Swatches - Collection 2000 Hot Looks

Hey!

I have been quiet for a few days and that's because I'm giving my nails a break from the constant applying and removing of nail polish! They need to recuperate for a while :)

I didn't want to not post anything for a few days though so I thought I'd show you the swatches of all the new Collection 2000 Hot Looks I own. I've shown you a couple of the colours before but here they all are together -

(L-R) Vixen, Hoola Hoop, Dynasty, BMX Bandit, Button Moon, Show Off, Ninja and Hip Hop.

With flash -

Some close ups-

My personal favourites are Show Off and Vixen but I love all of them really! The only one that I doubt I'd wear out is Hip Hop and that's because I don't think it really suit's my skin tone.

They all apply well in 2 coats apart from Button Moon for some reason! Button Moon needs 3 coats.

I think I'm going to swatch all my Barry M nail paints next to show you all! Maybe whoever win's my giveaway may see a colour or 2 that they particularly like ;)

Speaking of my giveaway, I'm amazed at how many entries I've had so far! There was a part of me that was worried that no-one would enter! I'm so happy that so many have and I hope whovever wins loves the prize!

Doing the giveaway has gained me lots more followers so hi to you guys and I hope you continue to read and enjoy my blog once the giveaway is over.

I am loving the giveaway so far so I will definitely be doing more in the future!

That's all from me today! Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'm off to cook roast chicken for dinner! YUM! :)

50+ Followers Giveaway! CLOSED

Hey!

Finally here is the giveaway post :)

There is only one rule - you must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment below.

I've thought a lot about the prizes and as I've said previously, I can't get too many things but I hope some of you will want what I've come up with :)

Originally I was going to buy the items to giveaway first but then I thought it might be nicer to give people more of a choice so the prize is as follows -

5 x Barry M Nail Paints plus a few extra bits and bobs

OR

1 x Illamasqua Nail Polish plus a few extra bits and bobs

The reason I've given 2 options is that I wanted to give an option that might appeal to my fellow UK bloggers more than the Barry M as obviously it's easy to get here! Of course if you're an international follower and would prefer the Illamasqua then that's fine too!

If you win then I will contact you asking what your favourite colours are and I will choose your prize based on that. I'd like to say that you can choose specific things but I can't guarantee that they'd be available in the shops when I go.

I hope I haven't made this too complicated....

To enter please leave a comment below telling me which option you would choose for a prize.

To get an extra entry follow me on twitter and tweet about this giveaway.

To get 3 extra entries mention this giveaway in your blog.

I will do a random draw on 9th September to pick the winner.

Good Luck and I hope you like this giveaway!

Franken, Konad and Contest Update.

Hi!

I am back from my pet sitting duties. The animals were all so cute! I will show you some pictures at some point :)

I didn't get anytime whilst I was there to do my nails as the puppies in particular were very demanding of attention!

So the following is a np I wore a couple of weeks ago.

This is Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Platinum Frost mixed with Benefit's Curtain Call. Curtain Call is one of my favourite pigments to use as an eyeliner so I thought I'd see what it looked like as a nail polish.

It's actually a lot more purple in real life but I just couldn't capture it!

Then I thought I'd konad it using image plate m56 and China Glaze 2Nite.

Again this was really difficult to photograph as the effect is really subtle!

I must have had to take a million pictures just to get these ones :)

I hope you can see the effect ok. In real life I absolutely loved the result. I kept looking at it all the time!

I'm thinking of making a konad order this week... I really want some more image plates and different colour special polishes... I'm meant to be saving though..... ;)

I mentioned a contest a while ago to celebrate me hitting 50 followers. Well I will finally be putting it up in the next couple of days! I hope you guys like it and all enter :)

I am taking Barnaby for his jabs tonight. Poor little guy doesn't know what's coming!

It's only 18 days until my birthday!! Yayayayayayayaya! I don't know if I've mentioned that it's coming up.... if I haven't then it's a miracle.. I tend to get rather excited..to put it mildly. I think I've been counting down for about 2 months now... I must drive Maz mad!

Anyway enough from me!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Boots 17 Peacock

Hello Everybody!

I woke up this morning with the migraine from hell. I thought my head was going to explode and would probably have been quite grateful if it had. I get migraine's quite a lot but this one was a real humdinger! I burrowed under my duvet and managed to sleep most of the day so I feel a lot better now thank goodness.

Anyway, moan over :)

This is Boots 17 in Peacock -

For some reason I only took 2 pictures... I don't know why and I could have sworn I took more but I can't find them anywhere.

It's a gorgeous colour though in my opinion. Went on well and this is 2 coats, no topcoat.

Boots is probably the biggest drugstore here and where I get a lot of my nail polish and makeup. They sell lots of brands but also do 2 of their own - 17 (quite cheap) and No7 (more expensive). Both of them are pretty good as far as I've used them!

