Bargain of the Week: Technic - Carnival!

Another beauty blogger must have and another purchase/bargain of the week here!

We all love a good dupe. Who wouldn't want something that looks the same but costs less? I know i do! I've been wanting to get my hands of Technic's 'Carnival' for absolutely yonks and after seeing a full shelf (yes a full shelf!) of them i could not resist picking one up. At 99p it'd be rude not too. 

It's such a gorgeous mix of multi-coloured glitter that sparkle in the light! It looks fab on an accent nail. Sometimes we need a little bit of glitter. And it isn't gritty or lumpy atall.

So keep checking your local Bodycare for a glitzy, little bargain!

Have you tried this nail polish? What do you think?

NOTD: Green Stripes and Polka Dots!

I've been getting in to nail art a lot more recently. I usually just paint my nails one colour and if i'm feeling adventourous i'll add a glitter topcoat ;) A few months ago i did some bunny nails which were cute and not long ago i also had a go at ombre nails - both attempts went pretty well (shock!). But, i thought now was about time to improve my tools as i think they're the most important thing when it comes to nail art. 

I settled for these brushes off Ebay. They came so quickly - about two weeks - and look so cute with their baby pink handles. A few of the brushes are the same brushes just different sizes but it doesn't really matter as their so cheap. 

Tesco All About Nails 'Caribbean Coconut' (base)  -  Barry M Nail Paint '290 Spring Green' (tips/dots)  -  Random Clear Topcoat.

I used an a straight top brush and a thin tapered brush for this look. I used the straight brush to draw a straight line along my tip, patting it and tapping it wherever necessary to create the nicest, even, straight line that was possible. I'm not the steadiest of people. Then i used the thin, pointed brush with a blob of nail polish on the end to just dot/pat down where i wanted the polka dot to be. 

It really was that simple and looks so cute. I don't know what persuaded me to use green but it just stood out to me at the time. My left hand is significantly better than my right (oops|) due to me being right-handed. But it'll all get better in time - i hope! 

What do you think of my quick, cute, nail art? Do you do 'fancy stuff' with your nails often? Any idea's for me to give a go.. 

Nail Care Routine! Favourite Products & Tips!

After years and years of being young and chewing at my nails i now finally have nails to be proud of. So, i thought it's about time to share some little tips and tricks and my favourite products that keep my nails healthy, strong and long.  

This nail care routine is sort of a new thing, this time last year i didn't bother with anything. I'd just paint my nails, remove the polish, paint them again etc. Now i really do look  after my hands/nails and there is a clear difference. So if you don't do anything?! START NOW.

Refan Hand Butter isn't easily available in the UK unfortunately (but you can get it here). Never the less i absolutely adore this hand cream - it's by far the best i've ever used. It's more of a butter than a lotion meaning it's really rich and thick so just adds so much moisture! And it still absorbs quickly and doesn't leave you with that greasy, slippery feeling (win!). I hate the feeling of dry hands so i apply this a few times a day and at night before i go to sleep.

 Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream is a new addition to my 'nail care collection' i received it for my birthday. I'm guilty, like a few of us, for not looking after my cuticles as much as i should. This has a balm like texture and takes a few rubs to warm it up. I just rub this into my finger tips (all over the nail, cuticles and around the finger) and let it absorb - it doesn't take too long! I found this has really helped strengthen my nails, keep them hydrated, smooth and moisturised. I try to always, always apply this to my nails after hand-cream.

A Curved Nail File is a necessity to me, to keep my nails growing in a nice shape and making sure there are no jagged edges that will catch then break the nail. This was a huge problem for me before, i'd catch the nail tip and it would break leaving me with one random short nail. Now i file my nails whenever one snags, before i paint my nails and just when i generally think they need re-shaping. This is quite harsh - meaning it shapes the nail so easily, one swipe and it's done! I find this is better than repeatedly having to file across the nail. TIP: Don't go back and forth, go in one direction across the nail.

