Tuesday 28 July 2015

Barry M Silk Nail Paint - Forest

There will always be a special place in my heart for Barry M. They were they first nail polishes that I remember buying, and where my love of the manicure was first realised! I have to say that I do have a pretty impressive Barry collection, but I just can't keep up at the moment with all the new formulas that are being released...

Along with their nail paints, Barry M now offer Matte's; Gelly Hi-Shine's; Glitters; the Aquarium collection; Speedy Quick Dry; Sunset Daylight Curing gel style polish; Silks AND Nail Art Pens!!

Phew!

When I visited Boots last week, Barry M were on offer so I thought why not try something new, so I picked up a Silk polish in Forest. The Silk Nail Paints dry to a satin-like finish, that's not quite matte but doesn't have the glossy finish of a regular nail polish.

In the swatches I am wearing two coats of Forest. Firstly without a top coat -






And with TC - 




I much prefer the finish of this polish without the top coat, but it just feels so unnatural to me to not top coat my mani! It is beautiful either way though, definitely my kind of colour. I wish that the purple shift was more noticeable though, unfortunately it gets lost when the polish is applied to the nail.

Barry M Silk Nail Paints are £3.99 each available at Barrym.com.

Have a great week everyone!

WN x

Sunday 26 July 2015

Color Club Pastel Neon Dry Brush Mani

Happy Sunday everyone!

I have been in two minds whether to post this mani, but I decided that I like it so I will!

For these nails I used all four of my Color Club Pastel Neons to create this mani, along with Barry M's White and the Spike Vinyls from Sparkly-nails.co.uk.




To create the look, first start with your base colour (the white in this case) and wait for it to dry completely. (I'm too impatient for this so use my Seche Vite to hurry along the process!) Next add your vinyl. When adding the colours, make sure you have almost zero polish on the brush to create that 'dry brush' look. Remove the vinyl, add your chosen TC and then you're good to go :)

There are a couple of things I'd change if I were to do this look again. I would stick the vinyl so that the point is at the tip of the nail, and I might use a different base colour that might show off the pastel shades a bit better.

But overall, I loved the effect and I think the Color Club polishes are perfect to create that dry brush look with. I have done a couple of others (here and here) if you are interested in seeing them! 

Thank you for reading, and I hope you're all having the best weekend!

WN x

Friday 24 July 2015

Boots 17 Silver Holo Swatch

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you've all had a good week and have some exciting weekend plans :) 

Unfortunately (!) I had to go to Ikea this week, and conveniently there is a Boots in the same retail park so it would have definitely been rude not to go. As fabulous as online shopping is, I do like to go and actually see things I'm buying in real life occasionally. And I did need some cotton rounds.... Any excuse, I know!

While I was perusing the beauty section, I came across this sparkly silver holo on the Boots 17 stand. I've never noticed that they made a holographic polish before, but I'm not sure how new / old it actually is. If only it came in more colours. Hint, hint Boots!

In the swatch I am wearing two coats of polish with a top coat.





With flash - 



I am very impressed with this polish! For a drug store own brand nail polish, I think it's great value for money and the formula is fantastic. Perfectly opaque and even in two easy coats. The glitter particles are very fine which will help make the application smooth too. 

Now, I may be slightly biased, because I frigging love a holo, and a bargain too for that matter, but I would absolutely recommend this polish to anyone!

Boots 17 Silver Holo nail polish is £3.99, available at Boots.com

Thank you for reading and have an amazing day!

WN x

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Black Heart Accent Sunset Gradient Mani

Happy Tuesday polish people! I hope you're all having a lovely week so far :)

Thankfully, today's mani is slightly more creative than the title of this post! I wanted to do a gradient, as I haven't done one for a while and I do love the effect. the colour combo came to me because I was thinking about being on holiday and drinking Tequila Sunrise! Funny where we find inspiration...
I did want to add a little something extra though, so I went for the negative heart in the end.

Colours I used for the gradient are Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Papaya (orange); Barry M Pink Flamingo (coral); Nicole by OPI All Kendall-ed Up (hot pink). The black is Barry M too.




I am pleased with how this mani turned out. And I am so in love with the combination of colours in the gradient! 

To create the gradient effect, I just use the standard sponging method. And please don't worry if your mani is textured or look a bit gross whilst you're creating the gradient. Once you add your top coat, everything will be fine! To add the heart, I first drew the outline using the Barry M black nail art pen and then simply filled in the outside of the shape with nail polish and a little nail art brush.

Just FYI, I am now (finally) an Instagram!! I know!! You can follow me HERE if you'd like to :-)

Thank you all for reading and I hope you have a fabulous week!

