Autumn Colours

So as Autumn is fully in swing now, I thought I would write a quick post about my current favourite colours to wear on my nails this Autumn.

Be prepared to FALL in love! (Get it? like the leaves fall....sorry bad pun.)

First up is the colour I am currently rocking. Revlon Colourstay - Longwear Nail Enamel, 11.7ml bottle. In the colour 220 Rain Forest. Its a deep bottle green colour with an iridescent pale green glitter. Its perfect for a bold statement and because of its dark tone, it'll go with a lot of outfits. I picked up this bad boy in T K Maxx for £2.99. A right steal if you ask me.

Next is a little birthday treat purchase with birthday money I had. (Sorry in advance for the messy application I was excited). Its a beautiful purple toned red. From the Rimmel London Salon Pro range, it has lycra in it which is supposed to pro-long your mani for longer wearing beautiful claws. This particular colour is 402 Urban Purple. £4.49 a bottle in Boots.

So these are just two shades I'll be loving this Autumn. Leave me a comment below with the colours you'll be rocking this season. And don't forget to head across to our Facebook Page, as we're 6 likes away from a giveaway! 

Find me elsewhere:

Twitter@NailsatNoon
Instagram@ItsHER92
Tumblr: http://nailsatnoon.tumblr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NailsatNoon/

So... Shellac

I recently had a birthday, for which I was treated to my first ever Shellac manicure.

I have been aware of the phenomenon that is the world of Shellac Nails but had always been a little wary of the idea of a polish being on your nails for so long. Weird eh? I just thought that something that sat on the nail for so long could be really damaging, despite what I was being told by reviews and nail techs etc...

I got mine done at Centre Parcs Aqua Sana Spa, by the fabulous Kylie, she is the Nail Specialist at the Whinfell Forest Centre Parcs and is by far the most amazing person I have ever met in the Salon and Beauty industry. She is really passionate and so welcoming - she even remembered me from the year before! Her customer service is second to none and you should deffo give her a visit if you're ever near there. Last year I was there for my birthday and she gave me a bottle of sparkling wine, and a card. Literally how many people ever go that extra mile anymore?

In the short of it, she greatly inspired me to continue with this blog and look at training in nails (more about that another time.)

So back to Shellac. I chose a metallic antique gold colour, which I thought would do for my birthday and would look nice everyday after for as long as it would last. Which is has - I didn't purchase any cuticle oil - which is suggested as it helps preserve the quality of the Shellac, instead I have been rubbing my Bio-Oil into my cuticles at night and that seems to be doing the job just fine.

I have had mine on now for two weeks, and they are still great - no chips no breakage of the nail and still looking as fresh as they did when I first got them done, and I've been doing other peoples manicures since using nail polish remover and other chemicals and they've been unaffected. So very impressed.

The only downside is that my nails grow really quickly so I have perhaps about as much as 1millimetre re-growth that is showing, but I have some ideas to use black polish and do a backwards french mani to help cover the re-growth so I can keep it on for a little longer.

You can remove your own Shellac by soaking your nails in nail polish remover and then gently scraping away the Shellac with a cuticle pusher. But as its my first time using Shellac I want to get it removed by a professional just so I can see it be done exactly, and will be able to then know exactly the technique to use - as I wouldn't want to go ahead and remove it myself to then do it incorrectly and ruin my nails!

I have attached some photos for you - one taken day of my manicure, and the second two weeks later so you can see how its lasted.

Follow me elsewhere!

Twitter@NailsatNoon
Instagram@ItsHER92
Tumblr: http://nailsatnoon.tumblr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NailsatNoon/

Passport to Colour

What better way to cure airplane anxiety than splurging on some exclusive O.P.I nail polishes from the duty free shopping during the flight!

We flew with Thompson and they offered some beautiful beauty products onboard the flight. I just wished I had taken some more funds to treat myself with last minute on the way home!

Anyhoo, I was flicking through the brochure and found these beauties from O.P.I they are super mini in size but that doesn't bother me as I think I'll use them more as a display and memoire of the trip rather than for their nail painting purposes. Having said that I will whip them out I think as my go-to travel colours in the future.

