Cosmetic Cupcake

Some quick nail art today! This is a NOTD from last month from when I went to a friend’s wedding. As always I leave doing my nails for events until the very last minute which means I am always rushing so just went for something simple. I posted a snap of this mani on Instagram and Facebook already so you might have seen it before!


I used 2 coats of Hello Darling Cakefight (which is such an appropriately named wedding shade!) and stamped butterfly looking lace design from Moyou London Bridal collection plate 07 using Konad Special polish in black. Topped it all off with a coat of Seche Vite.

Thanks for looking!

I've been stamping my nails since about early 2011 but I've never actually done a houndstooth manicure before can you believe?! I thought it was about time to rectify that but I went with something different from the usual black and white. Please excuse my crappy photos in this post though - I really need to get my artificial lighting situation sorted so I don't have to wait for daylight to swatch and take NOTD photos.


I applied 2 coats of Models Own HyperGel Lilac Sheen on all fingers except my ring finger where I used 2 coats of NCLA Elegantly Punk. I stamped houndstooth design from Moyou London Pro plate 07 using Konad Special polish in white and then topped them off with a coat of NCLA Party Favourite.






Thanks for looking as always!

Another day another Christmas mani! This time with a little freehand nail art featuring everyone's favourite red nosed reindeer. For the snowflake nails I used 2 coats of one of my favourite blues Hello Darling Wading Pool (swatched here) and stamped full snowflake design from Moyou London Festive Collection plate 03 using Konad Special polish in white.

For the reindeers I used 2 coats of Cult Nails Tempest as my base and painted a semi circle for the reindeer head using Essie Hot Coco. I used China Glaze Ruby Pumps for the nose and Cult Nails Tempest for the eyes and Kiss nail art striper in black for the eyes, antlers and outline. Topped it all off with a coat of top coat!




Only a week and a bit left til Christmas eek! What are you wearing on your nails at the moment?

I picked up a CND Shellac lamp and trial pack when I was at the Spa & Beauty Expo a few weeks ago and I finally got the chance to try it out over the weekend. The trial pack included all prep products for a CND Shellac mani and also some of CND's best selling shades including Romantique which is a gorgeous soft pink shade. It's been a while since I've done a palette cleanser mani so I thought I would go back to basics! I was going to leave it as is but I didn't like the shade on it's own on me as it shows VNL (visible nail line!) so I decided to stamp over it. Last week in class my teacher put on this great CND Shellac paisley stamping tutorial by Sarah R so I thought I'd pull out my paisely plate and create a softer version of the mani.


I prepped my nails and applied a thin coat of CND Shellac base coat and cured for 10 seconds before applying 2 coats of Romantique curing for 2 mins on each coat. Then I removed the sticky inhibition layer on all nails with IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and stamped full paisley image from Bundle Monster plate BM-315 using Konad stamping polish in white.



I then added a coat of CND Shellac top coat and cured for another 2 mins before pressing CND Additives Glitter in Sizzling Sand over the inhibition layer of each nail with a nail art brush for some gorgeous and subtle holographic sparkle. I finished off with another coat of CND Shellac top coat cured for another 2 mins and then removed the inhibition layer with IPA. PHEW!


I absolutely love how this turned out and cannot wait to experiment more with CND Shellac! I'm a bit hooked now and I'm chuffed that my first Shellac mani turned out so well! I think with a lace design or something this would be perfect look for brides. I took the long way with this mani by applying the additives at the end but oh well trial and error.

Hope you're all having a fab start to the week! x

I forgot to post this mani from a few weeks ago oops! I wanted to use some of the Barry M Gelly polishes I picked up in London on my honeymoon and thought I'd do a somewhat geometric mani. It didn't really turn out how I wanted it to because my stamping for my accent nail was a huge fail and so are my photos but oh well. Bring on Summer and the long days of beautiful sunshine!


What I used:


Pinky and thumb: I used 2 coats of Barry M Huckleberry and added black studs in a triangular design to the middle and bottom of my nails.

Ring finger: I used 1 coat of Cult Nails Tempest and stamped triangular design from Bundle Monster BM 402 using Konad special polish in black.

Middle finger: I used 3 coats of Essie Ignite the Night (thanks to my sis for this glitter!)

Index finger: I used 2 coats of Barry M Rose Hip and added black studs in a triangular design at the top of my nail.


