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

Single, Taken, Cursed // Pink Anti-Valentines Nails

I thought about doing real valentines nails...I really did, but I just love doing anti-valentines nails that look legit. My friend at work also bought me this beautiful bright pink shade for Galentines and I just had to do something. It has a bit of a hint of peach; it's kind of like Deco Miami Cake but brighter. I'm wearing two coats as the first is patchy. I love the shade though...but then again; I love pink. 

But today was a game changer in my stamping game because I finally figured out how to pick up the stamp with no patched. Are you ready for this? You roll the stamp from side to side. I usually pick up stamps from top to bottom and find that no matter what, the middle would always be patchy due to too much pressure applied. However, when rolling side to side I found it so much easier to control the pressure. It honestly felt like I wasn't even touching the plate and I managed to pick up nice white lines for once. 

I feel like I've unlocked some secret of the universe and I'm once again inspired to start doing more nail art. MoYou also had 50% off all polishes so of course I had to buy some, along with the rest of the Love is... collection. I am such a ho for nail products. 

Polishes/Tools used:-

- OPI // Suzi Nails New Orleans (bright pink)

- Twinkled T // Glow Up (white)

- Revlon Colorstay Gel Envy // Diamond Top Coat

- MoYou London Stamping Plates // Amit x MYL 08, Love Is...05

Suck It (in the nicest way possible) // Anti-Valentines Love Hearts Nail Art Design

Another year, another valentines alone. I don't mind being on my own...in fact sometimes I prefer it because commitment scares the bejeezus out of me but valentines day still manages to make me wishe that all the happy loved up people could be miserable. Cue this great plate from MoYou London's latest valentines collection full of sassy quips about how much love sucks.

I'll tell you now, I almost gave up on this look because of how freaking long it took. I watched both Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask whilst doing these nails....yes I am super excited to finally see Jim Carrey in a new film this Friday...yes I am going to see Sonic The Hedgehog on valentines day. My other single friends are also extremely happy about this and we are going to one of the new Odeon Luxe cinemas to drink wine, watch Sonic and hate on loved up people; it will be glorious.

I will say I'm a little annoyed at how poorly the design picked up and I know it's nothing to do with that Twinkled T polish; text on MoYou plates never pick up fully for me no matter what technique I use.

Polishes/Tools used:

- H&M // Ice Cold Milk (sheer white), Happily Ever After (bright pink), Cantaloupe (orange), Wild Lilac (lilac)

- Essence Shine Last & Go // Forget the Rules (lime green)

- Zoya // Lillian (baby blue)

- Ciaté // Loop the Loop (pastel yellow)

- Deco Miami // Cake (pastel pink)

- Twinkled T // Glow Up (white)

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Love Is...05

Match That Mani // Baija French Pompon Body Cream

I have been meaning to do this look for so long. I think I got this sample cream back in the October Birchbox. Seeing as how it's now February and Valentines is right around the corner, it seems like the perfect time to do a pink mani!

It took me three attempts to get this right. Even then I just couldn't get the base colour right. I ended up using Crush in Lake Como which is a sheer soft pink. I love wearing it by itself so much I almost didn't want to do the nail art. The most annoying thing is though (apart from taking a photo with the wrong polish 🤦‍♀️) is that once I applied the leopard print the base colour completely changed from a soft subtle pink to a sheer dark pink. I think it's just an optical illusion but it still really bothers me.

I also got a little lazy towards the last two nails and completely missed the double stamps; this took far longer than I expected. I also wanted to add the block colour flowers but it was already looking busy enough.

I like a look that Paulina's Passions did that is similar to this where she just had a few spots running up the side of the nail; I think that would help with this as the spots really overwhelm my small nails.

(Wrong polish in this photo! I didn't use a H&M one)

Polishes/Tools used:-

- Cuccio Colour // Crush in Lake Como (sheer pink)

- Twinkled T // Smokey (dark grey)

- MoYou London // August Plum (grape purple)

- Ciaté // Bubblegum Bellini (pink)

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Mix & Match 13

Valentines Schmalentines // Nail Fails #2

So there were four other designs last month that I just couldn't bring myself round to post as I wasn't proud of them in the slightest. However, it's nice to see people fail sometimes; it's a good reminder that we're only human after all and you can become skilled anything with enough time and practice. I clearly still need more time and practice lol.

So, here are the designs I didn't want to show off this past February:

Fail #1 // Wedding

So this was the design I did for the Clairestelle8 Wedding prompt and it was based off a popular pin on Pinterest. That look used rose gold and pink and to be different I used blue and gold. I don't think it's terrible. I'm surprised how neat the detail looks considering I had to *shudder* free-hand it. I'm terrible at free-hand, I'm no artist and never will be however the french tip decals I had were too strong and kept ripping up the polish. Don't buy nail tips from Avon everyone.

