Payday. Payday. Gotta get down on Payday.

Tomorrow will be my first payday for almost two years so I'm super excited! While I was in Uni I was lucky enough that I didn't need a job (just to be clear, I wasn't sucking on a silver spoon the whole time, I was just very scrupulous when it came to spending the money that I did have!).

My eBay watch list has tripled in size this evening and I have a post-it stuck to the wall in front of me with a list of stuff I want to buy! The first thing on that list is the Babyliss Big Hair styler which I have been drooling over for months. If anyone's tried it I'd be very interested to hear what you think of it.

Konad Plate: Bundle Monster BM212
Base Colour: NYC - Prince Street
Konad Colour: Collection 2000 - Moonlight Shine
GOSH - Metallic Purple for the dots
Top Coat of NYC

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Forever Alone

I didn't stop whining all day today. All my friends are starting to move home for the summer but I'm still here so there's not much to do and all I want to do is party! However, I have quietened down a bit this evening. Me and my housemate had a delicious Chinese takeaway and we're just chilling in front of the TV waiting for Made In Chelsea to come on. I know it's a terrible show but it's so addictive and I'm starting to actually like a few of the characters.

Plate: Bundle Monster BM225 and BM222

Base Colour: Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours - 320 Pop Fiction

Stamp Colour: NYC Nail Glossies 243B

Top Coat of NYC

Blue Blood

Last night (or rather this morning) I didn't get to sleep until after the sun came up! If anyone's ever done that, don't tell me it's not an amazing feeling. I went out in town then watched Napoleon Dynamite and couldn't sleep until 5.30. I don't know why I've shared that with you today. It's completely unrelated to anything but I guess I just want to say everyone should do it more often! I'm very much a night person. I'd much rather sleep all day and be awake all night.

Plate: Bundle Monster BM225

Base Colour: La Femme - Grey Cream

Stamp Colour: NYC Glossies 243B

I used scotch tape to mark off the edges of the nails and painted on two coats of Barry M Blue Glitter .

Top Coat of NYC

 

Do You Think I'm Tex-y Too?

It's just a quick one today. I did spend quite a while writing about how I think this shade is similar to OPI's Do You Think I'm Tex-y then realised it didn't really make any sense! I blame it on the cold I've been suffering with since the weekend, my head is all stuffed up and I'm just too tired to make real sentences.

Konad Plate: M57

Base Colour: NYC Glossies 235

Konad Colour: Stargazer White

Top Coat of NYC

Blue Diamonds

It seems that Twitter has broken down. I don't know what to do with myself, I've been sat here refreshing for 15 minutes but still nothing. What does Twitter think it is? Tumblr?!

It's been so long since I used one of my matte top coats so I cracked them out again. I know I say this every time I use an all over geometrical pattern but I love that you can't tell which colour is the base and which has been stamped on. Apart from when I mess up the double stamp on my thumb, which is every time!

Plate: Bundle Monster BM16

Base Colour: Barry M Cyan Blue

Stamp Colour: NYC Glossies 243B

Top Coat of NYC

Nebula Nails

Here is my attempt at creating some of those 'Galaxy Nails' that have been floating around a lot recently. I first saw one of these designs months and months ago but I thought it would be too hard so I didn't even attempt to create it myself. Boy, was I wrong! Considering how pretty this look is, it's some of the easiest nail art I've ever done and I think it's absolutely fool proof. I was worried it wouldn't turn out very well, but I don't think this look could turn out badly even if you tried to mess it up! That's the beauty of it.

All you need is a selection of cosmic colours and some textured paper tissue (i.e. kitchen roll) and I'd recommend using at least one holographic polish in the mix. Paint on your base colour and just start dabbing the colours on in patchy, thin layers. 

Asami has a great video tutorial of the method.

This was the colour inspiration for my version.

The polishes I used (in this order) are:

NYC Glossies - 243B

E.L.F - Party Purple

BYS - Glittering Purple

GOSH - Holographic

E.L.F - Twinkle

Collection 2000 Maxiflex - Moonlight Shine (dotted on for the stars)

And of course, a Top Coat of NYC (not pictured)

Has anyone done their own galaxy nails? Please leave a link to your mani in the comments, I love looking at them!

Houndstooth

I forgot how much I love this pattern. I had so many compliments about my nails yesterday. I think this houndstooth pattern is great because you can't tell which colour is stamped on, it's so seamless, the only problem is the size of the all over Bundle Monster patterns - they're quite small and don't always cover the whole nail which is when you get seams starting to appear!

