NOTD #8 | Winter Tale |

Just as I jump feet first back into blogging I come back home and realise I left my camera at Uni. Fail! This won't stop me though so for this week the photos I upload will be taken on my phone. I know, not the best quality but it will do for now.

No7 'Winter Tale' is what I have on my nails today and it's actually quite a hard colour to describe. I would say it's a muted purple, grey, blue colour and that is one thing I love about some of the No7 nail varnishes, they are so original! Seeing as it's meant to snow in England tonight I think it's a very apt nail colour and I love it.

I find the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colours to last for 5-7 days with a good top coat which is what I would expect for paying £6. Also, I normally get them when there is a 3 for 2 on No7 in Boots which is quite often. They dry fairly quickly and appear glossy when dried so I have nothing really bad to say about them.

Off I go now to sit by the fire and hope for snow tonight!

NOTD #7: Jazzed Pink

I love painting my nails. I find it almost therapeutic and relaxing to take half an hour once or twice a week to give myself a mini manicure. For a base coat I always use the O.P.I. Nail Envy and at the moment I am also using it as a top coat as I am on the hunt for a good and inexpensive replacement. Any suggestions will be hugely appreciated!

For a base I applied the No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in the shade Pinky Pure. This takes three thin coats to achieve an opaque colour which isn't ideal but it gives a really chic, manicured feel. To jazz it up a bit I decided to layer two coats of the Miss Sporty Sparkle Touch Nail Varnish which has multicoloured glitter particles mixed in and goes with literally any polish. I love this combination which lasts on the nails for around seven days due to the glitter top coat which helps to prevent chips more than one without glitter. The only thing I dread about glitter nails is the painfully long process of taking it off once it starts to chip! Someone really needs to invent something that makes it less taxing :P

You can purchase the pink nail colour here and the glitter polish here. Hope you enjoyed this quick nails post! :)

Hayley xxx

Nail Tutorial: Scalloped Nails

I am in no way a professional here however I do like nail polish and every so often I dabble in nail art only to be defeated by shaky hands and impatients. However, I thought I would share this scalloped inspired nail tutorial as it is so easy but effective at the same time. It has people going 'ohhhh how did you do that?!'

Firstly, apply a base coat. This is not essential if you only paint your nails a few times a year for special occasions however it is for someone like me to prevent staining. I have the O.P.I. Nail Envy which also helps to strengthen the nails. You then need to pick three other colours that have a high opacity and complement each other. All my nail colours didn't have any shimmer or glitter to them which I think makes the overall look more effective. My base colour was Ciate's paint pot in Bon Bon and my other colours were both  Maxfactor mini nail polishes in Soft Toffee and Cool Jade.

Apply your chosen nail colour to your nails until you reach an opaque finish, I chose a muted/dusky lilac colour and applied two coats before letting it dry fully.

Then, taking your second colour get your brush with a lot of product on the end and 'blob' it near the base of the nail to create the circular scallop and drag your brush up towards the tip. A thin circular brush is perfect for this (I normally hate these brushes) however if you have any fat and flat brushes just turn them 90 degrees to the thinnest part to apply the polish. Repeat this step going closer and closer to the tip every time to create the scalloped effect. This took four stages on each of my nails but may take more or less depending on how wide your nails are or how thick you want the scallops. 

Repeat the above steps with your third chosen colour, I chose a soft jade just for a bit more vibrancy but as it was still muted I felt it tied in well with the other colours. Apply your top coat and you're done :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and be sure to try it because it is so quick to do. Please do send me any pics of your attempt via twitter.

Hayley xxx

NOTD #5: Jubilee Nails

For the Queens Diamond Jubilee I decided to join in with the festive spirit in the best way I know how... Nail polish! I didn't do a full Union Jack on my accent nail because it was just too fiddly and I thought it turned out pretty well for my first attempt at nail art. I used my favourite red (No7 Ruby Charm, Limited Edition) over the majority of my nails then painted both my ring fingers with a Collection 2000 Hot Looks nail polish in 13 Vogue for the royal blue. The only white I had was old and gloopy so I used a grey which worked fine (No7 Tip Toes, Limited Edition). For the red in the center of the flag I poured a tiny amount of polish out and used a toothpick which worked well, a nail art pen would have made a smoother line however I kind of like the effect it gave.

I hope you like my festive nails and try it out for yourself :)

Hayley xxx

Nails of the Day #4

There was lots of talk on these little nail polishes in the beauty world, especially the colours 'Fantasy Fire' and 'Graffiti'. I went into Superdrug and there was three for two on everything (seem familiar? ;) so I decided to buy two of their shades which included 'Soft Toffee' which is pictured above. Fantasy Fire was a beautiful duo chrome purple/blue which I was going to get but I though that I wouldn't wear it so much in the summer compared to this. As the name suggests it is the perfect creamy brown nude and I have been loving it on my nails recently. It takes two applications for an opaque colour and dries really fast which is something I always look for. The one downside is the brush as it's quite thin but it's nothing I can't work with for such a nice subtle and classy colour.

Recently, I have loved painting my nails as it is a therapeutic break from revision. Are there any other colours from the collection you can suggest? 

Hayley xxx