NAILS: PASTEL DUO

Hi there loves. It's been pretty good weather over the Bank Holiday weekend which has been unusual for us Brits so I hope you all have enjoyed it. 

I have a wee NOTD post for you of a duo that I think is perfect for pastel lovers.

O.P.I NAIL LACQUER ~ MOD ABOUT YOU

BARRY M NAIL PAINT ~ 308 PALE PURPLE/BERRY ICE CREAM

I applied one coat of base coat followed by 2 coats of each of these nail shades and finished with a nail drying spray.

Mod About You is a very pale milky pink. It's currently on offer at Amazon for a bargain £6.99.

Pale Purple seems to be now known as Berry Ice Cream so I hope it's the same shade. I have linked to Superdrug above as they currently have a 3 for 2 offer on. This is sold out online, but you will hopefully find it in store.

Let me know your favourite pastel shades in the comments below.

Love to you all

Vicky xx

NOTD: A Little Zest

Hey Everybody. I am watching SuperScrimpers while blogging away. Who else loves this programme? Today I have a NOTD post for you.

I fancied a bit of a blank canvas on my nails with a touch of colour so I added a bit of zest. I started with one coat of my Rimmel base coat followed by two coats of the O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Funny Bunny. I then used the striper part of my StarGazer Nail Art pens in the shades Yellow and UV Green to add dashes of random zesty colour. It's a bit childlike, but it's a quick and easy way to add a little bit of quirk to the nails. I then finished off the manicure with my Elegant Touch Rapid Dry Nail Spray.

O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Funny Bunny ~ An off white shade that is a little translucent so needs at least three coats to be fully opaque, £7.45 for 15ml or $5.30.

StarGazer Nail Art pens in the shades:

Yellow ~ A bold primary yellow shade

UV Green ~ A fluoro green shade

The StarGazer Nail Art Pens can either be bought singular or in sets of the regular colours and UV colours. There are so many places to buy them so it's best to use your search engine to find the best deal for you.

What simple nail art do you like to do when time is of the essence, but you still want to add a touch of difference? let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

NOTD: O.P.I. Nail Lacquer That's Berry Daring

Hi lovelies. I hope you are good today. I have a fantastic nail shade to show you that I currently have on my nails.

Firstly I applied one coat of my Rimmel base coat followed by two coats of this O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in the shade That's Berry Daring. This is such a gorgeous hot pink with cool undertones to it that make it look almost fuschia pink. It also has a little micro shimmer in there. This is a bold shade yet it still holds class. You can buy this here for £8.95 with free UK delivery or for $7.19 here. This has a lovely finish and I am so glad that I re-discovered it amongst my polishes. I sealed the look with my nail drying spray.

What are your favourite O.P.I. shades? Or do you you have a favourite berry shade from another brand? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

NOTD: Fairy Lights

Hi my Beauty Addicts. Have you been up to much this weekend? Mine has been busy with work etc, but today is for the relaxing :) Last night I painted my nails and added a touch of nail art so here is my manicure :)

I firstly applied one coat of my Alessandro Pro White as a base. I then applied three coats of this O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in the shade Funny Bunny.

While the third coat of the above nail lacquer was still wet I applied these rhinestones. As a tip paint the nail you want to add the rhinestones to just before you apply them so that they stick more easily. I picked random colours from this wheel with my tweezers and let them drop onto the accent nail close to one another. I gently pressed on top of each rhinestone with the tweezers to ensure they were secure. I wanted them to look a bit like fairy lights :) I then sealed the manicure with one coat of my Nails Inc. Kensington Caviar Topcoat.

The O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Funny Bunny can be found on Polyvore.

The Round Rhinestone Wheel with 600 Various Shades can be found on At Your Fingertips.

Have you been having fun with nail art lately? Link me up with your posts and thoughts in the comments below.

Love to you all

NOTD: Purple With A Purpose

Hey Everyone. I hope you are all having a fabbo weekend. I am just sipping on a cuppa while painting my nails and falling in love. Yeah you heard me right in love. The nail shade I have just painted on makes me smile so I have to show it to you.

