NOTD: 2True Glossywear "Shade 48 Azure Blue"

I saw another one of the 2True pastel collection for summer on Imagination in Colour so I of course needed to seek these babies out. And I hit jackpot in Superdrug today; it was like the shelf stackers had had a busy morning and put all the stuff out they'd been hiding from me out! I scored this one and "Ocean Pearl" and "Candyfloss Pink".

This is 3 coats with a slick of MegaShine. A bit on the sheer side formula-wise but with results like this who cares? It's vibrantly pastel blue with oodles of sparkle glass-fleck! Gorgeous :)

However, frivolities over, I must now resume my quest to cleanse the world of Evil...

NOTD: China Glaze "Flirty Tankini"

UPDATE: This polish stained my nails orange!! It's fixable with some denture fizzing cleaning tablets and a nail brush but just be aware...

I saw this on Scrangie's blog and knew I had to have it. Then when I got it, I looked at the bottle and thought "Hmmm, not what I'd hoped it'd be". But once on the nail, oh yes, me seriously likey again!! :) But as Scrangie said, the only thing I don't like about this polish is the name. "Flirty Tankini". Why??? How??? I would have called it, ehm.. "Retina-Searing Coral", or something. I don't know. Something raunchy. Not a tankini, anyway. Maybe even "Flirty MANKINI" would've been hotter?..

Anyway, I digress. This is a neon, so it's rather thick to apply, can streak and dries matte. But a coat of top coat will remove any doubts about how seriously hot it is. I think this polish definitely defines the weekend weather we've had - soaring (for UK...) temperatures and glorious sunshine! I've worked on my tan, and got some sunburn in the process, oops.... Nothing a bit of aloe vera can't cure though.

This is 3 coats with a coat of MegaShine. I needed the 3 coats cause I didn't wait enough time in between coats so it went bald in a couple of places... Seriously hot! It has a secret shimmer which makes it glow. I even made a matching pedicure, how 80's is that??? Now if only I could find a matching lipgloss... B-)

On a different note, check out how jazzy my tulips from last years Chelsea Flower Show are! They are called 'Cummins'. They were from Blom's Bulbs, they had an amazing stand in the Great Pavillion. I am bummed I didn't get to go this year but me and my Mum have decided we will definitely go next year!! My garden is really coming on, I loved sitting on the patio sunworshipping next to the dwarf apple tree that has just come into flower.. All the busy bumblebees flying about! My extremely furry cat didn't like it so much though, he was sveltering in the shade of the garden shed...

Happy 4th Anniversary!

Happy 4th Anniversary, Pretty Perfect Beauty!

Can't believe it's been 4 years already, time flies when you are having fun :D I want to say a big thank you to all my readers who make it a pleasure sharing nail polish-y ramblings!! I celebrate by showing you the contents of my two Helmers that has collected through the 4 years (although I had a lot of polish before then too).  Each bottle is special, bought, traded or gifted for a reason :)

I also made a nail polish ring with my all-time favourite nail polish, Rimmel 60sec "Arresting", and as it is my first ever nail polish ring, I think it turned out pretty damn cool! I will also be making nail polish stud earrings. I am still experimenting and have painted about 10 glass cabouchons so far, but I will post a mini-tutorial at some point to show how I did them.

Just a note on the imPRESS stick-ons! I removed them this morning after getting pi$$ed off with the free edges around the sides constantly snagging my hair and the cat... They would have lasted another few days no problem.

The removal means carefully prying the nail off from the side. Be really, really careful and take it slow or you might end up lifting off the top layer of your nail if your nails are sensitive. But mine all came off without any damage! You will have to use acetone remover to take off any left over glue-y bits but there's hardly any. The shaping of these was straightforward, but I nicked the edge with my file and where I'd done that, the film with the pattern lifted off the actual nail. But the other nails were fine without any visible damage even though I'd planted lots of seeds, played a lot of Diablo 3, cleaned invertebrate cages and done marathon typing at work! But the free edges all around (which you would not get with glue-ons) mean I might not try these again, and I might use the left-over ones as an occasion manicure only.

NOTD: imPRESS "Over the moon"

I've been ogling these in Boots for a while, so I spent some Boots Advantage Points on them...The pattern and colours in this set are tropically hot, just like the weather in Aberdeen today B-)

You can see application videos on the Broadway Nails website for these, amongst a few glitzy Nicole Scherzinger promo videos...

