Into Space - Metallic Space Wonderland Nails

Hello nail world! Got some lovely and easy galaxy nails to show you today, with one of Fun Lacquers magnetic polishes. They have been out for a while but I was finally tempted to try a couple and they are really lovely. I bought the Fun Lacquer magnet to go with them and it is surprisingly powerful! For this nail art I used one layer of black and two layers of magnetic polish (Fun Lacquers Believe).

After applying my second layer of magnetic polish I held the magnet over it for a few seconds to move the colours around (one nail at a time!). This was a bit of a mistake as when I was later watching videos about these it turns out you're meant to hold the magnets over for 15-30 seconds, which makes a lot of sense as I wasn't getting the same effect as I was seeing in pictures (doh!). However I was getting some of that colour shifting magic (just with softer lines) so I do still like the result!

Once dry I used my Bundle Monster space themed Kelli Marissa collaboration plate. It's such a good plate for galaxy mani's, I love the scattered star images which I chose for this nail art. I stamped the images in metallic silver, and on my ring finger and thumb nails put some holographic silver over the top. The holo wasn't very obvious but was perhaps a little more shiny under bright lights. Overall I'm pleased with how this turned out and looking forward to playing with the magnetic polishes some more!
Colours used: Lady In Black - OPI, Believe - Fun Lacquer, Rain On Me - Barry M, Harp On It - Color Club

Nails Inc Self Made Mermaid Duo

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good weekend. I'm having a quiet evening in so far but will see what happens. Today I've been trying out Nails Inc's new nail polish duo, the 'Self Made Mermaid' duo. This is the fourth duo they have done, following the very successful unicorn duo they released last year. I've managed to resist their space themed and champagne themed duo's (which both look lovely), but this one was too me to ignore!

First up is Ocean Ever After, and I am so pleased I managed to get decent pictures with my left hand! This is a metallic blue with a tiny bit of gold running through for the extra metallic shimmer. There's also a hint of green in the bottle but that didn't really transfer to my nails. The formula is good and I love Nails Inc's brushes. It does look a slightly deeper/brighter blue in the Instagram pictures, so I might try it over some dark grey or something to see if I can get that effect. That said it is also lovely as it is. This one is perfect in 2-3 coats (I've used three here).
Next is Mermaid Parade, a pearlescent pastel blue. This has a hint of purple-ish shimmer running through it as well but it's only visible in certain lights. The formula is also good in this one, though is is not as opaque as Ocean Ever After. I used 3 coats in my swatches but I'd say you'd need 4-5 for full opacity, that or try it out over some other base colours. It is a stronger more opaque colour than the recent Barry M sea themed shades (review a few blog posts back).

So my favourite is Ocean Ever After, as I expected, as it's just more my sort of thing. I love a good blue, especially when it's shiny! They are both lovely polishes though and I love the packaging. I can't resist keeping them in it as it makes them look special and more expensive, even though these are cheaper than normal Nails Inc polishes (it's £15 for the two). Looking forward to seeing which duo they bring out next, and if I can resist it!

Valentines Day Nails 2018 - Lobsters Again!

So the title of this is a bit of a spoiler... but I just felt the need to try and get my nails to come up in searches for lobster, don't ask why, I don't know either! I don't usually go in for the whole hearts and flowers and pink stuff vibe so valentines isn't my favourite nail art season, but I usually do one token valentines nail art per year! A few years ago I did lobster and heart nails using one of my Mo You London cooking themed stamping plates, and I loved them so much I couldn't resist doing more lobsters, this time free-hand.

I used a dotting tool to create outlines of the shapes in red polish, and then filled them in with more dots. I will definitely try this technique again. It's easier than just painting! The hearts were easier as they're a simple shape and I could add more to the outline if it wasn't quite right.

That's all for today. Lobsters and love to all!
Colours used: Dead Heat - Barry M, Cream Soda - Barry M, Lady In Black - OPI

Pantone Paint Nails 2018 - Ultra Violet

Hello everyone! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. Today I am showing you my Pantone 2018 themed nails for a Mo You London competition on Instagram. I'm not 100% happy with how they turned out but I may as well enter them anyway! The competition involves using MYL plates to create purple nail art based on the Pantone colour of the year 2018 - ultra violet. The prize is of course stamping plates.

I wanted to do a paint theme as I think it fits the Pantone theme quite well, and what with the painting of our living room (and seeing Pantone paint samples at the shops) it's very fitting for me at the moment! I started with a lilac base, and then used MYL's Artist 20 plate to place some paint themed images in white. For the little fingernails I branched out to a 'nail paint' theme and did a dotting tool over some dots. The dots are from the MYL Pro 01 plate.

Once dry I used a small nail art brush to add the 'paint' in varying bright shades of purple. I particularly like the paint tubes but frustratingly I put them too low on my left hand which doesn't look quite right. I did them better on my right hand somehow but that hand is harder to photograph! So overall I quite like these, but sadly I don't think they're a winner. Might just have to resort to buying the new cat themed stamping plates! TTFN!
Colours used: Berry Ice Cream - Barry M, White Knight - Mo You London, Concord - Cirque Colors, Wigmore Street - Nails Inc, So Jelly - Mark (Avon), P819 - Mark (Avon)

Femme Fatale Cosmetics - Clever Girl

Hey everyone! Not got a lot to talk about tonight but I just had to share my thoughts on Femme Fatale Cosmetic's Clever Girl. This polish was sat in my untried list for ages and I was clearly missing out! Unfortunately my pictures don't quite do it justice, it's honestly so lovely in person and so unusual.

Clever Girl is a thermal colour changing polish full of gold glitter. When cold the base is a pinky red, and when warm the base is clear so you can just see the gold glitter. I've yet to see another thermal polish that turns clear and I think it's an interesting effect. I expected it might look too bare but once the red is gone you can see that there are lots of smaller flecks of glitter that pad it out a bit.

I really struggled to get good pictures but it's honestly so beautiful and sparkly! I think the name Poison Apple would have suited it better but it looks like Femme Fatale already had a polish with that name. Thanks for reading :)

Barry M Under the Sea

Hello world! Happy Friday! Today I'm excited to bring to you my review of Barry M's new Under the Sea collection: four sheer pearlescent shades in adorable sea themed bottles.

From left to right we have Angelfish, Butterflyfish, Jellyfish and Pinktail. In my swatches I've applied three coats over naked nails, with no top coat. Tempted to do a follow up post with some over black or white as I think that could magical mermaid and unicorn-esque looks!

First up on my nails was Angelfish, a pale unicorny champagne shimmer. This looks a bit whiter than I expected it to, as it's more champagne coloured in the bottle.
Next up is Butterflyfish, a pearlescent pale blue. This one is slightly more sheer than Angelfish but otherwise has a similar finish. In certain lights and angles there's a bit of a bronzy-pink shade running through it as well.
Jellyfish is a pale purple with a hint of green polish in the bottle but does come it out a bit more pink on the nail. I think it would purple up a bit with more layers! This one is quite sheer as well.
And finally, Pinktail is very pink in the bottle, and comes out a coral-ish pink on the nails. All of the polishes are sheer but this one and Angelfish are a little less so. There's a hint of pale gold running through this one in certain lights/angles as well.
Overall  my verdict is these are lovely, and quite unusual! I think they will look particularly good over white or possibly black so may have to do a follow up post with those. I'm also thinking these would look great in a mermaid scale pattern. The bottle design makes these look very young I think, which isn't want I would always go for, but they also look very sea themed, which is definitely what I go for, so I guess they cancel each other out!

Let me know what you think!