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM21

Base Colour: NYC - Prince Street

Konad Colour: Miss Sporty - Zodiac

Top Coat of NYC

NYC In a New York Color Minute Quick Dry Polish Review

I have to start by saying this is the best damn top coat I have ever used in my life!

You may have noticed the line after all my Mani's that normally says 'Top Coat of NYC'. Well, this is the polish I mean....

New York Color Quick Dry Top Coat
(website)

This top coat dries to the touch in one minute - just like it says on the bottle. Within 15 minutes, it will be completely hard and you can go back to your business without worrying about getting any dinks or scratches in your polish. You could even go to bed and sleep peacefully knowing that you won't wake up up with duvet dents pressed in to your mani.

I think it's also important to mention that this top coat won't smudge your Nail Art/Konad designs like some other top coats I've tried.

I can't comment on the lasting power of this top coat because I never really wear a manicure for more than a few days. When I do keep a mani for a little while, this top coat holds up pretty good. Sometimes it does chip slightly around the tips after about 2 days.

The only downside with this top coat is that when you get about two thirds through the bottle it starts to get really gloopy and tricky to apply but I think it's the same with most top coats and polishes in general right?

I can't really compare this to any of the other well known top coats that are out there on the market such as 'Seche Vite' and 'Essie Good to Go' because I've never used them. I've never had the need to try them because this one is so freakin' awesome and at only £2.59 a bottle, it beats the other brands hands down for value.

So if you're looking for a top coat that's going to dry your mani fast and keep your polish hard and strong, this is the perfect budget top coat for you.

In the UK, you can find the NYC range in most larger Superdrug stores. Click here to see stockists in the US.

November Debut

This mani is practically an exact duplicate of one I did a few months back just with different colours and a matte top coat.

I would have done something totally kick ass and original for my November debut mani, especially considering I haven't posted for a week now. But since I thought my camera was broken I obviously wasn't expecting to be able to post one but what the heck, here it is.

Check out my index finger! It's never been so long. They're normally so weak and I guess, because I use my index finger the most, the corners snap off every few days so normally I keep them quite short but I've been using OPI's Original Nail Envy for over a week and I think my nails are stronger for it.

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM18
Base Colour: Claire's Mood - Confident/Peaceful
Stamp Colour: Stargazer - White
NYC Glossies 243B for the line
Top Coat of Essie Matte About You

Inspired

I've been really lacking in ideas for nail art this month but finally came up with something decent for today's mani!

And thanks to Cel for helping me choose which colour to use today because I had a really hard time deciding.

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM05

Base Colour: NYC - Prince Street

Stamp Colour: Collection 2000 - Moonlight Shine

BYS Flirty Sparkle applied with a paintbrush for the insides of the flowers

Top Coat of NYC

Blanket Blue

Konad Plate: M54
Base Colour: Franken
Konad Colour: NYC Glossies - 243B
Top Coat of Essie Matte About You

Flower Power

You may notice that my post is a little later than normal today. I spent most of my day at the house I am renting this year and shopping for decor to go inside it!

I was a bit disappointed when I first moved my stuff in as it hadn't been cleaned properly and had a miserable feel to it, I think because it was empty and really seemed hollow. But now that me and the other girls are filling it with stuff and making it a bit more homely, I think it looks and feels much nicer. 

I also received some great news last night. I passed the exam I had to resit last month so I get to progress to the next year of my course! Phew! I'm sooo happy now!

Konad Plate: M64
Base Colour: La Femme - Mint Cream
Konad Colour: NYC Nail Glossies - 243B
For the flowers: BYS - Astro Gold
Top Coat of Essie Matte About You

Back To My Roots

It's been a few days since I did any stamping since I've had all the Viva La Nails goodies to play around with. I've also been in a but of a plain nails mood recently which has contributed to my lack of Konadding. So here are some stamped nails that I really like. I love the combination of blue and gold anyway, so I used some of the 'Pearls' from my sample package.

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM10 

Base Colour: BYS - Fools Paradise

Stamp Colour: NYC Glossies - 243B

Gold Pearls from Viva La Nails

Top Coat of NYC

To stick the pearls on, I just used a clear nail polish applied in dots with the flat end of a nail stick and I used the sharp end to pick up and position the pearls.

These pearls are really fiddly things which roll and bounce around all over the place. So I poured some out into a creased post-it note. This also makes it much easier to get the unused ones back into the packet because you can just pour them along the crease.