Tomorrow (Fri) I am going to my sister's to house/dog/cat/rabbit/sheep/chicken sit (probably a few other animals as well!) for the weekend. Luckily for me she is taking my 5 gorgeous nephews with her ;) I love them but FIVE!! Oldest is just 9 and youngest is 1 and a bit. It's ok when Maz is with me but me on my own? They'd run rings round me. My brother's wife is pregnant at the moment and she's having a boy too... looks like it's down to me to even things up!

I'm taking my laptop with me but they live in the middle of nowhere so I'm not hopeful for good coverage to get me online.

I am taking all my nail stuff with me so that I can do some swatching whilst I'm there....just in case I'm bored!

That's enough of my gabbling. Hope everyone is having a good day!

Oh and I've decided I use exclamation points too much. I'm cutting down.

Some Simple (and quite bad) Nail Art!

Hey!

I wasn't going to put this nail art attempt on here but in the end I thought maybe it was better to put it on so that when I improve I can look back at this!

To be honest it's not as bad as I'm making it out. It's just not perfect and I'm a bit of a perfectionist...

I saw a similar design in a nail book I was reading so thought I'd try it as it's so simple.

I used Hot Looks Dynasty for the whole nail, BarryM Fuchsia for the petals and Konad white polish for the middle dots.

As I've said, I quite like it and in my defence I did it very quickly thus the rather squiffy flowers! I think if I took my time on it though it'd be a nice design! It definitely has potential :)

I used the dotting tool from my nail art brushes that I got ages ago. Yes, I've finally started to use them!

I'm so excited about the Secret Santa thing (see previous post). I love buying things for people and of course I love receiving stuff as well :) I just don't know where to start on my wish list! There are so many polishes that I would like!! Maybe I'll stick to colours rather than actual named polishes....decisions, decisions!

Also I have to apologise for my sporadic responses to comments. I do try to keep up but it really annoys me that I can't answer individually to people! I'm going to try to be better from now on :)

Christmas Nail Polish Exchange

Hey!

For those of you who don't already follow MagicXMaid check out this post. She has come up with a fantastic idea for us all to do a nail polish secret santa exchange!

Basically we all sign up to a group she's set up on Elfster and then Elfster does the rest of it! You can either send 2 bottles of nail polish or whatever you can get for $20 (£12.50) and then of course you get something in return. You can even make a wish list on Elfster that your secret santa can see and you are able to ask questions to whoever you're buying for.

Deadline for sign up is Monday 14th September.

So everyone go sign up! :)

11 Happy Things

Helen did this tag and tagged anyone who wanted to do it so I thought I would give it a go and also take the opportunity to tell you more about me!

In no particular order, my 11 happy things -

1. Maz, my boyfriend.

This is a picture taken on holiday. We were about to go to the beach thus I have no makeup on. I don't know why I feel the need to defend my naked face, I just do ;) I chose this picture because I love him in it!
We've been together nearly 3 years now and would get married tomorrow if we could :)

Completely off the subject - look at my nails! They're bare... this was before the obsession began!

2. My cats, Bobo and Barnaby.

To say I love these guys would be an understatement. I adore them and spoil them rotten. Bobo is 2 and a half and Barnaby is 3 months.



3. My family and friends.

I'm not going to put any pics on of them as I'm unsure how they'd feel about me putting them out there like that! I have an amazing family who I've come to appreciate more and more in the last few years and my friends are fantastic too!

4. Books.

I love to read. I've been known to read about 10 books a week before(thank goodness for libraries). I could read all day and all night. My favourite authors are Harlen Coben and Nicci French.

5. Ghost Whisperer.

It's my favourite program. I absolutely love it. I couldn't tell you why. I just do.

6. Urban Decay.

About 3 years ago I went to London and one of my friends told me to check out Urban Decay in Selfridges. It was love at first sight and I've been addicted ever since.

This is a picture of some of my eyeshadow -

7. Chocolate.

How predictable hey! I almost didn't include this but then thought 'who am I kidding'! There's not much I can say about this. I LOVE CHOCOLATE!

8. Nail polish.

My addiction grows by the day. At least it's less expensive than my makeup addiction though! I love trying all the different colours and love that I have to keep upgrading my storage to bigger things!

9. The blogging community.

Ever since starting my blog I have loved getting to know everyone. I love looking at everyone else's blogs and I love getting comments on mine. My first port of call when I turn on my laptop is always my dashboard! I tried YouTube for a while but it wasn't for me at all. This is so much nicer and friendlier. I hope to carry on making new friends and learning new things!

