HALLOWEEN SPECIAL!

YIPPEE!! First of all, I want to apologize for not posting for a bit - I've has so much stuff to do for uni and I've missed blogging a lot! I've not had the time to write up posts, but I have been taking pics whenever I've done my nails so they will be coming up in the hopefully not too distant future, however I still have a lot of work to do right now.

Now, I've been planning on doing one big post for Halloween seeing as I didn't have time for anything more so here you go!
The first design here was inspired by a picture I saw on the internet and I thought I'd create it myself as I love gradients. :) I really don't have the mental capacity to go through all the polishes I used as I'm now off sick with the cold and my head is filled with goo.

However if you want to know a particular colour, just ask and I'll go look. :)
I didn't have a 'witch' stamper so I drew it freehand, and the witches house was in my stamping kit but when I used it, it didn't show up much so I basically drew that on too. I blended Avon Lemon Sugar and some orange Essie colour to get the effect of the moon like in the picture.









This is another one I did just before the one above, but pretty much just for the blog haha. I used an orange Essie one for the base of most of them and used this to paint on the pumpkin on the middle finger, Sally Hansen's Black Out on the middle finger base and for stamping the black pumpkin and bats. I also used an orange glitter with a darkish base. It's called Pumpkin Spice by Sally Hansen (quite fitting I think! I bought it ages ago just for Halloween haha).




 Also on the ring finger I have a layer of black Barry M Croc Effects - I was originally going to get the Limited Edition Web Effects one but after everyone said it was horrible, I went for this one and thought I could do the opposite haha.


And finally, I thought I'd share with you what I carved into my pumpkin this year. :D FLOUNDER! Makes me so happy! Haha. I did it all freehand and it took me about 3 hours - would have been a lot easier if I just used a template but I like giving myself a lot of work...

Thanks for reading! Now let's party with the Ghostbusters!

Best of British Weekly Roundup 21/10/12

Best of British Weekly Roundup time!

Emma has started a Quest for the Holy Grail in honour of the retirement of the a-england shade she has rarely used and is now trying to use it in a personal Holy Grail challenge at Emma's Little Corner

Mimi does freestyle Halloween nails funky halloween nails .

Lyndsay at Pie's Eyes has taken a delivery of some new Christmas themed HB image plates for stamping with and has been trying them out to see how they perform

In need of distracting this week Enigmatic Rambles' spent waay to much time painting frog eyes on her nails for a Sat-ART-Day nail challenge.

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing has been doing some checkerboard themed manicures. Pink, White and Black and a more spangly Blue, Black and White checkerboard mani, which do you prefer?

Sam at Polished Art has made her second and final attempt at water marbling for the 31 Day Challenge. Never again!

More Halloween spookiness over at Never Mind Suzi, Steph is playing with ZOMBIES

Jo at Northern Nails has been entering a few competitions this week, from skulls to coming up with Taglines!, She has also joined in with Pink October, with a lovely pink bead mani !

Polished Criminails has been busy showing us the OPI - Skyfall Collection this week in her Skyfall Swatch Series with an added insight to each of the corresponding James Bond films

Vic's been carrying on with the Halloween theme but has also managed to fit in some non-Halloween related nail art. Her Frogs mani fits somewhere in between. Check out the cute pic of her two year old who insisted on getting frogs on his nails too!

Jazz has been continuing with her love/hate affair with frankens and has also been divulging in a little bit of halloween nail art! Frankens! Glitter is appropriate no matter what the occasion!

Ruth finally posted up her first fishtail attempt this week!

Carlyn has fallen in love with OPI Diva of Geneva A gorgeous shimmering red then added a rose stamping design

Charlotte at Charlottes-nails has swatched a polish from Born Pretty Store for a review post this week.

Wendy from Wendy's Delights has been going round in circles with her new Circular Magnetic & Magnetic Polish and while your over at Wendy's Delights check out her Nail Foil for the Llama A-Z Challenge

Kerrie from PishPosh and Polish has been on holiday this week. She decided to try out some Sally Hansen Nail Effect Wraps to create Denim Nails and loves the result!

