NOTD: Chanel Couture Fall 2012

Day 10!

I originally saw this design courtesy of Polish you Pretty found here, they have a great website with nail tutorials and ideas and I browse through them endlessly wishing I had the time, patience and skill to try them out!

What intrigued me about this design was its simplicity and the ability to change the colours to suit ANY occasion and still have your manicure looking the business.

Interestingly, this is Chanel's first every nail art and I'm so glad they stuck to what they know with a simple design!

I used Model's Own Champagne for the base coat.

Normally I use 2 coats of this but as it was underneath I felt that one coat was enough, though ideally I would still use two to get the full effect of the metallic shine!

Then I used the orange Nails Inc colour that came with In Style a few months ago (maybe last year?!)

It was my first ever orange nail colour and I haven't looked back, in fact I may even use this one up one day I love it that much!

It's a really easy simple design to do that you can easily swap and change colours, effects etc for whatever occasion.

I'm looking forward to trying this with a neon pink underneath a super shiny black top coat, and also you can experiment using a matte top coat for sneaky bit of shine at the base!

It's currently my favourite nail design!

What do you think about Chanel's new foray into the nail art world? What colours would you pick?

L xxx

NOTD OPI Big Apple Red

A simple NOTD from me today. A gorgeous cherry red. A classic colour everyone needs in their collection. This is OPI Big Apple Red. I adore the name, so cute.

Formula wise this needed 3 coats and was also a little sheer. I found you colour still some some nail lines on a few nails. I expected more of an opaque colour.

It is a really lovely shade of red which is winner for me. But the formula did disapoint so I don't know if I'd buy it again. When I wore this it also chipped really quickly. Under a day quick. Has anyone else got this colour and found this?

Showing where you can slightly see the nail line.

This is such a pretty colour I'm in the process of experimenting with different top coats.

Do you have a favourite red in your collection? I wish I could make this one last longer. Any tips on making it last better?

Love M

xxx

NOTD: Olympic Inspiration

Day 8!

This is a collection of Olympics inspired nail art from the both of us.

As I type this I'm sat watching the gymnastics! I love the Olympics, I sit day dreaming, I love watching the gymnastics and swimming the most. I always joke to my mum she let me give up on activities too much as a child, she wasn't a pushy parent in the slightest we chose what we wanted to do and when we wanted to stop. I like to think if she had pushed I'd have been good at something by now ;).

So I decided it was about time I tried a tape manicure. I love the look of them. I'm current waiting for nail tape to arrive in the post, but as it's an eBay special from Hong Kong I know it's not coming any time soon so I thought I'd give a DIY one a go and use sellotape.

This type of manicure requires patience and time. Perfect for doing when you are sat watching the Olympics.

I started by picking the colours I wanted (the colours of the Olympic rings and the GB flag) and cutting as thin as I could strips of sellotape. You need lots of these, between 3 to 4 per nail.

This is part of wear patience is needed.

Next step is to paint the nails in the colours selected. I decided on my thumb and ring finger to be Great Britain flag colours and did random marbled spots on them. For the other fingers I did the colours of the Olympic rings in the order they occur.

You don't need to worry about being too neat.

Next step is to apply strips of tape to the nails. Make sure your nails are really dry before you do this stage of you'll end up ripping paint of as you peel them later. I did this on some nails.

I do them diagonally in a random pattern. Thin strips and four per nail I found looked best.

Next pick the colours you want to go over the top. I choose black for flag colours and white for the Olympic ring colours. Don't worry about being too neat. Just make sure it;s well covered.

Once that coat is completely dry remove the tape carefully and in the opposite order to which it was laid down to avoid excess tugging. As you peel back strips you'll feel if there is another on top. Now to clean them up with a cotton bud and apply top coat.

 The finished effect. I can't wait to try this again. I've seen it look great with a gradient neon nail and black on top. What do you think of the tape manicure? Some of my strips were too thick. I think the middle nail looks best. Do you have Olympic nails?

Love M

xxx

It's my first proper time at nail art and I totally went for it!

I spent my time during the opening ceremony doing mine so I could get as much of the stuff in as I could!

I thought the ceremony was completely bizarre and crazy and by the end of it I totally loved it!

The music, Mr Bean and good old Bond and Queenie were amazing!

So anyway onto the nails:

This is look no.1

I had so much fun doing this. Originally I didn't even own a blue and I've no idea how this happened but I had to buy one ha.

Union Jack in gold (as we're going to win some!), a medal, my attempt at a torch...., proper union jack and the olympic rings on a gold glitter background.

I used a mix of China Glaze, Models Own and Rimmel colours. 

This was my favourite nail! When I didn't have a blue I tried it out and loved it!

I'm going to be wearing this on my thumb for the entire time the Olympics are on!

