the polishes from that collection sit well with their theme, but regardless they are lovely shades in their own right, as are the two Valentines shades. The matte top coat is a total winner for me too!

These polishes will all be available to buy on Friday 30th January (that's next Friday) from the Freckles Polish Etsy Store, and you can keep up to date with all the news by following the Freckles Polish Facebook page, Instagram account, and Twitter feed.

Thanks for reading!

**Products provided for honest, unbiased review**
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A 2 Z: K is for Kitchen Sink

January 22, 2015, 5:26 am
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Hello everybody! It's A 2 Z time, woop! This week's theme is a quirky one: K is for "Kitchen Sink". A kitchen sink manicure is basically one which has a little bit of everything thrown at it - be that different colours, textures, designs, techniques, whatever - it literally should have everything but the kitchen sink (Note: we also have an alternate theme of "Kitschy" for those who didn't want to do Kitchen Sink)! Now, I have to admit, I really couldn't be bothered this week and very nearly pulled out, but I gave myself a stern talking to, got a strong cup of tea, and went for it. And do you know what? I am so glad I did, because I am actually in love with my finished manicure!

I decided to use a different nail art technique on each nail, while sticking to one colour theme for a bit of consistency. I chose black and white, and I have used striping tape (which failed miserably - you'll see), stamping, dotting, a gradient, a Ruffian, and have both shiny and matte finishes! The polishes I used were OPI "Alpine Snow" and a black polish I got from ebay by a brand called S.H.C. Nail Polish (this is the black polish I always use if I'm doing black stamping), and the stamping image is from MoYou London Pro XL plate 20. Shiny top coat: Seche Vite; matte top coat: Freckles Polish "You Make Me So Matte".

Picture time!







What do you think? Is this an idea you might implement on your nails? I'm normally a "same thing on all nails" kind of girl, but I really, really love how this turned out, despite the striping tape fail! 

Don't forget to check the hub page to see everybody else's take on this theme, and come back next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x


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A 2 Z: L Is For Lines

January 29, 2015, 7:14 am
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Hello! Firstly, I would like to apologise for my blogging schedule of late. I find it simply too much of a faff to sit down and think of something to write about every manicure and I know all that leaves you with is the A 2 Z challenge once a week and a PR post here and there, and maybe a NOTD post once in a blue moon if I can be bothered. I didn't want for my blog to end up like this and I do feel guilty that I have given up on it somewhat, but please stick with me my friends, I love you, and I promise I will at least try and get back into the swing of things one day.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get busy! The letter and theme for this weeks A 2 Z Challenge is "L is for Lines". I actually found this to be quite an ambiguous theme - there are lines everywhere, in all kinds of forms, and the more I thought about it, the more ways I could have interpreted it. Eventually I settled though. I applied a base of Nails Inc "Baker Street" (two coats):




And then I stamped some jagged lines using two images from Bundle Monster plate BM-208 and Barry M "Silver" Foil Effect Nail Paint, and finished with top coat:










What do you think? This reminds me of the crazy paving in my front garden and I love it, and yay Baker Street, one of my favourite blue polishes.

As always, the A 2 Z Hub Page is where you will find everybody else's contributions, and come back next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x



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Neon & Nude Gradient Stamping with Models Own

February 3, 2015, 3:11 pm
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Hello internetters, how are you today? Well I promised I'd try and blog more regularly, so here I am with a NOTD post for you! It features a technique which I have so far avoided for the simple reason that I had always assumed it was more complicated than it actually is: gradient stamping! I also recently placed an order from Models Own during their half price sale, and that order consisted of the entire Polish For Tans neon pastel collection, and two lovely neutral shades (Misty Grey and Utopia). Having seen The Nailasaurus' gradient stamping tutorial video the other day, I knew I had to try it as soon as my beauteous bargains arrived, so I did!


I started with a base of Models Own "Utopia", two coats of pale putty perfection in a bottle:



And then, using the afore-mentioned tutorial, Models Own "Flip Flop" and "Sun Hat", and Cheeky plate CH7, I created this neon and nude gradient stamping manicure:






What do you think? I am really pleased with this, and I will be employing this technique a lot more in the future now that I know how flippin' easy it is!

Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x


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A 2 Z: M is for Multicoloured

February 5, 2015, 8:05 am
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Howdly doodly folks! Today's A 2 Z blog post is brought to you by the letter M, and the theme "Multicoloured". As is quite often the case, I had a last-minute change of mind, from a pastel gradient (which requires effort) to some multicoloured glitter toppers (no effort), because lazy Anna is lazy.

So for this manicure, I decided to start with a lovely pale grey base, to act as a nice contrast against the colours. The grey I used was Models Own "Misty Grey", and here it is on its own - two coats:


And for the multicolouredness(?!) I decided to layer two different neon glitter toppers from Stellar Nail Polish: "Rock-A-Hula Baby" and "Viva Las Vegas", which I kinda ruined with my haphazard splodgy application = bubbles ahoy:




And then finally I added a coat of Freckles Polish "You Make Me So Matte"matte top coat:



Don't forget to check the A 2 Z Hub Page to see what everybody else is up to, and come back again next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x



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Zoya "Lillian"

February 7, 2015, 10:11 am
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If you follow me on Instagram, there is one thing you will have come to realise in absolute certainty: I love my pets. I have two dogs, and two cats, and they are literally my whole world, so when I noticed that Zoya has released a nail polish with the same name as one of my pets, I absolutely HAD TO HAVE IT. It arrived today and of course a blog post was a must!

The polish in question is Zoya "Lillian", a pale, slightly dusty duck egg blue/green - I can't quite place the colour, it sometimes looks more blue, and sometimes looks more green, and is an absolute bugger to photograph, but regardless, it is beautiful, and it shares its name with my pretty little cat Lillian, which is all that matters to me! 


So here it is, Zoya "Lillian", two coats with base & top coat (Orly Bonder & Seche Vite, FYI):





And here is my kittycat Lillian, because yay cats! :D



Lillian, meet Lillian! 

(^^That's yesterday's manicure on my nails, I took this picture before applying "Lillian", stupidly)

If you were able to, would you buy a nail polish solely because it shares its name with your pet/child/significant other etc.? :)

Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x
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A 2 Z: N is for New

February 12, 2015, 7:50 am
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Hello friends! Today's A 2 Z brings us to the letter N, and the prompt "New". I have gone for the easy option, and used, among other things, my newest polish: L.A. Colors "Flurry" to create a pretty, celestial manicure. Let's go!



To start with, I applied one coat of Nails Inc "Upper Brook Street":



Then I applied two coats of L.A. Colors "Flurry"& top coat:





Then I stamped this swirly, starry image from Born Pretty plate BP-03:



Aaaand to finish, I applied a coat of Freckles Polish "You Make Me So Matte" matte top coat:







Phew, that was a lot of pictures! I hope you liked this lazy N is for New manicure, because I do!

Oh and hey! Look who it is! Mama Bean, yyyyeeeaaahhhh!!!! She has also gone for a new polish. Well, she received it as a Christmas present, but this is the first time she has worn it! Freckles Polish "Anne Teak", two coats and top coat:





Doesn't it suit her perfectly?

Don't forget to check out the A 2 Z hub page, and come back again next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x





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A 2 Z: O Is For Old

February 19, 2015, 7:20 am
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Hey friends! Another Thursday, another A 2 Z installment! This week we are on the letter O, which represents "Old". Instead of just using an old polish, or one with the word "Old" in its name (I have a few of those!), I chose to use a polish which is the colour of old gold, reminiscent of a precious, golden relic unearthed in some archaeological dig somewhere. What is this polish, you ask? It's AEngland "Holy Grail", of course, and here it is!

Two coats, no top coat:





And then I stamped an ornate, brocade-like image from MoYou London Fashionista plate 07 & Barry M Gold Foil Effects, which gave the overall manicure the look of some beautiful, sumptuous old curtains, the sort which might be found in a stately home (angled my nails away from the light 'cause it's the only way I could photograph the stamping):





Now let's see what mama Bean has opted for this week! She chose to apply a base of Nails Inc "Southwark" and stamp an Egyptian headdress image in gold, because the Egyptians are pretty old, are they not? :D





As always, the A 2 Z Hub Page is where you will find everybody else's contributions, and also why don't you take a look at this post, a mid-way "How are we all doing so far?" post compiled by Charlie of Pocket Money Polishes!

Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x
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A 2 Z: P is for Pale

February 26, 2015, 8:26 am
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Hey internet! Look who has broken her promise of blogging more than once a week already, it's meeeee!! Sorry. Life and all that. Anyway, here is the next installment of the A 2 Z Series. This week's letter is P, which represents the theme of "Pale". 

I have gone for a very simple manicure using pale nail polishes. Shall we have a look?






Products I used in order from first to last:
Orly Bonder base coat;
Boots 17 "Woo Me", two coats;
OPI "Pirouette My Whistle", one coat;
OPI "You Callin' Me A Lyre?", one coat;
Seche Vite top coat.

And now for mama Bean! I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the minty green polish she used here, although I know it is from MUA; the glitter is Barry M "Diamond Glitter".




Don't forget to check the A 2 Z Hub Page, and come back again next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x


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A 2 Z: Q is for Quirky

March 5, 2015, 6:49 am
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Hi friends! Today's A 2 Z manicure is a fun one, "Q is for Quirky". I'll admit at first I wasn't too keen on "quirky" as a theme for nails - I know what quirky means to me, but it just seemed to be too broad a term to be able to interpret it into a manicure. However, mama Bean (who is absent from this week's challenge, sorry) and I sat down and had a brainstorm whilst looking through all my nail art bits and bobs, and I eventually came up with this idea: bumble bee nails! 

I used gold and black polishes, striping tape, and caviar beads to create it (list of products used after the pictures):







Products used:
Base coat - Orly Bonder;
Gold - AEngland "Holy Grail";
Black - S.H.C. Nail Polish "01" (ebay cheapie);
Top coat - Seche Vite;
Beads - Ciate Caviar Pearls in "Bumble Bee";
Striping tape from eBay.

I don't know about you but I think this is a really cool look, and definitely quirky in my opinion!

As always, the A 2 Z Hub Page is where you will find all the other participants' contributions, and come back again next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x



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A 2 Z: R is for Redo/Reboot/Recycle/Recreate

March 12, 2015, 10:53 am
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Hello everybody, how are you all doing today? Today's A 2 Z theme is a bit of a mouthful, but I knew immediately what I was going to do for this one! I chose to recreate an old manicure from 2013 which you may remember if you've been following me that long (and if you have, thank you): my spotty kettle matchy matchy manicure! (<<click that link to see the original post). I can still remember the joy I felt when we got that kettle and the fact it gave me the perfect matchy matchy inspiration. It was also quite popular among my Instagram and Facebook friends!

So firstly let's have a look at the original:





And here is today's version! Not much has changed, execpt I have far less of a tan this time round than I did before(!), and the poor old kettle is looking pretty beaten up - it's on its last legs sadly:








Not much point me telling you which polishes I used - if you want to recreate it, I'm sure you have plenty of suitable colours available (but please feel free to leave a comment below if you'd like to know) :)

No mama Bean this week, sorry! I have to confess though, I pilfered her idea of recreating this manicure for today's theme - she had planned on doing the same before she ran out of time, sorry ma!!

As always, the A 2 Z Hub Page is the place to go for everybody else's contributions - past and present - and there will be another installment next week!

Thanks for reading :) x



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Nails Inc "Saville Row"& Stamping NOTD

March 17, 2015, 8:41 am
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Hey friends! Just a quick nail of the day post to tide you over for a while.

Nails Inc "Saville Row" is a deep, rich cool-toned burgundy polish with the most flawless creme formula - Nails Inc at their classic best. It was also the very first polish I blogged about (you can read that blog post here)!

Picture shows two coats & top coat:



I then added some stamping using Dance Legend "Optical Illusion"& Born Pretty plate BP-48, and finished with top coat:



Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x
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A 2 Z: S is for Silver

March 19, 2015, 8:53 am
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Hello world! Today is Thursday, which = A 2 Z day! This week we have reached the letter S, which is represented by the theme of "Silver". I chose not to do a full silver manicure, but instead use a silver glitter to complement another colour. Shall we take a look?

