Leopard spots

Today is supposed to be cinema date day, unfortunately it is lashing down with rain. We're judt going to sit it out and hope it stops this afternoon. To make this morning productive I changed my polish.

I'm nervous about free hand nail art so I'm starting off small. Leopard print mani's are something I've wanted to try for a while and here is my effort.

After a layer of base coat (2true, what else) I used 3 coats of ELF nude. The coats were quite thick to achieve a good coverage. Thin coats show a lot of natural nail which is fine, but not for this mani.

I then used 2true shade 9 for the dots and a black nail art pen for outlining. A layer of Collection 2000 top cost seals it all in.

So what do you think? I'm quite proud!

Mattified parma violets

Hello! So my fimo experiment didn't last long. I'm thinking nail glue might be the answer. So for last night I needed a new look.

I bought my matte top coat from ELF ages ago and was really addicted to it but hadn't used it in a while. Same for the purple which is called parma violets. I loved the sweets as a kid but now not so much.

I started with 2 coats of my trusty base coat. My nails are so much nicer when I take polish off sibce I started using it. Then 2 coats of collection 2000 parma violets.

Here's the honesty spot - this wasn't the mani I wanted. I *tried* a sponging gradient thst Sam at thenailasaurus.com put a tut up for. I ruined it. My colour choices were all wrong and I just messed it up terribly. I'm going to try it again though.

So I cleaned up and repainted and turned to my trusty stamps. ELF white and a silver nail art pen finished the look. Which I'll be honest I like.

Fun with fimo

In my haul from lightinthebox.com I got a bundle of fimo canes. Having only ever used fimo once from a precut wheel I figured it was about time I attempted something.

I seem to have accumulated a few pink polishes which I rarely use and noticed that there were a few different canes that matched.

I used my trusty 2true base coat and decided on a kind of gradient. It would have been better with a sponge. I used Fearne Cotton for Boots pink for the first layer, then bubblegum pink and fluro pink by Elf. Perhaps 2 coats would have been more effective.

I then scatered my fimo, cut by my own fair hand, across my nails with one of each on my thumb, I used top coat so will see how long they stay secure for. I need to work on my cutting because some of the pieces are way too thick but hey practice makes perfect!

Barry M Chameleon take 2!

Barry M are having a comp on their facebook page using the chameleon nail paint.

Inspired by chalkboardnails Here's my entry. Who knew white would go pink too.

I'm still not sold on this. I adore Barry M but this just isn't doing it for me yet...

Ciate Bon Bon

I finally got around to using the bottle of Ciate polish I got free with Marie Claire magazine. I was lucky enough to have the choice of all 3 colours and picked Bon Bon, mainly because I don't have anything similar.

I used a coat of 2true base coat and 2 coats of Bon Bon. I also used my tip dryer which was fab! Bon Bon is a kind of nude/lilac. With my new fascination with stamping I couldn't resist adding in some lepoard spots in Collection 2000's Purple Rain (I honestly bought this one for it's name. I adore that song).

As much as I like the polish I don't think it's realistically in my budget right now at £9 a bottle.

What do you think? Did you get a free polish?

Wrestling

For those who don't know I'm a huge fan of wrestling. On Sunday it was this months ppv, so I did my nails for the occasion.

John Cena is one of my current favourites. His current TShirt is bottle green. 

As part of my light in the box order I got a yashali green which was a perfect match!

I used my alphabet stamp and threw in a few rhinestones.

Pretty simple and cheered up my Sunday :)

lightinthebox.com haul and todays nails.

Yesterday my haul from light in the box arrived...to say I'm happy is an understatement.

Stamping!

So my parcel arrived from lightinthebox.com
I decided to get some plates and the price was good. I'll blog about my haul later this weekend.

So I couldn't resist having a play about with the stuff. This mani is made up of (badly constructed) neon stripes on a base of ELF white. The neons are from Primark. Then I used plate QA28 with ELF's black.

I like the effect. If I used something to make the neon lines uniform it may have been better. For a first attempt its ok. My nails are slightly longer than the image so matching up is something to work on.

All in all I think the money was well spent and I look forward to getting more stamping plates.

Barry M Chameleon

Happy Hump Day! All downhill towards the weekend from here.

Firstly...

I couldn't resist. After seeing bloggers mention it I had to pick up Marie Claire to pop my Ciate cherry! I got Bon Bon as I have similar polishes to the other two but am slightly tempted to get the set! I will try it out over the weekend and share how I feel about it.

My other purchase today was Barry M's Chameleon.

Here it is pre-chameleon effect. I used 2true base coat ( that's the only thing I went to Superdrug for and came out with this as well!). On the bottle it says you must use a base. I don't know why, I assume it has something to do with the science. This is one coat of base coated with one coat of Chameleon. It looked good after one coat, I don't think it needed more and I'm not sure how it will react. Something to try next time.

It's super shiny, this is taken near my living room window.

Then the fun part! Using a dotter and just free painting, using Collection 2000 top coat.

