NOTD: Tribalesque Nails

 

My beloved little Stargazer polish really doesn't get enough use considering how amazing it is for stamping but then again, I have fallen a bit out of love with stamping as it can be sooooo time consuming for me, depending on what base colour I'm using. Anyways, down to the nitty gritty....I used one of my fauxnad stamping plates and one of my all time favourite nail polishes, Models Own Beth's Blue as a base and Stargazer Chrome Nail polish in no.232. The stamp I used is the bottom one on the plate and not something I would usually opt for; I prefer girlier stamps such as lace and floral designs but I'm going through a trying new things phase.

I haven't been feeling particularly inspired nail art wise recently but as always, the Pinterest community have been throwing out some gorgeous nail art designs. One can only wish I could create some of the beautiful nails on there so in the meantime I'll just carry on pinning a ridiculous amount of nail photos :-)

Shellac Manicures....Worth the Hype?

So, I've had two shellac manicures to date but for some odd reason I have never blogged about either. Shellac manicures specifically are widely raved about, especially with regards to the longevity of the polish. I personally found varying results between my two manicures and I had both done by the same lovely lady. The abuse my nails receive is pretty average I'd say? I don't exactly do any extreme things that would cause damage to my nails or hands, occasionally I'll be really rebellious and wash up without gloves.

 

So the picture above is around 3 days after I'd been shellaced. As you can see my nails look really nice and glossy and this is probably my favourite aspect of shellac. Standard nail polish is pretty dull in comparison, especially towards the time it starts to chip etc unless you have Seche Vite applied as a top coat, in which case you will have fabulously glossy nails that will probably peel off in a couple of days; just my experience with Seche Vite or does this annoy anyone else as well? Anywho, back to my lovely shellaced nails...around a week after this photo so almost 2 weeks after I'd had them done, a little chip surfaced which you can see below.

Aside from the chip, these frenchies ended up lasting 3-4 weeks so essentially that lives up to the claim that shellac lasts 3 weeks. When I had just one colour shellac, these also lasted around 3 weeks but they also chipped and some started to peel after just a week. 

Overall, if your careful with your nails I'm pretty sure you will get 3 weeks out of them but judging from my experience, you will also possibly experience some slight chipping before the 3 weeks is up. The glossy finish doesn't fade which I think is one great thing about shellac and my nails still looked freshly manicured (chips & regrowth aside) after 3 weeks. Also shellac is supposedly better for your nails than the likes of acrylic? I personally found that my nails were very weak after I'd had the shellac removed and every single one of my nails eventually broke because they'd become so weak.

To sum up in case you couldn't be bothered with me blabbering on ;)

Pros

Glossy Nails

Nail Polish Lasts Up to 3 Weeks

Your nails will grow considerably whilst you have the shellac polish as it kind of reinforces your nail

Cons

Weak nails after removal

May experience chipping or peeling before 3 weeks.

I really hope this has helped anyone considering having shellac done, I would recommend it to most people. If you already have weak or peeling nails, I'd suggest waiting until your nails are a bit stronger. In hindsight, I think I should maybe have looked after my nails more afterwards i.e. used some sort of nail oil? If you've any suggestions on how to care for your nails after shellac please feel free to post me a little tip below.

Letting the Creative Juices Loose....

I self taught myself to crochet when I was pregnant as I simply could not get to grips with knitting and found crochet much easier to learn. Honestly, it is something that comes and goes in my life; I'll have a fortnight of crochet madness, making everything from pretty headbands to funky cushion covers which then leads to a hiatus resulting in hoards of half finished projects . I'm not the quickest crocheter ever and my technique is far from amazing but I thought I'd share some of my recent crochet goings on, hopefully if it will encourage me to finish this blanket I've been making for bubba.

The pattern for these Popcorn Flower Granny Squares can be found here at Millie Makes' blog, I'm also reeeally tempted to try out her daisy granny square pattern which would look beautiful draped on the nursing chair in Elyse's room. Although, I promise to contain myself until the current blanket is done and dusted.

