How I store my Nail Polishes

Hi girls!!

I was asked a long time ago to show how I store my nail polishes. but I completely forgot about it, and today I remembered so I decided to do it. 

I store my nail polises in one drawer, so they are away from sunlight, and they will not dry as fast. 

I bought a little box with compartments from IKEA which cost me £13.27, and I think it is perfect for my needs, and fits all my nail polishes and more as my nail polish colection tends to grow almost every week!

I'll leave you some pictures so you can have an idea on how it all looks.

XOXO

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Olá meninas!!

Já á algum tempo uma menina deixou-me um comentario a pedir para mostrar como guardo os meus vernizes, mas esqueci-me completamente e só hoje me lembrei.

Eu guardo os meus vernizes numa gaveta na minha comoda, para os proteger da luz do sol e da humidade da casa de banho, assim eles não secam tão depressa.

Então eu comprei uma caixa que tem compartimentos no IKEA, e para mim é perfeita, os meus vernizes cabem lá todos, e ainda cabem mais o que é bom porque pelo menos de 2 em 2 semanas compro vernizes.

Então deixo-vos com as fotos para voces verem melhor como eu guardo os meus vernizes.

XOXO

China Glaze Lubu Heels + Nails Inc Trafalgar Square = Awesome Bling!

Don't you just love how cool my nails look right now? I love how this looks - just like red stars in a deep, black sky, or burning embers in a bed of lava. This look was actually two polishes layered together. For the base, I used China Glaze Lubu Heels, a black jelly with small red glitter, one of the classics in their permanent collection. However, it wasn't quite blingy enough for me, so I layered Nails Inc Trafalgar Square over it. Nails Inc Trafalgar Square consists of large chunks or red glitter in a clear base - perfect for layering over Lubu Heels!



I'm always been a fan of both China Glaze and Nails Inc, and both of these were polishes I bought awhile back but never used as often as I liked (although I've previously used Trafalgar Square in another NOTD, one that's really old.)



Both these brands generally work very well on me, and the application for China Glaze and Nails Inc was quite trouble-free for glitter polishes. As always, since the glitter does tend to clump up in some places, you do need to work a little with the brush to try to ensure as even a distribution of glitter as possible. Otherwise, I had no issues with application.

Both China Glaze and Nails Inc wear well on me, so this lasted for around 3-4 days before chipping. That's pretty decent for me, so I have no complaints about lasting power.



I love my nails, and I love the glitter and bling. Although I don't always use glitter polishes, I can't wait to do another manicure like that again!

Nails Inc Paddington + Nail Art Pearl Rhinestone = Classy But Fun NOTD

I don't always get to do nail art, so whenever I bling up my nails, I get all excited! So please humour me while I start off this post with a photo of my awesome blinged up nails.



The nail polish in question is Nails Inc Paddington, a gorgeous glossy deep red I bought in my craze to own as many Nails Inc colours as I possibly could before leaving the UK. It's distinct from Nails Inc's other famous colour, Victoria, in that Victoria is a jelly (sort of), while Paddington is a creme, and Victoria has a tinge more purple to it, whereas Paddington is more maroon.

Anyway, I first applied Paddington, which applies like a dream, as with most of my Nails Inc polishes. I loved how absolutely classic it looked. So I decided that if I wanted to bling it up, I would have to use something equally classy - and lo and behold, I took out this little baby.



This humble-looking set of nail art pearls is available from Born Pretty Store, which has been quite popular among nail bloggers lately for their vast array of nail art products. The store simply has everything, from shatter polish to nail art tools, and of course, nail art decorations like this set of pearls. This set of pearls is the 3 sizes nail baby pearl rhinestone decoration wheel, available for a very reasonable price.

The pearls come in three sizes, so you can pick and choose to form various designs, or to suit very large or small fingers. I've taken the liberty of photographing a pearl of each size against a ruler, so you can guesstimate how large these are. The smallest pearl is really quite tiny, while the largest pearl is pretty big.



