Which Gel Effect Do You Prefer??

So recently several nail polish brands have brought out their own gel effect nail polishes. I have purchased polishes from three of these brands:

• Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint
• Models Own Hyper Gel
• Avon Gel Effect

The bottles.... all three brand have kept their signature bottles for these polishes. Barry M have added a metallic silver lid to makes theirs stand out from their normal polishes as well as having 'Gelly hi-Shine' wrote on the front of the bottle. Models Own have also changed the lid slightly by adding the colour to the top in a bubble style. Avon have kept the lid the same, they have just added the 'Gel Finish' title onto the front of their bottle with a polish drop detail.

Colours.... All 3 brands have a desirable selection of colours including pastel and bright shades. Models Own has the least selection with only 10 shades in their collection at the moment. Barry M have 21 and Avon have 24.

Application.... My favourite to appy was definitely the Avon ones, they go on very smoothly. Barry M are very similar application to normal polishes and the Models Own ones can be a little bit gloopy but not difficult to apply.

Coverage.... The Avon ones that I tried all only really needed one coat (I personally prefer to do 2). This may not be the case with lighter colours but I am yet to find that out. Barry M and Models Own both required two coats to be opaque, again this was with darker colours, lighter colours may require an extra coat.

Verdict.... I love the look of all three brands of polishes when on my nails. I have to say that at the moment I am swaying towards the Avon ones being my favourite, then Models Own, then Barry M.

Swatch Pics....

Thanks for reading

Which is your favourite?

Georgina xx

British Nail Bloggers..

Barry M Aquarium Collection - Mediterranean

The new Barry M Aquarium collection caught my eye straight away! The colours are gorgeous. I am wearing 'Mediterranean'. This is a pink/gold shimmery duo chrome polish. It is so pretty! I have tried to take the best photos I could to show you just how gorgeous it is. I will definitely be purchasing the whole of this collection. The collection has four duo chrome polishes and two glitters. The bottles are also quite nice as rather than a boring black top they have a gold one with fish scale shapes on it.

If you love shimmer you need these in your collection!!

Thanks for reading :)

Georgina xx

Purple nails for Epilepsy Awareness

Wednesday 26th March 2014 (tomorrow) is Epilepsy awareness day. This is something close to my heart as my husband has epilepsy and has had since he was 7 yrs old. We have worked very hard and he has been fit free for about 3 years (touch wood). His epilepsy is medication controlled however some people aren't this lucky.

 I feel that not many people know a lot about epilepsy to the point where people even joke about it.
Any damage to the neurotransmitters in the brain can disrupt the workings of the brain and cause fits. To see someone have a fit can be a very scary experience. There are several types of epilepsy and some people may suffer from blackouts rather than fits. There are lots of triggers, symptoms and effects of epilepsy and I would really encourage people who know someone with epilepsy to research into it.

Our All things nails group on Facebook are showing our support by creating Purple mani's. Purple is the chosen colour for Epilepsy awareness.

Here is my mani using MUA 'Frozen Yoghurt', Models Own 'Purple Haze' and Barry M 'Prickly Pear'.

Thankyou for reading.

Georgina xx

Liebster Award

Thankyou so much to kamila @ kittykamsnails and Rebecca @ coffeebeautylife for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Due to my non-technological brain I have only just read their comments so apologies to you both :-) here are links to their blogs....

https://www.kittykamsnails.co.uk

https:www.coffeebeautylife.blogspot.co.uk

The Rules are:

• Post 11 facts about yourself.
• Answer 11 questions from the person who nominated you.
• Nominate 11 bloggers for the award with less than 200 followers.

I am quite new to blogging so I am really happy to of been nominated for this award. Here are 11 facts about myself.....

1. I am a complete nail addict!
2. I love tattoos and have quite a few of them (have been in Skin Deep Mag twice)

3. I am abit of a hoarder and find it hard parting with things.
4. I used to be petrified of dogs until I had hypnotherapy.
5. I have never smoked a cigarette in my life!!
6. I love to paint, draw and make things.
7. I can't drink water, I hate the taste of it (if that makes sense)
8. My hair is naturally wavy and frizzy so I straighten it.
9. I don't have a middle name.
10. Purple is my favourite colour.
11. I am left handed.

