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.

Firstly, I am alive.  Duke of Edinburgh was disgusting and warm and camping was not fun and not comfortable, APART FROM THAT it was all a-ok and I am feeling fresh.  Meanwhile, it is the last day of school.  YAY.  To celebrate that and Rachael's birthday she's having a party with a pool, how exciting, it is still absolutely boiling so we're definitely going to appreciate the cool water.   

I've gone for a white cropped t-shirt and orange maxi skirt (which is really old and bordering on too small but I won't tell if you don't) from New Look. With some really simple flip flops from billabong.

I have gone for blue accessories with feathered earrings and blue nails!

Hope those of you who also finished school today have a fabulous night/summer and to those of you who finished months ago - enjoy your last six weeks!

A quick NOTD now, seeing as here in Wales it is St. David's day I thought I'd get patriotic! They aren't great as I was rather tired doing them but they were super simple. I just painted white and red bases and and used a green nail art pen.

Valentine's Day Nail Tutorial 

By TheTrendyChick

Hey guys! I am so happy to be collabing with Elinor to bring you this cute tutorial! I am going to be posting her Valentine's Day post on my blog as well, so hop over and take a look! I blog at http://thetrendychick.blogspot.com mainly about fashion, but I also include in recipes, diy's, and nail tutorials like the one I am going to show you today. 

Today's tutorial was inspired by the Crayon Art pictures that I am sure you have all seen! You know, the ones where you melt crayons with a hairdryer and let it run down the board? I have always thought that was such a cute idea, so I incorporated it into a nail tutorial! Here is a step by step tutorial on how to create it: 

 

 

 

 

 

  

As you can see, it is a really easy look at long as you do have some smaller brushed nail polishes. I prefer the Kiss brand which I normally buy at Walgreens, but any brand will do! You might also be able to use a toothpick or nail dotting tool to do the stripes instead. On a different note, please ignore the atrocious lighting in the one picture... I didn't notice just how bad it was until now!

I love how you can switch the colors too, but I just chose to do purple, red, and pink because of Valentine's Day! And I added sparkles on top because who doesn't love a little glitter, especially for V-Day! 

Let me know if liked this tutorial in the comments and don't forget to checkout Elinor's post! 

xo, Scarlett

I'm not quite sure how, but a few weeks back I stumbled upon the wonderful DIY Nails store.  I was blown away by the prices, so reasonable!

I bought blue bows to stick onto my nails, it is £3 for ten and they come in a nail polish bottle.  Postage is free when you spend over £5, (I bought bows as a present as well) which is great!  

I absolutely love the Baby It's Cold Outside glitter gradient nails, they are so sweet!  I think the clear decals are amazing too, I must admit my love for the Thug Life ones.

On the website as linked above you'll find a link to their blog, which is lovely! It's so personal with lots of backstage photos. While you're there, take a look at their tumblr as well, where Tammy (the brain and creativity behind the store) posts some pictures of her own nails and inspirations

Do let me know if you buy anything, I certainly might!

Thank you! 

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