Long overdue catch up AKA Mega Blog Entry

Well hello. As my own version of a Constant Reader, the lovely Emma, pointed out, I haven't blogged since May. May! I hang my head in shame. Honestly though, I wasn't feeling like it, and I said all along (to myself, obviously, no one else cares) that if I didn't feel like blogging, I wouldn't. I go to work enough, I don't want blogging to turn into a chore.


Anyway, despite the fact that I've been quiet for so long, I have still been doing what I do best - my nails, and so I've got quite a few manis to share. Here's a selection of my favourite from the time that I've been gone...

  [Above] The gorgeous Nails Inc Copacabana. This one saw me through large part of our holiday in Turkey, it's a bright and beautiful coral.      

  [Above] Barry M Gelly Shine in Greenberry, with Models Own Indian Ocean on top! Proving once again that Barry M make beautiful nail polish for bargainous prices.       [Above] Nails Inc Basil Street. I wore this uncharacteristically plain colour for a fancy dress party. I was dressed as Clark Kent, and he doesn't usually wear nail polish.      

  [Above] Color Club in Pardon My French. This is BRIGHT. Retina searingly bright, though that clearly doesn't translate to the picture. I love it. Perfect formula, gorgeous colour.         [Above] Exposed in Grey with China Glaze Fairy Dust on top. Who doesn't love a good holo? Fairy Dust is one of the finest, most holo of all. It's lovely. 

[Above] Rimmel London Cocktail Colours in Baby Bellini. This is so pretty. The only downside is the one coat claim. Not true. This is three coats - one coat is very, very thin. I want this whole collection though, the colours are gorgeous. 

  [Above] And finally, of course, a bit of leopard print Konad stamping. Barry M Pink Flamingo with black Konad polish and plate m57.       I think that should just about do it! It's good to be back.

Models Own Indian Ocean, Barry M Berry Ice Cream, Avon Nailwear Pro in Midnight

Two different manis to show today! Totally different ones at that...


The first is Barry M Berry Ice Cream with Models Own Indian Ocean on top - Indian Ocean looks good on everything.

As always, it's hard to capture properly, but in the light it's absolutely lovely, and shimmers between pink and blue.

Next up is a beautiful polish that was given to me by my lovely friend Emma. Emma is my own Constant Reader, to borrow from my favourite author of all time, Stephen King (not that I would dream of comparing myself to him, the man is incredible, I just like the term. Ramble ramble.)

It's from Avon, and is part of the Nailwear Pro collection. The shade is 'Midnight'. It's a very dark, very vampy purple, and it goes on really smoothly. I was also surprised that it doesn't smell as bad as most polishes (not that it bothers me, nail polish smells like home, haha) and also that it dries very quickly. Thank you Emma!!

Avon claim it is "Nail enamel fortified with acrylic gel for strength" and I agree that it certainly has the shine of gel.

Two coats, Nails Inc Kensington Caviar base, Nubar Diamont topcoat

Awful picture, as usual, but hopefully you get the idea. It looks a tiny bit patchy here, but not in real life. I would like to try more Avon polishes if they are all as nice as this.

Edited to add: I just noticed that these are on sale at £2.50 on the Avon website HERE. Bargain! I might have to invest in a few shades...


Thank you for reading!

Nails Inc Westminster

I haven't done anything more than just paint my nails in ages. Lazy, I know. So the other day I decided to try and do something a bit more interesting. Here's what I came up with:

Eh, I don't know. I suppose it's okay, I just blended lots of shades of purple with a piece of cosmetic sponge. They look a bit smoky I think. Base colour is Nails Inc Westminster and topcoat is Nubar Diamont. I also used a couple of Barry M purples.


What do you think? Do you like blendy, smoky, cloudy weird nails?

More Max Factor Fantasy Fire!

I couldn't resist - after the other day I fell in love with Max Factor Fantasy Fire all over again. It's still very much a layering/topcoat type of polish of course, but it's just so beautiful. I know it's old news, but I don't care...

This is over two coats of Barry M Indigo, which is pretty much perfect to show it off. Basecoat and topcoat are Nails Inc - Kensington Caviar and Albert Bridge.


What do you think? Are you still captivated by Fantasy Fire?

Max Factor Fantasy Fire over Barry M Navy

Bit of the lovely Fantasy Fire tonight...I forget how awesome it is every time!

 

The Barry M Navy is a firm favourite too, it's just so shiny! I sponged Fantasy Fire just on the tips, and it looks great when it catches the light.


This is two coats of Barry M Navy, two sponged layers of Fantasy Fire, and Seche Vite topcoat (which I have had enough of...the shrinkage is getting to me) Basecoat today was Nails Inc.


Are you a fan of Max Factor Fantasy Fire?


Thanks for reading!

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Blackberry

I got this polish for Christmas from a lovely friend, and I'm really impressed with it! It's a Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polish - supposedly they're very shiny without topcoat. It's true, they are very shiny, but I can't do without topcoat...