WN x

Sunday 19 July 2015

Essie Summer Dotticure

Good afternoon everyone. Sunday again and another week closer to my two week break! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend so far. 

Today I have combined my favourite polishes from the Essie Summer and Neon collections and created a simple dotticure with them. (You can check out my reviews of each collection by clicking the links above).

Unfortunately I was particularly off my dotticure game when I created this mani, and it's a bit all over the place! But you guys get the idea ;)

For the base I used Chilato, and dotted Pret-A-Surfer (blue) and Melody Maker (green) on top.



I feel very average about how this mani turned out. I know on another day I would've looked a thousand times better. But hey, I'm no pro, and I've always tried to be real with you guys! This is how an amateur dotticure looks! But I still like it :) 

It doesn't make me feel particularly summery though! I'm either getting a Spring or Winter vibe. I can't decide, what do you guys think?

You can visit Nailpolishdirect.co.uk to purchase Essie here in the UK, for £8.95 each plus free delivery :)

Thank you all for reading and have a great week!

WN x

Friday 17 July 2015

Flash Tattoo Mani

Happy Friday Everyone!!

Another week of work is over and another weekend is upon us :) I hope you've all had great weeks and have even better weekends planned!

Today's post is a little bit different. I had received some 'flash tattoos' in my June Glossybox, and I have to say I am not a fan of the trend generally but I wanted to try and use them otherwise I feel like I'm just wasting my money on the subscription! So, with anything that I'm not sure what to do with, I put it on my nails.

The tattoos are black gold and silver, so I layered them over the hot pink Hertford Street by Nails Inc as I thought this colour would give the best contrast.




You use these tattoos the same way you use any temporary tattoo, peel off the plastic and soak with a damp cloth (I used a cotton ball as that's just what I had to hand at the time). Take up the cardboard backing and you're done.

I added a top coat to seal in the designs.

I'm definitely pleased with how this mani turned out and I'm also glad that I got to use the tattoos too. 

Unfortunately Nails Inc don't make Hertford Street anymore, though you've probably guessed that from the old bottle shape! You'll be able to get it on eBay I'm sure if you're that desperate, but it's nothing unique at the end of the day.

And with the tattoos, again they're now unavailable as they were in the June box, but they are pretty readily available elsewhere. Check out the likes of Beautybay.com or the Aladdin's cave of awesome that is Etsy.com.

Thank you for reading and have an amazing day!

WN x

Tuesday 14 July 2015

Essie Neons 2015!

Happy Tuesday all!

Today I have swatches of three of the 2015 Neons from Essie. If you saw my last Essie post, you'll know that I had a very love hate relationship with the last collection! So I was curious to see if these polishes could restore my faith! I purchased three of the six shades, so lets get into the swatches.

First is Vibrant Vibes - 





Vibrant Vibes is a bright lime green creme. I'm sad to say that the formula on this polish is a bad one! It's thin and streaky, and it dries really quickly to a waxy type finish, which means that you have no play time with your coats. If you have to go back in and touch up, you pull off the polish you already have down and you end up with a bumpy and textured mani. I am wearing three coats. (Thank God for top coat!) 

Next up is Make Some Noise - 





Make Some Noise is a bright electric blue creme. The formula on this polish is much better than Vibrant Vibes. It's much more opaque and has a smoother finish. This polish is creamier and has a nice slip to it, making application much easier and the finish smooth and clean. It is a stain-er though!! I'm wearing two coats.

And finally, Melody Maker - 





Melody Maker is a bright green teal creme. This polish is the best of the three formula wise (and my favourite of the bunch!) Very pigmented and opaque in two smooth and easy coats. I'd definitely recommend this polish for a beginner as it's so easy to use and the result is stunning! It glides on to the nail easily and you can go back in to touch up if you miss any spots without disrupting the overall finish. I'm wearing two coats.

As I've only tried three polishes from the collection, I can't say whether I'd recommend the collection as a whole. However I do have a couple of thoughts of course!

If you're looking for neons, as the title Neons 2015 may suggest, you won't find them. If you want some bright and fun summer shades, then I think you're in the right place!! 

I would highly recommend Melody Maker because I have fallen completely in love, and I would purchase Make Some Noise again, but I just can't bring myself to say that you should go out and buy Vibrant Vibes. I certainly wouldn't purchase it if I'd known how difficult it would be. I'm afraid that the colour just isn't worth all the effort!

Again, I am torn! Essie, why do you do this to me?! And again, there are good enough polishes in this collection to convince me to go back and try the next collection and probably the one after that too! 

Essie Neons for 2015 are £8.95 each available at Nailpolishdirect.co.uk.

Thank you for reading and have a great week!

WNx

Sunday 12 July 2015

Swatches - Chanel Les Beige 2015

Sunday again already and another week is over! I am counting down to my two weeks off work.... only 8 weeks to go....

