Warming up with A Roll in the Hague

Today I have a super-hot manicure for you.   I just love orange polish of every shade from pastel to neon.   I’m pretty sure it is the colour I have the most bottles of. 

 OPI -A Roll in the Hague

I was inspired by a fellow New Zealand blogger Michaela over at Nail Polish Anon. That blog name kills me!  To me it’s like the complete opposite of a support group, I feel so encouraged in my addiction with every post she writes! So I took inspiration when she posted her mani of OPI - A Roll in the Hague last week here.  

I have only ever used this polish once when I first got it but not again since.  I found it a bit thick to work with that first time however my polish skills have improved a lot in the last couple of months so I was able to place the Polish on better and was happy enough at just 1 coat.  I then added China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat but honestly it was this shiny even before the top coat.  Love it!

 

 Down in the Southern Hemisphere it’s pretty chilly and dreary right now as we’re into Winter.  Having something bright on my nails really lifted my spirits this week.   It  was also helped by the accent nail I created by adding a coat of Essie Shine of the Times.  It reminds me of flames.  I just love Shine of the times it looks good layered over everything or sandwiched or mattified, the list goes on.

And i just had to include a couple of shots I managed to snap as the sun came out a couple of hours later and I was napping.

Don't you just love how polish colour and texture can change your mood?

Jewells x

Oh Baby! Pink!

Hey hey hey!

To share with you today I have a manicure inspired by a my cousin's baby shower I attended and more specifically the fact that she is having a girl. I am super excited to meet my new little second cousin when she arrives in the next month or so.
So what does one think of for a baby girl...  baby pink of course!
I started with a base coat of China Glaze Ridge Filler which I'm quite keen on, it evens out my ridges nicely and definitely helps with wear time. The pink comes from 2 coats of AEngland Iseult and for that little bit of sparkle, actually a lot of sparkle, a recent aquisition, Milani Pink Flare as an accent on my ring finger. I also topped it off with China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat which works well with the base coat.

I just LOVE Milani Pink Flare. It is so sparkly and girly and packed with glitter. Application was easy. Iseult on the other hand is a bit tricky. I found it quite streaky and really could have done with a third coat to be opaque but then it would have taken too long to dry. I also quite the look though of being able to see my natural nails through it.  It makes such a change for me as I very rarely wear neutrals, even during the work week I wear bright colours.
How about you, can you get away with bright colours at work?

(Sorry for the complete amateur photos I can only manage at the moment using my iphone.  That and my poses need practise!  We all gotta start somewhere though right?)

My Bare Nails

To start off here's a peek at my nails with nothing on. I have a confession, I was a bit of a nail biter in my teens and that included nibbling at the skin around them. Gross! When I stopped biting they just never really grew well. They chipped and peeled and my cuticles were not happy.  For a lover of nail polish like me this was frustrating. So what changed? Well I'll tell you...

A couple of years ago now I went to have acrylics done at a local salon and the girls there suggested I have silk nails instead and that they were much better for your nails than acrylics. They even went so far as to tell me my nails would eventually grow stronger naturally.
There was a customer sat next to me that backed them up and said she much preferred the silks. So gulping at the difference in price, I think acrylics were NZD$80 and Silks were NZD$110 for a full set, I sat down for my first application.
 I had the silks back filled a few times and the last time I had them done the manager there said to me "you know if you really want to grow your own nails you can" and something about that just clicked and I realized how much I really wanted to grow my own nails.
So once I had them removed, it still took time for the rough nail to grow out like with acrylics but my natural nails did grow stronger! I was even able to paint my own nails with a soft French tip for my wedding day. With a little help from a bridesmaid for my right hand! So with my natural nails now healthy and strong my love for nail polish has grown into a bit of an addiction really. I usually manage to paint my nails 3-4 times a week and my collection has grown to a be a bit ridiculous for one person really.
So there it is my first nail post.  My photography skills can only get better right? 
I look forward to sharing some of my manicures in the future.
Ciao for now.
Jewells

The first post

So I guess the first idea is to write a little intro and greeting to those who might stumble across my ramblings. However I think it will be while before that happens so I will just launch into things by posting the type of posts I look for. Feel free to drop me a comment.