Barry M Textured Nail Paints

Ridley Road, Atlantic road

Barry M Textured Nail Paints

£3.99

Boots/Superdrug

The above swatches show three coats as it was still quite sheer after two coats on the fake nails but on real nails I'd reckon it only needs two coats

You need to let it dry in between coats as I think the textured effect is lost otherwise

This year has seen the release of various different nail art and effects from leather effects, feather effects and these concrete textured finishes.

This finish seems to be for one/two day wear as they can get grubby quite quickly as the dirt settles in the dips and grooves

As you can see on the nail tips they need filing down once dry as it's left with quite a rough edge 

At the moment the colour range is limited to four pastel colours, my favourite is the mint green (I have an obsession with this colour at the moment) 

I think this effect would work well with some darker tones too

Have you tried any of the new nail polish finishes on the market at the moment?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Polishes

Barry M Hi Shine Gel Effect Nail Polishes

£3.99 each

Boots

Lychee, Pink, Blackberry, Greenberry

I'm the biggest fan of nail polishes and have always been quite the fan of Barry M 

They always seem to be straight on the ball with new nail trends and fashions

Affordable and on trend 

One of their newest releases are these Gelly polishes which are the high street's answer to salon gel nails which start from around £20 a set so £4 for a polish is pretty damn good!

There are now thirteen shades available in the collection and all the colours are hits

There aren't really any duds in the collection and I can definitely see myself purchasing a few more to fill my nail polish rack a little more

They last really well on the nails and have a super high shine too so a glossy top coat isn't necessary but does pro long the wear time even more

I've been loving Greenberry with a coat of L'Oreal Confetti over the top

They seem to be the perfect match and look amazing together, I always get compliments.

Lychee is the perfect nude for my skin tone, I've tried other nudes before but they always make my hands look really strange, either lobster or simpson like...neither are that great a look in my opinion!

The pink is a lovely barbie pink, I like to either layer with a super sparkly top coat or the confetti top coat as I find pink nails can be a little boring in all honesty

And Blackberry is a lovely dark purple which we've now chosen as our wedding colour, darker than Cadbury purple and erring on black...more aubergine/blackberry sums it up perfectly!

Any shades from the Hi Shine Gel range you love?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Nail Polish Storage

(Sorry about the poor photo quality the lighting's terrible in the flat!)

A little while ago I was moaning to my lovely fiance that I didn't have any storage for my nail polish collection, they were just chucked in a bag which I had to rummage in to find anything I fancied, I couldn't see all my polishes to decide what I wanted to wear and this resulted in always wearing the same polishes and neglecting the rest of my collection.

He took pity on me and built this little shelving unit (I say little it's about a metre sqaure!)

I love it!

I can now see all my bottles of joy lined up in brand order

And I now use all of my neglected polishes on a regular basis too

Unfortunately the way I had them stored before had led to leaks and smashes so a few of my bottles are covered in nail varnish, and it takes forever to get off the bottles

I use the shelves to store my hand and foot creams too...I have quite a few s&g heel genius lined up on the bottom! It always seems to be included in their gift sets and I never get through them...

How do you store your nail polish collection?

Love

Belle

xoxo



L'Oreal Confetti Nail Polish

Glitter Top Coat

Confetti

L'Oreal

£4.99

Nail varnish is quite possibly my biggest beauty downfall

I love it, it's my favourite product to buy and you'll never find me with no colour on my nails

When I saw Confetti popping up on numerous blogs I knew I had to have it, to me it's a cheaper version of the speckled nail polishes Illamasqua have released (which I'm desperate to get my hands on!)

I hunted high and low for a bottle all around my local town and gave up only to find it doing the weekly shop in Tesco, straight in the trolley

The polish itself is a clear base with teeny tiny silver micro glitter which is hardly noticeable on the nails, the star of the show is the different sized black and white matt glitter which gives the effect of speckled nails.

I think this top coat works best on top of pale colours and also brights

In the above swatches I have put it on top of various Barry M Gelly shades.

Lychee, the nude, works really well and I actually have it on my nails now

I don't think you get the full effect of it on darker polishes as the black glitter is lost

Have you tried this polish?

