*NEW* Barry M: Speedy Quick Dry Swatches

Good evening loves!

My blog schedule has been all out of whack this past week thanks to a busy work/decorating timetable and having had only eight hours sleep in the last seventy-two! I have kindly reminded my body that we're getting old now and I could do without any of these insomnia-like shenanigans! On a better note though I did pick up the new Autumn shades in Barry M's 'Speedy Quick Dry' range on Friday. There's a bright candy apple red, a bright purple, a rich pomegranate and a deep, dark grey. I'm not usually a fan of the earthy autumnal shades but I loved each one of these...

Mmmmmmmm.... Now let's take a closer look!

This is Dragster, a gorgeous gun-metal grey which will totally rock your world if you're a grey-phile like me, it's such an unusual and beautiful shade! I used two coats plus topcoat.

***

Next up is Slipstream which is a very blackcurrant-y purple indeed, lush. As with the grey it was two coats plus a topcoat for this one.

***

This is Sprint Finish which is descibed as a pomegranate colour and may well be, but for me? Most definitely red wine haha, either way I like it! It too needed two coats plus topcoat.

***

Last but by no means least is Dead Heat, an eye-poppingly bright red which looks good enough to eat! This one needed three coats to eliminate the white free edge showing through before topcoating.

***

I just love, love, love these colours - even the red which is usually one of my loathed shades. Both the red and the grey had nice fluid consistencies which applied like a dream. The purple and pomegranate were a little thicker and stickier to work with - less strokes the better. Thankfully that isn't made to difficult with the wide flat brushes provided in this range, some folks hate them but I can't fault them. You can pick these up in Superdrug now for £3.99 each and are currently part of a Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price offer.

Now I must get myself into bed and try to catch some MUCH needed zzzzzz's... Goodnight!

Rebecca x

Sunday Swatch: Hare Polish The Wanderer

Hello there beauties!

My Saturday swatched turned into a Sunday one thanks to that surprising little 24 hours of summer we enjoyed here in London yesterday! It was far too nice to spend sitting in my nail room so here we are today - now it's raining again lol. The Wanderer is another polish from the Hare Polish Stir Crazy collection and like 'Desperately Seeking Blue Skies' which you can see HERE, it's sentiment as well as prettiness sings to me! It's a gorgeous deep purple jelly bursting with ultra chrome flakies that shimmer with gold, bronze, purple, pink, blue & teal. To top it off there are gold flakies, iridescent gold glitters and a delicate gold shimmer!

I used three thin coats of the Hare and if I'd been bothered to eliminate the white free edge completely then I would have added an extra one. The gold accent nail is two coats of Maybelline Colorshow 'Knitted Gold' and is a gold and rose gold glitter-bomb which complimented the tones in the purple perfectly. Finished with topcoat.

I'm so in love with this polish and I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't quite seem to pick up just how glorious all the colours are through the lens, it's like looking at one of those in depth images of the universe. No matter what light or settings I used, the sparkliness was just too much for my poor Samsung Galaxy S5 to pick up... I think it's time to really consider a proper camera at last! 

I think the best look I managed to get of this Hare goodness through the lens is in this bottle shot above, so I'll just leave you here to ogle that hehe...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Rebecca x

Throwback Thursday: Sizzling Sunset

Hello, hello my beauts.

It's been a long old day today with a hectic morning in the office followed by an afternoon painting the living room and now it's time for some calm with a throwback to another Summer 2014 post. This gorgeous thermal polish from Polish Me Silly is just the most lovely salmon pink/peach (when cold) turning soft yellow (when warm) creme with pink and yellow glitters that each pop in their opposite colour. It's extra gorgeous with a tan!...

The accent nail here was a mixture of sponging to build up the layers of colour to compliment the indie inspiration beside it and freehand painting with a small brush for the palm tree and grass. I just loved this manicure and it was my first dabble with thermal polish, I've since only bought another two but they are both Polish Me Silly because this one impressed me so much.

You can catch the original Sizzling Sunset post HERE and you can check out my previous, equally summery #TBT post HERE.

Have a 'Fabulous Friday' and I'll be back again on Saturday for a swatch!

Rebecca x

DIY Inspired: Grey Damask Mani

Evening loves!