Last but not least, the 'gem' of my nail care products Avon Nail Experts Strong Results. This sort of kicked of my nail care routine, i started using this and saw the difference and it just went from there. This looks like a nail polish, but when you paint it on it doesn't dry like a polish it soaks in more like an oil. What i do is paint it on, then massage it into my nail with my fingers. It smells like vanilla which is nice too! I love this product and have found it has really helped strengthen my nails (they used to just bend) and helped them grow long too.


I'm not gonna lie, my nails are by no means amazingly long and as hard as nails. But they're a huge improvement from what they were this time last year. I now feel confident going out with bare nails and this is something i do often. It's good to give your nails a break - using the routine and leaving nails bare   really helps, i can stress it enough!!

Do you look after yours nails? I'd love to hear some more tips or product recommendations :) 

Also a little manicure kit like this is great too and handy for in your bag!

Barry M NOTD: Sprinkles & Ice-cream!

Every so often i get hooked on one nail combination that i wear for days weeks on end! And this is my most recent favourite.. 

I remember absolutely loving Barry M's nail polish in 'Strawberry Icecream' years ago and wearing it constantly - it was my go-to baby pink. In the end the formula went all gloopy and i had to throw it away but, i never got round to buying a new one. So the other day when me and my mum saw the Barry M glitter polish 'Pink Iridescent' (and fell in love) we decided to get both as they had a deal on in Superdrug - 2 nail paints for £5. 

As you can see, it's the most beautiful combination! Perfect for you girlie-girls ;) I love wearing this combo - they look so cute, aren't too bright or in your face and brighten up those cloudy days. Definitely going to be my go-to holiday combination (planning ahead!) 

The pink polish takes two thin coats for a nice, even, opaque coverage but if you're a rush one thicker coat will do! I just used one coat of the glitter polish as a top coat, it's slightly gritty but only a tiny little bit so it's not too bad! And there's no need for topcoat, it lasts a good 4 days with only minor tip wear (pretty good for the price).

Overall, i really love this little combo - as you can already probably tell. And as always, i'm really impressed with Barry M's lasting power. Cheap is sometimes best. 

What do you think of the Barry M nail paints? And what colours do i need next? ;)

Bargain: Essie Trio!

Essie Nail Polishes seem to be one of the latest hypes in the blogger community. Everyone seems to be talking about them - especially the new 'Diffusion Line'. Each nail polish costs £7.99 (from Boots), which is more than i'd normally spend on a nail polish so, when i saw Tk Maxx were doing sets of 3 for £10 - of course i couldn't resist ;)

There are different sets in Tk Maxx with selected colours in, the packaging is sealed so you cannot swap or change any of the colours. I had to choose between two sets that i really liked but i settled for this one because it had a better mix of lighter and darker colours whereas the other set was just pinks (it had 'Fondola Gondola' in that i really want). The sets available differ from store to store so if you can, look in a few!

I ended up with the shades (l-r) Lovie Dovie, Tea & Crumpets and Wicked. 

Lovie Dovie* is a bright, medium pink with tiny flecks of shimmer. Well mine is anyway, and all the ones from Tk Maxx look like this however if you google search 'Essie Lovie Dovie' the swatches are far different - in fact it's a completely different colour. I don't know why (think it's been labelled wrong) and i'm quite unhappy about this to be honest as i have no idea what shade it actually is. But, despite that i do love the colour i have it's a beautiful pink and is opaque in one coat (although i do two for good measure!). 

Tea & Crumpets* is basically a nude, a french manicure shade, leaning slightly on the baby pink side - slightly. This also doesn't match swatches online /: But, it does look lovely worn alone, with glitter on top or with coloured tips! After two coats it's pretty much opaque, you can still see the nail white a tiny bit but it looks really natural like a your nails but better shade.

Wicked is a deep, deep burgundy shade. Almost black with a red tinge. I could see a resemblance to OPI's Lincoln Park After Dark and after a quick google search 'Wicked' is apparently it's redder sister so i'm really pleased as i've been lusting after Lincoln Park After Dark for a long while now. It's opaque in two coats and dries to a dark glossy finish. 

