TGWTGN Festive Edit Part 4: Mistle-Toad

Okay, it has to be said, most times I read/hear Mistle-Toad, I think of the Toad in X-Men. Please tell me someone else thinks of him too?? Lucky for us Different Dimension Mistle-Toad is way more beautiful - in fact there's no comparison in looks! I've been wanting this and a few others from the Happy Holly Days collection by Different Dimension for a little while. This fell into my basket along with Wingdust Gilt-y Pleasure when shopping at Rainbow Connection.

TGWTGN Festive Edit Part 2: Spiced Coco, Coffee and Biscuits...

In winter it's taken for granted that there will be spice. I don't mean people eat more curries, though they might, but rather that restaurants and cafes will offer something a little different to the usual fare. Mulled wine, eggnog latte, spiced cocoa etc. I've recently discovered a delightful spiced apple drink at one of the chain coffee stores - yum! There's something warming and relaxing about the spices in a hot drink. So in today's festive edit I have a warm, relaxing manicure to share.

Let's Rave!

'Tis better to post a-brief, then not to post at all. Or so goes this attempt to reawaken my creative spirit :p Today I have Jindie Nails Rave to share with you. I have been wanting this for so long! I first saw it somewhere sometime - yep it's been that long that I can't actually remember. Whenever I looked though it was out of stock. That is until I was browsing Rainbow Connection... Lo and behold, it was in stock waiting for me! I ordered it and with the excellent service, it was in my hands within 2 days of clicking 'buy'.

OMG A UFO!!

Today is another day, and another China Glaze Hologlam: OMG A UFO. I love the name of this because it brings back memories of watching The X-Files. Oh, and Planet 51!! I loved Planet 51; if you haven't seen it you need to! Like all my other Hologlams this was sent to me from Susan at The Subtle Shimmer :)

When Stars Collide I Faint

Hello all! Today I have for you another of the China Glaze Hologlam collection; I'm on a roll here! When Stars Collide is a beautiful purple, and I can see the holo in it, so this is in the running to be my favourite Hologlam :) Thanks again to Susan at The Subtle Shimmer for getting this for me!

Infra Red - Not Related to Remote Controls

I'm sure it can't be just me who thinks of remote controls when hearing the term infra red... or is it?! Anyway, for the purposes of this post Infra Red is part of the China Glaze Hologlam collection, from Susan at The Subtle Shimmer. Again we have another colour out of my usual comfort zone, but believe me when I say I'm not an imposter!!

Not In This Galaxy...

I have a simple mani today, and it's one of the new Hologlams by China Glaze. As soon as these were announced last year, they went on so many wish lists, including mine! I'm super lucky to have some lovely friends, and Susan over at The Subtle Shimmer kindly got a few for me :) If you want to see which I got, alongside some other holographic goodies from A Lacquered Affair, check out my Instagram feed or my Facebook page.

A Tribute

This post is a tribute for Amanda's mother. Amanda from The Nail Polish Enthusiast asked people who own Lex Tuilleries to wear it and share a blog post on February 2 in memory of her mother. I know I'm late, but better late than never, right? I don't own Tuilleries, so I decided to share a pink mani in her honour. I just want to add that I'm sure that Amanda's mum would be very proud of the lovely, caring person she is today :)

Mirror, Mirror, Mirrorball

Today's long overdue post is about the highly in demand Mirrorball collection from Models Own. I think a lot of people started lusting over these beauties as soon as the press shots were released. A photo of beautiful, shimmery glitters with matching lids... what's not to love?? I picked up my set at the Models Own Bottleshop over at Westfield London a couple of months back. If you haven't been there, you should go. All the ladies working there have been so helpful whenever I've gone. Anyways, to the point after dithering for a while - no surprise there - I decided to go with skittles :)

Polish Days: Sentimental

The theme of this month's Polish Days is sentimental. I can't even begin to say how difficult it was to chose what to do. My nail art skills are basic, so I wanted to go with a colour. But should I chose the first indie polish I owned, or the first high end? Should it be my first ever polish (no idea what that is though) or the one that started me down the slippery slope (no idea what that is either)? I've gone basic though. I've chosen my first custom polish.

Why did I have a custom polish made? Well, for my birthday I wanted to gift my sisters and nieces with something. My Mum too, but she's set in her polish ways lol! They are all amazing people, and my life without them really wouldn't be the same. I wanted to give them something individual that was a part of me, if that makes any sense. So this post may not be immediately apparent sentimental polish, but it's sentimental in that I dedicate it to my Mum, my two sisters and my two nieces. I'm pretty sure they all liked the polish, my eldest niece is already down to half-way!

This was made for me by the lovely Carrie at Darling Diva Polish. I'm slightly indecisive (no...really?!?) but I did have an idea of what I wanted. I've been taken to the dark, or rather light, side of polish: white polishes with you-name-it colour combinations of glitter.

These are the pictures I sent Carrie that were the inspiration for what I could see in my head:

One of my favourite earrings

A purple outfit

My coffee mug (of course)

One of my many scarves

Now at this point, I thought I'd made her regret agreeing to make a custom for me :p

But being wonderful, this is what she made:

Gorgeous, right?

I should have better placed that piece of glitter on my ring finger!!