Candy Matte

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM20
Base Colour: NYC - Prince Street
Stamp Colour: Collection 2000 - Moonlight Shine

And after a coat of Essie Matte About You...

I love it with the matte. It looks tasty :)

From Today's Haul

To see the other polishes I bought today, go here.

I put an entry in to Polish Hoarder Disorder's challenge this week too. The challenge was 'Just Tips'. Since I don't have much going on in that department, I blinged them up to the max! Go see for yourself.

Konad Plate: M57
Base Colour: Barry M - Cyan Blue
Konad Colour: NYC Glossies - 243B
Top Coat of NYC

Best Haul I Ever Did Have (Warning: Long Post!)

Hey everyone. Sorry I've been a bit vacant and aloof the last week. I had to resit one of my examinations today because I only got 34% in the topic when I took it in January. I don't think it went very well but life must go on. 

In my sorrow, I headed straight for the shops. Since I was in the city anyway I figured I may as well make a day of it!

I need a new top coat and I was thinking yesterday about what colours I would like to buy next. So I was on the look out for a Nude (similar or exactly the same as the one in yesterday's mani) and a Turquoise (similar to my favourite ever nail colour).

I ended up purchasing FIVE polishes within 30 minutes which is very extravagant for me. Don't worry about my budget - I dipped into my savings for this spree!

Left to Right:

Barry M - Cyan Blue

Barry M - Mushroom

No7 - Blackberry

NYC - Quick Dry Top Coat (Grand Central Station)

NYC - Prince Street

So I picked up the Barry M Blue in place of the Turquoise I wanted, and the Mushroom instead of the Nude.

I have to tell you about the amazing offers I got on these because I am the biggest bargain hunter around. I always have a browse between Boots and Superdrug to see which store has the best offers or prices on the products that have caught my eye. 

At present the Barry M Polishes are on offer at 2 for £5 in both stores (or £2.95 each). When the price is the same I favour Boots because I get my Advantage Card points in there.

I also noticed that you receive a voucher for £5 off No7 or Ruby and Millie when you spend £5 in store. Since I was going to buy the Barry M's for that price anyway, I got the voucher, then ran over to the No7 counter to pick out a Nail Polish. So with the money off, the No7 cost me £1.75!!

If you are a fan of No7 Cosmetics anyway, when they have this offer on, ALWAYS buy something for £5 before you get your No7 stuff as you aren't losing out on anything. I basically got my Barry M's for nothing.

The NYC polishes were 2 for £3.50 (or £2.49 each) so I got them in there. I think Superdrug is the only official stockist of NYC in the UK along with other brands such as GOSH and M.U.A.

I saw a turquoise/green colour by Rimmel that I loved called Sky High but it was £3.49 - too much for me to spend on one polish. If it goes on offer I may be tempted to buy it but until then I will be looking out for a budget dupe.

Also check out PHD's blog for my entry to this week's contest - Just Tips.

Wow I didn't realise how much I'd written and I still have so much to tell you all! Plus some tags coming up in the next week. Thank you so, so, SO much to everyone who has tagged me for awards!! I haven't forgotten, I've just been rushed off my feet these last few weeks.

I'm off to watch a bit of Mad Men and try out these babies before I go back to bed since I only got 3.5 hours sleep last night :(

Adios Amigos (Again)

This will be the last post for a while again! I'm going camping this week and I'm only taking two Nail Polishes with me and obviously no computer! It will be tough but I'm sure I can try to soldier through.

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM20
Base Colour: New York Color - MoMa
Stamp Colour: Miss Sporty - Zodiac
Top Coat of NYC

Daydreamer

I went to see Inception the other day. Has anyone seen it yet? 

And for those who have seen it, trying not to spoil it for the rest, do you think the totem was going to fall? There's so much speculation all over the internet, I don't really know what to think!

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM11
Base Colour: Glo Baby Glo @ Primark - Yes Cyan!
Plus: One coat of BYS Tinkerbell
Stamp Colour: NYC Glossies - 243B
Top Coat of NYC

Konad Plate: Bundle Monster BM17
Base Colour: China Glaze - Adore
Konad Colour: NYC Glossies - 243B
Top Coat of NYC

Ring Around the Rosey

Credit to Carli at Konad-licious for the title. And I do apologise but I didn't realise how similar this is to the last time I used this plate.

Konad Plate: BM21
Base Colour: NYC Glossies - 243B
Plus: Sally Hansen - Hidden Treasure
Konad Colour: China Glaze - Adore
Top Coat of NYC