Organisation | Nail Polish, Polish Book & Tools

Hey all!


For the last 3 or 4 years I have had quite the nail polish collection. I used to be obsessed with nail polish and racked myself up about 130 nail polishes! However, a couple of months ago I did a big tidy out and chucked away all nail polishes that had gone gloopy and gave away ones I knew I wouldn't use (i.e. the pink ones). I was also not happy with the way I organised them as I struggled to find anything I wanted and would forget about half the ones I had! 

After getting rid of all the polishes I didn't want, I had the idea of making a nail polish book. My collection is too large to remember all the shades I have so to help this I grabbed an old notebook and made a page for each colour. Then, I painted a swatch of each and every colour and wrote their name next to it. I find this extremely helpful because when I want to paint my nails I have a flick through the book and decide what colours I want to use. I can see the colours and I can see the different shades which means I manage to use everything in my collection and not just the ones I remember! If you have a large collection I really recommend doing this. 

The other way I organised my nail polishes was by organising them into colour categories in my drawer. Rather than having them all mixed up I keep them in their colour groups which makes it simple to find the one I'm looking for after choosing it from my nail polish book. I know some other people keep their polishes in their brand categories but I prefer to do it by colour. When I've chosen my polishes I will keep them out of the drawer on my bedside table ready for any touch ups and then when I'm done they go back into their groups.

When I was younger I also used to be really into nail art so I have quite a few tools, glitters and stickers too. Before I organised them they were just all over my nail polish drawer and I would forget all about them so now I keep them separate and together. As you can see in the photo above I keep all my nail files, nail art brushes, dotting tools, sponges, tweezers and nail scissors together. I keep them in a jar which is actually a Nutella jar! My favourite trick for organisation is cleaning out Nutella jars when you've eaten all the yummy goodness because the jars are actually quite nice. 

Another thing I've done to keep certain tools together is by using a tray. This is a tray I used to use on my dressing table but now I've recycled it for my nail file blocks, nail glue, stickers and gems. The tray ensures that the sheets of nail stickers don't end up getting lost amongst the jungle of nail polishes and all stay together instead.

Last of all are my nail glitters. I don't use these much if I'm honest but I keep them anyway just in case (and come on- they are pretty!). To keep these together I have recycled a cotton buds tub and put them in there. Now if I want to go for a really glittery look I can just pull out the tub and pick which colour glitter I want to go for.

So that's my nail polish and tools organisation! I am well and truly happy with my collection and how it is all laid out now which is the first time I have been happy with it. I find it easy to pick and choose what I want and it how tidied it is makes it visually pleasing for me. I didn't have to buy anything to do it and just recycled things I already had. You can do this too with things you just have lying about in your house!


How do you store your nail polishes?

Nails | Red & Textured

So far this year I have had gel nails done professionally (for the first time!) but now I have started to paint my own nails again for a while. They may chip more easily and take more time for me to do but it is definitely a cheaper option and I have more of a colour range at home!

On the majority of my nails I am wearing Essie 'Jump In My Jump Suit' which I got in a Essie Winter Collection back in 2014. It is an ever so slightly deeper red and gives that classy look to your nails. 

As accent nails, I painted my ring fingers a different colour. For this I used the BarryM Nail Paint Textured Nail Effects in 'Countess' (which instantly makes me think of Lady Gaga in American Horror Story). The base of this nail colour is brown with hints of purple. There are also gold flecks in it which help make up the textured feel. It is hard to describe but the nail polish feels bumpy with grains. I like this because it adds something else to your manicure and looks pretty cool! Additionally it seems to make the nail polish last longer as they haven't chipped at all!

What are on your nails?

Nails | The Quick Way to the Silver Way

After rocking the L'Oreal Red Manicure with the silver glitter accent nail for 2 weeks, it was time for another quick, simple and easy Christmas manicure.

I went for Essie's Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo which is a silver nail polish that catches the light like glitter. It is super easy to apply with only 2 coats needed and it doesn't chip too much without a top coat (I've ran out of top coat!). I received this last Christmas so with that and the colour I always associate it with Christmas and new year celebrations. If you want a manicure that is similar to glitter but without the mess of glitter then this is for you!

What is on your nails?

Easy & Simple Christmas Nails!

Hello!

The other week I needed a quick, simple and easy nail manicure to do before work and this is what I did. I know it nothing ground breaking but I wanted something festive for the Christmas period so I knew glitter would be on the cards!

