Nails for the weekend ♥

Heylooo, hope everyone is well, and the horrible rain and floods haven't affected you too much. Depressing isn't it? We were meant to be going on holiday this Wednesday, but unfortunately we have had to cancel due to work being busy etc, so it's moved to September now. I bet it's gonna be so worth the wait!

So tonight we are going to see Marina and the Diamonds for the third time! I am super excited and I've seen she has been coming out after the gigs have ended so we are going to hang around and aim to meet her! I'd love to get her autograph on me somewhere, and may have it tattooed! Sad? Maybe, but I like to think of tattoos as building a story of your life. I think Kat Von D said it once, and it's a mantra I like to stick to so maybe I could justify it! I don't know, might not happen yet. Anywho.

I have done my nails for the weekend now, and they are actually pretty rubbish but I haven't got any nail polish remover with me so I can't redo it, oh well. I have a lilac on the nails, which took two coats (see products in last picture), and then drew a diamond with a black nail art pen, filled it in with glitter and then drew the diamond lines in. Bit of a fail, but it can just be worked out as a little diamond! Also I drew a little heart on my thumbnail as Marina always has a heart on her face, which I shall also be doing!

I don't think nail art is particularly my forte! It's the effort that counts though, isn't it?

Here are the products used. Ciate Nail Varnish in Purple Sherbet, which I absolutely love! OPI Glitter polish in Servin' Up Sparkle, and Models Own Nail art pen in Black. The Ciate Polish was free in Marie Claire and the consistency, drying time and finish are all brilliant, and I definitely think I'll be purchasing more Ciate polishes in the future!

Right, I better go and pick up 200 false nails that have just fell out their box into my handbag. Major fail. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Ciao for now XxX

Nails for the weekend ♥

Bonjour Mes Amis! It's Fridayyyy! Wahooo! The Jubilee is fast approaching, and I must admit I am feeling rather patriotic with all the Union Jacks everywhere. Despite the current status of our country, we are lucky to be able to celebrate something like this to bring everyone together. Anyway, my nails today couldn't be any less patriotic, but they will be changed in time for the Jubilee party I am going to!

I fancied a change, and something funky for the weekend so I decided to go for a blue leopard print.

The products I used were:

Primark's own brand sky blue colour - available in a pack of four pastel shades.

China Glaze Liquid Crystal.

Models Own Black Nail art pen.

I've never done any nail art before, only regular painting so I thought I'd give it a go!

I used two coats of the blue Primark polish which is quick drying, but does start to gloop up in the bottle with the lid off for a bit, so be wary of that if you have it. Then I used the pen tip of the nail art pen to create the 'leopard' black lines. Make sure these are dry before continuing. I then got an eyeliner brush and dipped it in the Liquid Crystal polish to fill in the gaps, when this was dry I just went over the glitter that had gone over the black lines with the nail art pen. Finish with your favourite clear top coat, or leave bare for textured glitter.

Please excuse bitten fingers! Terrible habit!

I'm quite pleased at how this looks for my first attempt! Will have to get practising to perfect this and do some different designs. What's your manicure for the weekend or Jubilee?

Have a great one! Ciao for now XxX

Beauty UK Birmingham NEC 2012 ♥

Howdy! Hope you are all well! As you may or may not know, I took a little venture to the NEC in Birmingham this weekend to the Beauty UK show. I had been once before a few years ago, but never really knew much of what I was on about then. Now I am so into make up and beauty, that I was unbelievably excited to go, and see what they had to offer.

Beauty UK is a trade only show, but if you register and put down what you do, it enables you free ticket entry into the show OR you can go on the day and pay ten pounds. I don't think they are too fussed about whether you have a company or not - at the end of the day they want to sell their products. It is more targeted at salons, and spas, but there are a few goodies for the general public like me! This year we found it was very much nail art based, as opposed to make up, which is OK because I am getting more and more into nail colours and I wanted to get me some O.P.I! And so I did.

These are the nail varnishes I picked up which are:

* Liquid Crystal - China Glaze *I'm not Lion - China Glaze * Servin' Up Sparkle - OPI * Significant Other Colour - OPI * Sure Shot - Essie

I LOVE all of these colours, and after I saw Louise's video on Sprinkle of Glitter with the Essie polish on it, I instantly loved it and so it was sold to moi! I think my fave out of all of them has to be Significant Other Colour which is the lilac duotone from OPI, it is stunning!

Significant Other Colour on the nails, with Servin' Up Sparkle on the accent nail. Sorry about the little claw thing going on here, dunno what that is all about! But hey ho, you get the idea!

I was also pretty excited for NYX too, as you can't get many of their products easily here in the UK so I made sure I got some! You can order online HERE but I hate paying for shipping because it just annoys me!

Firstly there are two Striper Polishes which aren't NYX but I just happened to photograph it all together. They are from a brand called Stripe Rite and they are the really thin brushes for nail art detail, and I got those in a Purple glitter and a gold, those were 99p!

