Today for my last blog post before Christmas I thought I'd share with you a few Christmas Day nail ideas!
Plus I wanted to show you the combo I've been wearing this last week and what I plan to changed them to ahead of the big day!
First up Christmas nail combo ideas! It's all about the glitter for me so I always opt for an opaque base colour and then a festive glitter.
One of my favourite duos is actually a free gift with purchase from Barry M in Superdrug stores! Simply spend £7 on Barry M products and receive this lovely nail duo that consists of a brown shimmer (Gingerbread) and a silver holographic tinsel style glitter (Icicle). I wore this on my nails last week and it's such a lovely combo.
I'm also totally digging the KIKO holiday collection 2016 nail polishes. These come in three glitter shades - 01 Pleasant Silver Rose, 02 Rich Gold and 03 Full Red and are currently reduced to £3.00 online here and hopefully in-store! My favourite of the three is Rich Gold as there aren't may fine gold glitter nail polishes on the market and paired over a deep nail polish (as you can see above, paired with Essie Bahama Mama) or even black really makes the glitter come to life!
Lastly if you aren't a fan of that gritty feeling of glitter nails or hate the snooze-worthy removal process then the Sensational Nail Glitters £2.50 each here may just be perfect for you. This is a dry non-nail polish glitter that you lliterally puff over wet nails and seal with a clear top coat - how clever?! They can be used over regular nail polish or with an at-home gel kit and they come in 3 shades - red glitter, black and a super amazing holographic silver (shown above, paired with Seventween Gel Colour in Mint Cooler). I just can't get enough of these!
As for what I've been wearing on my nails recently, this past week I've been sporting one of my most favourite Essie glitter nail polishes; Summit of Style Boots £7.99 or Fragrance Direct here for only £2.49, over Bourjois La Lacque White Spirit (ASOS here or Boots in-store) which is just a good white base I always use. I was tempted to apply a matte top coat to see how they would look however as I loved the sparkle from Summit of Style I decided to leave them!
For my Christmas day nails I'm planning to go all red as it's just such a festive look. Of course I couldn't just go for all red nails, I had to find a perfect red glitter to go with it! For the base I've picked C&E nail polish in Apple/Rouge Sublime but really any classic red would work. Then for the red glitter it was a hard choice but I decided to go for a slightly more raspberry red glitter in Sally Hansen Strawberry Shields. I love rich sparkly red nails so I'm excited to sit down tonight and give my nails an even more festive manicure!
So there you have my Christmas nail polish combos that have hopefully inspired you to try out a glittery combination!
Happy Christmas everyone!
Fee xo.
When Christmas Eve comes around I find myself sighing with relief that the busyness will soon be over with! Don't get me wrong I love Christmas but it definitely is the most busiest time of year for most people.
So pampering myself is definitely limited and that also means nail painting needs to be done quickly - i.e no faffing with nail art.
Yes, festive nail art for Christmas day is pretty but too time consuming the night before and also just not practical as I know I will be opening lots of hard-to-get-into boxes for my nieces! So for me it is a sparkly base coat and then a glitter top coat to finish my nails off. Below are 10 nail polishes I absolutely love and I'm considering wearing on my nails come Christmas day.
1. Orly Snowcone - £3.99 Fragrance Direct here
4. Ted Baker Totally Twinkie - £8.50 at duo Boots here
5. Ted Baker Golden Girl - £8.50 as duo
6. China Glaze Elfin' Around - £5.45 Amazon here or Sally's
7. China Glaze Your Present Required - £5.59 Amazon here or Sally's
8. NYC Full Metal Jacket - £1.79 Superdrug
9. NYC Red Hot - £1.99 Superdrug
10. NYC Top of the Gold - £1.99 Superdrug
So here is my lovely selection that I really couldn't pick a favourite from, however I would say the savviest buy would be NYC Full Metal Jacket as it's the nicest gold fold nail polish I have come across and it's under £2! Then for a more 'expensive' treat I would say Orly Cherry Bomb is very lovely indeed.
As for glitter top coats, the most unique has to be China Glaze Your Present Required as it looks quite quirky on the nails over any colour but also festive. Looks best over black or gold... or even white. But NYC Top of the Gold is definitely a hidden gem as it actually looks like flecks of gold on the nails and much more expensive than £2!