10. My hometown.

I know it's sad but I really love my hometown of Newbury! I grew up there and lived there until Dec 07. When I lived there I didn't appreciate it but now I live in Manchester I really miss it! Going back for visits to see friends and family is my favourite thing to do. I am definitely a small town girl. I am happy where we are at the moment but it's not permanent and we will be back in Newbury within the next 3 years. I want my children to grow up there too :)

11. Glitter.

I couldn't not have it could I! :) People think I'm joking but I do love glitter! I would bathe in it if I could. Wherever I go glitter seems to follow. I leave it everywhere even when I don't think I've used any! One of my friends has ocd over it and hates it being everywhere so I try really hard when going to hers not to have any on my anywhere... she still finds some. I think I sneeze it.

That's it! I hope you've liked reading some stuff about me that isn't really np related!

I tag anyone who wants to do it!

Hot Looks Ninja and konad

Hey!

This is the first of the Hot Looks that I have to show you. It's called Ninja and is a shade of green I wouldn't usually go for but I thought I'd give it a go!

I wasn't at my photo taking best yesterday so I don't really have that many good ones to show you!

2 coats, no top coat. As usual I LOVE the brush that comes with Hot Looks. It's still the best I've used.

Then I decided to do a quick konad over the top. Well I used all konad tools but the print itself isn't a konad one.

I've had that look on since yesterday and I've grown to really like it now! I think I may do it again in the future.

Lastly some kitty love :) I just can't resist.

Bobo -

Barnaby -

The 2 of them playing. Barnaby looks as big as Bobo here but it's just the angle! He's tiny in real life :)

Yes, I do follow them round with a camera permanently in my hand.

Oh and a few of you asked about the curved file that I showed you on my last post. I plan to try it out properly today and will let you know what's it's like!

Small Haul and Quick Konad!

Hello!

Yesterday Maz left to go to see his family for the weekend so after dropping him at the station I went to Tescos to get a few treats and discovered they do Collection 2000 now (probably have for a while but I haven't been to Tescos for ages!) so of course I had to buy a few :) Also I got a base coat and a curved nail file. I'm a sucker for things like the nail file. Anything new and I want to try it!

So here's what I got -

and a close up of the colours -

I think I will be getting some Hot Looks to be part of my giveaway so I will be swatching them all over the next week to see what colours seem to be most popular!

Next is a quick konad I did. I'd like to say before you look at the photo that I plan on doing lots of swatching/konad etc today so everything is going on fast and coming off fast so please ignore my horrible cuticles!!! I usually tidy up alot more before taking pictures but I'll won't get much done if I have to do that everytime today :)

This was inspired by a look I saw on neglelakkmani's blog a while ago. Her's is a MILLION times better but I still quite like this. I wish I had the same butterfly stamp as her though! The white polish is a maybelline one meant for doing french tips but it's the only white I have.

Also you may have noticed I put the stamps on upside down.... duh! Lets just say I'm having one of those days! Disappearing diet coke, turning the oven on and then forgetting about it, tripping over cats... I could go on! Maybe it's the vast amounts of chocolate raisins I've eaten going to my head?!

Barry M Silver Cascade

Hi!

I was meaning to put Barry M Cyan on again today to show you guys but I have been extremely lazy and somehow time just got away from me!

So instead, here are some pictures of Barry M Silver Cascade that I tried a while a go but hadn't got round to posting.

I think that was 2 coats and then I eventually put on another coat to fill it in even more.

Sparkly hey!! I like it a lot and have worn it a couple of times as it goes with everything and dries SO fast that I can put it on when I'm in a rush!

Recently I put it on with a layer of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Strobe Light (thank you Nicole!)over the top and it was GORGEOUS! That was whilst I was in London though so didn't take any pictures! I'll definitely wear that combo again at some point though so I'll be sure to take some pictures then!

That's it for now, my boyfriend, Maz, is away this weekend so I think I will be doing lots of nail painting and maybe some nail art.

Oh and I have realised that I've hit 50 subscribers! Yay! A contest/giveaway will follow some time very soon!

Future giveaway

Hey!

I am very nearly at 50 followers! Woohoo! Doesn't seem like that long ago that Nicole was my only one :)

Anyway I was thinking that I may have a giveaway when I hit 50 (or very soon afterwards).

It wouldn't be a massive giveaway I'm afraid as I'm very low on spondoolies at the moment but I'm sure I could put something together...

I was going to post pictures of BarryM Cyan today but I peeled it all off in the bath before I took any daylight pictures.... ooopsie! I just couldn't resist... It's the first time a BarryM has done that but I did think when I was putting it on that I was doing it too thickly! Never mind, I'll put it on again later and take some pics :)

Off to the cinema tonight (got to love 2for1 Orange Wednesdays!). Unfortunately it's Maz's choice though and he wants to see Bruno...... I've heard good and bad things about it but I know I found Borat a bit uncomfortable to watch in parts and this is meant to be worse so we shall see!