I used Model's Own Champagne for this with the white from the Barielle Bridal Collection.

My 2nd look is a lot less complicated:

I simply painted my nails with the same gold (determined were going to be winning some medals!) and then painted each nail a different colour from the Olympic rings starting a few millimetres above the cuticle.

This lets the gold from underneath shine through which looks amazing!

And it's really easy to get a smooth curve after a few tries.

Hope you like my Olympic nails!

L xxx

NOTD: Essie Sand Tropez

Day 7!

Today's NOTD is my very first and only Essie nail polish so far to grace my collection.

After using this for a few weeks I can guarantee it won't be the last and many more will be joining it!

I bought this as I'd heard rave reviews on it from the blogosphere.

It's the one and only Sand Tropez.

Initially when I got to the shop (called Ulta, another American store very similar to Sephora) and found the polish I couldn't really believe that it was anything special and doubted my choice...

But I used the tester to try it on one of my own nails which happened to be in another pinky nude at the time.

It was a perfect comparison, this was an amazing colour that actually suited my skin as I never thought that it would.

Normally pinky nudes are all that will suit my skin tone but this was one of those perfect beige creamy nudes that seem to complement almost every tone.

I also love the name of this, I would love to live in St Tropez, both the place and the product so this was destined to be mine really!

You can see the colour on my nails above.

This was after two coats and it seems to last quite a bit longer than others (like 4 days?) before chipping which seeing as I work in a lab and am constantly bashing things with them is pretty good for me.

The only downside to this polish is that on some nails it did need 3 coats where it was a little streaky.

The nail polish doesn't seem to be a streaky product but occasionally there will be a gap on a nail that will need an extra coat which is a little annoying as they are a more expensive nail product that you wouldn't have thought would have a streaky formula!

However this has most definitely not put me off it and I still wear it all the time, I'm a big fan of nudes and greiges and fully intend on stocking up my collection with them asap!

What do you think of Sand Tropez? What's your favourite Essie colour?

I might have to add it to my list!

Hope you check back tomorrow, we've got a super exciting nail art inspired by the Olympics which we're hoping is different but just as good as everyone else's ideas as there already some gorgeous ones online!

L xxx

NOTD Barry M Magnetic Nail Polish in Burgundy

Olympics start today, we are both currently experimenting with some hopefully olympic / team GB nail art for tomorrow and Sunday's post.

Today's post is another new nail varnish from the ones I picked up the other day. I can't comment on how long it lasts as after painting my nails I decided the colour was more wintery than summery so didn't keep it on long.

I was so excited after L bought me back the China Glaze Magnet (post here) I couldn't wait to buy a nail varnish to try it with. Since Barry M released them I had been meaning to try the Burgundy one as it's such a gorgeous shade. I can see this getting lots of wear in colder months. Plus it's only £4.99 (I will definitely get more come winter) and does come with it's own magnet. Surprisingly this is my First Barry M nail varnish. I'm very impressed so far. (I'm eyeing up their limited edition Britannia Glitter one, it's lush!!!)

Firstly I need to apologise for my messy painting. I was just playing around so didn't tidy up around my nails as wasn't planning to keep it on but the colour was so pretty I has to share. I can see this colour getting so much wear around Christmas time as it's a gorgeous berry red shade.

Firstly paint all nails with one coat of nail varnish, you could stop here. A gorgeous metallic berry shade and opaque in one coat. Then paint one nail at a time with a second coat and hover the magnet over for 5 seconds without touching.

As it was my first time I wanted to try out all the designs (I used the Barry M magnet too and it is as good.) I had difficulty getting it close and not toughing the nail at first as you can see from the magnet. I think the trick is to be careful when placing the magnet down. I was a little too eager.

I really did love all the designs. Especially the star one. It looks so cute. I really do like the way it looks on the nails and the shimmer is so pretty.

Have you tried Magnetic polishes? Which brands are your favourites? Do you like the way it looks? 

Love M

xxx

NOTD: Black and Silver

Day 5!
Today's post is a nail design I did a couple of weeks ago that I absolutely loved and decided to recreate as part of our 21 Days of Nails.

This is super simple as I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to nail art and am nowhere near as brave as M is!

For this I used my trusty Nails Inc in Black Taxi, the wonderful present M got me which was a Couture by Nails Inc polish in Sloane Square (but my bottle was my actual name!) and then with a super shiny top coat courtesy of No7 Top coat.

I painted all over my nails as normal with a base coat and 2 coats of Black Taxi before letting them dry for a bit longer than usual.

Then I took the silver glitter and covered half of my ring fingernail, and then half of my thumb nail

It's so super easy but the effect was great!

And you can easily change the colours, nails, glitters, magnetic etc etc and create so many different looks without ever needing any kind of tool to help you.

