OPI Autumn/Winter 2015 Venice Collection Review and Swatches

Hey everyone! It's been absolutely ages since I posted a full review, so long that I'm actually a bit ashamed! It's just much more fun and less time consuming (believe it or not) to create nail art with collections instead of reviewing them individually. I only paint my nails on a Saturday at the moment so I need to prioritise any nail art commitments first. However, the OPI - Venice Collection* deserves to be showcased, and whilst it may have taken me three saturdays to complete the review, here it is. You've seen a few nail art designs using the colours already (like this, this, and this one) but they're just as beautiful as individual colours. I've also got a couple more nail designs coming up with them too. This is probably my favourite collection from OPI this year (as you can probably tell), and they've released quite a few. We all know I love a good pastel, but they manage to be both autumnal and pastel at the same time. 

Gradient All The Nails!

Hey everyone! Myself and a number of very talented bloggers are part of a small Facebook group called 'Paint All The Nails'. Each month we will be doing a themed link-up (although I may not do it every month) and this month's theme is gradients. I must admit that I just went basic with my design, it completely bypassed my to do anything extra to it, which is very unlike me! But I love a gradient on it's own anyway so why not. Also, my memory card broke and decided to delete the other half of my photos so I'm afraid I've only got one photo for you today. I've bought a new memory card now so fingers crossed it wont happen again.

I used OPI - A Great Opera-tunity* (from the Venice collection), and Barry M - Cotton for the gradient, topped off with Seche Vite

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Alice

P.S Don't forget to check out the other lady's designs in the inlinks widget below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Glitter Stud Stamping

Hey everyone! Since trying stamping with July's Nailbox I've been wanting to try stamping again as it seemed a lot easier than I remembered. My friend Emily of Very Emily showed me a picture of a design she created on her toes recently and I knew I wanted to recreate them as soon as I saw the design. However, the stamping just didn't work for me as it did with the Nailbox. I'm not sure what I was doing differently, although this time I was using a Bundle Monster Plate rather than a Mo You plate so that might be the defining difference. Either way, I liked how these turned out and I wore these all of last week. I even managed to keep the studs on for a whole 5 days (although I was starting to get very annoyed with them) until one fell off and then I picked the rest off.

Mermaid Chevrons Video Tutorial for Shopcade

Hey everyone! Today I finally have a new Youtube video for you after more than a year thanks to shopping website Shopcade. They kindly sponsored these nails, if you wish to see the products provided they're all linked in the description of the video. You can also see their post on Mermaid Chevron Nails here. The full video is included at the end of this post so make sure you click after the jump!

Hello! for Avon

Hey everyone! (Or hello! if I want to match the nails). Today I've got a really simple design to show you that I've always uhm'd and ah'd about posting.  I created these for Avon in November last year and despite the fact they're neat and colourful, I've never been quite sure of them. But the more I've scrolled past them the more I've realised it's time to post them. I also dont really post that many designs with text so I thought it would make a nice change. 

Outlined Polka Roses

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I did any rose nails (in fact it's been well over a year as I just discovered from scrolling through my Instagram) but I actually have a couple of rose designs to show you over the next couple of weeks, and I'm hoping to have a third soon enough as well. I hadn't realised that it had been so long since I did any, especially as they're so cute and easy to create. I always love to combine roses with polka dots too, I think they go well together and the polka dots really make the roses stand out. I didn't want to add roses to all my nails and I found they were looking a bit plain once I'd finished so I added polka dots around the edge of my other nails and it was just what was needed to finish off the design.

Little Ondine Water Based Nail Polish Review + Nail Art

Hey everyone! Today I have a new brand to show you, one I hadn't heard of before I was sent these polishes to try out. They're called Little Ondine and they make water based polishes, which are free from all the chemicals we're usually putting on our nails. I was really intrigued to try these as I've only ever tried one other water based polish and it was very, well, watery. I'm pleased to tell you that these are the complete opposite. They also dry insanely fast, no exaggeration. They were dry before I'd even put the brush back in the bottle (which made it a little difficult to touch up any mistakes!), especially the topcoat which was very impressive. These also peel off once you're done so that you don't have to use chemicals to remove them. 

