Autumn nails

Autumn is definitely one of my favourite seasons. The night’s drawing in, fashion gets warmer and autumn nails really pop.
 

This autumn, nail trends couldn't be more, well, autumn. From fancy fuscias to dark greens – there’s a nail colour to suit every single style. Here’s a selection of a few of my favourites.

Going nude

The great thing about nude polishes is that there is a shade to suit every skin tone – from super subtle transparent hues to dark, opaque tones – there are hundreds to choose from.

This autumn I will be sticking to a slightly lighter shade with a pink hint. I find that lighter toned nudes really flatter pale skin, like my own. My favourite at the moment is Charlotte Street from Nails inc (£12)

Make like a tree...

It goes without saying that the autumn months bring out the most beautiful, natural colours so why not reflect these on your nails. Dark blues and mossy greens are right on trend this autumn and were seen on the catwalks of Julian McDonald and Burberry. 

I love British Racing Green by Butter London (£12) and Max Factor’s Prusian Blue (£3.99).

A different shade of red

Red – a classic shade that can really pop. This season, the deeper and more orange, the better! 

To really add a hint of autumn go for a slight shimmering shade like Butter London’s Sun Baker (£12) and Models Own Tropical Sun (£4.99) from the Beetlejuice collection.

Heavy metal

Need a nail colour for those dark, autumn evenings? Metal based polishes are always hit at party season and can add instant wow to a simple party outfit. This season I love Chanel in Black Pearl (£18).

For those of you who prefer simple, classic outfits, adding a metallic nail can really finish it off. Something like Essie Shifting Power (£7.99) or if you want to try something a little different, nail wraps are perfect. Rebel Nails offer a huge range of nail wraps from Bright Mirror Nail Wraps (£7.99) to 22 Carat Gold Stunning Swirl (£14.95).

 

So with plenty of choice, I know I’m definitely going to have fun with my nails this autumn.

I would love to see your autumn nails – leave links to your blogs below! 

Four years blogging: My top ten

(Image credit)

I can't believe that I have been blogging for nearly four years!

I first started this blog back in 2010. It was my way of expressing how I felt about beauty products aimed at women my own age. At the time I was writing for a national magazine aimed at women over sixty and although I had access to the latest beauty products, I never had the opportunity to write about them and express my own personal opinion, that was until I set up this blog.

You may be thinking, four years is a long time and you don’t have many followers, well I never started this blog to have ‘followers’. I enjoyed writing for me and although it was great to see that my posts were being read, I never actively promoted it.

So as a celebration of four years, I decided to give you a run down of my favourite top ten posts that I have written over the years:

1: Bare Minerals Prime Time Brightening Primer

Reading back over my early blog posts, I often wrote in non-biased way – I tried not to give too much of an opinion, which as a blogger is key. But I put this down to my journalistic background. However, I have chosen this post because this is where my love for Bare Minerals began and I was totally won over by their fantastic products that I still use them today.

2: Bad beauty habits

I chose to put this in my top ten because it was a really different blog post for me. I often don’t like to write about myself but I actually really enjoyed it in the end. It was interesting to see that I had quite a few bad beauty habits and I loved being able to share them with you all.

3: Garnier 2-in-1 Pure Active Spot Roll-On

The Garnier 2-in-1 Pure Active Spot Roll-On is an odd blog post for me to pick. When I look back over the post, I really dislike it. The images are dreadful and I don’t really delve into too much detail. However, this is my second most read post on my blog so I felt that it deserved a place in my top ten.

4: Bare Minerals Skincare

Again, my love for Bare Minerals grows and they really smashed it out of the park with their first skincare range. I absolutely loved reviewing these products and I actually went on to re-purchase the Pure Transformation Night Treatment.

5: What’s in my handbag

My very first ‘what’s in my...’ and still one of my favourite type of posts to write. I love looking at what other bloggers store in their handbags – it makes me realise that I’m not the only person who carries a lot of crap around with them!

6: My holiday saviour

This post was named ‘My holiday saviour’ because it actually was! I’m quite fair-skinned and can burn quite easily, especially on delicate areas like my nose and ears, so this product came in super handy on a previous trip to Egypt. I still have this product and won’t go anywhere in summer without it.

7: Nail decals

This was a really exciting blog post to write because it was a slight challenge getting the decals to work. If I remember right, it took me quite a few goes to finally get them spot on, and I was so impressed with the outcome. In fact, it has spurred me on to try them again!

8: The Mascara Monologues: An introduction

The Mascara Monologues was an idea that stemmed back when I was writing for living. After speaking to the girls I was working with at the time, we all agreed that we had never come across a mascara that we truly loved. So as a sub-section to the blog, The Mascara Monologues was born.

9: No More White Bits

This is an odd choice to place in my top ten, but the reason is because is that it is actually my most read post to date. Every month I get hit upon hit and I’m never sure why. Maybe a lot of people Google ‘no more white bits’, who knows, but this one is actually about a fake tan brand.

10: The best beauty products for blemishes

I chose to include this post in my top ten because it is includes one of my favourite images that I have ever taken. My lovely boyfriend bought me a new camera for Christmas and I couldn’t wait to give it go and show off the new images on my blog!

I would love to see your top ten posts, leave your links below!

Pastel Perfection

Summer has officially arrived and what better way to brighten up your nails than with a pastel colour!

