#33DC - Day 4 - Tribal

 Hey everyone.  I'm back for Day 4 of the #33DC and the prompt for today is tribal.  I'm going to start by saying I'm not keen on tribal nails, which is why I have never attempted them before this. I respect people who can do them well, but I just don't like them on me.  Luckily for me, I've seen a few other people already today who have said pretty much the same thing, so at least I'm not alone!

Kleancolor Metallic Gradient

Hi everyone, hows your weekend been so far?  I've spent mine working, but I'm off from Wednesday this week : D   This is a mani I did about a week ago now.  I was actually supposed to be doing a tape mani for the 33day challenge, but this just kind of happened instead.  Does anyone else do that, plan a mani in your head, then pick up something completely different from your stash and just go with it?  Maybe it's just my mess of a brain, but I do that a lot!   Anyway the rest is after the jump, and just to warn you, this is quite a picture heavy post.

Fragrance Direct Friday (on Saturday)

Hi everyone, as I said last week, this feature will be on Saturday until the end of the Crumpet's Nail Tarts 33day Challenge about 10 weeks from now. : )
Anyway, the polish I have to sow you today is Revlon Top Speed - Mistletoe -  99p here.  (In case you missed it last time, you can also get the very popular Royal from this line at the same price)  Mistletoe is a really dark olive green flecked with gold.

#33DC - Day 3 - Tape Mani

Hi lovely people, happy Friday!  Today is the 3rd day of the 33 day challenge, and the prompt is tape mani.  I can't take full credit for this mani, as I was inspired by this freakin' amazing mani by Missy from Gnarly Gnails.  If you've never seen her blog, you really need to check it out.  She's amazeballs!

Swatch: Pahlish - Dark Parades

 Hi everyone, how's your week been so far?  Today I have a swatch of the gorgeous Pahlish - Dark Parades.  Some of you may have seen this when I posted a (really) mini-haul from Facebook last week.

#33DC - Day 2 - Most used polish

I'm back with Day 2 of the 33 day challenge, and the prompt for today is most used colour polish.  I chose to interpret this as most frequently used polish, as some of my stash is 4 or 5 years old, but most of it I've had less than a year : D  So with that in mind, it had to be A-England - Avalon.  It's just the worlds most perfect purple!  I don't think I've had it even 2 months yet, but I've used it in about 6 mani's!  It's really given me a hankering for more A-England's too.
p.s if you're on a tight budget, look out for the gem of the month - every month, one shade will be discounted to £6 : D

Color Club - Miss Bliss

 

Hi everyone, just a quick swatch post from me today.  You may have (almost certainly) noticed that my skin looks really yellow here.  That's because I took this photo in indoor lighting.  I want to show that just because the sun has gone away, you don't have to go without pretty bendy rainbows on your nails!

Crumpet's Nail Tarts 33day Challenge: Day 1 - Dots

 Hi everyone.  Here we are, first ever challenge post : D  The prompt for today is dots, and this design came about because I have been perving over Lush Lacquer - Clowning Around for months now.  So I decided to use the colours of the glitter in that polish for a random dotticure.

Third time's a Charm

Hi guys, back for my 3rd post of the day.  Well, you didn't think I'd leave you without some nail art did ya?  This is just a monochrome stamping mani I did last week.  Nothing special really, but I love monochrome nails.  I think that almost any design works with monochrome colours, you just can't go wrong really!

Blog Your Heart Out Award

I have been nominated for the Blog Your Heart Out Award by the lovely Jade from Life in Lacquer  I'm really flattered that she has nominated me, and the rules for this award are to answer 5 questions put to me, and nominate 5 other bloggers for it.  So here are my answers:

1. What/who encouraged you to start blogging?
I had been reading others blogs and doing my own nail art for about 6 months and had considered starting a blog for quite a while.  I was very interested in taking part in nail art challenges etc, and wanted somewhere to spam people with my nail art who were just as interested in at as I was.  Then I got to grips with stamping, and started doing my nails ALL the time, so that just sort of swung it for me.  

2. How did you choose what topic(s) to blog about?
I wasn't really interested in blogging about anything else, so it was a no brainer for me!

3. What is something that most people don't know about you?
Either that I'm a metal head, and hate pop music (personally), or that I love American Football and am a San Diego Chargers fan!  Yes, I am British, but my boyfriend got me to watch a game a couple of years ago, and I haven't missed one since.  I love it!

