FAQs And Some New Things!

Hi!

This is a post I've been meaning to do for ages. I get asked a lot of questions but there are a few that come up a lot so I thought I'd do a post on them.

First off, and I'm not sure why people are fascinated about this, but a lot of people ask to see my 'bare' nails so here they are sans polish!

You have to ignore the slight yellow staining. Trust me, they used to be FAR worse! They're longer than I usually have them at the moment, I just haven't got round to chopping them. My cuticles aren't at their best here either :)

The 2nd question I get asked a lot - What base and top coat do you use?

I have tried quite a few base and top coats. In my opinion though, nothing beats Nails Inc Kensington Caviar base coat and top coat -

For me, it's the best by a long mile. I don't know how I coped without the top coat especially! It dries in 45 seconds and gives a really good shine. The only thing I can't use it for is over konads as it smudges them but I still put a coat of it over the konad special top coat.

The only downside for me is that it's quite expensive but I think it's well worth it and I can usually find it on ebay for a bit less than usual.

3rd question - Do you use any other products on your nails to keep them strong?

I am very lucky with my nails. They are naturally very strong. Usually I only break one if I really whack it on something. I wish I had some amazing tip but I don't!

The one thing I do do regularly is use cuticle remover, buff and shape -

I use Nails Inc Striptease cuticle remover. For me it works well but it's all I've ever used so I have nothing to compare it to.

About once every couple of weeks I use the cuticle remover, then I use the nail buffer (top) to smooth and shine and then I shape (or should I say attempt to) using the glass nail file. That's all I do nail care wise.

4th question - how do you clean up any excess polish on your nails?

I forgot to take a picture for this one! It would only have been a picture of a boring brush though :)

I usually put nail polish on at night, go to sleep and then in my shower or bath the next morning I peel off any excess polish and tidy the nails up. If I can't do that though then I just use a firm bristled brush soaked in nail polish remover and wipe that round the edges of my nails.

Those are the questions I get asked the most. I do always answer any emails so feel free to ask me anything else you want to know!

One other question I've been asked a couple of times recently is why I never do any haul posts... well to be honest, I don't actually buy that much nail polish! I buy the occasional bottle that I really want and I'm very lucky in the fact that Maz and some friends occasionally buy me a bottle. I'm trying to be sensible spending wise at the moment but here are a few things I've bought or been given recently -

(L-R) Bourjois Bleu Violet, No7 Spun Sugar, Miss Sporty x2 (no names)

(L-R) Rimmel Green With Envy and Desire, Bloom Isla

OPI's Absolutely Alice and China Glaze's C-C-Courage

Lastly, here are a couple of things I've won recently -

The 8 new konad plates! Thanks to Beauty Judy and wowsocool.com

A Nutriganics gift pack from The Body Shop. I won this through twitter. I haven't used it enough to give my opinion on it yet though :)

That's it for today. My nails are NAKED at the moment so no manicure to show you. I may do them later if I can resist cutting them...

China Glaze's Sexy In The City

Hi!

I've been slacking again ;) Don't I sound like a broken record?! I don't have any excuse, I just haven't changed my polish much in the past week or so!

So I did my nails yesterday using China Glaze's Sexy In The City. It's one of my favourite colours at the moment although I'm not totally convinced it suits my skin tone!

Here are the pics -

This was 3 coats and a topcoat. It's a bit darker in real life but I couldn't quite capture it right.

I wonder how long it will survive without being konaded?!

I also had the same colour on last week but as a french manicure -

and I always get lots of help from Barnaby when doing my nails -

My nails are pretty long now (for me) and I'm feeling the urge to cut them again... I just can't seem to shape them so that I'm happy with them.

I'm also thinking of going back to my old comment system. Intense Debate is great for replying but it seems to take a while to load and sometimes crashes my browser...

Lastly, I'm updating my blog roll so if you're not on it and want to be then please let me know! I try to follow everyone but I sometimes miss a few.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Contest Entry

This is a VERY quick post to show you my entry to the China Glaze and Seche Vite contest!

You can vote for your favourite here. I'm not asking you to vote for me, vote for whichever one you like best!! Not even I have voted for my own :)

Here's my entry -

The contest was to do a manicure using only China Glaze and Seche Vite products. I have to admit I very nearly didn't enter because without konad I am truly bad at nail art but in the end I thought 'give it a go'!

I used China Glaze's Coconut Kiss for the base and the circles were done using a brush protector and CG's Emerald Sparkle, Ruby Pumps 2Nite and Sexy in the City. There's also a bit of Fairy Dust on there too! Top coat was of course Seche Vite :)

So get voting people! There are some really fabulous entries so good luck deciding who to vote for!!

Here's the link again - Nail Contest

Konadicure and 3 Things About Me

Hey!

I thought I'd show you the konadicure I did for my weekend away last week. I didn't take many pictures of it though so the photos aren't the best!

I used Sinful Color's Secret Admirer as a base with China Glaze's Devotion for the stamp using image plate M64 (yes, it's a favourite!). This was a winner judging by the number of comments I got about it :)

Also, I saw a post on Niki's blog that I just can't resist doing as well. You all know I'm a sucker for these things!

Three Things About Me.

Three names I go by:

1. Sarah

2. Millie

3. Moo


Three jobs I've had:

1. Proofreader - no comments on my spelling and grammar please! ;)

2. Events Administrator

3. Recruitment Administrator


Three places I've lived:

1. Wilmslow, Cheshire

2. Newbury, Berkshire

3. Sulhamstead, Berkshire


Three favorite drinks:

1. Diet Coke

2. Tea (PG Tips!)

3. Cherryade


Three TV shows I watch:

1. Dancing On Ice ( I have such a crush on Kieron Richardson right now!)

2. Glee

3. The Mentalist


Three places I have been:

1. Dominican Republic

2. Turkey

3. Portugal


Three places I'd like to visit:

1. St Lucia

2. Maldives

3. North Carolina :)


Three people who text me regularly:

1. Maz

2. Nisa

3. My Mum


Three favorite old TV shows:

1. Knightrider

2. Murder She Wrote

3. MacGyver


Three favorite dishes:

1. Fajitas

2. Roast Chicken

3. Stuffed mushrooms


Three makeup/beauty products I cannot live without:

1. Urban Decay Primer Potion. I don't know how anyone doesn't use it! Well not necessarily the UD one but just any primer!

2. Boots No7 Illuminating Lotion.

3. Urban Decay's Book of Shadows II.


Three things I'm looking forward to:

1. Booking a holiday!

2. BBQs in the garden this summer.

3. Maz getting down on one knee ;)

That's it for those questions. I don't know why I like these things so much...I must love talking about myself!

Lastly, a couple of pictures of Bobo and Barnaby -

The stand off

Let the battle begin!

They love each other really :) (they're in the airing cupboard here by the way, getting my nice clean towels all hairy!)

That's it for today! Thanks for reading :)

Tag: 10 Things That Make Me Happy

I was tagged by the wonderful Niki, aka Magic Maid, for this. I have a feeling though that it's going to be VERY similar to Niki's post. I'm not copying honest, the same things just happen to make me happy :)

1. Maz, my lovely, amazing boyfriend. Those of you who know me a bit better will know that he spoils me a lot and puts up with my...well lets say erratic behaviour :) He is my best friend and the person I tell absolutely everything too. I would be lost without him but he's going to get a big kick up the bum if he doesn't you know what soon ;)

2. My cats - Bobo and Barnaby. Maz will be surprised that they weren't first on the list! I adore my cats. I think everyone knows that already so enough said.

3. My family. I have a fantastic family that I appreciate more and more as I get older. I think it's easy to take family for granted when you're younger but the older I get the more thankful for them I am.

4. My friends. I'm someone who doesn't make friends easily so my close friend circle is pretty small. The close friends I have though are all fantastic and I wouldn't change them for the world!

5. Cooking and eating! I love to cook. I love to go out for meals. I love food. Bad for my waistline, great for my smile! Maz of course can eat as much as he likes whenever he likes without putting on any weight. Me jealous? Absolutely!!

6. Reading. I read A LOT. If I'm not putting on nail polish then I can probably be found with my nose in a book. I've had to stop buying books and going to the library instead as the cost was getting a bit much, let alone the space books take up! I will read pretty much anything but my favourites are thrillers. I love when I find a book that has me checking the cupboards before going to sleep!

7. Getting ready for a night out. I'm sure there must be people who know what I mean by this? I love the whole process of getting ready for a big night out. I love spending ages putting my makeup on and doing my hair etc. It's even better with some friends there and some wine! Sometimes I think I enjoy the getting ready bit more than the actual night out :) I suspect that if I went out more often though, the process would soon lose its shine.

8. Urban Decay. I love all makeup but I have been having a long affair with Urban Decay. I discovered it at the very beginning of my relationship with Maz when we went on about our 5th date shopping in London. I can still remember being in Selfridges and finding the Urban Decay stand...it was love at first sight. That day I bought 2 eyeshadows - Kiddie Pool and Midnight Cowboy. I haven't stopped buying since. I don't care that sometimes I'm paying for packaging, I love the packaging!

9. Nail Polish. Of course this had to be on here! A far cheaper obsession than my previous makeup one and once I discovered konad there was absolutely no going back. I would miss all the comments I get about my nails when I'm out and about and I'm sure Maz would miss the constant stink of it if I stopped painting my nails!

10. My followers. Last but absolutely not least - all you guys! Especially the people who take the extra time to comment even though I am absolutely shocking for replying. Reading everyone's comments always brings a smile to my face. I would usually have included my actual blog in this list somewhere but well...lets just say that if me and my blog were in a relationship we'd be 'on a break' right now ;)

That's it! Highly unoriginal stuff but can't change what makes me happy hey!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

PS - I need to tag some people on this but I have to go out in literally 5mins and I'm sat here with wet hair so I am going to add the tags later!!