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    Swatch, Uncategorised

    OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection Swatches

    15th May 2014
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    OPI Muppets Most Wanted Collection | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    Admittedly, I’m a little behind the times with this collection but I still wanted to post my swatches as there are some stand out shades in OPI’s Muppets Most Wanted Collection that are going to serve me well this summer. All of these swatches are with top coat. Read on to find out my favourites!
    OPI I Love Applause Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    I Love Applause is a very soft pink creme with just a tinge of lilac. It’s quite a sheer polish in between a creme and a jelly – a crelly – so I had to use 4 thin coats but there was no issue with streakiness. 
    OPI Let's Do Anything We Want Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    Let’s Do Anything We Want is a great glitter with small pink glitter and matt white squares. This is just one coat over a base of I Love Applause and one of the stand outs I mentioned earlier. I absolutely love how delicate it is paired with the soft shade underneath.
    OPI Kermit Me to Speak Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    I love OPI’s puns and Kermit Me to Speak delivers on that front. I wasn’t sure what to make of this polish because I’m not normally a fan of duochromes but the smooth formula of this one swayed me. I used three coats for opacity. The colour shift from purple to bronze is gorgeous and I think it’s a good one for toes!
    OPI Gaining Mole-mentum Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    Gaining Mole-mentum is a shredded glitter with gold, silver and pinkish toned pieces. I only used one coat over Kermit Me to Speak here because I was happy with the coverage but you’ll easily get more coverage with two coats or a thicker single coat. For the accent nail, I placed all of the pieces individually like a little mosaic… yep, it took ages!
    OPI Int'l Crime Caper Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    Int’l Crime Caper is my least favourite polish from the collection but that’s just because I don’t like sheer shades. As far as sheers go, the formula on this one was perfect. Just two coats for a smooth finish and no streaks!
    OPI Chillin' Like a Villain Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    The formula on Chillin’ Like a Villain is almost identical to I Love Applause. It’s a crelly that goes on sheer but builds up nicely to an opaque finish in 3-4 coats. It’s a very pretty peachy nude shade.
    OPI Miss Piggy's Big Number Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog
    Miss Piggy’s Big Number is a bright navy blue with shimmer that looks like a frosted finish and it looks absolutely amazing in the sun. I used two coats here.
    OPI Muppets World Tour Swatch | The Nailasaurus | British Nail Blog

    Muppets World Tour is a fantastically dazzling glitter that would look great over any shade of polish. It’s mostly silver glitter with a few colours sprinkled in. If you can believe it, this is only one coat over Miss Piggy’s Big Number.
    My favourites from the collection are I Love Applause, Kermit Me to Speak and Miss Piggy’s Big Number. I’d probably take a pass on Int’l Crime Caper unless you love sheers or plan to wear it over a darker shade.

    Where to buy…

    Muppets most wanted is available now in Department Stores and Salons nationwide. Also online from Ulta, Beauty Bay, Nail Polish Direct and more.
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    Galaxy, Uncategorised

    Fractal Fingertips from Will Paint Nails For Food

    23rd July 2013
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    Today’s guest post is coming to you courtesy of Meghan from Will Paint Nails for Food
    Meghan’s been at the nail blogging game for less than a year but she’s already making waves and once you see her nail art you’ll know why! If you follow the nail art tag on Tumblr, you’ve probably seen her nails on there more than a few times. She’s currently in the middle of the 31 Day Challenge so make sure you go and follow her to keep up to date with her creations!

    Where to find Will Paint Nails for Food
    Blog – Facebook – Instagram – Tumblr – Bloglovin’
    ——————————————————————————————-

    Hi everyone! What an honour it is to be writing for this blog. Thank you Sammy for having me here!

    I had the idea of combining galaxy nails with some sort of fractal design months ago. I’m no expert on the subject but simply put, fractals are complex geometric designs where the small parts are very similar to the larger overall pattern. And there are many connections between galaxies and fractals – some believe the universe is just a large fractal.

    I’m not sure how successfully the accent nail conveys the idea of fractals, however, you can check out the source image HERE .