I find I need to stamp regularly or else I lose my skills and end up with major fails! I also need to update my stamping collection too and get some Moyou plates and also indie plates. Any recommendations?? Thanks for looking as always!

HELLOOOOOOOO everyone!! I am back home and it feels weird after being away for a month. I just want to continue honeymooning! It is nice to not live out of a suitcase but the worst thing about returning home is all the unpacking and laundry that needs to be done! URGH. We had an amazing time and I'll try to post some pics later but for now I have some of my hauls for you! We didn't really do too much shopping as we spent most of our time eating, sightseeing and doing more eating but I did buy a few polishes (of course!) and 2 big ticket items in Paris =D

Sooooooooo this manicure is inspired by my favourite Samantha Wills Bohemian Bardot ring in turquoise gunmetal. Unfortunately it was a fail so it's a VERY loosely inspired manicure! I probably should have used a lighter shade to stamp with and also because it's not really a splatter design AT ALL but once I'd started I couldn't be bothered to take it all off and do it again LOL. Oh well!


I used 2 coats of Hema Long Lasting in 81 and stamped the splatter design from Konad plate m70 using Konad Special polish in black.




It was still a fun mani to rock with my gorgeous ring but not the exact look I was after!! Thanks for looking as always!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Can you believe it's 2013 already??? OMG! I hope you all had a fabulous Xmas and NYE =) The last few weeks have been absolutely mad hence the lack of posts but I've finally got a new post for you today. I recently hauled some indie items which included a few products from Vivid Lacquer. I was excited to get my hands on the stamping plate VL 001 which has a full skull image (so I can do manis for my skull loving friends Anita and Ange!) and other cute designs too. This mani doubled as my NYE mani as I didn't get time to do my nails doh!


What I used:

Thumb: I used 2 coats of OPI Glitzerland and Konad Special polish in black to stamp.

Index: I used 2 coats of Ulta 3 Black Satin and Konad Special polish in white to stamp.


Middle finger: I used 2 coats of OPI Alpine Snow and added 2mm square gold studs down the centre.

Ring finger: I used 2 coats of Ulta 3 Black Satin and I used China Glaze Passion to stamp.

Pinky: I used 2 coats of China Glaze Midnight Kiss as my base and added 1.5mm black round studs for a studded framed nail.




I treated myself to a new DSLR and macro lens for Xmas and I'm still getting used to it so my pics will be a bit all over the shop for the time being! Bear with me lol. I hope you're all having a fantastic start to the year! Thanks for looking as always =)

I saw this fabulous NOTD on instagram last week by the super duper talented Deniz and I just had to do my own version. She is so freaking talented and I love seeing her beautiful manis! Her stamped manis especially are just amazing. I didn't feel like coral so I went with my favourite nude creme for accents. I don't know if the design really looks like filigree but hey that's what I'm going with!


I used 2 coats of Glitter Gal Serpent Black* on my index, middle and pinky. On my thumb and ring finger I used 2 coats of Bloom Toni* and stamped filigree-looking design from Bundle Monster plate BM-214 using Konad Special stamping polish in black. I then added some small black studs. I had to stamp the design twice because I messed up the 1st time!


Bloom Toni has to be my absolute favourite nude creme and it's so typical that it's a LE product and it's only a mini size!! Toni is my mannequin nails shade and I love just how elegant it is.



I hope you've all been well! Can you believe it's September already???! Only 3 months until Christmas.. scary! Thanks for looking as always =)

* Product(s) provided to me for consideration but this in no way influenced my review in any way. As always, my reviews are my 100% honest opinion. My Disclosure Policy can be viewed here.

Hi ladies! I hope you're all having a fab start to the week =) I'm currently on a spending ban so I'm happily going through my excessively large stash and using my untried polishes. I keep on choosing pretty colours sent to me by my awesome and generous blogger friends lately! I chose Beauty Line 327 for a quick splatter manicure.


I used 2 coats of 327 which is a gorgeous dusty pink creme. Beauty Line is a fantastic budget Greek brand (obviously Christina sent me this beauty!!) and the cremes are CRAZY pigmented! Seriously awesome. I then used China Glaze Admire to stamp full splatter image from Konad plate m70.


I haven't really mentioned this on here but I'm doing a hobby nail course which was my birthday gift from my sis and D. I am having a BLAST doing it and on the weekend I learnt some hand painting basics by doing flowers. OMG it was hard!! For something that looks so simple I found it quite tricky to master. But I persisted and after 4 straight hours of practice I managed to add some colourful flowers to my splatter mani x) Below is a quick pic I snapped at the end of my class!


