Glamourous Graduation Nails

So at the start of July I graduated from university - finally! To suit the occasion I had to have fancy nails but I couldn't have anything too over the top as they would be too noticeable in that cheesy photo you get of you holding your certificate and wearing a silly hat ... 

These were quite simply a French manicure using Nails Inc Mayfair for the tips and a coat of Essie Sugar Daddy - these two are my go to staples for a perfect French Mani! Over the top I sponged on a bit of Nails Inc's fabulous Maida Vale - suitable for all of life's special occasions I feel! A lilac/white/blue dense glitter, it's definitely classy enough for the more dressy occasions and bling enough for a party! 

So there we go - short but sweet, simple but effective I think! the photos I took outside just because it was soooo sunny, which it never is in Aberdeen, so I thought I'd take full advantage of wearing such a shiny polish in the sun! 

As always, I'd love to hear what you all think :) 

Bx

Hoot hoot - bit of fun nail art

Now once again I will totally admit to stealing this idea from Nuthin But a Nail Thing, but her nail art is completely fabulous and it's the first place I look when I'm stumped for inspiration, so if you are reading this and haven't checked out her blog I suggest you do so now! ... Well, finish reading mine first obviously ;) 

Anyway these little cuties were super simple to create. I started with a base coat of Sinful Colours Mint Apple, then taped it off and used Butter London TeeTotal brown that I picked up in TK Maxx for the tips. For the wee ears I used a small paint brush and some more TeeTotal. I tried to round off the middles but I made a bit of a mess .. 

For their bellies I used (from left to right) OPI Can't Find My Czechbook, the orange Ciate paint pot I got in my Glossybox, Butter London Scoundrel and OPI Suzi's Hungary AGAIN. I then mixed and matched with the dots. A little China Glaze Liquid Leather and White Out for the eyes and a Barry M nail art pen for the beaks and I was done :) 

Hope you like my little hooters (lol) as much as I did! 

Bx

piCture pOlish - Orbit swatches

As I mentioned in my last post, my nails were still a bit nubbined and nasty when I got back from my travels - but I was still determined to try out a brand which was I had long been a fan of but had never tried. Introducing the blogger's favourite piCture pOlish!

Now other than a really irritating name to type the hereafter to be referred to as PP have a fantastic reputation among bloggers for being stunning, unique, expensive and difficult to get hold of. The only way I know how to buy them in the UK is through the lovely Sally Magpies website but at £10-£15 a pop they aren't a polish that could become a daily staple, which is a shame, as it meant that when choosing my first colour I had to trawl through hundreds of swatches to choose the colours I liked the most. And so I chose Orbit - the perfect travel companion! Obviously being a sci-fi/space geek and love travelling I thought that the name and tagline were particularly appealing to me! 

All I can say is that finish wise this polish DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Just look at it in all of its purple glory!!

It's a purple crelly ish polish with white glitters which make it look properly space-y and also make it blue in certain lights. It glimmers in even the dimmest light and as a special occasion polish is totally worth the price tag based entirely on finish. I did, however, have problems.

Okay. A bit of background first. I had been awake and travelling for 30hours when I arrived 8am in the morning in London, where I was met by my lovely other half who took me sightseeing all day. So by the time I got to my hotel at 8pm I had been up a day and a half too long, and I hadn't painted my nails in three weeks. So I wisely decided that that was the exact moment that I should try out my expensive new polish. Clever me. So before I moan I will hold up my hands and say it may be blogger error and I will be retrying this polish on better nails on a better day!!

Application, I found was difficult. The brush was slightly too short for my talon-less fingers to get a good grip on  (here we can also blame to total knackeredness of the user!) and I also found the polish really thick, and not smooth or easy to apply. It looked okay when I was done however, and I was happy enough with the result, I just felt like I had to use waaaay too much polish to achieve the result. In essence, I felt like a total rookie again. to make matters worse the next day it chipped on three different fingers!! So maybe I applied it too thick, but not even lasting 12 hours? Disappointing! 

*Yes, it had already chipped when I took the photos. Just don't look too close at my pinkie m'kay?*

All I can say is that I hope that the external effects, including the crazy London heat, affected me and the polish and that when I try it again it'll behave - because I love it so much! It's genuinely so beautiful in photos and in person and I'm gutted to have a bad word to say about it! Anyone else have any problems with PP, or a polish that they had lemmed for so long?

Bx

An InLinkz Link-up

Glittery Goodness

I'm baaaaaack! 

Apologies for the major absence, as I mentioned in my previous post I recently was in Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity - I had an absolutely amazing time and and so proud that I made it all the way to the top!! Since returning I have graduated from university and started a new full time job so simply have not stopped for a month! But I'm looking forward to throwing myself back into my blog :) 

Before I went to Africa I properly halved my nails, not wanting to damage my longs nails on the trek and also for just general ease. I also just wanted to give them a break! Since coming back they have needed a lot of TLC, with both nails and cuticles being dry and brittle from weather abuse etc. Now they are finally returning to normal! But todays post is actually of nails from just before I went away so they are still well looked after and long in this post! 

I have wanted to try Barry M's glitters for a while now so picked up the aptly named Blue Glitter as a wee present to myself. I wore two coats of Blue Glitter over one coat of Sinful Colours Mint Apple. On my thumb I wore the glitter on it's own with three coats (didn't think to photograph it though did I?!) and I just didn't like it as much so I would definitely recommend wearing it over a blue or something. I love how sparkly it is, the glitter catching your eye even in the dimmest of lights so it'd be a great party polish. Application was Barry M's usual high standard and I doubt I even have to tell you that it's a nightmare to remove. But SO PRETTY.

An InLinkz Link-up