The holy grail of Barry M's!

When I was in Topshop Oxford Street a while back having a nose about on my own, I nearly shrieked when I spotted these beauties. Only my fellow beauty Bloggers will understand my excitement.

Ta-da! Aren't they amazing? I had never seen these polishes before, in either Boots or Superdrug. I am such a sucker for a glittery polish.

They are Lavender, Once Upon a Time and Silver cascade.

Silver cascade has coloured glitter in a slightly pinky base, and I think would give full coverage with a good few coats. Lavender has big lavender (funnily enough) coloured chunks with small silver glitter, and Once Upon a time has silver and pink strands with small red and silver dots. As Lavender and Once Upon a time are chunkier glitters, I think they will look best layered over another nail polish.

I am so glad I managed to get these babies. Only sad part to this tale is that I had to leave them at home in Scotland, as I can't wear nail polish when I am working. Ah well, when I have holidays my nails will look amazing!

What is your holy grail polish?

When you're feeling blue...

Make your nails look awesome!

I know I've been MIA again, things have been a bit stressful for me of late. I have finished uni now, and am a fully qualified Nurse. Yay, right? Yes, I am really happy to be qualified, but now I need a job. The job situation for nurses is pretty bad, especially up here in Scotland. I have been applying everywhere, and have had a couple of interviews, but both said other people had more experience. So, this has been getting me down a bit, and I haven't been able to get the motivation for blogging, even though I have all the time in the world to do it. I am currently applying for jobs in England, as I have to accept I am probably not going to get a job in Scotland in the current climate. Ah well, onwards and upwards.

To cheer myself up, I applied some falsies on my constantly breaking nails, and painted them with Barry M Indigo, and Maybelline flash cosmic. I can't take credit for this combo, I saw it on a blog ages ago, sorry I can't remember which one. I then applied a coat of No 7 Stay Perfect top coat, which for £2 when using a No 7 voucher, is a total bargain as it dries really quickly to a great shine.

I love the deep colour and the subtle sparkles. Its nice having long nails too! I'll do a seperate post on the nails and glue I used, once I have had them on for a few more days.

Christmas Sparkles- Models Own Mystic Mauve

I don't know about you, but as soon as December hits, and the countdown to Christmas begins, so does my obsession with glitter and sparkles! Its not something I wear to much usually, but come this time of year, I am all about the glitter make up, nails, and even clothes. So, I thought I would start a wee series to share some of my favourite Christmas sparkles.

First up, is a nail polish, which is not glittery, but shimmery, and slightly sparkly. It is Mystic Mauve by Models own.

It is a lilac mauve colour, with a silvery shimmer. In some lights it can look like it is just a silver.

As you can see, its very shiny, and perfect for some subtle Christmas sparkles. I found myself mesmorised by this colour, it is just so pretty on, I could stare at it all day. This will not help my dissertation, so good job I have removed it now.

Application of this polish was very easy, something I have found with all the Models Own polishes I have tried. It applies smoothly, and I could have probably got away with one coat, but I applied two, just to be sure. Models Own polishes usually cost £5,  but of course I got this in a 3 for 2 offer. I didn't apply a top coat, and the polish lasted about 3 days before chipping. However, this didn't stop me! To cheer it up and give it a few more days life, I added a coat of Barry M's Nail effects.

I think nail effects worked really well with this polish, and meant I got a few more days wear.

What are your Christmas polish recommendations?

Blogger Templates

NOTD Barry M Blueberry Icecream, and a wee bonus!

I am pleased to say, I still haven't bitten my nails! I have had a few breakages, which is a bit gutting. I have also trimmed a couple to try and make them all a more uniform shape. I don't know if my nails are weak, and thats why they are breaking, or if I am just catching them on things. Ah well!I am still loving the Barry M ice cream shades, and here is another one for you, blueberry-

Its actually a little less bright than this in real life, more like the shade of the bottle in the picture, not the nails! It applied easily, and this is with 2 coats and a topcoat. It lasted well for 2 days, but then I went camping and did some gardening, and that was it! 

I have another quick NOTD, which is a bit too rubbish for its own post, but I thought i'd add it as a wee bonus!

This is Barry M Pink Iridescent. I was going for a night out the other week, and didn't have enough time to do a proper colour, as i'm so clumsy at doing my nails still. I didn't want to go out with 'naked' nails, so I did a couple of quick coats of this glittery number. Its light, so fairly forgiving of mistakes. It does feel grainy to the touch, even after a topcoat. There was a slight pink tinge to it, but mostly its silvery glitter. I mainly bought this to use over other polishes, so will try that soon. I have to say though, it was a nightmare to get off!

Do you have any favourite Barry M polishes?


Blogger Templates

My stop nail biting challenge and first ever NOTD!

As I have mentioned before, I have the nasty habit of biting my nails, and always have. Well, the time has come for it to stop! I am always so jealous of all your NOTD posts, with lovely nail art, so this is my inspiration to stop. I especially love the konad nails I have seen, and am going to treat myself to a konad set once my nails have grown enough. I have already managed a few weeks of no biting, and its going well so far.

Now I know they might not look long at all, but believe me, this is good progress! They are usually so nibbled that no tip is visible! I can really feel the difference, like them catching on things, and when I type. I quite like this though, and its all motivation! I am scared though that if one breaks then I might just give up and be back at square one. I think if I keep them nicely painted though, this will deter me from biting, and look nice of course! This means, I have been purchasing some nice polishes recently, mostly Barry M, as I love the range of colours, and they have been on offer at 2 for £5. So, drum roll please...... its my first ever Nail of the Day (NOTD)!

The polish I used was Barry M's Berry Ice Cream. I have a few of the ice cream shades, and love them all. I think it looks so summery, even if the weather up here doesn't agree. I put on 2 coats, without a top coat, and it has lasted about 2 days before chips started happening today. I guess that will teach me to not use a top coat. As having nicely painted nails is my main motivation for stopping the biting, I think I will make a weekly NOTD post, to keep me going!

As I am not that used to painting my nails, they don't turn out that neat. I thought I'd share with you a little something that I first saw on Jelena's blog, that helps me out a bit.

Its the Boots expert Nail polish remover pen. It cost £5, and is like a felt tip, but made of nail polish remover. I know that many people use cotton buds or orange sticks dipped into remover, but I find this a little fiddly, and this pen just makes things easier for me. I use it to tidy up around the edges, and hopefully make my nails look a bit tidier.

So, wish me luck with my stop biting challenge, and any tips, gratefully appreciated!



Blogger Templates