From nudes to daring reds this mini collection has a shade for every occasion. What I love also is that it gives nail art design ideas on the back of the box. Something which I adore!

image from; https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_mJWK-dbdrJKw23c4EezfzVs0jw7DAkAUP9DqGdY4ht_Hxf3yCsruvGxmL5_sd2FrMyit4w3UDAL4aWIv4RgZM8GDaBT-HPSGz5KZgRNOnt0YeTJbpFEgBF9KW2Ca8IoJHjwkDOY8NW8/s1600/opi+passport+to+color.jpg

Follow me elsewhere!
Twitter@NailsatNoon
Instagram@ItsHER92
Tumblr: http://nailsatnoon.tumblr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NailsatNoon/

Nail Polish to Save Your Life

I knew nail polish was pretty savvy stuff. And I knew it had a way to make you feel nice an' all but this is just incredible.

4 College students at North Carolina State University have possibly invented the most incredible nail polish yet! They all are studying Material Sciences and Engineering, and between them have engineered a nail polish that can detect date rape drugs. Something which could save so many women  (and men) from traumas that getting your drink spiked could lead to.

Undercover Color will detect drugs such as GHB, Rohphynol and Xanax. All you'd have to do is simply pop on your special polish whilst getting ready for your night out, and each time you order a drink before consuming it, lower your finger into the drink and stir it around, if you nail polish changes colour don't drink it.

My mind boggles at the amount of incidents that could be saved from this polish. I just hope that it takes off!

"Our goal is to invent technologies that empower women to protect themselves from this heinous and quietly pervasive crime."

*All info paraphrased and quotes from http://aplus.com/a/these-4-college-students-have-invented-nail-polish-that-detects-date-rape-drugs

* Images taken from the above address also. 

Magnetic Force

Okay so these polishes have been around for a while but I've only just discovered them - I say discovered a beautiful friend of mine treated me to a bottle and I've been enjoying playing with it this evening.

Barry M the beautiful company that it is, has a range of Magnetic Polishes. The basic science is that magnetic pigments within the polish react to a handy Magnetic on your lid, that when hovered above the polish as it dries, draws those pigments into a pattern for your amusement.

I found it worked best and easiest with a thick quick one coat, and immediately popping the magnet over it, using the handy little curve to rest against my finger just behind my cuticle. It worked so well and dried quickly. Pop on a top coat to seal it all in and wow your friends with this cool mani!

My polish pictured here is Magnetic Burgundy.

Find them in Boots and Superdrug!


FOLLOW ME ELSEWHERE:
Instagram@ItsHER92
Twitter@NailsatNoon
Tumblr: http://nailsatnoon.tumblr.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NailsatNoon/

Thank You Ciate!

God bless Ciate and Marie Claire.

For with this months Issue of Marie Claire, you can get your hands on a mini Nail Art set from Ciate!

A mini bottle of polish and a mini bottle of nail caviar, to get all creative and nail-art-y with. There are 6 colour palettes to choose from and for £2.25 for the magazine it is a STEAL. I don't ordinarily buy in Marie Claire, but saw the Ciate polish and ripped that magazine so fast off of the shelf that muscles were pulled!

The 6 variations ordinarily would set you back a 60 squid. So its a super bargain! Ciate have been growing in popularity lately for their beautifully chic packaging and elegant choices in colours. Plus their nail caviar has become somewhat famous!

So why are you still reading this post? You should be out getting your hands on a Marie Claire and your mittens on that polish!

I try to keep an eye out for bargains such as these, so enjoy buying multiple copies of the same magazine! I say keep the polish for yourself and give a friend the magazine to read.

Image pulled from Google Images.

Cute and Camoflauged

I take my inspiration for nail art from a whole variety of places - one of them is fashion, and whilst surfing through google for something that would catch my eye and make a nice Nail Art design I stumbled onto this image...

Usually Im not a fan of camp as I don't think its that dynamic, but seeing it in this colour palette made me fall in love. The colours both contrast and compliment. So I decided to have a go at recreating this print but for Nails. 

