nail week #3 & 4: topshop prim and proper & barry m ruby glitter.

I completely forgot to post my nails yesterday.  I had a day of tidying and sorting and completely lost track of time.  Anyway these were yesterday's nails.  I seem to have been getting more summery with my nails as the weeks gone on, while the weather has been doing the opposite.  This is Topshop's Prim and Proper which is a simple baby pink.  I've been on the hunt for the perfect pink nail colour and this is the closest I've found so far.  I've found two coats to dry slightly brighter than the colour appears in the bottle so my lookout for something a bit more muted goes on.  Nevertheless this is a lovely shade pink and two coats dries to a nice opaque finish.  Drying time isn't great I've found, and care is needed to avoid a streaky application, but with a little patience both these can easily be over come.

 

I was in a bit of a rush to get ready this morning so I've cheated slightly with my 'new nail colour every day' mission.  I didn't have time to remove my nail polish before applying another and waiting for it to dry.  Instead I just added a glitter topcoat so at least my nails still looked different.  I opted for Barry Ms Ruby Glitter; small and large matte black glitter, with larger, hexagonal pink metallic glitter suspended in a clear polish.  I really like the look of the black glitter and pale pink polish, and the pink glitter finishes the look off perfectly.  I put these colours together completely on a whim but I'll definitely be doing this look again.

Nail Week #1: Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Blue Plum

If you follow me on Twitter, you may know that I'm off work this week; it's my first week off since June so to say I'm ready for it is an understatement! Anyway, no work means I can paint my nails so I thought it might be fun if I did a sort of 'nail week'and paint my nails each day and post a picture on here.
Unfortunately my Internet is currently down (damn you Sky!) so I'm having to do yesterday's post today, and do so via the Blogger app. Anyway this is what I had on my nails yesterday. It's kind of similar to the Rimmel polish I blogged about a couple of weeks ago, but a little darker. It's a lot darker than what I'm used to wearing but I'm getting used to it. It was definitely too dark for the summery weather we had in the north east yesterday, and it much more suited to today's misty, drizzly weather.

I'm a latecomer to the world of Barry M gelly polishes but I have to say from what I've tried, I'm very impressed and will certainly be adding to my collection!

Favourite Glitter Polishes

 I'm a massive fan of glitter nail polish and believe everyone should have at least a couple amongst their stash of nail colours.  Even one glitter polish can double the amount of looks you can create with your collection.  They can be applied as a top coat to add subtle sparkle, or with a few coats to each nail for a more dramatic look, perfect for parties.  Add to that accent nails, or gradient glitter effects, there's so many possibilities.  I have a few of these glittering beauties in my own collection and thought it'd be fun to share some of my favourites with you.  These aren't in any order, because let's face it, it was hard enough to choose five without putting them in order too!

No7 gold glitter top coat

This was part of No7's limited edition range last summer, and I was lucky enough to get my hands on this and the silver one.  I love them both, but have had more use out of this one.  This makes a brilliant topcoat over pretty much any colour.  Here it is over Essie's Aruba Blue. I wore this combination to a masquerade party earlier this year (my dress and shoes were blue and accessories gold) and got loads of compliments.  Definitely one of my all-time favourite nail looks!

Nails Inc Chelsea Square

This is a relatively recent addition to my collection, but nevertheless it's shot straight into my top five.  As soon as the lovely Tor from That's Peachy featured it in a blog post, I fell in love with it and ordered it that night.  It's a beautiful coppery pink colour and is perfect for Autumn. Here I've teamed it with Rimmel's Pro in Beige Babe, with just a light coating of Chelsea Square over the top.

Barry M Amethyst Glitter

This was part of a collection that came out late last year.  I abolutely love the colours in this; turquoise, purple, gold, pink and black small hexagonal glitter suspended in a clear base.  As you can see, I've applied this one in two ways; as a top coat for Topshop's Threadbare, and then did two coats for an opaque look.  