For this I used the L'Oreal Colour Riche Rouge Pin Up which I actually got last Christmas. As the name suggests, it is a classic pin up red which I always associate with Christmas. It goes on lovely and I like to use 2 coats to make it completely opaque. Additionally, I also used the Models Own Silver Glitter on my ring fingers so I could have a glitter accent. I love glitter as it catches the light and looks festive, but I don't want to put it on all my nails because glitter is always a pain to take off!

To adhere the glitter, I painted my ring fingers and waited until it dried before adding a second coat. Before that coat dried, I sprinkled some glitter over my finger so it could dry into the polish. The best way to do this is to do it over a piece of paper or tissue to catch the excess and then you can put some of the excess back into the pot. I also found it is best to rotate my finger so the glitter can go on evenly over the entire nail.

I also showed a Christmas nail design last year that includes glitter and candy canes, so to check it out click here.

 So there we go! Simple but effective. What are going to be your Christmas nails?

Nails | Rimmel Salon Pro with Lycra Rhythm & Blues

Hello!

I haven't worn nail varnish in about two months. I was doing job interviews and such so didn't want to paint my nails. Then when I eventually got a job I didn't want to paint my nails until I knew that they were okay with painted nails.


I went out the other night to celebrate getting into University(!!!) with friends, so I decided it was time to finally paint my nails again. I went for this dark navy that almost looks black from Rimmel. It also claims to be 10 day chip resistant.


I was originally going to wait until I had worn this nail polish for 10 days but after 3 days it has chipped so I didn't see the point in waiting any longer. Admittedly it took until 3 days to chip on 3 nails which is actually brilliant for me because nail polish usually chips quicker than that for me. Yet alas, it has not stuck to its claims. I'm not disappointed by that but I still have to take note of it. However, the nails have only chipped when I've been working so if I weren't working they would probably still be fine.


Overall I like the colour, and I like how it finishes as a semi-matte. The brush is a decent medium size and the polish dries really quickly which is certainly a positive for me. I am one of those people who get too impatient when waiting for their nails to dry and end up doing something just for the nails to get smudged! 


What are on your nails right now? Let me know!

Nails | BarryM Aquarium 'Pacific'

Hey guys!

Here are my current nails. I absolutely love the colour! It is from the Barry M Aquarium collection in Pacific and I got it as one of my birthday presents from my friends. 

The colour is a stunning petrol blue colour which is super shiny with a hint of seaweed green. Perfect for the theme!

I  particularly like the brush on the nail polish because it is thin so you can do your nails easily without getting any polish on the skin surrounding it. The packaging is also beautiful with a gold lid and scales on. It reminds me of a mermaid!                         

As for the polish, it has great wear time. I have had the polish on for 3 days so far and it hasn't even chipped! I love long lasting nail colour as it means I don't have to fill in the chips every night wasting time which I have to do with a lot of nail polish.

Overall I love this nail colour, the packaging and the wear. I couldn't ask for anything more and I will definitely consider the rest of the collection. You can get it for £3.99 which is an a fantastic price.

Have you used any of the Barry M Aquarium Collection? Let me know!

Nails | Max Factor Glossfinity 'Burgundy Crush'

Hey!

I haven't done a nail post in a while! Usually I enjoy doing nail art on my nails but this week I didn't have time so I thought I would use a nail polish that I haven't used yet. 

This is the Max Factor Glossfinity in shade 'Burgundy Crush' and it claims to be high gloss. I got it for Christmas in a set of make up for Max Factor and this was the first Max Factor nail polish I have ever tried.

Eh, I have mixed reviews on this one. To begin positively, it does exactly what it says on the bottle. It is the most high shine, glossy nail polish I have ever used to the point wear I can see my reflection on my nails! In addition I love the colour as it looks different in various lights. Sometimes it looks red, sometimes reddy brown and sometimes purple.

The downfall? It chips like no other nail polish I have ever tried. I applied it Sunday night with a top coat I always trust and it chipped a little bit that night. In just under 24 hours pretty much every single nail had chipped quite a lot and it looked like I had the nail polish on for a week! I filled in the chips on Tuesday night and by Wednesday morning the entirety of nail polish on my index finger was gone with chips on other nails and by night time they were all, once again, chipped to some extent.

I have never used a nail polish that chips so easily and quickly! I usually like to make my nail polish last two weeks before I take it off but I am not sure I can even make this last a week. I know it doesn't claim to be long lasting but it has got to have some sort of standard! Plus I guess it says 'glossy nails for up to 7 days' so it is sort of implying it is going to last a week. I am super disappointed as I really liked the colour and probably won't buy a Max Factor nail polish ever.

Have you had a similar problem with Max Factor nail polish? Let me know!

Nail Art | Cats

Hey!


