Current Nails: Essie Fear & Desire

Currently I am wearing...

This bright satsuma neon orange colour by Essie called 'Fear & Desire'.

I love Essie nail polishes, as I find that a lot of their colours are unlike anything you can find elsewhere. Also although with this 'new formula' I don't notice much of a difference in appearance or general wear, the brush is so so amazing.

It's a thick wide-spanning one so literally one swipe and your whole nail is covered! Makes painting nails super quick!

To see more Essie posts:

I did a 'current nails' with 'Bikini So Teeny' a while back, a beautiful shade. The pictures on that are a lot better as I didn't have time here to get out my proper camera and I had to rush off!

I also featured 'Bikini So Teeny' in last year's spring nail polish edition 'Put a Spring in your step', a blog post of my favourite spring polishes. It's definitely worth a read!

And in my winter nails selection I featured another beautiful Essie shade, 'Velvet voyeur'. 

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Update: A couple days after, I got bored as I so often do with my nail polish.

Instead of taking it off and putting on a new colour as I so often do, instead I did something I sometimes do, which to change up the nails without the full bother of repainting, I just whacked on a matte topcoat! Done.

And hey presto your nails are like new.

The best thing about using a matte topcoat is that it dries super quickly, way quicker than any glossy topcoat I've tried, so rejuvenating your nails takes like 20 seconds and then you can get on with your life!

In my 'Ultimate Nail Polish Tips' blog post I named my favourite matte topcoats, and the one I used here is the Rimmel pro matte finish one, it's so cheap and I can't complain at all it's all you need in a matte topcoat. I also gave loads of other good nail polish tips.

I also have a nail care megapost which gives my top tips for healthy strong nails- it's definitely worth a read!

What nail polish do you currently have on? What's your favourite nail polish? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: OPI Teal The Cows Come Home

Currently I am Wearing...

This metallic bright blue by OPI which I got in a minis set of 5 that didn't say the names on any of them, but I've researched the colour and I do believe it is called 'Teal The Cows Come Home'.

I couldn't find the set of minis on the internet anywhere for some reason (I bought it from TK Maxx I think for a discounted price), but if you like the colour shown here you can still buy the full size.

Aren't the OPI names just amazing? ;') And obviously the application is wonderful too, I think their formulation is my favourite by any brand.

My nails are finally longer and healthier! To see my tips and tricks, read my nail care megapost!

Two coats of the nail polish over a basecoat

What are you currently wearing on your nails? What's your favourite brand of nail polish? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: E.L.F. Mint Cream

Currently I am wearing on my nails...

Sometimes companies have really obscure polish named, but there's no other way to describe this than a creamy mint! Well done ELF! 

It's a perfect spring/summer colour.

It's actually surprisingly close to being opaque (the quality isn't the best still), but here you see two coats on the nails

You've probably heard of this brand before, but if you haven't, here's a link to this nail polish (online only for us UK beauty fanatics) and you can pick it up for just £2.50. Still cheaper than most at the drugstore (and they seem to have 50% off sales every other week).

I think this is one of their more popular nail colours.

What's your favourite product from ELF? What are you currently wearing on your nails? Let me know in the comments below.

Ultimate Nail Polish Tips: Everything You Need To Know

My Top Nail Tips

First of all, I did a whole post on how to achieve healthy and strong nails, so check that out if you want  tips on that and to find out my top products.

This post will be on specific tips: longwearing polish, diy matte nails, quicker drying times and fixing dried up polish. Hopefully you guys will find this really helpful!

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1. All you need to know about matte nails.

Matte nails is always a beautiful thing. Bored of your current nails? Just mattify them and transform them into a completely new look.

You can quickly and easily achieve matte nails by using steam. After painting your nails, boil some water and place your nails in the steam for quick and easy matte nails. However, clearly you have to be careful this, as you can easily burn yourself with steam. A much easier way is to simply paint your nails with two coats about 10 minutes before taking a shower. In the shower, the steam will matte your nails! This is a safer and easier way to achieve DIY matte nails.

