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?

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 - Diamond Crackle

To celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee here is another nail idea that you can try out over this bank holiday weekend.  I started with the same base colours as I did in the first nail design, so if you haven't seen that post yet you can look at it by clicking HERE.


After creating the base for my design using an alternating red and blue design I decided that I wanted to create a different design on the nails to the other designs where I did full block nail colours.  You can use any crackle polish for this design and nearly every brand of nail varnish has their own version with a variety of colours, as well as matt and glitter ones.


I have chosen to use MUA's Nail Quake in a grey/silver colour called "Shattered Ice" which I think is a very interesting combination.  I chose this silver tone to link back to the Diamond Jubilee, but you could also use a white crackle so that your nails have the red, white and blue theme of the union jack.  


I applied this polish relatively thickly to create an overall silver appearance so that the blue and red only peek through the gaps in the polish, so this idea might be better for you if you wanted a more subtle nail design rather than the brighter blue and red designs that you can see HERE and HERE.


The application of the polish was very easy and creates a very unusual effect that no matter how many times you use this polish you can never not be amazed by this type of nail varnish as it magically disappears from your nails.  If you haven't tried this kind of crackling polish then you can pick this MUA one up at superdrug, on the superdrug website or on the MUA website for £2.99.