As I sat and wondered what to do for my next nail design my boyfriend suggested to me that I should do cats jokingly. But I thought, actually- challenge accepted! I am a total cat lover so this is perfect for me.

First I painted my nails with a base coat. I then painted the the tips of my nails in a strip of black. Then, using a black striper I had drawn half a circle on top of the stripe and coloured it in for the head. Still using the striper I then filled in two triangles on the head for ears. I allowed all this to dry.

Next I used a white striper to fill in two small eyes. I heard you can also use a toothpick for this but for some reason I always struggle with toothpicks. The white is so you can make the green eyes pop against the black. I then got a neon green nail polish and used a thin paintbrush to go over the white. I allowed this to dry.

Last but not least I used the black striper to draw lines down the eyes for the pupils that look like slits.

I recommend using a very good top coat for this design as you don't want your new design that you've put hard work into to chip within one day! However I'd definitely leave it a while before applying a top coat otherwise you're bound to streak the design and ruin it. I did my nails before I went to bed and then applied a top coat after I woke up.

As for my thumb, I had some sticker letters I wanted to try out so I decided to have 'Meow' across my thumb which is optional. I topped this off by painting the tip of my nail black which I also did on my left hand as there was no way I could paint cats with my non-writing hand!

What do you think? I got this idea from CutePolish on YouTube so be sure to check her out!

PS- Have you seen the film How To Train Your Dragon? If so, don't you think my cats look like Toothless?!

Essie Nail Polish: Mint Candy Apple & Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo

 Hey!

I am a massive nail polish fan with over a 100 polishes so it is pretty surprising I didn't own any Essie ones! But at Christmas I received 6 different shades and mint candy apply and jiggle hi jiggle lo were two of these. 

Mint Candy Apple is a beautiful cold blue with a hint of turquoise that I have had my eye on for a while. It has always reminded me of Elsa from Frozen! Jiggle Hi Jiggle Lo on the otherhand is one from Essie's Winter Collection and is a beautiful sparkly silver that reminds me of melted metal.

I really like Essie nail polishes. They glide on well and seem to be the most long-lasting nail polish I have come across. These polishes seem to chip less than other ones I use.

I also like these two colours together. I imagine it as matching Elsa's dress in her Let It Go number haha! But that's just me. 

What do you think of Essie nail polishes? Let me know!

Seventeen Nail Clash Collection

Hey all!

This nail art kit was bought for me by my auntie and uncle for Christmas and I thought you guys might like to see what it looks like on the inside and what I think about it. It is like a book and you pull the front open to be greeted by the contents. 

On the left side, Seventeen provide different nail art ideas for you try out which I think is quite nice for people who are nail art beginners.

So here are the contents:

These are the 5 nail polishes included inside. One is a silver which I love, a dark glittery blue which I also like, a nice burgundy red, a lighter red and a pale baby pink. I don't like pink nail polish so I will probably give that one away but other than that I would use any of the other polishes. I've never used a nail polish from Seventeen so I cannot tell you if they're good or not.

Here are the nail art stickers. These are great for those who aren't too handy at drawing nail art or those in a rush to do their nails. Although I like the top sheet, I am not particularly fond of the bottom sheet and don't see me using them especially the random '@'s and '#'. I think these are more aimed at a younger audience.

Here are a pot of stars which I think look really nice and I look forward to trying these out!

There are also two nail art pens: a black and a white one. I like nail art pens as they either allow you to use a striper for thin lines or you can take the top off to find another contraption which makes dots. This is a great addition to the kit and again nice for beginners.

I don't normally use glitter pots for nail art unless it is a glitter nail polish so I am not sure if I will use this glitter however I think it is a nice idea. It allows you to put nail glitter on evenly and without too much mess as it has a special nozzle.

To conclude, I think this nail art kit is a good idea but personally not so much for me. I think it would be great for an audience of young 12-15 year old girls who are beginners in nail art and want to put hashtags etc on their nails. Despite this it was nice of my auntie and uncle to buy it for me and I will make use of some of it.

What do you think? Let me know!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Candy Canes and Sparkles Nail Art

Hey guys!

Today I FINALLY painted my Christmas nails! I have decided to go with candy cane nails with a blue glittery accent nail on both ring fingers. Want to know how I done it? Read on!

You will need:

• Light blue nail polish
• White nail polish
• Red nail polish
• A striper
• Glitter nail polish
• Top/Base coat

1. Paint your nails with a base coat and let them dry fully.

2. Paint all nails but your ring finger nails white. They may need more than one coat to create a solid colour. Leave them to dry.

3. Paint your ring finger nails with the light blue nail polish and let that dry.

4. Once your ring finger nails have dried, paint a coat of the glitter nail polish on both of them and leave that to dry.

