Supermarket Beauty

I notoriously hate supermarkets.  I avoid having to visit them at all costs and on the rare occasion I do have to go I usually strop about, whining like a 3 year old!

However, there are 2 supermarkets that I never turn down a visit to - Aldi and Lidl.  I just love them, I think the smaller layout and potential for finding a bargain attracts me.  Lidl mayonnaise is hands down the best I've tasted and I love finding oddly named products from home and away ... Disco Biscuits, anyone?! ;)

It's no secret that their beauty aisles also hold some hidden gems for bargain prices and on my most recent visits I picked up some bargain nail care that I thought you would all love to know about!

First up, from Lidl ... is the fabulous Cien nail polish remover.  Blue in colour and quite a pungent scent, don't let this put you off.  It comes with the perfect dispenser for pushing your cotton pad on with just the right amount being dispensed. It also removes nail polish quickly and effortlessly even glitter polish! It really is one of the best removers I have used in a long time! From memory I think this product only cost around the £3 - brilliant value.

My second purchase is from Aldi's Lacura Beauty range.  I was in between nail polishes and spotted this easy DIY French Manicure Set.  It comes with a white nail tip pen and clear top coat.  All you do is swipe the pen along the top of your nail, allow to dry and apply topcoat. Voila! (see my shoddy attempt below).

Only problem I had was difficulty getting my right hand to look neat as I am not too nifty with a pen in my lefty!  I'm sure it was £3.59 and so far the pen still hasn't dried out which is always a bonus with this type of product.

I'll definitely be spending more time in the beauty aisles the next time I go to Aldi and Lidl and it may even encourage me to start braving bigger supermarkets.  What fabulous bargain beauty products have you found in the supermarket?

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Blingy Leather Nails

Who can resist sparkle this time of year?  Nails, make up, a dress... it never feels quite right without a bit of glitter or sequins, anything otherwise is positively bland and dare I say it a little scrooge-esque. 

Or is that just me? 

Probably. 

Anyway, with this spangly obsession in mind, I present to you this weeks nails.  I like deep, dark, intense colours in the winter so black ticks all those boxes.  I used China Glaze Liquid Leather.  They didn't scream 'FESTIVE' enough for me so I decided to add a bit of bling on the tips the simplest way I knew how, with a glitter polish.  I used a Kiko sparkly polish - unsure of the name I'm afraid but dabbing it on helped the chunkier glitter particles stick to the nail tip better offering up a dazzling set of digits. 

Speaking of Kiko, I am so pleased to hear it has hit the UK, in Westfield to be exact.  Still a bit too far for me but hopefully it means it will start to spread through the country and up to Scottish lands before long!  It's such a reasonably priced cosmetic brand with some fabulous blushers on offer among other things. 

Hope you are all in full festive party swing by now!! 

Enjoy Enjoy Enjoy! 

x

Eek Nails

Eek nails are a cute little creation by Sophy Robson for Spring/Summer 2011 Giles Deacon show.

Since my previous foray into leopard print and casino nails, I thought this looked pretty simple to do so gave it a go for myself.

I used this bevvy of nail products and tried to stick to similar colours as at Giles S/S 2011.  Next time I may try a more demure shade with the little peepers adding a bit of kitsch.

It was easy to do, after applying my base coat, i dabbed 2 dots for the whites of they eyes,  I then waited on these to dry before doing the same again with black nail polish for the pupils.  It didn't take much longer than a normal manicure either which is a bonus to any nail art.

I now have 5 little characters on each hand, i'm even thinking about naming them! ;)

what do you think of eek nails?

x

I got Wah-ed!

I have been banging on about Wah! nails to all and sundry for long enough and in spite of my own leopard print alternative it was about time I had the Wah! experience for myself.

On our first day in London, Ann and I headed to Wah! at Topshop Oxford Street.  Here are the results of my very first Wah!ing.

I went for the Marc Jacobs polka dot on matte black and an orange, black and gold stripe to go with my platforms that I would be wearing the next day (in the end I didn't wear them but that's another story).

with flash

without flash

And Scottish ladies did you know, Wah! has arrived at Harvey Nichols, Edinburgh?!  I had no clue either until the London Wah girls informed me... i think an imminent trip through is on the cards.

What are you waiting for?


EDIT:  It seems the Wah! girl got her celtic connections mixed up.  It's actually Harvey Nichols Dublin that is lucky enough to be host to Wah! Nails ... so Irish ladies, get in there!! Scottish lassies ... we will have to wait this one out a bit longer.
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Vintage Vegas

Last week marked my good friend Lorraine's 30th Birthday and for the occasion she held a Vintage Vegas themed birthday party.

