Nails and Tales Recommends...!

Hi everyone!

I love mascara. Let's just get that out there. I have previously been described as a mascara whore, and quite frankly, it's true. I think I look ill without it.

My friend Beth (my fairy glam-mother) bought me the Clarins Wonder Perfect Mascara for my birthday last year, which I adore. Except for the fact that its over £20. Ouch. Amazing mascara, but ouch.

I have found a close second to my beloved mascara. A mascara I adore and can't stop talking about. A mascara which costs £3.50.

Not a typo!!

I picked up the George Lash Xtend in Intense Black mascara whilst doing my weekly shop in Asda. It has plastic bristles, which I find are great for separating my lashes. And it covers my holy grail of mascara necessities - it lengthens and thickens my lashes.

I have fairly long, but very thin and pale lashes, so a mascara that can show off the length and makes them look thick too??! LOVE!!

Ok, so bear with me. I have taken some pictures of just how good this mascara is. But to do that, I had to take pictures of myself. Eeek! And I didn't have any make up on. Double eeek. But at least you'll see how much this mascara rocks!!

No Makeup :(

One Coat. Just one. Awesome.

Two Coats! Yessss!

You can see the difference straight away. A mascara that does this for less than £20 is great. One that does it for less than a fiver? Run out and buy one now!! You can not go wrong with this! I can't see myself buying anything else now - unless I win the lottery, and then I can go back to the Clarins one. Or buy hundreds of different mascaras and play with them allllll!!

Got a teensy bit carried away there. But who wouldn't??!

As I'm not a millionaire, Asda have made me a happy bunny!

Why not give it a go too?

Love Charlotte x

Chanel Coco Blue

Hi Everyone,

I have a big happy to share with you today. My wonderful Mr bought me a little gift a few days ago. Oddly, I walked straight past the Selfridges bag it was hidden in. Didn't even notice it. He found it rather funny, and wondered how I hadn't noticed there was a GIFT for ME in said bright yellow bag.

What can I say, I was somewhat preoccupied!! I'm a busy girl!

Anyway, under a sea of samples for Chanel and Dior (I'm still wondering how he gets so many when I get hardly any...) I found this!!!

First of all (and I don't mean to sound like I'm bragging) but how awesome is my other half? He knows that I love Chanel (but can not afford it any more) and that I love nail polish. He combined my two cosmetic loves and got me this! Happy!!

Here it is swatched:

With Flash - OMG Bluuuuuue!

Natural Light

This polish is just so pretty. I had been thinking that I needed some pale blue for my collection, as I don't really have many blues. I was thrilled when this appeared!

It has the slightest hint of grey (which seems to always be a winner for me!) and teeny tiny flecks of something shimmery. This is two coats, which still has a bit of VNL. But, who cares. It's Chanel. We love Chanel - they can do no wrong.

Next time, I will give myself time to apply a third coat. This was an omg-I'm-gonna-be-late-for-work-but-I-can't-leave-without-my-nails-being-done kinda thing. We've all been there. And it was worth it.

Thank you hubby!!

And thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x

PS - Yes, I will so be sending him for all samples in future - I know when I'm onto a winner!!

Jinx Photobomb!

Hi everyone!

I was sending a pic of my Senorita Bonita pedicure to my friend Beth, and one of my cats decided to be the cutest photobomber ever!

 

This is Jinx! She's the most affectionate cat I have ever met. Apparently, I was paying more attention to my toes than to her, and that was not kitten appropriate. She didn't actually say that of course. My cats don't speak to me, I'm not (a) crazy (cat lady)!

I just guessed from the look on her face! Hehe!!

Love Charlotte x

Holographic Upgrade!

Hi Everyone,

We all know by now that I love my holo polishes. And I mentioned last time that the wear wasn't fantastic on my Layla ones. Beeeeeeautiful polishes, but crappy wear - whats a girl to do?

Despite the fact that I love to change my polish more regularly than some people change their socks, I couldn't discard my Mermaid Spell mani after just one day. So I improvised! Clever me, eh? :D

 

I added a new (to me) and instant favourite polish (thanks Beth x). China Glaze (who else?) Senorita Bonita! This was a brain worm for me for ages... yet another purple for my collection! Woot!!  I managed such neatness that is somewhat unusual for me with the use of tape and a shed load of patience. I am one of those idiots people who struggle drawing a straight line whilst using a ruler. So freehanding a straight line on nails - especially on my right hand - is a teensy bit difficult. But this looks pretty good, even if I think so myself. There are even a few cheeky gems in there for good measure! Ooooh shiny and blingy!!

I absolutely loved wearing this mani - both of these colours are certified nail porn (to me at least) and I loved the fact that other people kept staring at my nails. I felt as though I was hypnotising them with my flashy holographic polish. I R Hypnotoad!

Or, maybe not! 

