Christmas Shopping? No. Christmas Stamping!

Hey All,

I hope you're all doing well in the run up to Christmas. I have recently received some amazing MoYou London Plated and couldn't wait to try them out! The obvious choice for this manicure was the Christmas Collection 03 Plate with amazing motives from Reindeer to Christmas trees, from snowflakes to an amazing present with a bow.



I have used Revlon Cloud as a background and just had some fun with the rest. I don't own stamping polish (yet) so have just tried what works, and most of my normal polishes did.

Here's the result:

 

I'm getting slightly excited about Christmas at last. It's taken a while this year because my grandmother passed away in March and I miss her terribly this time of year. I also have no funds to go back to Vienna this year so it's all a bit of a mixed bag of feelings. Anyway, I have my loved ones in the UK who keep me going and I am very grateful.

Lots of Love!

X<3
Ruth



                                                                                                                               

Ciate Mini Mani Month Calendar

Hello everybody :)

A mid-week post?? What is happening?? I know I've been slacking so forgive me, got lots going on at the moment and I'll write a separate post about that.

So anyway, my amazing other half bought me the Ciate Mini Mani Month - and advent calendar with a polish a day! A polish a day! ONE POLISH A DAY! Lol, yep, I am probably hyperventilating right now...

So here's what I got so far:

Day 1 - Snow globe. Think of a snow globe. Got it? Lots of glitter everywhere, just really pretty and snowy and ahhhhh. Well, that's exactly what it is :) I ended up putting it over a dark blue (Metallic Blue by Picture Polish) on my middle finger as an accent. I also did a little red bow for World Aids Day on my pinkie and the amazing Sea Jewel, also by Picture Polish, on my ring finger.



Day 2 - Boudoir. Oooh lala, mon dieu, pommes frittes. The most amazing red, I could see Jessica Rabbit wearing it. It's a light, intense red, not a dark sort of maroony one, very far from what I usually like to wear but OMG it went on like a treat. No messing around, no bleeding into my cuticles, just 2 coats and it was amazing. I paired it with an accent of my favourite brand (there, I said it) Picture Polish - Sea Jewel. Again. And it ended up looking really Christmassy. <3

Day 3 - Hopscotch. I must admit, this is my least favourite yet as I just don't get on with orange. And that's what it is, a bright orange. If you like orange, like my brother for example, then this is your shade. If like me you're just not quite sure what to do with it, use it for things such as gradients and penguin beaks. Why not.

So that's where I'm at so far, I shall report back in a couple of days or so. 

Hope you like, please let me know what you think.

X<3

Ruth

Facebook Nail Page live!

Hey all,

As many of you will be busy giving thanks, eating T(of)urkeys and celebrating Hannukkah, I have decided to take care of another little project of mine. Some of my friends, believe it or not, aren't nail obsessed and therefore I keep spamming their walls on Facebook. So I set up my very own Facebook Nail Page, Nails Nails Nails, which is now live! Whoop Whoop! 

You can find it under https://www.facebook.com/swatchartnails

Do stop by if you have a minute, tell your friends, get the conversation going. I would love for this to become a page with reviews, featured artists and indies, and if there are enough followers there might be the odd giveaway or competition ;) You can always tell me what you would like to see on there and I'll see what I can do. I aim to please (when I'm not Grumpy cat, then... NO.)

Thanks to everybody who has been reading this blog, please do comment if you feel like it, so I know you're not aliens or robots or your dog sitting on the keyboard. 

Happy holidays (for those of you who celebrate) and happy Thursday morning to the UK. Yawn. I'm off.

X<3

Ruth

Product Review - Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream

Hey everyone,

So I have been quite unlucky recently with nails splitting, peeling and breaking so I have decided to give them a week or two with intense treatment with Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream which I will review today



and the highly recommended Nailtique Formula 2 for week, bitten, soft, peeling nails. Hence not many posts about my painted nails as you're not supposed to paint them when using this stuff.



