Spring Nail Picks

The rain definitely hasn't stopped but every now and then the sun is coming up so surely spring is on it's way. Pastel colours are out - finally! My favourite nail polishes for this season are: Essie - Bikini so Teeny, Barry M Gelly - Papaya, Models Own - Utopia, L'Oreal - Wasabi Hint & Models Own - Lemon Meringue. 

Mini Models Own Haul & Hyper Gel

Utopia, Snowflakes - Wonderland, Catherine Wheel - Fireworks, Naked Glow Hypergel, Lilac Sheen Hypergel 

Models Own are my favourite nail brand - over half of my nail varnishes are by the brand so when they have a half price sale I can't resist making a little order. When they did this offer a while ago it took ages to arrive and most of the good shades were out of stock. They obviously learnt a lot from that attempt at high demand as this sale was the complete opposite. I went on the site the day after the sale started and pretty much all shades were in stock. It was a few days before payday so I only picked up 5 shades but I'm so happy with all of them. I repurchased utopia as I somehow lost my last bottle - it's my favourite polish ever I love the almost white lilac shade so I'm very happy to have this back in my life. 

Snowflake has small to very large speckles of glitter and pearlescent long pieces. It's gorgeous over utopia and other pastel shades. I also got catherine wheel from the fireworks range which is gorgeous it has red, gold and green glitter in it - I adore this glitter it's perfect to go over light and dark polish and I know it will be much used over bright corals this summer. 

Finally I picked up 2 shades from the new Models Own range - hypergel. I think all of the nail brands have a 'gel' range out at the moment. I've tried quite a few of them and the models own version has definitely impressed me the most. I picked the two lightest shades in the range and they are so opaque they could be used with just one coat easily. The swatches above are just one coat and that's probably their main selling point for me. I don't find these as overly shiny and gel like in sheen as much as perhaps the Barry M gelly formula but that's fine for me. It's a beautiful range and I'm sure I'll pick up some more brights as summer gets nearer. I love that there's a colour swatch on each lid too it makes finding them so much easier amongst all of the other white lids I own. 

Christmas Obsessions: Elegant Touch Christmas Reindeer

 

 Elegant Touch Christmas Reindeer Nails - £7.10 Look Fantastic 

I'm more nail polish than fake nails but I do love the amazing designs that are coming out on stick on nails at the moment. I was doing an order for a friends birthday and couldn't avoid putting these in my basket for myself. I don't wear stick on nails often but when I do I tend to opt for the elegant touch brand in short. I can't stand the long fake nail look and feel - I just don't know how anyone gets anything done with them on. These are super short and are supplied with little sticky pads. I did give these ago when I got these but the nails just wouldn't stick and kept coming out when I touched pretty much anything. So I opted for a nail glue I had and they haven't budged since. I adore the pattern on these they are going to go so well with the many Christmas jumper days I have coming up at work. It's a lovely simple design that just screams Christmas. The pack includes 24 nails in 10 sizes and a little nail file. They are super shiny and I really can't stop looking at them so happy I included them in my basket they're so fun and Christmassy!

Barry M - Autumn Nail Varnish Picks

Left to right: Gelly - Lychee, Matte Crush, Matte Caramel, Red Black, Black

£2.99 - £3.99 Barry M Boots

Autumn Break Holiday Nail Polish

Barry M Nail Varnish - £2.99, £3.99 Boots

I'm currently in Turkey enjoying hopefully a bit of sun before winter sets in and these are my four nail varnishes I'm packing. I've tried not to buy any new clothes for this trip as I always regret my odd holiday purchases so these colours go with what I normally wear - nudes, browns, reds and blacks. I've packed both my recent Barry M matte polishes review and also lychee and pomegranate from the Barry M Gelly collection. I think pomegranate is a great holiday colour as it's so bright but still has red tones and is also the perfect toe polish. I have a bit of a problem when it comes to nail varnishes and I normally pack way more than I ever use so this year I've tried to keep it simple with two nudes and two colours I know I'll wear. 

Models Own - Autumn Nail Polish Picks

Left to right: Gold Digger, Vintage Pink, Slate Grey, Red Red Wine, Nyla Nude

Boots £5 Models Own £5

Barry M - Matte Nail Varnish Autumn 2013

Barry M Matte Nail Varnish - £3.99 Boots

Barry M have bought out so many new releases to their nail varnish range this year but the autumn winter matte collection has easily been the one that has got me most excited. The range has come out in 5 shades - espresso (black), crush (burgundy), caramel, vanilla (light nude) and mocha (mid brown). I could have easily picked up all five shades but decided to stick to crush and caramel as I do own a matte top coat so it definitely wasn't necessary for me to own these but I wanted them so much. I love matte nail varnish and these shades are perfect for autumn. Above is the polish using two coats and like all Barry M polish they cover well and have good lasting power. I'm going to resist buying the other three as I really don't need them but I love this entire collection it was hard to choose just two shades as they are all perfect for this season.

L'Oreal Color Riche Neon Pop Collection

L'Oreal Neon Pop! Color Riche Nail Varnish* -  £4.99 Boots

I missed a parcel on Saturday morning and with no idea what it was begrudgingly left the house early on a Monday morning to see what it was. Happily the gorgeous bubblegum balloon filled with neon confetti popped out. Underneath was the newest edition to L'Oreal's nail varnish collection 4 neon pop shades. Overall there are 8 shades in the collection and I was sent Banana Pop - a bright yellow, wasabi hint - a pastel green with punch of bright, acid watermelon - a soft neon pink and finally flashing lilac which is gorgeous bright purple shade. L'Oreal advises using a white shade as a base coat to make them pop even more - in all my pictures I haven't used anything except the polish and they are already pretty bright but I can't wait to try this out and see how bright you can really take them. 

These are really different to shades I currently own despite my love for neon and pastel shades as they are a cross between the two summer trends. They're not in your face like standard neon varnishes such as the Models Own Neon Ice range  but then again they're not soft and pure pastel either. They glide on well and I especially like the thin bottles which will make storing them so much easier. It's also cool that the bottles are so sleek and different to any other brand (take note MUA) which means hunting out your favourites will be so much easier. I'm often torn between pastel and neon shades so this range is perfect for me it's a perfect in between colour selection. I'm pretty sure as this ranges launches during the month I'll be picking up Dating Coral and Lush Tangerine - because of course I don't have enough coral and orange shades. I'm also keen to see what the coverage of Snow in Megeve is like.