Summer Nail Challenge - Day 11

Today is Day 11 of Makeup Savvy's Nail Challenge and todays theme is metallic nails, if you don't know what I am talking about then you can see more info on, or if you want to get involved yourself you can find all the information HERE.  I also did the challenge on day 6, 7 and 10 so if you want to see my glitter nail post then you can HERE, if you want to see my neon nails you can HERE or if you want to see my gradient nails you can HERE.


So as the olympics is drawing to a close for another 4 years I have decided to base my nails on an olympic type theme as I have selected to use bronze, silver and gold colours reflecting the medals.  I have had all these colours for quite a while now but haven't really found myself drawn towards wearing these colours during the summer as its the one time of year I think you can go crazy with colours and patterns, but surprisingly I found I loved this combination more than I initially thought I would, and I think this would be a perfect combination to wear if you are perhaps not such a fan of bright colours this summer.

For my thumb and little finger I used this gorgeous gold colour by Nails Inc called Lanesborough Place.  Personally I prefer this kind of gold that isn't too shiny or over the top, I think that this is the perfect gold if you want to be more subtle.  Another thing I like about it is that it doesn't have heaps of glitter in which a lot of gold polishes do, and although I am a fan of glitter I think sometimes with golds it can be a little too much.  Also you can always add a glitter polish over the top if you want to.  In terms of application this was a dream to apply, in 1 coat the polish was basically opaque and dried really quickly.  This is a polish I had bought but not used a lot since I bought it, but now I have rediscovered it and will definitely be using this again in the near future, through summer and autumn.





On my index and ring fingers I have gone for this glittery bronze coloured polish by Rimmel London in the 60 Seconds Collection called Star Dust number 530.  This is a gorgeous bronze colour which I tend to use more in the autumn than the summer just because it is the perfect autumnal colour, in my eyes anyway, as it is not too dark and not to bright.  Going against everything I said about gold and glitter, this polish has a subtle glitter which is finely milled to just add something extra to the polish with being a glitter polish itself.  I love this colour and in terms of application 2 coats gave plenty of coverage, this is definitely another polish that I have rediscovered my love for.  I also think that the gold and bronze combination could also be another combination if you wanted to stay clearer of the silver tones.



On my middle finger I have used this silvery grey polish again from Nails Inc called Augustus Street.  I picked this product up last year in TK Maxx in a pack of 4 for £10 which was a bargain, but after checking on the Nails Inc website they no longer stock this product so I'm not sure where you would be able to currently find this.  Anyway, the product is a silver polish with finely milled dark grey glitter which I think is an unusual combination, and what makes this product so unique.  But there is a definite downside to this product in my eyes.  It dries completely matt which would be fine on its own if you like matt nail varnishes, but when contrasted against the other two colours this looked out of place.  Due to the matt finish the product as dries a lot darker than the other two, which is something to bear in mind, so although this product is a gorgeous product the thing that puts be off is the matt finish as even with a top coat, it has a completely different finish to the rest of the nails.  


Overall I think this is an nice combination especially for the olympic games, so if you are off to any parties for the closing ceremony maybe you can try out this look that is not too over the top, but is very topical for this time of the year.

If you have entered todays challenge feel free to leave a link to your blog in the comments section below, or feel free to email or tweet your photos to me, all information on how to contact me can be found on the right side of my blog.  If you haven't entered today feel free to head on over to Makeup Savvy's page to see tomorrows category HERE and see if you are up for the challenge on Day 12.

Jubilee Nails - Simple Red, White & Blue

As we are gearing up for the Jubilee weekend I have decided to create a serious of blog posts linked to jubilee nail designs that can hopefully inspired you to get a little patriotic and bring out the red, white and blue.

First I started with just a basic nail design using red, white and blue to reflect the colours in the Union Jack.  This is a simple design that can be done in a rush before that jubilee party you are off to with just a couple of coats of red, white and blue and you're ready to go!

     The red that I used for this deign is a Rimmel London polish in "Rapid Ruby" number 320 and is a deeper red than most of the other reds that I have, which I thought was more true to the colours of the Union Jack.  This polish was really opaque and after one coat was pretty much perfect to go, but I used 2 just to make sure it was completely opaque, this would also make it super quick to apply if you are in a rush and no one needs to know that you didn't spend hours creating the perfect opaque red!

The blue that I used is Mavala's "Deep Blue" number 269 and is a gorgeous deep blue as the name suggests, but it has a beautiful green and turquoise shimmer through it.  Although this shimmer isn't essentially seen in the Union Jack I think that this shimmer adds a little something to the nails, and it is not obvious unless it catches the light.  You could also use a plain navy colour as this would link back into the union jack theme, but I love this Mavala one as it has such a creamy formulation which applies like a dream onto the nails.

The white that I used here was a basic white that I got in a Primark french manicure set for christmas a couple of years ago, and whilst it may not be the best quality, for these designs it is perfect.  The consistency of this polish is quite thick and gloopy but in regards to creating a white nail that is relatively opaque and a true white colour then this one does the job.

So here is my basic Jubilee nail design that I will build upon in future posts and show how you can either just use this simple design, or use this as a base to build on and create a more interesting and unique design.

Red- Rimmel London "Rapid Ruby" 320, Blue- Mavala "Deep Blue" 269, White- Primark