Today I am excited to share swatches of the new Chanel Le Vernis colours released last month as part of the Les Beige collection for 2015. You can check out the official press release HERE.

There are four shades in he new collection, so lets get in to the swatches!




L-R #655 Beige Rose; #659 Beige Pur; #661 Precious beige and #663 Lovely Beige.

First swatch is of #655 Beige Rose - 





Beige Rose is a milky light pink creme. It has a very feminine feel to it! The formula is really good as I have to come to expect from Chanel. Opaque in two smooth coats. I'm actually a bit sad that this one comes first, as it's my favourite and I like to save my best till last! 

Next is #659 Beige Pur - 




Beige Pur is exactly what it's called, just a straight up pure beige shade and actually the perfect nude for me! This one has a slightly thinner formula so I would either wear this as a light wash of colour on those days where I can't be bothered, or wear three coats to make it truly opaque. I am wearing two coats in the swatch.

Third up comes #661 Precious Beige - 





Precious Beige has a very similar tone to Beige Pur however this one had a micro shimmer throughout. I like the finish of polishes such as these, where you can't see the shimmer once on the nail, but it gives a subtly shiny finish and just makes your mani look extra glossy. Precious Beige has a formula much like Beige Pur. I am wearing two coats.

And finally, #663 Lovely Beige - 





Lovely Beige is a soft caramel like shade. A much more pigmented formula, this one is very close to being a one coater, but you do need two to make it fully opaque. I envy the person who's perfect nude this polish is! I love the tone of it, it look sweet enough to eat :)

I'm always going to love Chanel nail polish, they're just my thing. But to be honest, nudes aren't really my cup of tea. The polishes themselves are lovely and if nudes are your thing, I would recommend Chanel to you any day. Yes you can always find cheaper alternatives, these are by no means the greatest polishes I've ever tried. But who doesn't like a little bit of luxury :)

I will however recommend Beige Rose to you regardless of price! I love the colour and the formula of this polish yes, but I also love the feeling I had once it was on my nails! And they say you can't buy happiness!

Chanel Le Vernis are £18 each and I purchased mine from Debenhams.com.

Thank you for reading, and have a wonderful week!

WN x

Friday 10 July 2015

PR - Chanel Les Beige 2015

Please enjoy the following Press Release from Chanel for their new Les Beige collection for 2015, available throughout the UK now. 


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Wednesday 8 July 2015

Essie Summer 2015 Swatches!

Hello polish people! 

It has been forever since my last post, but I am back today with swatches of four of the six shades from the Essie Summer 2015 collection. There's lots to show and say, so let's get cracking!!

Warning, my cuticles are super lubed up today. My hands are in awful condition at the moment (part of the reason I haven't blogged for so long!) so I'm trying my best to nurse them back into tip top shape.

First up is Chillato, a 'frozen cream pistachio' - 




I really really love Chillato. The polish itself, I do not love so much! This shade needs three coats as the formula is thin and can be tricky. However I will (just) put up with the difficulty for this colour! I don't know what to compare it to to best describe it, and it's definitely unique. To my collection anyway!

Next is Salt Water Happy, a cornflower blue - 




I'm sorry, but Salt Water Happy sucks. The formula is thick and horrible to work with, and I apologise for this terrible swatch!!! Yes, the colour is completely gorgeous and totally my kinda blue, but there is no way I will choose to put this on my nails over the same colour from another brand. I am very disappointed. Sorry Essie! This one is two coats.

Third up is Peach Side Babe, a warm peach - 




Peach Side Babe has a very similar feel to Chillato, formula wise. Quite thin and streaky and needs three coats to be opaque. The difference being with this shade is that I have many others similar to this in my collection that I would choose in stead. Barry M Papaya is one suggestion, at less than half the price.

And finally, Pret-A-Surfer, a purple-y Iris blue - 




*These photos have been altered slightly to make the colours more true to life*

Well, Pret-A-Surfer! What a difference a polish makes. This nail varnish is actually perfect. It makes me so mad that in one collection you can have such a variety of formulation that makes some polishes absolutely awful and others so amazing! Grrr Essie! I would 100% recommend this polish to everybody in the world.

As you may have noticed, I have many different opinions on this collection! Do I think you should rush out and buy the collection? No. Do I think you should check out one or two? Absolutely. Obviously I can only speak for the four colours I have, but honestly I am put off trying the others now :(

All that being said, everyone stop what you're doing and go and purchase Pret-A-Surfer immediately.

Essie's Summer 2015 collection is available at Nailpolishdirect.co.uk priced at £8.95 each.

Thank you for reading and have a great week!

WN x