Friday 28 December 2012

Blog sale - part one!

I need to downsize, so I'm selling some of my polishes that I don't really use.

This is batch one, the polishes that I left at home when I went to uni - when I go back after the new year for my exam I'll put more up for sale (probably more desirable ones!)

Email me on nataliejpluck@hotmail.co.uk if you're interested in any of the polishes, or leave a comment below. I'll be accepting paypal and can ship within the EU if needed. Postage costs will depend on how many and what you want so I will contact you with this before I send anything!

Here we go...

17 'Tropical Island' (Swatched), Claires sparkly brown, Miss Sporty 205 (swatched), Miss Sporty 160 (swatched, more red than it appears!) £1.50 each
Star Gazer 147 (swatched), Star Gazer 106 (swatched), £1.50 each, Nails Inc 'Milan' (swatched, some lid damage) £2
Ruby Hammer 'Brown', £1.50 Unbranded set of four minis £2
Miss Sporty 330 (small sparkley black, swatched), 17. 'Nightshade' (swatched), £1.50, Accessorize 'Aztec' (used, bottle slightly damaged) £2
Barry M unnamed sparkly blue (quite old!), Barry M 289 'Gold' (swatched), Barry M 307 'Lemon Icecream' (swatched) £2.50 each
GOSH 'Miss Sweety' (swatched), GOSH 'Yellow Bombay' (sparkly yellow, some bottle damage but only swatched once), GOSH Holographic Hero (204) £3.50 each
O.P.I. 'Germinis Collection', brand new £7

Sunday 16 December 2012

Secret Santa time!

I took part in a present swap on the NPAA forum and my package arrived Thursday morning! I was so excited I didn't even take a second to photograph the outside of it. However, I did manage to photograph the contents!

So, here's the low down of what I received:
secret santa frankens
L to R: Franken 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds', Franken 'I believe in Disco, do you?', No. 7 'Milan', 17 'Holo Silver', Color Club 'Glitter Green'
Some gorgeous false nails! 
 I was very thoroughly spoilt!

Out of them all, I think 'Do you believe in disco? I do' is my favourite, it's stunning over the top of a dark colour and built up on it's own it is SO sparkly and beautiful I could cry. Absolutely wonderful! I took the labels off the two franken bottles because they wouldn't photograph nicely, lol.

I'd been looking for a glittery green for a while so the Color Club was very welcome, it was almost like my SS had read my mind! The 17. Holographic is actually, I think, better than the GOSH Holographic Hero - it certainly applies easier and it's just as holo-y! The false nails are gorgeous and I can't wait for an occasion where I can wear them! I always enjoy different types of glitter top coat and the No. 7 shade will be perfect for job interviews and a more formal nail colour.

I've already decided that my NYE nail 'outfit' is going to be DYBID?ID layered over a sleek black or dark navy and I am VERY excited by this prospect!

Swatches - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Do You Believe in Disco? I do, Milan, Holo Silver and Green Glitter.
Here's a mani I did with the Color Club green, Models Own Ruby Red and Accessorize Gold.


To my secret santa - Thank you so much! It's a wonderful set of nail polishes! To the person waiting for mine, I hope you enjoy it and let me know (comment below!) when you get your parcel.

Merry Christmas guys!

Instagram post

Fear not, there will be a 'proper' post up tonight - an exciting one! I received a secret santa present in the post from a mysterious poster over at the nail polish addicts anonymous forum and I'm super excited to swatch the polishes I got - which are absolutely gorgeous and amazing and wow - and show you guys :D

However this post is something a little different that I'm experimenting with; I've had an instagram account for a couple of months now (*pokes the instagram widget in the sidebar) and it's where I post most 'initial' photos of my nails before I come on here and do a full length blog post about them, so it's worth following if you're also on instagram! I'm going to showcase my instagram photos for you; I have seen this done before and if this works out well, I may make this a regular feature.

  

Row 1: Christmas tips about to be taken off! Fantasy Fire, Silver french tips
Row 2: Candy canes! Pasta bake om nom, mistletoe nail art
Row 3: My boyfriend and my cat, my cat before the 'trauma' ;), yummy home made hot chocolate!


Wednesday 12 December 2012

Fantasy Fire, siiighhh!

Oh man. This polish is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s!

