Fail-safe French

Recently, I've been struggling to decide what colour I should wear on my nails, a big problem in a girl's life, right? I think it's because where I live, it's been quite sunny but the temperatures have still been freezing cold. So the sun makes me want to lacquer my nails with bright turquoise and yellows but the chill makes me want to hold on to my Models Own Concrete Mixer or deep berry shades. The answer?

French tips! It's been ages since I've donned a French manicure and I forgot how much I loved it. It makes you feel so elegant and chic. I did it myself at a fraction of the price you would pay at a salon. I used three really, really cheap products but it lasted a good 5 days without any chips at all!

For the base I used 'Carribean Coconut', a peachy nude shade from the All About Nails range that can be found at Tesco's for a tiny 99p! I used three coats of this although you could probably just use two. It was quite streaky on the first coat but I think that's true of any pale/pastel colour no matter what the brand. I then used the Collection 2000 Manicure in French White on the tips. This can be found in most drugstores for £2.99. I then used the Elf clear nail polish as a topcoat and voila!

What nail polish(es) do you always fallback on when you don't know what to wear?

NATALIE, XO

17 Mint Choc Chip

Hey everyone,

Hope you're all doing well, and thanks to everyone who is following me and those who leave me sweet comments - you guys don't know how happy it makes me! Anyways, I'm pretty sure you've probably all seen this nail polish before but I was itching to wear it and I was due a polish change so thought I'd do a little NOTD. It's the 17 Mint Choc Chip that I showed here in this haul.

This is 2 coats, although I would've liked to have done 3 just so it is super opaque. The application wasn't great, it was pretty average - went on a bit streaky that's all. I really love the colour, it's so spring and summer like, completely different to the rain that's pelting down outside right now, lol. When I put this on I was instantly reminded of Barry M's 'Pure Turquoise' and also Collection 2000's 'Button Moon'. When I go to change my nail polish next, I'll do a little side-by-side comparison post. I'm interested to see if they're really similar, or whether it's my imagination.

What are you donning on your nails today?

natalieslovex

Everything that glitters is not gold [NOTD]

Hello lovelies,

In my recent haul, a lot of you seemed interested in the 17 High Gloss nail polish 'Sphinx' a gorgeous glittery gold. I was really excited to try this out, it's so beautiful in the bottle and I had high hopes that it would on the nails too. So this is a post to showcase my new, golden nails! It retails for a mere £3.49 which is pretty decent...

Firstly, this applied like a dream, three swipes of the brush and the nail was done. This was actually three coats, but you could definitely just do two and still get the same effect. Drying time was pretty average, it wasn't speedy but I wasn't hanging around for ages picking things up with my toes in a bid not to smudge my nails either. I love the sparkle it gives, without having big chunks of glitter. I can't comment on the staying power because I've only just applied it - but so far I'm super happy. I can't wait to wear this with a tan in the summer... it's going to be epic ;)

What other gold nail polishes would you recommend?

natalieslovex

Elf - Desert Haze

Hello ladies,

I haven't done a nail of the day in absolutely ages, and in my last Elf order I got a nail polish in the shade 'desert haze'. I've never used an Elf polish before so I'm gonna share my opinion on the consistency and application as well :)

Okay, so this is what it looks like in the bottle - a pretty beige/nude. I like the packaging, it's quite sleek and doesn't look out of place with my other nail polishes. So this is what it looks like on the nails...

As you can see, the colour in the bottle is pretty true to life and is almost exactly the same to how it dries on the nails, which is actually really rare! This is three coats of the polish, although you could probably get away with just two. The brush is good, it's a nice size and easy to control, however the consistency is little bit watery and runny - but not unmanageable. It dries quickly so there's no sitting around for ages waiting until your nails dry. I think it's a really flattering shade that would look good on any skin tone and I'm really loving it! It's great for this time of year when it's coming out of winter and into spring and you don't quite know whether to put away the dark colours and pop out the pastels. I can't comment on lasting power as I've only had it on for a day... but so far so good!

natalieslovex

Day 18 - Whatever tickles your fancy

Hello loves,

Been a while since a did one of the days from the 30 day tag, lol - but i'm getting there surely but slowly. Kind of depressing i couldn't do it all in '30 days' as some other bloggers have... but i'd just get too bored! Anyways, thought i'd show you my NOTD because i'm so happy i finally got this polish to work for me!!!

