Late Summer Sparkle

Today I am making the last of the sunny weather before it turns truly into autumn weather.  This is design I did quickly, and I think that it is a perfect combination that can be worn on these last days of sun before the grey clouds begin to roll in.  

This design is using colours that I have previously mentioned on this blog a few times, but I think they are so versatile and simple to bung on your nails and they still look really pretty and put together.  The purple and the green combination is girly and feminine whilst also not being a pale baby pink, which I prefer to wear.

I have used this combination a lot over the summer and loved the pastel shades of lilac and mint together.  The 2 colours I have used are Ciate Purple Sherbet which I have done a separate review on so if you want to find out more you can do see HERE, but if you were just wondering what the polish is like, it is a light lilac shade which is incredibly creamy, lasts a lifetime on your nails and is just generally a pleasure to apply.  

Unfortunately I got this product in a Marie Claire a few months ago so I am not sure if you can still buy it, but if you happen to see this then I would definitely recommend giving it a try as it is a new firm favourite of mine.  Also keep an eye out in Marie Claire as I recently picked up another Ciate polish that came with their magazine (review coming soon) so if you are interested in trying out a Ciate polish maybe check out Marie Claire incase they are giving away any in the near future!

For the minty green colour I have used Barry M's Mint Green which is number 304 and again a gorgeous shade which is a new firm spring/summer favourite of mine.  You can pick this up more easily in Boots, Superdrug or on the Barry M website for £2.99.  

I havent done a full review of this polish on here, but if you wanted me to do one then leave a comment below letting me know.  I can even do a comparison with another minty colour that I have used on HERE which is by NYC if you would be interested, but let me know.

This is a gorgeous colour and is a very wearable minty green colour, I say this because sometimes people ask how to wear minty colours and if they are hard to wear.  This is bright enough to be a pretty colour that is eye catching but not too over the top that you wouldn't feel comfortable wearing it!

I have added 2 coats of Models Own Ibiza Mix on top of these colours to give it a little bit of sparkle and this is perfect if you are heading to any late summer parties or even if there is a little bit of late summer sun, this polish can brighten up your day.  Again this is another favourite polishes that I have worn over the summer and I have done a review of this which if you want to know anything more about the colour and polish itself you can click HERE.  You can pick up Models Own from Boots and it retails for £5 but it is well worth the investment as the polish is gorgeous and you get so much for your money.

I hope you don't mind this summery post, I am well aware that it is the first day of September today but the late summer sun today has inspired me to go out wearing this combination.

Whats your favourite combination for this late summer sun?  Or what colour are you wearing this weekend?  Leave your answer in the comments below I would love to know.

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 - 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?

Pinks and glitter inspired by Sprinkleofglitter

After doing my previous post on the gorgeous colour by MUA "U R FAB" and seeing Sprinkleofglitter's post about pink sparkly nail varnish for the summer I decided the create my own version of her summer designs.  If you haven't seen the Louise's post you can click HERE to see her beautiful summery polishes.  I took the base coat of MUA's "U R FAB" which I have done a blog post on HERE if you wish to see it, I decided to see how the polish looked as a base to some glittery top coats.

The first glittery colour I decided to use was Revlon's Facetts of Fushia which was available in the autumn/winter of 2011 and is a gorgeous and very unusual polish.  It is actually I very deep purple/almost black polish with a range of purple glitter segments suspended in the polish.  It is a pretty shade but due to the dark colour of the polish it hides the purple/pink underneath so I would say its not really worth using the MUA shade under this glitter polish. But it does make a pretty design if you use this colour for one nail with the rest of your nails in the MUA shade.


Another design is using the blue and silver glitter polish by NYC called "Lights, Camera, Glitter" which is a pretty polish to use over the top of another polish to jazz up the design, which can be seen on the middle finger of the photo below.  Although this polish only has very small reflects of purple in the polish which is barely noticeable the finely milled silver glitter really adds something to the design.  You can still currently still buy this polish in Superdrug for just under £3...bargain for this sparkle top coat.

