NOTD - Mint Pearl Vintage Nails ft HugoSophia Crystal Rings

Bonjour my beauts! Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Today was a good day having returned from a most blissful & hands down the best Indian Head Massage I have ever had in my life. I booked the treatment through Wahanda & I think I may have found a miracle worker within my own town no less! Happy days!

Today's nails feature a spot o' bling detail in the form of some pretty crystal stack rings, who doesn't love a bit of sparkle eh? But more on those later. For this mani I went down the vintage route leaving a half moon at the bottom of the nail bare. I love this style of manicure, so chic!

For my base colour I used this gorgeous minty turquoise crème polish from Cynthia Rowley which is sadly nameless. I found this brand in TK Maxx & was intrigued to try & I love it. Lovely crème formula & the shade is such a mood lifter!

Using a hole punch reinforcer sticker for the vintage half moon, which I simply stuck down on the bottom half of the nail, I painted two coats of the minty green, removing the sticker while polish is still wet. Don't worry if the edge isn't neat, as it gets covered up later.

I then applied a few coats of this divine polish Naiade, isn't that such a pretty name? This is actually an indie polish that I picked up in a blog sale yonks ago! Naiade, which in Greek mythology means flowing water, is a sheer turquoise with opalescent glitter & flakies that shimmer oh so prettily. J'adore!

Finally I reached for my nail art wheels & picked some pretty pearls to go around the edge of the bare half moons. Not only does adding rhinestones this way jazz up a mani beautifully, but it also covers up the edge of your half moons, so you don't need to worry about clean up for a neat curve!

Seal it all with a good few coats of topcoat to secure the pearls & you're done :) Now going back to those pretty rings, I find myself getting back in to the flow of accessorizing more, especially rings! I discovered the online jewellery brand HugoSophia on Twitter & immediately fell in love with their stunning pieces which include the most eye catching necklaces & pretty rings, including this lovely set of Black Crystal Midi Rings.

The set includes 4 metallic rings of different sizes embedded with sparkly crystals. The different widths of each mean they can be worn on different fingers in a manner of different ways & I just love how they bling up the manicure! My wishlist for HugoSophia is growing at an alarming rate! Unfortunately the Black Crystal Midi Rings are currently sold out, but I do believe the site is regularly updated. So if you're after some decently priced yet stunning bling then I definitely recommend you check them out!

Thanks for reading lovelies!

Lotsa love to ya!

NOTD - Pink Jelly Bean & Hex Glitter!

Ello ello sweetpeas, oooh Fridays almost here, can you feel it?! *reaches for Crunchie bar*

This mani I am sharing with you today is the result of what happens when you let a 4 year old choose what will be worn on the nails. It was at the time I was due a mani change that my little cousin popped around for a wee visit, & upon seeing my task immediately wanted to join in & begged to pick the polish pretty please, she even threw in the Puss In Boots eyes to seal the deal. So letting her have free reign she insisted that pink & glitter were a MUST & then somehow found the hexagon glitters & requested those too... O_O So here we go...

Haha! Hmmm what do we think? Barbie girl! ;) I was actually surprisingly happy with the result! I think I may have me a future nail artist in the making *proud face*

The pretty pink base is Ciate Jelly Bean, a lovely bright fuchsia pink which actually has a subtle blue tinted pearlescent shimmer running through. Definitely a girly girl shade. Good pick my child! I applied two coats.

This interesting glitter polish OSLD is a random brand that a friend brought back for me from her travels. An interesting mix of small holographic glitter & pale gold bar glitters, I do love me a random polish! I applied this one one half of the nail.

Then using a toothpick & clear polish, I grabbed the large hexagon glitters that my little cuz was oh so fond of & applied a row of them down the centre of the nail.

Seal it all with topcoat & your Barbie mani is ready to go party with Ken. Bless her she was so happy I couldn't resist doing hers in a similar fashion. The little tyke was so overcome with excitement she ran out the door before I could snap a picture...I'm telling myself it was to show the rest of family & NOT because of my company...o_O aaah to be young again.

Thanks as always for reading dolls!

Lotsa love to ya!

