My Profile pic

I didn't particularly want to plaster my face over my blog... I wanted a pic to sum up me and this blog all at the same time:

I opted for a pic of me driving my lovely ickle mini cooper whilst feeling super dooper!! ;P

The nails are painted a bright coral pink by Nails Inc and it's called Festival Pier.  It's one of my favs.

Driving is probably the least ladylike thing I do and that is because I become a boy when I get behind the wheel.  Every other word from my mouth is a swear word, I get angry and develop road rage at the smallest of errors and generally become a loon; just like a boiii.

In the pic above I feel it's a bit of a juxtaposition (hope I used that word right); girly nails; paddle gears in a lil sporty pimped out car... I like it.  It makes me think of the song lyrics 'a lady in the street, but a freak in da bed'.  And on that note... hehe!

Seriously though I just thought I'd mention what polish it was and give you a slight insight to my world outside of all things nail :o)

Purple No 5?

I don't know if this is my fifth purple polish or not... it's certainly purplesque... what do you think?

This is by Leighton Denny, called 'Crushed Grape'.  It isn't a definite purple nor a plum... it's a kind of nude shade because it's muted.  It's not as blue as a classic purple but not as red as a classic plum.  It's very hard to describe.

When it's on the actual nail; depending on what colours I'm wearing this can appear quite brown too.  It's a funny old world nail varnish colour isn't it?!

I like it because it's muted and I like my muted colours; I seem to be out there with bright blingy nails or very incognito and stealth like! Hehe!  I just wish I could describe it better...

:o)

NOTD: Magnetic Nails by Nails Inc

Monday morning.  Urgh.  Another week at work!  BUT on a lighter note... less than a week to the Snow Patrol gig AND an actual two whole days with my boyfriend!  We've not had a day off together since New Year!  Pants working for a living malarkey! ;)

So to va-va-voom my nails up for the typical grey Monday morning I decided to paint them with a magnetic polish... this one is Trafalgar Sq by Nails Inc.  Instead of lining the magnet up horizontally across the bottom of the nail I line it up the side... so the waves which are created therefore appear vertical on the nail plate instead.  I LOVE it this way... I'm not sooo keen on it the other way because you don't get that much 'wave'.


To do this manicure these are the steps:


1.Base coat - OPI Nail Envy
2.Coat of colour.  Allow to dry.
3.ONE NAIL AT A TIME (this is totes imports...) paint ONE nail and immediately hold magnet over said nail for about 10 seconds.  You need to do the magnet magic when the nail is still wet.  After 10 seconds are up you can paint next nail and repeat process.
4.Top coat - Nails Inc Albert Bridge.
5.Avoplex nail oil. (Helps dry nail polish and hydrates cuticle).


This polish is multi dimensional to say the least; every time you move and your nail catches the light, the waves almost have a kaleidoscope effect.  I'm a big fan :o)

Water Marbling - First Attempt

I had NEVER heard of water marbling before... I had seen the effects on nails but didn't know what it was:


Water Marbling - The Definition


Water marbling is a type of nail art.  It comes from the Turkish art of Ebru where they place dye on water, create a pattern and place paper on the water surface to soak up the dye.  The effect is multi-tonal swirls on the nail.


Here is my attempt:  

I only 'water marbled' on each ring finger using the two colours I had painted my others nails plus an additional brighter pink.

The how-to bit:

• Apply base coat to all nails.  I used OPI Nail Envy.
• Using a cotton bud smear Vaseline around skin area of ring finger (as finger will be submerged in water/polish).
• Apply white coat to ring finger nails; I used Leighton Denny, Pure White.
• Apply first coat of colour to other nails, on pinky and first I used OPI, Dim Sum Plum and middle and thumb, OPI, French Quarter for your thoughts.
• Apply second coat of colour to other nails.
• In a wide plastic cup (so I could throw it out after use) pour in tepid water.
• Add polish to water surface by holding brush over water and tapping the handle.  The polish will drop down and spread.  Alternate colours when adding.  In addition to the two polishes already used I also added OPI, Elephantastic pink to get a greater contrast in design.
• Take a toothpick and swirl any design you like into the polish on the water.  I like when you drag it from the centre outwards.
• Dip the ring finger into the water and blow on the polish on the surface.  It becomes cling film like.
• Using a cotton bud, dip it in this 'cling film' and gather it up away from your finger.  It'll stick onto the cotton bud so you can remove your finger cleanly.
• Use polish remover to tidy up skin around nails.
• Apply a top coat.  I used Nails Inc, Kensington Caviar top coat.

Et voila! 