 4. What three words describe your style?
ummmmm............zombie, fairy, rainbows : D

 5. What do you like to do when you are not blogging?
Listen to music (whilst moshing alone in my bedroom lol), read, watch sci-fi/fantasy, spending time with my bf, watch football and play Mario Kart Wii : D

The 5 blogs I would like to nominate for this award are:
The Lucky Magpie
Lost and Found
Vicky Loves Nails!
ginger loves make-up
My Mint Nails

I tried to pick ladies who haven't already done this award, but if you have, you're not obliged to accept.  You can ignore it, just do the questions, or do the whole thing again if you wish to.  It's totally up to you!  If you want to accept, then just answer the 5 questions in a blog post, and nominate 5 other bloggers.

Rainbow Connection UK

Hi everyone, hope your weekend has been great so far.  Just a quick heads up for anyone who doesn't already know yet.  There is a new UK stockist of indie polishes called Rainbow Connection UK.  There will be a staggered launch, starting tonight at 8pm.  The brands that will be available tonight are:
-Cadillacquer
-Liquid Sky Lacquer
-CrowsToes Nail Color
-Polished by KPT (pre-order event)

Here's what Anette has to say about her shop:
Rainbow Connection is the UK's premier stockist of top international independent nail lacquer brands. The store is headed by Annette, the proprietor and also die hard polish fan. Rainbow Connection operates out of the northwest of England. We strive to make great international nail lacquers easily available to our UK customers without the hefty shipping and customs fees. Established since 2011 and began life as Shoppe Eclecticco, a similar concept store based in Singapore. 

All the brands she will be stocking are cruelty-free and most are Big 3 Free too!  Over the coming weeks, she will be adding more brands a few at a time, including
-Dollish Polish
-Lush Lacquer
-Lacquer Lust
-Polish Addict
-Ethereal Lacquer
-Black Cat Lacquer
-Glisten & Glow
-Smitten Polish
-Jindie Nails
-Pahlish
-Contrary Polish
-Glam Polish
And that's just for starters! Annette hopes to add many more brands as time goes on, and would love to hear what brands you guys would like to see stocked, so if you have any suggestions, head over to her facebook page and let her know.
As if that wasn't enough to get you excited, she is also offering 10% off ALL orders until 6th October.  Just use the code OPEN at the checkout. 

I am really looking forward to the launch, even if I am too broke to start buying tonight!  I have a sneaky suspicion that she's going to have a hugely successful night tonight though, so if there's something you really want, you may want to get in quick!

I wish Annette all the best of luck tonight, and hope it all goes brilliantly for her.

Nail Mail!

 Hi everyone, I will be double posting today as I got some nail mail this morning, and I can't wait to show you all.  I finally popped my indie cherry!  I recently joined a couple of polish swap/sale groups on facebook, and have found myself drooling quite frequently since joining.  I have wanted so many indie polishes for a very long time, but not really had any cash for polish buying. However, I was feeling slightly flusher less broke this week, so when I saw these 3 stunners for sale from the same person, I was begging her to take my money!I originally only ordered the candeo and pahlish, but the next day I saw that no-one had claimed the crowstoes, and googled some swatches.  Well, I say googled, but ogled would be more accurate!  It was a done deal the second I saw those swatches!

My first jelly sandwich : )

Hi everyone, it's Saturday! : D  Have you got any awesome plans for this weekend?  I'll be working, but I don't mind as I'll have 3 days off starting Monday.  Today I have my first jelly sandwich.  I know, I know, I must live under a rock!  I've had a few jelly polishes for ages, just never got round to using them until now.  I honestly don't know why either.

Fragrance Direct Friday

Hi everyone, we all looking forward to the weekend?  I'm not off till Monday so I'm super jealous of the rest of you!  Anyway, I'm back with the second instalment of Fragrance Direct Friday.  This is the last week that this will actually be on Friday.  From next Monday, I will be taking part in the Crumpet's Nail Tarts 33 day challenge which is Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week, so I will be doing Fragrance Direct Friday - On Saturday, until the 13th December when the challenge has finished.  I don't mind though - I'm really looking forward to my first challenge.  If there's one thing I struggle with, it's choosing from my stash, so having prompts will help with that a lot!

I ♥ Leapord

Hi everyone.  Hope your week has been good so far.  I'm finally posting something I freehanded! I have become acutely aware over the last 2 weeks that, mostly due to time constraints, I have been doing all stamping manis.  So, when I had some time over the weekend, I pushed myself to do something freehand.  I'm so glad that I did, as I really loved these nails once I had finished them.

I don't like green, but.........................

I have to admit, I really like this mani.  I have always hated dark green, and until a few weeks ago I didn't even own a dark green polish.  However, I was browsing ebay, and ended up picking up a little bundle of Rimmel's, 2 of which were this green colour.  It's Rimmel 60 Seconds - Camouflage.  I was going to just give them away or something, but when I saw it in person, I noticed that it's laden with gold shimmer, and the more I saw it, the more I liked it.