Mimi tries her hand at freestyle nails Halloween and thinks they are really cool!

Danielle gives her first tutorial on Black velvet manicure at Totally Nailed

This week, The Crumpet has done a series of posts for Depression Awareness. Feel free to join in and share your story, or do a green mani in support

Kerry at JustTalkNails has gone all out for Halloween with Daring Digits Trick or Treat a perfect Halloween glitter.

Here is a pastel green manicure with a glitzy difference for Abi's first post back at Volatile Varnish.

This week Sally of NailPron bared her soul with a green manicure and came out as an anxiety survivor, oh and she broke the news about the new Speciallita Hits Glitter World polishes

Until next week!

Bourjois 10 Days Nail Enamel No.23 and First Fishtail attempt!

Okay, so this is something that I did about 3 weeks ago now haha. Haven't tried fishtail since, but really want to! I have absolutely no time for anything at the minute, boo.

Due to the fact I'm so busy, I will be rather brief with this post, sorry!
So I did Bourjois No.23 10 Days Nail enamel - it's a cool camouflage colour I never had before so I may do a camouflage themed nail mani at some point. For now though, I used Barry M Gold Foil and No7 Beanie and the reason I only did the ring finger was because I didn't have the patience to do all of them at that point! It's kind of wonky but not bad for a first ever attempt in my opinion! Must try harder next time!

It applies fairly well (although as I state in my Bourjois No.18 review that the brush really annoys me).  It lasted fairly long and was rather shiny before I even added any topcoat.

Well I'm afraid that's all I have time for!

Best of British Weekly Roundup 14/10/12

Once again, it's time for the weekly roundup!

Northern Nails is back on track this week with Pink Wednesdays Posts and More Adventures in stamping Posts and even a few surprises . Jo has also changed the look of Northern NailsHope you like it !

Jazz is trying her hand at franken for the first time! Glitter Infatuation Enjoy!

PrettyKittyClaws has a extra special mani to show you this week, it's her Wedding Mani featuring Sally Hansen, Girly Bits and Lynnderella

Wendy from Wendy's Delights has been stamping for another week's challenge set by Adventures In Stamping this week's theme being Metallic Madness and while your over at Wendy's Delights check out her 200 Follower Giveaway and you could win some fab Nails Inc Polishes!

Very few posts from Emma as she has been away and also got the lurgy... but she did post this Autumnal mani with a little bit of rare stamping.

Whats this? Whats this? PishPosh and Polish has Nightmare Before Christmas Nails on the blog this week

In between dying her hair, fingers, walls and face there was time for another awareness manicure on Enigmatic Rambles, this time for Hospice and Palliative Care Day.

Lyndsay from Pie's Eyes has had a No7 filled week this week comparing their top coats and trying out Star Shower one of their newly released polishes.

It's nearly Halloween and Steph has been flirting with the "Ghost with the Most" and swatching the new Hocus Pocus collection from 365 Days of Color.

Claire at nuthin' but a nail thing has been trying out gold beads and adding a bit of sparkle this week.

Dimpal at Crazy Polishes showing Born Pretty store stamping polishes stamping polishes and over light and dark base this week.

Ruth finally got her hands on some Barry M Gelly polishes and tasted the pomegranate and the watermelon this week!

Sally of Nail Pron has attended another funeral, received a right slating from her step daugher but cheered her week up by finding a dupe for Gosh Holographic which is cheaper, and easier to apply!

Jazz is trying her hand at franken for the first time! Glitter Infatuation Enjoy!

Kerry at JustTalkNails shares the new Nail Inc Fine Sprinkles this week starting with a nail gradient.

The Crumpet and the Digit-al Dozen have been arting it up for Halloween this week - spiders, witches and zombie blood - oh my!