Unfortunately I didn't read the 'How To Use' section of the website before applying, admittedly I felt rather cocky and didn't think I needed to after years of painting my nails! The section specifically says not to have a bath straight after applying, which is exactly what I did... Oops! So the polish started lifting straight away, and most of them had completely peeled off 24 hours later, but that is entirely my fault. I know from having spoken to other bloggers such as Brit Nails that they do last if you follow the instructions, so let that be a lesson to all (mainly me).

I was sent three polishes from their wide range of colours, two colours and one topcoat. I was surprised at how many colours they have in their collection, and even glitters. This definitely makes them very appealing to those who hate removing glitter polish, because all you have to do is peel off, with no damage to your natural nail. The colours I was sent were Nirvana* and Stellar*, and I also received 'Secret'* their topcoat/basecoat. I decided to create some nail art with them, which you can see below. More info on the nail art after the jump!

July Monthly Favourites

Hey everyone! Today I'm finally getting around to posting my July monthly favourites. I've had my photos done for these for over a week but just haven't had time to sit down and write/edit the post and pictures. I've got quite a lot to show you this month. It was really hard to narrow it down because I've loved so many products and in the end I just decided to show them all. The products I chose are:

Jord 'Ely Black' Watch* 

Mavala Polishes*

Barry M - Cotton*

Joan Collins - Divine Lips in 'Marilyn'*

Fancy Witch Black Magic Make Up Brushes*

OPI Venice Collection*

Barry M - Brow Wow in 'Light to Medium'* (not pictured)

Edinburgh Fringe Drama Masks for Avon

Hey everyone! Today I have some slightly creepy nail art to show you. I expected this design to be quite straightforward, but as always watching TV meant that it took a number of hours longer than it should have! I created these nails for Avon to go with the current Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I've never been but its on my list of things to go see and Edinburgh is top of my places to go visit. I just have to wait until I've managed to move out before I can start thinking of going away anywhere again just yet.

Butterfly Sunset Gradient Tutorial for Divine Caroline

Hey everyone! Just a quick post from me today to direct you over to a tutorial I did for Divine Caroline. I tried gradients over a white base for the first time and it worked so much better, thats definitely (partly) where I've been going wrong. I really liked how these turned out. I wasn't sure whether I should have used pinker tones but I like the sunset look with the white silhouettes of the butterflies. If you want to create these for yourself (or switch up the colours) head over to my tutorial here.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

Alice

July Nailbox Review

Hey everyone! Today I have a review of the July Nailbox* to show you. Unfortunately I received it only a couple of days before they shipped for the month so it's no longer available, but you can subscribe to receive August's Nailbox here. July's box has a tropical theme and it contained: OPI Kiss Me I'm Brazilian, Barry M Need For Speed, China Glaze White On White, Elegant Touch Cuticle Eliminator, MoYou London Tropical Plate 12, and the MoYou London Rectangular stamp and scraper which came in a neat little pouch. There was a great selection of colours and plenty of opportunities for nail art. You might know that I don't actually tend to do stamping as I usually miserably fail at it. In fact I've never posted any stamping nail art on my blog I don't think. However, this stamper was much much easier to use (it's a lot stickier than usual) and somehow I actually managed to create something that could be passed for stamping and is worthy of putting on my blog! So I present to you... my first official stamping manicure!

If you don't know what Nailbox is, they're a monthly subscription service based in the UK. Each box contains a section of nail polishes and nail products, and they're always from top end brands like OPI, China Glaze, Essie, Barry M etc. You can subscribe on a monthly basis, or on a 6 or 12 month basis. To find out more about the plans check out their subscription page here.