5. Coat the striper in the red polish. Begin to draw diagonal stripes across your nails. I think doing 3 red stripes on each nail looks super effective. Also, try to make each red line similar in thickness. Leave them to dry.

6. Paint a top coat on to your ring fingers like normal. When it comes to putting on a top coat for your candy cane nails, do them following the diagonal lines as opposed to just straight down like you normally would. Do all the white stripes first and then all the red ones. This is because if you do it like you normally would you will smudge the colours together and ruin the design!


There you have it! Alternatively, you can try cutting tape into thin stripes and using them on your nails to create the perfect stripes. I tried this but it didn't work well with the white nail polish I was using and just pulled it all off!

What are on your Christmas nails? Let me know if you recreate this!

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Christmas Nail Art Inspirations

 Hey,

As you guys should know by now, I'm a big fan of nail art. But none of my own nail art come without inspiration! I take the majority of my inspiration from Instagram, so I have compiled for you 5 of my favourite Christmas nail art inspirations from Instagram.

1. CutePolish (Insa: @cutepolish Youtube: CutePolish): She is the Queen of nail art on YouTube and has inspired so many of my designs. She is definitely one to check out. She always does these fantastic Christmas nail art guides every year!

2. Insta: @Sherrinessparklies: This design is flawless, artistic and sophisticated. It is a beautiful design, my favourite part being the snowflakes, that would go well with a Christmas dress to a Christmas do.

3. Insta: @BonitaJuanita2: These are too cute! These Christmasy polka dot tips would be super easy to do and very effective. 

4. Insta: @Kristyhomolya: I always love it when a nail artist creates these nail wheels so you can see various designs. Each and every one of these designs are beautiful and you could even merge one or two of them together in to one design! A definite artist.

5. Insta: @Nailsbytinav: I don't know about you, but this design reminds me of a traditional Christmas jumper! The reindeer are just too cute!

What do you think?

#BigBlogmasProject2014 | Christmas Tree Nail Art!

Hello!

Last year these were my nails for Christmas. I'll show you how to do them!

>You Will Need:

• Silver nail polish
• Yellow nail polish
• Red nail polish
• A dotting tool/tooth pick/small paintbrush
• Base coat/top coat
• A striper

1. Paint your nails using a base coat to make a nice base for your Christmas design.
2. Paint your nails silver. You may need to paint more than one coat to make it a nice solid colour. Let them fully dry.
3. Using your green polish, paint a triangle shape with the base of the tree at the end of your nail. You can try doing this just with the brush, or use a striper to help you. Let it fully dry.
4. Either using a silver striper, a thin brush or a toothpick, draw zigzag lines across the tree like tinsel and let them dry.
5. Using the round end of a paintbrush or a toothpick, dot various red circles along the silver tinsel to look like baubles.
6. Using the round end of a paintbrush or toothpick, dot a yellow dot at the top point of the tree to look like a star. Alternatively you could but a little gem here.
7. After your design is completely dry and won't smudge, add a high-shine top coat to protect your design.

And that's it! What will you be doing on your nails this Christmas?

Let me know!

Halloween Nails: Spiderwebs

Hello!

Here is another Halloween nail art idea for you: Spiderwebs!
To check out my other Halloween nail art blog post (dripping blood), click here.

What you will need:

• A black striper/Toothpick with black nail varnish on/Black nail art pen. I used the Barry M black nail art pen.

1. Start in the corner of the top of your nail. You need to draw an inner shape first. This kind of looks like a circle but has three points to it, kind of like this: /-\ but with the '-' along the top and the same length as the other sides. Perhaps google images of cartoon spiderwebs for inspiration.

2. Draw another one slightly bigger above it with a slight width in between. Repeat this with an even bigger one above those two with the same width in between. Make sure the sharp points go above one another in the same line so you would be able to draw a straight line through them.

3. From the middle of the smallest /-\ draw a straight line that goes up through the middle of the web and out. 

4. Similarly, start a line from underneath the first /-\ but underneath one of the points. Draw a straight line that goes up through all of the points in line with the bottom one and out. Repeat this for the other point on the opposite side.

5. Optional: You could draw some spiders! Draw a straight line down one of your nails that finishes just before the midde of your nail. Then, make a black spot at the end of it for the spider's body.Add four small lines on either side for legs!

And that's it! It sounds really complicated when written down but if you have a look at my nails and perhaps some cartoon cobwebs you'll understand what I mean. I only used a base coat underneath the spiderwebs as I wanted them to show on my natural nail but you could do a white base coat first and then the black spider webs!

What is going to be on your nails for Halloween? Let me know!