Summer Nail Challenge - Day 6

So I realise a challenge should start at Day 1 but after seeing the post only yesterday I decided that its better to be late than never.  I have decided to do Makeup Savvy's 15 day challenge which if you want more info on, or if you want to get involved yourself you can find all the information HERE.

Okay so today's theme was glitter and I wanted to do a summery design that is appropriate for the summer holiday season, if you are going away or staying at home I think that this is something that everyone can wear, no matter where you are this summer.  I was contemplating using the models own glitter in Ibiza Mix which is a very summery polish but as I have already used that in a few of my reviews and posts which you can see HERE if you wish, I decided to use another combination which is equally as summery.



I have recently done a post on the MaxFactor Mini Polish Dazzling Blue - number 14 -  which you can read HERE if you want to find more information about the product and what I thought of it.  I think it is the perfect summery blue that is not too over the top, so everyone can use this for what ever summer event you may be attending this month.  This polish doesn't have any glitter in it but makes a gorgeous base, especially as it catches the light and changes colour which I think is a lovely combination with the glitter which also sparkles in the light.

I then decided to add a blue glitter colour on top as to keep with the blue theme, and for this I chose NYC's Lights, Camera, Glitter - number 105 - which is one of my favourite glitter polishes to date.  When I first saw this polish I was instantly drawn to all the glitter suspended in the polish, this was an instant seller as it looked really pretty and glittery.  But when it came to applying it I didn't have high hopes for the glitter to pay off as it in the bottle onto the nails, as I thought back to when I was much younger and would spend hours fishing around the glitter polish to get more than one glitter particle onto my nails at a time.  Upon application, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised that all the glitter translated beautifully onto the nails.  

Although there are far fewer larger pieces of blue and purple glitter on my nails, the fact that this largely milled glitter is suspended in a very finely milled silver glitter meant that even though the large pieces of glitter didn't totally cover my nails the small pieces did.  This meant the nails weren't patchy or unevenly covered, instead it left this beautiful blue glittery nail that was not too in your face, but when it caught the light meant it sparkled enough to catch some peoples attention.  



I love this new found combination and definitely will be trying this out again in the near future, whilst also trying different combinations with the glitter polish as I think the pay off for the money is excellent.

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 7.

MaxFactor - Dazzling Blue

When I was in Superdrug a while back they were having a 3 for 2 offer, so I decided to try the MaxFactor Mini Nail Polishes and after a long and hard deliberation I chose up Fantasy Fire, Moon Dust and Dazzling Blue.  I have done reviews of Fantasy Fire on my blog HERE and I recently did a guest blog on Imagination in Colour which is another Nail Varnish blog so if you aren't already subscribed to this blog, you can check her blog out HERE and my review HERE.  So finally here is the last of my MaxFactor Minis reviews so here we go....

When I purchased this polish I was stuck to decide a third polish to go with Fantasy Fire and Moon Dust and it was between Graffiti and Dazzling Blue.  I decided to go for Dazzling Blue because it is a lighter shade of blue than graffiti and for that reason I thought I would get more use out of it throughout the summer months.  To be perfectly honest this was the one that was theoretically free in the 3 for 2 deal so I wasn't expecting too much, but when applying this to my nails I fell in love with the colour and everything about this product, probably making it my favourite out of the three which I was not expecting.

The consistency of the product was a bit thin so required a fair few coats to get an opaque finish, but unlike the other two products I found that it actually built a lot more, so the whole process didn't feel as laborious because you could see the product becoming more opaque.  I think for the full coverage I used about 4 coats, which is quite a lot but the finish is pretty opaque so I am pleased with how it turned out.

The colour is another thing that drew me to the product as the light blue was a colour that I hadn't seen before.  It was only on closer inspection that I could see the different tones and shades of this product.  In some lights it can look slightly more of a green or a light teal colour or in other lights a glint of light purple appears on your nails so in my opinion this is a very unique product.