I won't repeat the instructions for the application (it's easy, I put these on within 10mins) but I will give you a few practical tips. Before you put these on, you will need to cut your nails short! These press-on nails are on the short side for falsies. The only other real fitting issue I had was my irregular-shaped left thumb nail, where I have lifting already and I will have to bring spare nails to work tomorrow as I predict it will ping off. These are also on the thick side, so up close, noone will be fooled that these are anything but press-on nails. And I can't see that the glue-less finish will last beyond a shower and a day at the office typing. But the patterns are so hot, and the application so easy, I probably won't mind :) It's now up to imPRESS to impress me and turn me from sceptic to convert!

The packaging for these is cute bur fairly unecessary. I would never see press-ons as a replacement for polish no matter if they put it in a nail polish bottle packaging or not. The reason being they just don't look as clean and natural as a painted nail. They rarely last longer than polish either.

The price is the only real problem I have with the imPRESS Press-On Manicure. I DON'T think any press-ons are worth the £8.99 these are selling for. If you want them to sell, put the price down at least a couple of quid!

This is the manicure before I'd filed it to shape - it advises you wait at least 30mins before doing that so I've not had time to do that yet. But at least you will see how it is 'straight out of the box'. I will let you know how the shaping, wear and removal goes! :)

"Please hold..."

Yeah ok, so I'm playing Diablo 3...  And I'm seriously loving it :)

NOTD: Rimmel "Block your green"

I do love my greens :P I spotted this and immediately needed it. It's a cool, blue-tinged, darker jelly green. Definitely NOT as blue/teal as my photo shows :( I think New York Summer "Amaranth" might be very similar but I couldn't find the bottle in my (very disorganised) Helmer for a comparison! Although "Block your green" seems darker and a bit more blue-tinged than "Amaranth", maybe?

This is 2 coats with MegaShine top coat. Nice opaque formula if you put it on a bit thicker :) I love the finish, very shiny and greeeeeeen... I will need to take a photo in daylight tomorrow.

Anyway I must dash - 'Diablo 3' is waiting. I am working again tomorrow so I 'need' to reach Level 10 before I go to bed :)

NOTD: Marks & Spencer "Lilac"

I'm miffed that the photos all come out so crap for this mani!! :( There is an intense gold shimmer, almost glassfleck, in a lilac shimmer base colour in this polish that doesn't come across in my photos. This is the most accurate photo of them all. This is 2 coats and MegaShine top coat. I love how it looks, very unusual. I don't think I have anything like this before. Now, a green version of this would be awesome :)

I was actually going to do a Diablo 3 manicure to celebrate it's anticipated release today but buggered up the nail art so I will put that on hold until I get hold of the game itself. Supposedly I should have it by Saturday. Yeah, I was 'hardcore' and didn't pre-order, so I couldn't get a copy today unless I pay the actual Blizzard download price of £44.99 which frankly takes the piss especially since the initial feedback is that there is no room on the game servers. Oops. Big boo-boo, Blizzard! Anyway, enough geekery. Hopefully my Sunday will be all day in my pants and t-shirt playing my most hotly anticipated PC game since "Rage"... :D

NOTD: Zoya "Richelle" Gradient Manicure

I saw the awesome key manicure from The Nailasurus, and I HAD to try a gold sparkly gradient over black! So here it is. Not as nice as the original idea but this is only the 2nd time I've done sponging gradient so I am sure I will get better at it.

This is 2 coats of the black Rimmel I Love Lasting Finish "Black Cab" with sponging of Zoya "Richelle". I love the result even though it's not perfect :) Now what will I wear with it?...

NOTD: Gradient Manicure

I was so impressed with The Nailasaurus gradient nails and her tutorial I had to try it myself. I kind of ended up doing it her way but then decided to just use one colour to sponge on in the end as I thought the gradient colours I'd picked blended together too much using her method. They just aren't contrasting enough :( Much-o disappointing with my lame choices - I think I will repeat this using the base colour here (see below) and Topshop "Airplane", that should give a nice, clear gradient.

The light blue is the free Nails Inc polish with this months UK InStyle magazine and it's called "Bluebell". I really like it - it's light and somewhere in between periwinkle and pastel blue! Nice opaque coverage and smooth formula too. The minty one is Rimmel LycraPRO "Peppermint". I had to put on 2 coats of MegaShine top coat, the sponging method makes the manicure 'bumpy' so 2 or more coats will be required to make it smooth. You will need to clean your fingertips with a cottonbud dipped in acetone after finishing, as this is a messy form of nail art...

