12 Days of Christmas Nails: Day 1

It's December! My countdown to Christmas has officially started and I'll be documenting it on my nails (of course!). It's my plan to post 12 Holiday themed manicures before Santa pays a visit . Apologies in advance if I don't manage to post 12 but I'll try my best!

I used A-England Galahad* as a base and sponged on Barry M Blue Glitter from the tips. I stamped the snowflake from Bundle Monster plate BM14 and finished it with a rhinestone and a top coat of NYC.

Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue

Good evening, Dear Reader!

I changed polish tonight to Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue from their latest collection, which are duochromes.  Purple Blue isn't particularly impressive in the bottle, but it's a lot cooler applied.  Rather than the usual color shifting duochrome pigment, Purple Blue has a bunch of purple and blue shimmery pigment throughout, so both colors are pretty consistently reflected.  I think it works out well.

For the manicure, I used three coats of color and finished it off with Essie Good to Go.  The soak-of gel base I've had for seven days is starting to have a bit of lifting on one nail (still impressive after five color changes with acetone-based remover used), and Essie Super Bossa Nova wore very well on it  for three days with no chips or tip wear at all.  I liked the gel, so when I remove the worn application, I'll put on a new one.  Anyhow, back to Beetle Juice Purple Blue, after it dried I took pictures under artificial light.

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue Nail Polish, Three Coats

Here are a couple of closer looks at the shimmer, where you can get a better look and the purple and blue shimmery bits.

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue Nail Polish, Closer Look at Shimmer

Models Own Beetle Juice Purple Blue Nail Polish, Even Closer Look at Shimmer

It's not quite what I'd expected, but the name is accurate and it definitely shows two distinct colors at the same time.

That's the next Models Own Beetle Juice and all I have for you today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Zoya Kristen

Good morning, Dear Reader!

Today brings another installment in the Zoya Feel Collection series with Kristen, the light blue creme in the collection.  Zoya describes Kristen as " gull gray cream," and it's definitely a very grey blue, maybe halfway between grey and blue.  The overall impression I get from it is still blue though, and relative to Carey, the grey I showed you yesterday, it's much more blue.

Like the others in this collection, Kristen was super easy to apply and control and exceptionally well pigmented without sacrificing shine.  I used two very thin coats of color between base and top coat, and one coat of color was almost sufficient.  I applied it last night and took pictures under a cloudy sky this morning, so the manicure was completely dry for the picture.

Zoya Kristen Nail Polish, Two Coats

You can see the color of Kristen falls into the "kinda grey, kinda blue" category, and also that its shine is really outstanding.  For me, Kristen is far more appealing than a plain grey (even though I'm a big fan of greys) just because the blue in it makes it more interesting to look at.

That's Zoya Kristen and Part Four of a look at the Zoya Feel Collection.  Until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!

All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

This product was sent by the manufacturer for review.

A-England Tristam Swatch

Two coats of A-England Tristam* with a top coat of NYC Expert Last.

Swatched under sunlight.

Under artificial light

You can buy The Mythicals Collection from a-england.co.uk with free worldwide shipping.

A-England on Twitter
A-England on Facebook

Review coming tomorrow!


Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

A-England Galahad Swatch

Two coats of A-England Galahad* with a top coat of NYC Expert Last.

You can buy The Mythicals Collection from a-england.co.uk with free worldwide shipping.

A-England on Twitter

A-England on Facebook

Review coming tomorrow!

Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

What Did I Do?

I realise that using song titles/lyrics is oh so very unoriginal but I'm really struggling to come up with interesting post titles!

I had an overwhelming urge to use this poptastic colour combination today and I wanted something simple and sophisticated. This stamping design just never gets old and I always get compliments about it so it's a winner in my book.

Stamping Plate: Bundle Monster BM209

Base Colour: Primark - Yes Cyan!

Stamp Colour: Barry M Gold Foil

Top Coat of NYC

I made a few nail sets based on the Michael Kors studded design this week and Esther from Fab Fingertips was my first customer! She did a quick post on them today which you can see here. If you like what you see, send me an email and you can have your very own custom set, I take requests so anything you've seen here on the blog can be made in to a bespoke set just for you (see my shop for more details)

Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Day 31: Recreate Your Favourite Challenge (Double Feature)

Today, the 31 Day Challenge comes to an end for Me, Rie and Cris. There's been some ups and downs but I've loved the whole experience. It will be nice to go back to posting whatever I want when I want but I'm slightly afraid that I've forgotten how to create manicures without a list to follow!

Cris, Rie and I were discussing what 'Recreate Your Favourite Challenge' actually means and in the end we just decided to recreate our favourite challenge from each others' previous 30 days.

  

It's a long post so you can see more after the jump...

From Rie's challenge, I wanted to recreate her 'Inspired by Fashion' nails. She was inspired by some incredible Alexander McQueen shoes. To see and Rie's mani and the shoes that inspired it, click here.

I love Rie's mani because it translate the shoe perfectly on to her nails. The finished look is so simple and elegant which is everything I look for in a manicure.

I used E.L.F Innocence as a base and I don't have the same Konad plate she used so I went for a design from one of my fauxnad plates which I stamped with Barry M Grey first, then Barry M Silver Foil. I sponged on a little silver glitter and added a top coat of NYC, et voila!

From Cris, I decided on her Flower nails from Day 14. She used a combination of stamping, freehand and dotting to create a beautiful vibrant manicure. Click here to see her mani.

I love Cris's flower mani because every time I look at it I can't help but feel a little warmer inside. It gives me a much needed reminder of summer now that the winter is kicking in. 

