This Week's Nails #18 - Essence St. Patrick's Day Shatter Nails

Hey guys!

Sorry I've been AWOL again, I've been busy working on some projects. I've been getting some more time for print and unpaid work and I'm so happy! They've been loads of fun and I'm meeting lots of new people and gaining tons of experience.

I've done my nails three times this week. I got some stamping plates, so I've been messing with those. They're a bit tricky to use but I'll keep it up and be pro in no time :D I didn't photograph those manicures, they were cool to me because they were stamped but they were pitifully done!
My latest manicure is another shatter one, I can't get enough of them. I was in town recently and saw the Essence 'Oz the Great and Powerful' collection. There are five shatter colours in it! I got them all..They cost about €12 total and they're really awesome so it was well worth it! I'll do another post soon with swatches from them all so you can have a look.

I've seen some St. Patrick's Day manicure's around. Some of them are pretty cool, but most just don't appeal to me! Paddy's day isn't a big deal to me despite living in Ireland, so while I like the colour theme I'm not so fond of the leprechauns, pots of gold and flag colours. I wanted to do a themed manicure for this holiday but a more understated one, so I topped Essence's 'Walk on the Wild Side' with their 'Master of Illusion' shatter topcoat. I love the result!

'Master of Illusion' is a pretty colour. I'd call it jade green, but I've seen others call it aqua or turquoise. It is a little on the blue toned side. 'Walk on the Wild Side' is a deep green with grass green shimmer. The shimmer isn't that visible in this manicure though. Here's what I used, see you soon!

Products used:

Sally Hansen Double Duty Base/Topcoat
Essence - Walk on the Wild Side, Master of Illusion
Seche Vite Dry Fast Topcoat

This Week's Nails #17 - Delirio Rosa

Hey!

Nails again. Holographic polish, I think it's incredibly cool. What do you reckon? I picked up this pink holo polish by Jade on Llarowe last week and I love it! The only down side is the super strong smell. Luckily it goes away once it dries but god damn it was potent. Worth it though! I think the name's pretty cool too. I made a pendant with this, looks really nice :) It'll be up on my etsy shop after I get it photographed, along with a good few more. Check out some shots of this awesome polish!

Shot with ring light

Shot in natural light

Shot in natural light

Products used:

Sally Hansen Double Duty Base/Top Coat
Jade - Delirio Rosa
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

This Week's Nails #16 - Turquoise and Pink Glitter Shatter

Hey! Since I got OPI Black Shatter, I also invested in the turquoise and white versions :O
They'll be useful for making pendants as well as being super awesome on my nails! I'm still obsessed with the Nubar Sparkles polishes I got and I wanted to use another one asap. I thought I might as well combine my two latest polish favourites and see how it goes. Also, I  wanted to make the most ultra-colourful shatter manicure possible. I think the result looks really cool!

Products used:

Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base/Top Coat
Nubar Petunia Sparkles
OPI Turquoise Shatter
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Nail Art #5 - V-Day

Hey!

I've been crazy busy lately! I did makeup for a photo shoot on Sunday, it was an all day thing and I've been shattered ever since! It was a time for print job, I'm trying to get my portfolio started. I think it went well and I can't wait to see the shots when they're done, I'll definitely post some here for you all to see :)

I got some (more) new polish in the post this week :D I ordered some Nubar in Fire Sparkles, Petunia Sparkles and Violet Sparkles. They're gorgeous glitter polishes. I got them for about €8 on Beauty Bay. I also got the Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat for about €11. It's amazing :O It dries insanely fast, and gives the most beautiful shine. It gives incredible dimension to glitter polishes too. I really really needed to find this top coat. Doing my nails takes me way too long because nothing dries fast, it's a pain. I end up sat there with my hands in the freezer for ten minutes. If you're into nails and you don't have this, you need it. Trust me.
Seeing as Valentine's Day is coming I thought I'd attempt some V-Day themed nail art. I did a crap job but I tried! I hate tiny rhinestones :/ They're so fiddly! Here's what I managed anyway:

Crude Rhinestone Heart

Products used:

Sally Hansen Doubly Duty
Nubar Fire Sparkles
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat
Black rhinestones from ebay

Polish Haul and Black and Yellow Shatter Nails

Hey!

