Pink & Turquoise Polka Dot Nail Art

I wanted to show you guys these really cute pink and turquoise polka dot nails that I wore the other day. These are two of my favourite colours at the moment and I think they look really pretty together.

What are your favourite combinations of polish which you have used to create polka dot nails? I'd love to know!

Revlon's Girly Nail Polish

Revlon's Girly nail polish is the equivalent of Nails Inc's Sprinkles polish and Barry M's Sequin polish. It consists of a dull pink/purple base coat with various sizes of glitter particles in purple, deep pink and light pink. I originally applied this polish straight to my nails but I thought it looked horrible. I then painted a bright pink polish on my nails and applied Girly on top. I am pretty disappointed with this polish. I thought the formula was horrible. It is way too watery. If you want to get glitter on your nails you have to paint on lots of coats of watery polish which just looks awful. As the base colour is a milky pink/purple colour it does not look very nice. When you paint it over another colour it still looks horrible. I felt that the quality of this polish was not very good. I would not recommend this polish.

Let me know how you have found this polish if you have tried it! Some people probably get along with it but its not for me.

Andrea Fulerton's Crown Nail Tattoos

I really like Andrea Fulerton's Crown Nail Tattoos. They are so cute and easy to use. These crown nail tattoos come in a pack with the rose tattoos that I have already written about in a previous post. I love that you get two different types of crowns. These nail tattoos are so much easier to use than water transfer nail tattoos because you simply peel them off and stick them onto your nail. I would say they are more like nail stickers than nail tattoos but they look super cute! I used Nails Inc's The Boltons polish with these tattoos, which is an awesome red metallic polish and I also used Nails Inc's Covent Garden Market which is a full coverage red glitter. I think the crowns look great with this polish combo.

What do you think? Have you ever used Andrea Fulerton Nail Tattoos before?

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips : Star Quality

Sally Hansen's Nail Polish Strips in Star Quality are really pretty metallic pink nail strips with a faded navy star print pattern. Before I put these on I thought they would be pretty boring as far as Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips go but they are actually so lovely. I ordered them from Amazon and they were cheaper than if I bought them in Boots. I hadn't realised that they would be coming all the way from America but they did. They were as awesome as always except for one thing- when I started to apply the strips to my second hand I noticed that the strips were all stuck to the protective plastic that you have to peel off. I was so worried that all of them would be duff and I would be left with one hand with no nail strips. Luckily there were just enough decent strips for me to cover my other hand. Fewf!! So, I think if you are going to buy these nail polish strips off Amazon or eBay just be aware that if they are cheap it might be due to the fact that they are faulty. Or maybe the heat during travelling damaged them. I really don't know. This is the first time I've had a problem with these strips.

In the end it all turned out ok though! I love these nail strips.

What do you think? Have you ever had any problems with them?

Sunshine Swirl Nail Art

I used Models Own Beach Party polish and Luis Lemon neon polish to create my sunshine swirl nail art. The orange polish looks less bright in the photos than it is in real life so you can't really tell how cool it looks from these photos. I created this design in the same way as I created my other swirl nail art designs. I think that some sunny, neon yellow and orange swirl nail art is perfect for summer. What is also cool is that this design kinda looks like flames.

What do you guys think? Have you tried out this design?

Here are the links to my previous swirl nail art guides.

My Swirl Nail Art Guide post: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/polish-swirl-nail-art.html

Neon Swirl Nail Art post: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/neon-swirl-nail-art.html?m=1

Nails Inc's Black Taxi Polish

Nails Inc's Black Taxi polish is my all time favourite black polish. It is so super shiny its like having patent nails. This polish applies ridiculously well. You can sometimes get away with just one coat of this polish. Although, I like to apply two coats just to be sure. It dries crazy quickly too which is a total bonus. It has the usual Nails Inc qualities of having a great formula, a good brush and being streak free. If you are looking for a good quality hi-shine black polish I would definitely recommend this polish. 

I am not sure if you can tell how shiny this polish is from the photos which is a shame. Also, the flash from my camera makes my skin look freakishly pale in comparison to the black polish. Oops!

Have you tried this Nails Inc Black Taxi polish? What is your favourite black polish?

