Nail Cake

Update

2014-06-10T23:26:00.004+01:00

Hello! Just a very quick post from me - I'm still alive! Apologies that I haven't been around - I moved to London a couple of months ago for a new job (exciting!) but had been, in essence, couch surfing until Sunday. As in two days ago. So I haven't had any time for nail art/blogging and also I've been living off about five polishes for two months (the horror!) and don't yet have any of my brushes etc. etc. with me. However, now I'm more settled I should hopefully have a bit more time on my hands/be able to get all my possessions sent to me and I will get back to blogging soon if I possibly can!

Sorry for the surfeit of exclamation marks.

And to those of you who are still reading, thanks. :)

Kirstie

Morgan Taylor 'Little Misfit' Swatches & Review + Nail Art

2014-03-07T18:20:00.000+00:00

* Product provided for review

Hello again! Today I'm reviewing the second polish I received from Morgan Taylor's Glam Rock collection, 'Little Misfit'*. If you missed 'Polished Up Punk', you can see it here, along with some information about the collection and the brand.

Before I start, I want to forewarn you that some of these photos are rather...unflattering. This polish was a rascal to photograph and I ended up contorting my hand into weird positions to try to capture it as best I could. 'Little Misfit' is described by Morgan Taylor as a 'Lavender and Aqua Duo-chrome' and it looks like this...

For these photos, I used three coats of Little Misfit on my pinkie and middle finger; one coat over black on my ring finger (which is how I preferred it, I think) and two coats over black on my index finger. I found the formula pretty sheer and felt it needed all three coats when worn alone. You can probably see it's a little brush-stroke-y, too, although I'm given to understand that that's relatively common for duochrome polishes and it is less obvious in person. Otherwise, Little Misfit was easy to apply and as I said before, I like the Morgan Taylor brush.

So awkward, I'm sorry!

I find that Little Misfit looks pinky-lavender most of the time, perhaps with a flash of green around the edges. Direct light seems to wash it out and makes it appear almost grey/silver at times (hence the photography issues), but the purple glow can be really strong away from the light. For me, the colour-shift on the nail is quite limited, thought not non-existent, and it's more the kind of duochrome that changes colour depending on the lighting situation/angle/if you look at your nails in a mirror (WHY?!). Also, the duochrome effect appears stronger when your hands are underwater, which is a plus for mermaids. I don't reeeally see any 'aqua', here, though, except perhaps at the very extremest of angles - it's basically purple/green.

Nail art!

I definitely think this design looks more striking in person and the oil-slick effect is actually pretty cool.

Personally, although Little Misfit has grown on me, I still feel rather underwhelmed by it - I just don't think it lives us to the promo image, or to its description, really. It's fun, but not 'wow'.

That's just me, though - what do you think?

If you're interested in this or any other polish from the Glam Rock collection, or from Morgan Taylor more broadly, you can find them at Sally's in the UK for £10.99...and probably elsewhere online if you're prepared to do a little rummaging!

Have a lovely weekend!

Morgan Taylor 'Polished Up Punk' Swatches & Review + Nail Art

2014-03-03T02:41:00.000+00:00

* Product provided for review

Hello! I know I sound like a record stuck on repeat, but apologies yet again for being so absent. I've been away from home so much over the past month it feels like I've hardly been here...but things have settled down now, so here I am!

I was delighted to be contacted by Morgan Taylor recently and asked to review a couple of polishes from their 'Glam Rock' collection (which I believe was for Winter 2014). The Glam Rock collection is described as 'A mixture of funky metallic shades and glitters to bring out the rebel in you!' and consists of six polishes:

Left to right, they are:

Better in Leather – Black silver glitter

Little Misfit – Lavender and aqua duo chrome
Polished Up Punk - Navy crème
Pretty Wild – Lavender greige crème
Rebel With A Cause – Deep burgundy pearl
Studs and Stilettos – Gunmetal glitter

If you're not familiar with the Morgan Taylor brand, here's a little blurb from the company:

'Morgan Taylor has been created by Gelish founders Danny Haile and David Daniel. The specialist formula is made from raw ingredients enhances finish, coverage and wear ensuring that not only your nails will look gorgeous but they will stay that way too!RRP £10.99 each from Sallyexpress.com'

The polish I'm showing you today is the navy crème, 'Polished Up Punk'*. I also received 'Little Misfit', the duochrome, so expect to see that one at some point in the near future!

'Polished Up Punk', two coats plus top coat

'Polished Up Punk' is a dark navy which appears blackened in some lights, but remains just on the right side of black - by which I mean that it is almost always discernibly blue and not black. I think its depth is more apparent in the nail art photos below. It's a very winter-appropriate colour and I always think these kinds of shades look especially foxy on short nails. I found the formula very nice: it was neither too runny nor too thick, spread smoothly and had great opacity - I used two coats plus top coat here, but you could conceivably get away with one if you were careful. I also really liked the shape of the brush, which is flat but not too wide (I know a lot of people can't stand super-wide brushes) and a sensible length. Please excuse the slight scuff marks in the above photos - my goopy top coat was responsible, not the polish itself! I didn't wear this manicure long enough to comment authoritatively on wear time, but I wouldn't expect any problems if worn with a good top coat.

Aaand I wouldn't feel like I was blogging properly if I didn't throw in some nail art, so...

I wanted to keep it relatively simple so Polished Up Punk would shine through, so opted for this somewhat abstract geometric design. It also seemed like a good opportunity to practise my striping tape technique (still needs work!). I taped off the outlines of the...lines and filled them in with A England 'Ascalon' using a nail art brush, then removed the tape (I use tweezers). You can just see the purple flash of Ascalon in the reflection of my lamp here, but it's so much more awesome in person. The rhinestones on my index finger are from an Urban Outfitters nail art wheel my friend Kirsty gave me for Christmas - I attached each to a dot of top coat, using a moistened orange stick to pick them up. Plenty of top coat (now thinned) to smooth everything out/keep the gems attached!