I bought so much nail polish :O Look:

Most of these were half price, and I wouldn't even feel bad if they weren't because I was on a spending ban for all of January and I rocked it :D These are the names from left to right!

Rimmel - Sunshine
Essence Cherry Blossom Girl LE - Fortune Cookie, It's Peach Not Cherry
Essence Vintage District LE - Vintage Peach, Get Arty, Antique Pink
OPI - Black Shatter
Catrice Million Styles Special Effect Topcoat - Shake it! Flake it!, Return of Space Cowboys, Have an Ice Day, Godfather of Pearl, ¿Holo Que Tal?!
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure- Ivory Skull

I got the Catrice topcoats to do some more nail polish pendants with, they're all really cool! Here are some closeups of the bottles:

Sunshine, Fortune Cookie, It's Peach Not Cherry, Vintage Peach, Get Arty, Antique Pink

Shake it! Flake it!, Return of Space Cowboys, Have an Ice Day

Godfather of Pearl, ¿Holo Que Tal?!

Black Shatter, Ivory Skull

I did a manicure using Sunshine and Black Shatter! I'm really happy with how it came out, but the bottle of Sunshine I got is pretty crappy. Applied really streaky and took 3 coats to be opaque. I couldn't have worn it alone, it didn't look good at all and I don't think topcoat would have helped much. I was planning to use Black Shatter anyway, but I would've been cranky if I wanted to wear Sunshine alone. I got a massive chip on my thumb that I expertly concealed in the photo, but I don't think that's Sunshine's fault because all my other nails are still perfect. Have a look, I promise this is the last photo. See you soon!

This Week's Nails #15 - Cotton Candy

Hello! Since I can't wear makeup until I'm better, I did my nails again. I used 'Cotton Candy' by Fearne. It's from a Fearne Cotton nail polish set that I bought after Christmas in the Boots sale. I paid €7.50 for this set, which was half price. This set is called 'Perfectly Polished. There six polishes inside, so this was a really good deal for the price I paid! There are some lovely spring and summer colours in this one. There is a set with darker polishes too, called 'Midnight Manicure'. I got that as a gift for Christmas. I used some of them to make pendants with, but I haven't applied them to my nails yet. They look gorgeous, though.

'Cotton Candy' is a pink lilac creme. The formula is thick and it gives fantastic coverage. I used two coats for this manicure but I could probably have got away with one. My application is a little messy, sorry about that!

Nail Art #4 - Rainbow Gems

Hey everyone!

Sorry there hasn't been a post for a while, I've been sick for over a week so I haven't been able to wear makeup at all. I'm on the mend now though so soon I'll be back in action :) I did some nail art recently! It's a recreation of this look I saw on preen.me. My version isn't matte, although I may try a matte version one day since I have Essie's 'Matte About You'. This manicure took me quite a while, since those tiny gems are really fiddly! I got them on ebay for a couple of dollars, they're easy to find. These are 1mm gems. I've had them for a while but haven't used them much before.

Products used:

Sally Hansen Double Duty
Essence - Black is Back

Nail Art #3 - Striped Ombre Dotticure

Hey! I spent all weekend chilling out and not wearing makeup, but while I chilled I watched some nail art videos on Youtube. Today I did a manicure that I saw on PackAPunchPolish's channel, I thought it was really cool and I had to try it out. It's pretty messy because I've only used dotting tools once and I'd never used striping tape before. I like how it came out anyway! I didn't have a creme white polish so I used a pearl white instead but I think it looks alright. Here are some photos and a product list.

Products used:

Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base & Top Coat
Essence Colour & Go Polish - Sparkling Water Lilly, Enchanted Fairy, Oh My Glitter!
Essence Nude Glam Polish - Iced Strawberry Cream
No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour - Vivid Violet

This Week's Nails #15 - Oh My Glitter!

Hey! Today was a chill out day, so I don't have a makeup look to post. I did my nails instead! The shade is 'Oh My Glitter' by Essence, it's a pretty mid-purple with pink shimmer. I used  three coats for this manicure. I think this polish is gorgeous, I hadn't worn it before today but I've had it for a while. It's easily one of my favourite purples now!