I used A-England Galahad as a base and Wet n Wild white for stamping with BM12. For the detail on the flowers, I used Collection 2000 Spangles and Rimmel Funky Diva. The Rhinestones are from Viva La Nails, and of course I used NYC Top Coat to finish it all off.

Don't forget to head over to Cristina and Rie's blogs to see four more manicures today! I really cannot wait to see them!

Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Day 29: Inspired by The Supernatural

Today's nails are kind of boring. I really couldn't think of anything supernatural except for ghosts so that's what we're getting today! It's funny that I never used this stamp before Halloween and now I've used it twice in one week!

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's supernatural nails today!



The base colour is W7 Metallic Neptune and I used Sally Hansen Whirlwind White to stamp the ghost from Bundle Monster plate BM223. Then, of course, I added a top coat of NYC.





Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

I'm running out of steam this week so I decided to go simple for today's challenge and take inspiration from my favourite Konad pattern from M64.

Cristina and Rie have created some lovely pattern inspired nails today.





Konad Plate: M64
Base Colour: Primark - Yes Cyan!
Konad Colour: W7 - Black
Top Coat of NYC



Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Day 18: Half Moons

Sorry today's post is a little later than usual, it's been a very busy and fun few days for me. 

I'm loving this blue/green polish that I picked up in the pharmacy for 99p! It's one of those shades that's stuck right between blue and green so it's been a hot topic of debate today. What do you think?

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's half-moons too!

Rimmel Purple Reign

Kriston 52

Gosh Metallic Blue

Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Zoya Gems and Jewels Swatches

Good evening, Dear Reader!

What I have on tap for you tonight is swatches of Zoya's Holiday 2011 release, the Gems and Jewels Collection, which Zoya sent for review.  It's six polishes total, three shimmers and three glitters (which they call "glitter glazes"), and although Zoya suggests various layering options, I figured I'd show you swatches of each of the six at two coats so you have an idea of what each looks like before getting into any layering.  I used artificial light for today's pictures because there's no sunlight, which is never my favorite but sometimes shows glitters a little better by not washing them out.

I'll start with glitters, and with generalities about all three in the collection.  They're all a clear base with colored glitter of two types, powdery-fine regular glitter and particularly small bar (stringy) glitter.  I'm really picky about bar glitter, and this is a good one because it is so small - there are no giant stringy bits anywhere.  All three provided good coverage at two coats, and with glitters like this I use slow brush strokes on the first coat to avoid essentially wiping off all the glitter as I go.  Since these are swatches and I have not worn any as a full manicure, I don't know how much top coat they'll need, but it doesn't seem like it would be a lot with how fine the glitter is.  The dry time looks promising as well, and I'll let you know for sure when I wear them.

Kissy might be my favorite of all here.  It's a kind of fuchsia bright pink glitter with holo-y bar glitter.

Zoya Kissy Nail Polish, Two Coats

Twila is a striking vivid blue glitter with matching bar glitter.

Zoya Twila Nail Polish, Two Coats

Rina is a bright evergreen glitter with matching-but-reflective bar glitter.

Zoya Rina Nail Polish, Two Coats

I think these are great holiday glitters - they bring to mind throwing glitter and streamers at a party.  I don't think they'll be of the sandblaster removal variety either, because of how fine the glitter is - I find that the size of glitter tends to make a pretty big difference in how tough it is to take off, but again, I'll confirm that after I wear one for real.

That brings us to the three shimmers, which are also quite good.  All three were completely opaque and even in two coats, were super easy to apply, and they're full of the kind of shimmer I expect Zoyas to have, where it's strong but not too out there.

Noel is a good kind of silvery blue.

Zoya Noel Nail Polish, Two Coats

Holly is the epitome of a holiday green.

Zoya Holly Nail Polish, Two Coats

Izzy is a hot pink glowy shimmer.  I'm kind of hoping bright pink takes off as a permanent holiday color (in general, not just for nail polish!).

Zoya Izzy Nail Polish, Two Coats

I really like each one of these quite a bit individually, and all together I think they make a very cool holiday collection.  If there's only one in your budget, my vote goes for Kissy - it's a New Year's Eve party in a bottle!

Those are my Zoya Gems and Jewels swatches and all I have for you today, so until next time, Dear Reader, love and nail polish to you!



All Rights Reserved, Siobhan@The Nailphile. If you're reading this elsewhere, it's stolen from a real nail polish blog.

Day 17: Glitter

So today we come to Glitter manicures. Glitter and I have a strained relationship. I go through phases of loving it and at other times I just detest the stuff and get the urge to throw away every polish I own that contains glitter! The main reason for the hatred is the hassle it takes to remove it. I always use the foil method for removal these days to minimise any stress!

Don't forget to check out Cristina and Rie's glittery nails too!

Barry M Blue Glitter

BYS Gold Finger sponged from the tips down

Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr

Day 16: Tribal Print

I've been dreading this day for a while. I love tribal nail art but had no idea how to come up with a decent design myself, however, once I forced myself to sit down and actually do it, the ideas just kept coming and I am completely in love with this design!

The black detail is all created with acrylic paint which has allowed me to get the crisp lines that I know I couldn't have achieved by using black nail polish. At the moment I only have black and white acrylic paint but I think I'm going to have to look out for some more cheap pots in a better range of colours.

You should go and see what Rie and Cristina came up with today too!



Base colour: MUA Shade 23
Black acrylic paint
Barry M Cyan Blue
Barry M Limited Edition Red for Buzz
Top Coat of NYC






Twitter ♥ Bloglovin' ♥ Tumblr