For this look, I used just the medium-sized pearl. For round items like nail art pearls or rhinestones, I find it best to pick and place them on the nail by using a damp toothpick, a tip I learned from some other nail bloggers. Basically, you dampen the end of a toothpick, and touch the surface of a pearl or rhinestone. The pearl or rhinestone will then "stick" to the toothpick due to the surface tension of the water, thus allowing you to move the pearl and hover it over the nail until you are fully satisfied with its position. Then, you can lower the pearl or rhinestone on to the surface of the nail, and the wet nail polish will have a stronger surface tension than the water on the toothpick, so the rhinestone will stick to the nail even after you lift your toothpick. Nifty, right? Sometimes I also use a pair of tweezers, when I can't find a toothpick lying around.



Another tip I've found handy when working with nail art is that topcoat is needed over the pearls and rhinestones, otherwise they will fall off within a couple of days. I typically use two coat of topcoat over the nail art. I first use a slow-drying topcoat, and then apply a second coat of fast-drying topcoat, like Seche Vite, over it. That way, the pearls and rhinestones stay firmly in place for as long as possible, without me having to wait for hours for my manicure to dry. With this method of slow topcoat and fast-dry topcoat, my manicure is typically ready to go after half an hour. Meanwhile, in the interim half-hour, I can use my hands, but carefully.



Lasting power of the manicure was very good. If you've been a longtime reader of my blog, you'll know I'm an absolute hoor for all Nails Inc polishes, since they work very well on me. Nails Inc's Paddington applied smoothly, and stayed on for 3-4 days before chipping, which is about usual for me. I only wish that Nails Inc was cheaper, and available outside the UK! In my humble opinion, the Nails Inc formula is the best there is in nail polish - outstripping even - dare I say it - RBL. I personally find the consistency smoother in Nails Inc polishes, and the application less streaky. Okay, now I'd better run before the RBL fans stone me.



I don't know about you, but I am absolutely loving my nail art, although it was a little more time-consuming than your average manicure. I love the combination of deep red together with white pearls, and I love how it looks classy with the deep red colour, but still a little fun with the pearls! I'm not going to lie - I simply couldn't stop looking at my nails when I had this manicure on.

(Nail art product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)

Sping/Summer Nail Colours

Yesterday as I was talking to my sister, she asked me "What nail polishes colours are going to be the trend for Spring/Summer?".

Here are my ideas of the perfect Spring/Summer colours.

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Ontem quando estava a falar com a minha mana, ela me perguntou: "Que cores de vernizes se vão usar na Primavera/Verão?".  

Aqui estão as minhas idéias das cores perfeitas para a Primavera /Verão.

 Rimmel London Pro Nail Polish in Aqua Cool £4.59

Barry M Nail Paint in Blueberry Ice Cream £2.99

Models Own Nail Polish in Lilac Dream £5

Nails Inc Nail Polish in Porchester Square £11

Essie Nail Polish in French Affair

Chanel Le Vernis in Mimosa £17

Nails Inc - Lucky Dip

Nails Inc is running a promotion, where u basically pay £10, and you will get 5 Nail polishes, yes 5!! you will be saving over £45. The only thing is that you will not be able to choose the colours you get. The only product you know you will get is the Chelsea Bridge UV top and base coat, and 4 full sized nail colours, you just don't know which ones. They have the most amazing gorgeous colours, and £10 is not a lot of money for all of this, baring in mind that each of their nail polishes cost £11, you are getting a very big discount.

I ordered mine already! Could not pass on this opportunity. I cannot wait to get my order and see my new colours!!

 This offer is available at Nails Inc website here.

Olá meninas, a Nails Inc está com uma promoção, onde basicamente se paga £10, e recebe-se 5 vernizes, sim 5!!! Poupa-se mais de £45. A unica coisa menos boa é que não se pode escolher as cores que compras. O unico produto que sabes mesmo que recebes é o Chelsea Bridge UV top and base coat, e 4 vernizes do tamanho normal, só que não sabem quais. Como eles têm as cores mais lindas, e £10 não é assim tanto dinheiro tendo em consideração que cada um dos vernizes da Nails Inc custa  £11, é um disconto muito bom.

