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