Basic Stamping

 Hi everyone, I've got something a little different for you today.  Instead of just nails, I though I would do a post in which I share all the tips I have picked up since I started stamping, and hopefully, they can help anyone who is new to stamping.  There are a few things that I do now, that would of really helped me learn quicker if I had known them from the beginning.  Warning: this will be a long post, so grab yourself a cuppa and get comfy!

A break from the norm.

 Hi all, hope you're having a great weekend so far.  Today I have a mani for you that involves a lot of glitter, and not a stamp in sight!  Don't worry, I have not taken leave of my senses.  I just wanted to post something a bit different today.  I will be back tomorrow though, with a massive post about basic stamping.  I don't really want to call it a tutorial, as I'm not an expert, but really, it kind of is.  Hopefully some of you who are not familiar with stamping will find it useful.  There's definitely a few things I've picked up that I wish I had known when I started!

Fragrance Direct Friday

*All products purchased by me.
Hi all, today I am introducing a weekly feature for my blog called Fragrance Direct Friday.  Anyone who is familiar with this site knows that there is many a bargain to be had there.  They stock loads of branded cosmetics at greatly reduced prices as well as perfumes and bath and body/skincare etc.  They won't have an entire line of polishes in stock, mostly last season/excess stock etc, but they do have a bucket load of polishes for under £2, including Essie's for £1.99, and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure's for £1.49.  They also stock a selection of OPI's for £3.99.  Much of my stash has amassed from fragrance direct buying frenzies, and I never buy a mainstream polish unless I've checked there first  (Although my basket total has always been under £20)
 Every Friday I will be featuring swatches and reviews for a polish I have bought from there, and links to the item wherever possible.

Liebster Award

Hi everyone, just a quick post from me today, but I'll be back tomorrow to introduce you to a new weekly feature called Fragrance Direct Friday. 
This post is just to let you know I have been nominated for the Liebster award. I'm not 100% sure what it is, but I've seen it around on other blogs.  From what I can tell, it's more of a way of getting newer or less-known blogs out there for people to see, and to let your readers know a little bit about you and your blog.  It is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers but a good blog. There are a few rules to claim the award.  They are:

1. You must nominate 11 other bloggers, all with fewer than 200 followers, and you must notify them of your nomination.
2. You must answer 11 questions given to you by the blogger who nominated you.
3. You must give your nominees 11 questions to answer.
4. You must link back to the blogger who nominated you.

The wonderful lady that nominated me was Melissa from Take Me To Your Lacquer and these are the answers to her questions:

Pink Stars

Hey all, sorry I haven't posted in a few days. I am working on things that are not quite finished, so you'll have some good stuff coming your way soon. (including Fragrance Direct Friday : D)  This is a quick stamping mani I did a couple of days ago.  The pink is Kleancolor - Metallic Pink (smaller amounts available from same place, this is just best value), which is shown at 1 coat here.  It's a really great polish, can be used for stamping as well, but they do smell really bad.  Although, I own a few of them, and I don't find it as bad now as when I first got them.  They're so pretty I can't help but use them a lot, and I suppose I've got used to it.  Just be prepared, as it's very different to any polish I've smelt before, it's quite weird!

Neon Mesh

 Hi everyone, just a quick post from me today, as I need to get a really early night.  This is a mani I did about a week ago.  I have really wanted to use this neon pink from the moment I got my grubby little hands on it, it's just so bright in real life.

U.F.O's

 This is the last mani I've had sitting in my drafts folder for a couple of weeks, so I thought I'd post it now and get the less than perfect photographs out the way first so it's all uphill from here!

Ice Blue Cream - Part 2

Here we have, as promised earlier, the stamping over Ice Blue Cream.  This is the final matte version, but I have included a glossy picture after the jump.

La Femme Beauty - Ice Blue Cream

 Today I have a swatch/review of the lovely Ice Blue Cream by La Femme Beauty.  Lots of people may not have heard of this brand, but they are a cheap brand that are easily found on eBay and Amazon in the UK.  Unsuprisingly, they're not 3-free, but as per all the info I scoured the internet for before buying, they are cruelty free so big win there for such a cheap brand.  If anyone can confirm that for me either way, please leave it in the comments below : )

Raunchy Red Lace

*All products in this post were purchased by me.  

Hi everyone, sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I've recently bought a new bed, and a new computer desk which both came flat-packed, so I've spent the last couple of days putting them together and trying to fit them somewhere.  I own way too much stuff for my humble abode!  Anyway, I haven't had time to do my nails so this is one I've pulled out of my meagre vault.  That's why my nails are a bit longer here.

Funky Monsters

*All products in this post were purchased with my own money.
Ever since I got my Cheeky Summer 2013 collection plates, I've been trying to decide what colour to stamp these little fella's over to no avail.  In the end I just picked 5 random bold colours from my stash and went to town : )