Skull & Cross Bone Nail Tattoos

I think these skull and cross bone nail tattoos are really cute and add something special to your nail polish. They are water transfer nail tattoos so unfortunately are a bit tricky to apply. They tend to slide all over your nail and if they get wrinkled it is quite difficult to smooth them out. I accidentally applied one of the tattoos a bit squint. The tattoo still felt like I could slide it about-so I did. Big mistake. It pulled some of my nail varnish off so I had to carefully disguise this. Ahhh! It's quite disappointing that these nail tattoos are so hard to use. I would love to find some like I had when I was a kid in the 1990s where you place on your nail, rub the sheet of paper it is on and BOOM...your nail tattoo is in the perfect place on your nail!

I bought these from amazon and they don't have a specific brand.

What do you guys think? Have you tried water transfer nail tattoos?

Ciate Pinkalilly Shimmer Polish

So, I have been raiding my Mum's nail polish box again and decided I would like to try Ciate's Pinkalilly Shimmer polish. It is a really pretty mid-pink colour with a golden shimmer running through it. I really wanted to try is polish to see how I got on with it as I usually don't favour Ciate polishes. I was surprised by how well this polish applied. It was fairly streak free and in two coats it was opaque. I was rather impressed with the formula. The brush was totally different to the other Ciate polishes that I had tried before. It was more like the Bourjois brushes than the previous long, thin, straight brushes that I had encountered with Ciate polish.  Overall, this polish was a nice surprise.

Have you tried Ciate shimmer polishes? Do you find their solid colour polishes difficult to apply? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Pastel Leopard Print Nail Art

I absolutely love this pastel leopard print nail art design. I have used some of my favourite colours to create this leopard print design and I think they go so well with each other. I am a complete fan of pastel polish as well as bright colours so I think this is one of my favourite leopard print colour combinations. Why wear just one colour of polish when you can wear three at once? :-)

What do you think? Have you tried leopard print nail art?

Here is the link to my leopard print nail art guide: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/leopard-print-nails-guide.html 

And the link to my multicoloured leopard print nail art post:

http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/multicoloured-leopard-print-nail-art.html

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips : Collide-O-Scope

Right now I am absolutely loving Sally Hansen's Collide-O-Scope Nail Polish Strips. I am gutted because I just could not get them to photograph nicely which means that these photos do not show how cool they are in real life. These nail polish strips are awesome because they are multicoloured camouflage print. They are really bright when they are on your nails and are an ace mixture of pink, blue, purple, red, yellow, green and black camouflage splodges. They are so cool. I love them and really don't want to take them off. 

In the photographs the strips look like they have lines going through the colours. If you look really really closely they do but they are not obvious and still look amazing on your nails. No one else would be able to tell.

I think I am going to try to recreate this design with nail polish. Hopefully it will turn out well:)

Sorry for my rubbish photos. Hopefully you will get an idea of how cool these look! I definitely wouldn't say that they looked good if they did not. I totally recommend these nail polish strips.

Barry M Gold Crackle Polish

Barry M's Gold Crackle Polish is really easy to apply and affordable. I think it creates awesome crackle patterns which are always unique. I have worn it over black polish which I think shows off its true beauty pretty well! This polish gives your nails something a bit different. You could use this polish on a feature nail. Or maybe get creative and use it for nail art purposes.

The proof of this polishes prettiness is in the photographs. Some people might argue that crackle polish is out of fashion but I think that it can give your nails an extra bit of edge. You can totally mix it up, create something new and wear crackle polish like its never been worn before.  

What do you think? Do you like crackle polish?

Nail Polish Haul

I just wanted to do a really quick post to give you a sneak peek at a couple of the polishes I will be trying out in the near future. I have been lusting after these polishes for a while now and I've managed to get my hands on a couple of them. I've got two of the Kate Moss Rimmel Salon Pro polishes (Reggae Splash & Jazz Funk) and two from the regular Salon Pro range (Ultra Violet & Peppermint). I have also got two of the Maybelline Stay Strong Gel polishes to try out (Surreal & Mint for Life). I will do reviews of these polishes soon so keep an eye out if you are interested.

Have you tried any of these polishes?

Summer Ombre Nail Art

I really love experimenting with different colours of ombre nail art. For my summer ombre nail design I used pink, orange and yellow nail polish. The finished result looks really bright and vibrant which was exactly what I was looking to create. I love creating ombre nails but I often find its really difficult to blend the polishes properly so I spend ages doing it. I would have liked to have managed to blend the polishes a bit more here. I think this nail design makes my nails look like those multicoloured ice lollies! Not sure if ice lolly was the look I was going for though!

What do you think of this design? 

Here are the links to my other ombre posts.