If your new to crochet and want to learn, Youtube is a fantastic learning tool as there are lots of good tutorial videos and free patterns. Likewise, Pinterest is a great source of inspiration for a huge variety of crochet projects, not to mention Etsy; home to masses of creatively minded people selling the most pretty patterns, catering for a range of skill levels. I also  recently picked up the Erika Knight Crochet Workshop book which you can purchase from Amazon for around £10, I won mine bidding on eBay for around £6 so if your a bargain hunter like moi try there. This is a brilliant book to learn from plus the photography is effortlessly gorgeous.

One thing I noticed when I was teaching myself was that crochet terms differ between the UK and USA. I don't want to start trying to explain the difference as I'm probably the least competent person to do so but if you are unsure, click here for a great explanation on the differences.

I really hope this post has been helpful to anyone interested in crochet and if you would like to see some more pretty crochet pictures, please look in my right sidebar where you will find a little Pinterest widget featuring my most recent pins. I'm still a newbie to the whole thing so if you have any interesting crochet related links/blogs/websites etc please do post me a comment in the box below!

NOTD: Nudey's with Gold Accents

My nail routine has been pretty low maintenence as of late so it was nice to change it up and get back that happy little feeling everytime I peer at my freshly polished fingers. My nails have seen better days thanks to my over enthusiasm at peeling numerous shellac manicures off, something I wouldn't recommend you try! 

 

For my "nudey" nails I used Basil Street by Nails Inc, which is seemingly taking over Models Own Nude Beige as my favourite nude polish. Although my inner lazy self despises the three coat application it requires. On my accent nails I used Look Nail Pop in Mink as a base coat and Models Own Champagne for the dotted accents. There isn't really any genius to the dots, I just concentrated on creating detail on the corners of my nail tips and alternated the size of the dots by using both ends of my dotting tool which is pictured below.

Dotting tools are really inexpensive if you purchase them from somewhere like eBay or alternatively you can use the end of a hairpin. I'm pretty much a novice with the old dotting tool but it's so inspiring to see such amazing nail art created by these little bargain beauty tools. If you want to share your dotty nail art feel free to post your link below, I'd love to have a nosey.

The High Street Edition No.2: SheLikes.com

I'm back with the 2nd installment of my High Street Edition series and today I've been perusing the pages of Shelikes.com. There were so many pieces that I would happily of added to my basket but I did manage to whittle it down to this select little group of wonders. I am quite the midi dress fiend so it was inevitable that I was going to be yearning for more than one as they have an abundance of gorgeous designs. Tie-dye is so on-trend at the moment but if I'm honest, I thought the high street would reproduce somewhat tackier styles. Our good old high street hasn't let us down though and there are so many gorgeous, affordable tie-dye pieces out there at the moment that it would be stupid not to have some tie-dye in your life.

What I Wore Today

Birds & Heart Print  Collar Dress - Apricot | Tan Leather Belt - H&M | Fur Coat - New Look | Filigree Ring - Primark | Paisley Bangle - Gift | Hammered Gold Necklace - New Look

So, I though I would share a wee outfit post as I've never posted anything of the kind before and I absolutely love having a nosey at other people's wardrobe. There are so many trends and styles that I adore at the moment and it's safe to say that my wardrobe is in urgent need of a spring revamp. For the moment though, I'm making the most of my past season items. Seeing as though there is still a distinct chill in the air, my trusty fur will no doubt be staying out of the vacuum pack bags for a few more weeks to come.

The High Street Edition No.1: Primark

Lazer Cut Peplum Top £10 |Limited Edition Macrame Waistcoat £14 | Crochet Vest Top £12 | Chunky Link Chain Necklace £4 | Aztec High Neck Midi Dress £10 | Tailored Boucle Short £12| Studded Fringe Duffle Bag £8 | Wide Stripe Prom Dress £20 | Belted Emerald Maxi £10 | Pleated Drop Hem Skirt £10 | Floral Digi Print Scuba Trouser £10 | Metal Trim Sandal £8

As I am quite the professional window shopper, I thought I'd try and make it a regular thing to share with you some of my fave things from the high street. Some of the items pictured were launched into stores during February and there are also items that should just be hitting stores now and a few that are due at the end of March. In other words, if you particularly like anything you've seen be sure to take a trip to Primark and have a ponder.

Happy shopping ;-)