Thoughts? Is Polished Up Punk your kind of shade? Would you describe it as 'Glam Rock'? If you're interested in the collection, you can find Morgan Taylor polishes at sallyexpress.com for £10.99, (though I always think it's worth hunting online for a bargain!).

Would welcome your thoughts on my geometric tape design, too! I wasn't sure at first but it really grew on me - it looked especially bold from a bit of a distance. It's ridiculous, though, how much thought goes in to making something look so random!

Hope you've all had a fantastic weekend!

Burns' Night Nail Art/BPS Striping Tape Review

2014-01-25T20:52:00.000+00:00

Hi friends! Just a quick post from me tonight - some Scottish-y themed nail art for Burns' Night and a wee review of this striping tape from Born Pretty Store. (Discount code at the bottom of the post, too!)

I was aiming for a tartan-esque design on my index finger - which could have gone better, haha - and an Argyle-inspired pattern on my ring finger. Both fabrics which are closely associated with Scotland, of course. I kept the other nails pretty simple, with a colour block, glitter gradient and some rhinestones (from a 1.5mm Born Pretty Store wheel). The polishes I used are as follows:

- Red - Color Club 'Mamba' (from the Fiesta Collection)

- Navy - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 'Thinking of Blue'

- Blue - Kiko 385

- Silver - Color Club 'On the Rocks' (also Fiesta Collection - I looove this silver)

- Glitter - piCture pOlish 'Ruby Blou'

I used the striping tape for this 'Argyle' nail. I started with three coats of PP Ruby Blou, plus quick-dry top coat. Once dry, I marked out a diamond pattern using the tape, added one (generous) coat of Thinking of Blue and removed the tape; I did have to fill in one or two little bits with a brush, mostly because I forgot which order I'd added the tape strips in so they got a bit tangled when I was removing them...oops! The silver lines were painted free-hand over the top.

I've been pretty impressed with Born Pretty's striping tape so far. It's a really good width and I love being able to get such crisp lines. I also think it's pretty handy that it comes in such a broad variety of colours, since you'll always be able to pick one that stands out from your base, so you can see what you're doing! I tend to place the tape with my fingers and have found you can take it off and move it quite easily if you don't get it perfect first time - I also found lifting one end with tweezers quite handy for minor adjustments, especially since the tape has a little bit of flexibility in it. I definitely think it will take a bit of practice for me to get used to the technique, though - although simple, it's a bit fiddly and I found it could be somewhat time-consuming. That's not at all a criticism of the tape itself, of course! One thing I still need to get down is the best way to remove the tape - I like to do it with tweezers for a bit more precision, but the tape seems to stick really easily to tools and fingers so I frequently ended up with wet polish on my skin when trying to remove the strips from the tweezers! Maybe some of you have some tips for me?!

If you'd like to try out some nail art supplies from Born Pretty, feel free to use my discount code:

I think this is quite a fun mix, but I don't quite love it and I'm a bit disappointed with the lines in my tartan. Practice makes perfect, though, right?

Sorry about the hideous cuticle shrinkage on my thumb!

So, what do you think? Are you a striping tape aficionado? Do you have any tips for me?!

BREAKING NEWS: I started writing this post before dinner...I was super excited for HAGGIS! Our haggis burst in the pan and we couldn't eat it. I am devastated. :(

Baroque 'n' Roll | Nail Art

2014-01-14T17:18:00.000+00:00

Bahahaha. Yes, that excruciating pun did just happen. I'm not even going to apologise for it.

Hello and Happy New Year! How I've missed my wee blog. November and December were really rather busy months for me and I ended up being away from home quite a bit, so sadly nail art had to take a back seat. I'd say it was a pretty productive time, though, and I'm looking forward to what 2014 will bring... I hope it will be a joyful, prosperous year for you all. :)

Nail art!

I have to start by talking about the base colour for this manicure: it's A England's Rose Bower (which I picked up in Adina's Holiday Grotto) and it is simply mesmerising. The polish itself is what sparked the idea for this nail art: the rich pinky red colour (it varies depending on the light) with that signature A England holographic sparkle looked so sumptuous and velvety and glowy that it made me think of luxurious damask/baroque fabrics... lightbulb! (Lightbulb!) I basically wore Rose Bower twice in a row, which testament to how beautiful it is! The formula is amazing, too - it's quite thick, but I'd recommend thin coats. I found it to be opaque in one thin coat, but you might want an extra for added depth and shimmer. I should also say that although this design hides the holographic twinkle a little, there is a good amount in there and it's pretty prominent, at least under good light, in person. The bottle pictures should give you some idea!

I added the baroque/damask pattern(s) using a little brush and Orly Liquid Vinyl. It's been such a long time since I've done a design that requires any kind of precision like this does and I'm so, so pleased it worked! It's even more or less symmetrical! I can't even tell you how long I spent painting test patterns on paper and thinking it was all rubbish before I even attempted a nail, haha. There was also a lot of Googling/Shutterstocking. I was in two minds about whether to do a full design on every finger and whether to repeat one pattern or vary them, but I'm delighted with the end result!

My accent nail (which I guess is the 'Roll' in my punny title. haha) is Seventeen's Diamond in the Rough, which is a black textured polish with holographic hex glitter. I really just bought it because it was kind of weird and I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first...but now I really like it. I appreciate that it won't be for everyone, though! The formula might take a little getting used to but isn't really too difficult - err on the side of thin coats for starters, I'd say (I used two coats here). It's rougher than other textures I'd tried but seems to get a little less so after a couple of days. My only - small - complaint is that the glitter tends to get a bit buried in the base. So, what do you think of it? Would you give this kind of polish a go?!

[I think Diamond in the Rough is pretty much the same as Essie's Belugaria, from the Encrusted Treasures collection, though I don't have both to compare. For those interested, that collection is due out in the UK in February, though you can find it online already.]