Please excuse my glittery cuticles! I'm dangerously low on nail polish remover. Anyway, this is two coats of the Barry M polish, over Essie basecoat, with Seche Vite topcoat.

I've begun to tire of my Seche Vite thickening so ridiculously, though. I have got Seche Restore, but it's just not the same. What do you all recommend for a high shine, quick dry topcoat that doesn't go all gungy in the bottle?


Thanks for reading!

Barry M Berry Ice Cream with Konad Q1 Stars

Just a nice easy Konad Q1 stamp to show you.

I used a base of Essie Trillionails. Then 3 coats of Barry M Berry Ice Cream, stamped with black Konad special polish plate Q1. Topcoat was Seche Vite, as always. The idea for this mani came from my lovely sister Kim. I sometimes struggle to think of ideas, I'm not the most artistic of people...

In other news, I have just purchased a Lancome Artliner to try, anyone interested in makeup reviews?

Exposed Déjà Vu, Barry M Aqua, W7 Cerise Pink, Nails Inc Piccadilly Circus, Ciaté Mini Mani Month

Two recent nail looks to show you tonight. The first is one that I wore a few days ago:

This is Exposed DéjàVu (2 coats) with Barry M Aqua Glitter as the accent nail. I really love this Barry M glitter. Oh, and Seche Vite topcoat of course. It reminds me of mermaids. It's also not too bad to remove! The Exposed polish is good too. They're about £2.99 but really very good for the price. 'Long lasting' is not something that bothers me particularly, I don't wear any one polish for more than 2-3 days, but range of colours and consistency is very important to me. Exposed are great.


Next are the nails I just did and am trying not to smudge as I type:

This is Nails Inc Piccadilly (1 coat!! One!) with 2 coats of w7 (I have never heard of this brand before) in Cerise Pink on top. (again, Seche Vite topcoat) The pictures really don't do this polish justice. It's a beautifully shimmery, sparkly jelly. Too thin for wearing on it's own (unless you love doing about 6 coats) but lovely for layering up. I love layering. People often ask me what the polish I'm wearing is called, and look a bit baffled when I tell them two or three names for what appears to be one colour, but I love making different combinations.


Anyway, what do you think? Pink or blue?


Oh! I almost forgot! My husband bought me the Ciaté Mini Mani Month advent calendar from Selfridges!!

You can just see it peeping through the lovely spotty paper! I can't wait until December to start opening it. I will be doing a mini blog post each day and swatching as much as I can!

The calendar is still in stock, priced at £38 plus p&p - buy it from Selfridges online HERE

Ciaté Mini Mani Month advent calendar

Boots No7 Cheeky Chops and Models Own Mirrorball Hot Stuff

Two very different styles to show you tonight! The first is bright and summery:

This is Boots No7 Cheeky Chops with Models Own Mirrorball in Hot Stuff on the ring finger and Nails Inc Culford Gardens dots! I'm a big fan of the Boots No7 polishes, particularly when I've got one of the £5 No7 vouchers Boots give out so often! This colour is bright and lovely, and nice in two coats.


Next up is what I'm wearing right now. A much darker mani, but with added sparkle. I was hoping for a starry sky effect, but it doesn't beat my favourite Galaxy nails (HERE):

 

These ones are Barry M Navy with Revlon Stunning pieces picked out and put on separately! I also dotted white first to make the 'stars' stand out! I really love this blue polish, it's so shiny even before topcoat.


Which are your favourite?

Barry M Peach Melba with Konad skulls

Here are some quick Konad nails that I did, I love this Konad stamp and this Barry M colour!

What I used:

• Essie Trillionails basecoat
• Barry M Peach Melba (3 coats)
• Konad M28 Skull and Crossbones with black Konad special polish
• Seche Vite topcoat

What do you think? I love Barry M polishes, this one was a bit streaky but worth three coats!

Barry M Berry Icecream and Models Own Indian Ocean

Tonight I went for a simple design. This is Barry M Berry Icecream with Models Own Indian Ocean sponged tips. It's tricky to photograph, as always!

What I used:

• Essie Trillionails basecoat
• Barry M Berry Icecream (3 coats)
• Models Own Indian Ocean sponged on tips
• Seche Vite topcoat

I also noticed I'm very close to 100 followers here! I never expected to have so many followers after less than a year - thank you all. I also have a staggering 1645 on my Instagram account @shepaintshernails - I can't believe it! Definitely thinking about another giveaway...

Rimmel Pro in Ultra Violet and Michael Kors MK5128

I'm back! You may not have noticed since my blogging is somewhat sporadic recently, but I've been on holiday. My husband and I went to Turkey to celebrate our first wedding anniversary, it was lovely.


My nails grew loads when I was away, or it feels like they did. I only painted them once while I was there (is that weird? I just can't leave them!) Here's a picture from the day before I went, with newly trimmed nails:

Barry M Pink Flamingo

And here are the pictures I took today:

As you can see, I got a tan hehe. You can also see how much they've grown in 12 days! I think I'll trim them again tomorrow actually.