To create this look I used the following colours: 

BASE COLOUR: Sinful Colours in 24/7 (Matte Finish)

CAMO SPLODGES: E.L.F in Yellow, BarryM Nail Paint in Pure Turquoise, L.A Colours Art Deco in Black. 

1. Apply the pink base colour all over the nail using two coats for a good coverage.
2. Then going from light to dark apply your splodge colours by using the brush in a  stippling motion creating camo style patterns. Continue this step with all the other colours. Making sure to leave space for the pink to still be seen.
3. Seal in with a protective top coat. 

If you re-create this look please send me a photo via my Facebook page ...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NailsatNoon/577277732386439

NAIL POLISH GIVEAWAY - Facebook

Sooo...

Instead of bombarding my Facebook friends with all my nail related updates, I thought it would make sense to start a Facebook page for NailsatNoon that way all you lovely readers have somewhere to follow when new posts are coming. And have somewhere to discuss things easily.

Also I plan to hopefully get some tutorials going on Youtube so you can learn how to re-create some of my looks.

In the spirit of giving back to you wonderful people, I thought I would do a giveaway - a chance for you to win all the Polishes used in my MOST viewed post - 'Purple Passion'. Its £18 worth of polishes. And you could WIN THEM ALL!

How exciting.

So all you have to do is head over to my Facebook page, LIKE the page, and comment on the giveaway Status. Once I reach 100 likes then I will announce a winner! :)

Goodluck and get Liking!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/NailsatNoon/577277732386439

Gelly Hi-Shine - Barry M Review

So I know this collection has been out a while, and I may be behind on the review bandwagon, but they keep adding more and more colours and I just adore the formulation that I want them ALL!

If you haven't come across them before, they are a high shine / gloss polish with a lovely thick formula that allows for beautiful almost shellac style finish. You can get away with just the one coat, or apply two for even bolder brighter colour.

With a range that contains beautiful bolds and more coral and pastel shades, there is definitely something for everyone.

Shades from Left to Right:

Lychee, Papaya, Mango, Prickly Pear, Blueberry, Greenberry, Blue Grape. 

Find them on the link below, or in Superdrug Stores.

http://www.barrym.com/products/nails/effects/gelly-nail-effects.html

Maybelline Colour Show - Review

Colours left to right:
130 Winter Baby,  282 Glitter, 220 Brocades Range - Knitted Gold, 181 Charged and Ready, 214 Green with Envy, 654 Superpower, 749 Electric Yellow, 118 Urban Coral, 248 Power Red, Brocades Range 224, Brocades Range 221, 198

Maybelline Colour Show, is a super fun collection at a crazy affordable prices. At just £2.99 a bottle it is Maybelline's answer to Barry M. A collection full of fun bold bright colours, with sparkles, and texture to knock your heart out! There is a little something something for everyone, and with regular promotions on their cosmetics you can get more for your money. 

I kindly, being the brilliant blogger I am (just kidding) swatched each colour on my nail art wheel and stuck them to the bottle so you can see exactly how the pigmentation holds from bottle to nail. As you can see, it holds pretty well. Colours are exactly as they appear in the bottle, the texture of the formulation changes with each range. For instance the standard Colour Show range is although quite thin in formulation lovely and smooth and easily build-able and the more coats you apply the colour just gets more rich and shiny! The brocades range, which is a glitter based formulation is a little thicker, designed I believe as a top coat you can apply to colours to add lovely textured glitter look, or for a bold statement you can use them simply on they own using two coats to create party ready nails in no time! 

If you love bold colours and statement nails then this is the collection for you, and it won't by any means break the bank either! So get yourselves down to Superdrug or Boots and get looking. 

Kelly Brook - Nail Polish Review

So I learnt something new this week - Kelly Brook has started a makeup range for New Look, which includes my fav thing; nail polish! They are super affordable at £2.99 a bottle which is the same price bracket as the likes of Barry M and some of Rimmel's range. They have some super bold brilliant colours. I incidentally had to buy one to try them out... of course!

