Models Own Fireworks

Recently, I seem to have acquired more new nail polishes than I can use. I don't blame myself though, its the time of year when all the new autumn/winter polishes are released and who can resist the gorgeous glitter polishes that appear on the shelves. One collection I couldn't resist trying out was the Models Own Fireworks. I love Models Own and this collection is just perfect for autumn with 5 amazing new polishes with a mix of glitter shapes and colours. I picked up two, Catherine Wheel, a mix of gold and red and Roman Candle, my favourite, a mix of pink, gold and black. I had to try out Roman Candle first and layered it over Purple Ash, one of my favourite Models Own shades, and a perfect Autumn colour.

Although it looks very purple in the bottle, Purple Ash is much browner on the nail. I love this shade though and it works perfectly with the glitters in Roman Candle. This combination works really well and looks gorgeous, I can see myself getting plenty of use out of Roman Candle. The mix of different colour and shaped glitter makes it really stand out and does remind me of fireworks.

Have you tried any of the Models Own Fireworks polishes? I am really impressed with this one and can't wait to see what they will bring out next!

Models Own Ice Neons Pink Punch

I just want to say before I start that there is nothing wrong with this polish, I love Models Own and have plenty of shades that I like. I decided to pick up Pink Punch as part of a 3-for-2 in Boots, I loved the Fruit Pastel collection and although neon isn't usually my thing, I liked the look of this one. 

The colour looks gorgeous in the bottle, a lovely coral tinted pink. I love the look of the frosted bottle too, I know this is because they are designed to be kept in the fridge so they stay bright but to be honest I Models Own should make all their bottles like this. The lid states that the polish is a matt effect (I'd call it more semi-matte, it does have a little shine). I went for a top coat just to make it stand out more though, I prefer glossy colours.

On this picture the colour actually looks really nice, but it doesn't properly capture the brightness! It really is a neon pink, and a lot more of a pink than a coral, which is not what I wanted. I really didn't like Pink Punch, I am definitely team Pastel and I don't think I'll be bothering with any more neons in the future.

Have you tried the Models Own Iced Neons? They aren't my thing but maybe you love them?

Simple Nail Art 4: Pastel Gradient

Today's NOTD is something a bit different. I have been loving pastel nails recently and have been looking for inspiration for a new way to use pastel polishes. I decided to go for a gradient today, with a little rainbow twist. I was driving down the motorway the other day after all the snow and the car to the side of me was kicking up spray. As it went past I noticed as the sun shone on the spray it made a little rainbow. It looked so pretty I decided to use it as inspiration today. 

I used the new Models Own Fruit Pastel polishes for the gradient, so as well as looking really pretty, my nails smell amazing too! I used Barry M Gelly in Lychee for the base, although a paler colour or white may have been better. 

I first painted a base coat of Lychee and let it dry.

Then sponge on the palest colour, leaving a corner of your nail free (I used Strawberry Tart). I didn't take a pic as this colour wasn't very obvious.

When the first colour is dry sponge a little of the second colour onto the top third of your nail (I used Grape Juice). 

For the darkest colour, sponge a little onto the top corner of your nail (I used Blueberry Muffin).

If the gradient looks uneven you can use the smallest amount of colour sponged over the top to blend it all in. Finish it off with a top coat and clean up the edges.

The colours in this are stronger in real life! I couldn't get a picture which captured the colours properly!

I love this look and the Models Own Fruit Pastels look gorgeous together. I usually just go for normal gradients, graduating down the nail but I like the different effect you get from the pastel gradient by fading it diagonally. They also smell amazing mixed together!

Would you try this? I can't wait for the weather to pick up so my nails can match the weather!

Simple Nail Art:
1. Ikat Print
2. Toothbrush Splodges
3. Striping Tape

Models Own Fruit Pastel Polishes

Any other nail addict like me has probably been waiting for this collection since the moment it was announced. That, and the fact they are scented appeals to the child in me. I love pastel nails, so these had to be mine! I managed to find them in Birstall Boots, my local one doesn't stock Models Own, but I got very excited when I spotted them in Birstall! I think my boyfriend thought I had gone mental, but I don't care, he should be used to it by now!