Another Purple... No 4 to be precise

Leighton Denny, Leading Lilac:

I wear this shade as a nude.  Yes I know it's a purple but I think it's very wearable and goes with SO much.  Because of the grey undertone to it, this colour is muted; therefore in my opinion it is a nude.


This 'purple' is probably one of my most worn purple shades... I like it because it's subtle.  I can easily wear it with an array of clothing colours and it suits my skin tone.


The first time I wore it was with brown boots and leggings and an olive green Barbour coat in the middle of the country shooting AND it worked. 


I like this lots.

My Week In Nails part Deux

So instead of doing a NOTD (nails of the day) post I'm doing a NOTW post instead... just like last week:

Leighton Denny, Supermodel (probably my most worn shade):

OPI, Dim Sum Plum, French Quarter for your thoughts and Elephantastic pink, ring finger water marble effect:

Leighton Denny, I Love Juicy ring finger mani with nail crystals:

Leighton Denny, So L.A ring finger mani with crystals:

After 3 days of having 'different' nails I opted for natural (boring) nails (too demure for me).  Leighton Denny, 3 times a lady:

Leighton Denny, Lollipop:

OPI, Eiffel for This Colour with Essie Matte About You top coat for the fingers and Nails Inc Kensington Caviar top coat for the finger tips and entire thumb for the  matte/gloss effect:

My favourite of the week?  Deffo the last one... the matte/gloss thing is just HOT.  I love it!! 

Purple Love No 3

I'm trying my best to start cataloguing my polishes and purple is a massive theme throughout my collection.  Here is number 3 of my 'I'm too scared to check how many purples!' :)

This one is OPI's, Plugged in Plum.  


Over recent months I've been feeling like I've been stuck in a nail rut.  I've been wearing a lot of glossy cremes and got a bit bored so I've been 'funking' things up with the likes of the 'Ring Finger Manicure' or Matte Effects.  Here I've used a matte top coat instead of my usual super shiny gloss.  The matte top coat is by Essie and is called Matte About You. 

Without the matte effect this is a definite purple shimmer.  It reminds me of the foil you used to get on bars of Dairy Milk :) 

The Matte Effect

Soooo... yesterday I got very nail happy with my Essie Matte About You top coat:

Above is the TC over OPI's Eiffel for this colour.  Even one of my dogs wanted in on the act (top picture).

I then got really 'girl' or 'anal' or 'obsessed' or whatevs you want to call it and after approx 3 hours of wear I couldn't wait to try another combo so I tried OPI's Bastille My Heart.  This shade is another classic red for me which I love from their France collection:

I'm REALLY liking this type of manicure.  I haven't tried it over lighter colours yet but will when I get around to it.  I think I do prefer the look of the Eiffel for this Colour better because the darker shade looks a bit more chic and funky?  What do you think? 

Purple Talons No 2

Another fav purple go to for me is OPI's Eiffel for this colour from their France collection back in 2008.


Today I decided to do something different with it though... a matte top coat over it with a gloss top coat on just nail tips and entire thumb:

I wear this shade probably more than the classic Lincoln Park At Midnight.  I don't wear the After Dark version myself as it's too black therefore I prefer the shimmer.  


I may not make sense here but just stay with me... the reason I prefer EFTC to LPAM is because I think EFTC has more of a brown/plum base to it than the LPAM's blue/black.  Don't get me wrong they are VERY similar but come on I'll admit it...I am THAT picky about nails!!


To get this manicure effect I used Essie's Matte About You top coat on fingers.  I used Nails Inc's Kensington Caviar top coat on the finger nail tips and my entire thumb. 


I like this look lots! :)

New Arrival

Of course I'm not talking about a baby here!! I'm talking about my new arrival/addition to my nail collection...


A set of nail art brushes:

I cannot wait to test them out.  I'll probably play with them at the weekend because I have a couple of busy days at work and nights out planned BUT I'm sooooo excited.  


However, what am I supposed to do with the fan brush?  What is that about?  How do I use it? I'm totes confuzzled!!

The Crystal Ring Finger Mani

The options of doing a ring finger mani are ENDLESS.  Go with coordinated colour combos, clash colour combos, bling up the one colour, dull it down... whatever you want it is easy and varied.  


Plus I think it's the easiest way of doing nail art.  Not all of us are blessed with the creative gene or steady hands!


One of my favourite ring finger manicures is to 'bling' up the ring finger: 

I used So L.A by Leighton Denny above with purple nail crystals and below, I Love Juicy by Leighton Denny with red nail crystals:

Here are some other ring finger manis I have adorned in recent months:


Leighton Denny, Captivated (dark blue) and LD Notorious (turquoise):

Leighton Denny, All About Me (bright pink) and LD Berry Nice (darker pink):

OPI, Malaga Wine with OPI, Mad as a Hatter glitter polish on ring finger and tips:

Leighton Denny, Captivated (dark blue) and LD Embellish Me (purple):

Feeling Blue...

