Tagged: Get to know me

Hello again! So the lovely woman behind The Girly Girl Chronicles I think her name is Nella, has tagged me for the get to know me tag, here goes


The rules
1. Each person must post 11 thinkgs about themselves on their blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you and write 11 questions for the people you have tagged to answer. 
3. Choose 11 people and link them to your tag and let them know. 
4. No tag backs.


So first up the 11 facts about me: 


1. This is my second year at uni but my first year of studying Photography, before that I was doing Early childhood Studies but I hated it so I transfered at the end of last year, it was one of the best decisions I've ever made! 
2. I have taken part in two foreign exchange programmes, the first was to Germany in 2006 and that was one of the best times of my life, seriously I made some solid friends from that trip and the German girl who stayed at my house was so lovely! The second was to China in 2008, again one of the best times and experiences of my life, everyone that I met in China was amazing, the city we went to was just so different to anywhere I've ever been and I can't wait til I can afford to go back. 
3. I could not live without my Iphone, unfortunately I'm completely addicted! 
4. I go through phases of wanting something (ususally seriously expensive ie Macbook Pro, Vivian Westwood bag, Hassleblad etc etc) for months and then I suddenly realise I don't need it, luckily I can never afford these things anyway :P.
5. I am a total spendaholic, I can't control myself with money, I'm awful, if I know I have money in my purse I HAVE to go out and spend it and the only way I can save is if I forget about the money ha!
6. My boyfriend is 6ft2 and I'm 5ft3...it's quite funny.
7. I have one of the biggest families ever, my mum has 13 siblings and most of them have children and my dad has 4 siblings all with children last time I counted I had 23 cousins and a ton of second cousins who live in Ireland. 
8. I have one younger sister who is 17 and she is gorgeous and tall and rather glam and she has a nice name which everyone pronounces as either sy-anne or Sean it's Sian, it's welsh apparently. 
9. I love music apart from dance, trance, house etc I really can't stand the repetition I used to be an actual goth so I still love heavy rock but I have a love for folkish rock like Mumford and Sons, Fionn Regan, Bon Iver etc however I can't stop listening to Beyonce! She has an amazing voice!! 
10. I can rap along to Eminem, Kanye West, Jay Z, Drake, Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne but not Busta Rhymes he is tooo fast lol
11. I love jewelry, especially antique/old, my favourite ring is from 1910 and I love it so much, I'd be lost if it broke or I lost it, it means a lot to me. 


Phew! Long facts lol 


Now the Questions
1. What made you start a blog? People told me I should and I thought it would be fun (it is)
2. Do you prefer your hair long or short? Definitely long I've had it short many times but I'm loving it long for now :).
3. What's the most played song on your Ipod? Talkin' 2 Myself by Eminem
4. If you had to change your first name what would you change it to? Pfff erm something pretty like Rose or Poppy.
5. What's your favourite perfume scent? Chance by Chanel = lush!
6. Do you have a celebrity look a like? No but my bf has told me I resemble Nicole Kidman but that was definitely wishful thinking on his part :P. 
7. What is your favourite polish? Oh man, probably Vivid Purple by Barry M.
8. Are you an Early Bird or a Night Owl? I'd say Early Bird but only because I am quite good at waking up in the morning, haha
9. What's the first thing you notice about people? Always their hair, I like good hair :P. 
10. What are two things that make you want to follow another persons blog? There are many things but definitely if I like their nails and if I think they are funny :). 
11. Scary Movies or Happy Endings? I don't like horror films, they freak me out too much and happy endings are boring unless it's LOTR or Harry Potter ;). 




Right tags 


1. LizzyLizzy's Place
2. BethanyA Plethora of Nails
3. KateeA girl and her polish
4. CatrineUnnakednails
5. AnnaGoingtotheshowing
6. ArfblatSplat
7. MichaelaNail Polish Anon
8. AsheselaArt Evolve
Because I suck and break rules I am only tagging 8 people, I'm sorry but I don't follow many small blogs :(. 


