NOTD - Nails Inc Porchester Square

Morning all!!

Monday morning means a NOTD :) Today’s offering is the gorgeous Porchester Square from Nails Inc. I know everyone raves about this one, plus Anna is always singing its praises, however I didn't really fancy it, I prefer dark colours throughout the year, so I never bothered picking it up.

However, when this was in my Boots Advent Calendar, I knew that I was going to have to try it, when have you ever known me to not try a nail polish?! So I sat down on Saturday and now I'm wondering why it took me so long to try it.

Porchester Square is a purple/grey colour, very neutral and easy to wear. Like most Nails Inc that I've tried, Porchester Square has a lovely creamy consistency, very smooth to apply and dries to a nice finish. The only downside I've found with this is that the lasting power isn’t very good, spot the little chip on the little finger? Although I had a good base, Nails Inc just don't last very long or well on my nails :( maybe this is why I don't buy them very often!

It's certainly a colour that I would recommend to people, I will reach for it more when the sun starts shining a bit more.

What do you think? Do you like Porchester Square? Is it just me that struggles with the lasting power of Nails Inc colours?

Xx

Blog Swap! Guest Post Lost in Lipstick - Summer Essentials

Hey everyone, my names Rachel and I write a blog called Lost In Lipstick http://lostinlipstick.blogspot.co.uk/  I write about beauty, fashion and lifestyle so there is a little bit there for everyone! I was looking for bloggers to write guest posts on my blog and the lovely Sarah suggested we do a guest post swap. I've never written a guest post before so I hope you like it! I have decided to share with you my Summer essentials. These are the products I have been using throughout Summer, even though we don't have fantastic weather here in England! But we did experience a heatwave so we actually had a mini Summer this year!

Avene Thermal Spring Water - This is a relatively new product to me but It has been a Godsend to me during the heatwave we recently experienced. I did debate for a long time about getting a thermal water spray but I am so glad I have this one in my life. It just isn't the same as a regular water spray. As it's in a aluminium can, the water stays cool so it is always refreshing. It almost allowed my skin to breathe in the hot weather.

Liz Earle Eye Bright Soothing Eye Lotion - This has been in my life for about a year now but it became part of my everyday routine in June. I suffer from hayfever and it's the one negative of Summer for me. Every morning when I woke up, I would have to apply this to two cotton wool pads and hold onto my eyes for a while just to soothe them and make the puffiness go away. Even if you don't suffer from hayfever, it has been a lifesaver at those 6am wake up calls! Definitely one for those who are not a morning person!

Apivita Suncare Face Cream SPF 50 - In the past few years, I have become more educated in the effects of sun damage and it's not something I want to experience in my life! It is extremely important to wear sun cream if you're going to be outside for more that 10-15 minutes. I have recently started using at least factor 25 on my body (when I was younger, I used to settle for factor 10! Tut tut!) and at least factor 30, preferably 50, on my face. My face is the one part of my body that is always exposed to the sun when I'm outside and it's the first place sun damage shows so it's especially important to protect your face. 

 

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Natural Bronzer Body Lotion - Since becoming more educated about sun damage, I'm not that bothered about a real tan, it only fades after all but the damage will never fade. Most days I embrace being pale but some days, I just prefer to fake it! Sometimes having a tan just makes me feel happier and more confident in myself. This is a gradual tanner but as I am so pale, one application provides a lovely bronzed glow. It can go patchy on dry areas so my top tip is to apply moisturiser to any dry areas you have like elbows and knees beforehand. 

Clarins Liquid Bronzer Self Tanning - I'm sure everyone has heard of this by now. I bought it in Spring and I have been using it throughout Spring and Summer. I use a cotton wool pad to apply to my face and neck at night time, once my moisturiser has sunk in. When I wake up in the morning, I have a lovely, natural, healthy glow. To maintain the tan, I reapply every other day. I have never experienced blotches or streaks with this tan and it always looks super natural. If you have beautiful skin, it's a great alternative to make up when it's just too hot to worry about foundation!

Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint - I'm sure everyone will agree with me here in saying that during the heatwave it was just too hot to wear make up. However, I am not blessed with clear skin. When I have had to go out and it was a make up occasion, I would opt for this lighter coverage over a heavier coverage foundation. This has been perfect as it feels light on your face and has the added benefit of SPF 15. (Please note, I have not relied on this for protection when I have been sitting in the sun for long periods of time.)

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint in Blueberry - I am a massive nail polish addict and it's saying something when I have about 70 bottles but I re-apply this over and over again. That is what I have been doing since purchasing this shade. It is a beautiful colour, perfect for Summer, and due to the formula it lasts longer on the nails than regular polish. This is my second bottle of Barry M Gelly Nail Polish and I will definitely be purchasing some more in the near future. 

Bourjois Cream Blush in Rose Tender - Cream blusher is something I had never used before becoming a beauty blogger. My first cream blusher was from MUA to make sure I liked the difference from powder blush. After seeing all the hype surrounding these beautiful round pots of colour, I knew they would be my next cream blush purchase. Also this cream blush turns into powder on your cheeks so it's great for newbies! 

So there you have it, my Summer essentials. I hope you enjoyed reading this and maybe I persuaded you to make a few new purchases! Make sure you pop along to Lost In Lipstick (LINK) and say hello! It would be great to meet some new people. I'm also on twitter if you want to say hello on there I'm @lostinlipstick. Thank you to Sarah for letting me write a guest post for her blog.

Rachel x 

Thank you so much for an awesome post Rachel, I may have popped a few of these onto my shopping list for my holiday! Make sure you check out Rachel's blog xx

Barry M Textured Nail Effects - Ridley Road Review

I appear to have jumped whole heatedly onto the nail polish trend bandwagon at the moment - with lots of different brands bringing out some awesome collections, and another trend for SS'13 is textured nail effects - but I didn't want to shell out for the Nails Inc Leather or Concrete effects so opted for the Barry M.

I picked up Ridley Road which is a gorgeous greeny blue colour in the bottle - very much a pastel colour that's on trend for our spring (if it ever arrives!) 

The polish itself I found to be quite a thin polish that was a tad sheer from one coat but two or three builds it up to a thick, opaque colour and you really get the full effect of the texture on your nails. The actual effect is a really strange, sort of a sandy feeling on the nails - not unpleasant but a tad odd. I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it so left it on my nails.

It wore really well on my nails, only got growth wear at the bottom after 5 days. One thing with the wear that I really disliked was that after a couple of days the colour started to get really grubby and show up dirt around the texture - even a shower didn't get rid of this! 

It was a bit of a mare to remove but I wouldn't say any harder then a thin glitter.

For £3.99 these are a good way to get on trend nails, and I might pick the other 3 colours up, especially as their on 3 for 2 in Boots

Have you picked up any of the textures nail polishes? How do they compare to the more expensive Nails Inc Range?

Barry M Hi-Shine Gelly Nail Polish - Watermelon Review

Another Barry M Hi-Shine Polish - me thinks I'm a tad addicted! This time I've got Watermelon on my nails - I received this one in a gift swap hosted over Xmas, but forgot to post about it! 

Watermelon is a gorgeous dsark green, which leans towards the blue toned end of colour. 

Like the other colours I've tried, this one is really glossy and was opaque in two coats. It lasted really well on my nails with a base coat (Nail Envy). 

For £3.99, this is a really great range of colours that are bang on trend, I adore them so much! 

I've also tried Prickly Pear and Blackberry and have picked up another one - but what other colours do I need (I hear Blood Orange is a must!) 

Barry M Blackberry High Shine Gelly - Review

The weather has turned cold again, so I'm back craving dark colour nail polish so on Sunday I grabbed another of my Barry M Gelly High Shine nail polish - this time in the gorgeous Blackberry.

A gorgeous red toned purple, this is super flattering on my pale skin tone and I think I will wear this throughout the summer as well.

