MANICURE MONDAY 05

BUDGET EDITION

Anyone who knows me will know that I get the most pleasure out of the simple things in life - a cup of tea, a good book, and five minutes to myself to paint my nails. By the way, the used book addiction has got seriously out of hand...I promised myself I wouldn't buy any more, and then I bought nine more...it's a good job I don't have much of a life and therrefore have plenty of time to read them. I have already started 'The Farm' by Tom Rob Smith, and it is quite the page turner. I almost sacraficed my Sunday nap for it...I didn't obviously.

A photo posted by Gemma Davison (@fashionwelldone) on Oct 3, 2015 at 3:53am PDT

So, when it comes to painting my nails, I have been favoring metallic shades recently and Poundland, have a surprisingly large collection of nail varnishes, and some gorgeous colours. This rose gold shade caught my eye and it is a great little polish for the price. Two coats is all that is needed, and it dries super quick, as well as being pretty resisstant to chipping, which is useful for a clutz like me.

A photo posted by Gemma Davison (@fashionwelldone) on Oct 4, 2015 at 1:20am PDT

Another line of nail polishes I have been impressed with, is from Kiki Cosmetics,They have a great range for just £2.50, including this delightful mermaid shade, that survived an afternoon of decorating. I will definitely be adding more to my collection, or recieving them gratefully as Christmas gifts...hint, hint!

A photo posted by Gemma Davison (@fashionwelldone) on Sep 28, 2015 at 1:48am PDT

What budget beauty buys would you reccommend? Gems x

MANICURE MONDAY 04

CIATE MINI MANI MONTH EDITION

December was a good month for nails for me. I couldn't afford the Ciate Mini Manor, but TK Maxx had the Ciate Mini Mani Month for the bargain price of £19.99. This meant I could have the nail varnish advent calender of my dreams, and paint my nails lots of lovely colours, right up until Christmas. Plus each window hid a lovely little message, either fun or inspirational.

Some of the cute daily quotes.

The 5ml nail varishes really brightened up my days, giving me that little extra boost as I coped with the holiday anxiety - painting my nails as a treat to myself for getting through the day. I'm yet to try the world famous Ciate Caviar Manicure (I didn't trust myself to get them everywhere), but I did try the glitter and sequins, and loved them. I have some shades left to try, but the ones I have tried thus far I have loved - they go on very smooth and dry with a durable finish.

Loveliness of 'Snowflake' and 'Boudoir'

'Amazing Gracie with 'Boudoir' and the candy pink of 'Hoopla'.

'Main Stage' and 'Candy Floss' look great together, whilst 'Pillow Fight' is a star on it's own.

A little bit of sparkle added to 'Chinchilla' and 'Tweed & Tails'

The dark and sultry 'Starlet' and the shining star of 'Fit for a Queen'.

I would love to see some more manicures for nail inspiration, so please leave me links to your posts.

Gems x

MANICURE MONDAY 03

Sorry I have been so quiet this week, work has been very busy and there is a special person in my life that has needed me more than the blog. So I have been a bit neglectful of the blog, but I feel like my time has been spend in the right place.

I can't believe it is Manicure Monday again already, and the 1st of December to boot, how fast does time go - it is true what they say, when you hit 30 everything becomes a blur. Anyway, back to mani Monday and for this week things have went all magnetic with Sally Hansen.

I have never tried a magnetic polish before as I wasn't convinced they would work, but when I saw this Sally Hansen lovely in Poundland, well there was no reason not to buy it. A few seconds of holding the magnet over the wet polish and a cool wavy design is revealed, absolutely genius! And I have to say it is one of the most durable polishes, ever - I wore it for 4 days, without even a single chip, I am seriously impressed. I urge you all to give it a try.

And how about this for an added bonus, it goes perfectly with my gunmetal faux leather dress from Hybrid which I won in a competition. I plan of rocking them both of Christmas day - it is definitely a day for metallics, even if I will surely fall asleep open mouthed, shortly after the dinner. I will at least look good doing it.

What is on your nails on this Manicure Monday?

Gems x

MANICURE MONDAY 02

WINTER WHITE EDITION

Maybelline Color Show in Winter Easy
H&M glitter polish in Jo is in the house.

Reading the news recently I wasn't surprised to see a story that there was going to be heavy snowfall in the UK. The same story comes around every year, the whole population freaks out, and then there is barely a flurry to be seen. It's funny because if even a centimetre of snow falls, the entire country comes to a standstill, with people panic buying bread and milk.

Anyway, inspired by the snowy news, I picked up a winter white nail polish from the Maybelline Color Show line, to mix with a bit of glitter to create snowflake, frosty nails. I would love it if the white was more opaque, but I do love the little sparkle of the glitter over the top. Perfect for party season, don't you think?

I have a few Color Show polishes and the are reat value for money for just £2.99 - £3.99 a piece. They go on super smooth and dry to a lovely shiny finish. You are better off with 3 thin coats as opposed to 2 thick ones, to keep the look even, instead of streaks. Here are some of my party favourites from Color Show, all available at Superdrug...

1) Dazzle.
2) Cool Blue.
3) Love Lilac.
4) Ocean Blue.
5) Tutti Fruiti.
6) Vinyl Black.

Can you tell I'm favouring a certain colour palette for the winter season? What have you been wearing on your nails for manicure monday?

Gems x

MANICURE MONDAY 01

Those that know me, or follow me on Instagram, will know that I am obsessed with all things nails. The thing is I hardly ever create blog posts about my manicure efforts, eventhough there is barely a day that goes by without me painting my nails (and half my fingers in the process) or popping on some fabulous falsies.

Well, when I picked up this Barry M Silk Polish in Forest, I knew it was blog worthy, as it is bloody beautiful. It applies super smoothly, as you would expect from any Barry M polish and just two thin coats is enough to give a saturated coverage. It dries to a beautiful semi-matte finish, almost like a candy shell, it is just lovely and feels so nice on the nails.

Forest is ther prefect shade for the festive party season with it's deep green metallic shade and subtle glitter flecks that sparkle when they catch the light. I wore the polish like this for a few days, but then the polish started to chip on the ends after washing a mountain of dishes. But I wasn't ready to say goodbye to forest. So I covered the chips with  some silver from Maybelline Color Show and a top coat and the result was dazzling.

My success with Forest has resulted in me lusting over many gorgeous winter shade from Barry M, I am such a nail varnish addict...

1) Silk Effects in Meadow.
2) Chameleon Effect in Blue.
3) `The Royal Textured Glitter Collection in Gold Majesty
4) Nail Paint in Silvery Lilac.
5) Nail Paint in Racing Green.
6) Nail Paint in Raspberry.
7) Nail Paint in Gold Mine.

I hope you liked my first Manicure Monday, there will be plenty more to come as I bought myself a Ciate advent calender from TK Maxx for the bargain prince of £19.99 - it feels like December will never get here. It appears to have sold out online, but if you are lucky you might be able to nab one in store.

Any wintery nail shades you would reccommend?

Gems x