Oh dear...

So I was left unsupervised for about an hour in a shopping centre, and the result is as follows. Wondering from shop to shop in a misguided attempt to kill time I popped briefly into Topshop. Whilst I was in there, I fully intended to, and honestly believed I would, take a playsuit back, get a refund and leave. This is not how things played out... I ended up raiding Topshop, Boots and Claire's coming out with around 17 new polishes and a very sad bank card. So ashamed/proud am I at my binge I thought I would share my new little treasures, in a bid to justify my ridiculous spend.

They're all so pretty, I really can't be blamed for my actions at all. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do some sexy swatches of them and post them up very soon!

My new toy.

So I made the investment into a lovely new camera, which my wonderful boyfriend spent ages picking out for me, and I'm very excited about it! It's a Canon EOS 1000D, and I'm a tiny bit in love with it. It's basically an entry level digital SLR and for my needs, close up pictures of nails, capturing true to life colours in swatches and none nail specific photos, it's perfect. Anyway, was just a quick little post so I could be a little bit of a show off really, hehehe, hopefully will be posting some sexy, new, not instagrammed piccys soon!

Wonderful Wah.

Been having a little play around with patterns and designs this week, after investing in some rather sexy Models Own "Wah nails" pens. Normally I just use some cheap nail art pens from eBay but I had some spare cash, and Boots were selling Models Own for two for eight pounds, I'm beginning to see a pattern here, so I jumped on the Wah band wagon and I must say, I don't think I'll be looking back!

They are a little bit on the pricier end of pens but it's well worth it. The quality of the striper brush is fantastic, it has a great firmness to it making designs easier to control and therefore more precise, and the nib is great too, nice and thin so you don't get too much extra unwanted polish on the nail, or polish bleeding out, again making it easier to create the perfect design! So anyway, here's a few cheeky designs I was messing around with. 

Matte Madness.

So every now and then I get a little bit obsessed with a certain brand of polish, or type of product, at the moment I'm developing a little something for matte polishes and top coats. It started off with my purchase of the Models Own - Hedkandi collection's "Hedonist" polish (£5 in Boots). It is gorgeous! It's a really bright neon pink (or orangey coral depending on the light)and I bought it thinking it was a standard, shine finish polish. Oh no no! When it dries it's the most beautiful matte finish you've ever seen, and this really makes the polish pop. It moves it on from being another bright summer neon to something with a little bit more style and edge, needless to say I LOVE it!

So that's it, now my eyes have been opened to mattes and I'm on the hunt for more, like a nail polish Predator. At the same time though, I do like a cheeky bargain, so you know I'm looking for polishes to test and play with that won't break the bank, and boy did I find one. During one of my massive cosmetics binges I was searching E.L.F, for new eyeliners, foundations that sort of thing and came across their "Matte Finish Clear Nail Polish", so I take a look, and then I take a look at the price... £1.50! So I order it, along with a million other things, and it's awesome!

For that kind of price you expect it to be a super little bottle, or to not quite work or a lot of chipping, and that's so not the case. It's a decent 10ml bottle, it's really quick drying, and you can obviously see when it's dry because it's transformed to matte, and it's actually pretty chip resistant too. The best thing about it? Now rather than having one matte polish, I can have hundreds!

So with my sick new top coat in hand I've been playing around with one of my favourite nail art patterns, the little leopard print on a nice summery pastel shade.

Step one, base coat. I used the Models Own "3 in 1 Base coat/ Top coat & Gloss"

Step two, pick a base colour. I chose Models Own "Lilac Dream", a beautiful pastel purple with great coverage.

Step three, matte coat. Like I said this time I was playing around with my new E.L.F "Matte Finish Clear Nail Polish".

Final step, leopard. For this you can use the branded nail art pens like the Models Own - Wah Nails pens, but I used some Nail Star pens that I bought of Ebay for cheaps, love those bargains! I tend to use a rule of three for the print, using three sides, whether connected or not seems to be the best way that I've found to get the leopard to look just right.

The shine finish of the black really sets off the matte lilac too, making it look super slick! I definitely recommend this matte coat, give it a try, it won't rinse your wallet and it's a top coat like this is a great addition to any collection.

Blooboo.

So it's Easter, and for me that means beautiful pastel colours. Over the past few weeks I've been investing in some new brands and polish shades, and one of my newest faves is the Models Own "Blooboo". It's a gorgeous pale pastel blue, and it's super seasonal.

Normally I find, particularly if you're using a cheaper or standard brand of polish, that pastels tend to lack something when it comes to coverage, which you would generally expect from a less pigmented polish. I previously owned the Barry M "Blue moon 317" shade, which is a similar colour to "Blooboo" but it could take three or four coats to get the desired colour. Unfortunately this means it takes forever to dry and becomes gloopy, but with the Models Own colour I didn't really have this problem. For me it took two coats, which it's a rule of thumb I always go by anyway, for no streaks or moons showing under the polish, and dried in a minute or two, and fast drying polishes are something we all love!

It's a really lovely shade, and perfect as a base coat for some nail art, maybe some stripes or polkas, even some Easter aztecs. I think it's safe to say that "Blooboo" is going into my favourites collection, it's certainly beat "Blue Moon 317" in the league tables, especially when realise it's only £2 more for the Models Own hue. Highly recommending this one!