Nail Art #2 - Pink and Black Gradient Nails

More nail art! I'm still keeping it simple, I attempted pink and black gradient nails today. They came out a little weird and messy but I still think they're pretty cool. I think I need a cosmetic sponge for this one, I used the rest of the kitchen sponge I used for my galaxy nails and I think the texture is too rough or something. I painted two coats of pink and sponged some black on the nails. I saw this method on cutepolish's youtube chanel. If you haven't seen her channel before go check it out, it's awesome! I want to do this gradient effect again, only better and in different colours. It looks really nice! Here's my manicure:

Products used:

Essence - Black is Back, Ultimate Pink

Nail Art #1 - Galaxy Nails

Hey guys, today I did some nail art! I don't have much experience with nail art and I'd like to try a lot of the cool stuff I see online. I've tried using dotting tools and I've used stickers before but that's about it really! One I've been wanting to try for a long time is a galaxy nail manicure, I'm sure most people have seen this one before. It's a very awesome and popular manicure, and very easy too! These are the polishes I used:

All polishes are Essence apart from the glitter polish which is from Revlon. Here's a rundown:

• Galactic Black - Black with subtle silver shimmer.
• White Tip Painter - This is the only white I own and I've never even done a French manicure. I will though, I promise!
• Sleepy from the Snow White collection - A pale greenish blue with blue pearl.
• Let's Get Lost - My favourite bright blue and the reason I started using base coats, it stains so bad!
• Ultimate Pink - The name says it all.
• Break Through - Lovely plum shade.
• Passion for Fashion - Violet.
• Revlon's Stunning -  Clear based polish with silver glitter reflecting multicoloured, irregular sized circular and hex glitter.

The basic idea is that you sponge colours over a black base, and work some glitter in to represent stars and planets. I used a cut up kitchen sponge because I had no cosmetic sponges, and I think it worked just as well. Revlon's Stunning is the perfect glitter for this manicure because of the different sized particles. They make for great stars in your miniature fingernail galaxies! I did a fair bit of searching for a polish exactly like this for this manicure, I was so happy when I came across Stunning. Another good glitter for this I've seen used by others is NYC's Starry Silver Glitter.

I really like how my nails came out! I'd like to do it again and try different colour combinations. I took a few pictures in a few different lighting conditions. It's hard to capture how cool this manicure looks in real life!

Natural light

Flash photo

Ring light

Ring light

Ring light

I will most definitely be dabbling more in nail art, I had a lot of fun with this. I'd like to do some gradient manicures too, the ones I see on other blogs look beautiful! We'll see what's to come ^_^

This Week's Nails #14 - Be Jeweled

I was a bit devastated to have to remove my manicure from last week that I loved (here). Luckily I got a couple of NYX polishes that I wanted to swatch! I decided on NYX's Advanced Salon Formula Polish in 'Be Jeweled', a pretty blueish green shade with lots of gold and green shimmer.

I hadn't used any NYX polishes before so I was really excited about trying this one. The brush is wide and a little shorter than others I've used which makes application really easy. It's opaque in three coats, and doesn't feel rough at all even though it's quite glittery. I only needed one layer of top coat with this manicure. Hopefully I'll be able to get some more of these!

This Week's Nails #13 - Jack Frost/Black is Back

Hey there! It's been a while, I've been crazy busy for weeks and had zero time, but I'm back to regular posting now. I hope your Christmas was as awesome as mine! I got some great gifts that I will review in the not too distant future :) Here is the manicure I did today:

I layered Models Own 'Jack Frost' from the Winter Wonderland collection over Essence's 'Black is Back'. I saw this combination somewhere before and I had to try it for myself, it's so pretty! 'Black is Back' is a nice black creme, opaque in two coats.

'Jack Frost' is a pretty glitter containing a myriad of blue and purple hues. I don't care for it much alone since it's quite sheer, but layered over other colours it looks great! The formula is SUPER thick and goopy, you need to scrape a ton of polish off the brush before you apply it or it will refuse to dry. This is the second time I've done this manicure on myself, the first time was quite bad since I layered 'Jack Frost' too thick and it ended up smudging really bad later on. Also, this glitter absolutely demolishes topcoat. It's a bit silly! I applied three layers of a topcoat here, two of 'normal' consistency and one very thick one. For about an hour or so my nails felt smooth, but now they feel rough again. I love the colours in the glitter but the particles have such beautiful dimension when they're smoothed and glossy, and it's a shame that's so hard to maintain that wet look. I took a blurred picture of this manicure too, to show off the glitter some more:

I'll leave it at that, but I'll be back again soon. Thanks for reading!