I first applied one coat of my Alessandro Pro White as a base, followed by two coats of this O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in the shade Purple With A Purpose. I think this is quite a sophisticated purple while having the cheeky side that reminds me of Cadbury and who doesn't like thinking about chocolate :) This has a lovely glossy sheen to it and covers the nails perfectly with two coats. If you are into purple nail colours you need this in your life. I sealed this manicure with my nail drying spray.

You can buy this product on amazon.co.uk for £7.25.



What are your favourite nail shades? Any O.P.I. shades you like that I need to know about? Let me know in the comments below.




Love to you all

NOTD: 4th Of July Inspired

Hello Beauties. I really felt in the mood to play around with some nail art last night and with the 4th Of July celebrations on their way next week I thought I would try to create something colourful and fun so here it is.

I firstly applied one coat of my usual Rimmel base coat to my nails. I then cut 6 thin strips of this Primark Invisible Tape applying 3 strips horizontally across the nails of the ring fingers of each hand. I should have done this before applying my base coat, whoops! I bought these in a pack of three. They were cheap, but I can't remember the exact price sorry.

I then applied two coats of my O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in the shade Tasmanian Devil Made Me Do It to alternate nails. This is a very bold red shade. So classic. I found this on amazon.co.uk for £8.89 and ebay.com.au for various prices.

I then applied two coats of my Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours Nail Polish in the shade Pop Fiction (320) to the nails not yet painted with colour. This is a very bold royal blue shade. The brush that comes with this polish is quite flat and large. The formula is quite thick and gloopy, but it looks great if you take your time on application. I found this on boots.com for £1.99.

I used two coats of my NYX Cosmetics Ink Nail Art in White to create diagonal stripes across the nails with the tape and stars on my forefingers. I found this nail art striper on nelly.com for £7.95 and cherryculture.com for $2.50.

I polished off the look by adding one coat of my Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat. So here is the finished manicure.

Left Hand

Right Hand

So I hope you like this look. I really like how the tape can make a simple look a little more creative. Happy 4th Of July to all in the U.S.

Have you created any 4th Of July inspired nail art? What are your current favourite nail shades?

Love to you all

NOTD: Fiery Fingertips

Hi Everyone. Today I had lunch in the sun with the girls which was lovely. A jacket potato with beans and sausage, yum yum :) I have a NOTD post to show you a hot nail colour.

I started by applying one layer of my usual Rimmel base coat followed by two coats of this O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Bright Lights-Big Color. This shade is a fiery colour. It looks different in various lighting. I would describe this as an orange rose shade with gold shimmer. I think this is really hot for the summer. It would look fantastic with a tan. I found this on amazon.co.uk for £7.84 and polyvore.com for $7.50. I finished off this manicure with one coat of my Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

What are your favourite O.P.I. Nail Lacquers? Which hot nail shades would you recommend for summer?

Love to you all

NOTD: Just Like Fairy Dust

Hi All. I am watching The Only Way Is Marbs at the moment and chuckling to myself. I do love a bit of TOWIE. I have a NOTD post for you today which I think is quite magical.

I started by applying one coat of my usual Rimmel base coat followed by three coats of this beautiful O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Princesses Rule! I found this product on amazon.co.uk for various prices and on amazon.com for $1.60. I layered on three coats of this shimmery pink shade because I really wanted to get as much shimmer as possible. It makes me think of fairy dust. A really girly shade. This would be fab over other shades I think. I sealed the look with one coat of my Dry Fast Seche Vite Top Coat.

Are you a fan of shimmery nail polishes? Which ones have you found great to layer over other shades?

Love to you all

NOTD: Jubilee Inspired

Hi there you gorgeous lot. I hope you are all loving life at the moment. I am a busy little bee right now (you might actually hear me buzzing), but in a good way. Today I wanted to share a post with you on my current nails.

I started with applying one coat of my usual Rimmel base coat followed by two coats of the A.K.A Cosmetics Nail Polish shown above, Red Peck. This is a very true red. I think this would suit everyone. It applies very easily with a good size brush. You could apply this with just one coat really and it would still look amazing. I was given this for free at the A.K.A Cosmetics launch. You can see that post here. You can purchase this product for £5.00 from akacosmetics.com.