    Here’s the steps I took for these nails:

    1. I started with a base of Essie Midnight Cami
    2. Using little bits of makeup sponge I slowly built up the colours, first with the blues using piCture pOlish Cosmos, piCture pOlish Pshiiit, Foxy Paws One More Night, and Zoya Crystal
    3. Then I built up the purples with Nicole by OPI Back In My Gloria Days, and Zoya Carly
    4. I added my blacks with Orly Liquid Vinyl and Liquid Sky Lacquer Party All Night
    5. I added the nebula effect with more Zoya Crystal and OPI My Vampire is Buff
    6. I painted the stars with a detail brush and Sally Hansen White On
    7. For the accent nail, the base is the same as the others, only I didn’t add the lighter nebula. The fractal design is painted with OPI My Vampire is Buff and a detail brush.
    8. I finished with two coats of KBShimmer Clearly On Top

    I love galaxy nails because, generally, most people use the same technique, but everyone’s looks different. I tend to use more polishes than necessary, you probably don’t need this many colours.

    I hope you enjoyed my post, and thanks again Sammy for having me here!

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    Nail Care, Uncategorised

    My Nail Care Favourites

    6th January 2013
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    If I had a penny for every time someone asked how I care for my nails, I’d probably have a whole pound by now. The only reason I haven’t made a post like this sooner is because I’m really not big in to nail care and I know very little about it so I don’t really feel qualified to instruct anyone on the subject. Truth is I’m just a lucky SOB when it comes to my nails and cuticles, they don’t need much taking care of so I never made much of an effort.
    That’s not to say I don’t do anything at all to care for them, just very little. In this post, I’ll share my brief nail care routine with you in the hope that some of you curious cats can take a few pointers.


     The best advice I can give anyone trying to keep their nails strong is find a good base coat.
    I never used base coat until I won a bottle of OPI Nail Envy in a giveaway back in October 2010 and started using it underneath every manicure. I saw an improvement within 2 weeks. My nails were stronger, less prone to breakages and grew at double speed.
    Since then I’ve tried a couple of different base coats but I always come back to OPI Nail Envy. Both the Original and Matte formulas do the same job. Recently I’ve also been using a Sally Hansen base coat, I’ve never been let down by any of their strengtheners.

    Where to buy:
    Sally Hansen Green Tea and Bamboo Strengthener 13.3ml…
    In the UK: Superdrug (£7.99), Boots (£7.95)
    In the US: Ulta ($7.79), Target ($6.99)
    Search for: ‘Sally Hansen Green Tea Bamboo’

    OPI Nail Envy 15ml…
    In the UK: Boots (£18.65), Sallys (In Store Only), Amazon.co.uk (£10.31)
    In the US: Amazon.com ($7.95)
    Search for: ‘Nail Envy Original’ or ‘Nail Envy Matte’

    So many of you are curious about how I get me nail shape. All I do is use one snip of the nail clippers to trim my nails to a square shape, then a glass nail file to smooth the edges and round off the corners slightly. I wrote a full post about it trimming and shaping my nails here.
    These tools are the least fancy ones you’ll ever find! The clippers are from Primark and the file is from Tesco’s Barbara Daly make up range. They’ve both been with me for years and I’d be lost without them!
    When it comes to glass nail files, some are better than others. I discovered this when I attempted to replace mine and the replacement was absolutely rubbish. It just didn’t seem to actually file my nails so it went straight in the bin. I don’t have any recommendations on this one, sorry guys.
    My cuticles are naturally quite healthy and I moisturise my hands using Vaseline’s Essential Moisture lotion countless times a day which I think contributes to my overall hand health in a big way.
    This product from Sally Hansen is called Cuticle Eraser and Balm* and it’s supposed to ‘remove dry cuticles and moisturise in one step’. I don’t think it works well as a remover but it leaves my cuticles feeling super soft. I’m a reformed nail picker but sometimes the habit sneaks out and I end up taking it out on my right thumbnail and the skin around it, this is the only product that has helped to heal that mess of a finger and return the skin and cuticle to a respectable state.
    I’ve heard that Lush’s Lemony Flutter is a great cuticle product but I’ve never tried it myself. It’s on my bucket list!
    Where to buy Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser and Balm
    In the UK: This product was sent to me by Sally Hansen and I can’t find it available anywhere in the UK yet. 
    In the US: Walgreens ($7.99), Ulta, Target
    Search for: ‘Sally Hansen Cuticle Eraser Balm’

