Sticky Fingers by Models Own

I had a little schmooze in Boots the other day, as I had to pick up a couple of essentials (isn't that always the way it starts?)

We're staying at my parents for a few weeks, while we have some work done to our house and over the weekend, I realised that I really didn't bring enough nail varnishes with me. As summer is well and truly on its way, I decided that a few new summer shades were an essential buy. And yes, I could pick some up from the house and bring them to my parents...but it's a good excuse to buy some new bottles, and the collection could always do with a refresh.

I was going to opt for a couple of Essie shades, but then the Models Own stand caught my eye. A stunning neon pinky/red immediately found its way into my basket, followed by an adorable little box containing a beautiful pastel pistachio shade called Pastel Petals Green and a roll of floral stickers. Behold Models Own Sticky Fingers collection. A collection of must-have shades, which come with a roll of stickers, which complement the colour.

We are running a floral design competition at work at the moment and my thoughts during the working week are consumed with all things floral related, so this choice was right up my street.

The colour is so me - in fact, it's the colour I want to paint my new kitchen, so you could say this purchase was all in the name of research! I applied 2 coats of the colour and then waited till they were touch dry before carefully peeling off the floral stickers and gently placing them on my nails. I then applied a layer of top coat and left them to dry.

The effect was really pretty. I think I should have waited a bit longer before I stuck the pictures on my nails, as the corners peeled up a little bit, because I couldn't press them on hard, so when I give it another go, I'll make sure I am more patient and wait a little while longer. Overall though, it is a really sweet idea and a quick (and lazy) way to customise your nails.

Have you tried the Models Own Sticky Fingers? What do you think of the range? Enjoy x

Essie After School Boy Blazer

I am a nail varnish addict. There should be a support group somewhere for people like me! I'm often asked why I don't get gels and the simple answer is because I love to change my nail colour way too often to bother with a manicure that makes the colour last for weeks!

When Essie brought out their range in Boots last year, I was so excited. Essie is normally quite pricey, but the drugstore range is much cheaper - £7.99 for a really good polish is a bargain to me! Plus, their brushes are, in my opinion, better than the regular Essie brushes. Shorter, thicker and easier to apply.

I wanted to check out the new AW13 range of colours and the one which really caught my eye, and several other bloggers, is After School Boy Blazer...the most perfect dark navy blue you ever did see!

The colour is amazing. A dark inky black in some lights and a rich navy blue in others. It's dramatic and stylish, the perfect colour for adorning your nails for the new season.

I applied it on the weekend and it's staying power is fab and I've had loads of compliments on the colour. I think this will become a bit of a cult shade so make sure you grab a bottle.

What do you think of After School Boy Blazer? Enjoy x

Butter London "Black Knight"

Have you heard of Butter London? If you are a keen blog reader, like myself, then you probably have. They are a fabulous new(ish) cosmetics brand, who create their amazing products to go alongside the trends each season as well as doing the make up and nails for shows during Fashion Week.

I LOVE their nail lacquers. They have some stunning colours and effects. Costing £12 a bottle, they are not cheap but they are definitely worth it, especially if you have a nail varnish habit like mine!

I recently saw a colour called the Black Knight and instantly fell in love. A deep black filled with tiny specks of purple, blue and gold glitter, which gave it more of a shimmer than glitter effect. I tried tracking it down, but it's quite tricky to find stockists (they are stocked in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and large Boots stores to name a few) and after searching (and tweeting) I finally found one, the last one, at my favourite Boots store in London Colney (just outside of London and it's huge) a couple of days ago.

I applied it as soon as I got home and I love it. Perfect transitional colour. I don't care that it is technically still summer, I'm bored of pastels on my nails, it's time for a bit more drama!

What do you think of the Black Knight? Will you be tracking down a bottle? Enjoy x

Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint

I picked up this Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint as a total impulse buy, when picking up some essentials in Boots the other day. It was right by the register and I've been looking for a bold neon pink for a while so at £3.99 I snapped this up! I don't think it has a name but the shade number on the base is 330.

The colour is so bright in the bottle that the pictures really don't do it justice. When applying it, it is quite a thin consistency so I ended up doing three coats to really build the colour and make it as intense as possible.

I really love wearing neons in the summer...I know it's an obvious choice, but when the sun is shining, it's nice for your nails to pop. Against a slight tan (thanks to my Palmer's bronzing body lotion) it really stands out.

What do you think of this shade? Is it a colour you'd choose? Enjoy x

Smell My Nails!