As with all the other Gelly's this is really high shine, opaque in 2 coats and looks amazing on the nail.

My love for Barry M polishes continues to grow, and I know I don't need anymore at the moment but the want is still there!

What other colours do I need?

Barry M Hi Shine Gelly - Prickly Pear Review

Nails seem to be a key focus at the moment, with every possible trend appearing on the nails as well.

Barry M seem to be just nailing every trend at the moment, from top coats to textured as well as the high shine, gel look. I have about 5 of the colours from the High Shine range, some Winter colours and some Spring colours, but my favourite so far has been  Prickly Pear

Prickly Pear is a light lilac polish, leaning more blue then purpl. It was full coverage in one coat, but I did two out of habit. I loved that it literally gave my nails the perfect look, like I had smoothed a gel over the top first. 

I wore this one for 4 days before I changed it, but in that time there was no chipping, minimal tip wear and it was still shiny! 

For £3.99 this is an awesome polish, I have a few ideas for some nail art with it and I want all the colours now! 

Have you tried any of the High Shine polishes?  What's your favourite colour? xx

NOTD - Barry M Amethyst Glitter - Review

I picked up a couple of glitters when I was in Tesco, and this one really caught my eye. Amethyst Glitter is a cooler toned glitter made up of blues, silver and magenta glitters suspended in a clear. For me I love this more then the traditional Silver & Gold glitter purely as it suits my skin tone better.

It builds up quickly in 3 coats without a base colour, and its really easy to work with so you could create all sorts of winter nail art designs with this. This would be awesome layered over black or purple.

I'm loving Barry M at the moment, their glitter range is great and I need some more in my life, any recommendations? Xx

Halloween Nails - Dripping Blood

Afternoon lovelies,

for someone who has a very large collection of nail polish, I'm not a big nail art fan, simply because I'm really naff at it. I follow so many different nail art blogs, but every time I try it just ends up a massive mess! So when I saw this design, I knew I could try it as it didn't matter that it was slightly messy!

You will need:
A white polish - I used OPI Alpine Snow
A red Polish - I used OPI Big Red Apple
Dotting Tool/Kirby Grip
Paper


Step One - Paint your nails with two coats of your white polish or as many as you need until its opaque.

Step two - Using your red, paint just the tips, it doesn't have to be neat or even so get it on there!

Step Three - Load up your paper with quite a few big blobs of the red polish. You need enough so that it forms drops on the end of your dotting tool to make it look like blood drops dripping.

I used a bent kirby grip as I don't have a dotting tool, but this worked really well.

Step four - Create random blobs on the nail and then drag it upwards to join the top nail polish. Its best if the dots are wider then the tail as that way it looks like the blob has dribbled down. You dont have to get this nice and even, as well as making random marks as though it has splattered.

Step five - Let it dry fully, and then seal it in with a clear top coat. I finished it off with a little bit of red glitter after I took this picture.

I got so many compliments from this nail polish, and it lasted really well so I think for an initial dabble in nail art, it was easy - now to think what else to do! 

Have you tried any Halloween nail designs? Is this really naff or not too bad? xx

Models Own Blogsale

Afternoon lovelies, just a little blog sale, I have been having clear out in my polish collection and realised I've some home managed to gather a few multiples of colours that I don't need and haven't touched so I thought I would blog sale them :)

Purple Pearl - £2.50 - Rehomed
Nyla Nude - £2.50 - Rehomed

Coral Reef - £2.50 - Rehomed
Gold Rush - £2.50 - Rehomed

Vintage Pink - £2.50 - Rehomed
Peach Puff x2 - £2.50

Purple Haze - £2.50

Rules:

Payments through paypal only
I will post once payment has cleared into my paypal
Free postage - I just want these to go to a good home :)

Let me know if you want any

xx

NOTD - W7 Black & Purple

Afternoon lovelies, hope your well and having a good weekend. It;s been a while since I've posted about nail polish, but a recent trip home has rekindled my addiction!