Nails Inc Connaught Square

This one is a definite to be applied all over the nail.  It's absolutely jam packed with small blue glitter and larger purple glitter.  I usually do 3 coats of this, though can get away with two if I'm in more of a rush.  I also have another one from this collection, Bloosmbury Square, which is small purple and large pink glitter.  I love them both, but Connaught Square just swings it for me.

Technique Carnival

I think most of you will recognise it as the famous dupe from the OPI Muppet's collection.  I picked this up in Bodycare for a Bargainous £1.99.  This mix of large and small multicoloured glitter looks great with pretty much any nail polish.  I'd normally wear this with a paler colour, but to add a bit of variety I've teamed it with Accessorize's Heart Beat nail polish.

Nails Inc Devonshire Street

I received this dinky little bottle in gift set last Christmas. It's a silver glitter, but is a bit more muted than most silvers I've seen before, it's almost champagne like in colour really.  Again this could be applied all over the nail and built up to a full-on glitter look, or as a top coat like I've done here.  I've applied Essie's Cocktail Bling underneath for a real wintery looking combination. Definitely one for the festive season!

What are your favourite glittering beauties?! Do you own any of these? Any you'd recommend? Let me know!

August Favourites

Babyliss waving wand.

I've had this for ages but I haven't used it for the longest time. Now every time I've styled my hair this month I've been using this.  I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll never be able to curl my hair with ghd's no matter how hard I try.  Using a wand, however, is so easy! This one is a more unusual shape compared to the typical conical wand, but the principle is the same.  Simply point downwards and (carefully!) wrap sections of hair around it, hold for few seconds and let go. The shape of this is meant to give more of a 'wave' than a curl, but I find it gives more than enough curl for me, and I tend to brush it out a fair bit for a more natural look.

Osmo Blow Dry Potion

 I mentioned this in my haircare routine post a couple of weeks ago, and it has definitely become a firm favourite.  It doesn't give masses of volume, but I can definitely notice a difference in how my hair looks when I've used this, it's just enough to stop my hair looking flat.  It also gives a bit of hold, which is great for when I'm using the waving wand on my hair. I hadn't heard of Osmo until I bought this, but I definitely want to try out more of their products in the future.

Benefit They're Real

I bought this product when it first came out in 2011 and to be honest, I didn't love it.  However, when I received a mini version in a gift set recently, I decided to give it a second chance.  This time around, it's love.  I'm not sure why, though I think it might be with this one being a miniature version, the wand is shorter and therefore easier to control? Has anyone else experienced this? My lashes are quite long anyway, but are quite fair at the ends, this mascara lengthens them even more and makes them such much more defined.  It's making me want to buy the full size again, but if my theory's right I won't love it nearly as much.

Soap and Glory One Heck of a Blot

My skin isn't overly oily but I do get a bit of a shiny forehead as the day goes on. Despite this, I've never been a big powder user as I've found them to be cakey and emphasise any dry patches.  When Soap and Glory make up was 3 for 2 recently, I decided to give this a go, and I'm so glad I did.  It's so finely milled and pretty much melts into the skin, given a lovely matte finish.  Another winner from Soap and Glory for me!

Barry M Confetti Nail Paint in Dolly Mixture

I love topcoats, so much so, I'm planning a blog post showing all my favourites.  This is a new addition but has already become a firm favourite.  I love this because it adds a bit of interest to your nail colour of choice, but is much less in your face than glitter.  I always associate glitter polishes with winter or night time, so these confetti ones are perfect for day time.

The Body Shop Almond Hand & Nail Cream

Excuse the battered-ness of the tube, but with it being in a metallic tube, it doesn't stand a chance in my handbag! My hands get really dry at work, so a good hand cream is a must.  This one does the job brilliantly, it absorbs quickly leaving no greasy residue, and it leaves my hands super soft.  It has a lovely, non-offencive smell too.  This is just the small version, though once my Hand Food has ran out, I may get a larger tube of this for my dressing table,