Eu não resisti e encomendei o meu. Agora só me resta esperar e ver as cores que me calharam.

Esta oferta está disponivel no website da Nails Inc aqui.

Nails Inc - Crackle Nail Polish

I seam to going on and on and on, about crackling nail polish, but almost every day, a new brand launches a crackling effect nail polish, and every time I see crackling nail polish, I fall more in love with it!!

At first I was like, hum, I do not like this effect, but now, I just want to buy some colours and see the different looks. Every brand has the basic black, and are now also introducing new colours, which I really love for the summer looks. Nails Inc has some great colours in their collection. My favourite is called Hoxon crackle nail polish which is a nice dark purple. 

Eu pareço não me calar com o effeito crackling, mas quase todos os dias, uma marca nova lança um verniz de efeito crackling, e cada vez que vejo vernizes crackling apaixono-me!!

Primeiro confesso que não gostava nada deste efeito nas unhas, mas agora, quero comprar alguns destes vernizes e tentar looks diferentes. Todas as marcas têm o preto, e algumas começão a introduzir cores diferentes, que realmente adoro especialmente para o Verão. A Nails Inc tem umas cores fantasticas na colecção deles. A minha perferida é o Hoxon Crackle que é um roxo escuro.

Camden Crackle Nail Polish

Hoxon Crackle Nail Polish

Islington Crackle Nail Polish

London Fashion Week Starts today!!

If you want to follow all the news, makeup trends for AW11, and if you have a facebook account you only need to "like" London Fashion Week, MAC, Topshop, Butter London, Nails Inc, Benefit, Bobbi Brown.

These are just a few links that will cover the Makeup side of Fashion Week.

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Se quizerem saber as novidades todas de maquiagem da Semana da Moda de Londres, e se têm Facebook podem "gostar" das paginas que se encontram em cima.

São só alguns dos links que vão mostrar o lado da maquiagem da Semana da Moda de Londres.

Nails Inc - Montpelier Square

A few weeks ago, I received my Nails Inc order, and since then, I have been dying to try Montpelier Square. The day finally arrived, today!

And I have to say I do not usually go for metallic, and this nail polish is so metallic, when I applied, I was like whoa!! I will wear it again, I just have to get used to it. It is the easiest nail polish to apply, its not too runny, and not too solid, has the perfect consistency. I only needed 1 coat, I usually apply 2 coats, but this one only needed 1 coat, which is great. I am pleased with it, once again Nails Inc did not disappoint.

Há umas semanas recebi a minha encomenda da Nails Inc, e desde ai tenho andado com vontade de experimentar o verniz Montpelier Square. Finalmente tive a oportunidade de o fazer hoje!
  Tenho a dizer que usualmente não uso vernizes metalicos, e quando o pus, fiquei tipo whoa!! Voltarei a usa-lo, só tenho de me habituar a ele. É muit facil de por, é um dos vernizes mais faceis que tenho, não é muit liquido, tem a consistencia certa. So percisisei de por uma coat, usualmente ponho sempre duas, mas neste não foi perciso, o que é muito bom. Estou muito contente com este verniz, mais uma vez a Nails Inc nao me desapontou.

Nails Inc Limited Edition Shoes Nail Polish

I seam to be writing a lot about Nails Inc, but they are so great, it is hard to resist.

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Ultimamente ando a escrever muito sobre os vernizes Nails Inc, mas eles são tão bons que é dificil resistir.

Nails Inc just launched a Limited Edition Nail Polish to celebrate SHOES, a glamorous fantastic new Musical.

This musical will be in London at Peacock Theatre from the 8th of February to 3rd of April 2011

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A Nails Inc acabou de lançar uma edição limitada para celebrar SHOES, um novo musical fantastico e glamoroso.
Este musical vai estar no Peacock Theatre em Londres apartir de 8 de Fevereiro até dia 3 de Abril 2011

I actually cannot wait to get the nail polish, but also to see this musical!!

