Dangerous Tiles // Crimson & Gold Nail Art

A quick look that came about the other day when I was swatching my most recent Ciaté purchases. I just love the combination of dark red and gold and knew that these two would go perfectly together. Tell me this doesn't look like an amazing design for christmas parties. I might do my nails like this christmas eve.

Twinkled T polishes just make stamping so easy. I really hope they have another 30% off sale for Black Friday this year as I've been saving so I can purchase some more polishes from them. Shipping is $17 so I've been waiting for a year! I might pick up another black as I'm running low.

I also forgot to use some liquid latex when doing this and ended up with gold sparkles all round my nails which is annoying for photos but it had washed off completely by the end of the following day. This look took about 10 minutes though so it's super quick and easy. Below is a photo in some harsher lighting; it really helps to bring out the crimson in the polish, otherwise it almost looks black.

Polishes/Tools used:

- Ciaté Gelology // Dangerous Affair (red)

- Twinkled T // Liquid Gold

- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Tuttu Frutti 06

SWATCHES: Ciaté // Palm Springs, New England Fall, Dangerous Affair & Reign Supreme

So I was gonna make this big spiel about how long it's been since my last post but it was like 3 weeks ago 😂 So I guess not that long. It just feels like a long time because I've barely been painting my nails thanks to programming day and night. I'm just obsessed with trying to get better at my job right now and I've been burning the midnight oil and all my hobbies have fallen to the side.

Since logging back on though, one thing that is super annoying is the new Blogger interface......thanks, I hate it! They literally haven't changed it since 1999 but now they go and utterly ruin it. If I didn't detest Wordpress with a passion I'd totally swap.

But anyway, I saw these bottles in my local TK Maxx and holy hell, I almost started dancing in the store. I love it when they have Ciaté because they always sell them for £1.99 and the Gelology formula is one of my favourites.

Palm Springs // Deep Royal Blue Shimmer

Collection: Gelology

Coats: 2

This shade was the reason I purchased the 2019 Mini Mani Month and in a cruel twist of fate the calendars we're all marketed/printed incorrectly and they actually contained Pool Party. I mean it's still a nice shade but this is now my favourite blue. It's hard to imagine this looking terrible on anyone. With two coats, my nails looks like shimmering sapphires. The shade is so deep and rich; I can't stop staring at my hand. I honestly feel like I've stolen it by paying £1.99.

New England Fall // Deep Navy Crelly

Collection: Ciaté x Olivia Palermo

Coats: 2

This bottle is fancy as heck. It weighs more than the gelology bottles and it just feels more expensive but it isn't because it had leaked inside the lid. AFter opening it and cleaning it up, I then struggled again to get the top off. It seems to have dried inside the lid which is annoying. I'll have to find some cotton buds to clean it out. Anyway, the shade is amazing. I'd say it's more of a jelly creme than a true creme as it has that glass-like shine. It shines slightly purple in certain lighting and will make any outfit look 5 times classier.

Dangerous Affair // Oxblood Jelly

Collection: Gelology

Coats: 2

I swatched the Paint Pot version in Ciaté's 2018 advent calendar (over here). I love the shade but it's  a nightmare to apply; it stains the skin so easily. So, I eagerly picked up the Gelology version in the hopes that it was a more pleasant experience. Oh my word, was this a dream to apply. In my opinion, this is the perfect red shade. It's elegant, classy and will suit any skin tone. It's also a true Jelly with no streaks in sight so you can go for a more translucent look or layer it up for a glass shine.

Reign Supreme // Deep Aubergine Jelly

Collection: Gelology

Coats: 2

Another beautiful shade; Ciaté do jellies so well. This is very similar to Dangerous Affair but under bright light you can see the purple hue. This is a perfect winter shade. I have a velvet pant set in this colour and I'll just have to wear it round the house to a virtual christmas party this year.

With Love // Birchbox February 2020 Nails

This took a while to get up on the blog mainly because for some reason Hermes delivered the box to my old address this month for no particular reason. It wasn't an exciting box but the hand cream is nice and I got another sample of the Sand & Sky exfoliator which was a repeat product but I actually love that product so I'm quite happy.

I wanted to match the box exactly however, I couldn't find any hearts of the right size and when I eventually settled on a heart stamp I had difficulty getting a clean stamp with the Born Pretty and MoYou polishes. At this point I'm thinking of just buying all the polishes from Twinkled T as they're the only ones that work perfectly.