 

I love the vivid colours!! It's exactly what I imagined!!

There are times when I argue with my sisters, but the truth of the matter is that I love them way more than I argue with them. This 'polish present' is something that I hope they & my nieces will look at in future, and remember with fondness. I think I will always associate it with the great party I had for my birthday, surrounded by friends and family :)

Thanks again to Carrie, and be sure to check out the Darling Diva Polish Etsy shop!!

What do you think of my custom polish? Do you think it was appropriate for Sentimental Polish Days? Have you tried any Darling Diva creations?
x

A Little L'Oreal Magic Croisette

I first saw this beauty online, and it was love at first sight. As it always is for me according to my niece :p It's from the apparently Limited Edition L'Or Electric collection. I say apparently as I have seen this everytime I go in store. If you haven't though, there's currently one up for grabs in my giveaway.

Polish Us Pink: Jelly Bean

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. To mark this and to increase awareness in a different way, a group of us are blogging 'Polish Us Pink' on Mondays in October.

So many lives are changed by breast cancer, directly and indirectly, and it's important to check your breasts regularly. Let me be honest here, I never thought I'd write that in a blog post!! However, being aware and checking means earlier detection of problems and hopefully a better chance of survival.

My (Delayed) Birthday Giveaway!!

Now as many of you know, it was my birthday in August, and I said back then that I would host a giveaway for it. I'm not an expert at nail art, so I'm making it easy for you guys by using Rafflecopter ;)
 
Now, I don't have the hugest number of blog followers, and I don't blog that often, but my blog helped give me a place to vent my love for polish :) I appreciate it every time someone reads one of my posts, or leaves a comment, or tweets me. And you get the idea!! I have made so many friends on Twitter and Instagram, and I feel honoured to know so many lovely people :)

IMPORTANT NOTES

• Prizes are to be determined and once arranged will be osted here. For those curious cats out there, you should be able to expect Barry M, Models Own & Kiko
• There will be three winners
• The giveaway will run until Saturday 20th October
• The giveaway is open internationally. However, no claims can be accepted for prizes 'lost in the post'. Please bear this in mind if this has a tendency to happen in your country of abode!! I will obtain a receipt as proof of posting as I always do
• Where I've asked for information in the comments, please only comment ONCE with ALL the required information
• UPDATE: For retweets to be valid as entry you must be following me on Twitter!!
• None of the entry methods are mandatory because I don't want to force anyone to use a media they don't already, and also GFC sometimes glitches so that is also not a compulsory entry method

p.s. It's my first giveaway, so if I've missed any important notes please let me know!

UPDATE: Prizes!! So the winners will be able to pick one from each group/brand. Whoever responds first gets first pick and so on.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Magic of Layering

So my title is a bit obscure, but the reason is pretty simple: I used four polishes for this mani!! If I'm honest, I have been delaying trying these, but decided to bite the bullet and just go for it. I don't mind layering polishes, but time always seems to be running away from me, and I wanted to give these beauties the attention I knew that they deserved. It's a picture heavy post this time round, you have been warned!

Kingfisher by Marks and Spencer

I really have been missing a lot recently, I am sorry for that! I had a lovely trip to Abu Dhabi though, and had the post-holiday blues lasted all the way until my birthday last Friday!!

Let it Rain Autograph's Purple Rain

I was very surprised to see Marks and Spencer updated nail polish ranges, but in a good way. The packaging is attractive and there's a large colour selection. There are lots of colours I like, and quite a few that I love. But rare is the colour that I find mind-blowing. But this is one of those colours. As soon as it was on my fingertips I knew it was the one for me, the one I would have to convince myself not to wear 24 hours a day for a fortnight.

Order of the Garter

I have a soft spot for blue nails, and also for A-England polishes. Luckily for me (and you), when you combine the two, you come up with Order of the Garter. This beautiful shade of blue from The Legends collection has a blue shimmer that translates beautifully on the nail.

A Good Kind of Black Ice

Firstly, I am sorry as I am so behind with the blog! I've been a bit of a whirlwind recently; however I'm going to try and get back on track!

Today I have a nail polish from one of my favourite brands, which isn't as well known as it should be in my opinion. I stumbled across MyFace Cosmetics when I bought one of their 'Blingtones', and I haven't looked back since :) I will hopefully get round to doing a post on the Blingtones as I have a little collection of them, but I also really rate their MyMix foundation and concealer.

Three Views On Red

Hey all! This is first for me; a post about red polish! Now I know that there are people who love red in various forms, but I'm not one of them! I guess I just find red too strong a colour! For this reason, I was set a challenge; to wear red! I surprisingly own more than one red polish - given my reluctance to wear this bold colour - so I thought if I'm going to wear red, I may as well do it properly! My fellow red-wearers today are Marisa and Crystal.

I chose Bourjois 10 Day Nail Polish in shade 11 (there's no name for it on the bottle I'm afraid). I bought this polish in a fit of courage last year when I was away on holiday ;)

Jawbreaker - The Polish; Not The Sweet!

Pretty & Polished Jawbreaker is one of the gorgeous polishes sent to me in a swap by the lovely Bridget over at Polish, and Make-Up, and Cars, Oh My! This is a franken polish by Chels over at Pretty & Polished on Etsy.