Well, I've blabbed on quite enough. The essence of this post is: I (still) adore A England and I love these nails and I hope you like them too! As always, please do let me know what you think in the comments. Are you besotted with A England yet? How do you feel about unusual/textured polishes? Do you have a favourite nail from this design? I love hearing your feedback!

P.S. Thanks for sticking around despite my absence! :)

Neutral Leopard, Popping Neon | BornPretty Fluorescent Studs Review & Nail Art

2013-11-08T01:23:00.000+00:00

Hi friends! Apologies for the extended absence. I'm back with another review for BornPrettyStore.com, this time for these fluorescent studs. I'm sure I've mentioned before that I've always been impressed by BornPretty's value and service, so I won't rehash all that. You'll find a 10% discount code at the bottom of this post (and also in my sidebar).

On to the fun stuff! Here's the nail art/inspiration combo:

It's possible to draw inspiration from what is, in essence, an advert - who knew?!

So, the studs. I like them a lot. There are are 2mm squares and circles in each of six colours. The first thing I have to point out is that they are waaay brighter than the above photo shows - my camera refuses to accept that neons (or at least pink ones) exist. My 'phone camera kind of likes them though, so you can enjoy this fuzzy delight:

I'd say that's relatively colour-accurate (if not quite perfect). The product page says there are 400-ish in the box; I'm not going to count them, but there seem to be plenty. In case you're interested, that would work out at approximately 67 per section if evenly divided. Do with that information what you will.

For me, 2mm is an ideal size for studs and so on - I generally don't like my decorations too big. The backs are hollow and I found them pretty easy to apply: plop a dot of top coat (or glue) on the nail where you want the stud to be (I use a toothpick), pick up stud with a moistened orange stick (or alternative), place it where you want it; you'll have a little time to get the placement perfect before your adhesive dries. I use a top coat over the entire nail to seal everything in and I had no problems with the colour on the studs running or anything like that. The sides of the studs do stick up a little and there's a gap before the colour starts (i.e. the sides of the studs are silver) but if you're used to wearing studs, I don't think you'll notice it at all; and if you're not, you'll soon acclimatise!

Also a 'phone photo - sorry!

As to longevity, I think you can expect these studs to last a good few days, at least. I did lose a couple within the first day or so, but as they were both from the same finger, I'm pretty sure that was top-coat error on my part. After a few days, I seem to have scuffed some of the colour off the top of a few studs; I'm not sure what caused it, though (there's a chance I did it with a buffer) so that might be might fault, too. I think you might be able to reuse these if you're super careful when you remove them, but my (limited) experience is that it can be tricky to get all the polish off them without stripping the neon colour, too, so it probably isn't worth the hassle.

I appear to have run out of photos, so just a brief overview of the nail art itself. Base is three coats of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Crinoline (not a 'me' colour at all, but I love it); spots are Barry M Lychee Gelly with a teensy bit of Nails Inc Fenchurch Street mixed in; black is Orly's Liquid Vinyl. For the leopard print, I used a dabbing motion with a little brush. I used a dotting tool for the cross on my middle finger and there are some 1.5mm black rhinestones on there, too, which you can barely see.

I haven't worn leopard print in what feels like forever - I think I worry it might be perceived as 'boring' - but I kind of love it! I've seen so many great leopard colour combos lately, too. Also really digging the neon pop against the neutral background. My only qualm (with my nail art, not the studs) is that I occasionally feel I've created a leopard with chicken pox...

As always, I'd love to hear what you think in the comments and if there's anything else you'd like to know, feel free to ask. And finally:

DISCOUNT CODE

Blue & Black Splodges/Cow Print | Nail Art

2013-10-12T19:23:00.000+01:00

Holaaa! Another winner of a post title... We're off to Spain for a week tomorrow (well, tonight) so I really should be doing something sensible, like packing. But here I am! I painted these nails last night and I like them a lot - they were really quick today and I have such a thing for blue & black at the moment. I think they look a bit like very funky cow print nails, though I didn't strictly go in with that in mind, haha.

The blue is Kiko 336 - basically a dupe of Nails Inc Baker Street (which I don't own) and all those like it. LOVE this kind of electric blue and I really hope it never goes out of fashion!

Must dash! Have a splendid week!

Mini Messy Floral Mani | Nail Art

2013-10-06T02:22:00.000+01:00

Hi friends! I've been busier than usual lately but happily, I now have some new nail art for you. Hooray! I feel I should warn you upfront, though, that my photos are somewhat inconsistent - I decided to take them next to my window but it was one of those days where the light changes from one second to the next, so I ended up with a real variety of colours and brightnesses haha.

Aaand here's a close-up of the H&M dress I based them on (which I have had for years):

I'm so so pleased with how these turned out - they're really cute but the loose-ish interpretation of the flowers keeps them from feeling cutesy. I didn't reproduce the fabric pattern precisely, but I hope you'll agree that these capture the sense of the dress nicely.

I used Barry M 'Passion Fruit' (from the Gelly line) as my base colour. I picked this up just last week and I'm so glad I did. My pictures don't do it justice but it is a fantastic shade - a really bright, coral-y red (not the orange my camera seemed to think it was!). The white detailing was added with a cut-down brush; I used a kind of dabbing/blobbing technique for some of the smaller flower petals.

These nails were relatively simple to do, perhaps deceptively so: since the pattern is quite messy and haphazard, your flowers shouldn't be too perfect, so you can be quite freehanded about it and no one will know if you make a 'mistake'. I did a couple of matching accent nails on my other hand and they broadly match, even if they're a touch more 'abstract'. ;)

What do you think about these? Do you enjoy this kind of floral? Also, if you've been following for a wee while, you might have noticed that I've had (another) file-a-thon, haha, so feel free to let me know how you feel about this nail shape, too (I really like it, for now)!