NOTD - Stripes and Roses

Hullo there me beauts! Hope you're all having a tip top week :)

Bringing forth some monochromatic action today with simple black & white stripes & a floral fix in the form of rustic rose tips. This type of stripe nail art, otherwise known as a Beetlejuice mani as I often like to refer to it for obvious reasons, is one of my favourites as its striking yet easy to do! Can be worn alone or jazzed up a wee bit like I've done here.

For the base I used Models Own White Light HyperGel, this polish is pretty much my go to now when I need a white base for a mani, such a fab flawless white! Here I've applied two coats.

Then using the striper brush from Models Own Black nail art pen, applied three horizontal stripes down the nail, simples!

For the 'rustic' style roses on the tips & of course by 'rustic' I actually mean 'very roughly & speedily done'...*side eye* O_o... I dabbed on some Models Own Sardonyx from the Velvet Goth collection, so much love for this polish, a deep vampy red AND sparkles? Win. 

To add to the rose detail I used some black polish & a toothpick to create a slight textured look.

Then finally using another Models Own Velvet Goth, this time Absinthe, a most divoooone deep emerald green glitter bomb, because sparkles are everything, I added a few leaves amongst the roses.

Seal design with topcoat for gloss & to really bring out that glitter & that's it :) Hope you liked, thanks for reading lovelies!

Lotsa love to ya!

Review - Va Va Voom Volume with Hot Hair Brianna Hair Piece

Hullo beauties! Weekend is almost upon us, happy days! Lots to look forward to with the Swap In The City event for London Fashion Weekend in Covent Garden on Saturday & then Pro Beauty Show on Sunday. If you lovelies will be attending either events then do come say hi! You can find me on Twitter as usual (Aysh_tmb) :)

Now when it comes to hair styling...I am extremely boring. As much as I would love to be a pro, no matter how many YouTube videos I watch, it always ends up an epic fail. Therefore because of this, & due to the long length, I am a bona fide straightener addict. And as much as I enjoy having long, straight hair therein lies one issue...NO VOLUME. Behold...

See what I mean? Such flatness, much sadness. I've tried & tested a number of products that promise va va voom volume yet the effects last for about five minutes before reverting back to flats-ville! And back combing the hair constantly is too damaging. One solution that has been recommended to me on a few occasions is a hairpiece, but I've always been daunted at trying.

When an opportunity to review a hairpiece from the lovelies over at Hot Hair came knocking at my door, I naturally jumped at the chance as it couldn't have come at more perfect time. Hot Hair, a brand which began in that wonder of wonders that is Selfridges (any one else addicted to the show?!) have been creators of hair extensions, hairpieces & wigs for over 15 years, so they know their stuff.

When it came to choosing which hair piece to try, I decide to go for the *Brianna 3/4 wig, as the length seemed most suited to mine & consists of pretty waves, giving the hair a lovely style, swish & more importantly volume.

One of the reasons why I've been daunted at using hairpieces is well...to be frank, I am utterly retarded at putting them in O_o Even the simplest of clip ons break me out in a sweat. The Brianna 3/4 wig however promises ease of application with a couple of strategically place combs & side clips.

No back combing is required, just simply brush some of the hair at the crown forward, slid in the comb & clip in. There is even a YouTube tutorial if, like moi, even doing this is a task ;) And here is the result!

Before you say anything, I know I know, the colour is completely different! However being naturally dark haired I opted for the Ebony shade & despite dyeing my hair a few weeks ago, it clearly seems to have a life of its own & has become lighter! Though to be honest I quite like the two tone effect :)

But more importantly...hello volume! Whilst my attachment skills still leave a lot to be desired, I managed to get to grips with it eventually, & once clipped in was over the moon with the instant volume & over all swishy-ness my hair now has.

We have a big family wedding coming up in a few months & I really wanted to have thick, voluminous locks for the occasion, thanks to Hot Hair my hair dreams will be answered. I'll be dyeing my hair fully dark again beforehand so the blend will be better. 

Overall, I am so happy with the difference the Brianna hair piece has made and I would definitely consider using hair pieces much more! They can be styled in different ways too, worn up as well as down with head bands, hair accessories etc, I can't wait to have a play!

Hot Hair have a wide range of hair pieces to choose from & can be purchased online as well as in Selfridges, I especially love the look of the ponytail extensions!

Thanks for reading lovelies! 

Lotsa love to ya!