I will see how long I can stay away from all the pretty colours. I have also had a move with my office so that cost me 2 nails. You will see that I have cut them all down so it's not so uneven but I do miss my long claws. I have been mixing more polish and am really finding out what works now - for instance you should add a few millimetres of base in the bottle first, then add the pigment and glitter, then top up with more base. It mixes soooo much easier, I only discovered this yesterday but it makes such a big difference.



I have also had very dry cuticles, flaky and peeling, recently so I thought I'd do an intense treatment of Burt's Bees Cuticle Cream which has worked absolute wonders for me. Here's some before pics, from the good old polished days and before my breaks. These include stamping and even a cupcake design that I've wanted to do forever:



And here is what I got to in a few days - the last picture is with my new, shorter nails. They look healthier but of course I miss the length:


So here's what I think: 
Appearance: Comes in a cute tin that is easily fitted into any handbag. It opens easily and closes easily.

Smell: Like the name indicates, Burt's Bees Lemon Butter smells deliciously lemony. It literally makes you think you're in a lemon orchard. Full marks for the smell. 

Application: Although I personally prefer something that goes on without using your fingers, it's simple enough to use, it's like the Vaseline pots you get for your lips. Use your fingers to get some butter out of the tin and rub it into your cuticles and over your nails. I recommend 3 or more uses a day. I also recommend smothering your nails in this before bed. Sleep is known to be a healer and this definitely works its magic over night. 

Price: Not too bad, I got mine from an Ebay seller and you can definitely find this for a bargain price. 

Verdict: I love this product. 9 out of 10. 

I will report on my progress with Nailtique Formula 2, until then, I will have to use my practice wheels and mix more polish to still my polish addiction :) 

 Hope this helps, let me know what you think! Also, tell your friends about this blog. If it gets successful enough I can consider giveaways and competitions and who doesn't like free stuff?? 

Lots of love 
X<3
Ruth

Put a stamp on it

Hello everyone,

Apologies for my absence, it's been a long couple of weeks and I have not had much time to spend on my nails so it was very simple 1-shaded nails for me for a while. I also had a tiny relapse which cost me a nail - thank goodness I could save most of it though. Today I wanted to talk about stamping. I absolutely love this simple way of adding some art to your nails.

You will need: A stamp and swiper
A stamping plate of your choice
Nailpolish (there are special stamping polishes, but for me it seemed to work with normal polish)

You choose a design, paint polish over it and clean the excess off with the swiper. The push the stamp onto the design which transfers the design onto the stamp. Roll the stamp over your nail from one side to the other ONE TIME (otherwise you'll smear the design) and voila.


Let me know what you think!
x<3
Ruth

Homemade nail polish - Yay or Nay?

Hello my lovelies!

Have you ever wondered how hard or not hard it is to make your own polish? Create a colour that suits you and is one of a kind because you made it with the same hands that are now wearing it? Well, I wanted to know. So I found out.

1. Order supplies. You need

• Bottles,

• Suspension base (franken polish is highly recommended, it's free of all the evil chemicals and, most importantly, NOT tested on our furry friends),

• Mixing balls (minimum 1, if possible 2 per bottle - these have to be good quality as well otherwise they'll bleed into your colour),

• Colour and glitter. You need to make sure you use cosmetic grade pigments and non-bleed glitter, don't go for the cheapest, go for the one that comes with reviews and isn't shipped from half way across the world if you know what I mean. Look on etsy and ebay, look for things like nail polish pigments, pigment powder, mica powder, cosmetic grade pigments, non-bleed glitter etc. If you're wondering how much to buy, as a reference, I bought the 5g bags and there's plenty in there for at least 10 bottles, if not more. You don't need that much, honestly.

• If your colour and glitter comes in a little bag, you might want to transfer to a little cosmetics pot. Much easier to handle.

• You will need a small spoon, coffee stirrer, something to scoop up your pigments and put them into your bottles with and I'd also recommend getting a tiny funnel and a colour pallet mixer tray type thing.