Matte nails applied to an originally shiny nail polish!

Alternatively, use a matte topcoat.

These are my favourite matte nail polish topcoats. The Rimmel one is amazing for its price, around £5, and has a great big brush. The American Apparel one is more expensive and also works fine.

American Apparel Matte Top Coat, Rimmel London Pro Matte Finish Mattifying Topcoat

2. Basecoats

Quite simply, always use a basecoat.

My favourite basecoats: NYX ridge filler, OPI natural nail, and ORLY bonder

Basecoats prevent staining (especially with deep purples or reds, we all know how annoying and horrible-looking this permanent stain is), and mean you need less coats of the polish to create an opaque look, as well as giving you a smooth nail base and therefore a much better final look to your finished nail polish application.

Another note on basecoats- if you're using a polish that just isn't that pigmented and you want it to show up better, try painting a coat of white on first. It makes a huge difference, I promise.

OPI Nail Lacquer in White, Next nail polish in White from their French Manicure set

3. Fix dried up nail polish

One of the most annoying things is when your favourite nail polish becomes thick, clumpy and begins to dry out.

There is no way to properly prevent this, but when this happens there are two ways to fix it. Either buy a specialist thinner, I know seche do one which is specially designed for their topcoat seche vite, but will probably work on other polishes, or otherwise just add a bit of nail polish remover! It really thins the polish out and won't affect the quality of your polish. Bear in mind that this only works to an extent though.

4. Quicken drying time

I have a few tips on how to quicken the drying time of your nail polish. There's nothing more annoying than that feeling of being disabled for like 40 minutes after freshly painting your nails- we've all been there.

First quick tip is don't paint the layers too thick, and always wait at least ten minutes until the layer is dry before adding your second coat. If the nail polish isn't quite dry and you add another coat, it'll only make it more prone to smudging.

To quicken the drying time, straight after painting your nails plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Any cooler water works really, but they'll dry even quicker the colder the water is. Hold them there for a minute or a couple of minutes and they'll be rock hard and non-smudgable! 

Or use a specialist drying spray. Spray it on your nails and it hardens them much quicker.

5. Finally, quickly get rid of any overdrawn nail polish on the skin around your nails

Easier than using a q-tip dipped in polish remover- just wash your hands with warm water and it kind of lifts up the product on your skin, it works amazingly. Or try this in the shower, and most will go.

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Did you find this post useful? What are your top nail tips? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: Barry M Lychee and Pink Glitter Accent

Currently I am Wearing...

This beautiful nude from the Barry M Gelly range called Lychee and a glitter polish, also from Barry M, on the accent nail to spice things up a bit.

I am obsessed with my nails right now, I think this combination looks amazing. It would be great for prom (with glitter matching your dress colour) or just summer in general.

One coat of basecoat and two coats of the Gelly shade, with a layered gradient on the accent nail of glitter

To get this look I used the OPI Natural Nail Base Coat, the Barry M Gelly Nail Paint in Lychee and the Barry M nail paint in Pink Sapphire Glitter.

What is your favourite nail polish? What do you currently have on your nails? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: H&M Yellow

Currently I am wearing...

This bright sour yellow colour from H&M in the shade 'yellow'.

 It came in a set of 5 (I think) minis in standard colours and can't have been that expensive. I'm pretty sure they don't sell this exact set anymore but they still have nail and cosmetic products which are worth a try.

I painted two coats over a basecoat. I don't normally use a topcoat because I only like wearing one select shade for a few days anyway- usually about 4 or 5 days.

The shade is called 'yellow'... I know- creative!

What's your favourite nail polish? What do you currently have painted on your nails? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: Sephora Don't Look Back

Currently I am Wearing...

This silver-grey purple from Sephora called 'Don't Look Back'.

I got this about a year and a half ago in France in a mini trio from Sephora, if you would like to see a full post on the set please let me know! Annoyingly we obviously can't get Sephora in the UK though.

After one day of this on my nails it had already started to chip off :O I do love the colour, although perhaps it's a bit too wintery for some of you?

