Blue and Yellow Leopard Nails.

Hey everyone

Just a quick post to show my new nails. Im rubbish at doing my nails but this is surprisingly easy! You just scrape off most of the blue polish off the brush and used it a bit like a stippling brush to pat on C shapes and little circles.

Its gives a lightly furry effect and it doesnt matter if its a little messy, after all, what leopard has perfectly neat spots?

Here it is:

Hope you like them :) took me probably 20 minutes to do all my fingers including drying time.

I used Sally Hansen's Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat with Barry Ms nail paints in 307 'lemon ice cream' and 292 'navy'.

Give it a try :D xx

romantic nails

I have a few MAC glitters and I've never known what to do with them. Usually I only buy them when Im having one of those days when you're silly and buy things only because the colour is pretty. But Ive found a way to use my glitter! Ive never liked putting it on my eyes or lips because it can irritate and its far too chunky to use as shimmer on cheeks or anything, but in an effort to not have my money wasted I've discovered that they can look great on nails!

Ive tried a few combinations and methods and this is my favourite so far.

Just a peachy pink nail polish and my 'Gold' MAC glitter pressed gently over the tips

I just wish the pictures would show up clearer but my iphone has a tendency to make colours too washed out or too dark so Im sorry about that. >.<>

I think it looks sweet and romantic and very pretty and Im wearing it to school tomorrow :)

My only problem with doing this stuff is just how messy it is. I dont understand how I can find glitter in my brushes... which are kept a good few feet away from my desk where I did this. I may have to get used to doing it over the sink!

speaking of brushes I have some really cute things to show you including a set of Tokidoki brushes that I get off EBay so stay tuned for that! :)

I'll post some more glitter nail pics if I find any more really cute combos and I have a feeling this could work well with Barry M glitter dusts, so there's a great budget option. I'll try and let you know

I hope you enjoyed this little tidbit of nailsy-ness and thankyou for reading :) xx

Review: Illamasqua Nail Polish ~ Velocity and Strike

I confess that for a long time I had no real interest in nail polish. I used to bite my nails. *horrified gasp from nail loving readers* It’s true, I’d knaw them constantly, when I was nervous, when I was bored, even if I got a tad peckish. And for that reason I never wanted to paint them, that and the fact that the right hand ALWAYS looked terrible.

However over the past few months I gradually started getting back into them. And then of course obsessed with them, and it all started with my first Illamasqua nail polish.....

I was in the Trafford centre in Manchester with my mum, with some money I’d earned from some chore or another and I was on my way to the MAC counter, but I was suddenly struck as I realised that right next to it was an Illamasqua counter!



I had never seen an Illamasqua counter before. I didn’t own any at that point but had drooled over blogs and youtube reviews and the stuff on their website that all looked so gorgeous. So clearly MAC would have to wait as I squealed and skipped up to the counter.

I won’t bore you with the details of the rest of the trip but suffice it to say that I came away with possibly my favourite ever nail polish. It’s called ‘Velocity’





Velocity. (is actually a little lighter than shown)



It is from the dystopia collection that came out in autumn of 2009. It is truly gorgeous. I always think that lilacs and soft purples look beautiful on any skin tone, because they reflect light and look colourful but soft. To be honest I’m not sure why people don’t wear it more often instead of the usual garish blues or girly bright pink, it’s much more flattering and looks both elegant and youthful.



Like most Illamasqua products the packaging is shaped in a cut-off corner square style, I love their packaging because it’s simple in colour, all black and MAC like, but the shapes are just so much more edgy and interesting. Its stuff I want out on my dressing table because it looks so nice!



But packaging aside, let’s look at the product itself. Velocity is a dark lavender cream. I adore cream nail polishes. I like shimmery ones too, but creams are just so clean and demure looking. And as I have said, light purples are wonderful colours for nails so I was expecting to like this, and I REALLY did.



It went on smoothly and I didn’t find it to be stringy or goopy. Very easy to apply and the brush was a good size too, if a tad small if you’re in a rush and capable of doing your thumbnail in one stroke. It’s staying power wasn’t anything impressive, similar to that of a Barry M nail polish but, like all nail polishes, if a top coat is added it can last up to a whole week and if a topcoat is reapplied maybe 3 days after first application it could potentially go even longer.


Its £14.00. So it’s by no means cheap, it’s more expensive than MAC and far more pricey than Barry M’s nail polishes, which are very highly rated by everyone I know who’s tried them...including me. But for some of the colours I would say it might just be worth it. You’re also paying for around 15ml. A MAC nail polish is 10ml as are the Barry M ones. So it’s not as if you’re paying more for less, but it’s still not what you’d call a steal.



I also have another nail polish from Illamasqua, my boyfriend finally got the hint with me leaving the page open constantly on his laptop, and talking loudly to various people about it with him in earshot and sure enough for Christmas one of the little packages contained the Illamasqua nail polish in ‘Strike’ which I have to say is also absolutely beautiful. It’s like a deep shimmering turquoise, and it’s rare that words like ‘glamorous’ and ‘elegant’ can be applied to anything described as shimmery turquoise, but this definitely fits the bill.

It has the same lovely packaging, consistency and brush as velocity and the colour is so bright, but again not overpowering. The shimmer isn’t obnoxious either; it’s an almost iridescent finish, where various blues and greens all catch in different lights.



The nail polishes are lasting quite a long time too, I’ve had Velocity for months and Strike since Christmas, but of course I’ve had to wear it every few times I see my boyfriend. As you do. And I cant even see a gap between the lid and the product. And just to clarify, I usually change my nail polish every two days...sometimes one, so I get through my polishes.

All in all I love these nail polishes, they’re wonderful to apply and I always love the way they turn out. The only downside really is the price, that and that they’re quite hard to get hold of outside the UK. But if you can get them and don’t mind the price they’re fantastic. All the other colours I’ve seen on blogs etc look very interesting and unique too, so I think as a treat, for a really pretty and unique colour £14.00 would definitely be worth it.

*conclusion*

Good points: Gorgeous selection of colours, cute packaging, goes on smoothly and is long lasting.

Bad points: The price tag can make your credit card wince.

Overall rating 8/10

I hope you enjoyed this review xx