After writing up a post about The January Blues I've realised I've lied a little and do actually wear blue nail polish more than I thought... 


Here is a ring finger mani using Leighton Denny's Captivated (blue) on fingers and thumb and Embellish Me (purple) on my ring finger:

Both shades work well together I think; both are glossy cremes and are wearable.  Not too bright and in your face; both subtle dark shades. :o) 

January Blues...

With pay day coming up for me on Friday I am feeling that I'm about to turn the corner in regards to the dreaded January Blues!!  (That and the fact I tried my 'skinny' jeans on this morning and they fit which means I've managed to lose my Christmas indulgence weight so YAY!!)


I've never been a lover of blue nail polish.  I'm not a lover of blue in general.  I own jeans in blue and that's about it.  When OPI brought out their Russian Navy I obvs bought a bottle because it was pretty iconic.  Yes, I've worn it a couple of times; when it first came out it was pretty different and the fact it has a strong purple undertone makes it easier for me to wear cos I do heart me a bit of purple polish!  However, it still doesn't make me swoon that much so when I received a polish called Ink Jet in a collection by Leighton Denny I was like 'mmm'.


BUT it is striking!! 

I do like Leighton's shimmers.  As a rule I'm a glossy creme girl because so many brands get it wrong; a lot of shimmers are too much; too glittery and too streaky but Leighton gets it RIGHT.  IMO obvs ;)

Purple Love No 1

Amongst my 100+ nail polishes I have an awful lot of purple.  I have no purple clothes or accessories and I think I only own one purple underwear set, however on my nails I love it!


The first purple I'm going to catalogue is Leighton Denny's 'Rebel' as it's one of my favourites.

The above pic was taken in the back of the car en route to my birthday dinner last year.  My outfit was simple; black leggings;  black tee;  pink kimono;  purple nails and HUGE wedges.  It was def about the nails and the heels that night.    


This purple is very rich, almost indulgent like; you know when you watch old children's films and the King/Queen wear purple capes and big crowns?  Well it's that purple.  The purple I associate with richness and velvet.  It is a shimmer without being too 'glitzy'. 


Leighton released a creme version of this shade too, called 'Embellish me'.  I have this too so I'll swatch it later but basically it is the same rich purple without the shimmer.  Genius! 

Weekend Nail Inspiration

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Thankfully I work in a job where I don't have a strict dress code; I can wear what I like and more importantly have my nails how I like :o) 


However, I still like to have my nails a bit more 'glam' and 'out there' for a weekend.  


Before Christmas I tried out a Metallic Manicure:

This pic was taken pre-top coat so ignore the lack of shine.  From pinky to thumb this is what I used:


-Leighton Denny, Zero Gravity with OPI, Silver shatter over the top.
-Nails Inc, Big Ben Metallic polish (didn't magnetize it) with OPI, Black shatter over the top.
-Nails Inc, Black Taxi.
-OPI, Lucerne-tainly look Marvellous
-Nails Inc, Trafalgar Sq, Magnetic polish.  (Magnetized on the side so the wave appears vertical on the nail).


The thing about the 'metallic mani' is that you are in control of what works for you.  You can change it around and it's very versatile.  For example, if you have a particularly ridged nail; put the lighter shade on this nail to disguise the ridging.  If a nail chips, you only need to redo that one nail.  If you change your mind about a particular colour, just take it off and change it without needing to do a full manicure.  


This is now making me think of other nail colour combinations... guess what I'll be doing later?! ;P


What polishes would you use on a metallic mani?  If you want me to try any and post the results let me know and I'll be guinea pig :@)

My Week in Nails

So I cut down my lovely long nails last week because they were getting a bit weak due to lack of maintenance and a very unhealthy diet over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

I'm currently using Leighton Denny's Renovate treatment on my bare nail before using OPI Nail Envy as a basecoat and to help hydration I'm using OPI Avoplex oil and a L'Occitane Shea Butter handcream as often as I can remember to put it on! Hopefully I'll have my long nails back in no time...

My week in nail colour...

1. Nails Inc, Paddington Street:

2. OPI, Lucerne-tainly look Marvellous with OPI Navy Shatter over the top:

3. Leighton Denny, All about me:

4. Leighton Denny, Viva la Diva:

5. Leighton Denny, Crushed Grape:

6. Nails Inc, Piccadilly Circus:

7. OPI, You don't know Jacques:

My favourite of the week? I like the shatter effect as I'm not usually a lover of the shatter but the colour combo was quite sophis?? I like Piccadilly Circus because it's quite Raspberryesque although it looks darker in the pic. But my overall fav is Viva la Diva by Leighton Denny. It's uber glossy and the shade is so virbrant; it's just a pleasure to wear!