Two coats with a white basecoat on underneath

I used a white basecoat underneath just to make the colour a bit more opaque as it's not too crazy on its own. You could also use a black basecoat for a darker underlying finish.

What have you currently got on your nails? Do you own any Sephora nail polish? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: Essie Bikini So Teeny

Currently I am wearing:

This pastel violet-y lavender by Essie called 'Bikini So Teeny'.

This is one of the most famous Essie polishes, so you've probably heard of this before. This shade is really one of a kind, and it's hard to find anything else even remotely like it. I absolutely love it.

The Essie formulation is amazing, even a few days after application everything is looking perfect. This can't be said for the Barry M polishes I have been wearing recently.

Basecoat and two coats of the Essie polish, no topcoat

 This is one of the newer formula polishes with the bigger brushes and slightly different packaging. The brush is amazing and practically covers and completes the whole nail in one stroke. It's great.

Bikini so Teeny by Essie

What are you currently wearing on your nails? What's your favourite all time nail polish shade? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: Barry M Silver Foil

Currently I am wearing on my nails:

This is a metallic silver shade from Barry M labelled 'Foil Effects Silver Foil'.

As you can see, it really does look like a silver or aluminium foil.

Barry M have an amazing colour and effect selection, and they're not too expensive either. They're around the £3 mark.

Once again my nails are disgustingly short, but I'm woking on it okay!

My nails currently have a basecoat and one coat of this polish. It's fine like this, but more even with two coats.

I love this polish, it's great quality, looks amazing and most importantly, this literally dries in 20 seconds. And I mean completely dry! Same with the gold foil one that I also own.

Have you tried this nail polish? What are you wearing on your nails at the moment? Let me know in the comments below.

Current Nails: Claire's Mint Green

Currently I am wearing on my nails:

This mint green shade from Claire's accessories. It's so pretty, especially for spring.

My nails are so short right now it makes me cringe!! I'm in the process of growing them out- promise!

Sorry, it doesn't say any sort of colour name anywhere on the bottle, not even a number, but it came from a set of 5 minis. I love them all- they're beautiful pastel colours and the pigmentation is great for the price. In the set are a few dupes  for more expensive nail polishes. Also, even though this is only 5ml it's enough for so many uses.

I couldn't find the set on the website but you might be able to find this or something else similar in store. 

Two coats, with basecoat and no topcoat. It's fine with one coat but much better with two.

Have you tried this nail polish? What are you wearing on your nails at the moment? Let me know in the comments below.

February Most Used: Nail Polish Edition (Barry M Black Multi Glitter)

Barry M Nail Paint in Black Multi Glitter

Here's a new feature I'm going to be doing every month where I showcase a product (I will have makeup, skincare and nail polish editions) that I have used a lot throughout the month.

In February my most used nail polish was the Black Multi Glitter shade from Barry M.

I've had this for ages, but found myself reaching for it loads in February because it's been cold, and a dark colour seemed right, but this is a subtle alternative to a boring plain black. Black has been a favourite of mine for a few months now, I just find it so cute on the nails.

Clearly this is not your ordinary black! It has amazing multi coloured tiny glitters in which make your nails look really amazingly unique.

Barry M colours are around £3.

Each tub comes with a lot of product and these do last for a while, although after a long time they do become even more thick and gloopy.

You can see the other colours; red, blue, green, lighter blue. It's just unique and beautiful.

The formulation is fairly thick but it does make for an even application which is great.

One coat

Two coats

The other glitters are subtle but when your nails catch the light it's just perfect. This polish is so much more than a simple black.

So there's my most used nail polish of the month of February! I hope you guys like this new feature of mine, and I'll be letting you know my March most used skincare, nail polish and makeup product at the end of this month, or the beginning of April.

Do you have this nail polish? What's your favourite brand for nail polish? Let me know in the comments below.

Wear These on Your Nails This Winter!