This Week's Nails #12 - The Man with the Golden Gun/Skyfall

I'm super excited about this post! I've had my eye on OPI's 'The Man with the Golden Gun' topcoat since I learned of its existence. I couldn't justify buying it for myself with its €36 price tag, but my awesome husband bought it for me as a gift for our 5th wedding anniversary! Our anniversary was on November 23rd, but my gift arrived yesterday. Here's a photo of the outer packaging:

*Swoon*

It's beautifully packaged in its own display box. I'm going to keep it in this box to protect the bottle which looks very fancy with a mirrored gold finish. I don't want my other bottles knocking off it and potentially scratching or chipping it. Here's a photo!

When I wear this top coat I feel like the queen of the world. I have never owned something so luxurious before and I love it :3 It looks so pretty and classy, and it's likely my most treasured possession. This is one layer over 'Skyfall', which I got in the 'Get Bonded' set. It would work fantastically over a wide range of colours. Black, midnight blue and deep purple are the first that spring to mind. Here's a closer look:

I love it so much! This is the perfect Christmas gift for the fanciest lady you know. The whole premise of a real gold top coat may seem absurd to some people but I like it. It makes me feel spoiled and special, and that's not so bad. Yolandi knows how it is:

I'll sign off with a photo of the 'Skyfall' bottle. It's a gorgeous colour, a very deep vampy red creme. The closest polish in my collection to this one is Revlon's 'Forbidden', but 'Skyfall' is deeper still. It makes for a trendy and festive manicure. Catch you soon!

This Week's Nails #11 - Goldeneye

Hey! It's been a busy week so not a whole lot of time for blogging. My nails were a complete mess until yesterday, I was quite disgusted with myself! I feel so much better now that they're manicured again. I got the 'Get Bonded' collection by OPI this week. I was dying to get some of the Skyfall collection polishes, I picked it up for €19.95 on http://www.cloud10beauty.com/, reduced from €29.95. Such a steal! The set contains three full sized (15ml) bottles of polish. 

The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldeneye, Skyfall

I've ordered some nail wheels from ebay so that I can swatch my polish hauls, and I was going to wait until they arrive to show you guys this collection but I couldn't wait to wear Goldeneye! The Spy Who Loved me is a bright red with gold shimmer, and Skyfall is a deep, oxblood red. Very trendy for both autumn and the upcoming festive season! Here's a photo of Goldeneye on.

I'm crazy about this polish. I'm not that fond of gold in general, I don't like gold embellishments on clothing or purses, or gold jewellery, but I love gold nails! Goldeneye is kind of a glitter polish, but the glitter doesn't feel rough like in other polishes. It's more like foiled gold. It's opaque in two coats and looks super fancy! This is the first OPI polish I've used, and I haven't worn it for long enough to comment on its longevity or anything like that, but I'm very impressed with the formula and how it looks. This collection would make a great gift for a loved one, or for yourself if you're having trouble choosing from the extensive Skyfall collection.

This Week's Nails #10 - Black Galaxy

Sorry it's been so long! I've been quite busy this week, I didn't really have a chance to get anything beauty related done :( Last night I decided I couldn't take it anymore and I did my nails!

Once again I've gone with my 'screw autumn' theme. It feels far too cold for all these warm reds and oranges that are still hanging around. I'm very cold, god damn it, and my nails will reflect that! This gorgeous shade is Isa Dora's 'Black Galaxy'. Black polish with silver glitter that reflects rainbow colours. I picked it up for €3.75, reduced from €7.50. A very good deal! Here's a close up:

After two coats the polish was opaque, but one layer of topcoat didn't suffice. I used three coats to completely smooth the polish and make the glitter look its best. The topcoat I used is quite thin, so perhaps just one or two coats of a thicker one would do. This is my second Isa Dora polish, I'm becoming a big fan of theirs!

This Week's Nails #9 - Icy Lilacs

There are a lot of neutrals and darker colours trending right now for autumn. I don't feel like wearing those, here's some lilac instead.

