Day 15: Delicate Print

Here we are at the halfway point and I'm still loving the challenge!

A friend of mine visited Canada this month and I asked her to pick me up a bottle of Sally Hansen Whirlwind White. Since I saw it on Marta's blog here, I've had a lemming for it and Marta reminded me to ask my friend to grab me a bottle. So now I finally have a really, really good white stamping polish and it really is a weight off my shoulders!

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's challenges too!

No7 Lucky Lilac
Konad Plate M71
Sally Hansen Whirlwind White

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So! FashioNAILble

Today's nail art comes straight from the catwalk at New York Fashion Week. I've decided to recreate a few of my favourite nail looks from NYFW Spring 2012 this week.

Even though I'm sure this design didn't originate at fashion week, CND's Wanda Ruiz used this checkerboard pattern to decorate the models' digits for the Nicole Miller show using a Raspberry Pink and Navy Blue.

I used No7 Lucky Lilac as a base. With a liner brush, I drew a cross on my nails and then used a small nail art brush to fill in two of the four sections with Primark's Yes Cyan!.

I don't know if you can see in the pictures but my top coat has bubbled a little. This could be because I used 3 coats of the stuff, or because I tried to thin it out with Nail Polish Thinner. The consistency definitely improved with the use of the thinner but it has now gone cloudy and apparently bubbly so I'll just move on to a new bottle. Not to self: don't use thinner in your top coat!

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No7, I Am Disappoint

Boots are running their £5 off No7 make-up when you spend £5 in store at the moment and since I always need hair dye or products, I  take advantage and stock up while the offer is on so I get a few vouchers. I run right over to the No7 counter and pick out a nail varnish which then costs me just £2. Bargain!

I picked up Minty Fresh which is a lovely colour but an absolute nightmare to apply! The formula is not particularly thin but it drags and streaks like a byatch and needed 4 coats for opacity.

Here's my step-by-step. You can see the extent of streakiness on the first picture. I would recommend you stay away from this polish at all costs! I'm tempted to throw it out because it's so dang frustrating! 

Anyway, on to the nail art... as if this mani couldn't get any worse, the colouring on the bullion that I used came off completely and smudged all the way up my nail when I applied my top coat. I still love the little detail though!

Stamping Plate: Bundle Monster BM212
Base Colour: No7 - Minty Fresh
Stamp Colour: NYC Glossies 243B
Top Coat of NYC
Bullion from Born Pretty Store
Gems from eBay

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Daisy Daisy...

I always feel so guilty when I go more than one or two days without posting. It's blogging withdrawal! I can't concentrate because all I'm thinking about is when I'll have time for all the photographing and editing and writing.
Do any of you other bloggers get this way? I'm not complaining though, I love being dedicated to my blog. It's the only serious commitment I have in my life at the moment!

I've had an awesome bank holiday weekend so far. I've been on an open top bus tour, partied with my old school friends and had some alone time strolling around the shops where I found some incredible bargains. Today I'm off to my aunt's house for her birthday lunch and then heading in to the city for my friends birthday meal. I wish my life was always this exciting!

My favourite bargain from my Sunday shopping trip was some white Wet N Wild polish which has kind of solved my stamping dilemma for the time being. Wet N Wild products aren't really sold anywhere here, the only place I've ever found them is in bargain or end-of-line stores so my jaw literally hit the floor when I spotted a few dozen of these on the shelf. I still have a lemming for that Sally Hansen Whirlwind White though! Thank you for all the help you guys gave me with that, you know who you are ;)

Konad Plate: Bundle Monster BM205
Base Colour: No7 - Stand Back
Konad Colour: Wet N Wild - French Manicure White
Top Coat of NYC

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Flowers in the Window

I was ready for work an hour early today. Not on purpose, I just got my times muddled up but luckily I caught a glimpse of the clock just as I was walking out the front door! So I thought I would slip in a quick post before I leave.

This pink has been in my collection since before I even started blogging and is nearly all used up. I have to really work to scrape the polish out of the bottom of the bottle but it's totally worth it to get this classy pink on my nails. If more pinks were like this, I would probably wear the colour more often but the only ones I ever see seem to be too bright or glittery or metallic for my taste.