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Mal posso esperar para comprar este verniz, mas tambem para ir ver este musical!!

Nails Inc - Cashmere Collection

The new Nails Inc collection, Called Cashmere collection is currently only available online  and it is gorgeous. I absolutely love the nude tones. These shades come as a collection at £25, or you can just pick your favourite for £11.

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A nova colecção da Nails Inc, chamada Cashmere Collection está currentemente disponivel no site da Nails Inc, e é lindissima. Eu adoro os tons nús. Estes tons vêm numa colecção que custa £25, ou então pode escolher o seu favorito por £11.

These colours are called:

O nome das das cores é:

• Sydney Street (Heather Grey)
• Hyde Park Mews (Mushroom Brown)
• Cromwell Road (Pink Mink)
• Fulham Palace Road (Iced Coffee)

Nails inc - The Coveted Collection

Today I decided to look at the Nails inc website, not that I intended to buy any nail polishes, as at £11 each is kinda pushing it, even though they are great, and have such lovely colours. But I saw SALES, and couldn't resist to have a look, and I saw the most amazing deal, a box, worth £80 was only £19, which included: 

3 bestselling shades, 2 limited edition shades plus 4 hero treatment products!

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Hoje decide ver o site da Nails Inc, embora não fosse com intenção de comprar alguma coisa, porque a £11 cada um, é um bocadinho caro, embora eles sejam muito bons, e as cores são lindissimas. Mas vi SALDOS, e não consegui resistir em dar uma espreitadela, foi então que vi uma caixinha no valor de £80, estava agora a £19, o que incluia: 3 dos vernizes mais vendidos, 2 vernizes de edições ilimitadas, e 4 "hero" produtos de tratamento!

• Tate (deep glossy red)
• Elizabeth Street (pale smooth cream) 
• Brook Street (hot coral) 
• Oxford Circus (soft candy pink) 
• Cambridge Circus (pure purple) 
• Caviar top coat 
• Caviar base coat 
• Professional nail file 
• Mini Mayfair hand lotion

So as the deal was so great I decided to order it, I also ended up ordering one box for my best friend, and one of their Limited Nail Polishes called Montpelier Square. 

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Como os produtos são bons, e o dinheiro que ia poupar era muito, decidi encomendar, e tambem encomendei uma caixinha para a minha melhor amiga, e outro verniz de uma colecção ilimitada chamado Montpelier Square.

I cannot wait for it all to arrive!!

Mal posso esperar que chegue tudo!!

Dior Gris City Nail Polish Collection

Yesterday I came across this new Dior Collection when I was looking for new trends. Dior decided to honour three great cities of fashion, Paris, London and New York.

The first one is called Bond Street- a grey for London with a hint of blue, Gris Montaigne is a Dark grey, which in the colour of Dior's home in Paris, and last but not least, NY 57th is a metalic grey which represents Manhattan. I have to say my favourist are Bond Street and NY 57th. These nail polishes cost around £17 each, and you can get them from selfridges.

I noticed that some high street brands have some similar colours.

Topshop Nails in Airplane is similar to the Bond Street from dior. Maddox Street from Nails Inc, is very similar to NY 57th, and OPI's Give me the Moon is also very similar to Gris Montaigne.

Christmas Green and Gold Glitter Gradient Nails with Etude House Lucidarling

Christmas is coming, and it's showing on the nails! Today's nails are Christmas-inspired in the seasonal holiday colours of green and gold, and to add to the festive spirit, there's glitter involved. I attempted to do a gradient manicure with the gold glitter, but it was a big fail.

The green nail polish is Nails Inc Fitzhardinge Street, a deep, dark forest green that's so dark as to be almost black. And the glitter was Etude House's Lucidarling Fantastic Nails in 04 Sequin Crystal Gold.

Here's a shot of my gradient fail Christmas mani:



I love Nails Inc Fitzhardinge Street - it's almost black, and looks black in most lights, especially with 2 coats. What you see on my nails is one coat, so it still looks green. But any thicker and it will look black on the nails.