Winter 2013: 5 Nail Polish Favourites

Hey guys and here's the five nail polish I've already found myself reaching for already as winter approaches, and definitely were five that I used to DEATH last winter and am super happy that the season is back here in which I can wear these again.

A lot of the shades are actually nicely wearable in other seasons, and of course you can wear whatever nail polish you wish at whatever time -who cares the season- but these five colours are my favourites for winter as I find they go with more of the things I wear at this time, and are less 'in-your-face' than some of the brighter colours I like to wear in spring and summer; reflecting the weather.

Left-Right: Essie 'Velvet Voyeur', China Glaze 'Purr-fect Plum',
Barry M 'Blue Plum', Orly 'Decoded', China Glaze 'Exotic Encounters'

I'll go through the colours from left to right. Velvet Voyeur is the first one, and it's a dark cranberry-wine colour. I love it so much. The next one, 'Purr-fect Plum' is a similar colour only lighter in shade. It's one of those that I wore and got so many compliments. It's perfect (Purr-fect perhaps) for winter or autumn. I'm a huge fan of the Gelly range from Barry M, not only because of the formula but because of the wide range of awesome colours too! This for me is the perfect dark blue shade. It's dark but doesn't come across navy, it's just a dark, rich blue! Orly is a super cool brand and this colour is unlike what I've seen from other brands. It;s a muted blue-grey with just enough blue so that it isn't bland at all and still has some character. It's not boring at all! The last one was, for me, last year's winter superstar. I got so many compliments every time I wore this, and I think that's partly because it's green so not really something you'd automatically want to spread all over your nails. Green is unusual but should definitely not be forgotten- it's great! Just as mint green is a summer star, this darker green is the perfect shade for winter. I urge you to get it or something similar!

Each nail polish on a nail wheel with two coats and no top-coat

Do you have any of these nail polishes? What are your most-worn nail polishes in winter? Let me know in the comments below.

Put a SPRING in Your Step!

Top 5 Spring Nail Polishes

(L-R): Barry M 'Berry i/c', Essie 'Bikini So Teeny',
Barry M 'Blueberry i/c',  Elf 'Mint Creme',  Barry M 'Lemon i/c'

WITH THE CHANGE in season comes the excuse to dress up your nails in a different way. The transition from the darker trends of winter to the brighter spring pastel colours is definitely something to celebrate. Brighten up your attitude with something different on your nails!

These nail polishes are enough to be a change from winter colours without prematurely being too 'out-there'. They're perfect for April-May as they will go with the more summery clothes you'll be rocking if the weather is good.

Two coats with no topcoat

Check out the swatches on a nail wheel! Most  seem to show up true-to-colour with two coats.

I'm all ready to paint my nails with my first spring colour of this year: the one I've chosen is 'Bikini So Teeny' which is the perfect mix between purple and blue and isn't too outrageous. 

The true blue, 'Blueberry' has been one of my favourite all time nail colours. I also wore 'Berry' a lot last year as well as even gifting it to a few people. I guarantee you'll get a few compliments if you decide to wear it.

What are your favourite spring nail polishes? Which one of my 5 you like the most? Let me know in the comments below.  

Revision Breaks: Most Creative Times of my Life...

Nail Art Wheels

Yesterday in between bits and bobs of revision I used any inspiration I could come across through pictures and YouTube videos to find designs I could lay down on my new nail wheels. I had ordered a new set of 10 which had promptly arrived the day before.

Doing nail art was such a nice revision break for me, it took me a while to do the whole wheel but I am honestly happy about how each individual design turned out, and I will definitely be trying them all out on my nails.

For all those in the UK, here is the amazon seller link I used to buy my nail wheels if you're interested in getting some (x). They're pretty good quality and a nice natural colour. Also I think I got 20 nail wheels when I thought I was buying 10, which was a nice surprise.

Now I've just gotta choose which to wear to Reading Festival...

If you're reading this post- welcome to my blog! Let me know which designs are your favourite in the comments section.

My favourite summer options for Reading are the colourful dots, colourful leopard print, 4 colour swirl and 4 colour splat!