I know that many people are a little sceptical about blue nail varnish but I think in the summer it is the perfect time to wear a blue polish as a statement piece if its a vivid blue colour, but if not then this is more of a subtle alternative.  Also this colour sort of reminds me of a mermaid kind of colour and for that reason with a tan on holiday I think this is a stunning colour to wear on the beach, by the pool or if you are staying at home even at a BBQ with friends and family.  I would highly recommend this product and if you have a chance next time you are in Boots or Superdrug check out the MaxFactor section as I think these mini pots are the best way to try out new colours without having a massive bottle of a colour you only wear once in a blue moon stuck in your cupboard.


Have you tried this colour?  What do you think about blue polishes?  Whats your favourite MaxFactor mini polish and do you have any recommendations for ones that I can try out next.

Summer Nail Challenge

I realise that I am slightly late on the bandwagon for this but better late than never.  Makeup Savvy is holding a contest where anyone is free to enter, simply head over to her site which you can see HERE and check out the rules and what design is going up each day.


I will be starting this tomorrow on Day 6 so if you are willing to take up the challenge then feel free leave a comment in the comment section below.  If you have a blog you can also link it in the comments below as I would love to see all your designs.


If you don't have a blog then feel free to head over to Makeup Savvy's page where she explains how you can still be involved, which you can see HERE.  Or feel free to send me your designs to colouratyourfingertips1@gmail.com or tweet me your nail of the day picture.


Also don't forget to check on Makeup Savvy's page to see all the other entries for that day which you can be seen HERE.  


Happy nail painting and are you up for the challenge?

Floral Nail Wraps - day by day

So as promised here we go.  I thought that the best way to show you how these nail wraps (which if you haven't seen my previous blog post and have no idea what I am talking about check out my review HERE) wore throughout the couple of days I had them on was to show you so here we go...

Day 1
The wraps had slightly chipped and were looking a bit worse for wear but they were not too bad in person because it was only the ends of my nails.  Personally I still thought that they looked fine because it was only around the ends that they had been effected.  Had the wraps stayed in this condition I would not have minded as I think that nail wraps were never made to stay perfectly on your nails forever.  




Day 2
This is where I started to see my nails go dramatically down hill.  The extent of the chipping from Day 1 to Day 2 is quite a large change, and by this point I had started to be very disappointed by this product because in if this had been a nail varnish I would have repainted my nails to hide the chipping, but with these I was stuck with them. 
I was very tempted to remove the wraps at this point because of the extent of the chipping but I decided to keep it on to see how the chipping developed over a longer time period.


Day 4
Day 3 showed continued chipping but between taking the photo and uploading it to my computer it seems to have disappeared.  But Day 4 was the last day that I wore these nail wraps before I had to remove them.
As you can see the chipping has become more extreme now, to the extent that almost half the nail has been removed.  This was not a good look so I had to remove the wrap, despite still getting compliments on the summery floral design.  Ordinarily I would have removed the product before this amount of chipping had occurred but for the purpose of showing them to you I have left them on.

As you can see I these nail wraps did not wear well, and despite absolutely loving the floral design, I have to say in terms of the amount of chipping I have never seen a nail product chip to this extent.  If you have any tips for Nail Wraps in terms of prolonging their wear please leave a comment below as I am sure that everyone would love to know how to keep these on for as long as possible.  Also if you have done a blog post on nail wraps leave a link below as I would love to check them out, or if you have tried some out then just write the brand and some info below so we can all share tips, tricks and good products with each other.

Floral Nail Wraps - A Summer Hit or Miss?

Nail Wraps have been the one of the newest and most inventive nail products to come onto the scene in recent years and have been something that has intrigued me for a while.  They range in designs from plain block colours similar to those you can achieve with 2 coats of nail varnish, to intricate patterns that unless you are prepared to spend hours on end trying to recreate and are a whizz with a nail art set, are unachievable (at least for me).  However, something that has put me off trying these nail wraps are the price, the average being around 10-16 nail wraps for prices varying from £5-£6 depending on shop, make and design.  But, whilst nosing around the Accessorize sale a couple of weeks ago I saw some that were 50% off, so for only £2.50 I thought it was my best opportunity to try some out, so here is what I thought about the product.


