NOTD : Heart Skittles

Evening all ! So I didn't end up doing my nails yesterday as I had originally intended, I walked down the hill into town in the morning and then walked all the way back up it ! Needless to say, I was knackered, and just watched films for the rest of the day and cooked ! I've been far more productive today though, and so I've got a brand new NOTD for you all ! Enjoy !

Today's nail design came to me thanks to a couple of t-shirts I bought yesterday morning, one of them being a light minty green colour, then other being a bright plum purple. I lined up those two colours in the form of nail varnishes, then added in a couple of my new polishes from the OPI Euro Centrale collection I received on Friday, and then threw a light purple into the mix and voilà, I had my colour combination ! The hearts on top were just an idea to mix up the different colours and bring them all together !

For this design, the colours I used were OPI OPI... Eurso Euro, Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Casino Royale, OPI Planks A Lot and OPI Can't Find My Czechbook. I think these colours really work well together, my favourite combination is probably my thumb, the mint hearts just really stand out against the dark and bold background !

Another reason for me to love this manicure even more is the fact that I actually did both hands exactly the same today, so glad I actually had time for it because I love it when they're all the same ! How often do you end up leaving your dominant hand a plain colour or plain design when you do your nails ? I get bored of doing it quite often now, but I try to persevere because I love how it looks in the end when I put the effort into it !

So that'll be all for this evening folks ! I'm pretty tired now so I'm just going to watch something on TV and get an early night.. bliss ! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone !

NOTD : Gliding Lines

Bonsoir everyone ! So here's a quick post for you all before I go off to bed, I managed to spend most of the afternoon trying to find inspiration for my nails (plus a way to use my new OPI nail varnish), and so this is quite a bit later than I would have liked ! Anywho, I'd better get a move on writing this (she says after spending a further 5 minutes trolling through Facebook), if I'm going to get an early night !

I'm not sure where the inspiration for this nail design came from, but I have to say, I'm in LOVE with it ! It's a shame I couldn't be bothered to do the same design on my right hand, but oh well ! The colour combination came pretty much out of nowhere as well, I just picked up a couple of random nail varnishes and they just happened to go quite well together !

So for this design, the colours I used were OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, which is the polish I received yesterday and I have to say I'm thrilled to bits with it ! It just looks so much less stark that full-on white, and I think it makes the colours in the design blend better together ! I also used OPI Skyfall and OPI My Very First Knockwurst for the other coloured lines.

Today's nail art didn't actually take as long to do as I had anticipated, it still took quite a while though (trying to get all the lines just right) but I think it was totally worth the time it took ! This is another design I'm definitely going to have to try again with other colour combinations, the possibilities are endless ! Hopefully next time I'll leave plenty of time to do my manicure, and then I'll actually be able to do both hands properly !

So that'll be all for today you guys, I'm off to bed, my lectures started again today so I'm tired after my first day working again after a rather long break ! Night night everyone !

NOTD : Mini Hearts

Hey there everyone ! So I've been busy catching up on bits and pieces I have had to get done recently and I've been really busy today (giving a tour of the university to prospective students), so I ended up having an early night last night and didn't get a chance to post the nails I did ! Nonetheless, I'm here tonight to post them for you, and I hope they don't disappoint !

So obviously it's the time of year for doing all the lovey-dovey manicures and nail art for Valentines Day, I wasn't really planning on doing anything in particular nail-wise but last night my mother suggested I do this sort of design, and so I did ! I have to admit though, it was a struggle getting them done : I didn't get very much sleep Monday night and so I was super tired yesterday and kept doing stupid things like accidentally knocking my nail on the table and smudging my base colour... ugh, I was getting so irritated, so I just stuck with two accent nails ! I bet it would have looked really great if I'd have done all the nails, maybe some other time !

For this design I used OPI My Very First Knockwurst for the base colour, and then for the hearts on the accent nail I used OPI Big Apple Red. I really love how this design looks, and I reckon it'd look great with other combinations, maybe some brighter, more original combinations to veer off from the "traditional colours" for Valentines Day (plus you can wear it any day of the year then, happy days) !

And that'll be it from me today ! I got a new OPI nail varnish today, the ones from the Euro Centrale collection should be arriving soon as well, so perhaps I'll have to include my new arrival in some nail art for tomorrow's post ! Let's just say it's a colour I've wanted for quite a while now, and I think it's going to prove to be particularly useful for nail art !

I'll see you all tomorrow hopefully everyone ! Have a great day !

Swatch : OPI - Tomorrow Never Dies

Evening all ! I said in yesterday's post that I would post something again today, even though I've left it right until the last minute when I should already be in bed, I've got a super pretty swatch for you all today ! As I've said before, I got the OPI Skyfall collection for Christmas, and I've been dying to try some of them out, specifically the ones I haven't managed to use in any nail art yet, so here you go, today's swatch !

Every time I show the Skyfall collection to anyone, they always point towards this colour, so I figured it ought to be this one to swatch first, and I'm so glad I did ! OPI Tomorrow Never Dies is pretty much what I would call the "definition of blurple", there's just the right balance of both blue and purple, which makes for a really great nail varnish ! The shimmer in this colour is AMAZING, very blue-toned and far more noticeable in person (in fact it looks 10 times better in person than in my photos, believe me) !