* I definitely believe both these shades has been labelled wrong. They do not match the swatches on Google images or other blogs! I unfortunately don't have any idea what shade they actually are :(

l-r   Tea & Crumpets, Love Dovie, Wicked.

So, those are my first Essie nail polishes and i'm really impressed (despite the labelling fiasco) unlike my experience with OPI which was pretty awful. All polishes dry pretty quickly, apply easily, aren't too watery or thick and look very stylish and sleek on my dressing table. They are definitely my dressing table delights ;)  Oh and chip wise all polishes are 'average' wear (3-ish days). 

So what do you think? Do you love Essie nail polishes? Will you purchase some from Tk Maxx or stick to good old Boots etc.?

Bargain Hunt (Guest Post)

Hello i have another guest post today that you lot are going to love from the lovely Anastasia whom i adore. I've only found her blog recently but it's definitely one of my faves. She's done a great post for all you who love a bargain (which i'm pretty sure is everyone). I know i'll be dashing off to Poundland to see if i can find some great bargains like she has.. 

Why hi there everybody, I’m Anastasia (but call me Sia!) and I have a beauty and lifestyle blog called ‘Dainty Desires.’ Firstly, I would love to say thank you to Nadia for letting me write this for her AMAAAAZING blog, this is my first guest post and I’m so glad it was for ‘Dressing Table Delights’, one my all time favourite blogs, ever :)

I thought I’d do a post which is a little reflective of me and I like to see myself as a bargain hunter! In this post I’m going to show you guys my bargain nail polish buys, well some of them because otherwise I think Nadia would be telling me to cut words, haha.

First up, a few Rimmel polishes!

819 – Green With Envy   /    650 – Magnetise    /    230 – Portobello Pink

These are three Rimmel polishes in my collection but the difference here is that I bought them for £1 each from Poundland. I really do love Poundland, you may have to root around a little but when you find a fantastic find like these 3 polishes above, it really puts a smile on your face! And these bottles are 12ml, 4ml more than the usual Rimmel bottle, score!

Technic - Mermaid   /   Technic - Carnival

These two polishes are from Body Care and I think the reason I bought Carnival first was that it reminded me of the Models Own – Ibiza Mix but it was only 99p! I really wanted the look I was seeing all over blogs but I really didn’t have the moo-lah so Body Care came to the rescue for me. Once I used Carnival, I made my way back and bought Mermaid because to be honest, I can’t resist something blue, especially blue glitter! 99p for such quality polishes, oh yes please!

No7 320 - Minty Fresh    /    No7 220 – Tangy

Now, I bet you’re wondering, No7 – whaaaaaat?! I tell you now, No 7 vouchers, miracle! These polishes retail at £7 which for me is a little steep to pay (poor student!) but then I realised that by using the £5 voucher, they’re only £2. I ran, literally ran to the No 7 stand and picked my two favourite colours in polishes! I ended up saving £10 here and I’ll definitely be picking some more up when I get more No 7 vouchers :) 

OPI – Bronzed to Perfection

Now, we all know how expensive OPI polishes are but this was a brilliant little find for me. It was £5.99 in TK Maxx, and I LOVEEEE this colour. I always say, even if it and amazing price, why spend the money if you’re not going to wear it but this wasn’t the case for me! TK Maxx is such a brilliant place for bargains and at the moment, have a look because my local store seems to have A LOT of Nails Inc and Essie sets for between £7.99 and £14.99. Totally worth it IF YOU LOVE THE COLOURS! 

Fuchsia Chrome (top)    /    Silver Chrome  (bottom)

These are another Poundland find and I’ll be honest, I just wanted to try them out and luckily, the sales assistant let me try out one in store and I loved it. I do love a good metallic and they are SO easy to use. I thought for something I could have in my bag and do on the bus for £1 is a real winner. I just wish they had more!

I really hope you guys liked my bargains and it’s made you want to run to your local Poundland! :) I shall leave you with a picture of my nails with Rimmel’s Magnetise and Technic’s Carnival!

