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

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Health Tips // 1 - Lemons.

Thought I would start a new series called 'Health Tips'. All beauty related - of course. 

My first Health Tip is super easy to incorporate into your week. All you need is LEMONS. 

Lemons you say? Yes Lemons, they have so many benefits health and beauty wise. So if you have a couple lying around you might be inspired to try something new. I did some research and wanted to share it with you. 

LEMONS ARE A NATURAL DIURETIC.

• Lemons have properties that make them a natural diuretic. Which basically means it will flush your body of excess water, and toxins. If you suffer from bloating and are struggling to shift that excess water. Squeeze a little lemon juice into your fruit juice in the morning. If you're feeling extra zesty pop a slice of lemon as well into your glass. Because it helps shift the water, you may find yourself making a few extra stops to the bathroom, but that just means that its working. I find that doing this a couple of times a week, especially around weigh day can help shift that water!

ACNE NO MORE.

• Lemons packed full of citric acid, which has been shown to help with Acne. Vitamin C within Lemons helps to create a glowing healthy complexion, and the Alkaline within the lemons helps to beat the bacteria found within Acne. 
• You can either drink your lemon juice like suggested above, or make some homemade skin products to help your Acne. Make a gentle exfoliant by using lemon juice and putting some soft sugar (soft brown is best). The lemon juice on the Acne may create a burning sensation slightly, but it won't last long and the soft sugar will gently exfoliate the skin. Do stray away from coarse sugar as it may irritate the skin. 
• If you want an even simpler solution - simply apply a little lemon juice directly onto your Acne and allow to soak in over night. Just like the toothpaste theory, it'll help dry out the spots and as mentioned before the Alkaline within the lemons will help eliminate the bacteria and help to stop the Acne from developing. 

RELIEVE YOUR STRESS.

• As says beliefnet.com Lemons have the power to help sooth stress, anxiety, fatigue, and just generally help you feel fresh and powered up. So buy in those lemon scented candles, those lemon essential oils, and fill your house and living space with lemon scents and see if you feel more up beat! 

COLD SORE, NO MORE. 

• Suffer from Cold Sores? Well mix together some warm water and lemon juice and swirl in your mouth, like the Acne solution it may create a slight burning sensation upon contact but it shouldn't last. Repeat twice a day. 

SO LONG STING. 

• This point is perfect for Summer, if you get insect bites simply apply some drops of lemon juice to said bite and it should help reduce redness and soreness. Also the scent of lemons will help to keep other niggling insects away. 

I hope this helps! And you learnt something new

so start raiding your fridge and reap the benefits

of this powerful fruit! 

Summer Shades

With the current influx of sunshine and heat we've been having, I thought I would do a post about the best shades to rock this Summer. Whether its neons for poolside, or pretty pastels. I'll cover it all here in this post. So keep reading for some colour infused inspiration.

You might want to tighten the purse strings because if you're anything like me, you'll want to head straight out and get them... ALL.

I thought to make it fun and easy I would group them into colour groups. So if you're looking for the perfect summer *insert colour* you can see a range from various different brands and price brackets to suit your summer polish needs. 

First up GREENS: 

From Left to Right: 

Essie - Mojito Madness (beautiful apply green - £8.00)

Maybelline Colour Show - Green With Envy (minty blue green -  £2.99)

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche - Pistachio Drage (super pastel mint green - £4.99)

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine - Greenberry (beautiful teal shade - £3.99)

E.L.F - Mint Cream (perfect mint choc chip ice-cream shade £2.50)

Secondly BLUES:

From Left to Right:

17 Lasting Fix - Mint Choc Chip (blue toned mint - £2.99)

Perfect Hollographic - Blue ( imagine holographic with a blue tone to it)

BarryM Nail Paint - Pure Turquoise (pefect teal/turquoise colour - £2.99)

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine - Blueberry (sky blue but super shiny - £3.99)

Thirdly YELLOWS: 

From Left to Right: 

17 Lasting Fix - Sherbert Lemon (pastel lemon - £2.99)

Sinful Colours - This Is It (super small gold glitter - £1.99)

Maybelline Colour Show - Electric Yellow (yolky yellow - £2.99)

Next ORANGES: 

From Left to Right 

Essie - Orange Its Obvious (bright orange without being neon - £8.00)

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine - Mango (mid tone orange - £3.99)