My questions for you guys to answer are these
1. Where would you love to go on holiday (vacation)?
2. What's your favourite food?
3. Do you prefer the book or the film that's made from the book? 
4. What is your favourite tv programme, if you watch tv that is! 
5. What is the one nail polish you would love to own if money was no object/ you could time travel and get it before it was sold out/discontinued? 
6. Who is your favourite Doctor (Doctor who obviously ;))? 
7. Do you prefer Summer or Winter?
8. Do you have a favourite place in the world?
9. Can you do any accents, even bad British is okay ;)
10. Do you know what a Chav is? 
11. What is your favourite smell that isn't a perfume? 


Okay enjoy!

My first ever Franken!

Good evening, so I have my first ever franken to show to you all tonight, I know you're excited *not* but I had fun making and wearing it so that's all that matters *hehehe*. I don't have a name for it cos I want to avoid the obvious (bird egg, speckled shell) so if you have any ideas be sure to share with me :). I created a light dusty cornflower blue shimmer with sparse very dark blue fine glitter lol mouthful :P. I wanted a light base to make the dark glitter stand out and I think I achieved it but the only problem I'm having is that the glitter keeps settling so I have to keep shaking it ha.
I think you should enlarge these to see the specks :)

With flash

 Indirect sunlight

 Direct sunlight 

 Direct sunlight to show the shimmer

Direct sunlight to show shimmer

I used 6 blue polishes to make this, mainly Revlon Blue Lagoon and I do really like it, it's cute and summery but I just wish I was able to get more speckles on each nail. I think these pictures are quite accurate in terms of colour too. These pictures are all two coats and one of SH ID, I was super surprised at how quickly the polish dried on its own! I would like to make a green version :) I think that would work really well, hehe I'm all excited.

Hope you enjoyed! 

L'oreal Perle de jade NOTD

Hi lovelies, tonight I have a newish (?) shade from L'oreal which is a brand I have never tried however Boots were having a 3 for 2 offer and the promo shots looked so good, I couldn't resist. Perle de Jade is a dusty jade and it is rather lovely. I used two coats and all of the pictures are shot in indirect sunlight. You might notice how small the L'oreal bottles are they are 5ml for £4.99! So expensive for so little!

 I chose Prussian Blue by Max Factor to accent it with, for some reason I felt that they complimented each other well. Prussian Blue went on smoothly and was opaque in two swift coats, I must admit that I am starting to really love these little Max Factor bottles, the colours are really nice.  

 I had an idea in my head of how the flowers were going to look but I did them too big, they were meant to be dainty little flowers like a chain down the centre of my nail instead they were messy and big. I did do green vine things between them but they made it look even messier so I had to go back over them with Perle de Jade. Like I said I didn't like them when I did them last night but now a day on I like them a lot more. My plan for the accent nail was to do a leopard print but the black didn't show up very well so I left the darker nail on my other hand plain. 

I didn't put a topcoat on as I knew I wouldn't keep it on for long and I'm not sure if this is the reason why but my nail varnish peeled today! I sat there and peeled it all off :P it did feel good I must admit. 

Today I bought some glitter and I made my first franken! It was fun, I'm just gowing to show you a teaser now, I have it on atm, tomorrow I'll reveal it to you all! I need a name, I'm thinking tonight, hopefully I'll have one tomorrow for you :) I used my old Models Own 3in1 coat as I had hardly any left and it was glooping a bit, I thinkI might be hooked :P!

Seeyou tomorrow!!

  

Max Factor Dazzling Blue Swatches and Review

Good evening! I am very excitable tonight as I have something super fun and well exciting happening sooon :). Tonight I have the most amazingly gorgeous polish eva...Max Factor Dazzling Blue, I guarantee that you will want it, it's beautiful *picture heavy post ahead*
First though the boring bit ;) it needs to be layered so I chose Blueberry Ice Cream by Barry M as the base colours seem pretty similar. It is a nice creme that is quite vibrant, I think mine has gone a bit gloopy as I have mistakenly left my polishes in their plastic box next to the window and I think the heat has made them a bit cray (new favourite word, thanks Kanye) so I have moved them and I hope they all go back to normal, if that is possible? Anywayyyyy I only used one coat as it would soon be covered. 