Firstly I applied my base colour, Barry M Gelly Nail Paint "Sugar Apple", two coats:



And then I used F.U.N Lacquer "Queen" to create this sponged glitter gradient, and finished with top coat:






And here is mama Bean's contribution for this theme: she went for a magnificent silver holographic polish, Nfu.Oh "61", of which she applied two coats:




As always, the A 2 Z Hub Page is the place to go for everybody else's contributions, and please come back again next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x


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Freckles Polish Birthday Bonanza!

March 25, 2015, 12:58 pm
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Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Freckles Polish, happy birthday to you! That's right folks, Freckles Polish is celebrating its first birthday this weekend, and in honour of that milestone there will be not one but two collections released! The first is "The Birthday Party Collection", which consists of six pretty, pastel holographic shades, and the second is "The Collaboration Collection", now this one is really exciting. Julieann who own Freckles Polish has teamed up with three bloggers who have designed and named their very own Freckles Polish shade to be released in this collection, and I was lucky enough to be asked to take part! The other two blogger collaborations are with Vicky (Vicky Loves Nails) and Sarah (My Mint Nails) There was also a competition for three Freckles Polish customers to also design and name their own shade for this collection. How exciting!! I have two polishes from each collection to show you, so let's get to it!

Release date and purchase info will be at the end of this blog post.



Freckles Polish "Birthday Suit"







"Birthday Suit" is from the Birthday Party Collection. It is a pale, sandy nude shade with a linear holographic finish. Formula was excellent, fluid yet not drippy, very well pigmented, easy to apply, and quick drying. My swatches show two coats with top coat.



Freckles Polish "Party Poppers"







"Party Poppers" is also from the Birthday Party Collection. It is the most vibrant of the six shades in this collection, being a happy, cheerful turquoisey blue colour with linear holographic finish. As with Birthday Suit, the formula was typical Freckles Polish holo perfection. My swatches show two easy coats with top coat.


Freckles Polish "C-Hand-Ler Bling"






"C-Hand-Ler Bling" is from the Collaboration Collection, designed by lucky competition winner Laura Buchanan. It is a pastel purple holographic shade with pink and blue glitters. The purple base is extremely densely pigmented, and combined with the chunkier glitters, it is a little on the thick side. However, coverage is very good and it is easy to apply. My swatches show two coats with top coat.


Freckles Polish "Anna Bean's Spring Greens"







"Anna Bean's Spring Greens" is also from the Collaboration Collection, and it was designed by this little bean right here, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I wasn't inspired by much other than my own imagination and some of my favourite nail related things: pale green nail polish and square glitters! The name was somewhat harder to come by. I went through many different options and had settled upon one, but that all changed when I saw pictures of the final product - it was so fresh and springlike that I had to incorporate those spring feelings into the name, and well, it's my polish, so why not name it after me?! :D Anyway, on to the polish itself. It is a pale, delicate minty green crelly base with square glitters in pastel shades of purple, blue, pink, and yellow. In order for the glitters to show through, the base is by nature slightly sheer, so you will either need to apply three coats on its own, or layer it over a corresponding base. Application was easy, the glitters are well dispersed and required zero fishing or placement. Dry time was good. My swatches show three coats with top coat.


These polishes and the rest of the collections they form will available on the Freckles Polish Etsy Store from Saturday 28th March 2015. You can also keep up to date with all the news on the Freckles Polish Facebook Page, Twitter Feed, and Instagram Account.

Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x


**Products provided for honest, unbiased review**
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A 2 Z: T is for Texture

March 26, 2015, 7:13 am
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Hello babes! How you doin'? Thursday has come around again and brought with it another installment of the A 2 Z Blog Series!

This week the letter is T, and theme is "Texture". I arrived at my final idea for this week's manicure via two intersecting routes. I was thinking about the China Glaze Crinkle Chromes and how they are essentially chrome polishes with bits in them - coarse glitter and bar glitter from what I can fathom from swatches and peoples' reviews. I was also thinking about how chrome polishes, being so very fine in texture, always show up every little flaw on the nail (which is essentially how the Crinkle Chrome concept would work). So I combined those two thoughts and decided to do this: I applied two coats of a standard textured polish (doesn't matter which, any one would work), and while the second coat was still wet, I placed some little nail art embellishments (kindly donated by Debbie from Knitty Nails) onto my nails, and then applied one coat of my only true chrome polish, OPI "Push And Shove" over the top. I am so pleased with the result!! 