I chose this cherry red colour which has a subtle shimmer to it, its lovely, and I mostly bought it to try as it was on sale for £1.50! A steal if you ask me.

Not expecting a lot from till side purchases I was expecting it to be an average polish, but actually it is pretty decent. The formula is average thickness I would ballpark it similar to Barry M Nail Paint. You could get away with the one coat, but for a flawless even coverage you have to do the second coat. The brush is nice and flat similar to L'Oreal polishes so you can apply easily and tidily up to the cuticle line. The best part of this polish is that it smells every so slightly of strawberries, which blew my mind. If you sniff directly into the bottle - which I do not recommend then you can't smell it, but painting away you get a subtle whiff of strawberries. Which makes inhaling all those chemically smells that much worth it when painting your nails.

The packaging is super cute, I particularly enjoy the polka dot design on the lid, as it makes it easy to find in my bag of hundred odd polishes. Thats one thing that annoys me, most polish has a simple black or white lid, making finding the exact bottle you want near enough impossible when sifting through a bag with 100+ polishes in. Whereas you would not have that trouble with Kelly Brook's Nail Polish as she cleverly popped polka dots on there.

If you are looking for bulking out your collection with some polish of bold colours perfect for slapping on to go with outfits then this is a collection for you. The colours speak so much by themselves theres no need for the little extras of Nail Art.

Safe to say I'm impressed with Kelly, I would deffo buy more, and am looking forward to hopefully seeing the collection expand into more colours! :) So I would recommend you pop down to your local New Look and grab yourself a cheeky bottle to try. For 10ml at £2.99 or £1.50 for sale price, you can't really go wrong, and there is a large enough range of colours that you are guaranteed to find something you'll like!

Below I did a swatch of Kelly Brook Nail Polish in 'Cabernet'.

Oddballz and Watermelons.

So for Christmas, I was a very fortunate young lady and received a box of SIX O.P.I Shatter Nail Paints. Two of which were Nicki Minaj special edition ones, 'Super Bass Shatter'. So I decided to finally start experimenting with various colours from my little treasure box of O.P.I - my first bottles of O.P.I I have ever owned, which in itself is very exciting to me.

Incidentally these beautiful creations were made. My sister and I deciding that they looked like Watermelon design and Oddballz - a 90s computer game where you hatched your own little dinosaurs from this eggs (Oddballz) which had these crackle effects in funky colours on them... for those of you who do not know this game but loved Tamagochi's and Catz and similar programmes you deffo need to get a copy of Oddballz - you may get addicted but you won't regret it!

Anyhoo, back to the nails....

For watermelon nails, the polish used was Elf's 'Mint Choc Chip' and O.P.I Shatter in dark green. For Oddballz nails Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in 'Prickly Pear' and Nicki Minaj for O.P.I 'Super Bass Shatter' in Purple.

Simply protect your nails with a base coat, apply two coats of the base colour. A lighter colour works best for dark shatter colour - and reverse for dark base light shatter colour works best. Once dry apply a top coat to smooth out the base colour ready for the shatter. I find that putting the top coat on now works best, as applying it after the shatter can shrink the polish underneath. Then apply a thin layer of shatter for the Watermelon style to get that thin stroke shatter look. For the Oddballz look apply a thick layer of shatter on top, to create the bigger shaped shatter effect.

Have fun playing around with colour combinations, this look is very simple yes, but get the colours right and you can have a great look on your hands!

For more Nail looks follow me on Instagram - http://instagram.com/itsher92

Raindrops Keep Falling On My....Nails.

This is a quick and extremely simple way to create an awesome look. 

Simply need your favourite colour - a matte top coat and a normal top coat. 

Apply a base coat, following that two coats of your chosen colour. Then matte it up by applying a matte top coat - mine is Essie 'Matte About You'. Then to create the water droplets apply a top coat and literally drop it on in raindrop shape on top. Et VOILA. You are done!

Pretty Wild

I'm not going to lie, I'm not really the biggest fan of leopard print, but when it is bright and fun like the following design I am in love. 