The formula of this nail polish was great as well, and I needed just two coats for the opacity in these swatches... in fact I only ever really do two coats, works great every time with most OPIs ! I used Seche Vite on top for these swatches, but honestly it doesn't really need it, maybe for longevity, but it's just as shiny without top coat as it is with !

So what do you all think of Tomorrow Never Dies ? I think I'm actually in love with it, it's just so perfect ! I'm definitely going to start thinking up ways of incorporating this nail polish into some nail art, and I think I might have to start wearing more polishes by themself, I have so many pretty polishes that I really need to wear more often !

Anyway, I'm off to bed for now, but I'll most probably be back tomorrow with another post, aren't you lucky ! See you all then everyone !

NOTD : Gingham Style

Hey there everybody ! Woah, two days in a row ! Can you believe it ?! I've got soooo much spare time at the moment seeing as I don't start lectures again until Thursday, and I'm struggling to find stuff to do ! I even resorted to doing some ironing earlier on as I literally had nothing else to do, oh woe is me ! Anyway, I did my nails first thing this morning, which means I'm actually able to post them at a reasonable time today, woohoo !

My mum suggested that I ought to try doing some gingham nails (and she even came up with the tasteful title for today's post), and I really didn't anticipate how long this design would actually take me. I remembered looking at gingham tablecloths and napkins and stuff and always noticed that the "lighter" colour was actually just the block colour with alternating white stripes, and so I decided to do that for my nails today ! I also saw whilst browsing earlier that Katy from Nailed It did a tutorial on for a gingham design using tape (probably far quicker than my method today).

So for today's design, the nail varnishes I used were American Apparel T-Shirt, and then for the green I used OPI Jade is the New Black. I decided to go with green as it's a traditional colour theme for gingham (as is red, but I didn't fancy the tedious removal process that comes with it and its staining), and I didn't realise what a great Christmas green Jade is the New Black is, shame I didn't realise at Christmas really, I've been looking for one everywhere !

So what do you think of today's design ? I personally think it looks far better from a distance than it does close up, it's just a shame it took such a long time to paint ! I couldn't even be bothered to paint the design on my right hand and so I just went with plain simple stripes on that hand, oh well !

I'll see you all again tomorrow everyone, perhaps with a swatch, or maybe some more nail art, we'll soon see !

NOTD : Golden Royale

Good evening everybody ! So I'm back after my week away, and believe it or not, my galaxy nails from last Thursday's post actually survived the WHOLE week (only a bit of tipwear, nothing major), so today has been the first chance I've had this whole time to do my nails ! I've got a few more days off before my lectures start again, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to fit as much nail art as possible between now and Thursday, I don't have anything planned in particular, so we'll just have to see how things go !

I've been wanting to use some more of the OPI Skyfall collection polishes, and when I did my godmother's nails during the week using OPI Casino Royale, I suddenly got the idea for today's design ! I foolishly didn't take my makeup sponge for doing gradients with me (or my gold flake top coat either) so I couldn't do this design for my godmother, but I knew I'd be doing it for myself as soon as I could do my nails again !

For this design I used a base of OPI Casino Royale, then I used OPI GoldenEye on my index and middle fingers for the gradient, and on all the other nails I used OPI The Man With the Golden Gun (words can't express how much I love this nail varnish). GoldenEye is such a great nail varnish for doing gradients with, it's really easy to build up on the nail, and the gradient effect is really easy to obtain !

So that's all for today everybody, hopefully I'll be back again tomorrow with a new NOTD or a swatch, we'll see what happens ! I'm also super excited because I've just pre-ordered some of the new polishes from the OPI Euro Centrale collection, plus OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, so I'm already planning nail art I can start doing with those, not to mention planning bright Spring nail designs (not that my nails ever really reflect the seasons, I wear anything whatever the weather on my nails), it's just an excuse to do loads of floral designs, happy days !

I'll see you all soon guys ! Have a great day !

NOTD : Nebula Nails

Hey there everyone ! So it's the end of exams today and time for the inter-semester break, which apparently means for pretty much everyone here expect for me, a wild night of partying. As for me, I've been chilling all day, watching films and doing my nails, and plan on going to bed at a reasonable time (whether I'll be allowed to stay asleep or not during the night is at present unknown). So I've got a great design for you all today which I'm really proud of, and I hope that you like it too !

Yeah ! I've done galaxy nails again, happy times ! I've been wanting to try doing a new galaxy design ever since I got Butter London Royal Navy, but haven't really got around to doing it until today for some reason ! It took a while to do, but the reason for that was probably the fact that I was watching a film at the same time and getting distracted, whoops !

So the nail varnished I used for this design are, as I already mentioned, Butter London Royal Navy for the base, and then for the actual design I used American Apparel T-Shirt, American Apparel Office, China Glaze Man Hunt, Orly It's Up To Blue, China Glaze Fairy Dust and then my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in white for the stars. I'm really pleased with how this nail design turned out in comparison to my previous galaxy nails, not just because the length of my nails in the first attempt were really too too long, but also because I prefer how the design flows on my latest attempt, don't you think ?