It looks bumpy cos it was, I was in a rush to get out in the sun and admire my nails lol. 

Now the exciting bit, Dazzling Blue is amazeballs, yep I said it, I also think that it deserves to be sold out all the time like it's sister Fantasy Fire, it's honestly that good!! 

This is what it looks like most of the time, blue with that amazing lime green shimmer and also a lemon yellow shimmer that comes from the top, this picture doesn't do it justice at all...it's so intense IRL. 

Blurry again but it shows the duochrome goodness! Purple, green and blue.

Blurry but in the shade you can see the purple that comes out to play.

Tomorrow I will try and take pictures that show it off even better as this polish deserves better. I sound a bit obsessed but that is because I am!! When I look at my nails it reminds me of butterflies, mermaids and the ocean, it's honestly so gorgeous. I can't stop looking at my nails, even more than when I was wearing Saint George! It's so fiery and intense, the green and the sparkle are unlike anything I've seen before. If you are in the UK you must get this! It makes me happy looking at it. 

I am wearing two coats with one coat of SH ID, it can be quite brush stroke prone at one coat but the second thick coat sorts it out as long as you are careful, yes there are still brush strokes but all I can see is the sparkle and shimmer of green! I am in love! Again :P. 

Underrated star, most definitely, I have only seen this polish on 1 blog, I can't believe it, it's so beautiful!

I hope you have enjoyed this polish as much as I have!

Butter London Snog Swatches and Review

Hello, now I warn you if you are a Butter London fan you might want to skip this whole chunk as you will not enjoy it...
So after my last Butter London disaster I thought I would give Snog a chance so I went into it with an open mind and yet I found myself thoroughly disappointed again. I don't know if I have two deffective bottles or everyone else is deluded but I really am not a fan of Snog. The formula was really thin and kind of watery, hard to control and then I didn't like the colour either, too garish I thought I would like it as it looks so lovely on everyone else but it's too much pink for me to handle. I honestly had a horrible time doing my nails with this polish, I only did one coat as I knew I was going to be doing Illamasqua-esque mani but even so I really didn't like it :( meh I found the whole experience of application bleurgh. 

As I said this is only one coat.....
However I had a far better time with Max Factor Intense Plum which I received as part of the free gift, I love this purple! It applied super smooth and easily, the formula was lovely much better than BL. The only problem I had was trying to hold the miniature bottle when taking pictures! Pah.

 I like this mani because for some reason it reminds me of leg warmers, like my nails have leg warmers on haha. I think that pink and purple are an age old combination for a reason, they work well together and the purple does a good job of toning down the pink. 


I just can't get over my bad Butter London experiences :( I want to get rid of them so if anyone wants to swap for them, I would be more than happy to! 
  

Nails Inc Manchester with drippy design

Hey :)
Tonight I have the most gorgeous red for you lovely ladies, it's Manchester from Nails Inc and it a beauty. It's a nice deep cool red with that amazing gold/orange shimmer that does translate when it's on the nail (hallelujah!) 

What your seeing here is nearly two coats, could have been opaque after one thick coat but there were a few bold spots plus I knew I might need to add extra red on to touch up the design so it needed two coats. It went on as gloriously as it looks ;) so smooth and shiny, I am so happy with this red, when I bought it I honestly thought it would be the dud in the collection but not anymore! So lovely. 

I must be in a blingy mood lately as I wanted to do a design using OPI Take the Stage (it's one of my remaining few untrieds) so I chose the drippy design a la Wah Nails. I really like how it turned out, despite the fact that it is a sparkly orange polish it is quite subtle and I think it brings out the orangey shimmer in the red, bonus! 

This design was hard to photograph as the flash made everything too reflective and blended together and I couldn't be bothered to get my tripod out to take a photo without flash so you'll have to make do with these I'm afraid :P. I like Take the Stage but maybe not on it's own I think as a full mani it would be too much but I think it makes a good accent for designs :). It was really easy to create these drips too I just painted a quick french tip then with my largest dotting tool drew a splodgey line to connect with the tip and that was it, easy peasy!