What I used:

• Essie Trillionails nutritional formula as a base coat - I like this a lot
• Rimmel Pro in Ultra Violet (2 coats)
• Nails Inc Culford Gardens for random dots
• Seche Vite topcoat

Just quick and easy nails today! Also, because I'm a lucky lady, here's a picture of my anniversary gift from my husband:

He bought me a Michael Kors watch (MK5128 I believe) I've wanted one of these for ages, and I'm so happy with it! It's rose gold and lovely. He even snuck my old watch into the jewellers and had it resized so it was perfect when I opened it.


That's all for now! If you want to see any holiday pictures, I'm on Instagram as @eternallife_

Barry M Mint Green, Navy, Racing Green

Hello everyone! I've been slacking at writing here! Nothing stops me from painting my nails though, so here are the last couple of days:

First up is Barry M Navy. What a colour! I had so many compliments on this one while I was at work!

Barry M Navy (2 coats, Seche Vite topcoat)

Barry M Navy (2 coats, Seche Vite topcoat)

The next one is Barry M Racing Green. Another lovely one. I really do love Barry M, they're so good. Such good quality too.

Barry M Racing Green (2 coats, Seche Vite topcoat)

Barry M Racing Green (2 coats, Seche Vite topcoat)

Finally, we have Barry M Mint Green with a bit of leopard Konad! It was a Barry M kinda week! I really do love them...

Barry M Mint Green (2 coats, Seche Vite topcoat)

Barry M Mint Green (2 coats, Seche Vite topcoat)

Oh and lastly, here's one of the very good things that I did this week - got a visit from my sister and her family! This is me, and my beautiful niece Keeley (complete with whiskers!)...

That's all for now! Out of curiosity, what's your favourite Barry M colour?

Barry M Aqua Glitter and Bourjois Rainbow Apparition

A couple of spangly manicures to show you tonight!

First up is Barry M Aqua Glitter:

 I layered the glitter over two coats of Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream here, mainly because I don't like using about 5 coats of glitter. It's a really lovely bright shiny colour. The only downside is that I got quite a bit of shrinkage, which is annoying because it really is pretty.


The next pictures are of Bourjois Rainbow Apparition (best name!) over two coats of Barry M Berry Ice Cream. This glitter is also packed with holo pieces which sadly don't show up in the pictures! This one is really lovely and I didn't see any shrinkage. The only downside to this one is the brush, which is supposed to be wide and flat, which I suppose might be nice to paint with if you have big nails beds, but my nails are really small and it means that I have to be so careful not to just make a mess. I don't like to have to clean up after I paint my nails and I don't normally have to, but this brush is tricky.

Daylight shot!

For both of these manicures I used Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle basecoat and Seche Vite topcoat. The Barry M glitter soaked up two layers of Seche Vite to be smooth, and the Bourjois glitter only needed one.

I'm still wearing the Bourjois glitter now, it's lovely. I'm not going to pretend it was easy removing the Barry M one though...the foil came out!

What do you think?

Nails Inc Culross Street and Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream with Models Own Indian Ocean

A couple more manis to show you, I've had yet another busy week. Another week, another Jack Savoretti concert...how I love him. Ahem, anyway...

The top pictures are Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream under Models Own Indian Ocean. I love this combo, it's hard to take a picture but in the sunshine it absolutely glows. So here's what I used:

• Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
• Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream (2 coats)
• Models Own Indian Ocean (2 coats)
• Seche Vite topcoat

The bottom picture is Nails Inc Culross Street, one of the polishes I got in my recent lucky dip. It was so hard to paint with, really thick and...painty. It looks quite nice though! What I used:

• Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
• Nails Inc Culross Street (2 coats)
• Seche Vite topcoat

You can probably also see that I've shortened my nails a little bit, they grow so fast now!


What do you think?

Barry M Berry Ice Cream and Nails Inc Villiers Street

Got a couple of days worth of nails to show you tonight! Been busy for the last few days but I'm back!

The top two pictures are Barry M Berry Ice Cream with yellow Konad Q1 and the bottom pictures are Nails Inc Villiers Street, which I've shown you before. I love it, such a bright, comic book red.

I used Seche Vite topcoat as always!

What do you think? I think I need more new polishes...

Essie, Barry M Teal

Hi everyone! Just a bit of a catch up post, I've been so busy these last few days, went away for the weekend to British Superbikes with my husband, dad and stepmum, which was great. So here are a few pictures of my nails over the weekend!

1 - Barry M Pink Flamingo

2 - Essie on sale!

3 - Barry M Teal

What I did this weekend!

1 - I couldn't resist Barry M Pink Flamingo again, it's just so lovely! Goes well with stripes!
2 - I got some Essie stuff on sale in Boots...I'll probably review them separately if anyone is interested?
3 - Barry M Teal! Another lovely Barry M - this one was opaque in 3 coats, and is a lovely bright colour.
4 - The tickets for this weekend! It was SO hot and sunny, really lovely.

What did you do this weekend?