Brand reviews

I wanted to dedicate this post to reviewing and telling you all about some of my favourite nail polishes and brands, also I have just purchased a Tanya Burr polish and wanted to tell you all about it!

My all time favourite brand is Nails inc, it is a bit more expensive than the high street brands but i think it's totally worth it! I have so many of these polishes and love every single one! The polish is so thick and pigmented so it only needs one coat which is something I especially look for in a good polish. I have 24 of the full sized polishes just at my uni house and more at home so this is clearly a sign of how much I love this brand.

The really good thing about Nails inc is every once in a while they will pair up with a magazine such as 'In Style' or 'Glamour' and offer a free nail polish with each purchase of the magazine! This for me is like a dream come true, so I make sure to stock up on all the colours available, you have to take advantage. So if you are thinking of trying this brand but don't want to splash out before you try the magazine deals are a great option for you. As we are now officially in Autumn I thought I would recommend a few colours that I personally love, the first is 'Sao Paulo Streets' this is the nudey grey colour. I got this one free in a magazine and fell in love, nude is so on trend at the moment and this shade is perfect. Second is 'Northumberland Avenue', I think khaki is fab and the colour reminds me of the trees going brown as we head into Autumn. The other four I have chosen are all very dark similar colours, they are 'Queensgate Mews', 'Hanover square', 'St Pancras' and 'Wigmore street' I just think dark purples and red scream Autumn and long nights.

I know that Nails inc is quite pricey so if your a student like me or just looking for a cheaper alternative my favourite high street brands include Rimmel, Barry M and even Primark which i have recently discovered do nail polish. I went through a phase of avoiding Barry M as i found they would dry out quite fast but i love the 'Gelly Hi Shine' nail polishes the finish is so shiny.

I took a trip to Liverpool recently and purchased a nail polish from the Tanya Burr collection, i chose 'penguin chic' which is a grey colour. The packaging is soo pretty! i love the square shaped bottle and the heart on top of the lid just makes the product. The colour of this nail polish is fab and so on trend at the minute, however you do need to apply a good few coats as the polish is thin. If you have the time to apply a few coats then you should invest. 

Hope you found this of some use.

Keep smiling,

Holly x

International dot day

Today (15/09/15) is international dot day so of course today's design incorporates dots. At first i was going to do a simple plain background with black dots and do a range of different colours but then i decided i would go for something a little more adventurous. The design is a white background (like always) with black dots and some lips in the foreground to jazz it up a bit. As always i started the nail with a simple white background, using two coats of the polish. I then drew a pair of lips in red with a thin tipped brush, you can do the lips as big as you like and position them anywhere on the nail and i think they would look fab! I might try and do some giant ones. Once the red was dry i went round the lips giving them a black outline and put in a white dash on the top lip to create a shine effect. I went back to the white to neaten the edges between the lips and around the outside. The next and final step was to put on the black dots, i started at the top of the nail with a line of dots and went from there, you could even just do random doting. On this design i forgot to put on a clear coat at the end but i would advise it to keep the design in place just make sure the dots are dry or they will spread and make the nail grey. 

The picture below is of the nail polishes i used in this design, the black and white are the same two i have used on i think almost every post so i definitely recommend these two (the details are on the previous posts). The red is 'Blood orange' by Barry M and it is the 'gelly hi-shine'. I am not a massive fan of most of the Barry M collection as i find they dry out fast but this one is fab, the whole 'gelly hi-shine' range is fab! Its a great colour and the finish is soo shiny. 

I hope you enjoyed my twist on the dot day theme!

Keep smiling,

Holly x

Mini Primark haul

I went shopping to Liverpool and although it was my intention to not spend any money that went out of the window in the first shop, Primark. As my blog is dedicated to all things nails i thought it only right that i had a browse at the beauty and nail section, with it being a big store they had things i hadn't seen before. 