These are just a few festive shades I really like. I also highly recommend Models Own glitters, especially the Wonderland Collection and opaque coloured glitters such as Gold Finger and Scarlett Sparkle.
Sinful Color glitters are always worth a look in Boots at only £1.99 each!
Fee xo.
Remember last month when I wrote a pre-Christmas wish list? Probably not. Well I decided that I needed to treat myself to the Nails Inc set I featured in that post because it just looked too glittery and wonderful to miss out on.
Since then lots of places have been selling out of the mini set, even ASOS. But I found it on Beauty Bay for the bargain sale price of £12.80 here!
I've recent years I have purchased a few mini collections from Nails Inc as they are nice way to try out the more 'special' shades from the brand, especially when their nail polishes cost £9+. I've always been pleased even if they are pretty dinky but this year I'm even more happy as this set contains some amazing glitters from 5 different collections.
I would have loved to have swatched away on my real nails however sadly I've had a few nail casualties so a nail wheel will have to suffice for now!
As you can see the set contains a lovely mix of textures and finishes. 2 glitter top coats with Hampstead Court and Old Street, a semi opaque glitter with Westminster Bridge Road, a subtle glitter opaque top coat with Regents Park and a metallic foil in rose gold with King's Road.
My favourite has to be Regents Park as it just reminds me of shimmering winter berries and it really does look beautiful on the nails, perfect for Christmas and winter. But I also love how fun Old Street is, I'm sure it would look great over a white or black nail polish especially for New Years Eve. Also King's Road went and surprised me as I always imagine metallic nail polishes to be streaky but this is just perfect and such a soft delicate shade that I can imagine wearing alone or with a subtle gold glitter over the top or even Hampstead Court.
This really is a nail polish set ideal for the festive season and updating your party nail polish collection... just like I have done (I've told myself no more presents to me love from me until after Christmas!).
But this would also make a great gift for someone that loves nail polish! I know I would be pretty delighted with this... well maybe a different mini set such as the Nails Inc The Editors Set which is even cheaper at £11.20 here... just not as glittery. Or you could split up the set if you were creating a few gift sets for friends.
Really at a great price at the moment and worth snapping up!
Fee xo.
Nothing says festive fingertips like a red nail polish.
I have so many reds in my collection that mainly get used at Christmas. Here are my top 5 that are glossy, vibrant and all well priced... especially my favourite from NYC. Nail of the day to come of that very soon!
Nails Inc X Kate Space 'Big Red Apple'
(Free with last month's Glamour mag - still available)
First up is an excellent free nail polish... or £2 which is the price of the magazine. This is such a rich glossy red that is perfectly opaque in two coats. For a freebie it is excellent quality and may be in the running for my Christmas Day nail polish.
Avon Nailwear Pro+ 'Real Red'
(£4.00 - Avon here or in catalogues)
I've tried so many Avon nail polishes now after creating quite a lot of nail looks for the Avon blog and the Nailwear Pro+ range has to be my favourite. The formula dries really hard and I normally end up removing the nail polish due to tip wear instead of chipping as these just don't chip! This specific shade is very close to a perfect red but with a slight more warm/berry tone to it.
NYC Expert Last Nail Polish 'Red me the News'
(£2.49 - Superdrug stores)
This has to be my favourite festive red! Red me the News transforms nails into ruby red jewels that are so smooth and glossy. This is a perfect alternative to a solid colour red as it still appears as one colour but just has a wonderful metallic sheen to it, very impressive for only £2.49. The formula also lasts really well (apparently up to 10 days, I'd say more like 5 - but still very good) and unlike a lot of metallic formulas doesn't show any brush strokes or streaks.
Essie 'Russian Roulette'
Out of the 5 reds in this post Russian Roulette is the most classic/true red. Perfect if you want bold red nails for Christmas and excellent as a base for nail art... this works with white nail art so well. Essie is a great nail polish brand so if you want to spend a little more then this shade is so worth it for Christmas. You can see my nail swatches with festive nail art here.