Rainbow Leopard Print Nail Art: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/rainbow-leopard-print-nail-art-guide.html

Pastel Ombre: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/pastel-nail-art-with-barry-m-gelly-hi.html

Andrea Fulerton Nail Polish Trios Review

I had never tried any Andrea Fulerton nail polishes until I got a couple from the Trio collection the other day. I was very sceptical about these polishes because they look similar to the Revlon Expressionist Nail Art Duos. However, I was pleasantly surprised by these polishes. The idea behind the design of the polishes is that you get two polishes which can be layered onto each other to create a new colour. Therefore,you actually get a trio of different polishes. 

The nail polish Trios that I have tried out are called Rain Fall, Princess and Smile In A Storm.  Rain Fall includes an awesome metallic turquoise polish and a dark turquoise mermaid flake glitter polish. If you layer the glitter polish over the metallic polish you get quite a dark sparkly green/blue polish. I really liked the metallic polish. The glitter polish is quite thin when its painted onto your nails by itself. In my photos it was showing up as a purple colour but it didn't look like that in real life.

Princess consists of a purple shimmer polish and a bright pink shimmer polish. Both of these polish are really pretty on their own. When the pink polish is painted over the purple polish it creates a warmer purple shade. This trio is really pretty.

Smile In A Storm includes a dark metallic silver polish and a pearlescent top coat. The top coat is too thin to be worn on its own unless you like fairly see through polish. The dark silver polish is quite decent on its own. When the pearlescent top coat is painted over the dark silver polish it creates a really cool purple pearlescent silver.

I don't think these polishes look as good in the photos as they do in real life which is a shame. I tried to show the two different polishes and the colours that they create when layered together. 

My top tip is to always paint the lighter coloured polish over the darker one for a more opaque colour.

I was quite impressed at the quality of the actual nail polish. I liked the brush and the polish applied smoothly. Some of the polishes were a little thin but I think they are more suited to being used as a shimmer or glitter top coat. 

Overall, if you are looking for a polish that is a little bit different or want to add a couple of new colours to your collection then you might like these. 

Have you ever tired Andrea Fulerton Trio polishes? I'd like to hear your thoughts on them.

Pretty Colour Combo

Ok so how cute are these two polishes together!?! I think they look so pretty so this is just a post to let you guys see them. I used Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine polishes in Blueberry and Grapefruit. I am in love with these colours. The formula is awesome and the colour is so well pigmented. There's definitely nothing thin or watery about these polishes.

Liebster Awards

Firstly, I can't quite believe that someone liked my blog so much that they actually nominated me for a Liebster award. I didn't really know if anyone would even read my blog let alone think it was worthy of more followers. So, I am absolutely chuffed and would like to thank Elinor from http://www.littlered26.wordpress.com so much for reading my blog and for nominating me. Please go check out her blog. It's really interesting and she makes awesome jewellery (checkout her giveaway!).

The Liebster awards are basically a way of recognising blogs with awesome content which have under 200 followers. Those who are nominated are asked to link the person who nominated them, answer the 10 questions asked by the person who nominated them, pick 10 bloggers to nominate (& provide their links) and ask their nominees 10 questions. Let your nominees know you have nominated them via their blog or twitter etc. 

I think this is such a great way to find ace new blogs to read!

The bloggers that I am nominating are as follows. I really like reading all of their beauty and fashion posts. I don't understand why they don't have more followers because their blogs have such great content. They are all definitely worth reading and following.

1)Laura http://lauraloveandliquor.blogspot.co.uk/

2)Hayley http://taxiforjackson.blogspot.co.uk/

3)Chantelle http://www.thegirlinthetartanscarf.com

4)Kazz http://kazzmetics.blogspot.co.uk/

5)Bunny http://visualcandyinc.blogspot.co.uk/

6)Bea http://beatricenotyetlost.blogspot.co.uk/

7)Tahnee http://hystericalhearts.blogspot.com

8)Millie http://smudgesofthoughts.blogspot.co.uk/

9)Eleanor http://dreamlovelivefashion.blogspot.co.uk/

10)Sophie http://darlingsophie.blogspot.co.uk/

Here are the questions that Elinor asked me. My answers can be found under each question.

Cat, Dog or Other Pet?

Definitely Cat. I have had cats around my house for my entire life. I am most definitely a cat person rather than a dog person just because I am more familiar with them. I have one cat at the moment. She is 11 years old and a total cutie.

If you had to choose would you rather be blind or deaf?

Oh jeez! That's a difficult question. Obviously I am thankful that I have both my sight and my hearing. I don't think I know enough about either to be able to make an informed decision. 

What life motto do you live by?