Disclaimer - * product featured was sent to me for my consideration. I am not affiliated with the brand nor paid for this post, this review has been as always my 100% honest opinion! :)

NOTD - "Flow" inspired by Fashion Designer Eva Cammarata

Hello there beauts, hope you're having a good week!

I'm especially excited for the weekend already, as I'll be heading to London for the Swap In The City and Fashion's Finest collaboration event for London Fashion Week, where I'll be getting my mani on! This is my first event for London Fashion Week so I'm a mixture of ecstatic & terrified but its something that I've wanted to be a part of for ages so I can't wait & am very grateful & excited to be a part of it.

The event consists of two days of fashion shows, exhibitions & fun Swap In The City clothes swaps, where a number of superbly talented designers will be showcased at The Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden.

One of these designers is Sicily born Eva Cammarata, whose collections are inspired by Nature, Arts & Philosophy. Not only are her designs beautiful & colourful but Eva's brand is also a fair trade ethical luxury label, using organic & biotech fibers that moisturise the skin of the wearer. And I've used one of her creations as inspiration for today's manicure! I fell in love with this piece, FLOW, with its mixture of blue & sparkle so couldn't wait to rustle up some nail art!

I'm so happy with how this mani came out, I think it may actually be some of my favourite nail art this year so far :) The different blues & turquoises,  so dreamy!

To start I applied my base colour of a pretty turquoise blue, which is actually two different polishes, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Marine Scene, a turquoise blue satin & Sally Hansen Hi Definition in Spectrum, which contains pretty glass flecks adding a nice shimmer to the colour.

The base needs to be completely dry for the next step, I painted my nails the day before but a speed dry topcoat works fab. For the glitter part I grabbed a piece of cellotape & taped off part of the nail, then went in with two lovely glitters by Chit Chat, Ariel, a blue & sea green mix & Violet, a deep violet bl-urple glitter.

I dabbed on the two glitters with a small nail art brush, combining both colours together, before removing the tape whilst still wet.

I then used my Models Own Nail Art Pen in White & using the thin striper brush, added the final detail of a white angled tip.

As the glitter layer was quite thick, I left it to air dry for a good few minutes before sealing it all with topcoat, otherwise the glitter would have smeared down the nail & that would have lead to a most unattractive screeching fit of extreme proportions O_o

Hope you liked the mani dolls! If you're headed to London Fashion Week this weekend then definitely pop on down to Covent Garden for the Swap In The City event & come find moi there!

Lotsa love to ya!

NOTD - Marble Hearts

Hullo lovely readers & happy Friday to you! Friday the 13^th it was too ooooh! Hope you had your lucky charms at hand ;) Haha I kid, not that I really believe in such things. I mean, as acquaintances often remind me; I’m enough of a walking CATASTROPHE as it is, without the additional help of a superstitious holiday O_o 

 

Rolling out another Valentines mani for you lovelies, this time trying my hand at a spot of marble nail art. You may be familiar with the concept of ‘water marbling’, if not take a peek at YouTube for some fab tutorials, however water marbling is a technique I’ve not dared to venture towards...yet. It gives me palpitations. However one does not need water to create a marble effect on the nails, here I’ve done a simple design to create some hearts...

Still needs a bit of work but for a first attempt I’m chuffed with how they came out & am keen now to explore more ways of doing this ‘dry’ marbling technique.  For this mani I dug out a couple of the Models Own HyperGels as they have a nice thick formula which I thought would work perfect for marbling.

I started off with one coat of White Light for my base. With marbling I found a bit of speed was required so it’s best to work on one nail at a time, having all the bits that you need at the ready. So your polishes, dotting tool & a toothpick.

Once the base was dry, I applied a second thick coat of White Light.

The polish must still be wet, hence why it’s better working on one nail at a time. Next grabbing my dotting tool & Model Own Cerise Shine, applied two dots side by side, in a row of three along the edge of the nail. 

 

Then quickly using the toothpick, simply went down the centre, with the pointed tip, very lightly otherwise it would go right through to the nail bed, dragging the polish to create the heart like shape marble effect. 

 

Whilst the polish was still tacky I applied a pretty pink heart rhinestone for added sparkle.

Seal it all with topcoat & that’s it! A quick & easy way to achieve marble effect nails without all that water business!

Thanks as always for reading cherubs!

Lotsa love to ya!