I'm itching to play with my acrylic paints all day long instead of going to work! Thanks for looking as always =)

I don't know about you but I find it sooooooo frustrating when a mani idea doesn't work out. I often get these flashes of artistic-ness and when I go to create it it fails! I had an awesome blue and silver feather stamped manicure in mind however the feather stamping decided to fail miserably so I ended up going with leopard stamping. My first leopard mani! I'm not sure the blue and silver goes together all that well but my sis said it looked fine and she is my harshest critic haha.


I started off with 2 coats of China Glaze Up All Night which is a great navy creme with slight shimmer through it. I then layered over a coat of Seventeen 104 which is a fabulous blue flakie in a clear base that was gifted to me by Christina in the post I showed you yesterday! I then stamped full leopard image from Konad plate 57 using China Glaze Millenium.


Unfortunately because I stamped the leopard print it covered up most of the nail so you can't really see the gorgeous flakie. If you look closely at my pics you can just make out the brighter flakie pieces against the navy base!




I'm really digging the leopard print actually so expect to see some more leopard manis! I don't do leopard clothing or anything but I do love to experiment with my nails. Am I the only boring one?!!! Ha!

Thanks for looking as always!

As you may know I do love my pastels/bows/polka dots and I haven't done a "girlie" mani in AGES so I made time to do one the other night ;) Only problem is I never know what to name these types of manicures each time I do one! Any suggestions?


What I used:

Pinky: 3 coats of OPI Alpine Snow as base colour, I then stamped diagonal full image from Konad plate m65 using China Glaze Millenium.

Ring finger: 2 coats of China Glaze Light as Air and 2 coats of Lynnderella Nosegay. I saw this combo over on The Polish Well and knew I had to try my bottle out ASAP with the combo. (I DO NOT CARE FOR THE LYNNDERELLA DRAMA BTW).

Middle finger: 3 coats of OPI Alpine Snow as base, I then stamped bow image from Konad plate m59 using China Glaze Harmony and added a silver rhinestone.

Index finger: 2 coats of China Glaze Light as Air, I then stamped full polka dot image from Konad plate m79 using Konad Special polish in black

Thumb: 2 coats of Glitter Gal Serpent Black and 1 coat of Essie Luxeffects Set in Stones.




My photos are too yellow here but oh well. I just don't get enough time in to take photos in natural light especially during winter! I really should look into a lightbox but the problem is a) I have no where to put it, b) I'm lazy to make one and c) I'm too cheap to buy one haha!

Hope you like this mani =) Thanks for looking!

When I'm short on time for a mani I always go back to tried and tested colours. The other day I used an oldie but a goodie for a quick NOTD - China Glaze For Audrey and then added some stamping. I haven't done any stamping in a while!


I used 2 coats of China Glaze For Audrey and stamped designs from Konad plates m71, m76, m65 and m59 using Konad Special Polish in white and covered it all in a coat of Fairy Dust. I added a heart dazzling from the Essence nail art glitter mix in style it up! and some rhinestones to my accent finger.



I've used this polish so much the lettering on the bottle is rubbing off haha!
Thanks for looking =)

Hi ladies! Last month I received some lovely packages from 2 of my awesome blogger friends and it's about time I shared them with you! The first package was a wonderful (and very naughty!) surprise birthday package from my gorgeous British pal Aysh!! ♥


Not only did Aysh include a very sweet card and 2 packs of delicious Hotel Chocolat choccies (polished off very quickly by my family!) but yes you see right - she gifted me the amazing MAX Factor Fantasy Fire and also Meteorite!!!! *faints*


The 2nd package was from lovely Monika who sent me an awesome New Year/Chinese New Year package from sunny Singapore!


Nail polish!!!! Some fabulous polishes from Sasatinnie, Canmake, Etude House, Flormar, Disney Villians and my first Paul & Joe! Eeeeek! The Paul & Joe polish is from their Meow! collection and is sooooooo pretty. I had to use it the night I received Moni's package! I still haven't posted swatches though doh. Also a pretty purple Za lipstick and a Konad plate. It was all wrapped so nicely too =)


Moni also included some great skincare for me! The masks are too cute to use lol.


Thank you both SO MUCH for your wonderful packages =) It really brightened my month!