Blue 'Ikat Beach Tote' Nail Art

2013-09-19T01:23:00.000+01:00

Hihi! This is really going to be a quick post because I'm really going to go to bed. Honest.

These nails were inspired by this beach tote bag which appeared as an a sidebar ad during a recent blog-reading spate - who'd have thought there was inspiration to be found in internet adverts?! If you have a better name for this design, let me know!

I began with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure 'Thinking of Blue' (two coats), which I love. It has a slight dustiness, but also a certain richness and perhaps the littlest hint of 'blurple'. I really like the CSM brush, too (although you can get wonky ones) - flat and quite broad with a rounded tip which fits my cuticles nicely. I added the white pattern with a nail art brush and finished off with the teal detailing, using A England 'Galahad'. If you've been reading my blog from the start, you'll know I love A England and Galahad is another delight - sometimes he looks dusty and sometimes bright, but always beautiful.

It would have been nice to be able to fit a little more of the original pattern onto my nails, but I had to enlarge individual elements of it in order to give Galahad a fair showing. I am very pleased with this design, but I felt a little let down by my execution - I was just having one of those nights where nothing would behave as I wanted it to! Still, I think it looks quite lovely in person since the imperfections are less noticeable when I'm not inspecting them microscopically!

Owning the awkward thumb.

So, what do you think? Do you dig the design? What about the bag itself? Apart from anything else, I think these colours make a really great pair - even if I need to get back to practising my freehand skills. My index finger with the little diamond is probably my favourite - how about you?

Hope you're all well - not long 'til the weekend...!

Seventeen Cameo Crush Textured Polish | Swatch & Review

2013-09-12T02:10:00.001+01:00

Hiiii! I know, I 'don't do' swatch posts...but today I do!

I had no idea that Boots' own brand Seventeen (or 17, whichever you prefer) was even making textured polishes. I had been planning on picking up one or two of the GOSH ones until I happened to spot these while waiting on a prescription. Boy, am I glad I did!

Seventeen Rock Hard Couture Nail Effects in Cameo Crush (mouthful!) is a turquoise-based matte textured polish with an insane quantity of golden sparkle and also (I think) some holographic or at least iridescent sparkle, too. It was impossible to capture the true beauty of Cameo Crush on camera but please trust me when I tell you it's a mega GLITTERBOMB and utterly gorgeous. I'm not entirely au fait with the plethora of textured polishes available, but this one seems unique to me! I can sum up how this polish made me feel in two words: mermaid princess. Seriously.

Formula & Application: Dreamy! It may seem a little thick if you are used to applying very thin coats, presumably due to all the particles in it, but I found it incredibly easy to control. These pictures show two coats and next to no clean-up, even on my 'other' hand - massive bonus! In terms of opacity, you could probably get away with one thick coat, but two definitely looks better - the sparkle is intensified and you get an even distribution of texture. The brush is flat, quite small and nicely pliable - no complaints!

I waited a good ten or fifteen minutes between my coats. I don't know if that was strictly necessary but it seemed to work well. My second coat tended to be thicker so it could glide over the already-textured nail and seemed to take a little longer to dry. If you haven't used textured polishes before (I hadn't), watching them dry is a fascinating thing. At first stroke, this seems like a fairly ordinary glittery polish, shiny and not textured at all. When it's half-way dry it develops some texture and also a metallic sort of 'sheen' - I was glad it didn't stop there! As it dries down completely, it becomes matte and the texture and sparkle come into their own. The shade also appears a little lighter when dry.

Removal: More difficult than a crème polish, but nothing like an all-out glitter. Really it just requires a little patience. I might consider using foil in the future, at least in part to try to avoid getting glitter particles all over my hands, haha. I had half expected some staining given the colour, but if there was any at all it was minimal and easily removed by a little scrubbing with a nail brush.

Blurry sparkles!

These Rock Hard Couture polishes are priced at £3.99 each and are currently buy one get one half price. The other shades are a gold called 'Charm Bracelet' (which I'm wearing right now) and an iridescent white ('Celestial Pearl' - next on my list) and a pink with gold sparkle ('Bijoux Baby').

Overall, I'm absolutely blown away by this polish. I was a texture-sceptic, but I have been converted! I'm delighted that the British high street has come up with such a high quality alternative to brands which are more difficult and expensive to get hold of in the UK; and in particular that they've produced some original shades. I really hope these polishes get the attention they deserve and that Seventeen makes more colours! I know I'm going to be hassling them to...

So, how was my first swatch post? Did I cover everything you might want to know? Do you love this polish like I do? Please also let me know if you'd be happy to see more swatch posts - it's not something I envision doing a great deal of, but occasionally I come across something I love enough to want to share!

Giant Leopard Moth Print | Nail Art

2013-08-30T01:42:00.002+01:00

Today I am bringing you the hot new thang in animal print trends: Giant Leopard Moth print! Leopard print was, like, so 2012. Or something. Whatever.

In the (ahem) off chance that you are not familiar with the Giant Leopard Moth:

Source: http://biologie-me.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/buggin-out-on-thursdays-giant-leopard.html

I pinned this image to my nail inspiration board on Pinterest (which I occasionally remember to use) aaages ago, so I'm glad I finally got round to making use of it!

I almost regretted beginning this design because it meant starting with a white base, which is always a pain in the backside. However, I used Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in 'Ivory Skull' this time around and it was kind of okay. I mean, it's a bit sheer and streaky and if I looked veeery closely, imperfections were sometimes visible even at three coats in certain, but the formula itself wasn't difficult to use.

After much deliberation, I added one coat of Essie 'Pure Pearlfection'. It's a silver-ish shimmer top coat, but if you look closely you can see that the individual particles have a green/pink iridescence. It's pretty subtle in person, but even more so on camera. It showed up best in underexposed images...I hope these prove that the shimmer actually exists!

I thought the random piece of paper in the background really added something...

