Cat Kidson inspired NOTW

It definitely gets my brain thinking when it comes to new ideas for my manicure and I can't believe I have stuck to my nail routine of every 2nd Tuesday...proud of myself :) Now I know 'Cat Kidson's' designs mainly have a light background but this weeks nails remind me of her designs and not to blow my own trumpet, but I think my roses are definitely getting better...don't you?


NOTW 10 
Here I used CND Shellac Scarlet Letter which has got to be my favourite red, I'm not usually a fan of red nails on myself but this has certainly changed my mind. On my ring fingers I applied Blackpool and drew little red roses with Scarlet Letter highlighting them with Cream Puff. I added a bit more detailing with Mint Convertible and Pretty Poison leaves. Everyone has commented on my mani, thinking I stamped or stuck the roses on or even thinking they are 'Minx' which is a huge compliment. If only it didn't take so long to do, but hey they are worth it.

♥

Blackpool Desert Poppy: NOTW

I would just like to apologise for any random posts popping up on 'bloglovin' if you follow me on there (if not please do and thank you). I was cleaning up backstage sorting out my 'labels/tags' last night and may have hit publish instead of save a couple of times, so yeh sorry about that.

On to the quickest nails I have done in a long time...still took me an hour mind you.
 NOTW 9

Shellac base coat 

Shellac Blackpool x2 coats on thumb, pointing, middle & pinky fingers 

Shellac Desert Poppy x2 coats on ringer fingers

Shellac top coat 

Although black nails are lovely on their own sometimes I feel they need something more, a little brightening up. The orange pops against the black which I think attracts the eye.

 I also went to visit my wee gran on Tuesday, we had some tea, cake and a good catch up. I then done my usual Diva Tuesday thing and went over to Braehead for some shopping as I hadn't done any since mid last week so I was beginning to have withdrawal  and felt left out of the fashion world. I picked up a few nice little pieces from the likes of H&M and Topshop so I will show you them during the week and I will possibly have some more bits to add by then. I am also on the hunt for a vintage looking middle sized photo frame maybe in cream or white where I can hang my chains from, so let me know if you see any :)

 I hope being back at work hasn't been too stressful at least for most it's only a four day week but not for me unfortunately, the joys of working in a salon.

♥

Valentine Nails...Tinted Love

NOTW4 

As it was Valentines on Friday I thought I would have themed nails again...maybe not to the extreme of my Xmas ones by adding some hearts to my Shellac manicure. I would also like to say that my allergic reaction has completely cleared up, I no longer have HUGE, red, itchy ears and a horrible rash thank goodness for that. It turns out I was suffering from possibly an allergic reaction to fake earrings And also an allergic reaction to my antibiotics which gave me the rash but all is good now.

While I was through in Edinburgh doing a course on a new nails system I treated myself to some 'Brisa Smoothing' which is a fab power partner to Shellac. It's great for dry, damaged, brittle, or ridged nails as it goes on under your chosen Shellac colour or left as a clear on its own and acts as a strengthening primer/foundation by filling in the ridges leaving your nails 'smooth'. Or I f your someone who isn't able to keep Shellac on for the full 2weeks, due to delamination or if your guilty for using your nails for cleaning, (scratching dirt off a surface, no marigolds) then 'Brisa Smoothing' is the product for you. It allows your Shellac to be applied more evenly over the nail surface, and hides all the sins underneath, no one would ever know you have damaged/ridged nails therefore your Shellac will last longer, maybe even 3weeks+.

So with this weeks nails I decided to apply a thin layer of smoothing onto certain nails that I find maybe are prone to peel and my thumbs which I'm very guilty of using to scrape wax off of things. I then painted my nails with 'Shellac 'Tinted Love' which was one from their autumn collection last year. Its a rich dark pink with a hint of red, reminds me very much of "OPI Manicurist of Seville". To add a bit of the Valentine theme to my nails I thought I would free hand small hearts onto my thumbs and middle finger with 'Blackpool & Cocoa', using dotting tools. Very simple to do just dip your chosen dotting tool and dip into colour then place 2 dots side by side onto the nail then drag the 2 dots together meeting to a point. Simple as that.