I've become slightly obsessed with the colour green at the moment, which is why I've opted for this mint green from Barry M and a little sparkle from Models Own Emerald City.



What are your favourite summer nail styles? 

Nails Inc. Lucky Dip

I’m not sure how many of you have heard of Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert website, but recently it has become my go-to place for finding out how I can get more for less. Whether you’re after beauty product, the best savings accounts or vouchers for money-off, it offers a mine of information in one place.

Each week, Martin’s newsletter lands in my inbox and I scour it to see if I can bag myself a bargain. Two weeks ago I struck gold when I saw an offer from Nails Inc. – A lucky dip offer which allowed you to purchase 6 nail polishes for a total price of £19 including P&P. A fantastic offer, considering a single Nails Inc. nail polish costs around £10-£12. But what made this more exciting was the 'lucky dip' aspect - the 6 nail polishes were picked completely at random and not by me. I was a little apprehensive that they might not be the nicest colours, but for £19 I couldn't turn it down!

I waited two weeks for the package to arrive and I wasn't disappointed by the colours either...

Left to right: St Marks Square, Royal Ascot, Blenheim Terrace, Fitzroy Square Special Effects, Boltons Place and Camden Special Effects.

So far I have only worn Blenheim Terrace so far but I can't wait to try the rest.

www.moneysavingexpert.com
www.nailsinc.com

Models Own in Red Red Wine

Models Own in Red Red Wine

I've recently started a new job, which means I'm now working in a building 5 minutes walk from town. This is quite dangerous for my purse. And this was proven the other day when I managed to spend £30 in Boots on my lunch break.

One of the purchases was this gorgeus deep red nail polish from Models Own - a brand I've never bought anything from before. I'd been after a red nail polish for ages, because I didn't own one, but I'm not a huge fan of the bright, traditional red polishes. So this one, which is slightly deeper in colour, is perfect.

While I picked this up, I noticed that at the moment if you buy two items from the Models Own brand you get a free gold nail polish too.

Available from Boots for £5.

Are there any Models Own shades you'd recommend?

Lisbon treat: Sephora Nourishing Nail Balm

While away in Lisbon, I thought I'd make the most of the opportunity by picking up a few beauty products. Ideally I wanted to pick up a few Portuguese brands, but a very kind lady in one of the malls informed me that there wasn't many available. So instead I spent my time browsing Sephora and picked up this little beaut.

As you're probably well aware, I love painted nails and it's very rare that my nails are naked. Because of this (and the change in the weather) my nails had become so brittle, that they started to break and peel. So I picked up the Sephora Nourishing Nail Balm in hope that it might help promote stronger nails and bring them back to life.

I think it cost me around 8 Euros and so far I'm really impressed. My nails have become stronger and look healthier, and so far, my cuticles and the skin around my nails hasn't cracked. The product does have a strong almond scent to it, which I'm not a fan off. Also, if you have long nails, the product can be a little tricky to get out of the pot. But apart from that, it's a fantastic product and worth the investment.

I've searched high and low on the Sephora website and unfortunately it looks like it's only a European product, which is a shame. But I've discovered Neal's Yard have a similar product (Nourishing Melissa Nail Balm) that comes in a tube - perfect for when the Sephora Nourishing Nail Balm runs out.

Nail decals: How to...

I love pretty nails. I've tried nail wraps before, but they turned into a complete disaster. So to end my frustration I vowed never to touch them again. But as usual, my beauty brain took over when I recently read about water decals and couldn't wait to give them a go.

And here's how they turned out...

Firstly I apologise for how chipped my nails are, I took this photo today so they've had five days of battering. Secondly, the reason I've only done one finger isn't because I'm channelling my inner Kelly Rowland, I actually ruined four in the process.

I'm not going to lie, these were incredibly fiddly and took some practice before getting it right. But here's how I did it.

• First of all you'll need to get everything together. I used: nail file, coloured nail polish (Nails Inc in Caramel), top coat, nail scissors, patterned water decals, shallow pot of water and tissue/cotton wool pad.
• File your nails to create a good shape and a smooth surface. Paint with your chosen colour (I applied two coats.) Make sure you leave to dry fully before applying the decals, or you could smudge.

• Your strip of decals should come in a choice of sizes. To make things easier, choose which nail you're going to start and cut out the nearest sized decal to fit your nail.

• You will now need to cut the decal with nail scissors to a rough size that will fit on your nail. I found it easier to trim off the top slightly and the sides, if needed.  
• Once you are happy with the size, place the decal face-up, into the pot of water for about 20-30 seconds.

• While your decal is in the water, place a small blob of top coat onto the top and bottom of your nail - this will help secure it in place.
• After 30 seconds check to see if the decal comes away from the paper. If so, pull away, draining off any excess water and place on top of your nail. You will need to pat the decal gently with a cotton wool pad and then leave to dry.
• If you find it's too long, gently push the excess underneath your nail - this will get filed away later on. They do take a while to dry, so if it's sliding off your nail, just persevere. It will get there, honestly!
• Now apply a later of top coat. Once dry, gently file the end of your nail to tear away the excess tucked under the nail.
• Apply another layer of top coat to secure and keep your nails lasting longer.

I bought this set of water decals from eBay for under £3 including P&P. They're great for adding a personal touch too.

Have you ever tried water decals or nail wraps? If so, how did you find them? And what design did you go for?