Here are my questions from Rebecca...

1. If you could do anything in the world what would it be? - I would like to be rich, does that count?!lol.

2. If given the chance would you rather travel into the past or explore the future? - I would have to travel into the past, I hate getting older!!

3. What's your most treasured possession and why? - Very sad but it's probably my phone, I would be lost without it!

4. What's your favourite drinking game any why? - I don't really play drinking games as I am abit of a light weight! lol

5. Which season is your favourite and why? - Summer :-)

6. Do you prefer Christmas or Easter?- most definitely Christmas!!

7. What was your favourite childhood toy and why? - I used to love Puppy in my Pocket! I had abit of an obsession with dogs even though I was petrified of them!

8. What is your most guilty pleasure? - Chocolate, I just can't resist it.

9. Out of all of your beauty products which is your favourite and why? - Always my nail varnishes but at the moment I am also loving my BB cream.

10. At karaoke night which song do you pick and why? - I always like to sing Summer of 69! Me and my friend always used to sing it and it's quite easy to sing lol.

11.Why did you start writing your blog? - I started writing my blog as I love to talk about my interests.


Here are my questions from Kamila.....

1) Do you have any holy grail products that aren't particularly popular? If so, what are they?
I have some new eyeshadow crayons that I am loving at the moment.

2) Do your close ones know about your blog, what do they think of it?
Yes my family know about it. My dad finds it odd that I do it.

3) What kind of music do you love?
I love rock/punk music, the likes of Blink182, Paramore, Bullet for my valentine.

4) What are the most special people in your life?
My family :-)

5) What has made you happy today?
Having a lovely meal with my family.

6) How have you promoted your blog so far? Did it work out well?
I have promoted it on facebook groups and on twitter. It has been ok but not the best.

7) Show us your stash!

8) What are your pet peeves?
untidiness, 

9) What are your hobbies outside of blogging?
Music, Art, Nail art, shopping.

10) What's your favourite nail art technique?
Probably the ombre effect.

11) Which make-up item could you not live without? You can only choose one
Nail Polish

I don't know a great deal of bloggers at the moment so I have chosen some of the people I am following...

Lisa at https://www.starfishnails.blogspot.co.uk
Jemma at https://www.jemmypuddleduck.blogspot.co.uk
Louise at https://www.lueluescreations.blogspot.co.uk
Claire at https://www.clairewiththecamera.tumblr.com
Hannah at https://www.foxybeautyblogs.blogspot.com

Sorry it's not 11, I will find some more to nominate as I discover them :-)

Here are my questions:
1. Where in the world is your favourite place to be?
2. Do you have any bad habits?
3. Who is your celebrity crush?
4. What do you do for a living?
5. If you had one wish what would it be?
6. heels or flats?
7. Favourite Beauty brand?
8. What is your most treasured memory?
9. Do you have any tattoos? if yes where and what of?
10. What cover do you have on your phone at the moment?
11. Do you have any phobias?

Thanks again for the nominations, this was great fun :-)

Georgina xx

Glossybox March 2014

Today I received my March Glossybox. Over recent months Glossybox has been going down in people's estimations, however for me last month they redeemed themselves with a great valentines box!
The theme of this months box is 'Beauty Blossom'. I have to say that as a nail addict there is always a hint of disappointment for me when there's no polish included and this months box seems to be one of those.

Initial thoughts are good, there are six things in the box, ok two are perfume samples but it still counts as items. The perfume samples are the two new Juicy Couture Malibu Collection. The samples are in handy little spray tubes and are 1.5ml each. The full size perfumes are £47 for 75ml. I have to say I quite like all of the Juicy Couture perfumes so I am happy with these samples.