Konad Plates: M35, M54, Born Pretty M76
Base Colour: No7 - Foxglove
Konad Colour: Miss Sporty - Zodiac
Top Coat of NYC

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Comparison: Barry M Cyan Blue vs. No7 Stand Back

 I don't know if anyone remembers my post from Saturday (find it here if you missed it) where I mentioned a new colour that I purchased from No7 called Stand Back. I noted that it was very similar to Barry M Cyan Blue which I also have, but I had convinced myself that they were different and I needed both of them. Well I decided to try the two on side by side and I discovered that there is literally no difference in the colour! Oh well, what's one more polish in the pile?!

Barry M Cyan Blue and No7 Stand Back

The Barry M colour is in my Top 10 favourite polishes anyway so I'm sure they'll both get plenty of use. They look so pretty in the sun so I'll definitely be wearing them a lot with the summer coming on.

Just a Sprinkling

I picked up this new  No7 polish last weekend just before my £5 off No7 voucher expired. I noticed that they have quite a few new shades and the 'Speed Dry' colours are gone, or rather replaced with 'Stay Perfect' equivalents, and every bottle is decorated with a 'New brush and formula' sticker. I loved the formula on this and the brush has a domed end which is much better than the old brushes which were long and thin with a square end.

I love this colour! It's a summery turquoise and I was worried it would be too similar to Barry M Cyan Blue which I already have but I can definitely see a difference which I can't describe. I just know it's different. But maybe I'm seeing things to justify buying this colour!

Base Colour: No7 Stand Back

Models Own Juicy Jules and E.L.F. Twinkle sponged on

Sevenhundredandfiftywhaaaaat?

The Nailasaurus has 750 followers! That means giveaway time!
As a big thank you to everyone that reads my little blog, I'll be holding a small giveaway very soon which will include a few polishes I purchased myself and some gifts from an exciting sponsor. I'm behind on everything at the moment (*hangs head*) so it will be a while until I have the whole thing up and running because I'm still figuring out all the logistics since this will be a lot bigger than any giveaway I've held in the past.
Thank you so much for reading!!

Plate: Born Pretty M78

Base Colour: No7 Betty Blues

Konad Colour: GOSH Metallic Blue

Top Coat of NYC

Nautical But Nice

I hit the shops with my mum on the weekend and it seems that nautical is in again this summer which I'm very pleased to see. I love all the colours and patterns associated with the sailor style. Nearly everything I purchased was blue and/or white with plenty of stripes, sail boats and anchors to boot.

I spent this week searching for a perfect navy blue polish at a cheap price but didn't find much luck. Then I remembered I had this blue in my collection and the lemming totally disappeared. This colour is just the perfect accessory for a nautical outfit.

Plate: Bundle Monster BM08

Base Colour: No7 Poolside Blue

Stripes: Stargazer White applied with a striping brush

Stamp Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome - Amber

Top Coat of NYC

No7 Temptress

The time has come again when Boots are giving away a £5 No7 or Ruby and Millie voucher with any purchase of £5 or more in store. I had to buy hair dye yesterday so I grabbed my voucher and, as I always do, pelted over to the No7 counter to pick out a polish.

I picked up 'Temptress' which, in the bottle, looks like Brown with a hint of Red. When I put it on, I was kind of disappointed because it's more of a Red with a hint of Brown. I'd call it burgundy. 

Application wasn't any prettier than the resulting colour. There was plenty of drag, I had to use 3 coats and the coverage is still patchy with some visible nail line.

I was super disappointed when I put this on yesterday but I've been wearing it since and it's really grown on me. It's very elegant but vampy at the same time. I don't think this formula is worth the full price of £7 but if you have a voucher, it's worth paying £2. However, there are plenty of other exquisite shades in the range that are more deserving of your attention. 

Back in Blue

I'm back from my little break and I have so much to tell you. First thing's first - I handed in a huge assignment today so I'm finally free from big pieces of school work for the rest of the year. It was a 2500 word essay and the longest one I've ever written. I really struggled with it but now it's over I feel so free! I spent my evening tidying and cleaning my room because it's just gotten in such a tip since I was devoting all my time to the essay.