L to R: Strawberry Tart, Apple Pie, Banana Split, Blueberry Muffin, Grape Juice

Well I never. Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a product, which takes you be surprise. 

One of my favourite beauty brands, Models Own, have created a brand new nail polish concept - scented varnishes! The collection is called Fruit Pastels. Remember those stickers, which, when you scratched them, they released a scent? Well, essentially that is the idea. There are 5 different colours - all pretty, feminine pastel shades (just like the collection name suggests) just perfect for summer. Soft lilac, blue, mint green, lemon and pink. All very cute. I love the names -

Before you buy, you can scratch and sniff each polish, which are named after yummy treats - Strawberry Tart, Apple Pie, Grape Juice, Blueberry Muffin and Banana Split...yum! I picked up Apple Pie - a gorgeous pale mint green and Banana Split, a soft yellow. I scratched the lid, as it suggests and low and behold I got a whiff of apple and banana.

When you apply the polish, instead of the acrid scent you usually get with nail varnish, you instead are treated to the smell of apples, bananas, strawberry, grape or blueberry...or snozeberries...I'm kidding...there's no such thing as a snozeberry ;o)

Anyway, the novelty of the scent aside, the colours are just gorgeous, right up my street. I think I'll be heading back to pick up the other three colours very soon - especially as Boots are doing buy one get one half price. Bargain!

What do you think of these scented polishes? Something you'd try? Enjoy x

Banana Split and Apple Pie

Apple Pie

Scratch and Sniff!

Sunset Nails

Sunset Inspired Nails

How amazing is the weather at the moment? Winter has finally left the building and it now truly feels as if summer is on its way at long last. I know I always harp on about how much I prefer autumn and winter fashion to spring and summer, but even I am craving the warmth and sunshine now.

Inspired by the gorgeous sunset I saw the other night, I fancied doing something a bit different with my nail polish choice for the weekend. Sunset ombre effect nails! I went through my varnish collection and selected 5 colours, which could replicate a pretty British sunset. I decided to go for the warmer tones of a sunset - yellows, pinks and corals as opposed to the more tropical pinks, purples and blues.

I've decided to use a different brand for each nail, and have chosen a Barry M, Essie, Fearne Cotton, Bourjois and Mavala. Here are my colours:

Barry M Textured Effect in Station Road

Bourjois No Chips in Number 4502

Fearne in Coral

Mavala in Beirut

Essie in Tart Deco

Then I just applied the colours as they would appear chronologically during sunset - the bright yellow of the sun, fading into a soft orange, into a pinky coral, into a darker coral and finally a deeper red. I think the effect is really pretty and I might try out a tropical sunset theme next week, using my beloved lilacs, purples and pinks.

What do you think of the final look? Is it something you would try? Enjoy x

Barry M's Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paints

Splurge Alert!

Wow, just realised that this is my third nail polish post in three weeks! Sorry about that, obviously becoming a bit obsessed.

I am now 6 days past my due date and I need things to keep me occupied so I don't get bored out of my mind with the waiting game.

That being said, I'm using the time to read, watch movies, see friends and catch up on all of my favourite blogs. I wanted to buy myself a little something, as I haven't bought anything for myself in ages, and with spring in the air, and the fact that I can't really buy clothes at the moment, I felt that some new nail colours were in order.

After reading my usual blogs, I quickly picked up that the nail varnish du jour are the Barry M Hi Shine Gelly Nail Paint. Lily, Lily and Becky have all been raving about them, so I thought a trip up to the high street to my local Superdrug was in order. Lucky for me, there is currently a special deal on these polishes - 2 for £6 (they are usually £3.99 each)...so naturally I bought a few...5 to be precise...I missed out on number 6 because their stock was low, but I was told I can come back in with the receipt and pick up another colour as part of the deal, when they get more stock in.

These nail paints are supposedly so good because they provide a hi shine, gel like finish, which looks super shiny and lasts, chip free, for a few days more so than a regular polish.

The colours I opted for were: Satsuma, Dragon Fruit, Greenberry, Blueberry and Prickly Pear.

From left to right: Blueberry, Satsuma, Prickly Pear, Greenberry, Dragon Fruit. 

Satsuma is a really gorgeous almost neon orange. In this picture, it looks more pastel then neon, but the effect is definitely bright and loud in real life. 

Prickly Pear is a super pretty soft lilac. It reminds me of the colour I wore on my nails on my wedding day, but this is slightly more concentrated, and I can't wait to try it out.