Sally Hansen Insta-Dry 'Rapid Red'
(£3.43 - eBay here)
Without a doubt my red in a rush nail polish. I actually have a selection of nail polishes that I keep to one side that I know are opaque in one coat and dry super fast. And this is definitely one of them, plus the brush fits the nail perfectly meaning you can paint the whole nail in one brush stroke! I'm such a huge fan of all Sally Hansen Nail Polishes and the Insta-Dri range hasn't let me down yet. Super opaque, glossy and fast drying - what more could you want! If you don't want a bold red then this is a perfect one.
If you have any suggestions for Top 5 posts - nail polish, beauty or skincare just let me know!
Also what is your favourite (not too pricey) red nail polish?
Fee xo.
I have been so obsessed with glitter nail polish recently that I have totally neglected any sort of nail art. So I thought I would try out a simple design of crosses and dots to create some quick and easy Fair Isle print nails.
Fair Isle is actually a knitting technique from Fair Isle (a little island off Scotland) that has in recent years become very popular in fashion, in particular Christmas knitwear! This design really is a simplified version of the fair isle print though with rows of dots and little crosses.
What I used and all that stuff...
For the red base nail polish I chose my favourite red - Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Rapid Red (only £1.99 from Xtras here). I can't say I love the bottle shape at all but this is such an opaque fast-drying red, actually the fastest drying nail polish I own.
For the design I used a Sally Hansen Nail Art pen in white which I bought from Fragrance Direct for only £1.99 but sadly it is sold out and seems to be sold out everywhere at the moment - eBay, Xtras, Amazon. Though the Sally Hansen nail art pens in gold and silver can be found on eBay still. The pens really are mess free and are more like an actual pen as the formula isn't actually nail polish meaning it isn't thick and can be removed or corrected with water. This does mean you have to remember to use a top coat however to seal in the nail art!
Another range of nail art pens I recommend are the Models Own Wah Nail Art pens (you can find white, black and pink on ASOS - £6.00 here). I didn't think much of them when they came out but since then they have been re-worked and have improved so much!
What do you currently have on your nails?
Fee xo.
If you haven't heard of the term 'snow globe' nails then it will be because I made it up in my head once when I applied glitter over white nails! It reminded of when all the snow settles at the bottom of a snow globe.
There is a way of achieving snow globe nails and that is with a white base coat and silver or sheer flecks of glitter nail polish - it can never be coloured glitter!
Here I used two nail polishes from the Models Own Wonderland Collection - Jack Frost and then Snow Flake (Models Own or Boots £5 - here). For my base nail polish I went for Revlon Powder Puff (a Poundland buy!) which has a matte suede finish and slightly pearly blue hue to it that is very subtle. You can see my full Models Own Wonderland Collection post - here.
I think the main thing when trying to achieve delicate looking nails like these is to let each coat of nail polish dry so that you don't get thick layers of nail polish. Also it means you won't end up smudging the glitter off the nails because it's too thick!
If you like the look of Models Own Jack Frost but can't find it in Boots and don't want to pay P&P online then a great dupe for it is Maybelline Cosmic Flash.
Do you think you will be trying out 'Snow Globe' nails?
Fee xo.
If you put green, purple, pink and gold tinsel in a blender this is what you would get!
I do love my China Glaze glitter nail polishes but I'm just not sure about this one! Yes, I love the colours in it, but the application wasn't that easy for a glitter polishes due to it being such a dry glitter to apply so you do find yourself getting pieces of glitter on the cuticles. Also this 100% needs a clear top coat (no top coat in the image above) as it also looks quite dry and gritty. To make the polish opaque it took three coats.
So maybe with a clear top coat I will like it as I do love the different colours of glitter in it. Though I know this will be such a nightmare to remove. The less jelly/clear polish in the glitter nail polish the harder it is to remove I find and I am not one for sitting with tinfoil on my fingers!
You can find China Glaze Glitter All The Way on eBay for £7.45 full size (UK listing - here) or Amazon £6.95 (here).
What do you think of Glitter All The Way? Yay or Nay?
Fee xo.
If China Glaze Pure Joy isn't the most perfect nail polish to wear with a Christmas jumper then I don't know what is!
This is just one of China Glaze's Holiday offerings this year and it is indeed very festive looking.