I also really like the Etude House colour, 04 Sequin Crystal Gold. For those unfamiliar with Asian brands (and how is that possible, I wonder :P ), Etude House is a Korean drugstore brand that can be found in Asia, and they have cute and girly packaging. The colour, 04 Sequin Crystal Gold, is part of their Lucidarling range, and it contains two sizes of glitter - a small gold glitter, as well as larger circular holographic glitter. And they do have really cute packaging! Take a look at the awfully girly bottle:



So now that I've shown you the kawaii-ness of the bottle, let's get back to my nails. I attempted to do the gradient by painting my tips, and then extending the glitter area a little outside the tips. I don't think I did well, but I guess it was my first time:



I know it's not as awesomely blingy or nail art-y as it could have been, but this was the easiest way to sneak in some Christmas spirit without my boss at work noticing!

NOTD: Nails Inc Diet Coke Paris: A Lovely Berry Creme

I'm sure you already know this, but for this month, whenever you buy 2 500ml bottles of Diet Coke, you get one bottle of Nails Inc polish free, out of a choice of four colours. The colours are all named after fashionable places - London, Paris, New York, and Milan. In one of my previous posts I featured Nails Inc London, with some comparison swatches HERE, and this post I'm featuring another colour - Nails Inc Paris!

Despite being a freebie, Nails Inc Paris, as with Nails Inc London, applied beautifully, was well pigmented, and totally opaque in 2 coats. It has a lovely creme finish, as does Nails Inc London. But while Nails Inc London is a greige-y nude, Nails Inc Paris is a bright but still muted berry-toned plum creme. I really love this colour, it's perfectly in between plum and purple. It looks really delicious, it reminds me of berries and jam. Yum. Berries.

Ooh, stubby fingers:



And here's a picture with the bottle. I know it's blatant product advertising, but I actually think the Diet Coke logo on the bottle is kinda cute:



This is actually similar to Nails Inc Piccadilly Circus (which I used in a very unfortunate and ugly KOTD HERE). Both of them are cremes and of similar colour and depth, but I think Paris is a lot more purple than Piccadilly Circus, which is a more straightforward berry pink.

My First Ever Nail Swatches!

Today is nostalgia day! These are my first ever nail polish swatches - and as you can see they're the lousiest possible swatches anyone could make. They're made on a paper towel, and these were a bunch of swatches made at the Nails Inc store, and I made them on a piece of tissue paper because that was all I had to swatch on, and I couldn't do it on my own nails because they were painted with something else at that point in time. LOL!



Here are the names by rows:

1st: Belgrave Place, Maddox St, Regents Palace, The Thames
2nd: The Serpentine, Kensington Palace, Bruton Street
3rd: Hanover Square, Jermyn Street, Berkeley Square
4th: Victoria Caviar, Victoria Gate, 80 Fulham Road
5th: Instyle Bare, New Bond Street, Belgravia
6th: Burlington Gardens, The Mall, Basil Street
7th: Dover Street, Hampstead Heath

I can't believe I started out making swatches like these, because they really are quite craptastic! I just posted them here for a laugh more than anything else, so I hope they've entertained you!

RBL Grunge, Nails Inc Diet Coke London, Instyle Mink, Jermyn Street: Any Dupes?

While I was wasting my youth on that infernal time-sucker called Twitter, I was chatting with Liloo (who is @tsunimee on Twitter - PS you should follow her because she's really awesome!), and she was asking me if the Nails Inc Diet Coke London shade was similar to the Nails Inc Instyle Mink shade, and she wanted to know if I could do swatches to compare the two.

For those of you who are non-UKers, Nails Inc is a luxury brand of nail polish in the UK, and every now and then they have promotions that allow you to get a bottle of their polish for cheaper than the really pain-inducing retail price of 10.50GBP. As luck would have it, this month in the UK, there are not one but TWO Nails Inc promotions - one that allows you to get a free bottle of Nails Inc polish with a purchase of Instyle Magazine, and another one that allows you to get a free bottle of Nails Inc polish with a purchase of two bottles of Diet Coke. And as is usual with Nails Inc, the colours released for both promotions were right on trend.