I added the 'spots' using a super skinny cut-down brush. I had planned to use my Model's Own x WAH nail art pen, which I've tested on paper but never yet used on my nails, but when I attempted a trial run (again on paper) it seemed to have gone very watery. Not cool. If you've had a similar issue and have any suggestions, do let me know!

I left these shiny for about a day but added ELF's matte top coat while I was taking my photos and I think I prefer them this way. It seems to help the shimmer come out to play, too. ELF's isn't the matte-est matte top coat I've seen and it doesn't stay matte especially long, but it isn't bad for the price.

Shiny/Zombie hands

Matte

So, what do you think? Did I make the right decision in adding the shimmer? Are you a shiny or a matte person? I do like this design since it's quite striking and unusual, but now I want COLOUR, so I don't think they'll last very long!

When Giant Leopard Moth print starts popping up on the catwalks, just remember that you saw it here first... ;)

Despicable Me 2 | Minions Nail Art

2013-08-25T01:05:00.000+01:00

Hi friends! I had no plans for Minion nails but we're fiiinally going to see Despicable Me 2 tomorrow and I was wearing yellow already, so it was clearly FATE. I'm not really going to say anything about these since so many other people have done them already, but feel free to ask away if there's anything you'd like to know. YAY MINIONS!

The yellow is Illamasqua 'Blow' (hahaha) & the blue is Kiko 385 (which is amaaazing). (Silver is Color Club 'On the Rocks' and the brown is Nails Inc 'Fenchurch Street'.)

Do you love Minions? (If not, who ARE you?!) Hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend!

Born Pretty Store Review | Silver Spike Studs Nail Art

2013-08-19T14:54:00.000+01:00

Products marked with an asterisk (*) were provided to me for impartial review.

Hiyaaa! Hope you all had a lovely weekend! I'm delighted to be sharing my first ever Born Pretty Store review today. If you're unfamiliar with BornPretty, then you have been much deprived: BPS is an online retailer selling (amongst other things) what seems like an infinite array of nail art supplies - and they are adding new products all the time. Their prices are very competitive & shipping is free worldwide. I'll have a discount code to share with you towards the bottom of this post.

I chose to review these 3x3.5mm conical spikes* in silver and I also made rather liberal use of these rhinestones (these are the smallest ones, 1.5mm) which I had already, (e.g. here). 3D nail art is still relatively new to me, so spikes were quite a bold choice, but I had so much fun playing with them!

My base colour is Nails Inc 'Belgrave Place', which I hadn't used in ages but I'm so glad I did because it is awesome. It's a rich, deep blue with a very strong purple undertone - mostly I'm sure it's a blue, but in certain lights it seems undeniably purple. It is a beauuut!

I somewhat stepped outside my comfort zone with these nails but I looove how they turned out! I messed about with various rhinestone colour combinations before I settled on this one. Generally I outlaw red+pink/orange but since I was putting spikes (spikes!) on my nails I thought I might as well go wild and just embrace all the colour clashing. #REBELLIOUS

I had originally planned to do every nail the same as my middle finger (I tested it out on this one first) and thumb, but I thought it might be a bit of a squeeze on my pinkie - I'm so glad I ended up with this mix of designs instead!

The Product: The spikes themselves I thought were fantastic. They definitely make a statement but they're smaller than a lot of similar products I've seen, so you can go bold without going (too) big - a good thing if you're new to 3D stuff, I'd say. It also means that the flat bases of the spikes sit flush against your nails, which is pretty much crucial for me as visible/palpable edges would drive me crackers. The points are quite sharp (surprised?), so you need to take a certain amount of care when washing your hands/getting dressed/doing stuff. They're not lethal, though.

Application: I used a toothpick to plop a dab of nail glue on my nail where I wanted to attach each spike. Picking them up was probably the trickiest part! I used an ordinary pair of tweezers, aligning the flat end of the tweezers with the base of the spike, to lift each on and drop it on my nail - you have some time to adjust the position of the spike before the glue dries, so you don't need to get it perfect straight away. When lifting with the tweezers, it's really important to use only minimal pressure - if you squeeze too tight, the stud will most likely go flying! [I used broadly the same technique for the rhinestones, but picked them up with a moistened orange stick instead.]

Longevity: This was the only real issue I had with these spikes: I had to reattach/replace three out of five of them over the course of two-ish days. However: 1) They might last longer with better nail glue - I'm not convinced of the quality of mine; 2) There are probably alternative, more effective adhesive methods (I think you can use gel or acrylic, if you have those); 3) How long do you want spiky fingers for, anyway?! If you make a good job of applying them (with a decent dollop of glue or whatever you choose), I'm sure these would happily last a night out. [If I'm only using rhinestones/flatter studs, I usually attach with top coat then seal with a full layer of top coat and I find that keeps them on really well. I didn't do that here and I seemed to lose rhinestones more quickly.]

Please feel free to use my discount code - HZL91 - for 10% off whenever you purchase anything from BornPretty. I've also placed the code & link in my sidebar so you can find it any time! Be warned, though, that browsing their website can be addictive!

What do you think? Do you buy into 3D nail art? I used to think it was something I could appreciate on others but never on myself, but I think I've proved myself wrong - it's not an everyday look, but I'm dying to road test these on a night out!

Tropical Flowers feat. Color Club Fiesta Collection

2013-08-06T02:44:00.000+01:00

Hello lovelies! Just a quick post from me since I had intended to be in bed hours ago (though such is the case more or less every night, haha). I was actually in two minds about whether or not to post these at all - although I really like them in person, I'm not entirely happy with how the photos turned out. You're getting them anyway!