Gosh Holographic!

Okay so, if you've seen and heard of this nail polish, you know that it's notoriously hard to apply. The tricks i found is that you need to apply very thin layers, and wait til they are 100% dry before applying the next. The second trick is not to paint over the same patch of nail more than once when it's wet - otherwise it tends to slide right back off the nail and leave you with a patchy, streaky mess.

This looks beautiful in every single light! And in it's defense, it does dry super quick so having to wait for each layer isn't much of a problem. This was with 3 layers... although had i of had more time i would've probably of gone for a 4th.

Have you got the knack to applying this nail polish? Have you never had a problem with it?

Natalieslovex

Product Rave: 2true

Hello beautiful people,

I just wanted to do a quick product rave. My mum recently gave me 3 nail polishes because she decided she liked her nails better au naturale (obviously adopted??). When I first saw them, I saw the brand and did turn up my nose a bit, I know, I know. Now I'm all for drugstore products, in fact most of my make up is drugstore... but this brand I'd just never tried anything from, and they're just so cheap I thought they could never compare to the Barry M's of the nail polish world.

So, the brand in questions is 2true - which is available in most Superdrug stores. As far as I'm aware you can only get it in superdrug, sort of like a Natural Collection or 17 at Boots. They sell for £1.95 each but they're on offer now... 3 for £5.

These nail polishes don't have names, only numbers... which annoys me slightly, but I can deal with it lol. They are 'glossywear' polishes, do you expect the outcome to be quite shiny (doesn't disappoint). They also make quite a bold claim to last for 5 days on the nails! 

Shade No. 14 - A beautiful navy blue which is brightened by the gorgeous blue glitter inside. Not chunky glitter, very, very fine glitter. It looks beautiful in every sort of light. Other than purple, navy nails are my favourite.

Shade No. 41 - A beautiful telephone box red, again brightened with tiny red glitter particles. It's a really nice bright red for a classic nail with a twist (the glossyness).

Shade No. 35 - This is kind of a dusty rose/pink with lots of sliver glitter, again not chunky, fine but there is a lot of it. In the bottle this is my least favourite and I thought I'd dislike this, but when I did a quick swatch on my nail it was really pretty and unusual. Think I'll wear this at new year!

Now for a quick NOTD and what I think of these polishes and their claims...

First off... the application. Amazing. I didn't have any kind of hopes, especially as the first coat didn't give much colour, however the second coat gave the exact colour in the bottle and I was really impressed. The brush is so easy to use, and the application is smooth. The consistency isn't too thick, nor too watery.

Does it last 5 days? I'd say... at a squeeze! It's my fourth day of wearing this polish and so far Ive only got very slight 'typing' wear that any nail polish suffers from... but no big chips to report about. That is without wearing a base coat or topcoat.

Overall I was really pleasantly surprised by these polishes and I think I might pop out and buy some more! I've never really noticed these in Superdrug, and I've never seen them floating around on blogs... I really recommend them, for £1.95 you cant go wrong and they have a reasonable collection of colours. 

Have you ever tried any of these? What product has surprised you the most?

Natalieslovex

NOTD

Hiya guys,
My last nail of the day was... god! Yonks ago. So here it is...

This is Barry M's Lemon Ice Cream

In some lights, this looks like the beautiful pale, yellow pastel colour it appears in the bottle - and in others it looks like a bright canary yellow. Either way, I love it... when i first started applying it, I wasn't sure if I would. It does take a good 3-4 coats as it's such a light colour, but I really love the outcome. I'm lovin' it for summer and I don't care if it clashes with my outfit ;)

Do you worry about your nails matching you outfit? Or could you not care less?