What do you think? I don't suppose this look will be one that everybody likes, but I am really pleased with it, and there is no denying that there is texture in abundance here!

ETA: Now mama Bean has filled the kitchen with home-made strawberry jam and all kinds of other baked delights, she has found time to create her textured manicure, and textured it sure is!! I'm unsure of the base polish she used, but she blobbed on Nails Inc "Brighton" feather effect polish to create these wacky pointy features! I love it :D




As always, the A 2 Z Hub Page is where you will find everybody else's contributions, and don't forget to check back next week for another installment!

Thanks for reading :) x


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Recent Favourites Part One

March 27, 2015, 1:00 pm
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As you will be completely aware by now, my blogging schedule has fallen by the wayside (again). I post my daily manicures to my Facebook and Instagram accounts, but I am well aware that not everybody uses those platforms, so for those of you who solely follow me via this blog, or if you just want to reminisce with me, I thought I would create a few "Recent Favourites" posts detailing - funnily enough - my favourite recent manicures which never made it on to the blog proper. This will be more about the pictures than the words, and the only order to them will be that in which they upload themselves, so without further ado shall we start? 

1)

2) 

3)

4)

5)

6)

7) 


As you can see, I have numbered each picture, so if you would like to know any details about any of them, then please leave a question in the comments and I will be happy to answer :)

Be on the lookout for another Recent Favourites post soon!

Thanks for reading :) x

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Recent Favourites Part Two

March 28, 2015, 1:00 pm
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Following on from my my "Recent Favourites Part One" post, here is the next installment! As with before, pictures will be numbered - leave a comment if you would like any details about any of them :)


1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)

7)



Keep your eyes peeled for the third and final "Recent Favourites" post, coming soon!

Thanks for reading :) x


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Recent Favourites Part Three

March 29, 2015, 12:00 pm
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Here you go folks, the third and final installment of my "Recent Favourites" (click here to see part one, and here to see part two)! Numbered pictures - leave a comment if you'd like any details about any of them! :)


1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

6)


7)


I hope you've enjoyed catching up with some of my recent favourite manicures! 

Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x


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China Glaze "Light As Air"& Cirque "XX

March 30, 2015, 4:42 am
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Hey friends! Just a quick NOTD post for you today, featuring what was actually yesterday's manicure, but which is still on my nails today, so it counts ;)

China Glaze "Light As Air", a very pale grey toned lilac creme with a wonderful formula is what I started with, two coats:


I then added one coat of my beloved Cirque "XX", and finished with top coat:



Thanks for reading, and come back again soon :) x
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Galaxy Nail Art - My First Attempt

March 31, 2015, 7:21 am
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Hey internet! I expect if you are a nail enthusiast (and if you're reading this I'm guessing you are!) you will have seen plenty of galaxy nail art around. It hasn't passed me by either, and I have always wanted to try the technique, but have been too afraid - unless it's stamping or dotticures, my nail art sucks big fat hairy balls. I finally decided to take the plunge and give it a go though, and while they are far from perfect, I am really pleased with how they turned out! I will tell you which polishes I used after the pictures :)





Base: OPI Ink;
Pink: SHC Nail Polish Shade 127;
Blue: SHC Nail Polish Shade 36;
White: SHC Nail Polish Shade 28;
Purple: OPI Tomorrow Never Dies. 

To create this look I applied my base colour and let it dry. Then I used tiny pieces of cut-up make up sponge and sponged on the pink in opposite corners, then the blue, then a swathe of the white across the main part of the nail, and the the purple around the edges of the white. I used a small nail art brush to paint some very basic stars and dots, and finished with top coat. If you found that too hard to follow, there are many helpful tutorials on the internet if you Google "galaxy nails tutorial" :)

Thanks for reading, and come back again soon! x

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