The only brand I haven't heard of in this months box is Mitchell and Peach. From this brand is a body cream with English honey, organic cocoa, vitamin B5 and shea butter. Full size is £36 for 180ml and I have received a 40ml tube. The smell is quite strong and floral so not something I would choose myself but I will give it a whirl :-)

One product I am excited to try out is the Sleek MakeUP Pout Polish. I have heard a lot of good things about this brand but haven't had the opportunity to try any of their things until now. This is a full size item which costs £4.49 for 10g. It is a tinted lip balm which has SPF15, almond oil, shea butter and vitamin E. I am a big lover of vitamin E products so that made this even better for me. The colour of the balm is a darkish beige which is great for my pale skin. It also smells really nice and doesn't feel too sticky on my lips.

Next up is Bellapierre Cosmetics Ltd Shimmer Powder. This is a mineral make up which is good for my sensitive skin and is a silvery colour so again a good colour for me. This is another full size product and is £12.99 for 2.35g so this pretty much pays for the box. They also claim that this powder can be mixed with blusher, nail polish and lip gloss to create your own custom make up.

I did a small swatch on my hand to show how sparkly it is.

The last item in my box was a Dove Hair Therapy Intensive Repair 60 Second Treatment Shot. This is my least favourite thing in the box but I will still try it out. It is a full size product £1.49 for 15ml so wouldn't break the bank.

As always you get your Glossy magazine. I usually have a quick flick through but I have to admit I never read it properly. 

So in conclusion I am pleased with this months box. I feel that they have actually looked at my beauty profile for a change and the products have been chosen to suit me better than ones I have received in past boxes.

For a closer look at the products I will be doing a review on my youtube channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGYZnDec2WWFw7xp1re3ORA

Thanks for reading.

For more info on Glossybox visit their website here:

http://www.glossybox.co.uk/

#BloggersDoItBetter challenge

Do you ever get stuck on what to blog about??

If you do then Gemma @ Touch Of Belle has the solution for you.

Gemma has created the #BloggersDoItBetter challenge. The idea of this is that every fortnight you write a blog post about different topics.
Find out about the challenge here:

http://touchofbelle.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/the-bloggersdoitbetter-challenge.html

Hopefully doing this challenge will also mean you get to read different blogs and make friends with different bloggers.

For more information or any questions you might have feel free to email Gemma. Her email is touchofbelle@gmail.com.

The challenge starts on the 1st April. Let me know if you decide to take part :-)

Poundland Stamping Kit

Recently I have been scanning all of my local Poundland stores for nail bargains!! One of the things I stumbled on recently was this stamping kit.

As it was only a pound I thought I would give it a go. The scraper is a bit weak so I used my konad scraper but the plate itself was a bargain! It is larger than my konad plates so has a few more designs on it. Here is a mani I did using it...

The base colour is Models Own Hyper Gel in 'Blue Glint'

Just shows you never know where a nail bargain will show up ;-)

St Patricks Day Mani

I'm not a great lover of Guinness so here is my contribution to St Patricks day....

For this mani I used Color Club 'Perfect Molten', OPI 'Alpine Snow' and Essie 'Go Overboard.

I was hoping to do a glitter nail but I found that I didn't have a normal green glitter (they are all more of a teal shade)! I have now ordered a Barry M one :)

On my thumb and ring finger I used a dotting tool to make four leaf clovers using 'Go Overboard'. I created them by making four small heart shapes joined at the tips.

On my middle and index fingers I used 'Perfect Molten' and added three green gems to the base of each nail. On my little finger I just did a coat of 'Go Overboard'. I very often find my little finger is too small to do nail art on.

Hope you all had a happy St Patricks day :)

An InLinkz Link-up

A Peek In My Nail Care Drawer

Here is a sneaky peek in my nail care drawer..........

 Before painting my nails I like to make sure they are in shape. I have various nail files that I use. You have your basic nail files which do the job but I find that they run down quite quickly. I also have a 4 way buffer. I used to love using this especially when I was having a naked nail day to shine my nails up. The third item to file with is a crystal nail file. I was always a little wary of these as they are quite hard but recently I have been loving this one and it does a great job! they are actually preferred by some professionals as they can be disinfected after use.
I tend to only use my nail clippers when I have broken a nail and need to trim them all to the same length. I have normal nail clippers and I also have some straight edge ones for if I fancy squared nails.

