The Month In Manicures - July/August 2014

Hello beauty seekers! First off, apologies that the quality of the photos for this post may be slightly under par. I'm hurrying to try and schedule a couple of posts for while I'm away next week and this was a last minute addition with photos snapped on my phone. I haven't done a Month in Manicures post in AGES because my nails have been going through a bit of a difficult phase, but they've started to improve now so over the latter part of July and beginning of this month I've been painting them with pride once again. So this is a kind of mid-month edition. As always, these polishes are featured in chronological order with oldest first...

1) Nails Inc 'Sheraton Street'

You've all seen this one before on this blog and you know how much I adore it. It's my dream pale blue polish so, of course, it was my first choice when the time came to start painting my nails again after a little break. I got this as part of their In The Nude colour collection at the beginning of this year and I've been getting use out of all the shades, but this one is my secret favourite. 

2) Barry M Limited Edition Nail Paint (no shade name)

I have such a love/hate relationship with this polish. I picked it up as a freebie last summer as part of a Superdrug promotion and was instantly sold on the acidic, neon green. As beautiful as the shade is, it's a BUGGER to apply and stains quite badly, even with basecoat. For some reason though, I still can't resist it when the weather is as glorious as it has been recently. Neons are mandatory at this time of year!

3) Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine 'Dragonfruit'

I hardly ever go for pink on my nails. Not sure why, but it's just not my favourite shade to paint them any more. I think I spent so much time as a teenager painting my nails nothing but pink that I just went off it. However, I felt like something different last week and plumped for Dragonfruit, finished off with Barry M's new matte topcoat. 

4) Mavala 'Bamako'*

Another summer favourite from last year brings us bang up to date. Also a continuation of the summery green theme, but entirely different from the Barry M polish above. This shade is a deeper take on the aqua green polish trend (Barry M Greenberry and suchlike) and is almost earthy whilst retaining just the right amount of bright for summer. I've fallen in love with it all over again!

*****

It feels brilliant to be out of my nail-painting slump! My nails are such that they stay long and strong and gorgeous for so long, then after a period they all seem to break at the same time and go through a sad phase. I think I'm over the worst now and praying they will be back in all their former glory in time for Autumn so that I can bust out all of my berry and neutral shades once more. 

What colours are you wearing on your nails lately??

My Month in Manicures: Dec 2013

Well first of all.... HAPPY NEW YEAR MY LOVELIES!

Sadly, I've had to skip the last of the Christmas postings I wanted to do last week as I just had ZERO time to whip out my camera and photograph it all. I had a wonderful Christmas and was able to catch up with so many family and friends and that ended up taking priority. I thought I'd kick off 2014 with a round up of December's Month in Manicures. In fact, the first several posts of this year will be dedicated to my nails, with another special Nails Inc post to follow tomorrow. 

Top Row L-R

Essie 'No More Film'

This was the manicure I received when I attended the Boutique Spa Christmas event at the end of November (post Here) and it lasted so well I didn't get round to removing it until a week or so into December! I must admit I forgot to check the name of the icy blue Essie glitter polish which is on top of the base shade (if anyone recognises it please let me know). Bad blogger! Anyhoo, this manicure really got me in the mood for Winter. 

Nails Inc 'Sheraton Street'

 Another event manicure! Aren't I getting looked after lately! Early on in December I went along to the Nails Inc SS14 Preview (lots to come on the blog about that in the coming weeks, I've so much to show you). For my manicure on the night I was going to go for a bright shade but then I spotted this shade on the manicurist and demanded I have the same. Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a MAJOR fetish for pale duck-egg blue nail polish and this shade is the most perfect I've found! It's even more beautiful in the flesh. You'll see more of this colour in tomorrow's post. 

Bottom Row L-R

Essie 'Sable Collar'

 You have NO idea how difficult it was to get a photograph of this shade which reflects its true beauty. In the end I had to use flash. This is one of the shades from my Essie Winter 2013 Mini Collection (post Here). It's a kind of deep cocoa/plum shade with a beautiful pearlescent sheen to it. In some lights it comes off as more brown than this but here the flash has brought out the plum. This manicure took me right up until Christmas Eve. It's testament to Seche Vite really that my manicures are lasting so well lately. I couldn't be without it!

Essie 'Toggle To The Top'

 I think I said it all in my previous Christmas NOTD post about this crushed garnet red polish but I couldn't not include it in this one too. Again, this lasted right through until New Year without chipping too badly. 

New Year's Eve Manicure!

Barry M Textured Nail Effects in 'Lady' 

I really love textured nail polishes and Barry M have recently added to their range to include a bit of sparkle as well as the pretty pastels. I first saw this polish on Gemma (of Flutter and Sparkle) on her Instagram and ran out the very same day to buy it. It looks just like crushed DIAMONDS! It's also pretty indestructible. For this picture I did three coats but two is usuallly plenty. In truth, I ballsed it up a bit and ended up putting the third on just to smooth it over. I only removed this polish last night but it could have lasted much longer. It's not actually a tough one to remove either, unlike other glitter polishes (Toggle To The Top was a nightmare). 

So that was how I rounded off my 2013 nail painting year. I can't wait to see what exciting new shades, effects and ranges 2014 will bring. I'll definitely be sharing my finds with you all, starting from tomorrow! 

What did you wear on your nails over this Festive season?? Do you go for SPARKLE at Christmas?? Did you go bonkers for Winter Collections too??