I then applied just one coat of my O.P.I. Nail Lacquer in the shade Blue Shatter to alternate nails. I only applied one coat as I still wanted the red polish show through. This is such a beautiful blue and a great quick and easy way to do nail art on the go. You can purchase this product from amazon.com for $4.30 and lenawhite.co.uk where it is currently reduced from £11.00 to £5.50. 

I then used the striper part of my StarGazer Nail Art Pen in White to draw stripes. I applied two coats of this to make sure the white stood out as it comes out a bit wishy-washy over the top of the other shades otherwise. You can purchase this Nail Art Pen at stargazer-products.com for £3.00, naildelights.com for £3.00 or you can pick a set like I did from naildelights.com containing 8 shades for £19.99. I also have the UV kit for £19.99 as well.

Left Hand

Right Hand

So that's the finished look. Not my best nail art ever, but I just wanted to try out a few products and these shades seemed appropriate for the Jubilee.

Have you designed any Jubilee nail art? What are your favourite nail art products?

Love to you all

NOTD: Something Light For Easter

Hello Darlings. Happy Easter once again. If you haven't eaten any chocolate yet what are you waiting for? No work tomorrow, whoop whoop :) I have a NOTD post for you today. I will get right into it as I can't leave my chocolate to be lonely for too long, ha ha ;)

So firstly I applied one coat of my usual Rimmel base coat. I then applied two coats of O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Altar Ego. I finished my nails off with one coat of my Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat to seal the colour. I love this O.P.I. shade. It comes across as a sheer, opal pink. The light does pick up the blue and purple tones in it which I think is really nice to add dimension to this subtle nail colour. I would normally like a more opaque finish to my nails, but I think it's nice to allow some of my natural nail colour show through with this product. I think this would look great as a top coat also to add an almost 'northern lights' look to your nail colours.

If you like this nail shade you can purchase it from lookfantastic.com, Link :) for £11.00, johnandginger.co.uk, Link :) for £11.00, nail-shop-bargains.co.uk, Link :) for £9.50 and lenawhite.co.uk, Link :) for £11.00.

What are your favourite sheer nail colours. Have you tried this over another nail colour? If so, which one?

Love to you all

NOTD: A Purple Pleaser

Hi Everyone. How are you gorgeous lot? It's nearly the end of March I can't believe it. At least we will have the Easter Bank Holiday's to come soon :) I have a NOTD post for you today so here we go.

I first applied one coat of my Rimmel base coat followed by two coats of this absolutely gorgeous Nail Lacquer from O.P.I., A Grape Fit! I am in love with this colour. It's stunning and looks great all by itself, but I did add my own little twist to this NOTD. It applies smoothly and is a very bold, opaque shade. This product is available from lenawhite.co.uk at £11.00 for 15ml, Link :), beautybay.com for £10.50, Link :), Amazon at various prices, Link :), or lookfantastic.com for £11.00, Link :)

I left all of my fingers with just the O.P.I. shade except my left ring finger. I used my StarGazer Nail Art Pen in Black to place a few dots and squiggly shapes. You can find this product at £3.00 for 10ml from stargazer-products.com, Link :). I sprayed this finger with my Elegant Touch Rapid Dry Spray so that I would not smudge the design. The rest of the nails I sealed with my Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

So here is the end result. This is definitely one of my favourite O.P.I. shades. I think it would look beautiful on anyone.

What is your current favourite nail shade? Do you like to have a signature piece of nail art in your manicure?

Love to you all

NOTD: Something Floral

Hello Pretties. I had a lovely day with my Mum yesterday as it was her birthday. We had a coffee in Marks & Spencer. I looooooove their coffee and the cups and saucers it comes in. Mum had a pastry and I had a buttered scone. We then did a little shopping and had tuna rolls for lunch followed by chocolate fudge cake. Yum :) After a couple of hours chatting we both had a nap for an hour. In the evening my boyfriend came over. We ordered pizza and played Mexican Train. It's a game that my Mum picked up when she was in America using dominoes. I played it for the first time with Mum and my boyfriend on Xmas Day and lost so badly, but yesterday we had another go and I whooped their butts :) So now if you are still with me I will get on with my NOTD post.