In fact, so right on trend that people thought two of the colours from both promotions were dupes. The colours in question are London (from the Nails Inc Diet Coke promotion) and Mink (from the Nails Inc Instyle promotion). Both of them are the classic, yet still-edgy mushroomy, taupey-brown greige shade I absolutely love. They looked similar, so people started speculating that they were dupes.

Fortunately, because I am a mushroomy-taupey-brown-greige hoor, I bought both Nails Inc Diet Coke London, as well as Nails Inc Instyle Mink. So if you have been wondering if they are dupes, wonder no more! The mystery will be solved!

And because I love you guys so, I thought I could do better than that - and I found two similar colours in my stash, RBL Grunge, and Nails Inc Jermyn Street, to compare both of them to as well! Aww, don't you love me now?

So without further ado, let's begin our comparison post with the requisite bottle picture:



L - R: RBL Grunge, Nails Inc Diet Coke London, Nails Inc Instyle Mink, Nails Inc Jermyn Street

Ooh, photos like this just make me drool all day long. I am SO loving this greige/mushroomy trend. Also, I got really excited when I was doing bottle comparisons, because when I saw how close RBL Grunge was to Nails Inc Diet Coke London, I was like, "OMG YOU HAVE GOTTA BE KIDDING!!" Seriously. Something that us UK girls can get free (with two bottles of Diet Coke) is a dupe for something the US girls pay USD$25 for?! Is Nails Inc London really a dupe for RBL Grunge?

There was only one way to find out: nail swatches! Unfortunately, because my nails were already painted with an NOTD I didn't want to remove yet, I was forced to make do with swatching on fake nails. (Note - I don't wear fake nails, have never worn 'em, will probably never wear 'em. I just love my real ones too much, LOL.)

So here are the swatches:




L - R: RBL Grunge, Nails Inc Diet Coke London, Nails Inc Instyle Mink, Nails Inc Jermyn Street

Aww shucks. As you can see, nothing is really a dupe for anything else, although RBL Grunge and Nails Inc Diet Coke London are really close. The main difference between London and Grunge is that London is more purple. They aren't dupes, but they are similar. Nails Inc Instyle Mink is a lot more brown than any of the colours featured here, and Nails Inc Jermyn Street is darker than any of the colours here. I'm so glad I don't have any dupes, it allows me to keep them all. And I LOVE these colours, they are my favouritest colours to wear on my nails. And for some reason Nails Inc looks really really dark, but it isn't that dark - I think it's because all the other colours are relatively light in comparison, so my camera's contrast settings made it look darker than it really is. I don't know why though. I had to take this picture multiple times to get a decent effort. Anyway, I did a previous NOTD with it before, and you can view it HERE.

So here's the question I like to answer at the end of every comparison post - which one should you choose, if you aren't a mushroomy/taupe/brown/greige hoor like me and think four nail polishes from the same colour family is too excessive?

Well the answer would depend, as always, on your skintone, and colour preferences. Skintone-wise, I personally feel that these greige/mushroom colours are pretty neutral, and have the ability to flatter a wide range of skintones, but for the sake of comparison, relatively speaking, shades that have more brown in them tend to flatter warm tones better, while shades with more purple or grey tend to flatter cooler-toned ladies. And of course, your preference for colour - whether you want your greige mushroomy shade to have more purple, grey, or brown, is also going to play a factor.

Out of all of the 4, RBL Grunge is the most beige, so for girls who don't really like the mushroom trend, but want to dip their toes into it, this is a good way to go. Nails Inc Instyle Mink is by far the most brown, so that might be good for warmer-toned girls, or girls who want a colour leaning more brown. For cooler-toned girls who are averse to any hint of brown, it's a good toss-up between RBL Grunge and Nails Inc London. For someone who wants a colour that's equal parts brown, purple, and grey, Nails Inc Jermyn Street is probably your best bet.

