The man with the golden gun on Her Majesty's secret service

I went to my local Sallys a few days back and saw they had their Christmas sales on. I wasn't that blown away by the few China Glaze 2012 Christmas collection polishes they had left so didn't pick any of those up.

 

However, I was thrilled to find OPI's James Bond polishes were reduced - my gobsmacking moment - when a £30 bottle of The Man With The Golden Gun was reduced to £13.

 

I layered this gold flakie over On Her Majesty's Secret Service:

 

 

 

The 18k real gold flakie top coat was a little bit of a pain to work with. The flakies are in a clear base which I found to be quite thick. The golden flecks are sparse as well which made it tricky to work with. I certainly would not have bought this for the full £30 price tag but for £13 in the sale it's ok to have for the collectors value.

 

Have you used this topcoat? If so what do you think - is it worth the hype?

 

 

 

 

Nail Varnish Displays

I went into town with mum yesterday and noticed some pretty fully stacked nail polish displays in Boots, which, on a Saturday afternoon, is quite a surprise. I haven't bought or done any nail art in a while, I need to get back into it.

 

Onto the displays: Maxfactor, Revlon, Rimmel, Models Own.

 

 

Rimmel's Metal Rush polishes seem to be duochrome, once my nails have grown back to an acceptable length I must try them out.




 

Rising Star (another OPI polish for under £4)

I haven't posted in the last week, I have missed blogging but work has been a bit hectic, infact, this is the first time I have even had time to paint my nails in a week.

I picked up this OPI polish - Rising Star from Sallys, it was in the clearance section for under £4.

This is a burnt orangey copper pot shade, I don't own many colours like this so thought it would make a nice change. Like I have said before about OPI colours, I do like this, but would not pay full price for it.

If you have a Sallys near you I encourage you to check out the sale/clearance section, sometimes there are gems to be found.

Nail polish and make up displays

I have seen a few bloggers post about the different beauty and nail polish displays they have in shops at home. I was in Boots recently and happened to have my camera in my bag. I started snapping away and got some strange looks from other shoppers, but nobody questioned me.

Displays are Rimmel, Bourjois, Maybelline and Models Own and I was surprised at how stocked they were. I spend too long looking at nail polish and swatching lipsticks and shadows. It takes me far too long to decide what to buy but when there is a 3 for 2 offer it helps out! The Boots near me is quite small so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw they carried Models Own Hed Kandi's new polishes.

AHOY! SaGreena The Teenage Witch

Two coats of China Glaze AHOY! on my ring fingers and two coats of Wet n Wild's SaGreen The Teenage Witch followed by one coat of NYC glitter topcoat (Starry Silver Glitter) and finally one coat of Rimmel Matte Finish! Phewww, a bit of a list of polishes but I like how this manicure came out.

At first glance I think this is such a Christmassy manicure and not so spring appropriate but then again, this is exactly why I like it. I have never been one for wearing trends which are 'in' for certain seasons, I just reach for whatever polish I fancy at the time.

Pelican Grey with Purple Crackle

I hadn't used my one and only grey polish in a while so I dusted off my China Glaze Pelican Grey and painted Saffron London's purple crackle over the top.

I bought the purple crackle from my local pannier market a few months ago and this is only the second time I have used it. It makes a nice change from my usual black crackle and was really cheap.

Ski Teal We Drop in 2010

I used two coats of OPI's Ski Teal We Drop and one coat of Nubar's 2010 top coat which is a gorgeous flakie. I love this combination, the flakie stands out so well against the deep teal polish.

As you can see I have used lots of the Nubar top coat polish, I wear it so much and I find it jazzes up any dark polish. Of course you can wear it on top of any polish but I prefer wearing it over a dark base, the flakies pop more.

OPI polish on its own:

I really want to try the Finger Paint flakies, shame we don't get that brand in the UK,

New from Models Own - Hed Kandi Collection

I saw this exciting new collection over at Models Own facebook page - the Hed Kandi Collection.
The MO team have teamed up with Hed Kandi and brought out 5 new polishes (look at that glittery black!)

Polishes from left to right are Beach Party, Balearic Cool, Disco Heaven, Ibiza Mix and Hedonist.

According to their facebook page these polishes are on Models Own website from April 10 and can also be bought in a selected few Boots store now!

Pic from Models Own

A quick half n half with crackle

For the last couple of days I have been down in Exeter on a training course (local government) leaving the house at 07:15 each day and not getting home till late is taking its toll. Have learned lots though so it is all worth it. 

Since I haven't had much time to do my nails over the last few days I did this quick and simple manicure.

I used Accessorize in Electric Purple and Barry M in Block Orange followed by Andrea Fulerton's Mock Crock crackle polish. I didn't use my usual scotch tape but I figured since the crackle was going over the top it would hide any mistakes.

To finish I used China Glaze Fast Forward top coat.

My nails are quite short now after having trimmed them down, hopefully they will grow quickly, they seemed to last time.

I am contemplating getting a Shellac manicure. I love the idea of having a manicure which won't chip for a fortnight. What do you think? If you have had Shellac manicure what did you think, is it worth it?

Feeling Blue with Electric Pink

Another scotch tape and dotting manicure, I think this is my go to nail art method! Here I used Models Own Feeling Blue and Jack Wills in Electric Pink.

The black dots were made using Andrea Fulerton's Dot and Flick tool, I sometimes find this quicker than using an actual dotting tool dipped in black nail polish.

Black 'n' Glitter

Another scotch tape manicure on the diagonal.

Two coats of Barry M black nail polish waiting for it to dry before securing scotch tape and painting the tips of my nails with China Glaze in Cheers To You. After that dried I used one coat of Models Own Juicy Jules.

I am usually quite neat with my diagonal scotch tape manicures, but for some reason the lines are just not as perfect as I would like. I don't think it is too obvious but it just annoyed me.

China Glaze Let's Do It In 3D - Kaleidoscope Collection

Another exciting ebay buy is China Glaze Let's Do It In 3D from their Kaleidoscope collection. I paid around £7.99 and a couple of pounds for postage. Overall, a good price for a discontinued holographic polish.

I will let the pictures do the talking: these are three coats.

My holographic collection is slowly but surely getting bigger. I am always keeping my eyes open for them. What is your favourite holographic polish?

Pink Lady In The Spotlight

Pink Lady by Models Own is a gorgeous pink I haven't worn in a while, here it is, two coats with two coats of In The Spotlight by Sally Hanson.

Pink Lady is a gorgeous pink, I should wear it more, it shimmers, glows even, it has laces of blue running through it. It dries quickly but is quite sheer, if I were to wear it on its own I would need three coats. The glitter top coat was sent to me by Nicole from Noir Lacquer last year, it is a great top coat and jazzes up any polish.