L'Oreal Nails

Spring is trying ever so hard to make an appearance and there's nothing like pastels to give brighter days a little encouragement (and I don't just mean mini eggs). L'Oreal have released 4 gorgeous pastel shades in their Perfection Color Riche Nails range, and I couldn't help but pick up a couple on my latest 3 for 2 splurge.

I opted for the pastel yellow, as its one colour I am lacking in my polish collection; and the lilac shade purely because it reminded me of parma violets! Off white pastels are definitely a trend to look out for this spring/summer, they look so clean and fresh and will most certainly compliment a wonderful tan (wishful thinking eh brits?).

These offerings from L'Oreal are the perfect size too – we all know polishes do not last till the end… And the packing itself looks so pretty I want to keep them on display! With 4 shades in total, and at £4.99 each its hard to come up with an excuse to not buy them all.

One point I will make is that the wear time with these polishes isn't great but on the plus side, the brush is! You wine some, you loose some…

Have any of you guys picked these up?

We Heart Hi Shine

One of my favorite nail polish ranges has got to be the Gelly Hi Shine nail paints from Barry M. They are so cheap compared to other brands and apply wonderfully, I mean what's not to love? 

The polishes give you a gel salon-esque finish for a fraction of the price, and you don't even have to leave the house. They wear well, with minimal chipping and come in a great shade range.

...Here are my current gems:

from left to right

Blueberry, Blood Orange, Blue Grape, Greenberry, Lychee

My fave out of the bunch is 'lychee'. You know you have that one nail polish that you go to everytime you have no idea what colour to choose? Well lychee is mine. Purely because it's such a classy, sophisticated nude that goes with any look or outfit. I would highly recommend picking this colour up if you don't already own it - it's a must have in anyone's polish stash and probably my most worn polish of 2013.

The other colours I have are a little more 'fun' - for some reason I was really drawn to the royal blue and classic red shades for a pop of (patriotic) colour. And then of course we also have the standard pastels that just call for summer to get a move on and give us some sunshine!!!

Nail Polish Storage

I'm always intrigued to see how other people store their make up and beauty products - partly for inspiration, partly due to pure nosiness. So if anyone else is as equally as nosey as me, here is how I store my (current) nail polishes.

I picked up this vintage tin in good old T K Maxx. I am a sucker for their home range and as I live on the same road as one it's hard for me to keep away! I think this was around £4 and was one of many cute vintage designs. I picked this Coca-Cola one up as my bedroom has a slightly red theme and this adds a nice touch.

Top Tip: the metal tin also keeps the polishes at a lower temperature, preventing them from become gloopy for longer - as c'mon it's inevitable!

How do you store your nail polish collection?

I Can't Wait To Wear: Summer Nails

As mentioned in my last post I have been giving the ol’ laqured nails a miss recently in a bid for healthier looking hands. Due to lacking colour on the tips I obviously had to get my fix another way and what’s better than doing I hear you ask!? Planning! You cant beat a good list (or two).

So here's my picks for Spring/Summer nail colours to get us in the mood for some long awaited sunshine. I feel this is a range of staple colours that every girl needs wants in their summer stash…

Essie - Cascade Cool

Collection Hot Looks - Bright Lights

Maybelline Super Stay Gel Nail Colour - Mint For Life

Bourjois 1 Second Polish - Melon

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine - Green Berry

Not gonna lie, at least one of these shades will most probably be on my hands by the end of the week.

(sorry I'm not sorry)

Oil Slick Nails

A collection of my multi-tonal metallics for you today. I sometimes go off metallic/glittery nails but right now, this second, I'm loving them! After a rifle through my polish collection I realised I have a few very similar metallic shades - all generally donning that oil slick look.

As I said, these five shades are relatively similar -  some more than others but it just shows what trends we are seeing across the polish world right now. Okay, I must admit, I've had the Naked polishes for nearly a year now but they are still firm faves in the nail department and still on trend! (full review here)

Rimmel Metal Rush in 'Pearly Queen': A very sheer lilac polish that shines green/pink in the light. Quite the girly shade in my opinion.

Angelica Nail Colour in 'Chameleon': The most 'oily' of the bunch, purple with hints of reds and greens and generally every colour of the rainbow. This polish really does look different in every light.

Models Own in 'Purple Blue': Part of the Beetlejuice collection, this polish is very glittery mainly shining purples and blues... I know, how did you guess?