This week I have started the redecorating of my living room after we had the ceiling replastered and painted and new spotlights fitted while we were on holiday. After much deliberation on colours/paints/wallpapers I am finally tending to my woodwork and walls and have done a mani inspired by the scheme we've plumped for - light grey on three of the walls and a white/silver damask wallpaper on the largest "feature" wall...

This scheme just sets off our large victorian room with white shutters beautifully and it worked out pretty good on my nails too! I did three thin coats of Maybelline Colorshow 'Cool Touch' for the grey nails and two of Barry M 'Cotton' on the accent nail before stamping with 'Silver Foil Effect' using MoYou London Fashionista 07. Finished with topcoat.

Although I do adore this scheme, being the woman I am, I must confess to considering a change to the wallpaper as I've been prepping the walls and wood for painting over the last couple of days. I'm hankering after a rope and knot pattern I've seen in similar colours to this damask one so I think I'll order a sample and then make a final decision ;) 

Well I'll be getting busy with a very different brush and of course the good ol' roller for the remainder of the week but I'll squeeze in a little "Throwback Thursday" post before I return proper on Saturday with another swatch.

If only it were as easy to change my rooms as it is my mani!

Rebecca x

Saturday Swatch: Hare Polish Desperately Seeking Blue Skies

After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing between my newly delivered Hare Polishes from Rainbow Connection I decided that 'Desperately seeking Blue Skies' would be up first for swatching, I think it's my favourite of the Stir Crazy collection (of which I have four). It's a stunning dusty robin's egg blue with flakies that glimmer with pink, purple, blue & green. There's also a hint of golden iridescent glitter & gold shimmer - So much going on! I paired it up with a simple sky blue accent nail with pink shimmering palm tree, take me to the beach...

I  used three thin coats of the Hare to achieve full opacity and a depth of colour and shimmer which is just the stuff dreams are made of, I adore it more on the nail than in the bottle which is rare! I hand painted the palm tree for speed, it's a simple enough design to do but boy do I need to replace my frayed/bushy detailer brush. Finished with a lick of topcoat.

All of my favourite colours are mixed up in this little beaut' and I think the shimmery hot pink of the palm compliments the more purple flakies perfectly. This whole collection sort of sums me up and this one probably most of all, I'm forever desperately seeking blue skies, and my very own desert island...

Have a fandabbydosie weekend loves!

Rebecca x

Humpday Hare: Zoltar Speaks

It's humpday folks!

Today I'm bringing out a 'humpday hare' manicure that I did way back in June before I went on holiday but didn't get around to posting here on the blog. You may have seen it on my social media at the time but I thought it only fair it gets its place here too! Zoltar Speaks is from the Hare Polish 2013 The Coin Operation collection inspired by old skool coin operated carnival games and is a stunning teal jelly bursting with gold and silvery-white flakies...

I used three thin coats of the teal to achieve the full opacity I was looking for and finished with topcoat. The shimmer, shine and build up of layers is just so beautiful, it's like looking into a pool of water. Now who is that on my ring finger???

Well that's Zoltar and he's that creepy looking gypsy fortune teller you find in a glass case, you may remember him from the movie 'Big' and here he is featuring on my accent nail along with that gorgeous Hare Polish of his. It was simple enough to do by sketching out his face in pencil on the nude matte base polish (rubbing out any mistakes) before going over with a black sharpie & fineliner. I finished with a hint of gold for his turban and topcoated.

I'll be back on Saturday with a swatch of another hare polish, this time from the 2015 Stir Crazy collection. I've just received four of them in the mail so which one should I choose first?!? #nailpolishproblems

Rebecca x

Saturday Swatch: WAH London 'Immerge'

Hello lovelies, I hope you've had a good start to your weekend!

Today I've got something new to show you from WAH London and available exclusively in Boots... The 'Immerge' trio sets come in two varieties - The Lava Set (white base, pink & yellow colours) which I'm sharing with you in this post, or The Flame Set (silver base, red & orange colours). There's nothing special about the base colours here, but the top colours contain something called 'ombre transformation technology' which means they merge and blend together to create funky ombres or marbles with 'just a swish of the brush'...

