Pixels & Polish

I’m sat at home sick with the flu today *sniff* which is bad but also good- I get a few days away from the gym without feeling too guilty, haha! So I’m bundled up watching True Blood & Mad Men and not really up for changing my nails, but I have some two NOTD’s from the past week that I haven’t shared:

First is new favourite I definitely will be repeating when there is good light to capture the colours- Missha The Style nailpolish in GR001 (I think, their naming system is not clear) which is a very bright pastel green, topped with my trusty leopard print Konad using Essie’s Big Bag Theory. This was mostly an experiment that went well, I was swatching the Missha shade when I thought I’d give Konading with Essie a try- mine is an especially gloopy bottle. (Missha is a Korean cosmetics brand that has started branching out internationally, you can check out their website here)

Next is Essie’s Thigh High. I was going out for a girly dinner with my mum and put this on- I didn’t even get my usual fidgetiness which results in mass Konading/Decal shenanigans (haha) it’s such a beautiful, rich colour that I was perfectly content with wearing it on its own! 

And now for some WICKED nail inspiration- there’s a new nail salon opening in London called WAH nails and  they have a blog up with their unbelievable designs. It’s brilliant to see other girls passionate about nails- and they are so creative and super fun! I can’t wait to go to London and visit the salon with my bestie, I’ve gotten her addicted to nails too. I’ve already attempted some of their looks at home, I hope you girls enjoy the inspo!

Hi everyone! I was tagged by the lovely Brooke from Getchanailsdid

 The Rules: 1. Open your 1st photo folder2. Scroll down to the 10th photo 3. Post that photo and story on your blog. 4. Tag 5 or more people.

99.99% of my photos are of this wee beastie, so I’m not surprised it was his picture I came across

This is my baby, Tintin, he’s a 10 year old Shih Tzu and I love him to bits. I named him after the Tintin comics I’ve been collecting for years, and there’s not much of a story behind the photo except that he was sitting in the laundry basket and I terrorize him with cameras/webcams/phone cameras all day, I love him that much! He’s at the groomers today and I’m at home with the flu, so I’m being extra mushy, *sniff*

I think Brooke tagged everyone I would have tagged already- but if you are reading and have a pet, give them a hug for me! There, that’s sort of a tag :p

As I mentioned in my last post I’ve really been enjoying mellower polish shades (as well as super bright creme polishes, ironically) and this has translated into a Konadicure I really love- it’s a keeper! I used Polar Bare by OPI, and Givenchy’s Sun Gold with Konad plate m62.

While shopping I picked up these hilarious/cute/ridiculous terry-cloth toe separators! My hand is modelling them, but they’ll be playing a role in my home pedi’s

Some cute decals, I can’t resist putting them on every manicure.

And this is the oddest thing I’ve picked up while shopping- a 3d nail art tube that allows you to recreate those acrylic flowers and accents popular in Japanese nail art. I haven’t quite mastered yet but it’s quite fun, I’d love to include this in future contests or swaps and see what people come up with!

My first attempts at flowers

I hope you enjoyed this post, but before signing off I really wanted to share a small issue with any readers out there.

More than a month back I was contacted by a reputable company that offered to send me some nail products to try out and, I’m guessing, feature on my blog. Of course as any nail fanatic would be I was over the moon, but I replied and told them that I did not live in the United States and that since the company’s website does not ship internationally, I was wondering if that would be an issue. Weeks have passed and I have not even received an email, at least one out of courtesy to let me know that I would not be able to receive the products in question.

I’m not on the prowl for free swag and my biggest joy is picking up random gems during my travels and shopping outings but is it wrong of me to see this as a rude gesture? The company has lost out on a prospective customer, because I really have no interest in purchasing goods from a company that offers products then can’t be bothered to reply to a polite email- especially after experiencing amazing customer service from companies such as Nubar and the like *shrug*. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, maybe I’m just taking things too personally!