For the NYX products then, I got 4 of the jumbo eye pencils in 'Cottage Cheese' (what a name, urgh!), 'Purple', 'Pacific' and 'Peacock'. I've never used any NYX products before so I will be sure to review them on a Thursday Thoughties post soon! Then there is the Matte Lipstick in 'Shocking Pink', a roll on shimmer in 'Purple', a lipgloss in 'Dolly Pink', Glitter powder in 'Luxurious Lavender', Cream blush in 'Hot Pink' and a Concealer in a jar in 'Light'. Phewwww take a breath! 

Check out the coolio China Glaze bag too! Although it is a more nail orientated show, I really do recommend trying to get tickets because it is free, and is a nice day out - maybe not for your purse though, certainly not for mine!

Lastly, just a few pieces from Peggy Sage. I had not heard of this brand before, but a lot of people were at it so I thought I might as well try a few bits. I got a new lip brush and a new liner brush as I was in need of those, a black eyeliner and a bright pink lip liner to go with the NYX lippy that I purchased. Then my friend Sarah who I was with spotted these gorgeous nail stickers with the Eiffel tower on! I'm mad about anything Eiffel tower, so these are perfect! She's a good'un! 

Finally, this is the make up I wore for the day! I'm not going to go into too much detail because I think I have bored you for long enough! But if you would like a post on what I used and how to do it, just let me know!

I also documented the day by video, so click play if you want to see more. It is super shaky so sorry about that, but maybe better than nout!

Did any of you go to Beauty UK? Or would you fancy going next year? Tell me your thoughts!

Ciao for now XxX

Happy valentines day ♥

Hello guys, blimey it has been ages since I have posted. Sorry to those who read, I have just been super busy! One of our friends has just had a baby, so here I am with baby Jak! We are Aunty Tilly and Uncle Ed. Jak is so cute I absolutely adore him! He has the softest skin ever and when Ed held him he opened his little eyes!

Scrunchy up face for Aunty Tilly hehehe :)

Open eyes for Uncle Ed :) xxx

So it's valentines day today! I have been looking forward to it for ages as we are going to a restaurant that we have been to once before that we really liked. It's pretty swanky, and I'm feeling a little like whatever I wear I will be underdressed, but you know what, I just want us to enjoy ourselves so it isn't the biggest deal what I look like I suppose! The restaurant is called Simpsons in Edgbaston, Birmingham. If you want to check out their website click HERE . We are having a ten course taster menu! I am so excited! Posh Nosh! =D

This is what Ed drew in my card <3 aww so cute. We got engaged up the Eiffel tower - if I haven't already mentioned it a million times - so he drew one for me! I got him a card with an Eiffel on the front, but me being an idiot didn't pick an envelope up with it! Nevermind, it's the words that count, can't help being a bit useless!

I have done my nails ready for tonight, here is the finished result!

This is the kit I used to create them. Boot's 200 nails kit and Primark Beauty nail varnish - believe it or not! The Boots nail kit is a definite essential. Rather than paying £25 - £30 a pop to have your nails professionally done with acrylics or gels, for £8.50 these are just as good. They last as long as you are careful with them, and the glue for them is great. I have done two sets out of them so far and both have been a success! I also prefer these because you can change the colours (don't forget to use an acetone free nail varnish remover so the nails don't dissolve!) and they don't damage your real nail underneath. 

I begin by selecting the correct sizes, and  laying them out to make it easier for application. I then file the tips, and all the top surfaces of my own nails, to give a rougher surface so the nail applies with a little more security.  Begin by applying a small amount of nail glue, and spread it around with the tip of the bottle to cover all the surface of the nail. Take the false nail, and starting with the round tipped bottom of it, push onto natural nail, laying flat from the base upwards. To set, hold down the nail very tightly with finger and thumb to compress any air bubbles. Continue for all nails, and let them dry.

Take the nail varnish of your choice. As I said, I have used Primark Beauty's new range of nail paints, which are actually brilliant for £2 for a pack of 4. I think they have 4 sets at the moment, which I have all of them because they are too much of a bargain to miss out on. So, these are the metallic colours. I used the shimmery gold (second from right), and the gold holographic top coat (far left). I used two coats of the gold, although you could probably get away with only one! They dry nice and quickly too, so not much waiting around. The holographic polish spreads the glitter quite well, and I have only used 1 coat, but you can add more if you wish. I haven't put a topcoat over that, because I wanted the textured effect. And there you go! Cheap, but greatly effective nails for valentines!

Thought I would just put on the roses I got sent to work! They are totally gorgeous and covered in glitter! He's an old smoothie hehehe <3

So I hope everyone has a great rest of valentines day, and if it's not your thing, get some choccy down your neck! Have a good'un!

Ciao for now! xXx