All That Glitters

Hey guys,
These are some nails I was rocking at Christmas- OPI Big Apple Red and Milani Gold Jewel in a glitter gradient. They are quite Christmassy, but I would totally wear them at any point in the year! I did have to apply a top coat of Gelous and two thick layers of Seche Vite, as the glitter hexes were a bit scratchy. Perfect party nails!

And here's a bonus shot of Christmas Eve in the pub -  I did my BFF's nails as an extra Christmas present! Mine are the candy canes, the Father Christmas bellies belong to Sarah, Carys had the French tips and Al had the glitter gradient. We so cool.  

Love,
Alice
xXx

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Taffy Tips

One of the best things about blogging is meeting some amazing people from all over the world- one of my fave swap buddies is the lovely Whitney. She sent me a surprise package full of polish goodies the other day, as well as some American treats (my obsession with Hersheys knows no bounds!) 

My favourite from the parcel was Taffy by Rainbow Polish, a lovely indie with grey, pink and white glitters suspended in a clear base. I layered it over OPI Sweet Heart and to make it a bit edgier added some black french tips with Wet n Wild Black Creme, topped off with a coat of Seche Vite. The application was a dream- this is just one coat of Taffy, and I pushed it around really easily to get the glitter to go where I wanted it to.

And here's Taffy by itself. I hate that it's pitch black outside by 5pm, it makes it so hard to get decent pictures in natural light!

Alice

xXx 

9 Days of Shimmer - Day 9, Sophie & Roses

I've got the last of the Shimmer polishes to share today! I have a feeling you'll be seeing more Shimmer polishes from me in the future, I've loved experimenting with these beautiful pieces of polish art.

'Sophie' is a pinky glitter with purple, red and gold pieces. The glitter cocktail is very similar to Melissa, but with a pink base instead of a purple one. It's layered over OPI Be A Dahlia Won't You? which is one of my all time favourite pinks.

I've been loving the stamping over the glitter lately, so I blobbed on OPI Party in my Cabana and then used Konad Special polish to stamp the white roses. The plate is Cheeky CH13.

Tomorrow I've got a pink and grey combo!

Love,

Alice

Visit Shimmer's website here
Visit Shimmer's Etsy store here

This polish was sent for review

9 Days of Shimmer - Day 1, Jasmine & Mermaid Scales

9 Days of Shimmer - Day 1!

Greetings all!

I recently got my grubby little mitts on a selection of ridiculously beautiful indie polishes by Shimmer. Seeing as we all love a bit of indie eye candy, I thought I'd do a themed post selection and share each and every polish with you! They really are so gorgeous they deserve individual attention. Each post will have swatches, and a bit of nail art too cause I get itchy nails!

First up: Jasmine. Beware- this is a pic heavy post!

I actually squealed when I saw this polish. It's a clear glitter base with a mixture of tiny hexes of green, gold, red, dark blue and light blue mixed with even teenier iridescent colours scattered throughout. The artistry involved in this polish (and all the Shimmer polishes) has blown me away, there's so many facets! I layered it over OPI Catch Me In Your Net, but two coats applies so opaque that you can't even see the base coat. Two top coats of Poshe for a really shiny finish. Also, lovely application, which surprised me for such a thick polish.

You can see the different colours of glitter better in the slightly blurred picture below:

I instantly thought 'mermaid' when I saw this polish- which coincides perfectly with this week's Crumpet's Nail Tarts Mermaid themed challenge - so I thought I'd add a bit of a fish scale effect with Sally Hansen Silver Sweep and my Bundle Monster plate BM-209

Isn't it amazing?! I'm in love!

Tomorrow: Liana!

Visit Shimmer' website here
Visit Shimmer's Etsy store here

 This polish was sent for review

Invasion of the British

So, I might be a bit bit late with the whole invasion of the British thing- I know Union flags on nails have been done a billion times before- but I just thought I'd share my ones because they took fooking ages!

Did these over Jubilee weekend but never got round to blogging about them. I think I got a bit sick of being British to be honest- what with the wedding, the Jubilee, Wimbledon, I ODed a bit on the whole patriotism thing. But I am loving the Olympics so I thought I'd get back in the game!

These looked a lot better in person than in pictures, boo. This is my favoured technique- I always try and use tape where I can because a) I'm lazy and b) they make nice crisp lines.

I used:

OPI Nail Envy (blue is a bitch for staining)

OPI Ogre The Top Blue

Rimmel Double Decker Red

Revlon White

Seche Vite

Sellotape

Scissors

Tiny art brush

My red polish was a tiny bit gloopy and quickly became a NIGHTmare to work with. Next time I'll use an OPI or an Essie, as they're slightly more watery and easier to apply.