I can't wait to wear it in the summer when I can go out in the sun and enjoy the sparkles to their fullest capacity! In my dull and dingy North Wales bedroom it looks a little lack lustre, but honestly? I think this may be my new favourite polish.

In these pictures I used - gasp - 5 coats. Yes, 5 coats and it wasn't completely opaque... Now I'm glad I know I can get another few bottles of this because it's such a tiny bottle and 5 coats for opacity is ridiculous! Next time I'll definitely layer it over a base coat, probably my Technic Purple. I'm interested to try it over black as well; I just need to get a decent black to play with!

Here's the photos:
max factor fantasy fire

max factor fantasy fire

max factor fantasy fire

You can really see the gold flecks when the flash is off, and the red when it's on! In natural sunlight the flecks are very blue, almost turqouisey. Wonderful.

If anyone hasn't been able to find it, I've got a couple of (brand new, never opened!) bottles listed on ebay currently - and yes, I can ship to America and Canada! 

Monday 10 December 2012

Fantasy Fire

Have a quick teaser shot of my Fantasy Fire nails!

max factor fantasy fire

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram!

Friday 7 December 2012

Day 2 - Nailmas Challenge

Wow, this week has flown by, so quickly that I didn't even realise this post would be so late...

Here's Day 2 of the Nailmas Challenge:
Two accent nails


Sally Hansen 'Dorian Grey' and GOSH 'Holographic Hero' (201 edition!)

I think this is pretty hideous tbh, but I couldn't think of anything else to do... and I'm amazed that it stayed on my nails that long!

Day 3 will be up soon...

Sunday 2 December 2012

Twelve Days of Nailmas: Day 1

Hello all!

My little finger has finally grown long enough to paint so I am back on the polish wagon! Today's post is bought courtesy of the 'Twelve Days of Nailmas' challenge facebook group. Today is day 1, and I will (hopefully!) be posting a different nail look according to our nail version of The Twelve Days of Christmas from now up until Christmas eve roughly every other day.

Here's the full song if you want to join in:


Twelve Dots a Dotting

Eleven Copper Stripes
Ten Glitters Matted
Nine Glass Flecks Gleaming
Eight Presents Prancing
Seven Reds A Fading
Six Blues A Spotting
Five Gold Rings 
Four Gradients 
Three Silver French
Two Accent Nails
And
A Polish That Looks Like Berries.

So here is my polish that looks like berries! I am in love with this design, and will probably wear it again over the festive period! I twisted the rhyme slightly and went for holly decorated accent nails. 

Messy pre-clean up photo!
Base coat - Barry M 289 'Gold', Berries - No. 17 'Ruby Glitter', Leaves - Revlon Matt Suede 933 'Emerald City'. I did two coats of Barry M, then dotted the berries and leaves on top. 


Wednesday 14 November 2012

And the award for the worst blogger goes to...

Me! I've been a very bad blogger; I've been buying and buying but I've not posted anything about my hauls. Unfortunately I've managed to split my little finger nail right across the middle and so there will be no 'on nail' shots in this post, just bottle/swatches. However when it's healed I will be up and away again!

Here is a picture heavy run down of what goodies I've got over the last few weeks:

China Glaze - 'Midtown Magic'
Alright, my nails are horrible atm...
I found this in Sallys for the amazing price of £1.89! It's from last years autumn/fall 'Metro' collection, which is why it was being sold off cheap I guess. However, it's still a beautiful autumnal polish and I was so pleased to get it at such a great price!
The colour is a really deep brown, almost burgundy, with gold, red and green micro glitter flecks in. It is truly stunning and I can't wait to wear it! It's such a rich colour that reminds me of hot chocolates and log fires. Wonderful.
Mmm, glitter!
Accessorize - 'Soft Jade'
Gloves because my hands were cold *blushes*
I've wanted this polish for some time, as I think it's just such a perfect teal colour and would be fantastic for water marbling with gold and brown colours. I gave in when I realised I could get 20% in Accessorize for being a student making it £3.20 rather than the usual £4.
As with most teals, the colour is a mix of blue and green, in this case erring more on the cooler blue side than the bright green hues that you sometimes find (i.e. my ELF 'mint cream' teal colour).