Pure Joy as you can see is a vibrant red glitter with the odd piece of gold glitter running through it. I like to call these types of glitter nail polish 'dry glitters' as they are opaque within 2-3 coats so no need to use a base nail polish colour and once they are dry they have quite a rough feel to them (which can get catch on clothing so I'd suggest a clear top coat) .
'Dry glitters' are definitely the hardest glitter nail polishes to remove however they are my favourite to use if I want to cover the whole nail or just do an accent nail in glitter. Actually in my DIY series I'm going to show something that helps remover glitter nail polishes really well that you can actually make yourself!
As you can see China Glaze Pure Joy was one of my festive picks in my Autumn/Winer nail art (post - here) as it is just so festive looking.
I find all China Glaze's nail polishes to be really high quality - dare I say even better than OPI. But sadly in the UK China Glaze isn't that widely available so I either purchase mine from eBay, Amazon or Sally Beauty stores (best for mini sets and new collections).
You can find China Glaze Pure Joy along with the other polishes in the CG Holiday 2012 collection on Amazon UK for £6.95 (here) or if you don't mind buying internationally on eBay you can find a U.S listing (here) for £4.84.
Do not fear if you aren't into your festive/glitter polishes then I will still be doing normal NOTD's and nail art over November. I just had to share this with you while it was on my nails.
Fee xo.
There are two things in particular that I love about blogging - nail polishes and photography. So I decided to combine the two and get a bit more creative to create a nail polish edit/guide.
This is just to give inspiration right up until Christmas as to what polishes you could wear on your nails. I do pretty much ignore all nail trends so these are just my picks that I feel go with this time of year. Also all the links are to websites I could find each nail polish the cheapest or with free p&p. I really hope you like!
Crisp fallen leaves with hues of copper and burnt amber. The start of fall/autumn means you can dig out your rusty copper nail polish shades and wear them like autumn jewels on the nails. Or if you want to play it safe opt for smooth, creamy warmed up nude polishes paired with a glossy top coat to look sleek and refined.
Left - Right
China Glaze Harvest Moon (£6.00 - Amazon here), Beauty UK Voodoo (£1.99 - Superdrug), China Glaze Elecrify (£6.95 - Beauty Bay here), Color Club Earth Angel (not found maybe check eBay).
As Autumn really creeps in and so do the darker nights and chunky knits, think rich warm berry and red wine shades. Chic but colourful and ideal for warming up the skin tone on the hands.
NYC Penn Station (£2.55 - Lloyds Pharmancy here), Rituals Late Night Ruby (£9.50 - John Lewis here), Revlon Facets of Fuchsia (£6.49 - Boots, Tesco), No7 Starlet (£5.50 full size - No7 counter at Boots)
NYC Penn Station (£2.55 - Lloyds Pharmancy here), Rituals Late Night Ruby (£9.50 - John Lewis here), Revlon Facets of Fuchsia (£6.49 - Boots, Tesco), No7 Starlet (£5.50 full size - No7 counter at Boots)
By now you are snuggling up with a cozy throw, hot chocolate is a staple and you dare not go out without a scarf. You want to go for warm and cozy nails with deeper nude shades. If you prefer darker nails, jewel toned polishes with a chunky glitter top coat look dramatic and vampy.
Maybelline Rosy Sand (£4.09 - Superdrug here), Zoya Jem (£10.55 full size - eBay here), Models Own Disco Inferno (£5.00 - Models Own here or Boots), Essie Brooch The Subject (£7.00 - Amazon here, though always check Fragrance Direct here first!)
Maybelline Rosy Sand (£4.09 - Superdrug here), Zoya Jem (£10.55 full size - eBay here), Models Own Disco Inferno (£5.00 - Models Own here or Boots), Essie Brooch The Subject (£7.00 - Amazon here, though always check Fragrance Direct here first!)
It's snowing! Whilst you are rushing around Christmas shopping, something yummy from Starbucks in hand you want what I like to call 'snow globe' nails. Think reflective like winter snow (so go for a white or nude base) or at least add a glittery top coat over your favourite nail polish.