All in all I'm really happy with how this turned out, as you've probably guessed already ! Unfortunately I don't know exactly when my next post will be as I'll be away from tomorrow until next Friday, and so I won't have a chance to post anything really until then ! I really should have sorted out something out, but I will see what I have in my folders and try and find at least something to tide you over for the week !

If I don't post before then, have a great week everyone !

NOTD : Stars and Shiny Stripes

Hola everyone ! So I had my first exam today which went pretty well so I'm really happy, and so I decided to reward my good work with some baking and some nail art ! I made some reaaaaaally tasty macadamia nut caramel squares which are seriously tasty, and after that I just decided to chill and do my nails whilst watching ANTM (oh lord I have spent far too long watching it during this past week..) ! So without further ado, the nails !

This is an idea I've had in my head for quite a while, but I have never got around to executing it ! I'm really glad I did finally get to do this nail design though because I think it looks great ! I think I'm getting slightly over-the-top with the amount of nail art designs with these two accent nails recently, it seems to me that I've been doing rather a lot of them ! Never mind !

So the nail polishes I used for today's design are American Apparel T-Shirt, China Glaze Man Hunt and OPI Die Another Day, plus my Models Own Wah Nails nail art pen in white for the stars on my accent nails. I thought that Die Another Day would be a bit too orangey for the stripes for the USA flag, but as it turns out it really works quite well and the orange-ness isn't that noticeable ! I think a deeper red polish would have been too much maybe !

And that's that for today everyone ! I hope you all enjoyed today's design, now I'm off to watch a bit more ANTM before a friend comes over to watch Team America ! Happy times ! Hopefully it won't be too too long before my next post, my next and last exam is on Thursday (unless of course it gets cancelled because of this damn snow, ugh I hate snow so much right now), so hopefully I can post something after that as I'll be revising all day tomorrow !

Hope you all have a great evening !

NOTD : Melting Lines and Studs

Good evening everybody ! So I finally managed to finish my essay last night (it was due in today, maybe shouldn't have procrastinated so much) and today after handing it in I decided to give myself a lazy day before starting major revision for my exams next week ! So obviously, lazy day means nail painting, and I'm really super happy about the designs I've got to show you all today !

 So whilst trolling the internet for patterns and prints to put away in my nail inspiration folder, I came across a seriously funky illustration by Joe Van Wetering that I knew would look awesome translated into a nail design ! I only did two accent nails though seeing as it took aaaaaaages to do just those, and I can't imagine doing ALL my nails individually with all different colours, maybe when I decide I have more time !

I used LOADS of different colours for just the two accent nails, so I'll try and name as many as I can remember ! I started off with a base of OPI Don't Pretzel my Buttons on all my nails, and then for the accents I used Collection 2000 Spangles, OPI Funkey Dunkey, OPI Sparrow Me the Drama, OPI Berlin There Done That, Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, Barry M Cyan Blue, China Glaze Man Hunt, P2 Hug Me, OPI Planks A Lot, Essie Mint Candy Apple, OPI Dim Sum Plum, OPI Skull and Glossbones, OPI Casino Royale and OPI Mermaids Tears. Okay that's a lot, I think that's pretty much all of them, don't think I've missed any !

And that's it ! I'm off for an early night so that I can get on with my revision tomorrow (ha, that was a pretty good joke, wasn't it ?), hopefully I won't procrastinate as much as I did for the essay, we'll soon find out ! Wish me luck !

Have a great weekend everyone !

Swatch : Shimmer Polish - Fanny

Good evening everybody ! So I've been super busy since my last post last week, but I promise I have very good reasons for my absence ! I got back to uni late last Saturday, and I didn't lift a finger work-wise the entire time I was home in France, so I've had lots of catching up to do, plus house hunting for somewhere to rent for next year ! See ? Told you I had a good reason ! So anyway, I still have an essay to finish, so this'll have to be a very quick swatch post for you all today !

So this beauty is Fanny by the wonderful Shimmer Polish ! There's a huge mix of different coloured glitter such as pink, red, gold, purple and a subtle green, in a light dusty pink tinted base. The mix of colours makes for a really interesting polish, which shines in all different colours in different lights !

For this swatch I used three coats of Shimmer Polish Fanny on my thumb, ring and index finger, then for the two accent nails I did a light gradient over OPI Casino Royale. I absolutely love this shade in both the plain glitter and the glitter gradient, I think I'll definitely be doing more gradients with this polish, it applied really well, and looks great !

The formula on this polish was great, as was Jasmine by Shimmer Polish which I swatched a while ago ! Three coats is definitely enough for this glitter by itself, and any visible nail line is pretty hard to spot !

You can buy Shimmer Polish either through the blog, or via the Etsy website, and there is also a Facebook page for you to keep up to date with news and giveaways !

So that's all for today folks, I'm off to write some more of this essay, oh joy ! Have a great evening everyone !