I hope your having a lovely Tuesday.

♥

Wedding bells featuring NOTW, OOTD

I love weddings I've now only ever been to two but I have done the make up for many. Although working at a wedding obviously isn't as much fun as actually going. The whole experience from stressing over what to wear, doing your hair and make up to toddling over to the church and then dancing the night away... I just love it.

 This was the 1st time I had met Marks family and the 1st time anyone had seen Mark in a suit and very smart he looked I must say. I must admit I was a little nervous meeting the whole family as I can be pretty shy in big groups but I didn't need to worry as the all made me feel soo welcome.

               

The 12th October was Aimee (Marks cousins) & Stevens wedding in St Ann's just outside Blackpool. When we 1st received our invitation I began looking around for dress ideas and I to my surprise bought one fairly quickly...bad idea I should know by now that I constantly change my mind when it comes to fashion but I thought I was being organised but in actual fact I had just made my life a whole lot more stressful. I know I'm not the only girl but it's hard convincing the other half that.

My 1st choice of dress was a 'New Look' number, white background with navy zigzag outlined with a biscuit coloured thinner zigzag, with a cut out at either side at the waist. To go with it I bought a navy blazer and nude wedges. The closer to the wedding the more I went off my shoes so began searching for a new pair, which I didn't expect to be too hard...oh how I was wrong!

Due to my feet deciding not to fit into a size 4, 4 half or even a 5 I ended up trying every pair of shoes on that weren't too expensive and not ankle breakers which proved extremely difficult.
After days and nights out shopping with Mark I eventually went a trip to Braehead with my mum and sister and oh how successful it was.

My mum and sister found this stunning dress in 'Primark' which I ended up buying. A very plain yet dressy blush pink sleeveless dress which came in at the waist and was stitched around the bottom almost puff ball without the puffing to attach the under dress to the sheer over dress. As soon as I seen it I was 100% set on that being the dress I was going to wear after trying a very similar one on just before in 'New Look' in a different colour but didn't fit.

Later that night my sister and I took a run over to the 'Fort' where finally we found the perfect pair of shoes. A slightly darker coloured blush pink lace design, platform with stiletto heel and ankle strap (as I can't keep shoes on unless there is a strap as I normally walk out of them...how annoying). Fitted me perfectly and didn't pinch my toes in the slightest.
Having a beige clutch, belt and a blush pink blazer already in my wardrobe, my outfit was finally set.

Once I was all done up and ready I felt so comfortable in my dress and totally confident in my new shoes which by the way I kept on the whole night they were that comfy...loved them. It's amazing how the wrong dress or shoes can make your entire outfit fall apart. I can't wait to get dressed up again.

For my hair I decided it would suit the dress better if I wore it up. So I plaited up the back of my hair and put a doughnut in the rest adding 3 rose clips to the right side to dress it up a little (jeezo how many times am I going to say dress in this post?) For my make up I didn't want to go over board so I used 'Maybeline' colour tattoo in 'Eternal Gold' on my lid and 'Matallic Pomegranate' in the crease and them powdered over with 'Urban Decay 'honey (gold shimmer) and lightly lined with 'zero'(black) and kept a nude lip.

As for my nails , I "Shellac" attacked them with "Rose Bud" with a "rockstar" ring finger and a small gold stud on my thumb and pinkie.

ps sorry for the 2 week regrowth I forgot to take a picture of my nails :O

The wedding was beautiful and so much fun. I loved seeing Mikey (marks brother) & Kristy (mikeys stunning girlfriend and writer of a beautiful blog 'smugpugsunday') they are both so much fun and meeting all of Marks family was lovely, they made me feel part of the family. All in all a great weekend and can't wait to catch up with Kristy & Mikey again soon hopefully.

♥