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x

Girl V Food

Hi Everyone,

I have a secret to share with you.

Me and the Mr (shoo grammar police) - we love Man V Food. And we love trying to cook the things he noms. Well, within reason.

I am such a good wife - even if I do say so myself. I mean, look!

After years of wanting to try it, I finally made chilli dogs. OMGNOM. The smokey, salty frankfurter, the tomato-ey meaty sweetness of the chilli, the tang of the mustard, the onions and cheese...! It all merges together to create the tastiest hotdog I have ever had. I'm not bragging, I'm no masterchef. But, seriously, if you haven't already - try this. It's gooooood!

Secondly...

The Juicy Lucy. Technically it's spelt Jucy Lucy, but I can't bring myself to do that. Mine's a bit different, so I will part plagiarise the name, if you don't mind.

This is hamburger meat, split into two patties, and filled with cheese, pressed together and then cooked. So your cheesey goodness gets cooked inside the burger, and every bite it a tastegasm. Yes, I went there.

Mine is slightly different. In the Man V Food episode, we saw American cheese (?), we saw Mozzarella, we saw Gorgonzola, we saw lots of cheese. We went with a cheese we hadn't seen on TV. Goats cheese.

I recommend. The Mr recommends. And, we recommend our traditional burger toppings, fried onions, ketchup and American style mustard.

Looking at this is making me hungry!! Seriously, go nom! It's goooood!!

Disclaimer: Eating food like this on a regular basis may kill you. Eventually. But so will lots of other things you and I love to do. Enjoy!

Love Charlotte x

Oh YES! Holographic Nails!!

Hi Everyone!

A few weeks ago, I celebrated my birthday. I'm in my 20's - that's as close as you will get to my real age! And like the dutiful husband he is, the Mr. purchased some wonderful nail polish for me.

So what if I picked them out and pointed at them until he ordered them...? He did it - that's the mani main thing!!

These are my objects of desire and nail lust. Layla Holographic - available from simply occasions - who are currently the only UK stockists.

This is how they arrived. Look!!

 

The first time you order the Layla polishes, you get a free nail file and buffer - to remove all the ridges from your nails.

But what I really loved is the attention to detail in the packaging.

The little bag, the teal crepe paper and the holographic flower sticker! It's just pretty - and it tells me that Simply Occasions is run by someone who takes pride in their work. I like!

Anyway, now the important stuff.

I happily introduce you to Layla Mercury Twilight. The was four quick and easy coats. On first application, I got this horrible sinking feeling - there was no holo! My inner diva started to get all worked up - and let me tell you , that is NOT pretty. But as it started to dry, you could see the holo effect creep across the nail. Happy!!!

This beauty is called Mermaid Spell - I LOVE that name. If I was going to be a mermaid for a day, I would choose a tail in this colour. It's blue, green, pink and orange all at once.
Again, this is about four coats - this time over a white base. I was hoping that the white base reduced the need for so many coats, but for me it didn't. I am not a fan of VNL, and will happily layer on polish to try and avoid it.

I have many many polishes. Many. But these have risen to the top of my favourites tree. The wear is not fantastic, I had minor wear and tear within hours - but they are beautiful. Really stunning. And who can resist nail porn like this? I can't!

So thank you to the Mr. for buying me these treasures.

And thank you to everyone else who bought me polish for my birthday! Those polishes will be getting blog space soon!!

Thanks for reading - now go get your own Holo polishes - these are MINE!!

Charlotte x

Watercolour Nails

Hi everyone!

I hope you have all had a good Easter / Bank Holiday / Weekend!

After my Easter themed mani, I really wanted to play around with some of the pastel colours I had left out on my desk. I always love to try new things, and so I really wanted to try the Watercolour effect manicures I had seen on other blogs and on Youtube.

 

This is surprisingly simple to do for such a sweet effect. I started by painting a base coat of OPI's Skull and Glossbones. I'm not sure why, but I also added a coat of China Glaze's Exceptionally Gifted, which is a pretty sheer frosted pink. I didn't need to add it for this mani, but I'm glad I did as I can see it becoming a future combination win!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings... For this manicure, you will need a clean and small paintbrush, some pure acetone in a little pot (I used the lid) and some paper / towels to avoid too much mess.

I chose four colours to play with, in fact almost the same four I used for the Easter manicure in my last post -

Collection 2000 Lemon Soda

H+M Pink and 'Grilac' from the Dusty Nails Duo,

and Leighton Denny Inside Scoop

I started with Lemon Soda, and made a small splodge of polish on my nail.  I then dipped my brush in some acetone, and blotted it on the paper to get rid of the excess. Whilst blotting, I pushed my brush so that the bristles fanned out, so that it was wide enough to pick up the colour splodge.

A fanned out brush - so you know what I mean!

 I found that the effect turned out better when I flipped the brush and used the underside of the bristles - the side that hadn't touched the paper - if that makes any sense!