Nails of the Day - Nicki Minaj OPI.

Since Monday i've gone through four different nail colours so far! I have a habit of picking it off when i'm bored - i need to stop! 

This shade 'Fly' is a bright, blue with s green undertones - so it is a really pretty turquoise that definitely stands out! I love the colour so much, it is amazing reminds of the sea/holidays...

The photo's haven't picked up the green undertones atall. But you can see how bright it is!

The Nicki Minaj (mini set) nail polishes are my first encounter with OPI. Is is persuading me to buy full size bottles? No not atall. 

I painted my nails in the evening and the next day they chipped, that's so disappointing for such a raved about and pretty expensive brand. I have honestly used £1 nail polishes that are better than this! And i much prefer Barry M nail polishes for half the price!

Am i the only one that thinks OPI doesn't live up to it's expectations?

check out my other bad encounter with OPI here.

All About Nails - Bellini

Here's another nail polish from the All About Nails range £1 from Tesco - Bargain! 

The colour is absolutely gorgeous. The perfect shimmery coral that shines different shades of gold and pink in the light. It's probably not to everybody's taste but i personally love it and have received a fair few compliments when wearing it! 

All nail polishes i have tried from the range are so long-wearing for their price with only minor chips after 2/3 days! It is the perfect spring colour! It applies evenly and only needs two coats for a full, opaque coverage.

I cannot reccomend these polishes enough - they are by far my favourite! 

p.s - check out my post about another polish from this range here - it's a gorgeous dusky pink!

Spring/Summer Pastel Nails!

I've recently been getting more into 'nail art' and adding little extra's to my nails as opposed to just painting them one colour! These are something i came up whilst i was playing around making different shapes using masking tape! I personally like the outcome of each nail being different but, you may do all nails the same like, have them all half one colour and half another!  

Anyway here's everything i used: 

Avon Clear Nail Polish, Nicki Minaj OPI 'Pink Friday', 'Mint green' from Marks & Spencer, Masking Tape, Scissors.

First i applied 3 (thin) coats of 'Pink Friday' which is part of Nicki Minaj's collection for OPI. Such a cute baby pink - love this colour!

I then put masking tape on my nails - covering the places i wanted to keep pink and leaving open the spaces i wanted to paint mint, green. Then painted two (thin) layers of the mint green nail varnish from Marks & Spencer - such a gorgeous colour - all over the free spaces (don't worry about painting over the tape!).

Make sure you leave your nail varnish to completely dry - before applying/pealing off the tape! And i chose to use masking tape as it isn't as sticky so there's less chance of it ripping your nail varnish off!

Then i topped it off with a clearpolish/topcoat to seal it all together, and here is the final result:

Cute Bunny Easter Nails!

Just a quick post to show you all my attempt at some bunny nails! I've been seeing these all over twitter and took inspiration for MUA's version - which are waaay better than mine (have a look here).

Bunny's are so cute for easter - but i think they're also an adorable addition to your spring/summer nails!  

I used Barry M's 'Spring Green' to create the bunny's. I painted a semi-circle at the bottom on my nail and used one of those small, nail art brushes to draw to the ears! Then with the same small brush and some liquid eyeliner i drew eyes and a little button nose!

Anyway hope you're all having a lovely Easter Weekend and eating lotsss of chocolate! I'm looking forward to a lamb roast dinner - it smells delicious! 

All About Nails - Mulberry Pie

'All about nails' are a range of nail polishes available from Tesco and the best part is... they cost £1 each - yes you read that correctly, a 7ml nail polish for a mere £1!!!!

Now my first encounter of these was in college, when my friend had some in her bag -she had the most amazing hot pink, which i painted my nails with and instantly fell in love with! I practically ran to Tesco (ok, maybe a little bit too dramatic) desperately wanting that colour. Unfortunately they did not have that colour :'( but i came out with 4 others...

(expect to see posts about the other polishes..)

Colour: As you can see this polish is a lovely mauve, dusky pink. To me - perfect for the spring time! It's also super flattering, classy and grown up yet completely on trend. 