The first thing i picked up were 2 nail polishes, one clear and one in a bluey purple colour. With the nail polishes only being 80p each i didn't have much hope for them but gave them a go anyway, i am so impressed with the thickness of them and how pigmented the colour one it. They did chip the next day but for 80p you cant really complain, i only did one or two coats on my nails and they were completely covered. I am yet to try the clear but I'm sure i will be just as impressed. I will definitely but purchasing these in different colours to try them out.

I also needed some nail files as my others are getting a bit bald, i picked up a pack of 30 for just £1.50. At the end of the day nail files are nail files, i use them a lot so went for quantity over prettiness. I would recommend this pack as they are good quality but also very cheap. Also i got two nail soaking pots for £1, i haven't seen they before i thought they would be perfect for the water marble designs i do (there will be a tutorial soon)  so i picked some up. I am also going to use one of them as a mixing palette for mixing colours on.

That is all i bought from the nail section of Primark, i just thought i would add to the bottom of this post something that i discovered this week. I was in Boots picking up some things and picked up the magazine because i am an avid user of my boots card. I was flicking through the magazine and spotted a nail tutorial, i cant say i have noticed this before but though i would just highlight it to you all if your looking for a new design to try, it is a Halloween design so i may do this one around Halloween for you all. 

I hope you enjoyed this random blog.

Keep smiling,

Holly x 

National suicide prevention week 2015/world suicide prevention day

As this week is national suicide prevention week i have dedicated this post to a design to raise awareness. No matter who you are you have most likely been effected by suicide at some point in life, this post is for you. Weather you have or haven't been effected it is very important to raise awareness and you can get involved in many different ways, i chose to simply paint a semicolon onto my nails. Project semicolon is where i got this idea from, it is a project set up to to give hope and love to those who are struggling with depression, suicide and self-injury. 

"A semicolon represents a sentence the author could have ended, but chose not to. 
The sentence is your life and the author is you." - Project Semicolon

to find out more visit: http://www.projectsemicolon.org/

To create this design, it shouldn't take long, simply paint the nail in the background colour of your choice. I chose to paint the background white and the semicolon black but it can be done in any colour its totally up to you. Once the background is dry use either a tool with a ball on the end or a cotton bud to create two dots, one underneath each other. Then use a thin brush to draw a flick off the bottom one creating a semicolon.  

Below is an image of the nail polishes i used to create this design, i used a black and white. The black is from 'The Body Shop' the name has rubbed off but its just a black, for Christmas i received two colours from 'The body shop' but before this i didn't even know they did nail polish! i would definitely recommend! The polish is nice and thick and has a lovely finish. The white is the same one i always use, its the 'Winter Baby' from Maybelline colour show, this does need a few coats though. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and get involved even if its just by painting your nails!

Keep smiling, 

Holly x

Read a book day

As today, the 8th August 2015, is read a book day i decided to dedicate my post to a nail design that is book related. This particular nail art isn't a intricate hand drawn design, it is about using what's around you to create something magical. This design is creating a book on your nail using newspapers from the recycling. 

The first step is to find an old newspaper or book, you only need a small section for each nail but keep the rest in storage for when you want to recreate this design, cut out ten small pieces of newspaper as big as each nail. You will also need a little tub or cup with water in at room temperature.

Choose a base colour that you think will look best, i used a white but i think a beige may look better/more realistic. Once the base coat is fully dry (this is important!) dip your first piece of newspaper into the water, drag it out along the side of the cup to get rid of any excess water, then place it on the nail in the direction you like best or mix it up each time like i did. Once the paper is on the nail press down on the nail as hard as you can making sure not to move your finger or allow the paper to slip. To stop the writing blurring roll your finger across the nail while pressing instead of lifting off the nail. After you have pressed hardly on all areas of the nail you can let go, then carefully remove the newspaper from the bottom to top. This should leave the print of the words on the nail, don't worry the words will be back to front. Once the print is on the nail all you need to do is add a top coat or two to secure the print onto the nail. At this point i went a bit crazy and opted for matte top coat just to spice things up a little.