I was rather so excited to come across the Color Club Fiesta Collection in TK Maxx last week - other people always seem to find bargains there but this was my first, which made it kind of irresistible...though the colours are nice too, haha. This design made use of Endless Summer - blue, Sunrise Canyon - chartreuse (or at least, that's what I would call it) and Wild Cactus - green. These pictures aren't perfectly colour-accurate, to my eye: I'd say Endless Summer is a touch darker and bolder (I found it to dry noticeably darker than the bottle colour, which was disappointing, though it's still nice) and Wild Cactus a bit deeper/greener and less teal-y.

The idea for the leafy nails popped into my head whilst watching this MrCandiipants tutorial - although I'm not sure if it will be obvious why... Of course, I couldn't do without an accent nail or two and flowers seemed the natural accompaniment. Originally, I had used the pink polish in the same collection (Flamingo) for the flowers on a base of Endless Summer, but I took those off and much prefer them this way!

I enjoy the fun, summery vibe I get from these, despite the fact that our weather remains rather...Scottish. What do you think? Do you feel my viiibe?! Haha. This post was definitely longer than I intended... Good night!

P.S. Yep, changed my nail shape again. I am fickle.

piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013

2013-07-29T20:10:00.003+01:00

Celebrating the Year of the Blogger!

HIYA POLISHED PALS! Can you tell I'm excited?! I'M EXCITED. I was utterly over the moon when I received the email inviting me to take part in piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013, not least because I had never had the opportunity to try their polishes before. For those unfamiliar with Blog Fest, it is an annual event run by PP and involving bloggers from all around the world and this year, Blog Fest is celebrating amazing nail art. Three lucky participants will also be chosen to create a PP collaboration shade each, for release in 2014. The voting will take place on PP's special Blog Fest 2013 Pinterest board - if you'd like to see the other entries and take part in the voting, you can find that here: http://pinterest.com/picturepolish/

I was sent these three shades to play with:

Ocean - 'An octopus garden in the shade...'

Ruby Blou - 'Dazzling red, sparkling blue'

Atomic - ' WARNING...totally explosive!'

As you can see, Ocean and Atomic were created by Kelly's Kolors and Samarium's Swatches respectively - I hope I've done their beautiful creations justice! So without further ado, here is my contribution to Blog Fest 2013!

Ta daaah! Being so used to working with cremes, I was initially unsure how best to show off these three shades, but I am pleased with how they turned out. If you'd like to recreate the look, you're in luck, because here is my FIRST EVER TUTORIAL!

1: After applying base coat, paint your base colour - this is three thin coats of Atomic.

2: Using a nail art brush - or the bottle brush, if you're so inclined - paint the shapes of your flowers.*

3: Outline your flowers in black, using a nail art brush or pen, then frame the rest of your nail (which I forgot to take a picture of, oops). Don't frame the parts where the flowers are!

4: Glitter placement - plop some Ruby Blou on a bit of paper/tin foil and use a toothpick/dotting tool/weapon of choice to pick up individual pieces of glitter and arrange them roughly to form the centres of your flowers.

5: Add top coat & clean up if necessary, and you're done!

*When I used Ruby Blou as a base, I painted the flowers in black and added Atomic over the top afterwards.

The polishes themselves are really beautiful. Ocean is super sparkly with holo-ish flakes in a turquoise jelly base. It is quite sheer but the formula is lovely, so it truly isn't a hassle to layer it up. Ruby Blou is a delightful mix of large and small hex (I think) glitters in red, blue and silver, suspended in a clear base. Atomic isn't something I would necessarily have thought of as a 'me' colour, but it really is incredibly gorgeous and so complex. The base is a silvery white shimmery affair, but there are loads of little flakes in there too - I see pink and green and gold reflections and sparkles. I've included some bottle photos especially to try to capture some of the more complex elements of Ocean and Atomic.

Pretty special, right?

What do you think? Are you a piCture pOlish fan? I'm certainly impressed! You can find PP's polishes on their website or at one of their worldwide distributors. If you're in the UK (& perhaps Europe?) you can find piCture pOlish at the wonderful Sally Magpies.

HAPPY BLOG FEST 2013 EVERYONE! I can't wait to check out all the other bloggers!

pOlish On-line Store Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram

EDIT: Now you can check out some of the other BlogFesters' posts below and add your own, if you haven't already!

Neon Skittle Nail Art feat. Illamasqua Collide & Gamma

2013-06-06T01:31:00.001+01:00

Remember last time I talked about how difficult Nubar Violet Sparkle was to capture on camera? Neons are even more elusive! I need to stop doing this to myself, haha. Enter Illamasqua Collide (pink) & Gamma (orange).

They do look relatively glowy here but the colours aren't perfectly accurate - Collide is hotter in person and Gamma possibly looks a little softer or peachier? I think the orange overpowers the pink a little in these pictures. Here is a really attractive 'phone photo:

Collide looks more like this most of the time - the 'true' colours (shining throoough) are probably somewhere in the middle and probably more neon. Also, you can see the effect on my middle finger much more clearly here.

SO. I had originally painted my nails white with the intention of trying out the 'watercolour' technique but it wasn't exactly working for me so I've shelved that for the time being. I didn't want the effort of painting my nails white to go to waste, though, so neon seemed like the natural choice!

Awkward thumb, hello to you!

This was more or less a 'make it up as I go along' affair. Index to pinkie we have: neon clouds; saran wrap technique (I think I first learned this from Chelsea's tutorial but there are others out there, too); some funky lines; and a psychedelic swirly thing which makes me think of lollipops. Some excellent naming there. My thumb echoes my ring finger but runs horizontally rather than vertically. I painted everything (except my middle finger) using little brushes. The outlines are Barry M Gold Foil, which is a go-to nail art polish for me; and the studs are from this set by BornPretty, stuck on with a blob of top coat and sealed with layer of the same.

I really love this combo - it's so fun and happy! I just wish (again) that it was easier to photograph.

What do you think? Will you be sporting some feisty neons this summer?

Monochrome Circles + Rhinestones x Nubar Violet Sparkle

2013-05-30T23:53:00.001+01:00

I'm back! I've been suffering from a combo of busyness and bad weather, yeuch. On to the nails!

