O is for ...

This one took a lot of thought and still feels a bit like a cop out. With Christmas on the brain and O being the letter of the week in the ABC Challenge I knew more than a few of my fellow challengers were likely to do ornaments. I strive to be different in this challenge�to think outside the box. However, what else was there for O that still fit into my holiday themed posts?

O is for Oh Christmas Tree.

Shade

I used OPI Tickle My France-y as the base. This was my first time using this color and I'm left wondering why I never used it before. It is so beautiful!! On top of this color I used my brand new bottle (bought on Amazon with a gift card from Swagbucks.com) of Essie Shine of the Times. Can I say wow? These two colors are amazing together! They create a very elegant and glamorous look. I will say Shine of the Times looks best (in my opinion) in the shade. It's the reason for such a dimly lit picture.

From there I used two pieces of tape to create a triangle on my ring nail, filled that in with China Glaze Winter Holly and topped it with a red star dug out of Wet n Wild Fergie Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Lush fair trade honey shampoo

I do enjoy a trip to Lush, even if it's just for a sniff. I love their bath products and i LOVE their showers gels but I've never tried their shampoo before...

Lush say - "This bottle is full of the power of flowers, collected and concentrated for you by the bees.

While they were collection the pollen, we searched the meadows for beautiful flowers 

to fragrance their work". Doesn't that make you want to try it even more?! 

Now then, I'm not really a big fan of honey but I thought this product didn't really smell like the kind of honey you'd eat. It has a very strong scent which is quite hard to describe, a bit florally with a hint of orange & honey - i quite like it! This lathers really well and once rinsed out, your hair will smell delicious. 

I use about a 10p sized dollop each time & for quite a small bottle it seems to be lasting for ages! I have dry bleached hair & i find this helps to restore shine and moisture to my over-worked locks. 

You can purchase this for �7 for 110g from Lush stores and online. 

What do you think of Lush? :)

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China Glaze Holiday Joy � Glitter All The Way

This swatch was supposed to go up last Friday, but it just didn't feel right posting after the devastating tragedy that happened in Newtown, Connecticut. My heart goes out to the families of both the children and the brave teachers who worked to protect and calm their students during the attack. I don't have children myself, but I have nieces and nephews and to think that something could happen to someone so young and innocent is horrifying. I am at a complete loss of words except the always unanswerable question of WHY??

Two Coats with Top Coat

This is Glitter All The Way, the last of the polishes I own from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection. I think the name of this polish is simply wonderful. One of the best holiday names for this brilliant holiday collection.

One Coat

I don't know if I'd consider this glitter truly holiday though. To be honest, I'm reminded more of Mardi Gras than Christmas, but I guess that's a holiday too ... just not a December holiday. The colors are beautiful no matter what holiday this is for. I couldn't seem to truly capture them sadly. The light reflected off this glitter all wrong for my camera but was stunning to behold to the eye. I like the way one coat of Glitter All The Way looks, so I think I'll be wearing this as a layering glitter.

Two Coats with Top Coat

For all that it's pretty, I will say I found this glitter hard to work with. It came out of the bottle pretty dry and clumpy and refused to spread out on my nail. I used two coats to get opaque, but I think that was simply because my coats had to be thick to get glitter to cover my nail. This thickness left my nails tacky for much longer than any of the other glitters of this collection and you can see in this picture the dent in the polish on my middle fingernail. I thought my nails were dry enough for pictures about an hour after doing them but a small bump and they dented easily.

Color: Small green hex glitters with purple, red, and bright yellow-gold micro-glitters in a clear base. The most noticeable colors are definitely green and purple.
Finish: Glitter
Application: Not great. There seems to be too much glitter and not enough clear base. This makes the polish dry and the glitter sticks together; you think this might be a good thing but it just makes it hard to spread. Hard to spread means fairly messy.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3 depending on how well your bottle of Glitter All The Way spreads and how thin you can keep your coats. Mine didn't spread well so my two coats were thick.
My Rating (1-5): 4

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winter make up favourites

L-R Liz Earle eye colour brush, Maybelline Superstay 24 hour lipstick in Pink on Pink, Rimmel Lasting finish Lip Tint, Collection Shimmer Shade Bronzer, No7 Nail Varnish in Temptress, Collection illuminating concealer in 2, Revlon Nail Enamel in Bewitching, MUA Undressed Palette and OPI Rainbow Connection.

Just a pick of a few make up favourites this winter. I do like to change my look as the seasons change, i just had my hair dyed a bit of a warmer blonde & had to buy some chunky jumpers! I'm currently loving dark nails, bronzed eyes and dewy skin.

What are your Winter make up must haves?

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DIY Gift - make your own glossybox

I thought it would be nice this year to do some DIY gift ideas as well as the normal gift guides. Beauty boxes have taken the blogging world by storm this year, instead of giving someone a beauty box for Christmas why not make your own? You can fill it with products you think they'll love or with products that haven't worked for you! I think it's a bit more special is you hand select the products rather than buying ready-made beauty set. I've used an old glossybox and filled it with tissue paper & put 8 beauty products inside. This looks quite nice without wrapping the products or box up. I'm going to tie a Christmas card to the lid and wrap some ribbon around it - easy peasy pamper present.

Will you be making your own beauty box for someone? I love receiving DIY presents!