All you need is a bit of a steady hand!

I love how even though the photo above is blurred, you can still tell that the ring finger has more detail on than just the plain manicure and it looks so shiny!

What do you think of my minimalist nail art? Are you any good at these?

I think I need to branch out...

L xxx

NOTD Lilac Spotty Nails

After a quick trip to boots the other day I ended up walking out with 4 new nail varnishes. I just cant seem to resist. I also picked up Essie Grow Stronger after hearing good things about it. I will do a full review once I've tried it for a little while.

In the Summer I love pastel nail shades as well as bright colours. Today I decided on pastel nail art so I could use two of my new nail varnishes. These are the colours I used.

Avon Nailwear pro+ in Lemon Sugar currently £5

China Glaze in Secret Periwinkle 

No7 Cheeky Chops £2 when bought with a voucher

Rimmel I love lasting finish in shade Marshmallow Heaven and Pear Drop currently two for £4 in boots

I started off by painting my nails with two coats of Marshmallow Heaven. I should add I didn't like this nail varnish, it seemed streaky and not a great quality, but after two coats it looked ok and I evened out any other strokes with a third coat. It did last almost 4 days on my nails which with work is amazing so maybe I would repurchase other shades.

I couldn't really decide on what to do but wanted to use lots of colours so ended up doing lines of different polka dots. My nail dotting tool is the best thing I've bought for my nails and I use it all the time. It's great for creating loads of different designs.

This is quick easy and summery, and although the formulation of the Rimmel Nail polish at first put me off the price and the lasting power of it has me giving it another go.

Have you used and Rimmel I love lasting finish nail varnishes? Are you a pastel or brights girl?

Love M

xxx

NOTD: China Glaze Pool Party

Day 3!

This beauty is my absolute favourite at the moment!

It goes perfectly on fingers and toes and pretty much any occasion when the weather is this blooming lovely!!

Check out that SUN!

I managed to go a bit pink on my shoulders today from my 20 minute sit down at lunch time, woohoo!

This is another polish I picked up from America, from a brand that me and M love, and I'm pretty sure M introduced me to.

China Glaze prides itself on having no toluene, DBP or formaldehyde in its products which we of course LOVE on this blog, chemicals are bad!

Pool Party is from the Neon collection so take a look at how it turned out:

It even contrasts beautifully with my room behind it haha.

It was a beautiful colour to put on and needed the usual 2 coats to be as bright as you can see!

It really is a beautiful neon colour that you can't take your eyes off.

The only downside to this (for me) was that it dried with a kind of matte finish, it wasn't as matte as you get when you apply a top coat but it was definitely more matte than a usual polish.

It was odd and not quite what I look for in a polish as I love the shiny finish

So as I always do when painting my nails, I applied a top coat and had the wonderfully shiny finish as below:

I just cannot get enough of this colour, and even though I bought a silly ridiculous 17, yes SEVENTEEN nail varnishes whilst in the US, this one is hands down my favourite of the bunch and the others aren't getting much of a look in!

What do you think of Pool Party? Do you like China Glaze?

You can still buy them in the UK but unfortunately only on eBay as far as I know, though you can still get them for around £8!

L xxx

NOTD - Tuxedo Nails

So Day 2 of our 21 days of nails! Today I'm showing you tuxedo nails. Everyone went crazy for these after Zooey Deschanel was spotted with this very cute manicure on the red carpet. I'm a little behind and decided to give it a try last Saturday as I was wearing a nude and pink dress and wanted some nail art to blend with it.

As I'm yet to own nail art pens (I use my dotting tool) and I don't have a steady hand I decided on a feature nail. You'll notice I favour this manicure a lot through these nail posts.

Firstly I painted a base coat of OPI Nail Envy Maintenance (the best at the moment for me) then I painted all of my nails with two coats of  OPI bubble bath. Its a gorgeous slightly sheer nude pink. Even though it's sheer I actually really like the colour which surprised me. It applied easily. I have the small bottles as I have the best of the best collection ( a great set of 10 mini OPI polishes in their most popular shades. I fully recommend it.)

When it was completely dry I started by doing the bow tie. I did two little triangles and a dot for this. You could use a kirby grip if you are like me and don't have nail pens. (I should add yet, as I don't think I can resist the Models Own stand much longer) I used OPI Lincoln After Dark for this. I always use this for my dark colour in nail art as I don't own black nail varnish.

Excuse my disgusting stubby nails, I bit all this hand the other day, naughty me!!

Then using my dotting tool I did 3 dots for buttons and used the brush in the pot for two triangles at the side. I really like this look and will definitely do it again.

Did you try this manicure before? Would you try it again? I think nail art pens would make it much easier.

Love M

xxx