Carlyn has a nail polish to go with her tan China Glaze Pink Plumeria and stamping using her new konad plate

Vic is well and truly into the Halloween spirit (swamp vodka jelly if you're wondering) - her Ghosts are simple enough that anyone can give them a try. In fact, she dares you to give them a go!

That's all for this week! :)

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Pomegranate Nail Polish

The first thing I'm going to say is 'Boooo' my nails are shorter! I broke 2 of them on my right hand while closing the boot of a car (and no, I didn't close them in it, I went to pull it down and my hand slipped so bye-bye nails! I decided to cut all of them the same while I was at it. It doesn't actually bother me to be honest because it's a bit easier to type, especially on a tablet which is what I'm writing on right now. I'm so dedicated to this blog I'm writing this on a 8.40am train *yawn*.

So to the actual polish... thumbs up, my friends! The pictures don't have any topcoat or anything. I painted the ring finger nail with Barry M Gold Foil and put 2 coats of Technic 'Carnival' that I bought in the weekend, I love this glitter! Partly because the glitter doesn't cause the nail to feel rough and the clear polish itself is really good at making the nail shine.

The Pomegranate shade is a really lovely and certainly quite a fun colour to use!

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Watermelon Nail Polish

I love Barry M, so when I found out they were going to be releasing the Gelly range I squealed like a little girl, or a little pig... take your pick! Anyway, I went to buy them the day they came out but they weren't yet at my local Superdrug so that was a bummer. I even went to check at Boots even though I knew they hadn't even acknowledged them on their website yet, but to no avail. So, a week later I managed to get them, yippee! I only bought watermelon and pomegranate as I am but a student and 2 cost me £8 as it was and I could hear my brain yelling 'Don't buy any more!'. I did get Barry M Croc Effects for free (when you buy any 2 polishes) so that was good. I was going for the Web Effect even though I know it isn't very good but they didn't have it at the time and probably the croc one is more versatile for my taste anyway. If I go buy 2 more, I will grab that one though, just because I'm hoping to do some Halloween nail art closer to the time woo!

So to the actual polish. Here is watermelon, this was the one I was wanting the most because it looked the most appealing to me... And I love it! The lovely shine is very similar to that of the gel polish variety. (Don't be confused with what they mean by 'gelly', they really do mean 'gelly', not the kind of sheer 'jelly' polishes. In fact, the polish applies pretty thick and opaque (although I did 2 coats anyway) and it really does feel glossy even without a topcoat!

I love this colour and the shine is awesome, you don't feel the need to put a topcoat on at all. Also, I decided to add a little bit of stamping to it as I was bored. I used BM-204 plate for this mani, of which the number I cannot remember. It kind of reminds me of old vintage curtains to be honest, but they actually looked pretty good in real life.

Soon, I'll be putting up my pomegranate post, once I write it!

Best of British Weekly Roundup 07/10/12

It's Best of British Sunday!

Wendy from Wendy's Delights is having a dotting time with her first ever Dotty Mani for the Llama Nails A-Z challenge.

Wendy has also participated in the Facebook Group Adventures in Stamping and this weeks theme is French Nail Tips.

Lyndsay from Pie's Eyes shows off her Swatchicles and explains how they make keeping tabs on her ever growing collection a little easier, she's also done a lovely leafy stamp manicure.

Claire from nuthin' but a nail thing completed the 30 Day Challenge! Which one was your favourite?

Emma has lauched her first giveaway and played with dotting tools again this week, this time creating rainbow manicure using them over at Emma's Little Corner

Charlotte from Charlottes-nails has been swatching some of the new Models Own Wonderland polishes for you all to enjoy!

After taking the weekend off after completing the 30 Day Challenge, Polished Criminails is back with 3 more BarryM Gelly Nail Paints which are bang on trend for the Autumn months!

When life hands you lemons, paint your nails with Avon's Lemon Sugar! Or at least that's what Ruth did this week. Including a slightly annoying design!