My verdict? I'm not sure. I LOVE Barry M nail stuff, and I adore the concept. I just think that it'll take a bit more experimenting until I decide what to think. The dots and thumb stripes look good but the tip and stripe don't seem to have come out as well. Maybe more top coat needed? Again, it'll be down to experimenting.

As a student with limited funds I always think about was the product worth what I paid for it. So is chameleon worth £3.99? Yes, because when I'm having a lazy manicure day it is easy to use and with a little more practice it could be amazing

My treasure chest

I'm giving my nails a breather at the moment. I've noticed that they're chipping so after a good clean and a buff and shine I'm just wearing a clear coat. Today's post is photo heavy but it means I get to show off my treasure.

This is the treasure chest. It's a £3.99 clear lided arts and crafts box from Home Bargains.



The Junk - Nail Stickers, Glitter, Pearls, Cuticle Pushers, Paint Brushes, Toe Dividers, Glue, Sequins, Nail Files and Tooth picks. The Green Sequins, Pearls and Glitter were freebies when I got my Nail Art Pens. All the stickers came from ebay.

Top Row L-R ELF Black, Chocolate, Nude, Blush, Champagne, Red Velvet, Fluro Pink, Bubblegum Pink, Teal (I assume Discontinued? It's no longer online) Mint Cream, White 
Bottom Row L-R ELF Metal Madness, Glitter Glam, Twinkle, Golden Goddess, Matte Finisher. Barry M White and Black Crackle, Technic Carnival, Collection 2000 Top Coat

Nail Art Pens - I got these as a job lot from ebay for about £10

Top L-R Neon set from Primark, Beauty UK Gold and Silver Crackle, Fearne Cotton For Boots Silver, Pink
Botom L-R Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Purple Rain, Rimmel Green With Envy, Azure, Stargazer Neon Glitter Orange, Collection 2000 Hot Looks, Red, Pink, Parma Violet, NYC in a New York Minute Water Street Blue, NYC Yellow, Orange



Bargains - Nail Wraps in Gold, Leopard Print and remaining Silver ( I used the silver....I am still not sure about them) They're from Home Bargains and cost something like 69p. My Jewel wheel was about £2 from ebay. Below that is a Fimo wheel of love hearts and stars which I got in town for £1.99, the confetti next to it was £1!!
Dotters are from ebay, the nail files in the pink pouch were a christmas gift. The False nails I bought a while back after having my gles taken off and suffering withdrawal symptoms. These are the last ones I have and it's unlikely I'll use them now I have the tools to do my own patterns.

So that's it. My babies. The only trouble is that it isn't really portable, but hey I don't go too far without some form of polish. What's an outfit without pretty nails!

Saturday night nails

We're off to see my cousin singing at our local later.

For this I used ELF's red velvet and black. The rhinestones are from a wheel I got on ebay.

I can't complain because the products are good but it seems that ELF have put their prices up. A bottle of polish is now £2.50

Rhinestones Orange Carnival

So Thursday is pub night.

I've thought about doing this for ages and threw caution to the wind last night.

For this mani i used one coat of ELF nude. I don't usually use a base but my nails were alarmingly blue when i cleaned off my last polish. So until I find a decent base coat nude will do. The orange is another of ELFs polishes named champagne. I really love ELF. The polish needed two coats for an even look.

The feature nail has a coat of Fearne Cotton nails by day silver. I got the set for christmas and hadn't used it. The brush is odd. I thought it might have been faulty but all 5 bottles have the same. It is slightly curved. It didn't make too much difference to painting though. Once dry I added some clear top coat, i use Collection 2000 top coat, and began layering clear stones down the nail using tweezers. 

On my left hand I used Technic's carnival on the feature nail for something different.

It was a precision operation but I'm happy with it.

Monday nails

I bought a fimo wheel about 2 months ago and I just haven't known what to do with it.

So today I was potching with the my case ( I must blog about it soon) looking for a file and it caught my eye and thought just go for it.

Here's the results.

I used NYC's pastel orange...not sure I like it as its very thin and takes a lot of building to give good coverage. The tips are a neon nail art pen I got in an ebay bundle with a coat of ELF's white underneath to make the colour pop. Again I don't use these enough either. The jewels were also from ebay.

Overall the design is ok, maybe I shouldn't have "tipped" it.

I do like the fimo and am excited to get more, which is lucky since I'm waiting for a parcel from lightinthebox.com. I stumbled across their site while looking for konad plates and got a great deal. When my haul arrives I'll be sure to blog it.

Birthday dinner party nails!

Tonight we went to dinner so I wore a dress. It has a lovely spotty pattern which I thought would make lovely nails.

I used two coats of NYC's Water Street Blue. This shade is from the "In a New York Color Minute" range. Billed as fast drying to a sleek finish my only complaint is thats it's a little thin so a decent amount is needed on the brush to get an even finish.

Using a dotting tool I then created the spots with ELF's black and white.

Enjoy!

Jubilee party nails

So today was my boyfriend's street's Jubilee street party. In all honesty this mani has absolutley nada to do with the jubilee.

I used two coats of ELF's teal and sequins were freebies from ordering my nail art pens

Thanks to  The Nailasaurus for inspiration