-P&P

I just wanted to thank all you sweet ladies who left comments on my last post- your kind thoughts meant so much to me! After lots of previous bad experiences online and in message boards I have to say- the nail blogosphere is full of the nicest, friendliest girls around

Lately I’ve become obsessed with finding the perfect nude polishes- opaque and creamy, never milky, and lacking the infamous streakiness that lighter shades always seem to have. I’ve built up a small collection of nudes, many of which I haven’t shown on my blog, so I thought I’d have a little post dedicated to them and my never ending search, haha! I have nothing against milky polishes but for some reason I can’t get enough of pigmented beauties that seem so hard to find.

My first (and one of my favourites) is Essie’s pound cake which I showed a picture of in my last post- it’s the exact beige/cream I was looking for! I found it in a pile of ancient Essie’s at a beauty supply shop and I’m so glad I didn’t miss out on it. I also want to apologize for my bad application in later shots- I was in a rush to get good photos before applying my going-out-to-dinner mani

In the picture below the swatches are, from L-R: Steppin’ Out by Essie, Pound Cake by Essie, Swedish Nude by OPI, Polar Bare by OPI.

Steppin’ Out was the one I was most disappointed in- very milky, and the shade of pink looks really bad with my skintone.

Swedish Nude- how I love this colour, but unfortunately it has the old frustrating brush which is such a pain to use. I took my friend to get a manicure at a local salon and I spotted it while waiting for her, the salon really  hates selling colours ( I’m guessing so as to keep customers paying for their services? Not sure.) but they sold me Swedish Nude & the next lovely shade in this post…

Polar Bare! Such a lovely, creamy colour and a dream to apply, both because of the formula and the improved brush it came with.

I’ve amassed quite a few LA Girl polishes over the last few weeks including this unnamed gem, a really nice concrete nude- my sloppy application does it no justice, but I find the LA Girl brushes to be so difficult to work with as well- me and thin brushes do not get along

OPI’s Bubble Bath- very sweet and pretty but still a tad too milky for me.

These are all the nude polishes currently in my possession, I’d love to know what your personal favourites are! OPI’s Mod About You is on my wishlist-anything else I should keep an eye out for?

-P&P

Hello all! After my absence, I don’t know if anyone still visits my little corner of the web- but to any readers our there, hello! And I’m back online

To keep a long, long story short- my absence is mainly due to something we all go through: breakup blues. It wasn’t pretty, and I’ve been moping around a lot, my best friend came from London to spend two weeks with me and between her and my wallowing nails have not really been on my mind.

Anyway, I’m back on my feet and refusing to feel sorry for myself! I’m so upset at myself for letting my blog go for so long, but I do have some amazing new purchases (shopping cures every ailment) and some fun NOTD’s I can’t wait to show you all, so I hope you forgive my sloppiness!

(I don’t remember why I posed with gum, haha)

My first piece of big news- I chopped my nails! I have two problem nails on my right hand that broke and refused to grow, and I HATED having lopsided hands- plus my best friend kept egging me on to cut them off, she loves it when I keep them short, haha. So in an act of mourning, the night before she left I cut my babies off as she sat there with a big grin on her face. I’m not too upset though-nails grow, and I’ve been experimenting with fun bright colours which I feel compliment my shorter nails

I hope you enjoy these pics, all sneak peeks- I will be organizing my photos and posts tonight so I can get this blog moving again!

-P&P

I just wanted to share two quick NOTD’s before I hit the hay to recover from my flight (I *hate* planes), so here is my last manicure before I traveled, which was Pompous by Rimmel. It’s a gorgeous dark purple with pink & blue glitter bits- just like Essie’s Sexy Divide but much more purple and it definitely does not look black indoors, it’s quite vivid. I added a small Konad fleur de lys, I can never leave my ring finger plain, haha!

Application is not the best here, but the polish was really hard to deal with- I think I need a new base coat.

And now my first manicure AFTER returning, I did this just before posting here earlier! It’s Sally Hansen’s Sheerly Opal french manicure kit. I got it mainly because my mum has an ancient Sally Hansen kit and the white polish was drying out, but it had the BEST brush- it made free handing effortless which I loved because the stickers just end up in a mess, for me personally. Anyways I’d never seen the opal shade, and it was prettier than its beige cousin that is sold everywhere here- but unfortunately they’ve changed the brush! It’s needle thin and terrible, so I’ve exchanged it with the older brush, and ta-da! Easy freehanded french!