Firstly I applied one coat of my Rimmel base coat. I then applied three coats of my O.P.I. Nail Lacquer Funny Bunny. I applied three coats as this pearlescent white shade can be quite sheer and I wanted more of an opaque blank canvas for my nail art. Here is a link to this shade that retails at £11.00 for 15ml from lenawhite.co.uk

I then drew three petal shapes for each flower design on the nails as shown above. I did the same nails on each hand using my StarGazer UV Nail Art Pen in the shade UV Purple. These retail at £3.00 each for 10ml. Please see the link here to view this product.

I then drew a green flick between each petal using my StarGazer UV Nail Art Pen in the shade UV Green. This product is in the link shown for the previous UV Nail Art Pen at the same price.

Finally I dotted three dots at the centre of each flower using my StarGazer Nail Art Pen in the shade Black. Please find this product in the link here. This product also retails at £3.00 for 10ml. The dots closed in on each other forming hearts which I think looks cute.

I then gave the design a quick coat of my Elegant Touch Rapid Dry Spray which I usually use if I'm in a hurry and don't want to smudge my nail art by applying a top coat. You can buy this product for £3.05 for 125ml. Please see the link here to view this product on boots.com. I like this product because it dries my nails quicker than applying nothing at all, but I do find that small bubbles sometimes appear on my nails which can be annoying as I want them to look smooth and polished.

So that's it. Have you come up with any pretty floral nail designs? Are you a fan of nail art pens? What other nail art do you recommend?

Love to you all

NOTD: Bombshell Red For Valentine's Day

Hi loves. The snow looks so pretty while I am cosy indoors, but I might not think like that tomorrow morning when I leave for work at 6.45am and it's blooming freezing, ha ha ;)

Today I have a NOTD post for you. It's a colour that I think will look fab this Valentine's Day, but let me know what you think.

O.P.I. Nail Lacquer (Color So Hot It Berns), Link :)

I think this bombshell red is a classic, stand out shade. It will look great on all skin tones, but I really like it on my pale digits. The handle on this bottle makes the polish easy to use due to it's shape and texture. The brush also spreads the polish evenly. I used my usual Rimmel base coat, two coats of this O.P.I. Nail Lacquer (Color So Hot It Berns) and topped it all off with one coat of my Seche Vite top coat to seal the colour and give it the high shine that I think perfects this nail look. O.P.I. Nail Lacquer (Color So Hot It Berns) retails at £11.00 for 15ml on the Lena White website shown in the link above.

Are you planning on wearing a classic red nail this Valentine's Day or are you just a fan of red shades? Tell me your favourites in the comments below.

Love to you all

NOTD: New Year's Eve Sparkle

Hi my special people. I hope you are all having a good week. Even though I do not have any New Year's Eve plans at the moment I was feeling inspired and fancied something glittery on my nails. This is the combo that I tried and I love it.

Firstly I applied my usual Rimmel base coat. I then applied two coats of O.P.I. Dating A Royal. This is a gorgeous mid-toned blue that can look very chic on it's own. This applied very nicely with two coats. I really like it. The UK O.P.I. website is currently down, but you can check out this shade on opi.com

Now for the bling. I then applied two coats of this fantastic nail glitter which is Revlon Star. This is my current favourite nail glitter. I love that it not only has various glitter sparkle shades, but that there are some that are some larger sparkles amongst the finer glitter sparkles. I picked this bargain nail polish up at Poundland. I could not find this on the website, but hopefully you will find it in store if you love the look of this polish as much as me.

I think this nail look is perfect for New Year's Eve night as it has the blue background which I think gives a kind of night time theme with the sparkles looking like stars or bursts of fireworks in the sky.

I will probably spend my New Year's Eve nibbling on naughty food and having a tipple or two. What are your plans? I wish you all a happy and healthy new year. I hope the new year brings good things for all of you. Thank you so much for taking the time to check in on my blog from time to time. It has certainly given me a boost in 2011 knowing that you beauties are prepared to listen to my rambles.