Barry M - 'Pink Silver Glitter', 'Aqua Glitter' and 'Watermelon'
L - R; Pink Silver Glitter, Aqua Glitter, Watermelon
The pink silver glitter was a bit of a punt, I'm not sure why but it caught my eye and I decided I must have it! However it doesn't really suit my skin tone so I may sell it on at a later date. As you can see from the swatch and the bottle, it's made up of dark pink, silver, red and baby pink micro glitters. It's an easy polish to work with and covers really well; you only need two coats to get a stunning result.


Aqua glitter is much more my kind of colour and this polish is an absolute stunner; it's chock full of aqua glitters (both regular and micro sized) and looks amazing when layered over a darker colour. Possibly one of my favourite nail polishes I've ever found, I want to use it continuously!
Watermelon is part of the 'gelly' range, meaning that it is incredibly shiny and looks like it's still wet when it's dried. This colour is a little dark for my skin tone but when coupled with accent fingers of aqua glitter it's a wonderful alternative take on the subdued tones of autumn and would even work for winter manicures despite it's summery name sake!
I managed to get one very poor quality picture of my Watermelon and Aqua glitter manicure:

Nails Inc - 'Elizabeth Street' and 'Glamour Glitter'

These two were, as you may already know, part of the set of four that were given away as freebies in the December edition of Glamour. Elizabeth Street is a light pink sheer colour which takes a good few coats to become opaque and Glamour Glitter is a glittery gold top coat.
Elizabeth Street appealed to me because it's a nice subtle shade depending on how many coats of it you apply - perfect for job interviews or day to day work in an office where you can't have loud nails! Glamour Glitter is going to form the back bone of a lot of my christmas manicures; I already have it earmarked for a skittles style gradient.

Miss Sport - 'Goth Me Up'

Now this is a bit of an odd purchase; I'd read about it online but not actually seen any posts on the blog world about it. What Goth Me Up is is a translucent black top coat which is supposed to make bright colours darker - however I haven't had the chance to test this yet. It is on my to do list and hopefully in the next few days I will bring you a post showing it in action! I'm not completely sold on it yet but I need to properly test it out before I give a verdict.

Revlon - 'Emerald City'

One of my Poundland finds! I love love love this. I saw it this morning and knew that I had to have it. It's a matt suede effect dark green which has a slightly glittery/sparkly property which enhances the suede feel and it is gorgeous! Application wise it's a little runny but I can deal with that. For a pound, it's a definite bargain and one I will have to feature more intensely at some point in the future!

Sally Hansen - 'Teeny Greeny Bikini', 'Without A Stitch' and 'Dorien Grey'
L-R: Revlon: Emerald City, Sally Hansen: Teeny Greeny Bikini, Sally Hansen: Without a Stitch, Sally Hansen: Dorien Grey
Ok, so I went a little mad in Poundland. But with such great polishes for just a pound, who could blame me?! (I swear I am not employed by them!) These Sally Hansens immediately caught my eye.
Teeny Greeny Bikini is an olivey glittery polish from the 'hard as nails range' and has a more regular (but still long) brush than the other two. It seems that it may fall the same way as Pink Silver Glitter from Barry M but the price I paid was well worth the punt so I'm not going to complain.
Without a Stitch is a sheer camel coloured nude and may just be the colour I've spent all summer searching for! I've been looking for a nice nude that compliments my fair skin tone and this is just it. It applies really easily thanks for the great brush that Sally Hansens come with and is definitely a 'safe' polish. It's not stunning or outstanding but it's nice and subtle.
I picked up Dorien Grey purely because I don't have any grey polishes! It's a nice slatey coloured grey and will be a great base for some nail art. I can't wait to get playing with it!
Dorien Grey (far left), Without  a Stitch (centre), Teeny Greeny Bikini (right)
Once again I'm sorry for the lack of decent photos but normal service will resume when my nail repairs from this (again, terrible pic but it's all tea bagged up now!)


Friday 26 October 2012

Nail varnish organisation

When you have a problem with nail varnish collecting, you may also find you have a problem with duplicates and storing all your pretties. However I truly believe I have devised the perfect system for it...