Fail #2 // Hearts

I literally have no idea what this is supposed to be. I was swatching a colour because there was nothing on my thumb (a sign that I was swatching) but I can't remember what it was now. Regardless, I clearly decided to stick a glitter top coat on, then add some stamps for no reason. This is just a jumble of stuff with clearly no thought put into it. I give it 2/10. Next 👏 Nails 👏. 

Fail #3 // Roses 

WHAT WAS I THINKING?? I am disgusted by this mani on so many levels I think I triggered myself. Excuse me whilst I hold an #ifndef_nails_h_ is over party. This actually started out with a black base coat and I was attempting to do a stained glass look with roses....it did not go well so I just thought "fuck it, I'll smoosh it." And smoosh it I did....this was my first attempt at smooshing, it kind of looks like sewage water in some places and nothing says romance quite like sewage water....My thumb is the part I can't get over the most; just ew to this whole thing.

Fail #4 // Roses II - The Rosening

Ok, so this actually isn't that bad. I had just received some new Born Pretty polishes and really like the coral colour. I think this would be ok without the roses but I had to incorporate roses into it in someway otherwise it wouldn't fit the prompt. I don't think this had been executed badly, nor does it look bad; it just makes no sense to me.

And that's it for this compilation. Don't worry, this won't be the last one. There are plenty more fails instore. Here's the first fail post if you'd like some more:

- Nail Fails #1

Roses // #Clairestelle8 Valentines Challenge

This is so late! I feel like that has just been my motto throughout all of February. I've got a full formative deadline for my dissertation due in 10 days and I'm completely freaking out. But anyway, here is my attempt for the 'Roses' prompt of the Clairestelle8 challenge on the 19th. 

This is actually my fourth attempt at this prompt as the other three were just awful. I tried doing a stained glass window look which I hated and painted over it with this blue smoosh which turned out atrocious. I then did some lime green and coral nails....yeah. I have so many looks to put in this months FAIL post.

I'm not super happy with how these turned out either but you can't really mess up when using this glitter because when the sun hits it, magic happens;

This glitter is my favourite and the holo sparkle from it is the best you'll find. I wanted to do something a bit more spectacular but with limited rose stamping designs (and not much time) I was stumped.

How I did it:-

I started out with a layer of top coat and when it was just about dry I used an eyeshadow applicator to apply the glitter. I believe this is called 'burnishing'; it creates a nice smooth effect and really helps with holo glitter. I then applied another layer or top coat and did the same; ending with two layers of top coat. Using a white stamping polish I used the design from the Princess plate on top. Also, I won't be using the China Glaze top coat with stamping polish again as it just smeared it really bad.

Polishes/Tools used:
- Elite Glitter Manchester // Sweet Pink 004 Glitter
- Born Pretty Stamping Polish // #4 (white)
- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Princess 12
- China Glaze // No Chip Top Coat

Anti-Valentines // #Clairestelle8 Valentines Challenge

So, the prompt for the 16th was 'Anti-Valentines' and whereas this may not look very 'anti-valentinesy', I was inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean;

"Means no."

So yeah, I bought this strange plate about a month ago off eBay because it had some wreath designs I was looking for but it also has these quotes on it. I didn't pay much attention to them, but when it arrived I noticed they were the weirdest quotes to have on a valentines plate. You've got things like "I decline", "no way", "FREEE", "Good Luck!" and "Bless you". 

How I did it:-

I started off with one layer of Vortex Vixen and then did two sponged layers of Vortex Vixen, Ballerina and Designer Dress. After a quick dry top coat I stamped on the quilted pattern and the text.

I'm glad we're past valentines day though as it truly is my least favourite holiday of the year. I know a lot of women are like "I'm a strong independent woman who don't need no man" but no matter what your preference is; being single on Valentines day truly sucks and it's perfectly ok to hate all those happy people lol. Only for one day though.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Artistic Colour Revolution // Vortex Vixen (pale mauve)

- Barry M Nail Paint // Ballerina (dusky pink)
- New York Color Expert Last // Designer Dress (pink)

- Revlon // Quick Dry Top Coat
- Harunouta Stamping Plate // L085
- Nicole Diary Stamping Plate // Animal World ND-004

Hearts // #Clairestelle8 Valentines Challenge

So I'm trying my best to catch up thanks to this amazing cold that decided to grace me with it's presence and this is my design for the 12th which was hearts. On the first entry I did the exact same white marble design on one finger (albeit with a hollow heart) and I liked it so much I just really wanted to do it again. I also didn't have any other heart stamps so this had to do. It also doesn't get much more basic than this; white marble and rose gold? Pinterest is gonna be all over this shit.

I wanted to do something a little more adventurous but I had time constraints and so I had to do a design that was relatively quick. The next prompt is Anti-Valentines which is way more up my street because eff all the happy people in love....can you tell I'm alone....bloody happy people.