Did you like the product itself?
I decided to choose a pattern that I otherwise was not likely to achieve no matter how long I sat in front of the TV with my nail art kit, so I chose to this floral pattern which I thought was perfect for the long awaited summer months.  The overall look of these nail wraps is really pretty and girly and gorgeous for the summer.  


The pattern is highly detailed with lots of small brightly coloured flowers.  Overall I cant fault the look of the product as I got lots of compliments on the design so in this respect they are a real winner.  Also when I was looking around before purchasing these, I hadn't seen any that were similar to this design which was quite nice to find something that no one else would have.




How easy was it to apply the nail wraps?
Here is another rave review for this part of the product, prior to applying these I was worried how difficult it would be to effectively apply these to create the smooth almost painted on effect that these wraps should have.  But, I was surprised just how easy they are, and this was a definite plus point in my books.  When people asked about my nails and how I had done them, they were surprised I had applied them myself and said they would have thought it would have been a tricky and fiddly process, but I can promise you its not.  The instructions on the back make out that the process is a little tricky, so if you would be interested I can do another post on how to apply nail wraps if this would be useful?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

How long did the nail wrap design last?
Unfortunately this is where the good news and rave reviews end.  After everything I have said about the product you can tell that I loved the product, but after the first day I was very disappointed with the wear of this product.  On the back of the product itself it does not say how long they are expected to last, but whilst having a little bit of a search on the web many similar products from other brands say they will last between 5-7 days on the nails, some promising even more but the average was about 6 days.  So I'm sure you'll agree that after about 1-2 days finding that my nails were terribly chipped and beyond a small chip you can ignore, really dampened the mood and my view of these nail wraps.  To save this post from being to long I have done a separate post on this aspect day by day pictures so you can see what I mean, so you can see that HERE if you are interested.


Do you think that nail wraps are worth the hype or the price tag?
Now this is a tricky one.  For colour, design, application and the amount of compliments I got yes, I can not fault them on this.  But in terms of how long these ones lasted, I think I would have been outraged to pay £5-£6 for something that only lasts one day.  But I don't know if I got a dodgy pack or if thats why they were in the sale or anything.  Maybe some other nail wrap makes would be better quality but for the moment I will not be buying anymore.


I don't like writing bad reviews on any products but I thought that I should make you aware of this problem and I wanted to know if you have tried any nail wraps and they have lasted longer than these please let me know.  Also if you have any tips for making nail wraps last longer then I would appreciate that.  Any other questions let me know in the comments below and I will answer them...

Pastel Perfect - Lilac and Green

So for a bit of a change today I decided to paint my nails using 2 colours instead of one, to create a bit more of an unusual design.  If you have seen many blogs recently you may have seen a few designs using accent nails and 2 colours in one nail combination, and I thought I would share my new combination with you.

I often find that when the weather is a bit dull, as it has been over the past few weeks, its often hard to wear brighter colours even though it is technically summer, I can't face wearing garish colours on my nails sometimes but fear not...I have a solution for you.

For my pastel combination I have chosen to wear a green colour as the basis for my nails but feeling as though I couldn't pull this off in the not so summery weather I combined this with a lilac purple colour which has created a nice duo in my opinion.

For my Green colour I have used NYC Expert Last Nail Polish number 253 and in colour Mint Macaroon, which I think is such a amazing name.  It is a slightly duller mint green colour which is perfect for the days where the sun is not shining so brightly where you are, and I also think this will be a lovely colour for the late summer/autumn time of year because you can still be wearing a bright colour even though if it is not quite the time for a neon green.


In terms of application it was pretty good, with a creamy consistency which applied very nicely and was almost completely opaque after 2 coats.  Also the polish claims to last for up 7 days which would be perfect if it did but as I have just applied this I can not tell you if that is true, but so far it has lasted pretty well and shows no sign of chipping after the first day, but I will try to update this throughout the week to see how this polish lasts.



