FUN FRIDAY: Primark Stick-On Nails - Cats!!

I was in the bargaintastic retail emporium that is Primark for my usual fix of, ehm, 30inch leg bootleg jeans... Yeah. I love their bootleg jeans. Fits my a$$ perfectly. And they're a tenner. Can't go wrong?! But they don't always have the short length in stock and right now I was rather desperate as the crotch is going in the old pair after a year of constant wear... But today was my lucky day! :) On my way to the tills I saw their massive selection of stick-on nails. I need to go back for some more styles but for now, these came home with me along with the jeans! Paw-some!!

Oh, and I saw on British Beauty Blogger that Sephora.com is now shipping to the UK!! Who needs to pay off the mortgage, I need Sephora Formula X and Marc Jacobs nail polish!! Oh wait, they won't ship these international as they are 'hazmat'. Oh well, but there's still loads to buy :)

WANT IT WEDNESDAY: Stick on nails

There are so many new stick on nails that catch my eye nowadays but being such an active person they are just mostly impossibly unpractical for me to wear. But one can dream! I saw these beauties in Boots today, but they are both £8.99 which is an itty-bitty expensive for a one-hit wonder for my taste! But Lego-esque nails, who could say no????

Elegant Touch Express "Alice"

House of Holland by Elegant Touch "Block Heads"

NOTD: 2True Glitterati "Shade 6" Reverse Glitter Gradient Manicure

I first decided on a vampy polish then I changed my mind and wanted something more spring-like. I dug out my old classic pink Rimmel LycraPRO "Urban Princess" and then found the glitter. It's not as finely dispersed as I'd want but it's very glittery :) I did 2 coats of "Urban Princess" and then brushed on the glitter in a kind of gradient... Oh well. You really need two glitters to do nice gradients - one really fine and one chunkier. Still looks happy and spring-y though :)

NOTD: Savina "Money Tree" with Seventeen Deconstructed Studs

Please excuse the state of my hands. I have been having a really bad time with my hands this winter, really horribly dry fingers and eczema on my palms of all places :( I am putting cream and oil on like nobody's business but it's still a disaster area. And then I got a cut on my pinkie while laying carpet tile in the wardrobe yesterday. Ouchies. My face is also going the same way - it's really horrible to put on makeup as I am sooooo dry and it shows straight away with foundation. I cannot wait for the summer!! If anyone has any tips on really hydrating hands, let me know. And yes, I use gloves for housework/gardening at all times...

To jazz up my nails for the inevitable Monday blues, I dug out an oldie but goldie - the closest dupe of China Glaze "Moonpool" I've come across, Savina "Money Tree". I once got this from a contact in America, it's not a brand sold in the UK unfortunately. I've had these Seventeen Deconstructed studs sitting for a while since I scored them in the January mega-sale so I decided to use them as well! They are really shiny and take a top coat without dulling. Bargain indeed :) I did 3 coats of "Money Tree" as it's a bit sheer and stuck on the studs while it was wet. I then sealed it all with a generous layer of Seche Vite top coat. I felt something was missing later so I ended up sticking a single stud on my index fingers as well, see below! The formula on this old polish is of the 'old skool' poisonous, runny type and the brush is pretty crap but luckily it doesn't really streak. You just have to be careful not to flood the cuticles too much...

Rare photo of my right hand...

I saw this 'Carnaval' nail art on Facebook from OPI - it looks easy enough but one needs a larger nail, or I would totally go for it... I am definitely getting in the mood for summer already...

AMAZING NEW STUFF: Nicole by OPI Roughles

I saw this post on ChitChatNails and was like 'ooh I needz to see some more of this' so I Googled it and saw this post on beautygeeks.com. I don't have any promo shots of these to show you just now but they look absolutely amazing, I will need to trawl for these on eBay like a mad woman if they won't be available in the UK!! :)

FREE STUFF: Bare Minerals deluxe samples

Why not have a make-under, asks Bare Minerals? I have of course been using the Bare Minerals original foundation over the years but was always intrigued by their new offering that launched last year, the Ready Foundation. Less fuss was always alluring. I read that a lot of people just couldn't get matched to the Ready range of colours, so I held off until I could get a sample and apply it for myself. And they are now running a 'make-under' campaign where you can get a deluxe sample of one of their foundations for free! You should check it out here! It turns out I match perfectly to R170 so I am stoked to try it for myself over the coming week :) I'll give you a review in a couple of weeks when I've used it during a few days at a time. I love how the tiny compact comes with a tiny brush, even though it's not the new angled flat one.

NOTD: Barry M Silk "Blossom"

I was excited to get my hands on these "silk" polishes from Barry M. They are basically pastelly semi-matte polishes, and very pretty. This one goes on quite thin and is a bit messy if you don't realise as I didn't. I did 3 coats here with no top coat.

Dry time is a big factor for me - I am addicted to my speed-dry top coats... This is fairly quick drying, I am typing this review about an hour after application and it's pretty much dry and hard. I like the finish it's very pretty! :) I will get the green next I think...

NOTD: OPI "Can You Dig It?"

I decided I wanted to try something old today - one of my very first lemmings, OPI "Can you dig it?". I still hate the brush on this one, but the colour is to die for :) It sets me in the mood for spring for some reason even though it's still very cold and I'm having to take in my new fruit bushes in the night to protect them from frost. But we're getting there! :) But not before I go snowboarding at the weekend!!

NOTD: Zoya Matte Colour Block

So I decided to mix stuff up and use a shiny creme with a colour block of matte. I used 2 coats of Rimmel LycraPRO "Urban Princess" (pink creme) for the base topped with Sally Hansen MegaShine top coat and then painted colour blocks with Zoya Matte Velvet "Posh" (burgundy) without top coat. Turned out rather interesting I think :) I got the inspiration from the new Gwen Stefani for OPI range!