Models Own Jack Frost (£5.00 - Models Own here or Boots), Kiko Rainbow Glitter 230 (£1.50 - Kiko UK here), China Glaze Champagne Kisses (part of CG Holiday 2012 set - see blog post on set here), Models Own Snowflake (£5.00 - Model Own here)
Models Own Jack Frost (£5.00 - Models Own here or Boots), Kiko Rainbow Glitter 230 (£1.50 - Kiko UK here), China Glaze Champagne Kisses (part of CG Holiday 2012 set - see blog post on set here), Models Own Snowflake (£5.00 - Model Own here)
Christmas movies - check. Quality Streets out - check. Silly Christmas pyjamas and/or socks - check, check. Glitter nail polish - a million percent! Christmas just isn't Christmas without glitter nail polish on your festive gift wrapping fingers. No excuses even if you hate the removal process just opt for a glittery accent finger!
Models Own Gold Finger, Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle (check eBay for mini size!), China Glaze Pure Joy (part of CG Holiday 2012 - post of set here), Saffron Green Sparkle 70 (£1.55 - Ebay here)
If you would like a nail of the day post or swatches of any of the nail polishes featured just let me know in the comments and I will try to do them over the course of November!
Fee xo.
After the wonderful Mirrorball collection (you can see my swatches here & here) I was quite surprised Models Own bought out some more glitters with the Wonderland collection. Dare I say it being a huge glitter nail polish fan but I feel it is maybe a little too soon after and especially for a Christmas collection.
But hey-ho I will embrace it as there are some amazing glitter polishes in this range and I love the nails of them all!
The collection consists of 5 glitter nail polishes - Snowflakes (top left), Northern Lights (middle), Jack Frost (right), Blizzard (holographic lilac) and Southern Lights (chunky silver glitter). As usual all polishes as £5 each (here or in Boots depending on stock ) or you can buy the full set plus a clear top coat (handy for making glitters extra shiny and smooth) for £20 online - here.
I instantly knew I had to try out Northern Lights which is described by Models Own as 'a fine holographic multi-tonal glitter in a pink finish'. This for me is Juicy Jules (one of my favourite Models Own nail polishes) but in a different shade, the same goes for Southern Lights which has a lilac hue to it.
As will most glitter nail polish this was easy to apply and in the swatches above I applied two coats with no base. I would say two coats doesn't make it fully opaque so you would either need to apply 3 coats or use a base nail polish in a light shade. Comparing it to Juicy Jules it is less opaque however Northern Lights does have a slightly more smooth finish to it... you can tell I am addicted to my glitter polishes can't you?!
I did try my best to take accurate images of Northern Lights however it was actually too sunny believe it or not! But you do get an idea of the holographic-ness of it on my little finger in the above image, this really is one of those polishes that just dazzles when you move your fingers and looks out of this world under artificial lighting.
As for Snowflakes (top left in the first image) which is described as 'a mesmerising transparent mix of white gold flakes' it i basically fake snow in nail polish form... actually I did read that nail polish like this is actually the same fakes that artifical snow is made out of, so it does make sense that it looks like snow! This applied over a pale or white base definitely looks festive and quite different as it almost has a 3D effect to it, but trust me, try this over a dark nail polish like a deep berry or black and this just comes to life!
Jack Frost (top right in the first image) is probably my least favourite in the collection. It is described as 'a wash of iridescent soft sparkle in a translucent cloudy base'. Now don't get me wrong this can be a lovely nail polish however it is one of those glitters that if it catches the light in the wrong way the glitter particles look yellow and so if you are using a white or nude base your nails can look not so great. But in direct light the glitter does look lovely. I am probably over critical now when it comes to glitter nail polishes so I'm sure many will love this!
More swatches to come from the range once Halloween is over with and the collection is more appropriate!
Fee xo.
Firstly I know some of you have been waiting for the rest of the swatches so I do apologise for being slow! But here they are... even if I had to take them on the dullest of days, which never shows off glitter that well!
If you want to see my previous swatches of the other Mirrorball nails polishes from Models own - Boogie Nights and Dancing Queen you can find them in this post. I will also have Hot Stuff (the one with the pink cap) to show you next week!
