NOTD

Oh dear. I may have recently been gnawing at my nails again leaving me with bitten stubs of varying lengths. Here goes attempt number 2 at painting them nicely so hopefully it's easier to resist the odd nibble. 

Last week I purchased 3 Barry M Gelly Nail Paints (£3.99 and currently buy 1 get 2nd half price at Boots) in Lychee, Blueberry and Sugar Apple so I also used this as an opportunity to try them all out. I used Lychee as the base colour and was so impressed that despite its nude shade it was entirely opaque after 2 coats and maybe even could have got away with just 1! Ontop of this, I used a stripper brush dipped into Blueberry, Sugar Apple and a Christmas glitter Essie polish to make a 'whoosh' shape from the tip towards the nail bed. The end result: something that kind of resembles glamorous seaweed. 

This was super easy to do as I didn't apply much precision and although it would work better on longer nails in terms of being able to vary the shapes more, I still think it's effective on my stumps. I also think it turned out looking very Summer appropriate and would be ideal if you have a beach holiday planned.

Lara xo

London Haul

Nars, New Look, Zara, H&M, Superdrug . . . 

A week ago now a wrote this wishlist post having spent a day browsing London shops. I also mentioned I had a second trip planned and this time I did not come back empty handed! Having spent around 6 hours in Westfields I can safely say it is the largest shopping centre I have ever seen with a great variety of shops and I absolutely loved it. Here is what I picked up:

Nars Duo - Kuala Lumpa was the only thing on my original list I purchased as I try to save high-end purchases for special occasions, but with this I simply couldn't resist. It's actually my first Nars product though seeing how smoothly the eye shadows apply, I can definitely predict me being tempted into buying more in the future! I am conscious, however, of trying to keep its matte black packaging clean, as whilst it looks very sleek and sophisticated I fear if I'm in a rush my grubby foundation hands will quickly mark it. All the same I love the shade combination and can definitely see me using it a lot to add a little more colour into every day make up.

 I picked this bag up for a bargain £5 in New Look sale, but despite the low price tag, the leather look finish doesn't look at all plasticy as can often be the case with cheap handbags. The burgundy colour is perfect for me as it is subtle enough to go with lots outfits yet is more interesting than simply black. My favourite heels are also this same burgundy shade so pairing them together will be perfect. It is big enough to fit in my purse, phone, camera, glasses and a small bottle of water so is a very practical design whilst not encouraging over packing. The same bag but in black is still available on the New Look Website here for £9.99.

These 2 tops are from Zara and H&M respectively and both cost £9.99 (the Zara one was reduced to half price.) The first I think just looks so arty and creative and quite different from other tops. The orange collar compliments the design nicely and the hemline is also interesting with a slit near the bottom on either side then falling longer at the back than the front. For me it is a more flattering high-low cut. I love Disney so the Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald print on this H&M top made it a must for me. It is also rare to get Disney branded clothing at such a low price. The top is very over sized even though I bought a small so is ideal for just slouching around and being comfy or for when you want something a bit more baggy and airy in the summer heat.

I thought it was about time I tried some of the Barry M Gelly Nail Paints as they've been being talked about for a while. I made the most of Superdrug's 3 for 2 offer on selected nail items and bought the shades Lychee, Sugar Apple and Blueberry. I though the 2 pastels would be perfect for Summer and I find it's always useful to buy nude shades as I go through them quickly because of the number of coats they usually take to appear opaque. Hopefully Lychee won't be as sheer as some other nudes.

Overall, I think it was a pretty successful shopping trip and I can't wait to use/wear all my new purchases!
Lara xo

Easy Nail Art for Super Short Nails

Summer Triangle Nail Art

    

With leavers' ball coming up I decided it really was time to start trying to grow my nails again after nail-biting exam season. I've always enjoyed splashing creativity on my nails and hopefully now I'll also be less tempted to have a quick nibble!

My nails are naturally small to start with, but I began by filing them all down to an even length and buffing them to remove those tell-tale bite marks. I used Boots 4 Way Buffer Block here - cheap and cheerful.

     

As a base I used Essie's 'Grow Stronger Base Coat' here which both stops the bright polishes staining the nails weird colours and helps strengthen them from breaking. I painted 4 of my nails  with Mystify by Misguided which is a standard hot pink shade and added an accent nail on my ring finger using Barry M's nail paint in 'Indigo' here.

Using a nail art brushes which I picked up from Ebay for only 99p for 15 brushes here, I added a triangle on each nail before using a dotting tool and a white nail polish by Natural Collection. As the dot covers the tip of the triangle, this means the point doesn't have to be precise!

I finished with Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Speed Drops on Ebay here which lock in the design and reduce drying time.

Lara xo