Vic has started her gel polish course but she's determined not to give up regular polish - after all, she does have over 400 bottles of the stuff. The inspiration for her Sparkle Zebracorn mani was taken from a gel polish tutorial but it works just as well with the lacquers we all know and love.

Spreading depression awareness through nail art, while checking off another ABC Llama nail challenge is Enigmatic Rambles this week.

Sally of Nail Pron is having a month of pink for Breast Cancer Awareness while having a very emotional week

Northern Nails had a little Hiatus this week, after all the posts in the 30 Day Challenge,then Her nails broke! So she decided to give Northern Nails a make over, Hope you all like the New Look!

Carlyn uses China Glaze's Foie Gras and Konad plate M64 to create a stunning Floral manicure, before she gets her nails shellac'ed for her holidays.

Sarah Louise is taking part in a Halloween challenge created by Crumpets Nail Tarts. For the second challenge she creates a Black Cats themed manicure - Enjoy! x

Abi invites you to take a look at her round up page for the 31 Day Challenge that she completed this week!

Lots of new items Spotted! instore this week over at Painted Nails and Baking Scales as Lou keeps her eyes peeled for all things polish!

Ever wondered what Indie polishes are and where to buy them ? Well this week The Crumpet tells you everything you need to know!

That's all folks!

Bourjois 10 Days Nail Enamel No.18 Nail Polish

Natural light - no flash

 Here's another Bourjous nail enamel. I don't normally go for blues as it's not my favourite colour for nails, but for some reason this one caught my eye. Probably because it's quite dark and I do quite like dark shades from time to time.

Artificial light - flash

The polish doesn't have a name other than '18' so if you look for it, that's the number you need.

The bottle claims that the enamel lasts for 10 days -- a claim I can't really verify because I put Seche Vite over most of them, but it has been 3 days since I did them and the parts that have no topcoat are still perfect. It also has an angled brush so that you are able to 'touch-up' any chips that may occur, however I see it more as a gimmick because even touching it up would be obvious because you'd had a small lump where the new polish is so the fact it's pointier at one side is quite irrelevant to me. In fact, I find the angled brush quite annoying because when you're applying the polish, you have to work harder to make it curve at the top of your nail and in a way, you have to apply in a way that is just weird. I like the concept though but not really practical unless your cuticles are completely straight or shaped like the top of a triangle.

Polish on nail

Overall, the colour is really nice. I would say the pictures are quite accurate - however indoors with no flash, this does look darker, like a really dark blue, sometimes verging on a dark teal kind of shade.

Under normal light, it looks like a plain blue, however when you look really closely, you notice that it's got a slight shimmer to it, and in fact you will see this shimmer through the bottle too, if you pick it up in store.

Avon Lemon Sugar Nail Polish (and some nail art thrown in)

Indoors - flash

Today's post is a little more picture based than usual, reason being that I was swatching this polish for the blog and then decided to just keep it on and so some half moon art with it.

So this is Lemon Sugar by Avon, and because I order through a local representative, it takes 3 weeks to get delivered - but delivery is free so I can't complain!

Indoors - no flash

The first thing I will say is that it's a fairly nice colour. I'm not much of a fan of yellow, but it is a nice lighter shade and not in-your-face neon. One coat was actually not too bad but you do get areas where your own nail which is obviously darker than this) comes through, so I did 2 coats.

I felt that this would go with pastel colours so I decided to do the half moon mani on it. The colours used (from thumb to pinky) are: Barry M Mint Green, MUA Shade 16, Barry M Blue Moon, No7 Lucky Lilac, Barry M Boots Limited Edition. Basically the same colours I used for the pastel zebra nails I did about a month ago. I put a glitter topcoat (17 Nail Xtras Glitter) and then Seche Vite.

I have to be honest, I didn't particularly like the nail art after I did it, but I ended up keeping it on for a few days because I was too busy with uni to change it. I think the yellow would work well in some sort of art, but I didn't particularly like it in this way because it stuck out like a sore thumb, no pun intended.