The white base is just an ordinary creme, as I say nothing special; the top colours on the other hand are very special. They have a glossy, thick jelly formula a bit like the OPI Sheer Tints but less tacky and much brighter, more opaque. When two blobs meet they bleed into each other in pretty little swirls all by themselves and when given that 'swish of the brush' they go wild - mixing, blending and bleeding all in one go! They remain tacky for quite a while but once dry they look as shiny and feel as hard as glass.

I started with two coats of white all over. On all but the ring finger I dotted big blobs of yellow and filled in with little blobs of the pink, I then used a small nail art brush to bring the two together with gentle spiral stokes to create a marble. The polish did most of the work for me and  they were very forgiving in that if I had too much of one colour, (while tacky) I could do a stroke of white with another blob of colour and all was forgotten! Pretty pleased with the result for a first go... I used a black nail art pen to add the WAH name to the accent nail and no was topcoat needed!

As mentioned in the intro these kits are available exclusively at Boots, online and in-store. They're priced at £18 which isn't too bad considering they are usually £9 per polish. There are also how-to's available to view on the WAH website if you want a little more inspiration or guidance but they are super easy to use!

Rebecca x

Throw Back Thursday: Flamingo

Hi dolls!

I love a bit of a #tbt so I don't know why I've never done one on the blog before?! Well now I am and the first mani in line is one of my all time personal favourites despite it's relative simplicity; in fact the indie featured is also a very much prized polish in my collection. I did this nail art about a year ago after the last Spanish vacation and being that I've just returned again, it seems ideal to dust it off and bring it back for another look now...

This was inspired by the flamingos I saw on my holiday and the beautiful Hare Polish 'Flight of The Flamingos' that arrived just before I flew out... It just so happens that flamingos are 'in' this season with the pink print being found here, there and everywhere so why not have a go at getting some on your nails too?!

You can see the original post for more details and my flamingo holiday snap HERE.

I'll be back on Saturday with a swatch and review of one of the new 'Immerge' trio polish kits from WAH London - They've got 'Ombre Transformation Technology' apparently!

Rebecca x

Manicure Monday: Wifey 4 Lifey

Big sigh of relief because Monday is out of the way...

As promised in yesterday's catch up post, here's a look at what I've been wearing on my nails the past few weeks... Wifey 4 Lifey from WAH London is a beautiful sheer pink jelly; it's actually the nude polish of my dreams! I've been searching for that perfect 'one size fits all' naked shade for years and at long last here it is...

I popped on two thin coats over the nail hardener I've been using lately (Essence: Ultra Strong) with a lick of topcoat. Not only is it bang on trend, it's the perfect colour for the lazy polisher (me) - You can slap it on without needing to be too careful and you don't really notice any chips for days and days and days hahaha; I think it may well be a wifey 4 lifey!

This pink jelly is sheer enough to leave the white free edge peeking through whilst still being opaque enough to blur and hide any sins :) LOVE!

You can pick up this pretty in your local Boots store for a slightly steep £9 and if buying online there is currently a 10% off a £40 spend on selected fragrance & luxury beauty (this included).

Rebecca x

Putting My Blogging Hat Back On!

Well hello there lovely peoples!... 

It's been a bit of a wee while hasn't it?! If you follow me on social media you'll know I went fishing lol! I'd been having big fat blogger blog, blogger blog?? That'll be blogger block lol, totally lacked nailspiration, starting comparing mysef to all the amazing bloggers out there (don't ever do that, it's pointless) and questioned keeping it going at all... I then took a much needed extended Spanish vacation, got all relaxed and happy, found MY mojo and a heap of energy; then came home and got sick with a seriously yukky cold. But now it's a new month, it's warm and sunny and I am BACK!

Here's a few snaps of what I was getting up to while I was away...

... And here are a few of the cheeky purchases I made while I was there; Alicante has great shopping!

Those Wynie polishes have a pretty decent formula, a bazillion colours and were only €1 each! How could I resist?! Expect to see those and those Essence goodies in some upcoming posts :) That holo Guess envelope bag in the bottom right screamed polish lover to me and I just had to have it!

Soooo... I am back in my own little naily world and have my blogging hat firmly back on. The planner is full up and you'll be seeing much, much more of my nails over the coming months!

Tomorrow I'll be sharing what manicure I've been sporting these past few 'absent' weeks...

Rebecca x