Greenberry reminds me a bit of Pool Party, my favourite colour from Topshop's nail varnish range. It's a vibrant mint green with a hint of blue - perfect for spring time. 

Blueberry is a gorgeous sky blue. I've painted my left hand with this shade (apart from my ring finger, which is Dragon Fruit) in anticipation of the possibility of Titch being a boy. 

Finally, Dragon Fruit (as shown on my right hand in case Titch is a girl) is a pretty candy pink - a little bit brighter than the baby pink I used in my last post.

So I've used two of the Gelly paints and I was really impressed with them. They glided on easily, dried quickly and I applied two coats of each. The end result was so shiny that I didn't even have to use a topcoat.

Now the test, let's see how long they last without chipping. I'll let you know either here or on twitter so make sure you follow me - @cbelleoftheball 

Have you tried the Gelly varnishes? What are your thoughts? Enjoy x

Blue vs. Pink

After my amazing Gelish manicure experience, which I was treated to 2 weeks ago, I decided that after 2 weeks, I was ready for a change.

Even though the manicure lasts up to 3 weeks, and I had yet to have a single chip, and I adored the colour of my nails, I usually change my nail colour every week...as I am a bit nail polish obsessed and tend to buy a new shade every week!

Anyway, I took the polish off yesterday and started contemplating what colour to go for...considering Titch can arrive any day, I wanted to realistically paint my nails the colour they would be for the birth...obviously a very important decision! But what colour to go for? If I knew Titch was a boy, I would go for a gorgeous blue, navy or green. However, if I knew Titch was a girl, it would be a pretty shade of pink or lilac. But, as we have gone 40 weeks without knowing the sex, it made my decision a bit tricky.

The simple answer? Half and half! I went through my polish collection and settled on a beautiful baby blue by Nails Inc. called Sheraton Street, which I received as a Secret Santa present at Christmas and a sweet baby pink by Collection 2000 called Marshmallow, which I haven't actually used before. The end result - a pretty pastel effect, which will be perfect for welcoming in either Titch girl or Titch boy! 

Nails Inc. Sheraton Street 

Collection 2000 Marshmallow

Now, hopefully it won't chip before the big day! What do you reckon? Was this a good choice of colours? Enjoy x

What's it going to be?

Christmas Nails

I've got a whole weekend of Christmassy fun planned, including hosting my annual Christmas Eve, Eve, Eve party (weird name, long story). So, I figured to save time on the weekend, when I will be mulling wine and make my delicious (if I do say so myself) hot apple cinnamon...yum...that I would do my nails now.

Hopefully they'll last me to Christmas day - if I have to touch up then so be it! I was puzzling over what to do, but as I have come into some new nail varnish additions to my collection recently, I thought I would use a few different ones to create a simple yet festive look.

Gold and red, sparkles and gems...perfect!

I used a combination of brands, including Rimmel, Maybelline, Nails Inc and new obsession, Nail Art (most exciting nail brand I've used in ages) to achieve the finished look. I didn't want to go too OTT, but I wanted them to have that pretty festive look.

So, here is what I did and what I used step by step. Are you going to do anything special with your nails for Christmas? Do you like playing around with a bit of nail art? Enjoy x

 

From left to right, I used: Maybelline Forever Strong Pro in The Winner Takes it All, Nails Inc in Covent Garden Market, Nails Inc in Fleet Street, Rimmel Lycra Pro in Pink Amazon and Nail Art 3 in 1 kit using the gold shade.

Rimmel Lycra Pro in Pink Amazon

Maybelline Forever Strong Pro in The Winner Takes it All

Nails In in Covent Garden Market and Fleet Street (from the Stylist set)

Nail Art 3 in 1 pen (dotting tool for decorating, nail varnish and gems for decorating)

 

Step 1) After using my Essie bottom coat, I painted two coats of the Rimmel Pink Amazon shade on all my nails, apart from the third nail.

 

Step 2) I painted my third nail with two coats of the Maybelline The Winner Takes it All.

 

Step 3) Once the two shades dried completely I then used the Nails Inc Covent Garden Market (the red glitter) on the Rimmel shade and Fleet Street (the gold glitter) on the Maybelline shade. This gives them a gorgeous sparkly finish!

 

Step 4) Using the Nail Art 3 in 1 pen, I dotted little gold dots on the red nails and used the sweet little gems from the kit to decorate the gold nails.

 

Step 5) Once the nails are completely dry, I used my Essie top coat to finish the nails off and create the glossy finish. And there you have it...sparkly, festive Christmas nails.