China Glaze - Orange Knockout (SUPER neon orange matte finish - £4.38)

Next PINKS: 

From Left to Right: 

BarryM Nail Paint - Bright Pink (Barbie pink shade - £2.99)

BarryM Nail Paint - Fuchsia (mid pink with red undertones - £2.99)

Sinful Colours - 24/7 (NEON matte finish Barbie pink - £1.99)

Lush Laquer - Haywire (pastel pink with chunky neon glitter - $6.00)

Essie - Tour de Finance (iridescent mid pink - £8.00)

Next CORALS: 

From Left to Right: 

Maybelline Colour Show - Urban Coral (red toned pink coral - £2.99)

L'Oreal Paris Resist and Shine - 455 (Iridescent pink coral - discontinued I believe)

E.L.F - Mango Madness (Orange toned peach coral - £2.50)

Natural Collection - Antique Coral (perfect iridescent coral £1.99)

Next PURPLES/LILACS: 

From Left to Right: 

17 Lasting Fix - Parma Violet (pink toned violet - £2.99)

L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche - Nouvelle Vague (SUPER pastel lilac - £4.99) 

BarryM Gelly Hi-Shine - Prickly Pear (glossy lilac - £3.99)

So, there you have it, a colour wheel of summer shades, hope this post is useful and gives you some polish inspiration for the summer, and what colours and shades you can access on the hughstreet. Most of these polishes I bought whilst on offers or for the more higher-end brands such as China Glaze which is imported and Essie I bought off eBay but the prices listed are the prices you would find in store. 

Purple Passion

So purple and I have had a long standing love affair. Its so beautiful and its been my favourite colour since I can remember!

So as and ode to this love, I decided to pull out my Purple Polishes and play around.

Using a mixture of Barry M and L'Oreal shades, I layered Purples, Fushcias and Blues to create this look.

Here's how :

Simply grab the darkest shade, here I use Barry M Nail Paint in Indigo, apply two coats as your base. Wait till completely dry. For the design on the top you'll need a scrap piece of paper to hand. Grab the next lightest tone - we're working from dark to light with our colours. Take out the brush, brush off the majority of the polish onto the scrap piece of paper, and then brush what little is left onto the nail, being artistic in your placement.

Continue this process until you have used all the colours you wish, and apply a protective top coat to seal it all in.

The colours I used are:
Barry M Nail Paint in - Indigo 312, Fuchsia 302, Pure Turquoise 295, and Gelly Hi Shine in Prickly Pear 311
L'Oreal in Nouvelle / Vague 851

This design would look awesome in O.P.I's new Brazilian collection which is perfect for Summer!

Hope you have fun re-creating this look, and re-creating it in different colour schemes.

Barry M - Lip Paint Review

Barry M are known for their bold colour choices, and their range of Paint - whether it be for your lips or nails. They have great colours at great prices.

I found these few Barry M Lip Paints via my Ebay expeditions and paid a pound or so less than you would in store, but only because I'm a cheap skate and if I can avoid paying full price I will find a way! 

The colours I went for are very bold and I realise not everyone's taste but I think there is at least one shade here that will catch each of your eyes. They are £4.49 from Superdrug and Boots that carry Barry M in store. There is usually a lovely selection of various colours. I like these as they are great for spring and summer and perfect for those who dare to wear a bright lip. 

Unfortunately I do not have the shade names, neither do I have the numbers as mine have worn with wear and tear. But I do believe the bright pink and the orange are still carried in store, but I'm not too certain on the berry shade and the glitter pink. 

As you can see from the swatches the colour pigmentation carries well from Lipstick to skin, and hold for hours well without need for re-application. 

The berry is a rich tone plumy-red, its perfect for a bold daytime and an easy going nighttime wear lipstick. I think this would carry well across skin tones and would suit most people as its an easy to wear colour. Its bold without being too far gone that it would be too bright for some people to carry off. 

The bright pink isn't shown justice in the swatch, it is NEON its perfect for rocking with a tan in Summer and bringing those beach vibes to your makeup look. I am obsessed with this shade but struggle to find occasions at the moment with the weather as it is to wear it, but can't wait for the sun to come and for me to start rocking this bad boy of a Pink again. 

The glitter pink is a more subtle shade, the actual pigmentation isn't that powerful, it is mostly a clear lipstick with a slight sheen of colour and then glitter. It's perfect to add a sparkle for that party do you're attending at work, or if you're into fun makeup! Its very light on the lips and the glitter doesn't get everywhere either! 