Nail Bling: Nails Inc Dover Street Market and Nail Crystals NOTD

I like my bling and I cannot lie! You other fellas can't deny! OK, I'm going to stop channeling my inner Sir Mix-a-Lot right now. LOL. But you gotta love that song (and if you don't know it, go on youtube and search for Baby Got Back - it was like THE song of the 1990s at some point...Gee, I'm old). The bling in question is from today's NOTD, which is my first attempt at using little crystals on my nails.

I have to say, it does take a bit of practice. It isn't as hard as running regressions using Stata (haha!) but it requires a LOT of attention to detail and patience. I didn't use nail glue for these. I just used a pair of tweezers and popped the crystals onto my nail when they were still wet, then sealed them in with two coats of topcoat - I used a random slow-drying one under Seche Vite to prevent shrinking while still ensuring a fast dry time. For me, the really difficult part was positioning the crystals on your nail in the right spot, and nudging them to where you want them to be without messing up the still-wet polish on your nail.

The base is Nails Inc Dover Street Market, a much-vaunted medium-to-dark purple creme, and I can see why this is so popular among nail fanatics, and was all the rage like a year back. It's smooth, gorgeous, and applied well. The crystals were some random no-brand plastic ones my friend brought over from Asia because they're a lot cheaper in Asia than elsewhere for some reason - thanks Rachel! I just chose a simple pattern of three crystals down the nail, like coat buttons, because I didn't feel up to doing intricate flowers and hearts and shapes, since it was the first time I was trying them out. I really really want to try making shapes one day though.

Here's the NOTD pic. So, how'd I do? Fail, or yay?



As you can see from the picture, when I was moving the crystals around on my ring finger, I accidentally got some purple polish onto the crystal, which is why it doesn't look white like it should.

While I'm not really a nail art fanatic (the really intricate nail art is too impractical for my lifestyle, which involves lots of typing and cleaning my own toilet LOL!), I'm really liking these. In fact, I LOVE them, and for the past two days I've been shoving my nails in the face of all my friends. So far, I'm on my third day of wear, and the crystals are still holding up fine, even though I haven't refreshed my manicure by putting on an extra layer of top coat. I think the key is to seal them in with two layers of topcoat - one didn't seem quite enough to me.

I know this bling isn't quite everyone's cup of tea, but I'm really loving this one! Have you ever tried using nail crystals? Did you like how they turned out?

Rimmel Blue Me Away and Nails Inc Trafalgar Square NOTD

Sometimes, you just want to wear something weird. And clashing. And really ugly. And sometimes, it ends up sort of growing on you.

Like this NOTD, from a few weeks back. It all started when I decided I suddenly wanted to wear blue nail polish. If you know me, you'll know I'm not THAT big a fan of blues, for some reason. I don't even know why, especially given that I LOVE purples, and purples are essentially half blue? But that day I decided I wanted to wear blue. So I dug out Rimmel's Blue Me Away. It's a beautiful blue with fine red-orange shimmer. It's pretty cool, actually - it's rare to see a blue with shimmer of a contrasting colour, since most blues I've seen have silver shimmer.

So I put it on. While I like Rimmel's Lycra Pro Finish range, and their Lasting Finish Pro Enamel range, Blue Me Away was from the 60 Seconds Nail Polish range, and applies less well. I also don't like the brush as much - while the other two ranges have brushes with a curved end (which I particularly like), the brush on this one is cut across horizontally, and it is a little stubby. But it's nothing that can't be dealt with.

After putting it on, I decided that it wasn't weird enough. So I decided to put glitter on top of it. And I thought, why not put a red glitter on top, since there's already red shimmer in the polish?

So I dug out Nails Inc Trafalgar Square (which does seem quite a lot like China Glaze Ruby Pumps, another cult colour), and applied it on top. And as usual, this applied like nearly all the other Nails Inc colours I've tried before - without a single flaw.



There. Are your eyes begging you to spare them the sight of my nails yet? I don't know why I like it, but I do. But I'm pleased to tell you that this lasted for a good 4 days before the first chip came on :P