NYC is a brand that I previously had not explored or heard of all that much but honestly I can not say much bad about it.  Their products are really cheap for their quality and can easily be picked up in Superdrug without breaking the bank, so definitely check them out the next time you are in your local Superdrug store.

For the other colour I used Ciaté paint pot in the colour Purple Sherbet which I got in Marie Claire last month.  I have already done a whole review based on this polish which you can see HERE but basically I love Ciaté polishes.  I previously had not seen or tried Ciaté because they are on the pricier end of the spectrum but I can totally see why they are more expensive and I am now a convert and I will definitely be picked some more to add to my collection in the future.

I think that this combination is really pretty and something that anyone can pull off and put together no matter how big your collection is, or what colours you have.  Another idea that I had is to combine different tones of polish into one design and also using a vivid colour for the summer as the accent colour.  I will probably be trying these designs out in the future, so watch this space!

Have you tried any accent nail designs?  What is your favourite colour combination?

MaxFactor - Fantasy Fire

If you have been anywhere near the blogging and vlogging scene over the last couple of months then you have probably heard of Fantasy Fire being a nail varnish that has been sort after by many people, and finally now I have got my hands on this polish heres what I think...
They say you should never judge a book by its cover, but I was drawn in by the look of Fantasy Fire immediately when I saw it.  I knew it was one of those products that everyone in the blog world seemed to want but I think until I saw it I never really understood why.  It is a gorgeous colour with  finely milled holographic glitter.  The polish is predominately but as you rotate the bottle the glitter changes colour from a bluey/greeny turquoise colour to a more orangey/coppery colour.  I don't think I have done it justice in my description or photos but if you check it out for yourself you'll see what I mean.
I am a fan of glittery shimmery polishes but I was concerned how dual toned this product would be but overall I really like it.  There is a subtle change of colour that is obvious to anyone paying close attention to your nails but is not too over the top and bright if you were concerned about how wearable this polish would be.  I guess this product is no brighter than a normal purple polish but instead this just has some holographic glitter to make it a little bit more unusual


Overall, I do really like this product and the colour is beautiful and perfect for the summer season, when it eventually decides to arrive, and in the mean time it is also a colour that can just brighten up an outfit or a dull monday morning.  For the unique colour polish this product would get a 5/5 from me and I can completely understand the hype around this product, but unfortunately there is, in my eyes a slight downside to this product.

Personally I love to be able to apply 2 coats of a polish and it would be totally opaque and long lasting and Fantasy Fire unfortunately does not tick all those boxes.  In terms of lasting without a top coat, again I can't really fault this product but in terms of opacity in my eyes it gets a 2/5.


When I first applied this product I was shocked at how transparent this turned out and unfortunately I was very disappointed.  If you only applied 1-2 coats the polish made your nails turn a strange purple colour and did not great so this is something that you definitely have to be prepared to put time into this to get the desired colour.   But do not fear with a few coats this product looks amazing on your nails and is very long lasting, but if something that you look for in your "perfect product" is opacity in a few coats then this may not be for you.

In this photo I have applied 5-6 coats and although they do not take too long to dry it is just a pain to have to apply this many coats to achieve the colour and opacity that I wanted.  I do love this product and it is just a shame that the opacity is not great otherwise I would not be able to fault this product, but I think that it is definitely worth a try so if you can get your hands on this colour do give it a go.

You can pick up MaxFactor pretty easily from Boots or Superdrug in store or on Boots website or Superdrug website.  It will cost you £3.99 and you don't get a load of product because it is in MacFActor's mini nail polish range, but for the colour I think this is totally worth it, especially if you can pick it up in a deal like I did a few weeks ago in a 3 for 2 in Superdrug where I got 2 other MaxFactor polishes which will be reviewed on here soon so keep your eyes peeled.


Have you tried Fantasy Fire?  Did you have a problem with the opacity?  Do you think its worth all the hype?