I am happy with my nails right now :)...on another note removal of my triple purple glitter mani was not painful at all! I just used loads of cotton buds haha. 

I hope you enjoy this fun mani as much as I do!

Triple purple glitter mani!

Hey, it's a beautiful morning here in Suffolk, I hope it's as lovely where you are :) today I have a polish feast for your eyes! I mean feast, there are going to be lots of pictures...
First I used two coats of the lovely shimmering purple goodness that is Regents Palace from Nails Inc. 

It is gorgeous, nothing new or ground breaking but I love it nonetheless I'm a sucker for these rich jewel tones. It went on really smooth and dried nice and quick. I wish I had kept this on for longer than half an hour :P. 

Next I layered one coat of Bow Street again Nails Inc as I thought the colours matched pretty perfectly so I would only need one coat, I was right but the base of Bow street is quite dark.

It dried semi matte so I had a hard time trying to capture the shine and colour, it would have looked lovely if I had put a topcoat on but I knew I still wanted one more layer so I didn't bother. The final layer is Facets of Fuchsia by Revlon, again I thought that Bow street and FoF looked to have the same colour glitter and base colour, perfect match right? 

So when I put Revlon on I thought I would have an awesome glitter party on my nails but I didn't realise that the base of Facets of Fuchsia was so dark and nearly opaque :(. It totally drowned out the other glitter even when I used the thinnest coat possible but I don't mind anymore as FoF is totally pretty :)

I only used one coat of this however I like it, on some nails (can't see it in the picture) you can definitely see the other glitters influence on the overall colour and shine, if that makes any sense?? It's like the other glitter is refusing to be dulled by the dark base of Revlon and it is shining through when the light hits it....okay lol

I topped this off with one thick coat of SH ID but some nails are still gritty but I don't mind as I know I am going to take it off soon as I have tipwear already, I only put this on 24hrs ago :(. 

I haven't worn glitter nails since christmas and just thinking of the removal is making me sad...

On another note, does anyone know if it is possible that a room diffuser that is meant to be cut grass, can set off Hayfever? This morning I woke up sneezing, itchy nose, puffy eyes and generally feeling like someone has sprayed pollen in my face :( hhaha! But seriously can they? 

Nails Inc bargain

Happy Mother's Day everyone! 
Yesterday I went to TK Maxx and was hunting for any polish and I found the "beauty" section, it was a complete mess like everything else in that shop ha! But my sister found this lovely 4 pack of Nails Inc polishes for £14.99!!! RRP £44....Bargain :D. These are my first Nails Inc polishes so I'm looking forward to wearing them :). 

L-R Bow Street, Manchester, Regents Palace and Emerald Street.

Originally I thought the red was an out of place cream but then I saw the gold/orange shimmer, purdy :). I was drawn to it by the green, I have nothing like that, all my green shimmers are darkened so this is a lovely new addition to my collection :). Also I'm thinking that the purple shimmer would be the perfect base for the glitter, and the glitter looks to have similar colours to Revlon Facets of Fuchsia so maybe a layering op there ;). 

My mum let me and my sister put one layer of each polish on 4 fingers so I thought I would show you a sneak peak of Manchester and Emerald Street hahha 

My mother has amazing cuticles, they are perfect and she does nothing to them all she does is use her hand cream everyday, look at them! Her nails are prone to cracking and breaking and she likes to pick nail varnish off *gasp* she never paints her nails for those reasons, I want to change that hehehe. I am pleased that the shimmer in Manchester is coming across even after one coat! I think it looks gorgeous on her but she won't wear it :(. I want to wear it now! 

That's it for today as I'm going back to uni later, got to catch 2 trains and 1 coach but I don't mind it's time for me to read :), I'm currently dying my hair ginge again, it was in dire need of re colouring! One day I might post a picture :P. 

Have a good day!

Saint Patrick's Day mani

 This is going to be a real quick post as I want to go to bed but I wanted to post my St. Patrick's Day mani as at first I thought it was going to be a fail but then it grew on me haha, here it is, I hope you enjoy it, I'll do a bigger post tomorrow with more talking :P. 

