Christmas Manicure

Currently watching: The OC

Good evening ladies! Thanks for all your kind words about yesterday's manicure :-) Today I'd like to show you the manicure I shall be wearing on Christmas Day:

I don't know if I will continue doing festive manicures after Christmas so this may actually be my last festive/wintery manicure of the year...

For this manicure I used two coats of China Glaze Mistletoe Kisses (green) and two coats of Nails Inc Victoria and Albert (red).

I've had this China Glaze polish for almost a year now but this is the first time I've used it and I don't know why, I absolutely love it.

To finish, I stuck silver hearts down the middle of each line. I think they helped to disguise the fact my lines weren't straight as I didn't use tape for this manicure. I'm really impressed with the staying power of these hearts; they've already lasted for 24 hours and have even survived me washing my hair :-)

What do you think girls?

I'm not sure if I will be posting tomorrow so in case I don't, let me take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a fabulous day, however you spend it.

Bye for now,
Laura

Monday's Manicure

Currently reading: I Remember You by Harriet Evans

Hello dear readers,

How are you today? Did you have a good weekend?

Here's the polish I've chosen for today's base, Bourjois in Bleu Asphalte which I won in May:

This is the first and only Bourjois polish I've tried and I was really pleased with the application. This is two coats:

The only drawback was the tip shrinkage I got after using Seche Vite. I am so fed up of that topcoat now, can't wait to move on to another brand.

Now I don't know why I chose this colour because it's not exactly work-appropriate. Yes, my college days are over for the moment and I'm back at work :-(

However, once choosing this inappropriate colour, I got carried away and did some inappropriate stamping using China Glaze Peace on Earth (an olive green) and Mash plate m73.

What do you think? I like the colours together and I like the pattern but I'm not sure either colour suits me.

All feedback is appreciated :-)

Bye for now,
Laura

Friday's Foreign Find

Currently listening to: The Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel

Hi folks!

Do you remember what was on my wishlist this Wednesday? Milani 3D Holographic nail polishes- not available in the UK. However, I recently found a site which ships US brands internationally and Milani is one of the brands they stock :-)

The site is called Cherry Culture, have you used it before?

Milani's Holographic polishes are sold for $4.49 (£2.75) and shipping starts from $8.95 (£5.50). Would I spend £8.25 on importing a holographic nail polish? Nope. But here's my train of thought:

China Glaze will soon be releasing the Tronica range of holographic nail polishes and these will be available in the UK. I would guess the price will be £6.49 at Sally's. £6.49 for one China Glaze or £11 for two Milani? Or £13.75 for three Milani bringing the cost per bottle down to £4.58. Hmm....

What's the most expensive nail polish you've bought? Mine (excluding nail treatments) was GOSH Holographic for £5.

Bye for now,
Laura

OPI and China Glaze

Currently listening to: Melanie by Diams

Greetings girls!

Today was my first day at my new job so I wore one of my lovely suits, took my beautiful bag and briefcase with me and started at the bottom of the accounting career ladder. This week is an induction week, which means lots of information is being thrown at me (and the other new trainees) but most of it won't make any sense until we start working properly. Tomorrow we're being introduced to the firm's auditing software. I think it will be an intense day. Anyway, I heard a lot of worrying and scary stuff during the course of the day but one piece of good news I did pick up on is that, starting from next Monday, I will be in college for two weeks. Why is that good? Because college = casual clothes = nail polish! Yay :-)

This leads us nicely on to the title of today's post, OPI and China Glaze. When I was in London at the weekend I noticed a hairdressing salon with nail polish on display in the windows. On closer inspection, I saw this:

This was very exciting for me because it was the first time I'd ever seen OPI and China Glaze nail polish for sale. Of course I've read about them and seen swatches on your blog but I'd never seen the bottles in real life.

What about the prices? OPI bottles were priced at £10 and China Glaze at £5. Is this normal? I knew OPI was around the £10 mark but I had no idea what price China Glaze retailed at. For me £5 is a bit expensive, although I did spend that on my GOSH Holographic polish, but if I really wanted a certain colour I would consider spending that. I didn't buy any (due to a lack of spending money and short, short nails) but oh I did enjoy looking.

How much are you willing to spend on a bottle of nail polish and what are your favourite brands?

Bye for now,

Laura