UD Naked in 'Hustle' and 'Smog': Hustle is yet another purple based metallic with hints of brown whilst Smog is coppery with subtle hints of gold and red.

Eye catching nails eh!?

Battle of the Christmas Nails

Christmas Day involves many decisions including the likes of, how many puddings is too many puddings? Is it acceptable to sport a cracker hat over a Santa number and maybe more importantly, what festive polish should I don?

Here's the shades that made the final cut...

as in top picture 

Maybelline color show brocades in 'knitted gold'

Essie 'mind your mittens'

Collection 60 second hot looks in 'big hair'

nails inc. in 'luminous metallic red'

Kate spade for nails inc. in 'uptown glamour'

The picture doesn't do knitted gold justice but it is the most amazing glitter ensemble of gold and dusky pink flecks, ultimately transforming any polish colour into a dazzling look. I'm currently torn between the simple metallic red or layering glitter over gold for maximum festive overload! (if you can't do it at Christmas, when can ya eh?)

Decisions, decisions...

In Pictures: Clothes Show Live 2013

When do next years tickets go on sale?

Clothes Show Live 2013 - Purchases

So last weekend I went along to Clothes Show Live 2013 at the Birmingham NEC with my best friend and fellow blogger. With it being my first time, it was a whole new experience! I took a few snaps so will do a whole blog post on the entire day, but for now here's what I picked up...

Classic Kate Spade iPhone 4 case

Two AHH-mazing candles from Bomb Cosmetics - if you've not tried this brand, you haven't lived!

3 stunning shades of Models Own plus the Clothes Show Live glitter edition

The sweetest ring from Emma Warren

Anyone else pop along this year?

Essie - Mind Your Mittens

Here is a shade I just can't get enough of - as one sixth of Essie's Shearling Darling collection, this deep and creamy teal really caught my eye.

Almost black in some lights this cool toned blue is perfect for the colder months and give your fingers that sophisticated edge. I can't wait to add some Christmas sparkle to this look!

 Essie, you never disappoint!

Winter Pastels

Who says you can't enjoy a good pastel mani in the colder months. I must admit I have raved about a seasonal deep red or classic nude for Autumn but it's also nice to have some alternatives up your sleeve (or on the end of one har-har)!

Today I present to you six shades I feel are the don whatever the weather...

Essie 'Fondola Gondola' - A dusky pink

Models Own 'Utopia' - A very pale lilac nude

Topshop 'Rainy Day' - A blue/grey

Barry M 'Blue Moon' - A simple baby blue

Barry M 'Lychee' - The perfect creamy nude

Rimmel 'Sage Green' - A pale khaki 

Anyone else dare to flaunt pastels this time of year?

ps. sorry for the awful lighting, its dark a lot these days...

Bad Orchid

The world has gone matte crazy, buffing away that shine is definitely the big thing of AW'13 (not to mention the leather mania we are currently experiencing).

When it comes to this polish, I have been spying it up for months, holding back because do I really need another burgundy/purple polish?

Topshop Nails in 'Bad Orchid'  £6

...Most probably not but when I noticed Topshop were now leaning towards the pastel mattes, leaving only one (lonely!) bottle of this colour on the shelves, I just knew I needed to take it home - if not for my sake, for the lonesome bad orchid's!

Of course it's the perfect Autumn/Christmas colour, you can't go wrong with purple in autumn - as you can tell from this post. Two coats are needed for a good solid opaque nail, but Topshop have come up trumps again with their polish quality. I can see myself adding some gold glitter for a be-dazzling effect... but that's for another day.

Naked Autumn

Recently I have been really drawn to these Urban Decay Naked Polishes (so hey, why not blog it). I was bought these as a gift for my 21st birthday alongside the Naked Basics Palette back in Feburary, and dare I say they were a little neglected over the summer months.

They are very much an Autumnal range and I can't get enough of them this 'fall'. This post will not feature the complete collection as I donated two colours to my mother in an attempt to widen her nail polish collection past baby pink...

Urban Decay Naked Nails - £21

(from left to right)

Naked - Classic nude shade. Smog - Metalic rust.

Hustle - Metalic purple. Creep - Black shade with sliver glitter, slightly textured.

The formula is great, the above swatch is after two coats. But I would even suggest three for nail perfectionists out there. The range of colours is fab too, I could even share them with my mum (solid evidence)! For me, the main thumbs up go to their size - the miniature bottles are great to chuck in the bottom of your bag and lacquer up on the go!

Gee thanks again Urban Decay!