This was my first ever Nailslide Cloud! I reallllly like it :) the flowers are for mother's day which is Sunday! I like designs on naked nails, they are like tattoos for your nails ;). I used my sisters no17 polish which was an un named orange and it was stringy as anything *sign* hence the little stringy bit on the white on my cloud :(. The green is Racing Green by Barry M, red is Bright Red by Barry M, the dark red is Vixen by Revlon and the white is a Sally Hansen french manicure white. 

Half of my family is Irish so I had to celebrate on my nails :P I'm going to show my grandma tomorrow who is Irish, I'm sure she'll appreciate my nails heheh. 

Right I'm off to bed but I hope everyone enjoys this and has had a good St. Paddy's :)

Seeyou tomorrow! 

Barry M Navy Swatches and Review

Hello Again! 
I have a much more positive post now, I have one of my all time favourite polishes on now after the disaster that was Butter London Bluey, it's Barry M Navy and the best part is that it only cost £2.75 back in the day when I bought it :). I think because mine is so old like 3 years!! it has gotten gloopy but I didn't care I had to put it on hehehe.

Gah! Aren't you just dying?! It's sooo beautiful! And this was one gloopy coat, now you can see why I put up with the gloop :) I love it even more than when I first bought it. It's so dark and juicy, can you tell I am in love? So gorgeous, I love it's sister Vivid Purple too but Navy is my favourite. It's like the perfect vampy in my opinion, it never looks black and it's super sexy and sophisticated. Everyone needs this! Love it! 

Hope you enjoy :)

Awards!

So I finally have time to do this post, I just tried but it went crazy and weird so I'm having to type everything out *sigh* but I want to get it done to show my appreciation :). 


Here we go, firstly I received these three awards from Lizzy, Bethany, Anna and SPLAT 


First is the Versatile Blogger Award 

The Rules:

1. Nominate 15 fellow Bloggers

2. Inform them of their nominations

3. Share 7 random facts about yourself

4. Thank the Blogger(s) who nominated you 

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post. 


My Random Facts:


1. I love having clean hair but I HATE washing and drying it.
2. I dye my hair Ginger, my natural colour is mousey brown, ha
3. When I was younger I used to colour my nails in with felt tip pens, I guess I've always loved having colourful nails ;).
4. I used to have a pure black kitten named Ziggy, we were only supposed to have her for a couple of months but we ended up having her for 2 and a half years before dad sold her :(.
5. I have an irrational fear of sponges and cranes (the mechanical ones not the animal!) and a rational phobia of Spiders and heights. 
6. I am a rather good baker but I suck at cooking...
7. I love reading therefore I love my kindle, it's amazing! My favourite books are Alone in Berlin, the Help, Engleby and Mudbound. I'm currently reading The English German Girl by Jake Wallis Simons, I love books that are based around normal people living through the war, I find them fascinating :). Also books about the civil rights movement and life before equality in America are also high on my reading list. 


The second award is the One Lovely Blog Award 

The Rules:

1.Link back to the person you got it from.

2. Tell 7 things about yourself. 

3. give the award to 10 bloggers. 

Finally the Butterfly Award 

The Rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Answer the following questions.

3. Award to other bloggers and let them know. 

The Questions:

1. What is your favourite song? At the moment I am obsessed with Beyonce's album 4 and my favourite song off that is I Care, it's amazing!

2. What's your favourite dessert? Macaroons! I love them ever since I went to Paris with my bf for christmas 2010 but we can't get them here :(.

3. What's your favourite pet? My pet Degu Bella and my bf's dog Molly 

4. Black or White? Black every time for everything!

5. What's your biggest Fear? Spiders, I hate everything about them. 

6. What's your best feature? My hair! Or my hands.

7. What's your everyday attitude? I just take everything as it comes :).

8. What is perfection? A night in on the sofa with my bf watching soaps (coronation street and Eastenders!!) with a big bar of Galaxy and a cup of tea. 