The blue opal-y flash was really hard to capture, unfortunately.

I’ll admit I’m rarely a classic french kinda girl but my mum LOVES it, and she gets so happy when I wear it, haha! The little flower decal is one of the bunch I picked up during my holiday  :) I also got so sick of wearing one colour for over a week so the neutrals are a nice break until I swatch my new purchases for you all!

-P&P

Hi everyone! I’m back home, and it feels so good to be wrapped up in front of my laptop posting & being lazy! It was a fun trip but I have to admit I was veeery bad- I really went overboard with the polish haulage- but I guess it’s good news for my blog, lots to post about. I was also expecting to have internet connection while I was there but my hopes were dashed- I’m genuinely sorry for being so late at replying to everyones comments!

So just to give a sneak peek at what is to come-

I have some fun NOTD’s for you all, including OPI’s Done Out in Deco which I wore the entire trip so I’m completely sick of the colour now, haha. I splurged on some great Essie’s which were super cheap compared to the prices salons here charge for them, some fun L.A. Girls polishes which I’ve never tried before and some other great colours from brands I’ve never heard of before. Swatches, NOTD’s and reviews are coming up! I also bought a bunch of super cute nail decals, so my NOTD’s will definitely be much more fun

I’ve also become obsessed with this brand called Cosmiss, I bought two shades on a whim because they were super, super cheap- and oh my goodness they glide on like butter (eugh, buttery nails, haha), utter love! I wish I’d gotten more I really shouldn’t complain though, I’m so happy with everything I got!

I’m off to upload all promised photos, I’ve really got my work cut out for me- It’s going to take ages to catch up on all my nail blog faves and comments so bear with me! The posting bonanza will be up by tomorrow

-P&P

Hi everyone!! I just wanted to drop in and say I’ll be on a very short hiatus, I went on an unexpected trip I did not think would last for long, hence not mentioning it It turns out I’ll be away from my precious polishes and blog for a few more days, I didn’t want to abandon it without an explanation! I’ll be back soon with all the fun things I’ve picked up on my travels

-P&P

(P.S. – sorry for not replying to comments, I’ll get to it as soon as I’m back!)

Thanks to the lovely NaiLz-iN-AuS, I’ve recieved my first blog award! 

The rules:1. Write five (5) interesting facts about the person who gave you this award.2. Jot down ten (10) interesting facts about yourself or your hobbies.3. Pick your ten (10) most deserving recipients and describe them.4. Leave a comment on the recipients’ blog to tell them they’ve been tagged.5. Paste the award badge in your side bar.

5 facts about NaiLz-iN-AuS:

*She has beautiful nails

*She always posts wonderful nail art, I can’t wait to try her watermelon manicure!

*She lives in Australia

*She is the sweetest! I got to know her while planning a swap and she’s a lovely girl

*Her birthday is on July the 11th, and we’ll both be the same age (21)!

Ten random facts about me

*I have a Shih Tzu doggie, the love of my life <3

*One of my favourite hobbies is baking, I love making cakes/desserts/breads from scratch but I’m on hiatus for weight loss reasons, haha.

*To relax/unwind I knit, crochet and cross stitch- all my friends call me a granny!

*I’m fascinated by the 1980’s- the clothes, hair, music.

*My favourite colour is green.

*I’m a history nerd, I wanted to be an archaeologist for most of my life, but now I study English literature.

*I collect Russian nesting dolls.

*I love meeting new people and replying to all your comments, it really makes my day!

*I studied French for 4 years and still can’t put a coherent sentence together.

*My favourite city in the world is London- I’ve spent most of my holidays there since I was little and a lot of my family live there,  I love it to bits.

It looks like everyone I wanted to pass this award on to has recieved it already, so I’ll bend the rules slightly and just say that everyone on my blogroll deserves it, and all of you lovely girls who read and comment! All you ladies are lovely and there are so many wonderful blogs out there it’s hard to keep track! Thanks again to the lovely NaiLz-iN-AuS for passing on this award, and thanks to everyone for reading and commenting!

-P&P