Hello!
I'm posting today to show you the second Colour Chrome shade I bought in the Models Own sale. I only bought two after looking carefully at a lot of swatches and deciding which would be right for me. I used to buy lots from a new collection and then only end up using one or two, so I'm glad I've been more sensible this time - these colours are perfect for me and I love them both! See my previous post for swatches of the other shade I bought, Rose.
So this is Indigo! Again, I used two coats. Careful application is key with these. I started off by buffing my nails to make sure they were smooth. I don't usually buff them as I think it thins them and makes them a bit weaker, but for this polish it's kind of important to have a really smooth base. I didn't use basecoat or topcoat as this effects the overall look.
When applying the polish I tried to use three smooth brush-strokes per nail, one at each side and one down the centre, to keep the polish non-streaky. The polish dries quickly so I was able to apply a second coat straight away! Here it is:
These are so hard to photograph!
After one day of wear I decided to make these more interesting and turned to my favourite type of nail art - the gradient! I was very interested to see if these polishes would work in a gradient and if the colours would blend.
I did the gradient in my usual way, painting both colours onto a make-up sponge and dabbing the colour onto each nail, repeating a few times to build up the colour.
I loved the finished result, I thought it kind of looked like a colour-change polish. The chrome effect definitely added a new dimension to gradient nails. I thought they looked as if they'd gone rusty at the ends. A friend at work said they looked like mermaid nails!
Hello!
Today I'm not showing off any nail art, I basically just want to rant about my stressful shopping trip (and show you what I eventually bought!!)
So as many of you will know, Barry M have recently released two sets of new polishes. There is the Speedy Quick Dry collection which consists of 9 pastel shades that dry quickly. The bottles look so cute with chequered lids and I was tempted to get a couple when they were released, but after looking at a lot of swatches I decided against it - all the colours were similar to ones I already own, and "quick dry" isn't really something I'd look for in a polish as I always use quick-dry topcoat over my manicures anyway so it doesn't matter if the underneath polish dries quickly or not! I did love the colours though, and the fact they apparently have a wider brush with a curved end, and the lid patterns! I think I have been very good not letting myself have any!
Now onto the second release; three new gelly polishes. I adore the Gelly range and along with Models Own Fruit Pastel it's my favourite range ever! The three new colours released are a pale pink, a sky blue and a white (slightly off-white)? I liked the pink and blue but again, I own very similar colours already. However I was very interested in the white shade, which is called Cotton. I've been looking for a new white since Boots stopped stocking Sinful Colors - their 'Snow Me White' was perfect! I know I get on with the formula of gelly polishes so I knew Cotton would be my new go-to white. I also needed a new bottle of Sugar Apple as mine has run out.
I patiently waited until today (11th Feb) when the new Barry M polishes were supposed to be released in Superdrug. They weren't due to be released in Boots until 18th Feb, but I popped Boots first before I went to Superdrug (better points system!!) and was pleased to see they DID have the new polishes - well, they only seemed to have Cotton from the new gellys, which suited me fine. As a bonus, there was a sign saying it was 2 for £6 on all gelly polishes until the 17th Feb. Perfect, so I thought, and picked up Cotton and Sugar Apple. However, at the till they didn't go through as £6, and the lady tried to charge me £7.98 (full price for both). I queried it, and was told only the polishes in the "top rack" of the Barry M stand were included. I asked which exactly these were, and she pointed at Blueberry, Prickly Pear, Chai & Cotton. Now anyone that knows Barry M knows that Blueberry & Prickly Pear are old shades, Chai is from the Autumn range and Cotton is brand new! I didn't go into all that with the woman but just mumbled that I didn't really understand how it worked, but that I didn't want to pay full price and left empty handed!
I then went to Superdrug to see if I would have more luck there. The main Barry M stand was set up to house the new Speedy Quick Dry but NOT the new gellys. Whaaat? Then further down into the shop, nowhere near the Barry M stand there was a random pop-up stand that was obviously for the new releases. Why it wasn't at the front of the store next to the Barry M stand I don't know - it was right at the back and I nearly didn't notice it at all! Even finding it didn't help as it was practically empty and they had no "Cotton" anyway, AND it was 2 for £7 in Superdrug, so less of a saving.
By this time I'd started to query what I'd been told in Boots, so went back and studied the sign on the Barry M stand again. It definitely said "2 for £6 on all gelly paint" so I found a different assistant and spoke to her about it, pointing out the sign. This lady couldn't have been more understanding and helpful, saying she agreed with me that they all should be included as that's what the sign said, and overrode the till to get me the offer price. Definitely more sensible and reasonable than the first lady I spoke to. Yay!
I've come to the conclusion that "Cotton" wasn't supposed to be out in Boots yet, so wasn't working on the offer. Maybe that's why the offer ends on the 17th, ready for the release of the new shades on the 18th. Except they were already out!
Sorry for the massive rant, it just seemed so overly difficult to buy two nail polishes, and both shops didn't seem to coincide with what Barry M's social media were saying. I don't really get the point of release dates if they're not going to be adhered to, but it's okay because I have my polish now. Phew!! And I also got some other goodies too:
Last year I came up with a striped design with hearts on the tips of my nails. This look was perfect for pointed tips as the point fitted with the point of the heart, and they were so much more effective than I thought they would be! Here are the original ones from back in September.