Consistency: I find this nail polish applies really easily - not too thick or too thin. It is highly pigmented and creates an opaque, glossy finish in just two coats. You could probably get away with one thicker coat if you were in a hurry.. 

It applies so evenly, no streaks just a solid block of colour.

Length of wear: I was SO surprised with this polish - it's like armour - it just does not chip. Most nail polishes i wear chip within 24 hours - did this? No. It had minor chipping after about 48-72hours (two/three days) which is a miracle considering the OPI nail polish didn't even last that long. And even when i painted over to fill in a chip it applied completely full and evenly; you couldn't even tell i had 'topped it up'. 

I took this off after wearing it for 4 days and it came off with ease!

I can't stop going on about how much i love this polish, it is honestly perfect to me (well, near enough). I love the colour, consistency and the fact is lasts longer than any other nail polish i have ever tried! 

I haven't tried the other colours yet but i can't wait to do so and i will be sure to update you on them too ;) 

So if you see these in your local Tesco i would honestly recommend you pick one up - for £1 they are 'cheap as chips' and you won't regret it!

OPI - Nicki Minaj - Super Bass Shatter!

I'll start off by explaining why the nail polish on these pictures is soooo chipped. 

I painted my nails one night planning to take the pictures in the daylight the next morning. I awoke in the morning to find it all chipped and as the day went on more and more came off. Not exactly what i expected from an OPI nail varnish retailing at £10.50!! My first impressions = not so good. 

I painted all my nails with a base coat, then applied two coats of Nicki Minaj Super Bass shatter all over my nails (except the ring fingers). On the ring fingers i applied Nicki Minaj Did it on em' (two coats) with a coat of Super Bass chatter over. Then set them all with a layer of topcoat.

So the point of this post? A kinda review and to show the colours in case any of you are considering

Colour: A lovely berry purple that in the light shines different pink and purple tones and also has a slight shimmer. 

Consistency: My first encounter with OPI nail polishes and i find them to be extremely thin and watery, really you need three thin layers to create a full, opaque coverage or two thicker layers i guess are fine if your in a rush or can't be bothered. 

Length of wear: Overnight whilst i was sleeping chips seemed to have occurred - i don't know how! And after a few hours of me being up they looked as they do on the pictures. The 'proper' nail varnish (Did it on em') did last a bit longer than the shatter but still, they didn't last very long at all which is quite disappointing considering the price, as i own £1 nail varnishes that last longer!

So overall, i'm going to keep trying these polishes out see if my opinion changes. But so far, i have to say i am disappointed with my first encounter with OPI nail varnishes! 

I bought the Nicki Minaj mini set from ASOS for £18 - you get four mini's (Did it on em', Metallic 4 life, Fly, Pink Friday) and a full sized shatter (Super Bass).

What do you think? Is there too much 'hype' around these varnishes? And what do you think of the colours? 

Topshop Nail Varnish in 'Gypsy Night'..

 

 Topshop 'Gypsy Night' a black base with an array of bronze and metal-like shimmers. A bit like a starry night.

A perfect twist if your a lover of black polishes, like myself, it looks amazing day and night and pretty much goes with anything.

I have been lusting after this since November, yes a whole 3 months and finally this month i walked into Topshop and spotted it - safe to say i ran straight to the cashier! 

As you can see from the pictures below it does require three thin layers to achieve a full opaque finish. But i think twice would do if worse came to worse. 

I do use a base coat to ensure it doesn't stain my nails and make them go yellow (not a good look) and normally set it with a top coat. Although it isn't necessary as the glitter/shimmer is not gritty atall - in fact the polish apples completely smooth and easily! 

I am in absolute love with this nail polish and highly reccomend you try this out if you like dark or 'jazzy' glittery polishes! 

Two Coats

Three Coats

Three Coats

 So, for smart yet shimmery party perfect nails wear Topshop's Gypsy Night - just like i am as i type! I promise you won't regret it. So unique. A nice way of jazzing up a boring old black polish!