Disco Inferno - A glittery gold disco bomb
When I first looked at the new collection I really didn't know which would be my favourite, however as soon as Disco Inferno touched my nails I knew it was the star of the show for me. What looks like fine bronze glitter in the bottle is actually more like rose gold on the nails and I'm truly in love!
Here I applied it over Models Own Bare Beauty and also did an accent nails with Disco Inferno over Models Own Gold Finger (which I love as an opaque gold glitter). I always love glitters over nude nails and love how this looks but I'm now dying to try it over a dark berry shade for autumn or black. If you are planning on getting a few of the polishes from the collection I would highly recommend this one as it's so unique and the speckles of rose gold in it are just amazing.
Freak Out - Crystal shimmer mix of bold blue and purple
This is maybe my least favourite from the collection... though it may be down to my choice of base nail polish (Gosh Gasoline) that doesn't compliment it well. In the bottle it looks amazing but for me it is a little sparse and it just doesn't wow me like the other glitters. That said I'm sure it will look nice over a nude nail polish or even a light pink.
But like the rest in the collection this applies so well and only needed two light coats. I would always recommend light coats to build glitter instead of one really thick coat as it will never dry and you will end up smudging the glitter.
I'm still on the fence about this one so definitely need to try it out with some over nail polishes to see how I feel about it.
Definite favourites have to be Disco inferno (gold cap) and Boogie Nights - here (blue cap) so far. But the whole range is amazing if you love glitter nail polish!
I really think I need to do a Models Own Glitter nail polish post very soon as I counted 11 in my nail polish collection?!
Just to re-cap The
Mirrorball Collection is available now at the Models Own Bottleshop
(Westfield, Shepherd's Bush), on the Models Own website from Monday, September 10th and in Boots stores nationwide from Wednesday, October 3rd.
Fee xo.
Very excited today to show you the first swatches of the new Models Own Mirrorball Collection!
As I'm sure most of you know by now I love Models Own nail polishes (Juicy Jules is my favourite!) and I love glitter so I am in love with this collection, it's so sparkly and I want to try out so many different combinations already!
The Mirrorball collection consists of 5 shades...
Disco I
N Disco Inferno - A glittery gold disco bomb
Hot Hot Stuff - An intoxicating mix of pink and gold sparkles
Freak Freak Out - Crystal shimmer mix of bold blue and purple
Dancing Dancing Queen - Fabulous flecks of emerald, blue and gold
Boogie Boogie Nights - A multicoloured mix of intriguing purple, pink and blue
As you can see the nail polishes come with limited edition metallic coloured caps that are amazingly pretty! Plus the glitter has actually been hand-cut - wow wee. More info on the release dates at the bottom of this post so I don't ramble on & on.
Hot Hot Stuff - An intoxicating mix of pink and gold sparkles
Freak Freak Out - Crystal shimmer mix of bold blue and purple
Dancing Dancing Queen - Fabulous flecks of emerald, blue and gold
Boogie Boogie Nights - A multicoloured mix of intriguing purple, pink and blue
As you can see the nail polishes come with limited edition metallic coloured caps that are amazingly pretty! Plus the glitter has actually been hand-cut - wow wee. More info on the release dates at the bottom of this post so I don't ramble on & on.
nf
Now hopefully I have the correct names for each polish (as my samples didn't come with shade names on the bottom) but if not, I will make sure I correct them once they are released.
Models Own Dancing Queen is another multi-colour glitter consisting of blue, green and gold flecks (I love how this looks in the bottle and that metallic emerald green top!). I decided to apply this over a black polish so that it showed off the chunky glitter really well and I do love how it looks! I also decided to try it with the Models Own Pro Matte Top Coat as I love mattifying glitter nail polishes. I also think over a shimmer blue/aqua colour this would make perfect mermaid nails!
I've decided to show the other glitters tomorrow so not to make this a super long post... but oh my, oh my how pretty the gold one is!! I'm going to apply it over another Models Own Glitter and I'm positive it is going to look amazing.
The Mirrorball Collection launches exclusively at the Models Own Bottleshop (Westfield, Shepherd's Bush) on Thursday, September 6th, on the Models Own website from Monday, September 10th and in Boots stores nationwide from Wednesday, October 3rd.
Fee xo.
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