Then, I gently pressed the bristles on the splodge and re-splodges it four or five times in different areas over the nail. I did this to all of my nails before starting with the next colour. After that, it's basically a rinse and repeat kinda thing!

As you can imagine, some colours do work better than others - Inside Scoop was a bit watery for this to work properly, so I left that polish for about 20 seconds before applying the brush and acetone. After I had applied all of my colours, I sealed it with my China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat, and I was done! 

This is a very simple way to add some nail art to your life - it's easy and quick, but looks like it might have taken you hours. And you could do this with so many colour combinations!! I so need to try neons next ;)

I hope you like it,

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x

Easter Nails!

Hi everyone,

I thought that I would share with you my mani for the Easter weekend! I really wanted to have something bright and pastelly on my nails - here is what I came up with!

From Thumb to Pinky nail:

No.7 Lucky Lilac,
H+M Pink from the Dusty Nails Duo,
Leighton Denny Inside Scoop
Collection 2000 Lemon Soda.

I am loving this sweet and girly manicure! The pastels look good enough to eat. Almost as good as these...

Nom!


Whatever you end up doing this Bank Holiday weekend, I hope it's a good one!


I, unfortunately, shall be working on Easter Sunday. So I am going to go and enjoy the remaining hours of my day off!

Have fun,

Love Charlotte x

Primark Polishes

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share with you a little collection from Primark - of all places. As someone who is perpetually skint (probably something to do with buying far too much polish...), should I need something new for my wardrobe, I tend to head there. And I tend to browse for a good while at the accessories and beauty bits. For my mega thick, waist long hair - Primark clips keep everything secure. For a necklace to go with an outfit that I might only wear once a year? Primark. Oh, and cheap sunglasses so I don't scratch my coveted Chanel ones? Primark!

I must confess, I was slightly upset and disturbed about the discontinuation of their beauty range. I've had a few things that I was really pleased with! And it's always great for picking up cheap nail files and eyelashes etc.So you can imagine how pleased I was to see this little set of polishes on their shelves!

£2? Excellent.

Unfortunately, I have no idea of how long they will last without chipping etc, as I have swatched them but not worn them. But, the pretties!! And for me, and many people, all we ask for is 1 day of no chipping. Polish gets changed daily, no?

Anyway! Chunky gold glitter! Metallics! Shimmery gold!

 I confess, it was the glitter that spoke to me. Had to have it. Deborah Lippman's Boom Boom Pow might have 24k gold dust in it, but it's about £20 a bottle. This is scary close, and it cost 50p. Well, £2, but with three free polishes? Whatever!

I must also add, I do have the lovely Golden Goddess gold glitter polish from ELF, but it does have holographic glitters in too, and a tendency to turn your mani a bit yellow.

Here is the Primark version, layered over MAC Style Tip:
 

One Coat Natural Light

 

One Coat Flash

 

Two Coats Flash

Two Coats Natural Light

Oh the pretties! I can not tell you enough how much I love this polish and this manicure. It's just so pretty and elegant, glittery - but not juvenile! It's grown up glam!

Next up is the Bronze metallic polish - this is one I will be wearing a lot during the sun - it will look beautiful with a tan!!

Natural Light

Natural Light

Flash

Flash

These metallics are a bit streaky, but they dry very fast. Application is relatively easy too, despite the fiddly lids. Personally, I can't complain. This bronze is really lovely, and has a slight pink rose-goldish tint to it. It's won a place in my summer favourites stash, and I haven't even tried it with a tan yet! Bring back the sun - I want to worship it some more ;)

The silver is probably my least favourite out of this set - I'm not sure why. The streaks are a bit more visible. *shrugs* I think that silver seems a bit more cold to me, whereas the bronze and gold colours scream sunshine to me, and who doesn't love summer??!

Natural Light

Natural Light

Flash

Flash

 

 

 

If anything, I think that the silver might be good for stamping with - although it does dry pretty quickly!


Last but not least, there is our little gold sheer polish, which I find to be kind of sweet! For coverage, it does take a lot of coats, but I have layered it over a couple of different polishes.

Natural Light

Flash

 

 From left to right (index to pinky): two coats over a black creme, one coat over the Primark Bronze, four coats on its own, and two coats over a white creme. Personally, I am loving the gold and white combination, but maybe just with one coat next time! Again, I know I keep harping on about it, but I think it will be a nice subtle summer look, a great change from all the neon and brights we're due to see!

Finally, whilst these might not be the absolute best polishes on the planet, I do think that they are a fantastic buy - especially as they cost so little. Each bottle is 6ml in size, so I can see myself using my little top coat pretty quickly - my only worry is that you guys will buy them all before I get a chance to get back and stock up on more!!

What do you think - would you rather pay full price for the Deborah Lippmann version, or will you be braving Primark for some nail bling? Let me know!

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x