I think that we should treat others as we wish to be treated ourselves.  That is probably one of the biggest moral codes that I stick to in life. If only more people would live by this motto.

Do you prefer reading fiction or non-fiction?

Definitely non-fiction. I love reading biographies. I think I just like to read real stories about real people and their experiences. I like to understand what factors have socially and psychologically shaped them as a person.

What’s your go to skin care routine?

My favourite skin care routine consists of a good cleanse with Boots tea tree & witch hazel cleansing & toning lotion. Then Chanel gentle biphase eye make up remover. I use No.7 protect & perfect serum and then No.7 protect & perfect day cream.

Chocolate or Vanilla?

Chocolate. I'm such a fan of ice cream. And cake. And biscuits. And chocolate. If only all of that was good for us. Sigh. I have always loved ice cream. My grandad used to have an Ice cream horse and kart and then an ice cream van. Plus I'm Italian so I can't really keep myself away from the stuff. 

Describe your personality in 3 words?

Considerate, artistic & caring.

What’s your chinese zodiac sign and does it describe you well?

I have no idea. I will have to google it.......(googling).....oh apparently I am an earth snake :( ..... Well for a start I am not slithery and scheming at all I am the total opposite. It does describe me spot on in terms of other things such as being calm, friendly, hardworking and sensible.

Coffee, Tea or Hot Chocolate?

Hot chocolate. Although, I have recently become obsessed with peppermint tea.  It's so good for you and makes you feel a bit better if you are unwell. I've been drinking green tea for a while but it is not as tasty as peppermint tea.

My questions to you guys are:

1)Would you like to make Youtube videos?

2)Would you rather be chased by a horse sized duck or ten duck sized horses?

3)What is your favourite nail polish?

4) Why did you decide to start a blog?

5)What are your favourite TV programmes?

6)Do you ever take part in the #bbloggers chats?

7)Which pieces of technology do you use to write your blog? e.g. laptop, tablet etc...

8)Which 3 fashion stores do you shop at the most?

9) iPhone or Blackberry?

10)What are your favourite items of clothing at the moment?

I can't wait to see your answers to these questions especially question number 2!!!:-) haha!

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Polish : Satsuma

While I was on my red nail polish buying spree I added Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine polish in Satsuma to my collection. It is a bright orange toned red polish. It almost transforms your nails into juicy pieces of fruit. That sounds really weird but if you look at the photos it might make more sense! I've never been drawn to red polishes but I've decided to branch out a bit and be more adventurous. I will probably use this colour a lot for nail art purposes. Of course, it is a Gelly Hi-Shine polish so it ticks all of the boxes in terms of non-streak formula, glossy shine, good brush and pigmentation. I literally can't get enough of these Barry M polishes at the moment. So, if you are into orange toned red polishes I would definitely recommend this little gem of a polish. 

What do you guys think of this polish?

Here are the links to my other Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Polish posts!

My first post on Gelly Hi-Shine polish: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/barry-m-gelly-hi-shine.html

Link to Summer Gelly Hi-Shine polishes: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/new-barry-m-gelly-hi-shine-polish.html

Dragon Fruit Gelly Hi-Shine polish: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/barry-m-dragon-fruit-gelly-hi-shine.html

Gelly Hi-Shine Polish Round 2: http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/barry-m-gelly-hi-shine-polish-round-2.html

Grapefruit Gelly Hi-Shine Polish:

http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/barry-m-gelly-hi-shine-polish-in.html

Passionfruit Gelly Hi-Shine Polish:

http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/barry-m-gelly-hi-shine-polish.html?m=1

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips - Kitty Kitty

Sally Hansen's Nail Polish Strips in Kitty Kitty are really really cute. They are metallic leopard print nail polish strips which are really great if you want a detailed leopard print pattern but don't want to paint it on yourself. I really loved wearing these because they were so pretty. The metallic shimmer of these nail polish strips makes them even more special. My mum liked the look of them so much that she went out and bought herself a set and she absolutely loves them. She found them easy to apply once she got the hang of it and has been very impressed with how hard wearing they have been. Finally, she knew what I was on about!

Let me know if you have tried these and what you thought of them!

Here are the links to my other Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips posts:

My main review of Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sally-hansen-nail-polish-strips.html

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips in Purr-Fect Harmony http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/sally-hansen-nail-polish-strips-purr.html

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips in Numbskull http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/sally-hansen-nail-polish-strips.html

Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips in Wild Child http://scottishstefsnails.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/sally-hansen-nail-polish-strips-wild.html