Sometimes I like to think of myself as somewhat of a secret shopper.  The type that go into shops and secretly are judging them.  I'm not a secret shopper by any means but y'KNOW.  Last night I managed to mangle myself an appointment at local beauty salon Simply Beauty to get my nails done before I go on holiday, I know the salon is always jam-packed full so I'm lucky I got one!  I'm new to the whole acrylic nail scene so I wasn't sure what to expect, I've used glue on nails and had manicures but never an acrylic set.  I was greeted with a smile and cheery 'hello' so I was sold straight away.  I knew I wanted blue nails (real specific stuff there, El) and the moment Allison showed me her blue rockstar toes I decided I'd have the same.  The whole place was spotless and the application of the nails was seamless and professional.  The result, as you can see, was amazing.  And the hand lotion smelt (smelt? smelled?) DIVINE. 

They used the acrylic and glitter as the base and then the topcoat really finished it off and gave it an extra glimmer.  Also, I didn't intend to match them to my shoes.

Like Simply Beauty's facebook HERE and follow their twitter HERE - you can make bookings on either network.

I'm off to Barcelona tomorrow morning!  Hasn't that come round terrifyingly quickly.  I am so, so excited, especially because of how rubbish the weather around here has been so awful and I get to jet off to the sunny blue skies of Spain!  I haven't actually packed yet and I have clothes to dry and breakfast to make and cleaning to do and in retrospect maybe this post could have waited!  Nah.

As Summer has begun and therefore so has my abundance of spare time, I sorted out my nail polishes.  Before I start - nail polish vs. nail varnish...is there a difference? What do you say?

I now keep all of mine in this amazing woven cath kidston-esque bag one of my bezzies Charlotte gave me my birthday presents in which kind of inspired this nail art.  (Along with Sophie buying me nail polish and saying "look it's like Cath Kidston colours so you can do nail art")

• First is the basecoat, I used 'Sweet as Sugar' by Rimmel as it is thick, smooth and not overpowering.

• Next I used Model's Own 'Strawberry Tart' to create three (you can do more, you can do less) dots on my nail.  I used the brush rather than a pen. 

• Now, using another Rimmel polish, this time 'Hot & Spicy' I, for want of a better word, sploged a darker colour around the pink.  Sort of like the outer petals.  I did this by putting some of the polish on a sheet of paper, then using a cuticle stick to paint it on.  

• I then did the same but as leaves with Barry M's 'Greenberry'.

Voila! I used 'Hot & Spicy' on my other three nails with 'Sweet as Sugar' as pinstripes and polka dots, all done with a cuticle stick.  I did go on to smudge one getting my panini out of the grill though ~sad face~

So a super easy nail tutorial - done!  Let me know how yours go.

IYA.  I am currently on my Duke of Edinburgh practise expedition, isn't that exciting (no).  Just a quick post I queued up about some of the 647839 nail polishes I had for my birthday that I have worn recently.

I love this Barry M one because of how thick and easy it is, I would definitely reccommend the Gelly colours range!

This is a Rimmel Long Lasting Colour polish, which definitely does what it says on the tin! I had another colour of the same polish on for three days and if I had not picked it off it would've stayed longer! I adore the icy blue.  

So I hope you're all thinking of me enviously whilst I stroll Brecon aimlessly.  Good fun.

I'm a massive fan of Models Own nail varnish and have been since the first time I went to the Clothes Show. I thought I'd show you some of mine!

Goldfinger - I absolutely love this, only one coat and you're done!

Red 'n' Black - this was the first tine I'd used this colour, I actually really like it!  Darker than I expected, but still lovely.

Red 'n' Black with Purple Haze - Purple Haze is too thin to wear on its own so I though Red 'n' Black would be good to wear underneath!  I really like this, good for an LBD with purple shoes!

Baby Blues - My trusty colour! I love this one so much, however it's very nearly all gone so I am gutted!

 

Hedkandi Balearic Cool - I love the colour of this, but it's so thin! Not great if you're in a rush and painting your nails last minute.

Thunder and Lightening - I decided to use this on all of my nails in the end, I love the glitter in it!

What does everyone else think of Models Own?  What's their other stuff like? I'd love to hear!

now playing - no light, no light/florence and the machine - little talks/of monsters of men - feel so close/calvin harris - six degrees of seperation/the script

As you may have seen on my twitter  yesterday I tried tartan nails! I though it was a perfect winter look so here is my tutorial.  Enjoy!

You will need:

• 4 nail varnishes (I used light blue, dark blue, white and red)
• Top coat
• A cocktail stick/nail art pen

Step 1:  Paint a layer or two of your base colour onto the whole of your nail.

Step 2.Paint a strip of white across the lower third of your nail, if you are using a thin nail varnish then apply two coats.  I have seen this done before with acrylic paint as it is thicker, but it can be hard to find.

Step 3. Paint a darker blue strip across the top, middle and bottom of the white strip using either a cocktail stick or nail art pen.

Step 4.  Paint with again, the blue two lines using a cocktail stick or nail art pen vertically on the left side of your nail.

Step 5. Using the red to contrast, paint a horizontal line in the top third of your nail, crossing over a vertical line.   

Step 6.  Repeat and enjoy!

Thank you! And let me know how it goes if you try it.

Ellie x

.....Nail art pens! Definitely a key item for fashionistas.  If you nails don't match your outfit already then they should! Here's my favourite pens and patterns.


Firstly, the pens I use.  Nail Art - Mini Pens (5 pk) are excellent, quite pricey but very reliable!  I know a lot of people who complain about blockages (easy to sort out with a needle, however) but theses have served me well!  The colours are great, and similar packs are available in glitter, reds, blues etc.  What patterns can you do with these?  The colours are perfect to produce aztec patterns, and they're so easy once you get the hang of it!

If you want to do manicures then this Sally Hansen nail art pen is great, just like a felt tip pen you can draw on to your nails, and the white is so versatile it can be used with anything.  There are also black and silver pens as part of this range, black could be used in a really simple dalmation or zebra print whereas silver is super for a night look for any rock chick.

And finally, how great are these?! At £2.29 with outstanding reviews I simply couldn't leave them out, they look so good!  Although they don't come with nail varnish inside, so you have do dip them into vanish that you already own, but surely that isn't a problem.  I think these are great!

Hopefully everyone will get nail arting into the winter now!

Thank you!
Ellie x

So, we will soon enter A/W 2012 and party season is fast approaching.  Where has this year gone?  This season for parties I predict a lot of monochrome, and I'm talking more inventive than the LBD, I'm seeing disco pants, studded shirts and heel-less platforms.