Summer Nail Art

               

I love to do my nails and spend time thinking up new patterns, but sometimes it nice to be pampered for a change and Cami does a fantastic job of making nails look GORGEOUS!

This fab shell design, above, I had done for my holiday to Menorca in July and really made me feel summery.

I have read several blogs about nails in pregnancy and there is research showing the toxins in acrylics aren't good, but nothing that says much about gels.

I've tried to keep my nails with normal paint as often as possible reduce any toxins, but I'd be interested in any other research anyone has done on this?

Essie: Sweater Girl

I was so pleased with this gorgeous Essie gel nail vanish that G bought me for my birthday.  It's called 'sweater girl' and came from an online amazon store.

I'm loving the brown/purple colour and it works perfectly for a smart work look.

The Essie gels are affordable and come in fantastic colours, are easy to apply, and mean I get my Essie fix with the longevity of gel!

Spring Blooms

I was so pleased with this gorgeous Essie Gel colour that I bought from Amazon.  It's similar to my favourite colour Fiji but this is a gel.  I bought the lamp and equipment for doing gel nails at home and it works so well with these gorgeous flower nail transfers as well (also shown here)

Colour Chart Nails

For some reason when I was a kid I really loved the dulux colour charts. I would go to somewhere like B&Q or Homebase with my parents and would always head to the colour chart section and collect them up.

I'm not really sure what my fascination with them was. Maybe my arty brain just liked the spectrums and the way they just flowed. Maybe it was my inner creativity and love for interior design coming through.

Whatever it was though, when I think back to my love of colour charts, it's no surprise that I'm loving this nail style that I did over the weekend!

I tried a similar effect in the summer with corals (here) and think this grey one works perfectly for winter.

Essie: Smokin Hot

Essie: Chinchilly

Essie: Neo Whimsical

Essie: Fiji

Rimmel:  430 Porcelain

Rimmel: Ultra Shine Top Coat

What Made Me Smile This Week

This week was a bit of a funny one for me.  How was yours?

Monday felt like a long, long way away from the weekend and on Tuesday I travelled up to Manchester for work.  I really enjoy travelling and seeing new places but it does always mean an early start and a late night.  On Wednesday and Thursday I came down with a bit of a tummy bug and had Thursday off sick from work.

Its horrid being poorly but I had a day on the sofa wrapped up in my quilt and a day at home meant that I was there to see a little visitor in my garden.  We've seen urban foxes around and about our house before by never in broad day light before.  This little fox was happily sunning himself on the decking and was in no hurry to leave.  I wonder if maybe he comes to visit quite often and we just aren't here to see him.

I decided to try something a bit different with my hair this week and go for a sweeping side fringe and a side plait.  It's always nice to try something new - especially when so many people commented on how nice it looked.  I think I'll try this again!

I've been wanting a pair of diamond stud earrings for a while and these ones from Accessorize are really classic and were only £10 for 2 pairs.

I am also really pleased that I've finally got round to clearing our dining table and setting it up with our Emma Bridgewater Wedding crockery.  It's funny how setting the table with cups and crockery really helps finish off a room.  I was also really pleased with these gingham place mats which I got super cheap from Butlers in the close down sale of their Brighton Store.

Going Red for Spring

I was feeling like I needed a bit of colour to bring myself into the new season. 

Spring is my most favourite season- the daffodils are flowering, the trees are budding, the lambkins are all wobbly on their little legs.

I feel red is maybe more of a summer colour but what the heck! Embrace what makes you smile right?

I saw this Essie 'hip-anema' on Emily's nails and couldn't resist ordering my own bottle from amazon!

I also realised how wonderfully it goes with the new black and red sofa in the living room and my gorgeous Fox cushion.

2013 Favourites

2013 has seen its fair share of ups and downs but some of my highlights of this year have been:

• Appreciating the love from the women in my life at my HenDo
• Marrying my gorgeous Fiance G on May 4th
• Honeymooning in Florida
• Gaining some fantastic friends, Harriet and Ellis
• Learning how to make jam
• Improving my pie making ability
• Discovering nail transfers
• Learning how to make paper pompoms
• Discovering 'The Simple Things' Magazine
• Learning to love red wine
• Visiting Scotland for the first time
• New borns and being asked to be God Parents

Stunning Wedding photography by Sara Reeve

Honeymooning on the Disney Boardwalk, Florida

Sunset nails for they fantastic sunny days this Summer

Tootsy - the new addition to Mum and Dads -
inherited from my fantastic uncle who we lost this year

Homemade Guacamole - How tasty you are!

Late Summer days hanging with Bean at the parents farm

Appreciating the taste of Scottish whiskey in Edinburgh in August

Favourite dress from Jojo Maman Bebe

Borough Market - Treating Bean to a weekend in London to Celebrate her 30th

Long days out with new friends

The new cafe that has opened around the corner from home - Marmalade

Little Christmas Touches

I love the week approaching Christmas as you can really start to embrace the season without looking silly.  This week I wore my festive red and black jumper from Aubin and Wills along with a pretty red ribbon in my hair, added these gorgeous snowflake transfers to my gel nails, and started drinking my coffee each morning from my gorgeous Cath Kidston Mug.

What little things do you change to embrace the Christmas season?

Twinkle Toes

I'm so excited by these absolutely gorgeous snowflake nail transfers from Amazon.  

I had my fingernails done with shellac a week ago with this gorgeous dark maroon colour and it suits perfectly as a background for the gorgeous snowflake and snowman transfers.  

