I Pink I Must Leaf Now // Banana Leaf & Pink Nail Art Design

The weather has been amazing this month and so it's time for non-stop pink leaf mani's. It's been a while since I've used this pink shade as well; it's one of my favourites and Avon have released in a new formula that I'm tempted to buy as you can never have too much nail polish.

I'm currently waiting on some new stamping plates to arrive as well that have some fantastic leaf, feather and mandala prints on them for some proper summer designs. I've been after these plates for a while but they were a bit expensive for a random eBay brand and but I finally managed to get hold of them for £1.50 each with free postage and packaging. So I'm having to make do with the limited number of plates I brought with me for quarantine.

I think I did pretty well though. I wanted to keep this look simple so just did a basic double stamp with a pink and green polish. I wish there was more distinction between the white and pink polishes; they ended up looking a bit too similar.

Polishes/Tools Used:
- Avon Mark. Gel Shine // I Pink I Can (pale pink)
- H&M // Ice Cold Milk (sheer  off white)
- MoYou London // Candy Floss (pink), Turquoise Mint (green)
- Twinkled T // Liquid Gold (gold)
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Tropical 28 (leaves), #SummerVibes (triangles)
- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat

SWATCHES: OPI // Mexico City 2020 Mini Collection

OPI have released a new collection for spring 2020 full of bright pastel shades and I'm really late to the swatching party but I just wanted to paint my nails. I know bright and pastel don't really go together but the photos on OPI's website really do match that description:

I fell in love with the Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal shade because it's Peach...and I'm obsessed with Peach this year. NailPolishDirect had an offer on the mini set when I went to purchase it so I got that as well. When they arrived, I found that the shades are actually much darker than the photos and I'm a tad disappointed; especially with Mural Mural on the Wall. For example, on the bottle photo above Suzi's Slinging Mezcal looks like a shimmer pastel yellow; it's actually a dark gold metallic.

Let's get into some swatches. All are two coats with no top coat (unless states otherwise).

Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal // peach/coral creme

We'll start with my favourite shade. Even though it's darker than I was expecting, it's still a beautiful shade that is a cross between peach and coral. The first coat is very streaky and the second kind of does the trick if you don't look to closely but there are still brush strokes. I'd recommend three coats for it to be fully opaque. I wish more brands would do peaches in their spring collections.

Telenovela Me About It // rose pink shimmer jelly

When will OPI start putting names on their mini bottles?? It's so annoying. I have to keep everything in the boxes or create stickers. I almost thought this was a creme but then I saw the slight pink shimmer. What is it with OPI and putting pink shimmer in what could be just lovely creme polishes? I hated half the ones I got in their 2018 advent calendar because they all had this random bright pink shimmer in them. 

Formula-wise; it's not the greatest. Even though it's a sheer jelly it applies in a thick gloopy mess and it's quite difficult to get a nice even spread; you always end up disturbing other bits of the polish and leaving brush strokes. It is super shiny by itself but it's not my shade of pink; I prefer more muted ones. Two coats is still a bit streaky with this one.

Mural Mural On The Wall // coral jelly with gold flakies

I bought this mini set because I really wanted to see if this polish was worth buying full size and I'm disappointed to report that is it not worth buying. It's an interesting polish thanks to the flakes but it's just too dark for my liking and doesn't match my skin tone. It's a shame because you don't often see jelly flakies in mainstream polish brands.

This one is much easier to apply than the previous jelly and each coat is even with no brush strokes. There is also an even distribution of gold flakes which starts to look really nice when you build up the layers. It looks better in the sun so perhaps this is a polish to take on holiday with you....if we can ever go on holiday again...

Mexico City Move-Mint // pastel blue creme

Oh I do love me some pastel shades and this is no exception. This is very similar to Barry M's Berry Sorbet so there is your £3.99 dupe. The first coat is very streaky, the second coat kind of fixes it up, three is probably needed. The problem with this polish is that it dries very quickly and if your brush isn't loaded up it causes serious drag marks. Even though it's a nice polish it's deceptively tricky to apply. I'd say go for the Barry M one.