Love to you all

1st JolieBox (December)/Xmas NOTD

Hi my loves. It's almost Xmas, whoop whoop! I am getting a bit excited now if you hadn't guessed. I have finally finished my Xmas shopping and will wrap the last presents up tomorrow with my other half. Have you finished shopping? Are you out on Xmas Eve? We don't have plans to go out. I think we might just have a wee tipple indoors. I received my first JolieBox this month (formerly Boudoir Prive) and I have to say I am impressed. So here is the box and it's contents.

The box is very chic, but still has the festive feel to it

Left To Right: O.P.I. Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer, Link :), Mitchell And Peach Shower Wash, Link :), New CID Cosmetics I-Gloss, Link :), Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust, Link :)

O.P.I. Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer ~ £10.50 for 15ml

The Information:

Inspired by Graffiti....Shatter now comes in gold!

Application:

Apply over any dry nail lacquer to create a stunning "shattered" effect.

For this NOTD I applied my usual Rimmel base coat. I then applied two coats of my Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle Mini Nail Varnish that I received in my December GlossyBox. Please see that post here. I used the Stripped To Go Sachet that also came with my December GlossyBox to remove the polish that was already on my nails and I could only get the polish off four of my nails which is something to bear in mind if you are thinking of trying the Stripped To Go Sachets as I had to use my usual nail polish remover to remove the rest. I was wearing a glitter polish which is always harder to remove, but this sachet came with the Razzle Dazzle polish which is a glitter so it shouldn't have been a problem. It's a shame it didn't work on all 10 nails as it claims and it took quite a while to get it off four. It's a good concept, but a fail for me. Anyway Over the top of the Razzle Dazzle I applied one coat of the Gold Shatter. I think it's a nice and Xmassy NOTD. I am so happy to have received this full size O.P.I. polish. It has fantastic gold shimmer.

Mitchell And Peach Shower Wash ~ £20.00 for 250ml

The Information:

This invigorating shower wash, suitable for men and women, contains nourishing, natural English honey, Vitamin E and wheat proteins.

This smells okay. The bottle looks quite chic. I'm not sure about products that are for both men and women. I prefer my products to be distinctively different from men's products. I suppose it's handy if you share with a guy.

New CID Cosmetics I-Gloss ~ £16.00 

The Information:

Light up lip gloss with mirror for non-sticky, long-lasting and high-glam shine.

This is actually quite a nice thick, creamy, peachy/pink shade. This shade is called Baby Doll. The mirror and light are great for touch ups on a night out. It's a shame that the brush on my lip gloss is splayed out.

Jane Iredale 24-Karat Gold Dust ~ £ Various

The Information:

A multi-use shimmer powder in shade Rose Gold to apply to cheeks, eyes, lips, body and even hair.

This is a stunning colour. It's great that this is a multi functioning product. This is fantastically shimmery too.

Left To Right: Yon-Ka Vital Defense, Link :), Kusmi Detox Tea, Link :), JolieBox Concealer Brush

Yon-Ka Vital Defense

The Information:

Anti-aging prevention, antioxidant and anti-pollution cream to help the skin preserve it's youthfulness.

Application:

Apply in the morning to face and neck after cleansing and spraying on LOTION Yon-Ka. In the evening, for an optimally oxygenating action, apply PHYTO 58.

This feels very smooth and has a clean, fresh scent.

Now for the bonus products ........

Kusmi Detox Tea

The Information:

Blend of Maté, chinese Green Tea and lemon grass full flavored with lemon.

Tasting advice: delicious plain or sweetened.

The combination of Maté and green tea virtues -- diuretic and stimulating properties, richness in antioxidant -- makes Kusmi Detox the perfect companion for slimming and detoxifying diets. Known for its tonic properties, mate does not have the side effects generated by caffeine.

This smells like lemon drops. I am really looking forward to trying this. A detox after Xmas will probably be necessary so this is well timed.
 

JolieBox Concealer Brush

The Information:

Designed for blending concealer, the pointed tip provides precision for small imperfections whilst the flat side smoothes coverage across larger areas such as under the eye.

This brush is quite nice. It's a soft, yet quite dense brush. Great for concealing. 


Here is a link to the JolieBox/Boudoir Prive website if you want more information, Link :)

What products did you receive in your 1st JolieBox? Are you happy with them? Have you remained subscribed to Boudoir Prive since they changed to JolieBox? 

Love to you all