And now an update on removing the glassfleck polish using Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover. I 'soaked' the nail in the sponge for about 20-30sec then wriggled it around in the sponge quite a lot. It was a bit more work than the cremes shall we say and some nails still came out with bits of glitter so I had to clean them up using cotton wool and nail polish remover. But still quicker and easier than using wool and acetone and grind it off :) All hail Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover!!

NOTD: Marks & Spencer Limited Collection "Slate Blue"

I went to Marks & Spencer hunting for a gorgeous polish that Emma from Imagination in colour showed on her blog called "Lilac" after work. Not only did I come out with "Lilac", I also came out with "Slate Blue"... It's a grey-blue with a slightly silver-ish glassfleck glitter. I don't own anything like it! This should be called something like "Storm-cloud with a silver lining" cause that's how it makes me feel - unexpectedly happy :D

This is 3 coats and MegaShine. It's a bit of work to get right; the formula is a bit thick with all the dense glassfleck. Therefor I put on 3 coats to even out some slightly bald bits. This is going to be hell to take off so perfect for putting the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover to the ultimate test :D

I love how something so small can make you feel so happy :)

NOTD: Barry M "Dusky Mauve"

This is the infamous dupe for Chanel's "Paradoxal". But I actually don't like it. It doesn't really show off the purple shimmer on my nails, very disappointing :( I had to make the photo blurry to catch the shimmer. In most lights including daylight, it looks more like "Particuliere" than "Paradoxal" to me. This is 2 coats and MegaShine top coat.

And now an update on the Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover and the removal of the glassfleck polish! It's a breeze :D Just leave your finger to soak in the bottle for about 15sec or so then wiggle 'round a bit and it's off. I was dying to try this polish or I would have gone for a glitter today to see how that removes. I may just have to remove this tomorrow night and put a glitter on! :)

End-of-the-bottle: L'Oreal EverPure shampoo and conditioner

So I finished the EverPure Color Care and Moisture shampoo and conditioner. I love the product - but I HATE the bottles... I struggled with these twisted tubes for weeks trying to squeeze out the last of the contents!! And they fall all over the place in the shower. It's just not cool. Why can't they just use the normal plastic tubes??? Like John Frieda tubes; they are dead easy to get every last drop out of. And if you're paying £5.99 a bottle, that's what you'd like to be able to do. Since getting upset with the packaging of this stuff I've started getting annoyed with the packaging on other stuff :P Maybe I am turning into a packaging snob that only likes pump bottles for everything?..

Anyway, formula- and result-wise these products are proving excellent for my hair so despite the crappy packaging I have re-purchased!

NOTD: China Glaze "Orange Marmalade"

I got myself some tropical print leggings for keeping me sane at work tomorrow, and I needed a sparkling manicure to match so I chose "Orange Marmalade"! It's also a sneaky way to try out Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover on a glitter without going "full-glitter". Technically this is a glass fleck but can also be a bit trying to remove, just like glitter so it's a good starting point. If it's successful my next manicure will be Zoya Ultra-Glitter "Astra"!

This is 3 thinnish coats with a coat of MegaShine. It's quite sheer - you still have VNL after 3 coats. It's usually quite tacky for a while - I'll need to stay up for another 3 hrs to get it to harden sufficiently to avoid sheet marks... The other polishes from the Summer Days collection are the same for me, so I guess it must be something in the formula. But I don't care they are all so lovely and mega-sparkly :)

NOTD: Collection 2000 Hot Looks "Look At Me"

This is an ugly, dirty slime-mould green but I totally felt like something like this today :) My ankle is still really sore and swollen - I spent 3 hrs yesterday waiting in Accident & Emergency and was thankfully reassured it wasn't broken! I now have a support bandage and a walking stick, so not the most glamorous of gear... Back to my NOTD.

This is again from the spring collection from Collection 2000. It feels like this colour belong as wall paint or sofa fabric in a naff 70's sit-com living room set! In Britain there is a rather awful food called 'mushy peas' and this looks almost the colour of that... This is 2 coats, definitely could've used 3 but I feared it might go gummy and thick. And watch out - it's going to be streaky if you're not careful in applying it! But for £1.79 a pop you can't really go wrong :)

Lina-Elvira Loves It Thiiiis Much:
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