This is my first Isa Dora polish. I've used some of their shadow quads before, but haven't used any more of their products although the quads were really good. Its RRP is €7.50 but I got it on sale for half price. It's called 'Icy Lilacs'. I used three coats of polish, it was still a little sheer after two. It's a pale lilac with turquoise shimmer, I really love these colours together. The brush is good and wide, making application easy. Very nice polish, I got a great bargain! I'll leave you with a closeup:

This Week's Nails #8 - Wanna Say Hello/Time For Romance

I did my nails last night and I'm really happy with how they came out! I wanted something trendy and I wanted to use glitter, and after some rummaging in my polish box I found a couple that I thought would look nice. I'm having a really rough time photographing glitter, so I'll post a few pictures. Unfortunately none of them do it justice, so try to use your imagination! ^_^

The first colour I applied was Essence's 'Wanna Say Hello', a rich, dark, chocolate brown. My bottle is from the older range, but the good news is that this polish is still available! It's priced at €1.79 and has a new and improved design.

I layered two coats of Essence's 'Time For Romance' on top of the brown. Again, my bottle is the old design, but this one is still available too! It's also priced at €1.79. This polish is gorgeous, and compliments 'Wanna Say Hello' just perfectly.

It's a real shame that the glitter doesn't photograph well. I'll describe it as best I can! It's coloured a rose gold shade, but more peachy. It has a sort of glow about it, it's lovely. The glitter is irregular  and some of the smaller bits reflect green, blue and sliver. You'd have to see for yourself! Alone it has a wine coloured base, but you can't see this over the brown polish. I'm not sure what it looks like on, I've only swatched it on white paper to see what it looks like. I hope you like this manicure as much as I do! See you soon ~_^

This Week's Nails #7 - Trophy Wife/Emerald Isle

Hey there! I lifted my nail polish ban last weekend while I was away in Galway. This week I'm wearing two of the polishes that I bought there! One is Essie's 'Trophy Wife', here's a picture of the bottle and nails:

This is my first Essie polish, and I like it! I got it at Boots for €12.99. It's a deep teal colour, I had to have it as soon as I saw it ^_^ The accent nail I did with Angelica's 'Emerald Isle', here's a look at the bottle:

I applied it only to the little finger, to cover up some black face paint that wouldn't wash off without scrubbing the colour off too! This is a glitter polish, quite similar in colour to 'Trophy Wife'. It doesn't photograph well but it is pretty! I'd seen Angelica polishes before at Penneys on Patrick Street Cork, but only the pastels. In Penneys in Eyre Square Galway they have a much wider range! I picked up two for €2.75 each. Well worth it! You have to apply a couple of topcoats to smooth the glitter, and it comes out very blingy! I'll have to get my sister to pick me up some more Angelica polishes when my ban is lifted.

Tomorrow I'm going to a Zombie Walk in Cork. I've been practicing my makeup for it lately, and having the best time doing it! I'll write up a post on that over the next couple of days. See you soon!

This Week's Nails #6 - Mellow Yellow

Ninja post from my Mom's house in West Cork! :D

I wasn't planning on doing a post at all today since I'm not home, but before I left this afternoon I had just about enough time to photograph my nails. I painted them last night because I'm going to Galway tomorrow with some of my family since it's my sister's university graduation on Monday. I brought my camera so hopefully I'll be able to get some nice pictures! I'll be back on Tuesday so maybe then I'll be able to do the Too Faced Shadow Insurance review. That's a tough one to do when I'm not home because I'll also be talking about the eye makeup in yesterday's FOTD. I'd rather have my makeup stuff there for reference so I can do an accurate post. :)

I did my nails this colour to go with the skirt I'll wear to the graduation. I'm not getting super dressed up but I'll be fancied up a bit.

Another one from Essence, it's called 'Mellow Yellow'. I picked it up for 65 cents when the new line of polishes came out. This is unfortunately another discontinued shade, and I've learned that this is the second 'Mellow Yellow' that Essence released. The previous one was a bright, true yellow. This version is a shimmery primrose yellow. I applied three coats of this, and it's not completely opaque but I think it's meant to be like that. The colour of this polish is paler than the yellow in my skirt, but it'll go nice all the same. It's a very soft, feminine colour, I can see it being paired with a light dress in the summertime too!

I'll be offline for a few days, enjoying myself in Galway :) Can't wait to come back and blog some more! Maybe I'll even come across something nice up there to do a post on, who knows?

See you soon!