Here are all 3 of the glitter polishes that I used over the top of my MUA "U R FAB" polish and I think all of them look amazing, and could all be worn for different events and occasions.  From right to left MUA "U R FAB" base colour, MUA & Revlon Facetts of Fushia, MUA & NYC "Lights, Camera Glitter" and MUA & Models Own "Ibiza Mix"

My final glitter colour I have decided to use is Models Own Ibiza Mix which you can currently pick up from Boots, on the Boots website, or in a Models Own store or on their website for £5.  I have previously done a blog post on this polish over a yellow base which you can see HERE but I thought I would try it out over this shade too.  I have to say that every time I use this polish I fall a little but more in love with it!  It is probably the most versatile glitter top coat I have ever used and I just love the way it looks on the nails.  Since creating this design and trying it out on one nail I have painted all my nails in this combination and it is definitely my favourite out of the 3.

Jubilee Nails

For an easy way to navigate around my blog I have create a compilation of all the photos of Jubilee designs that I created so that if you like the design you can click on the matching number to the design that you like and you will be taken to that design...now thats what I call magic!

1. Simple Red, White and Blue

2. A Glittery Twist

3. Union Jack accent nail

4. Union Jack Nails

5. Diamond Crackle

6. A British Manicure

7. Patriotic Spots

8. A Spot of Jubilee Colour

9. A Spot of Jubilee Colour

Have a wonderful Jubilee bank holiday and let me know if you try out any of my designs!

Jubilee Nails - Union Jack accent nail

If you do not feel brave enough to for the full Union Jack nails then here is a less bold alternative.  If you haven't seen the previous design using these nails you can see it HERE.

I used the same nails so if you want to find out about where I got these from then you can look at the previous post HERE.  I have also used the same base blue and red colours that I used in my basic jubilee nails post which you can also see HERE and for the low down on the glitter polishes that I used then feast your eyes on this post HERE.

Okay so now we are all down with those things, here is my other alternative nail design that I have created using a Union Jack nail design as an accent nail.  As I am sure you know, accent nails are currently very popular whether it is just another colour to the rest of your nails or a totally different design as I have used they are a great way to add a pop of extra detail or colour to your nails.  I have used a false nail but you can easily use a nail transfer, wrap or if your'e feeling particularly skilful you could always paint your own Union Jack design.


I think that this is a nice design that can worn by most people to add a little more interest to the nails instead of simply having plain red, white and blue, but by including a flag.  Also you only have to use 2 of the nails in that case and you still have lots left to reuse and maybe pack in a bag in case some come a little loose.  Also if you have decided to paint your own Union Jack design you only have to paint 2 flags instead of 10 which will be a lot less time consuming and less pressure to get them all the same!

Models Own Ibiza Mix

As today is such a nice day that I wanted to reflect on my nails today and give you some ideas.  I picked up the Models Own Ibiza Mix nail polish the other day in Boots for £5 but you can also get it from the Models Own website.

This polish as you can see is a multicolour glitter polish with big and small glitter shapes in every colour under the sun so will be great this summer to go with any outfit day or night.  I also like the fact that the glitter is chunky and gives a interesting textured effect on the nails.

But like most glitter polishes it is relatively sheer so it requires quite a few coats if you wanted it completely opaque, but layered over any other colour is very effective.  

I chose to use a sunny yellow colour from Miss Sporty number 453 as summer has finally decided to arrive but any colour will be nice underneath because of the multicolour glitter, you just can't go wrong.

If you wanted a different look then you can easily layer this over a dark polish to make it more of an evening look. 

This is  a really good purchase for the bank holiday and BBQ season coming up or if your lucky enough to be jetting off anywhere, more exotic anytime soon this polish screams summer, by the pool or beach with the sunlight hitting the glitter, and with a slight tan.

I can't speak highly enough of this polish and it is amazing for the price as you get 14ml for £5 which is incredible, so go and pick up one soon, but I warn you these are quite popular and so are quite hard to get your hands on.