Sparklea - Harry Potter Collection

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Those are the words that started us on our magical journey with Harry and co, and from there the fandom has grown and grown.  At the beginning of the year when Sparklea Nail Polish announced that she was releasing a Harry Potter collection, I was right there in line ready to get my hands on these magical polishes.

 

Essie Gel Couture - Ballet Nudes

Hey... Remember me?  I've been gone for a while and I've had a couple of unsuccessful goes of getting back to my blog since I took a break.  My blog has always been a hobby, and I never wanted it to become a chore, so I didn't let it become one.

I've finally decided that I wont post about every single nail design that I create, or every colour that I wear, but I'll blog when the mood strikes.  When I was lucky enough to win the gorgeous Essie Gel Couture Ballet Nudes collection with Vicky from The Polish List and Essie I thought that they would be perfect for a post.

Loving Barry M

I know I said two months ago that I was back from a blogging break, but for some reason I just didn't seem to get back to it properly.  So here goes again...

I've really been loving Barry M recently.  I always have loved their polishes, and you can't go wrong with such a decent price and with the fact that they are cruelty free.  I've found myself heading to my Barry drawer, and even buying a few new ones to add to my collection.

Starting with the most glittery one first, this is Fashion Icon.

This beauty is a new addition to my collection.  I was out shopping, just having a look around and this was just glittering away on the shelf.  I just couldn't leave it behind.  I already had Socialite from the Glitterati collection and loved it so figured that I couldn't go far wrong with another glitter from the same collection.  Also I do love a bit of sparkle and you'll often find it on my nails!  

Back from a Blogging Break

I've been away from my blog for a little while now, but my love for nail painting didn't stop, I was still posting weekly on Instagram, but felt I was struggling to keep up with posting, along with finishing the planning for my wedding.  I have enjoyed my little break, but I want to get back to my blog again.

I thought I'd share the nails that I did whilst I was away.  I won't go into details about them as there are quite a few, and they are all on Instagram, but I thought it would be a nice post to get me started again.

January - Blues and Sparkle

January tends to be grey and miserable, so it's always nice to have pretty nails to brighten the month up.

I'd asked for some MoYou goodies for Christmas, so I decided to use them for my first  design for the month.

Ciaté Regatta was the perfect base for my MoYou Silver Dust stamping with SciFi Plate number 08.  I was a little disappointed that I managed to smudge my stamping when I added my top coat, but I was still happy with my design overall.

I love darker colours in the colder months, and hadn't used OPI Black Cherry Chutney for a while so thought I'd do a simple manicure with a glitter accent nail.  This colour is such a gorgeous deep purple red, and is perfect for a gothic look.  You can't see how pretty In True Stefani Fashion is in this photo, but trust me when I tell you, all the different shapes and sizes of the glitter really catch the light.

Despite the previous manicure to this one, and loving darker colours for winter, I've got a rather important even coming up in a few weeks time so want to steer clear of the darker shades for a bit to avoid any staining.  Bearing this in mind I decided to go for Heather from the Barry M Silk collection.  It's such a pretty and delicate colour on its own with a beautiful shimmer, but I couldn't resit adding a coat of NYC Lights, Camera, Glitter.  It has to be one of my all time favourite glitters and I have used it over many different base colours and haven't found a combination that I didn't like.  My mum looked for a new bottle of this one, as she likes it too, but couldn't find it in Superdrug, so I headed to Amazon, and bought three bottles to be sure we didn't run out any time soon!

I still can't decide whether my final design for the month was a nail fail or not.  I wanted to do a bit of a different kind of ombré across the nails rather than on all nails, so I chose Models Own Beth's Blue and Grape Juice.  I think the colours complimented each other and gave the ombré look, but I'm just not sure it's what I had in mind.  I added some little love hearts with Jacava Lavender Court to finish off the look.

My favourite this month has to be my sparkly Lights, Camera, Glitter, nails.  I can't resit sparkle and shine, so it just ticked all the right boxes.

Thanks for stopping by

Aimée x