Recent (*cough*) Manicures.... Christmas (*cough cough*)

Hi Everyone!

Yes, I know you're all rolling your eyes at this one. Me too.

I'm rubbish.

But I wanted to share these pictures anyway, and I'm not waiting another ELEVEN months. Although, when I say it like that, it doesn't sound so far away... eeek!

First of all, I'm going to show you Sophie - my sister-in-law's nails. I loved doing her nails, and to be fair, she let me go a bit wild with them. Her nails are so tiny and delicate, it was hard to get the exactly how I wanted them, as I'm used to doing nail art on my own nails! But to be fair, I was pretty happy with the result!!

 For this mani I used China Glaze's Ruby Pumps (PERFECT Christmas red), MUA's Fairy Dust Nails in Glitter Wings and my white nail art pen. Oh, and a LOAD of gems and topcoat!!

Thumb to Pinky: Candy Cane Stripes, Shimmery Gold with red diamond gems, Red and White snowflake with diamante accent, free-handed red heart, and finally - Ruby Pumps and 'rubies'!! A bit of extra bling for Christmas haha!!

My own mani was a bit more muted as I was working all over Christmas, and there was no way I would be able to keep the gems in place! In fact, I only managed to take one measly picture of it. Hectic work = blogging mojo gone!

Anyway, This was Ruby Pumps over a base of Barry M's Gold Foil!

 

Simple, but sparkly and satisfying! 

Thanks for reading,

Love Charlotte x

MUA + Flash Cosmic = LOVE!

 Hi everyone,


You may remember my last post where I confessed my love for a little £1 polish from MUA - named Shade 1 by MUA, and the lovely 'Crushed Sapphire' by moi!

Well, I decided to have a little play about with it... As you do...!

Either way, I hope you like the results (drum roll please!) Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Crushed Sapphire with the delightful Maybelline Flash Cosmic top coat! Yayyy!

Words express much better than pictures, just how pretty this combination actually is. We have the lovely subtle sparkles from the MUA polish to start with, that elegant shimmery effect that gets prettier the closer you get. And then, with the addition of Flash Cosmic, you get a real wow factor. What the photos could not capture, no matter how hard I tried, is the wonderful petrolesque effect that Flash Cosmic gives in the light. You see flashes of blue, purple and green in the chunky glitter pieces, which all compliment the MUA polish beautifully. Oh, and it dries in about 40 seconds. Win win!

In fact, so many people thought that this combination was an offering from OPI or China Glaze! It genuinely does look like they were destined to be paired and create a gorgeous combination. This is a very pretty way of doing galaxy nails too - there is a lovely sense of depth to the layers with the larger and micro glitters combined, like you could be staring at the stars in the deep night sky!

I will definitely be doing this mani again, and again, and again..! And if you happen to have these polishes in your own stash... DO IT! You will not be disappointed, I assure you!

At only £1, you have no excuse for not grabbing yourself the MUA polish, and the Maybelline polish is around £3 to £4 from various online retailers. An absolute bargain! Sadly, I haven't seen it in stores for a while - I hope Maybelline haven't done something daft and discontinued it, as it is an awesome way to give your mani a bit of a lift, or to spruce up colours you may be bored of.

Do you have a favourite glitter top coat? How do you use yours?

Have a sparkly, cosmic day,

Charlotte x

MUA Shade 1: Swatches and Review

Hi everyone,

I thought I would share one of my latest little buys with you. I love it when you find a brand that makes decent products, at a very reasonable price - I mean, who doesn't love a bargain?!

I have recently stumbled upon a lovely little brand called MUA, who seem to have products popping up all over the blogosphere at the moment, especially for their wonderful eyeshadows and dupes! As ever, I am drawn to a bargain like flys to honey, and I could not help myself! So much so, I went back for seconds!

MUA Shade 1 Natural Light

After my first little haul, I found myself checking out their website, www.muastore.co.uk to see what else to add to my shopping list. I saw a little polish I realised I needed for my collection, so I hightailed it back to my local Superdrug and picked up Shade No.1. Not the most imaginative name, but hey, for £1, I'll make my own name up!

I think this polish should be called Crushed Sapphire. It's a beautiful rich, almost black-blue, that applies remarkably well for a budget brand.

Natural Light Again

This is just two coats. Its full of little micro-glitter flecks which dance in the light, making it a very pretty shade, rather than being heavy and 'blocky' on the nail. When I wear very dark shades on my nails, I can't help think it looks a bit gothic and mannish (read:they make my fingers look fat) on me, so they tend to get left for rare occasions when I feel a bit experimental and/or brave!

This is surprisingly elegant for a darker shade! The flecks really bring back the femininity for me!

My only minor gripe is that the brush and handle are a bit short and stubby, so application was a bit more careful for me - some polishes can be literally slapped on and look fine, but I took my time with this one. Drying time was relatively quick too - I don't think you could ask for much more for your £1!

Taken With Flash

Sparkly Goodness in a Dinky Bottle!

I've taken as many photos as possible to try and capture those pretty little flecks of gorgeousness! My camera is not great at all, but hopefully, you'll get the idea!

So, here we have it - my bargain polish of the month. This is certainly one I will use again, and definately one I recommend for any lovers of darker, richer colours - or just someone who fancies a bit of sparkle once in a while.

If you find yourself near a Superdrug store, why not check out MUA for yourself!

Have a great day,

Charlotte x