It's a two pronged system really. Firstly, I've got some nail wheels and I've been painting them with the nail varnishes I have here at uni. These nail wheels will stay here and with this collection. Eventually when I have time and am back home for a decent amount of time I will do the same with my 'home' collection - however I will take them with me back to uni, to avoid buying any duplicates.

Secondly, I have a pocket Domino filofax that I bought in a charity shop (see this post here) and in it I have a sheet of paper for every brand I own - this has the name of the bottle on it, and a small swatch of the colour. It also has a number down one side; this is the number of the nail wheel I've swatched it onto. For example:



Now when I go into town with the idea of buying a new nail varnish, I can take my Domino with me and I'll have absolute certainty that I'm not buying a dupe or something that's too similar to one I already have!

Tuesday 11 September 2012

Etsy/Folksy finds

I love browsing Etsy (and Folksy) for beautiful, hand crafted items for myself or as gifts - here's my favourites this month.


This cute bird necklace is from The Dandelion Jewelry, a Madrid based etsy seller. I love the simple silver colour and the bird is so sweet - this is the perfect gift for a girl who loves necklaces! Unfortunately this particular necklace is out of stock but she has a few others, herehere and here as well as some other beautiful pieces.


I don't have a kindle yet but I hope to get one for Christmas. This cover is beautiful, bright and exotic! There are many ereader covers on both Folksy and Etsy but this is the one I like the most. It's from Service Partner, an American etsy seller. She makes lots of different ereader covers and even offers a design your own service!


As you can tell, when furnishing my home and buying objects I like to go for the pretty, girly option. This cushion from My Blue Shed is no exception! I love the colours and the design of it. I must say, I'm also quite taken by this wonderful Union Jack cushion too, how wonderfully patriotic and kitsch!


Memory boards are quite an interesting idea - basically, you slip in things you want to display (like photographs, gig tickets, rail tickets, drawings) underneath the ribbon without needing pins so you don't get holes in them. This blue rose design board is from Kays Krafts, a Texan seller who has literally hundreds of different boards for sale with something that will suit any personality - from those who like to stand out from the crowd to the simple and elegant among us!


This handmade Victorian style lace choker is probably my favourite find out of the whole post. It's so elegant and beautiful that I can't help but love it! De Poppenkraal is a Dutch shop (I hope I've spelt the shop name right!) that specialises in authentic gothic jewellery pieces. She has some incredible items up such as these gothic skeleton cameo earrings and this lace bracelet (which would look great in white with the choker!)


And finally, for this brief overview of all things handmade, is this wonderful Mac laptop decal with a quote from one of my favourite movies on - Moulin Rouge. The Decals Home sell a wide variety of quotes, pictures, and graphics for iPads, Mac laptops, walls and even cars - the only problem with this product is I don't have a Mac laptop!

Sunday 9 September 2012

Boohoo blogger competition

Well the wonderful ladies over at Fashion Vouchers are doing it again - another competition for bloggers! This time the competition is to create an outfit from BooHoo.com for under £50! Challenge accepted.

I'm feeling the punky, gothic vibe at the moment - but I still wanted something pretty and club worthy as well. Hence why I threw together these items.

1) Flora black colour block platforms, £30 £15 2) Large corsage clutch, £15 £10, 3) Imogen heart choker, £12
4) Polka dot bandeau peplum dress, £20 £12
Total = £49! Just under budget.

I would do a sexy smokey eye and natural lip with this look - you don't want to go too vampy but a little touch of mystique around the eyes is never a bad thing. I chose the dress first and fashioned the rest of the outfit around it; I know that it seems a bit of an odd combination but I love the 'tame' goth look! This is definitely something I would love to wear out, though I may change the bag as large clutches just aint my kinda thing! However it adds a nice little girly touch and if the bag was a plain black one as I'd normally use, I feel it'd make the whole outfit too dark and oppressive.

As you can see, I relied heavily on the clearance page of BooHoo! There are some fab bargains to be found on the site, both in the clearance and the main section. I love BooHoo! What would you have picked? Will you be entering? Comment and let me know if you do, I love checking out other people's entries!

Whilst I'm here, I've finally got around to setting up a twitter account for my blogging! If you're vigilant you'll notice the little widget on the right of the screen under my followers. If you're very vigilant, you'll also notice that I now have a second blog based around my exploits in organisation, filofaxes and stationery! Find my twitter here and my second blog here.