The Vegas theme is something we are no stranger to ... Vegas comes in the form of a club night up here in Scotland, mostly taking place in Glasgow and Edinburgh. It's not your usual club night with swing hits from days gone by, Vegas girls dancing on stage and alongside the revellers as well as a mini casino. It has also been known to play host to many burlesque acts. It's such a fun and unique night out, it was no surprise that Lorraine chose a similar theme for her party.

We bought Lorraine a very special cake and cupcakes for her birthday, all Vegas themed of course ... FYI, they were delicious!
Being Vintage Vegas themed, this meant we all got the chance to dress up, we had Vegas girls, flapper girls, Elvis, Dean Martin, Gangsters and even a cowboy ... from outta town obv!?
I wore a short black sequinned dress with suspender tights by Henry Holland with lots of pearls and a fascinator.... unfortunately the only photos taken of me were from behind so nothing to show and tell i'm afraid other than my attempt at vegas nail art ...

Sorry for the blurry photos ... I did want each nail to look like a playing card but painting on these shapes were hard enough although i did try it out on my thumb. As usual, i used a kebab stick to paint on the shapes and a tooth pick for more delicate characters.

Oh and here is one of the only photos of me from the night, yes it was from behind but it's rather fitting for me ...

... re-applying the slap! Beauty bloggers are never off duty! ;)

x

Wah! Wah! Wah!

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Having recently got into doing a bit of d.i.y nail art, it was an absolute pleasure to find Wah! Nails.

Where have I been?? Really? How did I not know about the wonders of Wah! already?

Anna Sui Inspired Nails

Originally based in the East end of London (correct me if I'm wrong), Wah! seem to be growing in leaps and bounds and now have another base at Topshop Oxford Street.

KISS inspired nails

The brain child of Sharmadean Reid, who herself is already succsesful as a stylist, journalist and editor of her own online magazine, she decided to venture into the world of nails and now has some very talented people creating wonderful nail designs.

Miu Miu Inspired nails

I'm not talking about airbrushed nail art, although I don't doubt that they can offer this too, but intricately drawn on designs ranging from leopard print to spongebob square pants to pretty little bows. In fact, they take inspiration from everywhere, delicate works of art to rock bands to the latest designer must haves.

I am unsure of how much nails like this cost but I have heard that it's not too expensive at all - next time I'm in London, Wah! can expect a visit from me :)

Check out their website, the creations are amazing. http://wah-nails.com/

x

How to: Leopard Print Nails

I can't stop looking at my nails!

I have always been of the opinion that nail art is a little bit tacky and always thought my nails were too small to try anything exciting anyway, but this morning I gave it a go. I am delighted with the results and long gone is any judgement of tacky. Or at least, it's the kind of tacky that I like!

Last night I painted my nails blue then today, on a whim, decided to add some leopard print to them. Here is how I did it:

I used the following:
From L-R; Sally Hansen Diamond Strength base coat; M&S nail colour in azure blue; Illamasqua Boosh; Barry M nail paint in bright pink; Nail bar top coat; a kebab stick (yes, you heard me right!)

1) I started by applying my base coat and painting my nails blue with M&S Azure Blue (this was from my Scottish Fashion Awards goody bag)
2) Once the blue had dried fully, I added blobs/spots of Barry M's bright pink. I wasn't too neat about this at all just 'blobbing' the nail paint randomly on my nail.
3) Again, I waited until the blobs were fully dry then I got my kebab stick to add the definition around the blobs. Now, a kebab stick probably isn't the easiest or best tool to use but it worked for me as it had a pointed end that I could dip in and out of the nail polish. I could have used a brush but I don't think it would have achieved the same precision.

I used Illamasqua Boosh which was a gift from the lovely Mizzworthy. It is my favourite black!

I applied the black around the pink blobs. I did this in a broken, disjointed manner. If it looks too neat you don't achieve the leopard print appearance. I also added a couple of random black blobs for affect.
4) Finally, once dried I added a topcoat then repeated on my right hand - which is waaaay harder if you are right handed like me.

And here is the finished result! What d'ya think?
The whole process really wasn't as time consuming as I thought it would be, maybe about 30-40 minutes. It really depends on your polish and how quickly it dries.
Now I know how easy it can be, I can't wait to try out some other patterns and colours on my nails.

What do you think of nail art?

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