Suzi's Slinging Mezcal // gold foil

This one really surprised me (especially given how on the website it looks like a pastel yellow). I was unenthusiastic about it; I saw it and was like "not another gold shade" but then I put it on and I LOVE IT. Many have spoken about the brush strokes but if applied slowly and in thin layers they're not really that noticeable. I also love the formula; it applies like a dream. The shade itself is also on the cool side so it's not brassy. I normally hate gold polishes; I'm in shock.

// Verdict

There are 12 shades in the collection but I after swatching I don't feel the need to go out and buy them. I have a strange relationship with OPI as more often than not I really hate the formulas of their polishes. I heartily recommend Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal and maybe even Suzi's Slinging Mezcal now I've tried it but there are many similar shades from cheaper brands.

MATCH THAT MANI: Morrisons Exotic Palm Scented Diffuser // Peach & Green Tropical Leaf Design

More peach! More Monstera! This doesn't exactly match...it's more "inspired that mani".... I had to peel myself away from the home aisle in Morrisons as a reed diffuser isn't exactly a necessity in these times. So instead I took a photo and then created these nails.

I will probably try again using more exact colours but I was having a bit too much fun swirling all the acrylic paint around on my mat and ended up with more vibrant greens than blue/greens.

I did think about doing every nail but I thought it might be too overpowering so I settled on some lighter peach nails. Once the whole mani was done the bare nails felt like they were missing something and I rummaged round the tiny stash I brought with me and found a pack of broken holo nail stickers from essence and they added just the right amount of detail. (They also only cost 99p, bargain!)

I can't stop staring at my hand; I wish I could say I hand drew this but I would be telling giant lies. I stamped on the design in a light green and then painted the detail on top. It's fun and oddly therapeutic. I used a white stamping polish on my little finger but the white sticks out in some places and it did blend as nicely as the green.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Daisy DND // Peach Buff (light peach), Havin' Cabbler (dark peach)
- MoYou London // Hello Absinthe (olive green)
- Pebeo Studio Gouache // 11 Blanc, 48 Primary Yellow, 42 Emerald Green, 49 Cyan
- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // #Summervibes 02 & 04
- Essence // Broken Holo Nail Stickers

*psssttt happy easter every one! I'm gorging my way through a 12 pack of cream eggs...no regrats.

MATCH THAT MANI // Hollister Blackcurrant & Vanilla Body Wash Nails

Brace yourselves, it hit 18 DEGREES today...in a pandemic. I'm back home at my beach town and I can't go out and enjoy icecream on the beach because Resident Evil decided to become reality. So instead, I brought summer indoors and matched my mani to this glorious exfoliating body wash I bought from Hollister in the Autumn. Every time I used it I wanted to recreate that gradient and the entire mani just turned out better than I thought it would.

Brace yourselves again though because *drumroll* there is a video!

A real video with the whole process filmed. I really need to invest in a desk tripod for my DSLR because at the moment it feels like it's five light years away and I have to keep propping my hand up with boxes so you can actually see my hand.

I took 250 photos of this look; that's how much I loved it. When I saw the design in my head I honestly didn't think it would turn out this well. There are some rough edges (I'm not a pro) but practice makes perfect!

I think this is one of the best gradients I've ever done...that said I tend to say that about every gradient I do. I'm just surprised at how well I managed to match the colors given 75% of my collection is trapped in quarantine at the house share I live in. 

This was my test decal that I did and I must be getting better at drawing because I did not expect the lines to turn out so neat. To achieve this I got the logo off google, resized it in PhotoShop and then traced it off my monitor onto white paper. I then placed the paper underneath a clear nail art mat and traced again but with polish! I then applied some top coat; let it dry and peeled it off. Now I know this works the possibilities are endless!

This photo was taken in direct sunlight and I added some letters; they definitely need some work as they're not as neat as I wanted but I didn't change brushes. So I'm blaming it on the too-thick brush.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- MoYou London // Orchid Chic (purple), Mint Condition (blue)
- OPI Infinite Shine // Rice Rice Baby (dark pink)
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Tropical Pink (pink)
- H&M // Space Race (silver holo)

Bathroom Tiles Part 3: The Bathroom Strikes Back // White & Blue Tile Nail Art

I'm back for another addition in the Bathroom Tile series! It's been a while since the last one (August last year 😯) and I've been wanting to do the whole blue Moroccan tile art for ages but I never did because I didn't want it to turn out awful. Does that make sense? I always put off doing things I want to do just because I'm afraid I'll do it wrong. It's so weird.