Polishes/Tools used:-
- Jessica // Cheeky (pink nude)
- Born Pretty // 1787 (red)
- MoYou London // Candy Floss (light pink)
- Twinkled T // Glow Up (white)
- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Love Is...04, 02

Rusty Pineapple // Clay Red & White Fall Design

This rusted fall design was inspired by a mustard look I found on pinterest by @semilac. Once it was finished I think I should've stuck with the mustard shade as the white and red kind of clash. Looking back I feel I should've chosen an off-white or parchment shade for the accent nails. Also, the red and yellow combo remind me of macdonalds...not exactly what I was going for.

It's still a somewhat cute look and I'm still impressed at how well these two creme shades stamp. Guess I need to buy more H&M shades...they just brought out a new winter collection.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- H&M // Sun on Clay (red), Cantaloupe (mustard)

- Ciaté // White Heat (white)

- Nicole Diary  // Black Knight (black)
- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Plate // Botanical 01
- Maniology Plate // M051

Heatwave // Look Fantastic August 2019 Nails

Not the greatest box art I've ever done but still way better than last months Look Fantastic offering. I was completely inspired by the red sand/orange sunset combo and set about to recreate that. The sea foam on my middle and ring fingers are actually from the Nicole Diary marble plate and I placed it strategically to look like waves as I don't actually have a stamp like that...over 100 plates and only a few with waves on them. Looks like I need to buy more.

I was also very happy to finally do the ombre of H&M colours that I wanted to do when I first got them and mentioned here when I swatched them. They blend so beautifully together and the dark burnt orange stamps really well on light colours. I'll have to use that in a future design.

Polishes/Tools Used:-

- Cuccio // Flirt (white)
- H&M // Cantaloupe (mustard), The Heat is on (orange), Sun on Clay (burnt orange), 
- A-England // Camelot (black)
- Avon Gel Shine // Top Coat

- Harunouta //L080 Plate
- Nicole Diary // 076 Plate

The Marble Antidote // Red & Gold Marble Design

New nails! I finally got the 'new' watercolour polishes from Born Pretty that are constantly sold out and let me tell you; perfect marble nails. I only managed to get hold of 3 colours; blue, red and black but I'm going to try my best to get my hands on the other colours because holy moly. I'm going to do a full post on them because what a great invention.

Anyway, I saw a design like this on Born Pretty's instagram but they blinged it up with huge rhinestones stuck on top. I love these burgundy/blood red shades and decided to do my own version.

I love how these turned out. I'm gonna be doing marble watercolour nails all the time now. This polish makes it way easier than using acetone with normal polish or acrylic paint with water. You just pop a blob of the colour on, then use the clear solution to 'watercolour' it.

How I did it:-

I started off with 1 coat of The Antidote on my thumb, index and pinkie and then stamped on the gold designs from Tropical 36. I used one coat of White Heat on my middle and ring finger then applied a couple drops on the middle and only 1 drop of red colour on the ring finger. The more drops you add the more pigmented the colours will be. It will also be harder to get that watercolour effect so add drops sparingly. I added drops of the clear solution to create the effect. Once dry I stamped on some gold marble design from ND-076 then added a matte top coat to everything :)

I feel I may have to invest in some rhinestones to create a truly basic mani now...

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- ORLY // The Antidote (burgundy)
- Ciaté // White Heat (white)
- Nicole Diary // Watercolor Nail Liquid L12 (clear)
- Nicole Diary // Watercolor Nail Liquid ND08 (red)

- Born Pretty Polish // #1 (gold)

- Barry M // Matte Top coat
- MoYou London Plates // Tropical 36
- Nicole Diary Plates // ND-076

Ciaté Mini Mani Month 2018 // Days 22 - 24

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day. I spent it eating myself into a coma whilst watching South Park & The Orville with the fam. I've also got the OPI calendar and 2013 Ciaté one left to post but they just weren't as exciting as this one. Let's get into the last three shades shall we?

Day 22 - Up In The Clouds // Pink & Blue Duochrome Shimmer

Formula - Gelology

I love duochrome shades, especially pink ones as they're just so soft and versatile. This one shifts from baby pink to baby blue (or the reverse if applied on a dark base) and has a multitude of shimmery pieces to give it depth. For a cheaper dupe though, this shade is practically identical to W7 Breanna which is just a tad darker but you can only tell in bright light. I picked up the W7 shade for £1.99 whereas full size Ciaté go for £12 so go get yourself a bargain dupe if you love this shade. In the photo I'm wearing two coats with no base colour.