Anyway, there are five colours in the collection, Grape Juice, Blueberry Muffin, Strawberry Tart, Apple Pie and Banana Split. I'm sure you can guess from the names what each one smells like. They also have cute little scratch and sniff stickers on the lids, which I did go round shoving in peoples faces at work last night showing them how amazing these were!

I ended up getting them on 3-for-2 and picked up Grape, Blueberry and Strawberry as I didn't think I'd wear green or yellow much. The colours are just gorgeous, the perfect pale Spring pastels, so the scent is just a bonus. We all know nail polish smells awful, so I can't believe this idea hasn't been done before (OK Revlon have done it, but I never took much notice of them). I wouldn't advise sniffing them before they are dry, but they do smell sweet as you are painting your nails. Not fruity like they do when they are dry, just sweet.

Messy, messy! I was too eager to post to remember to clean up!

Don't they look gorgeous? I may have gone a little mad trying to wear all three but I wanted to try them all. Doing it like this means you get a mix of scents too, so you can't pick out one, but they do all smell. Blueberry seems to be the strongest even though I only had it on one nail. The scent lasts for about a day and is stronger if you don't use a top coat.

Has anyone else spotted these yet?

NOTD: Models Own Magenta Pearl and Disco Mix

Today I am using a couple of the new polishes I got from a blog sale, Models Own Magenta Pearl with Disco Mix for an accent nail. I love Models Own and really want to get some more of their polishes, they have really lovely colours and are fantastic quality. These two go really well together as the pinky bits in Disco Mix almost match the colour of Magenta Pearl.

Disco Mix reminds me a little of Barry M Amethyst glitter, one of my favourite glitters so I am loving this one too! Magenta Pearl is gorgeous too, a lovely metallicy purple/pink.

That's all I have for today, just a quick one before work! Does everyone else struggle to find time for posts while working? Maybe it will be easier in summer when there is light for photos after work too!

Simple Nail Art 1: Ikat Print

After how well my Galaxy print nails turned out yesterday, I decided to try another effect I have been wanting to experiment with for a while- Ikat print. I'm going to make a little series out of this - Simple Nail Art. I am in no way a expert and am pretty useless at nail art, I don't have a very steady hand, but I like to try out new things so I will be attempting some simple nail art designs and doing little "how to" guides.
There are some really good tutorials on youtube for this, but basically it is the simplest nail art effect ever because the more messy it is, the better it looks. I don't have a very steady hand so do find patterns quite difficult to get right, so I love how simple this one is.

There are loads of pictures around of different ways to do Ikat and I think it looks great in all different colours but I tried to recreate one I had seen and loved, with purple and coral. I have used Barry M Gellys just because I love them. I used my Natural Collection white polish as it is the only white I own and seen as I only use it for nail art, I don't need a fantastic quality one. Models Own nail are pens are also perfect for the outline on the print.

I don't want to do a full tutorial as there are loads of good ones already, so I'm just going to do a quick step-by-step guide.

First paint on your base colour, I used Prickly Pear...

Once the base is dry, paint on white splodges where you want the design to go. This doesn't need to be neat and they can be any size you want.

Over the white, add splodges of your second colour (Papaya), again they don't need to be neat (look at the state of mine!)

Finally, add small amounts of black to the centre of the pattern. Using small brush strokes so you can see the strokes, outline the white areas. Once its dry finish off with a top coat and clean up the edges.

This was the finished design cleaned up. I really like these and they are so simple to do, so I will be trying them in different colour ways. A few of my friends asked if they were nail stickers last night so obviously even the messy bits where it didn't quite go as I wanted don't affect the look of them.

Has anyone else tried Ikat print, I'd love to see them? Any ideas for more simple nail art ideas would also be appreciated!

NOTD: Galaxy Effect

I actually haven't had any nail polish on for two whole days! I feel lost! I need a job where I am allowed to wear it! So today I decided to try something a little different. I have seen loads of galaxy style nail art but never got round to trying it myself, but I wish I had tried it earlier! It is so simple and looks amazing!