    While not really anything to do with nail care, top coats are a valuable part of my manicure routine nonetheless. My favourites are Essence Better Than Gel Nails and Seche Vite. 
    The Seche Vite is quite new to me and I only purchased it because it was an absolute bargain in the Urban Outfitters sale. It’s a very, very fast drying top coat but it ‘shrinks’ sometimes which is incredibly annoying. It’s exactly what it sounds like. The Seche shrinks, pulling away from your cuticles and nail tips and takes your colour polish with it, leaving gaps where there shouldn’t be. If you can overlook that, it’s awesome.
    If the Essence top coat was available here in the UK, I would use nothing else. Unfortunately, it’s only available in Continental Europe so it’s tricky for anyone not living there to get hold of. It’s fast drying (although not as fast as Seche Vite), glossy and it lasts. Please click here for more info about the Essence top coat (and every other top coat I’ve used in the past!).
    Where to buy:
    Seche Vite
    In the UK: Asos (£10.95) Feel Unique (£8.76), Amazon.co.uk (£6.19)
    In the US: Ulta ($9.95) Amazon.com ($5.13)
    Essence Better Than Gel Nails
    Only available in continental Europe and I believe the retail price is €2.59 for a 10ml bottle. A fellow blogger was kind enough to send me a few bottles.

     That concludes my nail care favourites. I hope this is helpful and answers any questions you may have had about how I care for my nails. What are your nail care essentials?

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    31 Day Challenge, Freehand, Glitter, Uncategorised

    31DC2012: Day 16 Tribal Print Nails

    6th November 2012
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    Day 16 of the 31 Day Challenge calls for Tribal Nails. I love tribal nails but they take a hell of a long time to do! So I copped out and cooked up some glitter sandwiches on a few of my fingers when it was getting too close to bed time.
    I have a confession to make. Last week I cut my cuticles. I really couldn’t tell you why, I had the clippers in front of me so I just did it. It was one of those decisions I regretted almost instantly, like while I was still sat there cutting away at my fingers, and yet I still couldn’t stop doing it. I am never going to cut my cuticles again.
    There’s not really a bottom line to this story, I just thought it was something noteworthy to write down on my nail blog! I’ve always been an advocate of moisturise and push and since my bad decision last week, I feel stronger than ever about it. My favourite post about cuticle care is still this one from Lacquerized’s archive. Perhaps it’s time I finally wrote my own.

    I used three coats of Deborah Lippmann Fashion* as my base colour. The colours in the tribal patterns are NYC Water Street Blue*, MUA Shade 23 and Black Acrylic Paint. I used a small striping brush to paint the details. 
    The studs are from Born Pretty Store (SA5X31 to get 10% off).
    The glitter is JENsations Bubble Gum with a coat of OPI Samoan Sand over the top to create a sandwich.
    I finished it all off with two coats of Seche Vite.

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    Freehand, Stamping, Uncategorised

    Happy Halloween!

    31st October 2012
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    I’ve been so busy recently but I managed to fit in some time for a Halloween manicure! Last night, I carved my first pumpkin and I wasn’t planning anything special tonight but a few friends and I have decided to go out. I have a red cape and some devil horns and that’s about as far as my dress up skills stretch!
    I also have some news about my lighting. Well, not news so much but here’s the story… my desk lamp which is the one I use for photographing my nails too has been on it’s death bed for a while and finally popped it’s clogs a few days ago. Finding a new lamp became priority number one and my Mum recommended I find out what Argos are selling. Turns out that lamp was in fact from Argos and they still sell it. Oh, and it’s a bargain! It’s £19.99 and comes in Black and Silver. 
    I never knew the source of my magical lamp before because I just found it lying around in the house. When I used to get questions about it, all I could say was it’s a fluorescent desk lamp but now you know the gory details!

    My thumb is A-England Lancelot as a base and the cobweb from Bundle Monster plate BM13 with Barry M Silver Foil.
    The blood drips were created with OPI Samoan Sand as a base colour and Cult Nails Quench applied with a nail art brush to create the drips.
    The haunted house and pumpkin are from Bundle Monster plate BM305 and stamped using W7 Black. The orange is Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed and the yellow is NYC Lexington Yellow*.

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    Freehand, Uncategorised

    Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

    13th October 2012
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    To make up for not posting for the three whole days this week, get a whopping 3 posts this weekend! You had Day 2 of the challenge this morning and you can expect day 3 tomorrow as well as this gem in the middle.
    In case you couldn’t guess, this mani was inspired by playing cards. I’m not big on card games myself, I can just about manage the simpleton ones like rummy and pig but my brother is big in to poker. For his 18th birthday I wanted to take him on a night out to play casino games but totally chickened out. What a lousy sister I am! Maybe that will have to be his surprise this year. 

    I used two coats of OPI Samoan Sand as my base colour and then freehanded around the shapes with a nail art brush to get the cutout effect. They really remind me of a set of window shutters I once saw that looked something like this.
    The red is Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Rapid Red and the black is… of course W7 Black! It’s topped off with a coat of Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails plus one coat of thickened Essence Better Than Gel Nails to smooth everything over.

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