Day 23 - Red Hot Chilli // Bright Orange/Red Jelly

Formula - Paint Pot
I'm calling this one a Jelly instead of creme because it has pigment but is still slightly translucent. One coat is perfect but you can just see the nail tips peeking through. This is not because of streaks though. I'm wearing two coats in the photo, but one is perfectly acceptable. 

Day 24 - Shooting Star // Shaped Glitter Chunks in Pink Clear Base

Formula - Paint Pot
As the last day of the calendar you would expect it to go out with a bang; something completely extra. Instead we got this; a boring clear polish with some star pieces in it. It looks lovely in the bottle, the problem is that you tend to get one or two star pieces on the brush every now and then. You can could sponge this on but it would still take forever as you can't get any freaking stars out; a huge disappointment. The star pieces also tend to stick up from the nail and even with a thick top coat on; they keep catching on everything. I tried my best to get some stars out but could only manage to get one on each nail. This is basically a top coat with some chunks in it.

// Verdict

And that was the Ciaté Mini Mani Month for 2018! I LOVED this calendar and I'm hoping they'll change at least 80% of the shades for next year because I can buy it again. The shades were varied and full of shimmer and except for Shooting Star, the formula on every single one was amazing. This calendar has made me a Ciaté convert and I'll definitely buying more from their new range. It's also on sale right now for £20 on the Ciaté website, go go go!

My favourite shades that I discovered were Paradise Lost, Golden Hour and Dangerous Affair. These are the ones I'd recommend the most.

Days 1 - 7
Days 8 - 14
Days 15 - 21

Crimson Christmas // Christmas Party Nail Design

I'm back with a new Christmas design...finally! Just one more assignment to go and then I can get on putting up some posts which got put aside. This look was completely accidental and came about whilst I swatching shades from the Ciaté advent calendar. Days 8-14 will be up in the next few days! 

Anyway, in the calendar Dangerous Affair is a day before Antique Brooch but I couldn't help but think "damn they look good together" whilst they were sat on my desk. Before I took off Dangerous Affair I decided to add a coat of Antique Brooch to my middle finger and thus this look was suddenly born in my mind. I knew instantly I had to do this mani.

It turned out better than I could of hoped for. The pattern is the new MoYou Crystal 03 plate and this design is just perfect for Christmas parties, New Year or a fancy event. I can't stop staring at my nails; send help.

I'm wearing two coats of Dangerous Affair, followed by two coats of Antique Brooch and used a gold Born Pretty Stamping polish for the detail.

Polishes/Tools Used:

- Ciaté // Dangerous Affair (deep crimson creme)
- Ciaté  // Antique Brooch (pink and gold glitter in sheer gold shimmer base)

- Born Pretty Stamping Polish // #1 (gold)

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Crystal 03

The Christmas Edition // Look Fantastic Beauty Box December 2018 Nails

I had a lot of fun translating this months box into a nail art design; it just screams "Christmas" and has made the perfect Christmas party nails. This was my first time using a dotting tool as well. I've had them for a while but been scared to use them.

The design of the box also has this matte and shiny striped background and for the life of me I just couldn't get the red right. Roses are Red is close however it's kind of hard to see the difference between the matte and shiny sections like on the box. 

Also, out of the thousand stamping plates I have, one of them doesn't contain the outline of a square...honestly. Looks like I need to buy some more then....I ended up creating some decals which I'll explain later on.

I started out with one coat of Roses are Red and then applied a quick dry top coat. I followed it up with the Barry M Matte top coat and let it dry for around 5 minutes. Then I used the BP-L061 plate with the same polish to create the striped background. 

Using a small dotting tool and the gold stamping polish I created dots on all fingers except the middle and ring finger. On some silicone mats I applied a layer of top coat, then stamped on a red square using the same colour polish. I then applied a layer of gold, another layer of top coat and peeled it off the mat. I cut it out to the desired size so there was just a neat gold outline and stuck it on my nails. I did it this way because when peeled off the mat, the bottom side is always matte and I needed the squares to be matte without applying another layer of matte top coat (as I needed the shiny parts of my nails to stay shiny). 

When making decals, you need to leave them for a good 15 minutes to harden up otherwise they'll be to malleable and you won't be able to do much without leaving fingerprints or ripping them. Don't leave them on to long though or they'll just flake off in bits.

I then stamped on the L and F using the Typography 04 plate and used the dotting tools around the image in the same style as on the box. 

I can't believe I only used two polishes for this look though! Or well, 2 polishes not including top coats...who knew top coat could be so important for nail art!

