'Trend' Thrift: Caviar Nails

I'm always on the hunt for the next nail trend, and went through a huge nail art phase last year where I couldn't stop adding patterns, designs and various embellishments to my fingertips! Lately, I have been sticking to good old colour blocking nail-wise (mainly due to a lack of time) with my favourite colours du jour, but the other day I spotted these in Primark and couldn't resist! I've heard a lot about nail caviar already as I'm sure you have, and I'm pretty sure it was beauty brand Ciaté that introduced it to the manicure world. It always seemed quite costly (Ciaté's caviar nail varnish and sets are retailing at between £14-£18 on ASOS currently), and I know other brands have interpreted it but it was still similarly priced all the same. That was until I stumbled across a bargain version in good old Primark - with a £2.50 price tag! There was no excuse not to give it a go with that price sticker on it, and I ended up buying two sets as I couldn't decide on one! There was one more colour that I didn't buy which was a silver polish with pink and silver metallic beads, but I ended up with a pearlised white varnish with white beads, and a hot pink varnish with turquoise, pink and various multi-coloured beads! 

They come fully equipped with varnish, beads, funnel and plastic tray in order to get the look, and the idea is to choose which nail(s) you would like your caviar on and paint them with a couple of coats, but before the second one is dry pour the beads on when hovering over the tray so they simply stick to the wet polish. This is kind of messy so I'd advise doing it on a flat surface! I kind of felt like a kid in a primary school art lesson, but it's quite fun! You then simply put the funnel back in the bead pot, and pour your excess beads back in so you don't waste any.

The nail varnish itself won't be winning any awards any time soon, but it could've been worse. It was quite gloopy and I often find it's hard to make metallics look attractive anyway, so that didn't help! It also took way too long to dry in my opinion - give me Barry M anyday! Of course you can match the beads with whatever colours you would like, and I was thinking a nice on-trend pastel pink (or any pastel) would look really good with these pearly beads. It came out better than I thought it would to be honest, but having had them on for a short while, they're falling off when I do anything remotely vigorous which isn't great, but it was expected! 1; because it's Primark, and 2; I'm atrocious at keeping even the hardest-wearing nail polish chip-free! I'd recommend Primark's efforts to anyone wanting to give the trend a go, but if you're really into it and want a lasting look then I'd say fork out the £14 and get Ciaté's version for the quality!

What do you think of nail caviar? Have you tried it out for yourself before?

xo.

Goodbye winter & a cheeky hello to spring!

I have tried in vain to access my old blog from about eight years ago now, to no avail. Why I used a completely random email address and password I'll never know, and now I'll never know what they are! After making this blog six years ago, it's my new year's resolution to use it properly!

So...we are heavily into winter chic now, to the point where summer can really not come quick enough! What's a girl to do when it's 0 degrees outside, yet short sleeves are calling?! The sales are coming to a close, the panic bargain buying is almost at an end, and you can smell the spring high street collections coming! Of course in high fashion land they are well into the swing of summer, and will no doubt have wrapped up next year's A/W '13 lines which is a depressing thought. Fashion is so ahead of itself now more than ever, it'll end up doing a complete 360 degrees and we'll soon be in next summer's clothes, this summer! So, the dilemma is, what to wear when you need a flash of pillar box red instead of burgundy, and you need a jacket instead of your heavy duty (but chic, of course) puffer jacket? Well look no further, I am also keen for a change! This week I scrubbed off my Revlon 'Vixen' nail varnish for a coat of Barry M's 'Berry Ice Cream' to brighten up my finger tips. I got out my white and cream jumpers for a fresh flash of brightness (whilst keeping warmth) instead of my black and grey ones, and I started accessorising more with warmer-looking gold necklaces and bracelets - I had become so involved in the practicalities of being warm in this dreadful cold, looking good was starting to take a major hit! A flash of bright pink lip was also kept me on-trend, but contrasted against the plums and deep reds that had taken over, proving that bright lipstick is an instant pick-me-up for the winter blues! Are you starting to get sick of the sales and the cold now? What are your seasonal transition pieces and tricks?

xo.