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.

Nails Inc Buckingham Street over Exposed Grey

I did a bit of a reverse glitter mani tonight. Normally I paint the tips of my nails, this time I went from the cuticle...

I really like the effect. It's not perfect but it looks nice in real life, stands out a lot more that in the photos. This Nails Inc glitter is really a gorgeous colour but I think it needs to be layered, it's suspended in a clear base so you wouldn't get far with it on it's own.

What I used:

• Essie Trillionails basecoat (still going strong, LOVE this stuff, it makes my nails so strong)
• Exposed - an unnamed polish in grey (2 coats)
• Nails Inc Buckingham Street glitter (sponged on)
• Seche Vite top coat

What do you think? Do you prefer cuticle glitter, or just on the tips of the nail?

Thanks for reading!

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

Exposed in Mystic with Butter London The Black Knight

The nails I did tonight are a combination of two of my favourite polishes - Exposed in Mystic, and Butter London's The Black Knight:

To show you how different this purple looks in other lights! Daylight at the top, artificial at the bottom!

What I used:

• Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle basecoat
• Exposed in Mystic (2 coats)
• Butter London The Black Knight (tips)
• Seche Vite topcoat

 
I'm so pleased with how these look. The tips were an after thought really, but I think it works!


What do you think?

Nails Inc New Burlington Place and Lucky Dip

It's a bit of a bumper post today - I bought Nails Inc Lucky Dip again so I've swatched the first one, and I did my friend Katie's nails for her tonight!


First, the Nails Inc Lucky Dip. It's possibly the best one I've had so far...

L-R: New Burlington Place, Westminster, Old Park Lane, Paddington, Chelsea, Culross Street


£15 for all of these beauties!

I couldn't resist New Burlington Place - it looks so beautiful in the bottle, and it doesn't disappoint when it's on!

  

What I used:

• Essie Fill The Gap basecoat (2 coats)
• Nails Inc New Burlington Place (2 coats)
• Seche Vite topcoat

This polish goes on so nicely. It's incredibly shiny and eyecatching - I LOVE it. I'm looking forward to swatching the rest of them!



Next up, a mani I did the night before:

This is Exposed in Spontaneous with Nails Inc Privileged topcoat.


Here are the nails I did for my friend Katie tonight:

What I used for these:

• Essie Fill The Gap basecoat (2 coats)
• Nails Inc Elizabeth St Caviar (2 coats)
• Konad Black Polish and plate M71
• Seche Vite topcoat

I was really pleased with these, and I'm happy that Katie likes them!

Finally, here's the new ring I got from River Island for £4! I love it!

Loads of pictures! What do you think? Which Nails Inc polish what would you like to see swatched next?

My monthly leopard mani! Exposed in Mystic with silver Konad!

I think I mentioned before, I have leopard nails at least once a month (or so it seems!) and these are tonight's...

What I used:

• Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
• Exposed in Mystic (2 coats)
• Konad M57 and Special Silver Polish
• Nails Inc Albert Bridge topcoat

I love this purple, it's my favourite, it just doesn't show up on photos!

What do you think? Oooh, and I'm currently waiting for a Nails Inc Lucky Dip to arrive...pictures soon!

Exposed in Rock Chick

In between pole practice and work, I wanted to try another of my new Exposed polishes tonight - and I'm glad I picked this one! It's lovely, though I have got a soft spot for purple polish...

 Erm...excuse my messy desk.

Bit blurry to show the sparkle

 

Because this is such a lovely colour, I decided to be sensible and layer it so I didn't waste any! So, this is layered over a very similar tone of purple, a Boots No7 colour.

What I used:

• Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle basecoat
• Boots No7 Vivid Violet (2 coats)
• Exposed in Rock Chick (2 coats)
• Seche Vite topcoat

I couldn't decide whether to add more glitter (of another colour) to this, but in the end I've left it alone...maybe tomorrow...

What do you think?

Exposed in VIP, more Exposed polishes!

Today I decided I had to get more polishes! You know, when you just want some new colours?! Well, I got these:

Nails Inc for InStyle, Exposed in Rock Chick, Barefoot, VIP

This is Exposed in 'VIP'. It's very hard to show the true colour here. I would consider this to be a pink jelly, it's quite sheer. It's much pinker than in these pictures, but I just can't get it to show. There are three coats here. The gold is just random blobs I did with a dotting tool to liven it up.

What I used:

• Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle
• Exposed VIP (3 coats)
• Nails Inc Culford Gardens for dots
• Seche Vite topcoat 

I love Exposed polishes, so I'm looking forward to trying the other colours! What do you think?


Ooh, also, my poledancing pole is being delivered on Tuesday...so excited!

Exposed Mystic with Nails Inc Culford Gardens

Tonight's nails are nice and simple...I couldn't resist using the gorgeous Mystic again...I wish so much that I could show you the true colour though, I've never had a polish like it.

Looking blue!

I just added the gold dots with a dotting tool, nice and quick. I guess this was a bit of a 'favourites' manicure, as I love both of these colours and already use Culford Gardens a lot.

What I used:

• Nails Inc Kensington Caviar basecoat
• Exposed in Mystic (3 coats this time, looks lovely)
• Nails Inc Culford Gardens for the dots
• Seche Vite topcoat

Ooh, also, quite excited because my WAH Nails Book of Nail Art is on the way from Amazon...Will you be getting it?

Exposed in Flirt

Tonight's nails are, yes, you guessed it, another Exposed polish! I have yet to try one of these that I don't absolutely love. I am definitely buying more - at £2.99 a bottle I can't help myself!

This one is called Flirt. In the bottle it looks like a red/pink/raspberry type of colour. On the nail it's almost duochromey, it's different in every light, it actually almost flashes gold. Actually that's how I would describe it - it's like rose gold polish.

Some of these pictures are a bit samey but you get the idea...

Top picture - artificial light Bottom picture - daylight

What I used:

• Nails Inc Kensington Caviar basecoat
• Exposed in Flirt (3 coats)
• Seche Vite topcoat

I think what I like so much about these is the depth of colour, they're just so nice. The bottle says they're free of all the polish nasties too.

What do you think?

Exposed Deja Vu with Models Own Indian Ocean

Tonight's nails are another experiment with an Exposed polish and Indian Ocean:

What I used:

• Nails Inc Kensington Caviar basecoat
• Exposed in Deja Vu (2 coats)
• Models Own Indian Ocean (1 coat)
• Seche Vite topcoat

I really like this blue. I think I probably would have been perfectly happy wearing it on it's own, but I fancied having another look at Indian Ocean.

What do you think?