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China Glaze Holiday Joy � Angel Wings

Today's late night post is Angel Wings, another from the China Glaze Holiday Joy Collection.

Two Coats with Top Coat

Oh boy, what is there to say about Angel Wings? It's not me. It's a mildly pretty color, but not on me. This collection was picked up by someone else with my wish list. I should have waited until the swatches started coming out because this is something I would not have checked out with.

One Coat

Like all of the ultra-fine glitters of this collection, Angel Wings goes on thin and patchy with one coat but fills in nicely with two.

Two Coats; no top coat

I'm really coming to love the texture of this collection. I'm sure if left without top coat it would catch on everything, but it looks so gorgeous!

Two Coats with Top Coat

And again, as with all the glitters of this collection, it takes two coats of top coat for a smooth finish. I didn't get any really great pictures that showcased the amount of holographic glitter in Angel Wings, but this one gives you a small idea. Imagine this times three. Seriously, there is so much holo packed into this that I am stunned I couldn't get a picture of it. :)

Color: Green gold with lots of holographic
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter
Application: Patchy with one coat but builds up nicely with two. This one didn't need much dabbing and pushing to cover my nails.
Coats to Opaque: 2-3
My Rating (1-5): 3.5

I feel I kind of have to explain my rating on this one. This rating is my own personal rating. I gave it points for the formula and application but I really, really don't like this color. I think it's the worst possible shade of gold China Glaze could have created. Far too green tinted for my tastes.

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Happy Hanukkah

Two posts in one day?? Yes!! There has been an influx of Hanukkah nail art, but I still come up with very little in search engines. I'm not Jewish, but I don't think there can ever be enough nail art for holidays, any holiday. So I felt it was my nail artist duty to contribute. :)

This is based around a really beautiful menorah I saw in one of my Hanukkah searches. There were, of course, four candle holders on each side and rising up from the middle was a Star of David candle holder. There were no candles in the holders in the picture but I could just imagine how stunning it would look all lit up.  I just had to use that Star of David and put a candle on top.

As for the other nails, I thought this all deserved a beautiful and simple background to draw attention to the accent nail. After two disasters with tape, I finally just free-handed the stripes using China Glaze Blue Bells Ring over Pure Ice Silver Mercedes.

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If there is ever a holiday coming up that you want to see nail art for let me know. I barely follow US holidays let alone those internationally, but I would love the chance to attempt nail art for your favorite holiday. Leave me a comment or Contact Me so I can mark them on my calendar. :)

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N is for ...

Okay, so I usually have at least some build up before announcing the design, but I can't contain my excitement with this one. N is for ... North Pole.

Yes, it's snowing at the North Pole. :) I love this design and wore it all last weekend. Forgive the horrible writing on the sign. I couldn't find my thin detail brush. 

Can you tell how much I love this China Glaze color?? The bottle of the darker blue I use in these 'night time' designs is just as worn. For those wondering, this is Secret Peri-Wink-Le and the darker blue is First Mate. I mix them with a bit of black (sometimes I just use the black straight depending on the design and how much light blue I've used) and white to complete the gradient look.

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Zarrin Beauty Box in Adele

I love seeing how other beauty bloggers store their beauty products. I  pop all my nail varnishes in a glass kilner jar and store most of my make up in little beauty bags. Recently, I was sent this lovely box from beauty-boxes.com. They sell a wide range of beauty boxes to keep your make up organised. I fell in love with this cath kidson-esque floral print instantly, look how pretty it is!

The inside is really spacious and has a little mirror on the top and also a pouch for holding things such a make up brushes. The quality of the box is very good, beauty-boxes.com actually offer a years warranty on any defective materials which is reassuring! The box is sturdy so i'll be using it when i take my make up travelling with me. It also comes with a lock to keep your contents safe.

I thought, as it is nearly Christmas (13 days people!) this would make such a cute gift idea. If you filled it with beauty products,below, you could make a DIY hamper & whoever you give it to can re-use the box!

What do you think of this beauty box? I like it a lot.

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China Glaze Holiday Joy � Champagne Kisses

Today's swatch is definitely one of my favorites from the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection. Right under Cranberry Splash and tied with Pure Joy.

Two Coats; Lightbox

I'd like to introduce you to Champagne Kisses. This is a rose gold glitter with a small amount of holographic glitter suspended in a clear base. It's the perfect rose champagne color that would be perfect for a New Year's party.

One Coat; Shade

Champagne Kisses is a very delicate color, but one that doesn't get lost. There's no mistaking this for unpainted nails. This is a common problem I've had with skin toned glitters, but Champagne Kisses has just the right amount of sparkle to never go unnoticed.

Two Coats; Sun

It's also a wonderful chameleon � subtly shifting colors in sun, shade, and artificial light.

Two Coats; Shade

Shade

If you want to create a truly stunning Christmas nail I recommend adding a coat of Pure Joy over two coats of Champagne Kisses. This will take a bit of dabbing and pushing, but it is so worth it in the end.

Color: Rose gold with a small amount of holographic.
Finish: Ultra-fine glitter
Application: Perfect application. It went on very smoothly and built up great.
Coats to Opaque: 3, but the small patches of two coats were only visible in macro.
My Rating (1-5): A very solid 4.5

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