I can't think of a remotely catchy name for these?! What would you call that circular pattern? Before I talk about how I created this design, I have to tell you how frustrating I found trying to capture Nubar Violet Sparkle on camera. I've tweaked these photos a little in an attempt to make them more colour accurate because no matter which settings I used, it appeared far too blue. Eventually, though, I just had to accept that it would never look as amazing in my photos as it does in person: it is just far more intense and the sparkle is simply mesmerising, often with quite a strong magenta tone, even in relatively low light. Sorry for gushing, but Violet Sparkle is such a true beauty and I wish you could all see it like I can!

SPARKLES!

For the patterned nails, I started with a base of black (Orly Liquid Vinyl). Then, using my largest dotting tool, I added dots of white (Essie Blanc). Getting them all a regular size (and shape, haha) and aligning them all properly was more difficult than I thought it would be - I started on my pinkie and almost abandoned the idea before I'd really begun, haha - but it did get a little easier as I settled into a rhythm. I went in with the small end of the same dotting tool to add a black dot in the centre of each white dot. My nails are not exactly the right size/shape to fit on a whole number of dots, but since I wanted the pattern to go right to the edges, I make the very wise decision just to plop the dots right over the the sides of my nails/cuticles and all over my fingers. Good one. Cleaning that up was great fun.

Shade picture for the sake of completeness...

While the black dots were still wet, I finished up by placing the purple rhinestones from the 1.5mm version of this wheel from BornPrettyStore.com using the pointy end of an orange stick, moistened by my tongue (creepy). They look really purple while they're just chilling in the box, but they seemed quite pinky next to Violet Sparkle - which actually complemented the magenta-ness I mentioned earlier and pulled the whole design together rather nicely. I let them settle briefly then sealed everything with top coat.

I'm really pleased I didn't abandon this idea! Although the dots were not immaculate the effect I was going for was definitely there and I loved rocking some sparrrkle! Also, I've just noticed that this matches my blog colours quite neatly, haha.

What do you think? Do you like a bit of bling?

Feelin' Hot Hot Hot | Chilli Pepper Nail Art

2013-04-22T01:16:00.000+01:00

...So we can rum boom boom boom!

Hiya! Getting all spicy with this hot little chilli (or 'chili' for my American friends) number!

I honestly have no explanation for how this happened. I had intended to do something entirely different but it just didn't work out quite exactly as I wanted and then this idea just popped into my head. I'm really glad it did. These nails are pretty different (I think) from most of things I've done before, but I think they're rather cute & fun. I like them!

[An aside: do you get yellow chillis? If not, those ones are just ordinary peppers...]

I started with a white base (always a joy...) then painted the pepper-y shapes in Kikos 236 & 239 (lighter & darker reds, respectively), Barielle 'Lemondrops' and Sinful Colors 'Exotic Green'. I added the stalks with Sinful Colors 'Last Chance' and then outlined & detailed with a skinny brush using a black Orly (Liquid Leather?).

Overall, I'm really happy with these. I wanted them kind of 'arty' looking and they might be a bit too 'sketchy' in places and insufficiently so in others but I think it's a relatively forgiving design in that regard. I also wonder if it might have been better with the chillis 'peppered' about (BOOM) a little more sparsely; if you try it, make sure you take into account the stalks & outlining when spacing your chillis!

If you've been following my nails for a little while, you may have noticed that I've changed my nail shape; I fancied a wee change & I'd broken corners off a couple of nails on my other hand, so the time seemed ripe. I quite like them when they're painted but they do look a bit odd to me when they're not! What do you think? Does it suit me? Is there another shape I should experiment with? I'll almost definitely end up back with my trusty squares sooner or later...

Final thought: I think a print similar to this could be really cute for summer skirts/shorts/dresses...then you'd be looking HOT (and again!) all the time! What do you think? Could peppers be the new bananas? Chilli jokes appreciated.

Hope you've had a top notch weekend. I leave you with this:

Zig Zags/Floral Tribal Mish Mash

2013-04-08T01:22:00.000+01:00

Hello! I'm back! We had a very busy (in a good way!) Easter weekend last weekend but I have now had a chance to paint my nails & take photos etc. soooo yay! Nails!

I think this looks kind of like an Easter manicure (cute colours + zig zags = Easter?) but that really wasn't my intention! Guess I still have Easter on my subconscious brain. I started out with base colours of China Glaze 'Re-Fresh Mint' & Color Club 'Sweet Pea'. I hadn't really decided in advance what I would do next, but zig zags just seemed an appropriate choice! For the other nails, I was going for a tribal-esque vibe, but with little flowers instead of dots (am I still making sense?!).

I picked out Essie 'Blanc', Barry M 'Blackberry' Gelly (the purple one) & Barry M 'Gold Foil' (which I use a LOT for nail art) and added the details with some striper brushes and my second smallest dotting tool. It was starting to get dark when I painted these so I rushed them a little, but thankfully I don't mind the 'hand painted' look, haha.

I was pretty disappointed with these at first - I absolutely love Re-Fresh Mint & Sweet Pea together and I think I felt that the busyness of the design kind of detracted from that. They have definitely grown on me, though. What do you think?

Got some bonus Easter photos for you, too!

Heilan' Coo

The top photo is of some nails I did for the delightful Maddy while she and my sister, Alison, were up staying with us over Easter. I think nail art looks super cute on wee nails.

The bottom photo is of a heilan' coo (highland cow) at Pollock Country Park because HIGHLAND COWS ARE AWESOME. Seriously, so cute, I love them. This one is a 'baby' - look at its little teeny tiny horns just starting to poke out!