Below is an image of the nail polishes and tub i used for this tutorial. The white base coat is 'winter baby' by Maybelline Colour show, i love the colour of this nail polish but it isn't dry in 60 seconds as the name suggests. The matte top coat i used is 'Matt Top Coat' by Models Own, i must say i haven't had many Models Own nail polishes before this one but i will definitely be trying them out in the future.  

I must say i think this design is so cute when it comes out right, if you don't get it first time keep trying and you will get there! 

Keep smiling,

Holly x

Watermelon

As some have you may or may not have noticed i have made a change to the name of the blog, this is because me and my lovely flatmate Chloe had the wonderful idea that i would do a different nail design for the random dedicated days throughout the year, hence the name Nails for dayss. For example on world apple day i would do a design or two on this theme. This is fab idea so i always have some inspiration and can provide something different in each post for you all. 

This post however is about watermelons... not literally. 

As summer is fading quick i thought i would take this last opportunity to paint something a little summery and decided that a watermelon is a great image for summer time. The picture below is of the steps i took to create this design, i started with the green and pink base, using colours i had that best matched the colour of a wateremelon. I then mixed together the green colour i used with white to get a lighter colour for the lines on the green part of the fruit, the black dashes where then painted onto the pink part. to finish the nail i then added the white line across the centre of the pattern to finish the nail of neatly. 

Below is the image of the Nail polishes i used for this design just so you can get an idea of the sorts of colours and products i use. The first is Nails Inc (my all time fave brand) and it is 'Copacabana coral' which is a bright coral, the green is 'Queen Victoria Street' from Nails inc, the white i used is 'Winter baby colour show' from Maybelline which i purchased today and finally i used '080 black Cab' from Rimmel which is a tried and tested brand that i always return to!

Hopefully you enjoyed this post and think the new plan is a good one!

Keep smiling,

Holly x

Whats in my toolkit

Today i thought i would take the opportunity to show you all the little utensils and tools i use to create the different nail patterns. I decided this would be a good time to do this post so you can all see what i will be using in the future and refer back to this post. As i have recently moved to uni i don't have all my tools with me so these are just a select few i use on a regular basis. I apologise for the state of the brushes i may need to invest in some more they are just very well loved and have served me well. 

Blue Brushes- Topshop

These are all the brushes i currently use but i did buy them a while ago so not sure they are still available. Each has a different use depending on the thickness and angle of the brush. The thin brushes i usually use to draw lines or create patterns that require thin detailing. One of the smaller brushes has a angled tip and i am not entirely sure why?! (let me know if you do) but i use this brush to create a sweep across the nail. The Fan brush creates a pattern in itself, if you lightly brush it across the nail you get a sort of paint brush effect. The thickest tool, third from the right, and the black tool are used for creating dots and flowers of any size depending on the thickness of the nib. The pink tool is just your standard, used to push back your cuticle. 

Konad stamper- Amazon
 Tapes- Amazon
Finger- Amazon
Corrector Pen- Nails Inc

The little white sponges and the yellow sponge on a stick are all from face paints i had as a child or from Halloween, they can be purchased in any fancy dress/make up shop and i think i saw them recently in Bodycare. They can be used to create the background to the galaxy design i do, it creates a great universe! The Konad stamper is a new addition to my collection, it comes with the two silver plates, each with little images on, that will transfer to your nail using the stamper. One of the plates also has patterns on such a zebra print and lace. The Tape is also a recent purchase, i use it as a guide of a staight line of even just leave then on the nail to create a pattern, they come in many different colours. The weird looking finger in the top corner of the image is something i have not yet had the chance to use, your suppose to attached a nail to the finger and this gives you a steady platform as there is a sticky pad on the bottom. The last thing from the image is the corrector pen from Nails inc. i received this as a Christmas present from my wonderful sister and was sceptical at first as i have had these type of products before and they always seem greasy to me. However i love this one and would recommend to all! the nail polish comes off so easily leaving the skin clean and it also comes with spare nibs to change when they get dirty!

Hope you found this post useful!

Keep smiling,

Holly x