I've heard about W7 before, but never seen any in any shops to try. When I was at my parent over half term we found a shop that sold lots of beauty products at trade price! So being me I picked up quite a lot of stuff and here are the two W7 polishes I picked.


W7 Black and Purple

Both polishes are super shiny with a nice thickness consistency that covers easily and quickly. The polish dries really quickly and lasts well over the course of a week - these photos were taken last weekend and its only just needing taking off now :)

I love black polish, all year round I will wear it, especially in the winter! 

The bottle is very similar to OPI so makes it feel more luxurious then some other brands, with a nice easy grip brush.

You can buy W7 online at http://www.fragrancemad.com/w7-nail-polish for £3.45 and I did spot 2 colours in New Look today in Watford so maybe its becoming more main stream!

What do you think? Have you tried this brand before?


Thanks for reading xx

NOTD Models Own Top Turquoise

Afternoon all, hope your well and enjoying your day.


Today I bring you something to brighten your day.

Without Flash

Models Own Top Turquoise, is a bright bluey green which would look great on all skin tones.


It applied really well, and has lasted all week with only minor tip wear.

With Flash

Models Own really do produce great polishes, I've only ever met one polish I didn't like from their range. For the great price of £5, you can't really go wrong.


This is a polish that I think I will reach for more during the summer, but still something for winter, just to add a pop of colour .


What do you think? I have so many Models Own, what colours do you want to see?


Thanks for reading x

NOTD - China Glaze Concreate Catwalk

Evening all, hope you well. I feel like I have so much to do and so little time, especially now I'm back at work again :(


Being back at school means that we are on the count down to our next half term, and it also means it's going to get harder to make an effort in school as it gets colder and darker. But I do live this term as Christmas is at the end, and I can start wearing my Autumn collections.


One such collection is the China Glaze metro collection. A blend of urban colours and muted glitters, it's a great autumn collection.


From this I've been wearing Concrete Catwalk which is a bluey grey colour, which reminds me of Tarmac.

With Flash

In Natural Light, No Flash

As with all of the China Glaze polishes I have tried, this one applies like a dream, and was opaque in two coats with no need for a top coat. It wore really well and only started to chip after a week!


I have a few more colours from this collection to show you, including some glitter!!


Thank you for reading xxx

NOTD - Miss Guided Nailpolish in Orange

Afternoon all, with the summer rapidly fading into autumn, I thought I needed to try and inject some colour into my life.


This polish is from Miss Guided and was free with Cosmopolitan magazine a couple of months ago, but when first bought it, I didn't really fancy wearing it as I'm not naturally drawn to bold colours.

It's a gorgeous orange that reminds me of the colour of Orange Soda from the show Kenan and Kel (if anyone remembers that!) It's defiantly a reddy orange which isn't too bright so it's a good colour for autumn if you fancy a pop of brightness!


It applied really well with no mess or fuss. It dried quickly and was super shiny after two coats without a top coat. It wore really well for nearly a week with no base or topcoat (I rushed!) and there was only minor tip wear when it did start to go.


You can buy this from the Miss Guided website for the grand sum of £5 which I think is good value really.


What do you think, do you normally go for bright colours of not?

Sunshine, on a cloudy day....

Evening all, so the weather has been a bit rubbish, and I've been in a bit of a nail funk for a couple of weeks, but after all the rain, I needed a bit of sunshine and this was it.

 Models Own Dusky Mauve. I've had this in my drawer for ages, but never really fancied it. I didn't want a really bright colour, but in the sun this really pops. Its a gorgeous purple pewter which looks silver in low light like poured metal, and then in the sun its a lovely lilac with a subtle shimmer, like the edge of a rain cloud as the sun is setting!


As with every Models Own this applied like a dream, looks flawless and has survived two days with no chips!

I don't know how it compares to Barry M's Dusky Mauve, but I really like it - what do you think, I'd love to hear your thoughts!