Hope you enjoyed these little extras & that you all had as splendid an Easter as I did! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Illamasqua Jo'Mina Debut | Stripy Geometric Mix

2013-03-26T01:08:00.000+00:00

Hiya! I'd fancied picking up Illamasqua's Jo'Mina for a good while, having seen/read so many complimentary things about it on various blogs. Finally I caved and nabbed it from eBay (for slightly cheaper than normal) last week, thanks in part to the absolutely lovely Kayla Shevonne who was kind enough to send me a bottle-shot comparison to help me decide whether I 'needed' it (haha).

I was really keen to use it but didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted to do, so in the end I just picked out a couple of colours I thought would complement it and got to painting! Here is the result:

I'm generally a wee bit apprehensive about beginning a design without knowing what I'm going to do (it doesn't always end amicably!) but I'm pretty pleased with how these turned out. I think the skinniest stripes, which I included on each nail, pulled the different designs together quite neatly, along with the framing. I still find lines a bit tricky at times and I know a few of them are a bit wonky, but not too badly (I don't think?!). I totally dig bold, geometric-esque mix & match designs, although it's not something I do often.

Illamasqua Jo'Mina is a fantastic purple. It's more intense (and possibly a touch pinker, I'm not sure) in person. Here I've matched it up with Barry M Shocking Pink and 17 (by Boots) Smokey Marble. (It's spelt 'Smokey' with an 'e' on the bottle, though I don't know why!) I really wanted to use something other than my go-to black or gold as the offset/outline colour and I think Smokey Marble was a good choice here. It's a bit darker than it looks in the bottle - I think I'd call it 'gunmetal' - and the shimmer is pretty subtle, but I think it makes a nice change!

For my index and pinkie fingers, I found it easiest to paint the pink and purple first, then add the darker, thinner lines at the end. After having to redo my ring finger, I decided it was best to outline the patterns on the remaining nails, fill them in, then tidy up the lines where necessary. I mostly used striping brushes (in a variety of lengths, so I didn't have to clean them constantly!) for this design, including my super cut-down brush for the skinny lines.

What do you think? Are you a fan of mixing-and-matching? Do you have a favourite finger? (I realise that last question sounds kind of creepy.)

Jan Weiss 'Yellow Petals' Inspired Nail Art

2013-03-20T00:02:00.000+00:00

Hello! Rocking some 'art-inspired' nail art right now:

I'm hardly what you'd call an art buff - although I wish I was more knowledgeable in the subject - but I found myself browsing art.com for inspiration, where I came across this Jan Weiss print, 'Yellow Petals 4':

I absolutely loved it - it was just begging to be made into a manicure! I'm always trying to convince myself that floral designs are 'too girlie' for me, but every time I do something flowery I end up really liking it. What I dig about this series of Jan Weiss prints, I think, is that they're a bit 'edgier' (seriously judging myself for using that word) than my idea of a more classic floral, and not very cutesy at all! I love the freshness of the colours, too.

I began this design by painting my nails white. Whilst I love nail art on a white base, I do NOT enjoy the act of painting it. White polish just seems to be consistently annoying, so if you have one you love, let me know!

I used Barry M 'Acid Yellow' for the outer colour of the petals, which I just painted using the brush in the bottle. Then I added the accent colours with a little brush, in Barielle 'Lemondrops' and Illamasqua 'Blow'. After that, I went in with my smallest dotting tool to try to replicate the 'dotty' look of the petals round the outside at and the borders between the different colours, but that's really not apparent in the finished look unless you go eyeball-to-nail, so I probably wouldn't bother if I did it again!

Next, I added dots on the petals using Sinful Colors 'Exotic Green', and more in the centre with Barielle 'Sweet Addiction' and Sinful 'Last Chance'. Up until this point I thought my flowers looked a bit daft and I really didn't think they were going to work! However, the addition of the black lines (with a cut down striper) finally pulled the look together.

I did have a couple of ideas for the rest of my fingers, but I felt anything I put on them might detract from the impact of the flowers. At first I thought they looked a bit stark or incomplete but actually, I really like the clean aesthetic of the white next to the bolder, fresh-coloured flowers. Despite the fact that it has been snowing here for about a week, I do love how springy these feel!

What do you think? Are florals your thing? And if you have any white polish recommendations, do let me know!

A England (& Kiko) Stained Glass Nail Art

2013-03-12T00:44:00.000+00:00

HIYAAA! Welcome to my brand spanking new blog! I've been posting nail art on my Tumblr for a while now and I'm super excited finally to have somewhere I can write as many words and post as many pictures as I like. Oh, and I'm Kirstie, by the way. NAIL ART TIME.

Much as I love Scotland, sunshine isn't something we enjoy a whole lot of. However, it does mean I really appreciate a good sunny spell when it comes along. And when I say, 'Appreciate', I mean:

Hello holo! Direct sunlight.

SHAZAM. This is all five of the A England polishes I owned (I've since got hold of my sixth) painted in varying sizes & shapes with a nail art brush, over a base of Kiko 399, a pale gold holo. For me, all the colourful sparkles are really reminiscent of stained glass. The way the different shapes are laid out and fitted together kind of also made me think of a tortoise's shell...I felt a bit like I was walking about with magical tortoise nails. (Please don't judge me.)

I can't even express how much I love Adina's (A England's) polishes. Even out of the sun, I still think they look so beautiful, really complex and unique. The colours are gorgeous and rich, and some of them even have duochrome! It's pretty evident that a lot of love goes into creating A England collections.

Green/gold duochrome WHAT UP!

When this idea first popped into my head I thought maybe I was just delirious with sunshine after a miserable winter. I almost talked myself out of it on the basis that it would be 'Too much'. Hahaha, no. BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Pretty sure I've saved the best picture 'til last...

With flash. The purple of Princess Tears gets me every time!

Seriously, I think this has to be one of my favourite manicures ever. It just makes me so happy every time I look at it!

I hope you've enjoyed this inaugural Nail Cake post - I'd love to know what you think! Are you a holo/A England lover, too?