Or the Illamasqua speckled polishes?

Love

Belle

xoxo

Accessorize 'Damselfly' Nail Polish

Accessorize Nail Polish in Damselfly

£3.45 from Superdrug

On a recent rummage in Superdrug I saw a few new nail polishes on the Accessorize stand

These instantly reminded me of the Nails Inc Sprinkles polishes which I loved but still haven't purchased...seeing these for so much cheaper makes me think I don't need to though

This specific shade is pretty much exactly the same as the Pudding Lane shade

It's a gorgeous light blue, turquoise base with glitter suspended throughout the polish

It lasts so well and I've had so many compliments on it

I'll definitely be picking up the other shades, they are gorgeous!

I can't find anything on either the Accessorize or Superdrug websites about these new polishes so don't know what other shades are around..just have to keep hunting

Love

Belle

xoxo

Two O.P.I Nail Looks

After the Excel show I've been painting my nails the minute my previous mani chips

These are the two recent colours

O.P.I My Private Jet

 After the bubblegum sweet pink and sparkly nails I had previous to this the darker colour was a welcome addition

It was hard to photograph in our crappily lit living room but I tried

I'd describe it as a mid-tone black/grey with silvery glitter shot through

I suck at describing colours, obviously

 The above picture shows the colour a lot better

O.P.I Ink Suede finish

 I just applied this polish when I got in from uni and I LOVE it!

The matte/suede finish is gorgeous

I like how it's so different from the normal glossy finish of most of my varnishes

Might have to invest in a matte topcoat

I was expecting a more navy bluey colour but irl it's more purple

Still love it, and it should complement tonight's outfit nicely

I think I've managed to shoot my final images today for my project

Now to scann all of the negatives and get to editing

Fun!

I just want it all to be over, bring on May 16th!!

Love

Belle

xxx

Nail Varnish Collection

I've been thinking about doing a nail varnish post for a while

So here's my modest collection

I need a new way to store it....

To see the pictures bigger just click on them, didn't want to inundate you all with tonnes of photos!

 The white bag houses the varnishes I neglect...not a big fan of these ones

The over spilling bag is all my favourite varnishes

Models Own

(L-R) Coral Reef, Jade Stone, Beth's Blue, Top Turquoise, Magenta Pearl, Pure Purple, Purple Grey, Becca's Brown, Grace Green, Nude Beige, Utopia, Cherry Pie, Sophie's Pink, Bluebelle, Peacock Green, Champagne, Purple Mystique, Pearly Queen, Buff Pink, Blue Med

 O.P.I

(L-R) Sparkleicious, Gargantuan Green Grape (Matte), The Show Must Go On, Absolutely Alice, Whats With The Cattitude, Yoga-ta Get This Blue, Purple With A Purpose, Suzi Loves Sydney, Red My Fortune Cookie, Italian Love Affair, Chocolate Moose, Tutti Frutti Tonga, Coney Island Cotton Candy, Got A Date To-Knight, Got The Blues For Red, Rising Star, Done Out In Deco, Pink Flamenco, Ogre The Top Blue

 Nails Inc.

(L-R) Buckingham Street, Berkeley Square, Montrose Place, Eagle Street, Jermyn Street, The Vale, Victoria, Picadilly Circus, Shelton Street, Maple Street, Duchess Street, Eden Grove, Dean Street

Miscellaneous

(L-R) George: Swoosh, George: Trick, George: Deceit, Revlon: Steel Her Heart, Revlon: Tuscan Sun, Barry M: Nail Effect, Barry M: Mushroom, Barry M: Cobalt Blue, Barry M: Grey, Barry M: Mint Green, Barry M: Pink Flamingo, Essie: Antique Rose, Essie: Damsel In Distress, Topshop: Hide and Seek, 17: Real Romantic, 17: Fairy Cake, 17: Sherbert Lemon, 17: Knockout Red, 17: Royal Indigo, 17: Parma Violet, 17: Mint Choc Chip, 17: Seabreeze, Natural Collection: Antique Coral, Natural Collection: Cosmic Crush

If you have any requests for reviews just ask and I'll be happy to do them :)

Love

Belle

xx