Also, I have been informed that a Union Jack is in fact only a Jack when it's on the side of a ship. Otherwise it's a plain old Union flag. Trivia of the day!

Alice

xXx

A Very British Mess

So...I'm not really sure what's going on with this manicure today. It's a sort of British themed splodge fest. A Splodge-icure?! I was trying to think outside the box with some Team GB nail art. Maybe I should just stick to something Union-y. I do like the way it looks like a pretentious modern art canvas though.

I used:

Revlon White
OPI Big Apple Red
OPI Ogre The Top Blue
Striping brush
Poshe top coat

I did one coat of white, then once that was dry a really thick coat, blobbed the blue and red polish on and used a striping brush to drag it.

ALSO. I used Poshe for the first time ever- not impressed. It gave me bubbles!! Which you can see if you look at my middle finger. I have NEVER had this with my usual lifesaver, Seche Vite. Anyone else ever get Poshe bubbles?

They kind of look like suns...or possibly an alien foetus. Broad spectrum there!

Alice

xXx

Flip Reverse it

Returning to the mushy girl nails today!
People who follow my posts will know that I am a stamping fiend, I absolutely love it- so when my new Bundle Monster plates arrived from the USA this week I was literally squealing at the postman (who, incidentally, I am fairly certain HATES me, as he is forced to lug around the hundreds of parcels I get daily...sorry postie).
BUT. Have to be honest here- I am slightly disappointed. There's only a few designs I really loved, these hearts being one of them. The last set were so much better!

These were stamped with BM plate, with Konad special polish in white and pink. I love the reversed effect! It was really easy to do- I just painted my base white coat (Revlon white), sponged on my pink (OPI Come to Poppy) and applied a coat of Seche to speed it all up. Then on my stamping image I painted half white, half pink, scraped to the side and then stamped over the opposing colour. Simples!

Alice

xXx

P.s. anyone who got the Blazin' Squad reference in the title...you rock

Cherry Blossom

Slight fail today…! I’ve wanted to do cherry blossoms for absolutely aaaages, so of course I thought that an hour before I had to leave the house was the perfect time to give them a go. Hence they’re a bit too messy for my liking (and my clean-up is shocking). Also I had about thirty seconds to take pictures so they’re super rushed too!

I do like them, and will probably do them properly at some point….i.e. not a slightly rushed botch job....

pretentious instagram shot

I used:

Essie Mint Candy Apple
OPI Pink Friday
Revlon White
George @ Asda Cackle
Dotting tool
Striping brush

Something pink and pretty and girly tomorrow....stay tuned!

Love Alice

xXx

Cherries and Apples

Hey guys,

Got some fruity nail art for you today! I absolutely love cherries as a mani, they're so cute and easy to do. I thought I'd jazz it up a little and do some apple on my accents nails. Also, can I add how much I LOVE Essie Mint Candy Apple?! Regular readers will know I'm obsessed with pastel polish, specifically finding the perfect mint shade, and this is it. I want to have little minty fresh babies with it.

I loves me some super shiny nails

I used:

Essie Mint Candy Apple (I love it when the name is apt!)
OPI Big Apple Red (!)
OPI You Don't Know Jacques
Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream
Barry M Spring Green
Revlon White
Seche Vite
Dotting tool
Teeny brush

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Alice

xXx

Say Hello to Mr. Urdd

Hello all!

Been a while since I blogged- mainly because I've been away SO much with work lately exhibiting all over the place, busy busy busy!

Most recently, I went to the depths of North Wales for the Urdd Eisteddfod. For the unintiated (I imagine about 97% of the people who read this post!) the Eisteddfod is a Welsh traditional festival, with lots of booths and stands showcasing Welsh goods such as food, handmade jewellery, scarves, art, as well as hosting loads of competions in music and dancing. Literally everything. You think americans are fiercely patriotic?! They ain't got nothing on the Welsh!  

The Urdd is specially aimed at childen- cue a shitload of screaming brats running across my stand, which is full of VERY expensive, perilously wobbling harps. I was *this* close to capturing some particular little squirts and selling them off for slave labour. Tempted to get myself sterilised after a week of that hell. Seriously.

Anyway- the icon of the Urdd Eisteddfod is the lovely 'Mr. Urdd', who I decided to paint on my nails!

What I used:

Revlon White on White

Barry M Spring Green

OPI Big Apple Red

Mac eyeliner (I forgot my bloody black polish so had to improvise)

Sellotape

Seche Vite

And this is the ACTUAL Mr. Urdd in all his egg shaped glory:

 I was going to do the black outlines, but as I mentioned I forgot my black nail polish so had to get a bit improvvy with my eyeline!

And just to make sure you ALL have nightmares, here's a picture of someone dressed as Mr. Urdd during the Eisteddfod!!

Til next time,

Alice

xXx