I decided that as it's Valentine's Day at the weekend I would re-create the design, with different, slightly lighter colours.
I started off with a base of Banana Split by Models Own. I can't gush about the fruit pastel collection enough - the formula is so smooth and creamy and lovely, the colours are so delicate and then there's the bonus of the subtle fruit-sweetie scent once the polish is dry! Anyway - I started off with two coats of this, then topped with Insta-Dri to help speed up the drying process. Here it is on it's own because I love it and want to show it off!
Once it was fully dry I used a pink Barry M nail art pen to freehand the stripes. I'm a bit annoyed because they aren't as neat and even as I'd like, I should have used nail vinyls! Anyway, I then roughly drew on the heart shape at the end of my nails and coloured it in using Peach Melba by Models Own. I topped with Insta-Dri again (I always do this before adding anything with the nail art pens as it needs to be fully dry!!) and then went round the outline of the heart again with a white nail art pen. I did this a couple of times as the white pen doesn't show up as well as the black. I also added a little 'shine' line to each heart, which I didn't do last time but I like!
One more coat of Insta-Dri (which reminds me, I need to buy more!!) and I was done.
Hello!
I'd planned an exciting tribal-print mani to wear over the weekend, and started off with a pastel gradient in peach/white and pink/white as the base. However, my attempts at tribal went wrong and I didn't have the time or patience to keep at it, so my nails just had the plain gradient on all weekend. I actually really liked them - I love gradients and I always want to wear plain/white-ish nails but always end up adding something, so I'm kind of glad I didn't this time!
The polishes are all Models Own - the white is Snow White, the pink is Strawberry Tart and the peach is Peach Melba. These are gorgeous colours and perfect for gradients! I used my usual method for the gradient - I started off with a base of the lightest colour - white in this case. Once dry, I painted a strip of white and a strip of colour onto a make-up sponge. I sponged this onto my nail and repeated several times to build up the colour. I topcoated with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri!
Hello!
Quick post today to show a manicure that I did last week. My sister bought me this double-sided nail polish when it went down in the sale in the shop where she works to less than £1! She knows me well :-D
I've never actually heard of this make before, which is 'Technic' but I reckon it's a budget brand which seems similar to W7 etc.
I started off with two coats of the pink. It applies nicely and I loved the shade! I then painted on a gradient using the gorgeous multi-coloured glitter. I loooove this glitter, it's so nice, and I don't think I would have paired it with hot pink if it hadn't come with it, so I'm glad I did try it as I think it looks great.
I think this really shows that you don't have to spend a lot on polish or buy expensive brands to have nice looking nails, the cheaper brands can often be just as nice!
Hello!
As you'll probably know, Models Own recently released a set of metallic polishes named Chromes. Also, they've just had a big 50% sale on their website (last day today!) so I had to get a couple while they were reduced to give them a try, as the swatches I'd seen were beautiful! After looking at a lot of swatches I decided to treat myself to two - couldn't afford or justify any more but I like treating myself to a couple from new collections if I like them enough! I got Rose which is rose-gold coloured, and Indigo which is purply-blue.
They came this morning, and I immediately got Rose on my nails!
The polish is tricky to apply to get a nice finish and you have to take extra care. It's apparently best to not use basecoat or topcoat, so I left these out. I also buffed my nails before applying to make them as smooth as possible. I then added two coats of Rose. The polish is such a nice consistency, and the brush is wide and flat. It looks quite "brush-strokey" when first applied, but luckily this fades a bit as the polish dries. Still, it's important to apply it as neatly and smoothly as possible - I tried to do just three strokes of the brush per nail.
It does show up imperfections of the nail below, but I don't think this ruins the overall effect unless you look too closely. My nails look like they're metal! I love this shade, and will probably add some art over the top using my other new chrome shade.
It was also hard to photograph - below are some taken on my phone (without flash) and camera (with).
Hello!
Last night me and my mum went to see Sing-a-long-a Sound Of Music at our local theatre! Basically, they just show the film on a big screen, and show the words for all the songs encouraging everyone to sing along. You're also encouraged to shout/cheer at various points in the film, and you're given a little goodie bag of props, such as a party popper to let off when Maria and Captain Von Trapp kiss! It was so much fun!
A lot of people dressed up, but me and mum didn't want want to go too mad. We wore Von Trapp t-shirts (previously bought from the stage production in London) and "Warm Woollen Mittens" like out of the Favourite Things song, and also we decided to do music note nails for the occasion!
My first attempt/idea went wrong, so I had a google for music note nail art, and found a design similar to the one I've done but in pink. I recreated it on myself in a minty shade, which is Sugar Apple by Barry M. The glitter is from the Barry M glitterati collection, and the black is my Barry M nail art pen and done by hand. Here's the finished mani:
Then I recreated it exactly for my mum! It was awesome to have matching manicures!!
Here's a picture from the night when some of the dressed-up people went on stage to show off their outfits:
