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E.L.F

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    Christmas Presents!

    I thought I would quickly share with you guys my ‘main’ Christmas present and show you the polishes I got. I actually only got 4, can you believe it?! I was very restrained whenever someone asked me what I wanted this year. I had to hold back the urge to tell them all I wanted lots of nail varnish since I need to get some money in my savings account in anticipation of something important (hair straighteners, mp3 player – the essentials ya know?!) failing on me and needing replacing since all my appliances are over 3 years old!
    Wow, I sounded a bit like a spoiled brat just there. I promise, I’m not.
    My parents got me this Panasonic Lumix FS30 in my favourite colour – purple! My old digi-cam is super old and way behind the times. This one is great at macro, the pictures are super sharp and it has a nice soft flash – my old cam used to bleach out everything in range and you couldn’t focus on anything closer than about 20cm. 
    I actually almost prefer this camera to my DSLR which I’ve been using for all my blogging and artsy stuff but I’m so loyal to that chunky Olympus despite the fact that the flash has been busted for months now.
    Nail polishes Left to Right:
    Barry M in Bright Purple and Dusky Mauve both from my Grandma
    ELF in Party Purple and Twinkle from my Mum

    The Barry M Dusky Mauve is supposed to be a dupe of Chanel Paradoxal. It definitely looks very close in the bottle, you can see the purple shimmer in the picture (click for a closer look).

    ELF Twinkle is blue and gold glitter in a clear polish which comes out kind of matte but looks better with a glossy top coat.
    Party Purple is a dark purple with silver glitter.
    So look out for these in the coming weeks. I’m really excited to wear Dusky Mauve and see it in sunlight which has been lacking this week. I’ve obviously tried it on but I couldn’t see much shimmer under artificial light.
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    Simples…

    I don’t have a lot of time for nail art with this silly assignment due on Thursday so today’s mani is just a simple take on a French Manicure. I’m one of those people who leaves everything until the last possible minute. I have a 1700 word essay plus a 500 word report due on Thursday morning and I haven’t even started them yet!
    I don’t know what my problem is. I know I’m going to end up sat at my desk at 4 o’ clock on Thursday morning after staying up all night, crying because I haven’t got enough words or decent content, telling myself that this won’t happen next time but it always does. Is anyone else a serial procrastinator?
    Sorry for the rant!
    I used E.L.F. Innocence as a base and Models Own Purple Grey for the tips and dots which I did with a dotting tool. Topped off with NYC In A New York Minute Top Coat.


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    Stamping, Uncategorised

    E.L.F Mod Mauve

    I’ve had this polish in my drawer for months now but have never worn it because I was so disappointed with the way it looks IRL compared to the swatch on the website. After looking at a few other people’s swatches (herehere and here) I’m starting to think I got a dud bottle. I can only describe it as muddy red.
    I was appalled at this colour when I first applied it but it’s growing on me now. I don’t really have anything else like this in my collection – probably because it’s kind of ‘blah’ and wouldn’t stand out to me if I saw it on a shop shelf – so I’m not going to throw it away but it won’t be a polish that I pick out very often. I can’t even think of any occasions when this would be a good shade to wear.

    It was really hard to pick colours to match for the nail art but I think I picked some good ones which have helped in making me like this colour a bit better.

    It’s weird to see a picture of my nails upside down like this but I thought I’d shake things up a bit today and take some photos from different angles. I’m very particular and normally like uniformity but I realise the front on pictures everyday get a bit same-y so I’ll be trying some more exciting shots from now on. 

    Konad Plate: BM03
    Base Colour: E.L.F – Mod Mauve
    Konad Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome – Amber
    L’Oreal LaquiResist 837 for the hearts
    Top Coat of GOSH

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    Stamping, Uncategorised

    (I’m Definitely in a) Matte Mood

    Sorry I have been lagging on posts recently. When I started this blog, I posted every single day and I’m finally running out of ideas so the weekly post count has gone way down. The thing is I have used pretty much every image I own (and like) in every colour combo I can think of, so I really need to get some new plates and polishes suitable for stamping. Hopefully Santa Claus will bring me some soon.
    This week, all I’ve been wearing are blues and ‘mattifying’ them. I actually painted my nails thrice yesterday with all different blues, once with a stamp design but I didn’t feel like it was up to scratch for posting.

    Konad Plate: M57
    Base Colour: BYS – Fools Paradise
    Konad Colour: Collection 2000 Maxiflex – Moonlight Shine
    Top Coat of E.L.F Matte Finisher

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    My Harry Potter Mani

    I’ve been meaning to do a Harry Potter mani all week but was completely lost for ideas.
    I sat down yesterday night and decided to just paint them E.L.F Smoky Brown then decided to do the Deathly Hallows on my thumb – then came the rest. It was largely inspired by Melissa @ The Daily Nail‘s HP manicure.
    And I did the house colours on my right hand. This is the first time I’ve photographed my right hand and it was really tricky to position my hand and angle the camera properly.

    Left to right:
    Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Slytherin
    I used a lot of polishes for this one and don’t have them in front of me to list right now so if anyone wants to know what any of them are, just let me know.
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    Stamping, Uncategorised

    Roses are black, Violets are blue…

    299 Followers!!! Thanks everyone and hello to all the new followers. 
    To all my new followers and anyone who didn’t know, I am opening my second giveaway when I hit 300 followers so get your friends over here!



    Plate: BM14
    Base Colour: E.L.F. – Innocence
    Stamp Colour: W7 – Black
    Top Coat of Collection 2000

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    Review, Uncategorised

    E.L.F Matte Finisher Review

    Here are a few pictures of E.L.F.’s Matte Finisher which recently became available in the UK online store.
    I haven’t seen any matte top coats in stores here, but when I took place in a swap with another nail blogger in Canada, I got hold of Essie’s Matte About You
    So… when I saw that E.L.F.’s Matte Finisher was now available in the UK I had to buy it!
    I have tested this out this a few times before now, so I can tell you guys my thoughts on day-to-day wear. But first, the pictures…
    This colour is Barbara Daly Cardinal – a slightly metallic, fuchsia pink. I chose to swatch with this colour because the change from glossy to matte is nice and obvious.
    And here it is with E.L.F’s Matte Finisher.
    Please note that I used Essie Matte About You on my thumb nail for comparison.
    As you can see – the resulting matte finish is great.
    Click here for a gif animation of the two pictures.

    My Verdict
    I think this is a great polish for the price – considering the prices of other similar top coats that are out there.
    If you’re wearing this for more than a day, you may need to add a fresh coat each day as it begins to go more glossy with wear. It’s almost as if it gets buffed back to a shine.
    The results are not always consistent – when I wore this finisher over E.L.F’s Innocence last week, it did not ‘mattify’ every nail. You can see below that my forefinger is still sort of glossy.
    AND, it has cracked on my little finger which has also happened again since. I think it’s just because was a new bottle at the time because it seems to be working fine now.
    So if you are looking for a Matte Top Coat on a budget – this is for you. 
    It gives a good matte finish and compares well next to Essie Matte About You. Just be sure to shake the bottle well and give it a chance to warm up before you give up on it for cracking or not doing it’s job properly!
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