Natalieslovex

Bring it home boys!

Hello cupcakes,
I'm guessing you've all heard about England going onto the next round (finally some good football) the game was sooo tense, and now we have Germany and Argentina!! Gonna be hard, but our lads can do it ;) I decided to show my support with my nails, rather than purchasing an over priced shirt...

Not very neat, admitedly but considering this was done after the match, and after one (or five) celebratory drinks, I'm pretty impressed lol. Needless to say the next morning at college, was not enjoyable!

Who are you guys backing for the cup?

Natalieslovex

NOTD

Nail of the day comin atcha!
This is a Barry M Nail Paint in 'Pure Turqouise', along with the Barry M 3in1 Nail Paint as a topcoat and basecoat. This stuff looks gorgeous in the bottle and equally gorgeous on your nails :) Think this could be one of my favourite nail paints! It kind of reminds me of 'tiffany' blue.

Natalieslovex

Topcoat Challenge

A while ago now I purchased some Barry M nail paints, including the 3in1 basecoat/topcoat/nail hardener. I'd not used a topcoat or basecoat previous to this as I'd never really thought they do anything. So I thought I'd finally find out... For the first week I used the Barry M 3in1 as a topcoat and basecoat, and took a picture at the end of each day. For the next week I didn't use the Barry M 3in1 at all, just put the colour straight on to my nails and also took a picture at the end of each day.
I really put the 3in1 through it's paces... lots of housework, so the house was spotless for the rest of the week lol. When I wasn't wearing the 3in1 I just used my hands a normal amount - typing, odd bit of housework, nothing too intense lol. So here we are (click to enlarge the images, you can see the extent of the chips far better)...

BOTH WITH NO CHIPS FORMED AS IT'S ONLY THE FIRST DAY, LESS SHINE WITH NO 3IN1

NO CHIPS AT ALL WITH THE 3IN1, TYPICAL 'TYPING' CHIPS ALREADY FORMING WITH NO 3IN1

STILL NO CHIPS WITH THE 3IN1, TYPING CHIPS GETTING LARGER WITH NO 3IN1

TYPING CHIPS STARTING TO FORM WITH 3IN1, CHIPS STAYED THE SAME WITH NO 3IN1

(THIS LOOKS LIKE THE SAME PHOTO AS DAY 3, IT ISN'T AND EXCUSE THE FOOD COLOURING STAIN, HAHA)

STILL ONLY TYPING CHIPS WITH 3IN1, MAJOR CHIPPING WITH NO 3IN1

(I REALLY WANT THIS WEEK TO END SO I CAN RE-DO MY NAILS, TORTURE!)

CHIPS ONLY JUST STARTING TO FORM WITH 3IN1, STILL MAJOR CHIPPING WITHOUT 3IN1

CHIPS HAVEN'T REALLY CHANGED WITH 3IN1, HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE WITHOUT 3IN1

So as you can see... major, major difference!! Bearing in mind that I really put the 3in1 through it's paces, and just left the 'only colour' and carried on with my usual routines. Wow. I've been proven wrong. Topcoats and basecoats work wonders, and this Barry M one has exceeded my expectations! And woooop - now I can paint my nails again and get rid of these disgusting chipped beasties!

Natalieslovex

First french manicure

Normally, I leave french manicures to fake nails... but as I was looking through my nail polish collection I found I had the right elements for a french manicure. I thought, why not give it a try? So I did. Bearing in mind this is my first ever try at doing french tis... I'm quite pleased with them. They could do with being neatened up, but ahh well.

Let me know what you guys think... and if you have any tips, fire them this way!!

Here are the products I used, if anyone's interested...

- Barry M 3in1 topcoat, basecoat & nail hardener

- Miss Sporty, the pale pink 'french manicure'

- Rimmels I love lasting finish, London Clouds

I love miss sporty nail polishes, they work brilliantly, they last for a long time and they're MEGA cheap.

                                        

Natalieslovex