And lastly the orange! This is also a bright colour, but less in your face than the pink,  a much more wearable alternative I think. It is easy to wear, although I wouldn't suggest that people with paler complexion that myself try it as I think it might make you look a little paler/ill. I struggle to wear it unless I have some colour as it can wash me out a little, and I consider myself to have fair/porcelain type tone to my complexion. But all the same it is a gorgeous shade and I think those with darker, more tan complexions would look stunning in this! 

So next time you are in the Barry M section of your drugstore make sure you check out the pigments of the Lip Paints as they are beautiful. 

Pastel Partaaay

So my brother's brilliant girlfriend let me play with her nails and do a variety of Pastel look nails, using various gems and nail art pieces to create the look.

Nail art wheels full of gems and little acrylic shapes such as the fruit can be purchased off of eBay from various sellers, coming from China for 99p with free P&P which is a HUGE bargain. They are fun to create party ready nails.

The nail polish used is all ELF or No.17 in various pastel shades such as Parma Violet, Sweet Kisses, Mint Choc Chip.

Nail art was created with a bit of patience, some nail glue, thin paint brushes and some embossing tools.

Hand Model : Lizzie.

Animal Print

This design is super easy to do, simply pick two tones of the same colour, one light one darker, here I chose pink tones, paint darker base and add splodges of the lighter colour, then add black detailing and for extra sparkle add some gems if you wish!

Nail Polishes:
Maybelline New York, Colour Show, in 118 Urban Coral
Barry M Nail Paint in 318 Peach Melba
Generic Black Nail Art Pen

Doodles on Pink

Playing around I was trying out various ideas and doodles ontop of pink and peach toned polish. I particulalry enjoyed doing the clash of Barry M Bright Pink with Greenberry spots on top. Yet again being inspired by Wah Nails I tried a diamond design which is really cute for maybe a ring finger design.

These are all super easy to create with a dotting tool and a nail art pen.

Pretty Pastels

I decided since now I have nail art wheels to swatch all my pastel polish. The subtle colours are perfect if you're not feeling quite daring enough to try brights. They are perfect to add a hint of colour to your outfit or even the office as they're not too "in your face".
I love pastel colours for spring and now its nearly over I'm going to get my wears worth!

Nail Polishes from left to right:
Barry M Nail Paint 306 Peach Melba
E.L.F (eyes lips face) Polish Mint Cream
17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish Sherbert Lemon
17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish Mint Choc Chip
17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish Sweet Kisses
17 Lasting Fix Nail Polish Parma Violet
Barry M Nail Paint 308 Berry I/C

Ombre Nails

Instead of using a sponge I used a brush to create an almost flamed ombre look. It was super easy to do, paint the lighter colour as a base, apply a couple of coats let it dry completely. Then on the tips of your nails apply your darker shade then grabbing a thin brush drag the colour up toward the cutical thus creating the flame look.

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Wah wah Wow!

Having recently discovered Wah Nails I decided to do some nail art inspired by their designs.

They are currently looking for nail art artists to work for them so might send off a CV as you never know!

Nail Polish used:
BarryM Nail Paint in: Pommegranate, Bright Pink, Peach Melba, Greenberry, Pure Turquoise.
E.L.F nail polish in Emerald Green and Yellow.

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April Favourites - Nail Products

As you can tell from my posts, I have been loving Barry M Nail Paints. I've been loving how the colours reflect the season.  They are releasing new Gelly Hi-Shine colours for summer and I cannot wait to try out the colours! I particularly have been enjoying the fact that superdrug have been doing 3 for 2 on Barry M Nail Paint. So I have to admit I did splurge a little.

My favourite nail polishes this month:
Barry M - Bright Pink, Indigo, Prickly Pear, Greenberry, Pomegranate and Peach Melba.
17 - Peacock and Potion
Mabelline Colour Show - Charged and Ready
Rimmel London - Grey Matter

Polka Please!

Having fun with polka dots. Inspired by Stella McCartney a few seasons ago when she had plenty if spots in her collection. Decided to change it up a bit with following the ring finger trend.
Dots were created using the end of a paint brush. So no need to splurge on special tools.

Nail Polish:
BarryM Nail Paint in 279 Bright Pink - £2.99
Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine in Greenberry - £2.99
French White from a mani kit.

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