I have Essie 'wikid' on my toes which is very similar to the shellac colour.  The snowmen are a really nice touch to my thumbs and the snowflakes are sooooo cute on my toes.

When the going gets tough...get your nails done!

I've got to say I've had a pretty tough 3 weeks with not having a job. However today I was offered a new job.

I decided that with a new job in the pipeline and a very stressful day making decisions I would treat myself to a manicure.

I have been struggling to find a salon that I like and one that isn't full of hundred of stick thin, glamourous beauticians (making me feel huge and very unattractive) - not what you want on a day like today.

I found Sarah Hurst website through yell.com and I was drawn to the good value prices and out of town location.  I won't turn back now! I certainly would recommend it to anyone looking for a friendly, good value, independent salon - where you DON'T HAVE TO PAY TO PARK!!!

Sophie, my therapist, was such a star and sat and listened to all my problems, and not only that she did a fantastic job on my nails.  My gel manicure was only £28.00 and she did it perfectly (with a scuffed nail at the end she took the time to completely redo it - rather than just bodge job over it).

Sarah has a quirky log cabin in her garden with her treatment rooms, offers a plethora of treatments and really lovely lovely members of staff, so if you want something that really has that personal touch then this is DEFINITELY THE PLACE TO COME!!!

Favourite things...

If you had to write a list of your favourite things, would you know what to put on there?  I don't think I would.  It takes me a while to remember as it's often the smallest, quite insignificant things that make me happy and think 'Ahhh this is the best'.  This week I have had 3 of those moments and I remember how good it feels and how these are some of my favourite things.

Less of the 'Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens', although that is one of my favourite films, this week is was more of 'Soft crispy bed covers and high count Egyptian cotton, brand new nail vanish and hot soup with cheese on.'

Sooooo pleased with my new bed linen from HomeSense (TK Maxx home department store) this week.  Reduced from £69.99 to £29.99! I've never bought expensive bed linen before so I love the idea that at HomeSense you can get designer, expensive bedlinen for the same price as Ikea ones.  New bed linen - Definitely a favourite thing!

Tinned tomato soup - already a favourite thing.  But add grated cheese, worcestershire sauce, croutons and pepper and a chunk of fresh bed.....EVEN BETTER!!!

Brand new nail vanish - FAVOURITE THING!  There is nothing gloopy or tacky about it.  It goes on so smoothly and straight. Amazing!!!!  Loving this Essie colour 'wikid', however I think it's still a bit too summery for such a dark colour.  I might have to shelve this colour for a month or so.

The Floral Effect

{30th July}

I think I have found a new love in life - nail transfers! Oh my word I love them.  They were so easy to apply, so simple to use and look brilliant.

I have tried foil nail wraps and gel overlays, neither of which were really that successful or easy to use. These nail transfers from Amazon were exactly what I was looking for.  They are just like the old transfer tattoos you used as a child.  They came as a sheet of 20 flowers that you can then arrange as you want.  I decided to use just one flower per nail but, in the image on Amazon, by the looks of it they have used a couple.

Here's how I created this look:

• Paint nails with 2 layers of Essie's Figi.
• Cut out the transfer from the piece of paper
• Drop the transfer into water for about 20 seconds
• Take out of the water with tweezers
• Slide off the plastic layer and place transfer down on to the nail
• Hold in place for a minute or two and you will find the other plastic sheet gradually peels off and leaves the transfer in place
• Once the transfers are in place and look like they have stuck paint a layer of clear vanish over the top.
• Ta Da! beautiful nails

Sparkly Mint

{23rd July 2013}

Ooooh I love this look.  Really pleased with the result.  

I have become a real fan of Essie nail vanishes recently, they have such good tones.  This is Essie's Mint Candy Apple.  I love the colour - it is mint green but definitely has a baby blue tinge to it.

This look is really easy to achieve.  I have a tiny pot of silver glitter that seems to work really well on my nails.  I find that loose glitter works a lot better than using glitter nail vanish - this doesn't ever seem to get quite the right thickness of glitter.  I bought the glitter in a shop called Purple Heart in Brighton and it is actually a face and body glitter that I think perhaps is meant to be used for face painting!?

To create this look-

1. Paint base colour on your nails (normally 2 or 3 layers so that the colour is thick and bold).

2. Once the base colour is dry use a clear nail vanish to draw a line across the top of the nail (a bit like you would do with a french manicure).

3. Dip the tip of the nail that has been painted in clear vanish into the glitter.

4. Pat down lightly on the glitter so that it sticks into the nail vanish.

5.  Tap off any excess back into the glitter pot (always good to save wastage!)

6.  Paint a layer of clear vanish on top

et voila!

Fab-tastic Friday

New look for my nails to brighten up Friday

{19th July}

Thank God It's Friday!! Really and seriously I haven't been this happy for it to be a weekend in so long.  After starting my new job 2 weeks ago I haven't really stopped.  Last weekend we had nothing planned but in the end it was one of the busiest weekends we have had in so long.

This weekend we actually have nothing planned.  I would like to visit the pop up Maze that has been created in the Brighton Pavilion Gardens, enjoy the sunshine and take some nice pictures but apart from that we have nothing planned!

It's been a good week and so I thought I would share some of the fab things that I have been loving this week.

Thanks to Sophie in the office for our mid afternoon ice cream break! FAB!

Random I know but I just love the juxtaposition in the picture of something so delicate and natural, against something so straight and man made.

My button & ribbon jars - I remember when they were empty and I never thought I would get much of a collection! 3 years later...

Just waiting and waiting to have a special occasion to use all of our new Emma Bridgewater wedding crockery.