Anyway, these are the colours I used.

I used the No7 Just Black as a base and sponged on small amounts of the other colours. I used the plastic wrapping off my Glamour magazine to allow me to get as little as possible on my sponge and not make too much or a mess (a perfect use for something I'd usually just throw away! Recycling at its finest!).

I sponged on a line of white polish first then used bits of the other colours around the white to blend it and give depth to the colour. I then used Models Own Jack Frost over the top for a little glitter, and a top coat to finish it off.

These don't look as good as some of the others I have seen but I do love the effect you get and I'm going to practise a little more with different colours. I do think Jack Frost is the perfect top coat for this effect though, it looks gorgeous over the top and is just glittery enough.

What do you think? Has anyone else tried this kind off effect? I'd love to see them!

Models Own Beetlejuice

It feels like I haven't painted my nails for ages, but my Models Own Mirrorball had lasted so well and looks so good I didn't want to take it off! I'm going for another Models Own today seen as I have been loving it this week, and today it is the turn of Beetlejuice! I love the effect of duo-chrome nail polishes and this has to be one of the best. It obviously had to be a purple for me (are we starting to see a theme here?) so I went for Purple Blue.

This is a really gorgeous shade, a shimmery deep purple glitter with hints of pink which shows up a lovely glittery navy shade in the light. The Models Own polishes give a really good coverage, and this one is no different, you only need two coats for a perfect finish. The colours in this polish are amazing, it is one of the nicest colours I have ever seen and I have had loads of people commenting on how good it looks. Although this is my favourite colour, the Beetlejuice collection has some other amazing colours worth a go. I particularly like Pinky Brown. Although I have to say they could have been more imaginative with the names, when you see a collection named Beetlejuice, you expect some similarly themed names, or is that just me?

I tried to get pictures in different lights, but it still doesn't capture the full range of colours in the polish, it is much more beautiful in real life!

So what does everyone think? Have you tried any other duo-chrome polishes that you like better?

Models Own Mirrorball

Today was supposed to be a day of essay writing for me as I need to hurry up and finish my Masters assignments so I can start writing my dissertation but after about half an hour I got bored and decided to paint my nails. This is how I have spent the last year and a half as I have the attention span of a fish when it comes to doing work but never mind at least my nails look nice :)

Today I am going for my favourite glitter as I haven't been feeling glitters recently but I love this one. Models Own Mirrorball polishes are amazing! They come in five different colours containing a mixture of different size and shape chunks of glitter in different colours. I have Boogie Nights, a mix of purple, pink and blue, and  Freak Out! a mix of purple, blue and turquoise. I find they work best if you place the glitter rather than paint it on to get a better coverage.

I love the colour you get over Barry M Gelly in Blackberry (again! yes this is my favourite polish and may actually be the first one I use the entire bottle of!!)

The light isn't the best here but you can see the effect you get with the different colour glitter pieces.

They last really well without chipping but the only issue I do have is the amount of time they take to dry which for me usually means I end up smudging them before they dry and having to touch them up again. Because of the different glitters though, they look almost 3-D as they show up so many different colours in the light. Models Own are buy one get one half price at the moment at Boots, which at £5 each makes them a bargain.

What does everyone else think? Do you like the Mirrorball polishes?

Models Own Jack Frost

This is just a quick post to show my favourite shade from the winter collections I have seen this season- Models Own Jack Frost from the Wonderland collection. I have used this over a few different colours and it seems to go with anything. It is a gorgeous iridescent glitter showing different colours depending on the light.

I use this today over Barry M Gelly in Blueberry, with the Blue Plum shade for a statement nail. Having seen a few different posts using this polish I do think it is more effective over darker shades as the glitter shows up mores although I do love it over the pale blue for an almost snowy effect. 

The Models Own polishes are buy one get one half price at Boots at the moment and at £5 each this makes them a bargain so I might have to stock up on a few more :)