I finally went to see the dentist last week. You might have heard me complaining in the past about my wisdom teeth but the pain was intermittent and manageable, then I started getting pain up in my roots a bit further forward so I finally booked an appointment to get my mouth looked at. Turns out the pain is being caused by one of my wisdoms and I have to have it taken out. 

Sorry if that was boring and gross!!

And here's the mani you guys wanted to see more of from my last post. For some reason, I've never posted a mani using this konad image before. I don't know why, because it's gorgeous. 

The owner of Born Pretty Store, Jessica, sent me some nail art supplies to review and these little blue beads are one of the items. I got a whole wheel with 12 different colours of beads in! I just love this 'bullion' because, even though it's a tad fiddly, it's so easy to incorporate in to any manicure. However, if you want some of these beads, I would definitely recommend going for the separately packaged ones because the colours are starting to mix in the wheel.

Konad Plate: M57

Base Colour: No7 - Betty Blues

Konad Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome - Amber

Top Coat of NYC

Leopard Got The Blues

How do you like my new banner? I'm not too sure about it so I might make another one or go back to the old one soon.

Konad Plate: M57

Base Colour: No7 - Betty Blues

Konad Colour: China Glaze - Adore

Barry M Blue Glitter for the dots

Top Coat of NYC

Barry M Mint Green

I had my last exam today. I'm so so so happy to have them over, even though I think I failed 3 out of the 4.

After the exam some friends and I went out for a pub lunch and just chatted for nearly 2 hours which was so much fun as I've been stuck inside for nearly 3 weeks. I was planning on going out with my friends tonight but decided to stay in eating, sleeping and watching movies since I haven't really had a chance just to chill for the so long, but I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow - it should be a crazy night!

Konad Plate: M35

Base Colour: Barry M - Mint Green

Konad Colour: BYS - Fools Paradise

No7 Betty Blues for the dots done with a dotting tool

Top Coat of NYC

Simple Ruffian

This one's a bit messy. I'm terrible at doing tips or ruffian in any capacity let alone attempting to get the tiny little stripes matte so it went all lumpy and bumpy but I quite like it, I'm going to attempt at again in the future. After all, practice makes perfect.

 

The base colour is Barry M Cyan Blue with one coat of BYS Tinkerbell to get the shimmer, then a top coat of NYC.

The dark blue is No7 Betty Blues and I used E.L.F Matte finisher to matte out the ruffian strips.

Half a Hiatus

Over the Christmas season, I'm going to be doing less manicures. I'm aiming to stick to a post every other day.
I couldn't get the lighting right for this picture so the colours are a bit cruddy, sorry.

Konad Plate: M39
Base Colour: No7 - Foxglove
Konad Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome Amber and BYS Glittering Purple
Top Coat of NYC

K.. K.. Karaoke

The title isn't related in any way to the post or the mani but I'm going to karaoke tonight and I'm just very excited about it!

Konad Plate: M57
Base Colour: No7 - Poolside Blue
Konad and Tip Colour: Stargazer White
Top Coat of Essie Matte About You

M64 Again - I Love This Pattern!

This is the second time in a week that I've used this pattern but I really do love it and should really wear it more. Click here for the M64 mani from last week.

Konad Plate: M64
Base Colour: No7 - Totally Teal
Konad Colour: China Glaze - Adore
Gems from eBay (Seller)
Top Coat of NYC

This Reminds Me Of A Kimono

I just think it looks like the kind of pattern you would see on silk and that reminds me of Geisha's.

Konad Plate: M71
Base Colour: No7 - Poolside Blue
Konad Colour: Collection 2000 - Moonlight Shine
Top Coat of NYC

No7 Poolside Blue

I always find No7 polishes a bit frustrating. They have some great colours but I hate the tall bottles and the brushes. It's impossible to keep the rim of the bottle clean and the brushes don't spread over the nail as you swipe so you have to swipe at least 3 times to cover the nail.

But, as I said, the colours are amazing and this one's no exception. It's the boldest blue I own and I love it.

Blackberry Beauty

This is another polish from yesterday's haul. You can't see in this picture but it has tiny sparkles in it so it looks amazing on its own too.

Konad Plate: M64
Base Colour: No7 - Blackberry
Konad Colour: Miss Sporty - Zodiac
Top Coat of NYC and a little pearly sticker on my ring finger :)