To keep my cuticles in shape I use Sally Hansen's Instant Cuticle Remover. You shouldn't use this too often as it's quite strong and can burn the skin around the nail. I tend to use it every 4 - 6 weeks. You put a small amount around your cuticle, leave it for no more than 15 seconds and then using something such as an orange stick you can push your cuticle down and scrape away the excess.
I purchased mine from boots..
http://www.boots.com/en/Sally-Hansen-Cuticle-Remover-Gel_1261177/

I like to keep my hands and nails well moisturised as they get very dry. For this reason I always seem to have a large collection of moisturisers. Pictured above is my Yves Rocher which I got in one of my Glossyboxes. 

I recently purchased this one from The Body Shop.....

 

This one is especially nice as it is for both hands and nails, it also smells gorgeous!

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/bath-body-care/hands-feet/almond-hand-nail-cream.aspx

For my nails and cuticles I originally purchased a cuticle oil. It claims not to be greasy but for me didn't live up to that claim. I then saw some recommendations for Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter. I decided to give this one a go. It isn't too greasy and smells lovely so I would definitely recommend it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Holowood by TarasTalons.

Holographic polishes are so pretty so I was really happy to be able to review this polish by TarasTalons. 'Holowood' is a silvery grey holographic polish. It is quite subtle therefore is a really good one for a daytime through to evening, adding glam in the day and shimmer for the night. I also really love the name of this polish :)

To begin with I tried 'Holowood' on top of Ciate 'Unrestricted Glam' which is a black polish.

For me this made it too dark so instead I put it over Ciate 'Cream Soda' which is a pale grey polish.

Here it is under a lightbox..

And here in the natural light..

Finally I swatched this polish alone and was pleasantly surprised by the result. You don't actually need a different colour underneath as this is what two coats of 'Holowood' looks like alone..
First under a lightbox then in the natural light...

I am hoping that these photos do the polish justice as I always find holographic polishes difficult to photograph and this one is so pretty.
Find all of TarasTalons polishes and more here..
http://www.thetaraemporium.co.uk/

For another TarasTalons review and more info on TarasTalons please check out my last blog post..
http://www.georgesartandnails.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/stars-by-tarastalons.html

Thanks for reading :)

Stars By TarasTalons

I recently filled in a blogger form to review polishes for the lovely Tara at TarasTalons. To my delight I was accepted and so here is my first review.

For those of you who aren't familiar with this brand here is a bit of background information....

TarasTalons is the UK's longest trading handmade indie polish brand. Tara has recently expanded and opened 'The TaraEmporium'. This not only stocks TarasTalons nail polish but also nail art kits, jewellery, phone cases and lots more!
Find all of this here:

http://www.thetaraemporium.co.uk/

The first polish I have to show you is '#stars'

#stars is a really pretty shimmery teal colour packed with chunky stars, diamond and hexagon glitters as well as normal glitters. The diamond glitters are a silvery colour and the others are a dark teal. It's a really nice formula and is easy to apply. I didn't have to fish for glitters, however some people may like to have a bit of a fish so that they can place the glitter in a certain way.

I tried the polish on its own and over the top of other polishes. I found that the best colour to put underneath if any was teal itself. I tried it over a white base but the white was too harsh underneath it.

This is '#stars' over Barry M's 'Greenberry'.

This is '#stars' over ChinaGlaze 'Turned up Turquoise' (light box)

This is '#stars' over ChinaGlaze 'Turned up Turquoise' (sunlight)

This is '#stars' alone (light box)

This is '#stars' alone (sunlight)

To be honest you don't really need a base colour for this polish as it is really pretty on its own. The glitters are smoothed upon application of a top coat. The polish itself removes easily but the chunky glitters are a bit stubborn, this is a small sacrifice however for such a gorgeous polish. I just love how glittery and shimmery it is.

Huge Thankyou to The TaraEmporium for giving me this blogging opportunity.
Here are some more links for you to check out...

https://twitter.com/thetaraemporium

https://www.facebook.com/thetaraemporium

https://www.etsy.com/shop/thetaraemporium

User name for Instagram, pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr is thetaraemporium

Thanks for reading :)