How I did it:-

I started out with two coats of the French Tip polish (which is ridiculous for a French tip polish...annoyed I spent £2.50 on it now) followed by the marble print in I Wonder Where using the Explorer 33 plate. I applied a matte top coat and then used stamps from the Explorer plate and BP L002 in Golden Hour.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Avon True Colour Nail Experts // French Manicure Tip (....white)

- Cuccio Colour // I Wonder Where (light grey)
- Ciaté // Golden Hour (rose gold)

- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Explorer 33
- Born Pretty Stamping Plate // Valentines Day BP-L002

Romance // Look Fantastic Beauty Box February 2019 Nails

I'm finally doing some nails again! I've been stuck in bed for the past week thanks to a cold. Yey winter. Anyway, today is the first day I've been better and could get to my office (where I keep all my polish) and I've got so many nail designs to catch up on. I thought I'd combine the Clairestelle8 challenge with this one as well.

This isn't my favourite LF box however I'm always happy to see Erno Lazslo products in boxes as they are way out of my price range but I'm getting a little sick and tired of Phillip Kinglsey hair products. Also, eyelash curlers scare the bejeezus out of me so they're not going anywhere near my eyes lol. 

I was going to attempt my first watermarble design with this box however, I have so many other things to catch up on that I didn't have the time so instead I cheated and used a watermarble stamping plate.

How I did it:-

I started off with two coats of Vintage Tee and then stamped on various designs from the BP-L061 plate. All the designs were tripled stamped starting with Must Have Mauve, then Ella of a Girl and finally Golden Hour. Before Golden Hour though, I applied a matte top coat.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Nails Inc Fashion Fix // Vintage Tee (baby pink)

- Morgan Taylor // Must Have Mauve (...mauve)
- Morgan Taylor // Ella of a Girl (light pink)
- Ciaté // Golden Hour (rose gold)

- Barry M // Matte Top Coat
- Born Pretty Stamping Plate // BP-L061

Wedding // #Clairestelle8 Valentines Challenge

Since my last nails were ridiculously wedding-y I struggled to decide what to do for this prompt as I didn't want to incorporate lace/flowers into the design again. When pinteresting wedding nails it would appear that your nails must either be; sheer pink, pink with sparkles, rose gold, white, white lace, pink, pink with white lace, pink with white lace and rose gold sparkles or nude with rose gold sparkles....I see pink is a recurring theme here. So, I decided to do...pink nails with sparkles....so original.

To be fair though I did attempt some other blue and beige nails but I hated how they turned out so did these instead. I completely forgot I had Anne of Cleves though and it's just such a beautiful pink shimmer that I knew I had to use it for this prompt.

This design is just 1 coat of Crush in Lake Como with Anne of Cleves sponged at the tips until I was happy with the coverage, followed by top coat. I love how simple yet elegant it is. You can't see my thumb in any of the photos because I stamped some white lines on it to add some detail but it just looks weird. I think this gradient look just kinda speaks for itself.

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Cuccio Colour // Crush in Lake Como (sheer pale pink)

- A-England // Anne of Cleves (rose holo)

- Avon Mark Gel Shine // Top Coat

Lace // #Clairestelle8 Valentines Challenge

Ok, I'm going to dry my best to actually complete this challenge! I'm not really bothered about the prizes; I'm more bothered about getting the nail art done #priorities lol. I decided to go simple for this prompt although now I'm looking at it, I could've used some striping tape at the ends and painted the tips in white to tie it in with the ring finger...where is Captain Hindsight when you need him?

Also, I totally effed up and smudged my middle finger when taking the top photo 😭 I'm so annoyed with myself.

How I did it:-

I started off with 1 coat of Halo Rose (I found a use for these polishes after all!) and the stamped on the lace with the white polish and the BP-02 plate. The middle finger has two layers of Cabana Fever followed by a marble print from the Explorer 33 plate in I Wonder Where. I then stamped on the little heart with Golden Hour and the BP-L002 plate. One thing I was worried about was smudging the white polish as that one from Born Pretty smudges so easily. However, my Revlon Diamond top coat came through for me. As long as you have a large amount of top coat on the brush and you don't let the brush touch the nail you should be ok.

The next prompt on the 5th is "Wedding" and well, these definitely look like wedding nails so I'm not sure what I'm going to do for those. Perhaps something soft and pink?

Polishes/Tools Used:-
- Avon Nail Wear Pro+ // Halo Rose (sheer pearlescent rose)

- Born Pretty Stamping Polish // #4 (white)

- China Glaze // Cabana Fever (matte white)
- Cuccio Colour // I Wonder Where (pale grey)
- Ciaté // Golden Hour (metallic rose gold)

- Revlon // Colorstay Gel Envy Diamond Top Coat

- MoYou London Stamping Plate // Explorer 33
- Born Pretty Stamping Plate // BP-02 & BP-L002