What's your favourite shade? Have you got a most worn colour? Is there a colour you won't ever wear? Nail dilemmas eh? ;P

Leighton Denny TSV from QVC, January 14th

Any QVC shopper knows that Leighton produces TSV's for the shopping channel which are outstanding value for money (providing you like and use the products in it obv!) 


His latest TSV on January 14th came in a choice of two options; one brights and one nudes.  Having two of the colours already from the brights option I opted for the nudes instead and I'm REALLY pleased with my choice:

The four colours in this set are what I'm going to talk about cos that's the fun part! :o)


The four colours... Rich Coco and Healthy Glow...

Rose Beige and Porcelain Doll...

All are very wearable colours with brilliant coverage (I don't like to see nail line and Leighton manages to create nude shades which are opaque).

Here's the Rich Coco:

The Rich Coco is a lovely shade.  It goes well with my skin tone I think and I wear a lot of browns anyway so this is a win!

Healthy Glow (which I can already tell is going to become a staple along with Supermodel and Honey Trap):

This is definitely a real nude shade.  It looks very expensive and I can imagine black leggings, black thigh boots, this nail polish and a cream/beige blazer looking very Kim K.  I love it!

Rose Beige:

I wasn't expecting this shade to be so 'vibrant'.  Maybes the picture has brought out the orange tones a bit more than in real life; it is slightly more muted than the above but for a nude I'd want it 'dulled' down a bit more.  Still lovely though.

Porcelain Doll: 

This one is a marmite shade for most people.  You'll either love it because it looks amazing on your nails or it will look PANTS.  This one boils down to skin tone if I'm honest.  You may love the peach/ballet colour but against your skin it has chance to look awful.  I'm not sure if I suit it though?  I'm not marmite on this clearly; I'm very undecided.

All of Leighton's polishes are self levelling and give coverage second to none.  His brand is my preferred nail brand of choice so I'm a little biased when it comes to his polishes.  I just really believe regarding coverage of the nail line the polishes are the BEST.  The whites of my nails are really white and I can put on a red from OPI (three coats) and still see nail line where one coat of a nude Leighton Denny shade covers annoying said nail line immediately. 

To conclude; totes impressed with this set and that's only with the colours; I've not even mentioned the little bag or treatment products which also came with :o)

Nude of the Moment

I'm fussy about nude shades because many don't give you full coverage. I have a prominent nail line and prefer my colour to be opaque.

I am becoming a huge fan of Leighton Denny's nude called 'Honey Trap'. It's been my 'go to' nail polish choice recently more and more...




It's a lot lighter than another favourite nude of mine 'Supermodel' (I have got through bottles of that), it's slightly creamy but with a cold tone to it so it doesn't look washed out on the finger.

Yep...definitely a fan.

Favourite Dark - My Private Jet by OPI

Is it black?  Is it brown?  Is it charcoal?  NO... it's a jet... a private one... by OPI!


I HEART this shade:

The thing I love about this polish is that it is CLEVER.  The holographic shimmer in it isn't gritty like usual glitter polishes.  It's as smooth as a glossy creme polish but with the dynamic of a glitter.  


The colour itself is also VERY diverse.  It's almost a dark nude because it works with both browns and blacks.


I should also point out that My Private Jet has two versions... an older version which is more charcoal based and the newer one which is more brown.  The above is a pic of the newer version.

Favourite Coral - Just Perfect by Leighton Denny

It's really really REALLY hard to pick out my favourite colours of polish.  I do tend to sway towards corals and pinks, dark purples and browns and nudes.  


Here is my favourite coral (at the moment anyway... you will learn I am fickle!)

This is called 'Just Perfect' and it's by Leighton Denny; one of my preferred nail brands.

The Basics - Base

Before I start posting the fun posts relating to nail polish colour I best start at the beginning of my nail regime...


I ALWAYS use a base coat.  I have two preferences:


1. OPI Nail Envy

This isn't 'technically' a base coat; it's a nail treatment.  However it doubles up as both for me.  My nails are in pretty good condition and as maintenance I use one coat of this before putting my polish on.  I've used it for YEARS and will not be without it!

2. Leighton Denny Undercover Base Coat

I like Leighton's formula of this base coat.  I have quite oily nail plates; this base dries matte and seems to help any polish brand adhere to the nail better than other base coats out there.  

I have found over the years that chipping nails isn't so much of a problem for me but actual peeling of the polish!  I find by using the two methods of base above this eliminates the peeling issue I sometimes have.