9. What is your guilty pleasure? Listening to the Tarzan soundtrack by Phil Collins far too often ;). 

Bethany at A plethora of nails and Lizzy at Lizzy's Place also gave me the Leibster Award 

The Rules:

1.Put a link to who gave you the Award

2.Put the Award picture in the post

3. Choose 5 blogs that have under 200 followers and give them the award

4. Let them know you have nominated them. 

And finally Katee at A girl and her Polish gave me the Laine blogger Award

The Rules:

1.Put a link to who gave you the Award

2.Put the Award picture in the post

3. Give this award to 5 bloggers and inform them. 

I don't follow too many blogs that have under 200 followers so most of the people I am nominating I know already have these awards but I want to give it to them anyway :)

For all 5 of these I am nominating 

Lizzy at Lizzy's Place as she blogs everyday and is rather witty :)

Bethany at A Plethora of Nails as she always has lovely nails 

Ashley at Spellbound Nails as she has beautiful clear photographs and swatches

Kokoro Nails as she does some of the most amazing nail art ever!

Nail Polish Fetish as she does really cute designs 

Anna at GoingtotheShowing as she has good taste in nail polish :)

Thanks for reading and nominating me :)

Butter London Bluey Swatches and Review

Good Afternoon, today I have a not so glowing review :(. I'll give you the pictures first incase you don't want to read the bad stuff.

 

So I put Bluey on yesterday around 3pm my basecoat was completely dry so I put on one thin ish coat and let it dry except it didn't dry...3 hours later and it was still dentable. I couldn't wait any longer so I put another coat and it still wasn't dry when I went to sleep around 11pm!! That's at least 7 hours! When I woke up this morning I really wasn't loving it, it was covered in sheet marks and dents and I didn't love the colour either. 
It's a teal shimmery colour, it's nice enough but I don't know I'm just not loving it, it sparkles nicely in the light, it looks darker in the shade. Honestly I think I'm just biased because of my bad experience but everyone else seemed to have a good time with it so it can't be that bad, right? 
I'm going to remove it now and put on an old favourite Barry M Navy, gah I love it so much, I'll show you later. 
Have a good day/night :P

Models Own Lilac Dream Swatches and French Tips

Hiya, 
Been a little while I know, I've come home for just over a week for an unfortunate reason but that's all I want to say about it. One of the best things about being at home is that I can sit in my bed and blog! At uni there's no wireless and the cable is too short to reach the bed so I am normally confined to the desk chair :( but not for this week :P hahaha. I'm so comfy right now :). 
However most of our windows at home have mysteriously broken and can't be opened sooo everywhere kind of stinks of nail polish and remover....oops ;). 


It felt like spring again today the sun was out and people were over reacting as they do in England when the sun shines, it was only 16 degrees but people were walking round in shorts and flip flops!! Crazy! Anyway my point is that it's supposed to be like that again tomorrow so I wanted to change my mani into something a bit more spring appropriate. 
I only bought a couple of polishes home with me as I knew I had a few at home but when I saw them I was disappointed to be honest, I have a lot of glitters and cremes *yawn*. I do have a few beauties though like Barry M Racing Green and Navy yummmy and Models Own Magenta Pearl :). 


Sorry I'm rambling a lot tonight, okay onto the mani I chose Models Own Lilac Dream which, funnily enough, is a lilac creme ;). 

 You know what was weird about this polish, apart from the fact that I  liked the colour ;), before it was fully dry it looked rubbery it was so cool! I think it's just because it filled in most of my ridges but you know it was cool :P. I knew from the start that I wanted to add a bit of bling and that's where Models Own Mystic Mauve comes in...

I like mystic mauve although I don't know whether it's a foil or a frost? All I know is it's super shiny and I wore it on my 18th birthday, so it must be good ;). I like this, really simple but on trend with the metallic and pastel in one shot wooo. 

Lilac Dream applied really easily and it was reeally pigmented for a pastel colour, I was impressed with it generally, nice formula too. I'm using my sisters camera to take pictures this week so I can do actual macro shots as my camera requires a macro lens and I can't afford one pah, but I'm not sure if she'll let me use it again though ha we'll see. 

My tip for getting straight tips when freehanding is to move your nail in a smooth arc rather than the brush :). 

Hope you like it, seeyou soon