Stay tuned for some beauty box nail art as I've got both the Birchbox Advent calendar and beauty box planned as well as some other Christmas looks. I've got an assignment due on the 18th though so that's why I haven't been posting as much. 

Polishes/Tools Used:

- Avon Gel Shine // Roses are Red (red)

- Born Pretty Stamping Polish // #1 (gold)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat

- Revlon Colorstay // Diamond Top Coat 

- Barry M // Matte Top Coat

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Typography 04

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Holy Shapes 20
- Born Pretty Stamping Plate // BP-L061

Mani & Lola November 2018 // Nail Subscription Box

I can't believe it's my second month of Mani & Lola already! This months got a little moodier with some beautiful nude cremes as well as teasing the upcoming party season with another amazing glitter shade from Cuccio. This months selection contains all full sizes again along with a luxury treatment for your nails. For £22.95 a month, let's see what we got this month:

OPI Infinite Shine // Berlin There Done That (15ml full size - £9.95)

Described as a "light mauve/concrete grey" this shade is perfect no matter what the weather is outside. I can't get enough of shades like this however I'm not a big fan of the Infinite Shine formula. I've tried a few from the Peru collection and they just looked dull and flat. However, this shade is inside the OPI advent calendar this year in the normal formula so I'll compare the two formulas later on next month.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Cuccio // Chakra (13ml full size - £4.95)

Oh my lord. My heart skipped a beat when I saw this because it's stunning. I'm not a big fan of bright red polishes but I'll buy these glittery masterpieces any day. Just like the last Cuccio polish, this one is highly pigmented and with each layer the shimmer and glitter seems to gain more depth. It's perfect for Christmas and any time you need a royal/regal mani. I also love the bottle design from this company and I'm eyeing up an 8 piece set from Nail Polish Direct as the shades are just everything.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Orly Breathable Treatment + Color // Feeling Free (18ml full size- £10.95)

Another Orly polish in the Breathable range which is said to contain argan oil, vitamins B5 and C. Orly says not to use a base coat with this range but I can't not use a base coat. I love the large bottles from Orly but the bright Violet shade kind of feels a little out of place. I feel it should've been darker or shimmery. Either way I don't have this kind of purple shade so it's a welcome addition to my collection.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Artistic Colour Revolution // Heart of Chrome (15ml full size - £8.95)

I first saw this and was like ".....ok...". However, I then discovered just how insanely thick and pigmented this shade is and have discovered the perfect silver stamping polish. Most stamping polishes come in tiny sizes but this thing is huge. I'm shocked by just how well this polish performs. I don't think I'd wear it on it's own but definitely in designs. I loved the combo below so much I even went ahead and made it my mani that day. 

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Zoya // Codie (15ml full size - £9.95)

This glossy dark shade is supposed to be a rich chocolate brown but to me it just looks almost black and in some lights; murky green/brown. That said I still really like the shade. This is my second Zoya polish (received the first in last months box) and I'm loving the super thin brush that comes with them as it's so much easier to paint the sides. I'll be using this shade from now on though when I want a dark base that isn't pitch black as this was so much easier to clean up than standard black polishes. 

And here's a shot of the first mani using this months shades:

Such a great combo. I'm thinking of doing something with Berlin There Done That and Codie next with some more Heart of Chrome stamped on top. 

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Spongellé // Mani Pedi Treatment Set - Flower Market (Full size - £13.95)

Now this is what I signed up for with this box. As well as trying out new polishes I wanted to receive new and interesting treatments for your hands and nails and this fits the bill and more. Housed in an adorable little magnetic pouch (which I'm going to have to use for something else because it's so cute) are two exfoliating sponges. The green one works best for your feet and the white one with your hands. They both have a buffer side and are good for 7 uses each. I think this is a fantastic idea and I'm saving them for a day when I know I can spend a good couple of hours on my hands as right now I have deadlines everywhere...it's not fun.

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ //

Price of Box - £22.95

Number of Items - 6 

Estimated Worth - £58.70

And that's everything! I'd say the only 'dud' for me this month was the Orly polish but that's only because I would've preferred a different shade that fit the others a little better; the formula is fantastic though. All in all, this was another fantastic box and two months in it's already introduced me to Cuccio; the brand that is fast becoming my favourite nail brand.

If you love subscription boxes and nail products; this is the box for you.

EDIT:

Looks I've done using this months shades:
- Codie Meet Suki

- Dark Wonder (Look Fantastic November 2018)

- Scarves & Library Vibes