The Picture Tag

I was tagged to do this by Helen at Helen and Sheenie's Nice Things.

The Rules:
1. Open your 1st photo folder
2. Scroll down to the 10th photo
3. Post that photo and story on your blog.
4. Tag 5 or more people.

I'm laughing at the picture this turned out to be! I almost cheated and put the next one along on but that would be missing the point hey :)

This picture was taken a few years ago. It was a works leaving do back in my hometown. In fact the guy in the black t-shirt in the picture is whose leaving do it was!
It was a Thursday night and we all had work the next day....lets just say it was a very quiet day that Friday ;)
We were in a club called Liquid here... It's a very classy club... (Helen don't tell them the truth!!!)

It was a really good night and it's still talked about now! We had a guy out with us from Germany who took photos all night and it's him that took this one of me. I was dancing when it was taken. I have no idea who I was giving that look!!!

I tag Nicole, Mary, Olivia, Joyce and anyone else who wants to do this!

I think a lot of people have been tagged already so if you've already done this ignore me!

Hot Looks Show Off with Sparkle

Hello again,

Whilst I was away I changed my nail polish a few times but I only remembered to take photos of one of those times!

I used Collection 2ooo Hot Looks - Show Off with CG City Lights over the top.

Don't forget to click on the pictures to get the full effect!

I have to say that I think Show Off has leapt to the top of my faves list... I just absolutely love it and the application was possibly the best I've ever experienced which is quite surprising considering they're just a drugstore brand. The brush is absolutely perfect for my nails though and literally does it in one swipe! I wish I'd taken some pictures of it without the holo glitter over the top but I will definitely be wearing this again soon so I will take some then.

I love the sparkle the CG added and as I mentioned in a previous post I can't resist adding it to all my manicures at the moment!

Recent Additions

I thought I'd show you the most recent additions to my collection. All have been bought or have arrived in the past couple of weeks.

First off, these 3 beauties arrived from the US thanks to MagicXMaid! My jaw dropped at all the sparkliness (you all know by now how I'm partial to a bit of sparkle!) I have been adding the middle one to EVERYTHING!!!

L-R Sinful Colors Show me the way, Cover Girl City Lights and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Strobe Light.

Next a few randoms -

L-R BarryM Silver Cascade, Boots 17 Peacock, Rimmel 60 Seconds Blue Me Away, Technic shade 32 (no name) - comes with glitter to add over the top!

Some Hot Looks -

L-R (All Collection 2000 Hot Looks) Button Moon, Show Off, BMX Bandit, Hip Hop.

Finally - (I finally got some!)

On the left is China Glaze IDK and on the left 2Nite.

So many to try! I best get swatching!

London!

Hello Everyone! Long time no blog :)

This is just a quick blog about my girl's weekend in London before I do a nail post.

So I had an absolutely fantastic time! We had so much fun and we laughed and laughed until we cried :) Seriously, we had stomach aches we laughed so much! I won't bore you with any of the funny stories because most of them are 'you had to be there' ones! I will say though that one of them involved me apologising very sincerely to a photographer in Madame Tussauds for getting in her way and then realising that she wasn't real ;)

The weekend was jam packed and we were on the go constantly. So much so that it's taken me the rest of this week to recover. I was so exhausted! All worth it though.
We went to Madame Tussauds, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Harrods, Portabello Market, Notting Hill, 2 musicals (Grease and Thriller) and a Salsa club!
Unfortunately we didn't have time to go anywhere that I could get some nail polish, maybe next time!
We were proper little tourists :)

I have to say that I do not recommend taking a suitcase on the underground! We had to get them up and down so many stairs! Plus when we got to our hotel we discovered our rooms were on the top floor (5 flights) and there was no lift! It nearly killed us.

Here are a few pics we took -

London Eye

Hanna outside Buckingham Palace

Houses of Parliament taken from the Eye

The collection of snacks and drink that we took with us

Me with Mr T

Nisa managing to look elegant even when on the hot and cramped tube

I could show you a million more but that will do for now :)

Even though we didn't go shopping anywhere that did nail stuff we did do some shopping at Portabello Market where I got 2 dresses and a really cute compact mirror.

All in all it was a fab weekend. We laughed the whole time, ate way too much (but then sweated it all off on the tube!) and came back absolutely shattered! We're already planning our next one...

In the mean time though I have my birthday to look forward to in September! Think I will be going back to Newbury for it and maybe having a few drinks :) It's will be my 30th so I'm very excited! Also got my cousins wedding in October to plan for. It's going to be in Scotland where I've never been so may make a bit of a holiday of it. Need to go dress shopping!