Break up the pattern with a little glitter on one of the nails and it'll break up the continuity of the design, adding a little dimension. 

For this you'll need a bright base colour. I am using this Sinful Colours one in hot pink and it happens to be matte, which I adore! Then you'll need a mint kind of colour - mine is Elf mint chic chip. Then lastly you'll need a black nail art pen, and you're fav top coat to seal it all in!

Simply apply a protective base coat, then two coats of the pink, wait till dry. Add random sized splodges of mint to the nail leaving enough room around the colour to add the black and still have gaps between. 

Then once dry add black in a squiggly line breaking the line occasionally to get that leopard print look. If you want to add a glitter nail, use a base coat then apply as many coats of your favourite glitter polish that you wish, using a top coat to smooth out any lumps. 

ENJOY! 

Flirty Fade

I love this design. Its a great pop of colour and using the same colour to fade ties in the two different base coat colours. Feel free to change out the colours in this look to suit your tastes and colour coordinating needs!

Using a teal and purple base colour apply two coats carefully. Wait to dry then choosing a colour for your fade using either a nail art pen or brush, apply from tip to middle on two fingers in a quick sweeping motion to create an uneven fade look. On the other fingers apply from cuticle to the middle of the nail in the same sweeping motion.

Wait to dry and seal with your top coat!

Enjoy playing around with this design.

Nail Polish:

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint - Greenberry
Barry M Nail Paint - Fuchsia
Generic Nail Art Pen - Glitter Blue.

Matte About Glitter

This is a fun look that I created to update an ageing mani that I had been wearing for a couple of days. This is a great way to brighten up a mani quickly if you don't quite have enough time, or patience to re-do a new nail look.

Simply using whatever paint you already have on your nails. Touch up any chips and apply a matte top coat to create a smooth matte surface for the glitter.

Taking your favourite glitter or simply a glitter in a colour palette that will accentuate your base colour, apply to ring finger and thumb all over. For an extra pop of fun, apply dots near your cuticles in either the same glitter or a different type as I did here, for an extra fun twist.

Nail Polish:

Barry M Nail Paint - Cappuccino
Essie - Matte About You
Maybelline Colour Show Brocades - Black

Pretty In Pink

Such a simple look, easy to do and can be applied to any colour palette.

Simply apply two coats of a pale pink to pre-shaped and base coated nails.

Then add a darker tone of pink in a triangular shape on the end of the nails for a modern take on a french mani.

The colours can be changed out for any you wish to use. Provided the base colour is paler. Or if you are feeling playful, then place the darker tone as a base and use the pale for the triangular shape.

Have fun playing around with this design.

Nail Polish:

Avon Nailware in Pink.
Barry M Nail Paint in Bright Pink.

Glitterati

Looking at all my glitter polishes I thought about what you could do. Diamonds came to mind so had a play with design.

Using glitter top coats, to cover colour or a polish with shimmer built in, or simply just using a glitter top coat like the Opal Top Coat from Avon as a polish.

Have fun playing with polish and colour.

Its Better To Mix Things Up!

Let's face it the days of uniform one shade of nails are past us, jump on the mix and match trend and go with the flow and create your own personal mix of style and colour in a collaboration that's right on trend.

I went with punchy colours and bold prints and pictures in terms of nail art. I even attempted a houndstooth and kind of failed but created a cool looking pattern in the process. See even if you don't get what you expected you can still create something cool and fun!

Polishes I used:
Barry M Nail Paint in Fuschia
Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine (Blue and Purple Shades)
Essie in Mojito Madness
Maybelline Colour Show in Electric Shock
Barry M Nail Art Pen

Flower Power

Be daring, don't be afraid once your nails have started to chip to whip out that nail art pen and have a go, if the worse comes to the worse then you have the excuse they were chipping anyways to wipe the board clean.

I often use the opportunity of 'better days' nails to try new nail art on myself, rather than whipping out a nail art wheel. This time around I tried florals, usually I use my dotting tool to draw out rose style flower patterns but this time I tried drawing more detailed florals.

Polish is Stargazer - Silver I believer number 242
and a generic black nail art pen.