China Glaze On Safari Part 1

So the second China Glaze Summer collection is On Safari. Here is part 1 of the  swatches which include my favourite colours.  I'm not lion and Man hunt. To be honest I am not a big fan of the other colours they are quite boring, in fact this feels like an autumnal collection not a summer one.

1,I am not lion - is a dusty gold colour with holo mirco glitter
2, I herd that - Brashy gold with micro holo glitter
3, Dessert Sun, Orange Creme
4, Call of the wild, deep redy plumy brown
5, Man hunt - Cool rich creme blue.
6, Kalahari Kiss, Yellow toned creme  

China Glaze On safari 2012 summer collection swatch  

China Glaze On Safari Complete Shades:

• Adventure Red-y
• Call of the Wild
• Desert Sun
• Elephant Walk
• Exotic Encounter
• I Herd That
• I’m Not Lion
• Kalahari Kiss
• Manhunt
• Prey Tell
• Purr-fect Plum

Which colour do you like best out of part one of the collection?

NOTD Profile Bling to go Crystal Rocks nail wraps & Gellux Berry Smoothie

Bling to go and Gellux Berry Smoothie

Nail of the day today is a test of some new nail wraps we got in store this week. Profile have released "Bling to Go" 3d nail wraps with 8 different designs. In a pack you get 18 finger sized wraps and 16 toe sized wrap so you do get plenty in a pack.

3 of the Bling to go designs

I decided to go for Crystal Rocks which is what I would class as a standard crystal mani effect. I also decided to give Profile's gel polish , Gellux, another go so I applied Berry Smoothie to all my nails. I selected the nail wrap which would fit my ring finger stuck it on and filed off the excess from the free edge and sealed the edges with the Gellux topcoat. It took about 5 mins each nail and I think looks really effective.  It's a lot quicker and neater than applying each individual gem and in this pack there are two gem patterns. I went for this one in which the gems get slightly at the bottom of the nail, but there is another sheet in the pack where they are all the same size and the gems are all in straight lines.

Bling to go Crystal Rocks

 So what do you think? Will you be swapping to this quick and easy nail art solution? Or will you be sticking to individual gems? Let me know what you think x

Gellux Berry Smoothie and bling to go Crystal Rocks

Orly Dark Shadow Collection Press Release

 ORLY International announced today a limited-time nail color collection partnership with Warner Bros. Pictures in conjunction with the release of Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows,” starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter, set to open on May 11, 2012.
“ORLY strives to deliver innovative products and trend-focused nail shades,” said Jeff Pink, President and CEO of ORLY International. “The adventurous theme of ‘Dark Shadows’ was a perfect fit with our brand and the fashion colors we created for this collection.”
The collection will include four lacquers, with names and shades that reflect the dark humor conveyed in the film.

Grave Mistake - is a Dark Red Creme
Buried Alive - is a Deep Brown Shimmer.
Mysterious Curse - is a Purple Duochrome Shimmer
Decades of Dysfunction - is a Pale Pink Creme.

After China Glaze's dip in to film tie ins with the Hunger Games collection, Orly have decided to join in it seems. I am not sure about this collection and IF  I was making a film tie in I would go for a more girly film/ fun film.
My fave out of the collection is Mysterious Curse the other colours look a bit boring. When I get my hands on them I will swatch them for you so you can get a better look.

Orly Mysterious Curse - is a Purple Duochrome Shimmer

China Glaze Hunger games Collection Luxe and Lush

China Glaze The Hunger Games Capitol Colours

With the release of the film The Hunger Games,  which is set to be one of the biggest films of the year, China Glaze has brought out its first movie tie in. The Capitol Colours. Now I had never even heard of the books before I got the info sheet from China Glaze and thought this was quite an odd idea. The links to the film seemed a bit weak and I am not sure of the colours as they are a bit drab for me. I have decided to swatch them so you can decide for yourself.

My favourite is Luxe and Lush. This colour is inspired by Katniss' interview dress and I am sure if you watch the film you will have an idea if it matches. :) Luxe and Lush is a massive chunky flakie. If you have seen Nubars 2010 its like a chunky version of that. If you like a smooth finish this is not the polish for you !!  

China glaze Luxe and Lush over Lcn Colour me Up collection

Here I have put it over LCN's Colour Me Up collection Left to right they are :

Colour me up

Some like it hot

Spice up your life

Fanappleistic

China Glaze Luxe and Lush over Rad Raspbery Nubar

Comparison of China Glaze Luxe and Lush and Nubar 2010

This colour is really hard to photograph but I hope you get the idea.

So will you be adding Luxe and Lush to your collection? And will  you be off to the Cinema to see the film?

More colours to follow :)



Orly’s Spring 2012 Collection Cool Romance

Just a quick post about the new Orly’s Spring 2012 Collection - Cool Romance is out and pays homage to some of the gentlest pastels around. We’re not talking sweet-shop pastels here, these are the slightly edgier, grungier cousins of the pastel world. Just about.