Seems a lot, right? Nope, it's all tiny items, except for maybe the suspension base and the bottles, so it won't be as expensive as you think.

2. Get mixing!

You can make loads of polish from a few supplies as you can mix colours so even if you have 4-5 bags of colour and glitter, you can mix them all up and create new colours.

You might, for example, buy some nice bright red and a white and mix into a pink, use the red on it's own, the white can be mixed with other bright colours to make pastels, etc. 

I would also recommend, as with all other polishes, to put on a topcoat of Seche Vite as I find that this homemade stuff dries quite slowly otherwise.

Right. I started with a nice sparkly purple. Purple is my favourite colour so I just had to go with that first. I added some purple pigment, purple microglitter, hexagonal glitter, silver heart glitter and some teal glitter, for a bit of fun. 

The next one I did was an intense teal with silver holographic glitter, hearts and teal glitter. Came out beautifully, I absolutely love this one. 

 

Then I did some lighter options, mixing the purple and teal I bought with a shimmering white that almost made the polish look silver.

3. Shake it.

I have to say, once you figured out a good way to get the pigments/colours into the bottles without making your entire room (and self) look like a unicorn just crapped all over you - remember, funnel, tiny spoon and small pots come in handy as I've learned as I didn't buy them, poor in the suspension base and you're good to go. Don't get discouraged before you shake the polish for a good 2-3 minutes, it will look like the glitter is stuck at the bottom and the base not taking in the colour at first but keep shaking and this will change. Promise. 

4. My verdict: 

Definitely go for it. It's super easy once you figure out where to get the bits, what bits to get and how to get the bits in the bottle. Here are all my creations (so far) in all their glory :)

 
 It makes a fantastic Christmas present for girly friends, just imagine giving someone a one of a kind, homemade nail polish with a colour to match their personality. You'll be super appreciated, I'm sure. And it's not that expensive, the entire equipment (for ten bottles, suspension etc and the colours you see in the picture) cost me about GBP40 including delivery - that's EUR48 or USD65. Just make sure you find the right supplier and you'll be the happiest nailpolishmaker in your house :)

What do you think of my creations? Let me know! Also if you have any questions and would like some tips on where to buy your stuff, comment and I'll be in touch.

x<3

Ruth

Will I join the Essie fanclub?

As promised yesterday, I did a manicure with my 3 Ebay Essies today.

The colours are:
'Beyond Cozy' - A golden/silver superoveramazingwowza sparkly gritty colour that only needs 2 coats to provide complete coverage.
'Bikini So Teeny' - A super cute baby blue with a light shimmer, I used 2 coats for the lattice and detaily bits.
'We're In It Together' - A shimmering baby pink from the 2012 Breast Cancer Awareness Collection, which is reason enough to love it. I used 3 coats as it didn't cover too well.

I also used some striping tape and lace nail decals, both also Ebay purchases (I do love a bargain).

Preparation




And the result




Right, that's it for today, Shadow needs attention.




Sleep well ladies. x<3
Ruth

Gallery Live!

Hello one and all,

I have now put a gallery on the blog which shows loads of trial and error from my most bitten, awful looking nails with bloody cuticles to the current state.

Any questions or comments, give me a shout.

x <3

Ruth

What the....

Ok so I've been trying Seche Vite for a week or so now, not just the super amazing highly praised top coat, but also the base coat. And I have to say, as much as the top coat is super amazing and worth its high praise, I am not sure what to think about the base coat.




My nail polish - any nail polish - that I've put over it peels off within hours, maybe a day max. What the clumpy nail polish is going on here??? This morning I got out of the shower and this is what I found:

Let me just put it this way, I am a bit grumpy about this because it's not exactly cheap... So I have now ordered some Nail Tek II and am hoping for more luck with that. In the meantime I shall try doing something with these naked nails...

...maybe try that Essie polish I showed off yesterday, and work on a gallery (if I can get over my HTML phobia, that is). Happy days. Well, medium happy.

 x <3

Ruth