Before Pinterest I always envisioned myself having a stark white clinical bathroom with black subway tiles but now all I want is blue Moroccan tiles and monstera plants everywhere. One day...one day. For now living those dreams on my nails will have to do.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Cuccio // Mystery In Milan (off white)
- MoYou London // Surfs Up (blue)
- Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine // Berry Sorbet (pale blue)
- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Summer Lovin' 05
- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat

Bathroom Tiles Part 1
Bathroom Tiles Part 2

Pombre // Peach Ombre Nail Art Design

A quick one today and yes, I have gone Peach mad. But I thought I'd give some of my other beautiful peach shades a chance to shine instead of just constantly using the Nails Inc Kiss My Peach duo.

I'm also back home in the north! Praise be to the north. I am very fortunate to have a job that allows me to work from home and whereas I'd rather be in the office, it's nice to be at home for the next few months. It also means I get my old photography set-up back! Oh sweet lighting how I've missed you.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic so I thought I'd ease myself back into nail art with a simple ombre mani. And I love it. Who said beautiful mani's had to be complicated?

The OPI shade is also from the new Mexico collection; it's easily my favourite out of the lot. I also bought one of the mini sets and I'm wondering if I should swatch it or not...some of the shades are a lot darker than what I though they would be.

The world needs more Peach shades...I need more Peach shades. I don't think quarantine will be good for my bank account.

Polishes/Tools used:-
- H&M // Milky Tea (nude peach)
- Morgan Taylor // Up in the Air-Heart (pink peach)
- OPI // Coral-ing Your Spirit Animal (peach)
- Zoya // Sawyer (orange peach)
- China Glaze // Flip Flop Fantasy V2 (neon peach)

SWATCHES: Ciaté // Mango Martini, Holiday Blues & Strictly Legal

One of my favourite things about buying nail polish from TK Maxx is that they're, more often than not, really old shades. I was attracted to these beautiful Ciaté shades for the brightness and shimmer and then stayed for the £1.99 price tag. When I got home and researched them a little I was shocked to find out how old they are!

Mango Martini // orange jelly
Release Date: July 2013
Collection: Suncatcher Collection

This is a true jelly shade which means it applies with no streaks, even though it's sheer. That means you can either wear one coat for that transparent glass effect or build up the coats for a glossy mani. I'm wearing 3 coats in the swatch and even though it looks like quite a bright orange in the bottle, it's actually more muted on the nails and isn't "in your face". The shade reminds me of cocktails and lying on the beach; clearly it captured the "Suncatcher" theme. It's been a long time since Ciaté have released a polish collection though apart from random shades every now and then! When researching this collection I was shocked to find I now only need 2 more shades to complete it! I'm missing Afterglow (a glow-in-the-dark white) and Palm Trees (lime green).

You can find out more about the collection in a post here: http://nailcandy101.com/launches-ciate-suncatcher-collection/

Holiday Blues // blue jelly
Release Date: Spring 2012
Collection: ???

This isn't my favourite blue; it's a bit too dark. It also has a warm undertone and I have a feeling this will stain your nails real bad if left on for more than a couple of hours. It's also a streaky jelly and needs at least three coats. By the time the coats have built up the colour changes slightly to an ocean blue. This is definitely a holiday shade though.

Strictly Legal // metallic grape purple
Release Date: 2009?
Collection: Metallics

This is going so far back in Ciaté's history that I can barely find any info on it. The early days of blogging! I had never seen the old Ciaté logo, it looks so weird! Unfortunately this is not an original from 2009 as it has the new logo but it's still pretty old as it has the old thin brush as well. It does apply pretty well but it's getting a little thick. This is a great shade for Autumn and Winter and I can see it with some gold designs on top for Christmas parties. It's also ready in one coat...although that could just be because it's gotten a bit thick.