• You’re Blushing: Muted Lilac Crème
• Prelude to a Kiss: Pastel Pink Crème
• Jealous, Much?: Pastel Mint
• Faint of Heart: Soft Grey Crème
• Steel Your Heart: Charcoal Shimmer
• Artificial Sweetener: Dusty Rose Shimmer

They are available at the new price of £5.15 plus vat but they have also made a cute little gift pack with a chain mail esque bag for £12.99

Valentines nails featuring Gelicure, Kooky Nail wraps and Progel.



Progel and Kooky Nail wraps

I have been a little quiet on here this month as I have had a little operation, but I am back to update you on the nails I have created recently.

We started stocking Kooky nail wraps, so I thought it was best to try them out before we sold them to make sure they were easy to apply and long lasting. As the wraps were from their Valentines collection I decided to apply them as accent nails to the ring finger and use sparkly Poker Red, Progel by Supernail. The wraps lasted really well but the progel was a bit flakey, so more testing is required.



kooky Nail Wraps




I also did my own nails using IBD's New LED Gel polish- Just Gel. I used Gerber Daisy as my base colour which is a nice rich shimmery pink. I then used Orlys Instant artist to create some freehand nail art. I was really pleased with the finished result, but yet again the Just Gel did not last a whole week. So more testing of that is needed

IBDs Just Gel Gerber Daisy

Finally I did a bit of practise using Gelicure by Nubar. I hope you like my nails and sorry for the delay :) x



Valentines practise using Gelicure



Freehand Nail Art

NOTD - China Glaze Summer Neon Collection 2012

China Glaze Summer Neon Collection 2012

Nails of the day are the China Glaze collection Summer Neons. It will not be in the UK until March, but here is a sneak preview of the colours. As many of you already know, neon is the hottest thing around for the spring 2012 season so this is a great collection to get your nails on trend. 

 

As you may have guessed they are super neon and most of the polishes have a shimmery finish. The colours are really rich and some you could get away with one coat! I would always finish them with a nice topcoat and Orly's Polishield is still my favourite.

 

 

China Glaze Summer Neon Collection 2012

 

1, PINK PLUMERIA

2, FLIRTY TANKINI

3, SURFIN' FOR BOYS

4, ORANGE YOU HOT?

5, SUN-KISSED

6, I'M WITH THE LIFEGUARD

7, SPLISH SPLASH

8, RIDE THE WAVES

9, UNDER THE BOARDWALK

10, BEACH CRUISE-R

11, HANG-TEN TOES

12, LOVE'S A BEACH

 

 

My Favourite out of the Summer Neons Collection is Under the boardwalk. Which is your Favourite??

 

 

 

NOTD - Chinese new year nails Freehand

Chinese New Year Nails

Nails of the day today are a set I created for a Chinese New Year competion. I did not win the competion, but I have had some nice comments about my nails so it has given me the confidence to enter more.

To create this look I used Sexy red by Nubar as the base colour. Then using Orly's Instant Nail artist I carefully painted the nail art details.

I think the little lady with the fan was very cute, if I do say so myself!
What nail competions have you entered? What theme nails would you like to see?

NOTD - Aztec Style Nail Art with Video

Nail of the day - Aztec Nails.

I was asked on instagram if I could do some tribal/aztec style nails so this is my effort

I took lots of photos and made this quick video tutorial hope you like it and let me know if you try it out xx

NOTD- Gelicure Silver Waterfall with freehand Winter Snowflakes

Gelicure Silver Waterfall with freehand Winter Snowflakes

Nail of the day - Gelicure Silver Waterfall with freehand Winter Snowflakes. Here are my winter season nails I started off by apply two coats of Nubar's Gelicure in Silver Waterfall then using nubars nail stripers I applied freehand snowflakes in white. I then added dots in white and blue with a dotting tool.

As always with Gelicure my mani lasted ages which was great as with Christmas and parties I did not have time to redo my nails so I got 4 weeks out of this one :).

What nails are you rocking this month? Let me know and add a link to your blog below xx

NOTD - Tape Mani in Purple Panic and Petunia Sparkles

Tape Mani with China Glaze and Nubar

Nail of the day is my new addiction Tape manicures. As you see from my picture I went a bit mad. I did try lots of different types  The idea is using cellotape to mask off parts of the nail creating cool patterns and crisps lines.

I started with a base colour of China Glaze Purple panic, which to be honest is a bright pink rather than purple. Then I applied the cellotape which I had cut into little strips which was actually the hard bit. I then sponged on the Nubar petunia sparkles which is an amazing purple glitter polish. I think sponging it on its better than painting over it as it not as thick

Nubar Petunia Sparkle

final look 

 How will you wear your Tape mani? share your photos with me xx