The Monday Manicure #20

Do you, like me, sometimes buy yourself a pack of mini nail polishes from a special collection, use it maybe once or twice and it disappears into the back of your storage? Well, once in a while I like to clean up around the good ol' room and then I come across those mini sets. I stumbled upon the OPI Germany Collection on Saturday and saw 'Nein! Nein! Nein! Ok fine!' and may have fallen a bit in love with it.

This is of course a bad thing, because this limited edition is long gone and miniature nail polish bottles don't last very long. But that does not take away from the gorgeousness of this shade. It's mysterious and dark. I tried to put a label on it but the longer I looked at it the more colors I saw in it. I've seen a few nail blogs call it a blue based dark grey creme. But I would say there are definitely hints of green in it as well.

It lacquers beautifully in just two coats, drying in a shiney creme finish, my favorite. It matches with my predominantly monochromatic wardrobe easily and has people asking about what you are wearing. I'm a fan. Now, I'm off to eBay to hunt down a full size of this...

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #19

I'd say that bold colors get the same amount of air time on this blog as neutral shades. However, in real life that is actually not the case. Bold colors are lovely, and I really do like wearing them. But I often feel like neutral shades are the better choice. There is something effortless, chic and sophisticated about them. They're impossible to get wrong and match whatever you put on, whether it's a formal dress or jeans and a t-shirt. Neutral is the way to go.

Of course this means I have accumulated quite the collection. All in the spirit of the blog, naturally. With about twenty neutral polishes in my possession I undoubtedly have my favorites. For this week's Monday Manicure I decided to line them up and present them to you.

Essie do the best shades in the nail varnish world, period. So naturally a few of their shades have to be featured in this. The neutral shade I have most recently purchased is 'Master Plan', pictured on the far right in the Essie bottle row. I first saw this on Suzie's blog Hello October. She wrote about it and called it a taupe-y grey with a really subtle hint of lilac. To me it is the perfect shade. Easy and chic and always has people asking what shade of polish you are wearing.

Another offering from Essie is probably one of their most blogged about colors. Chinchilly is a bit darker and moodier than Master Plan. It is pictured on the left of the Essie row. I often hear people describing this as the perfect color. An amazing taupe color that looks great on everyone I have seen wearing it. I reach for this when I want something a bit more interesting and dark, but don't want to reach for the navies or blacks just yet.

A lot lighter than both the colors mentioned before is Limo-scene. Apart from having one of the cutest names in the Essie collection. Last week I professed my love for sheer pastel pinks, and Limo-scene is definitely one that fits into that image. It needs two to three layers to get a bit of opacity in it, but when you do it looks beautiful and feminine.

It's been a while since I last mentioned and OPI Nail Lacquer on here, and I have to admit I have kind of gone off buying them. I much prefer Essie's color selection and formula, and it's cheaper as well. But back when I did buy those iconic bottles, I picked up Tickle My France-y. A mauve taupe that looks ten times better on the nails than it does in the bottle. It's one of those fail safe colors that I just think everyone needs.

ANNY is a German brand that is relatively unknown outside of mainland Europe, but really deserves more airtime. The shade pictured above is Makeup. The perfect skin tone matching nude polish. Sadly it has gone a little thick and gloopy, but it's probably just out of date (I've had it for a year and a half). Their collection of colors is really extensive and there is a perfect nude for everyone. I hope to see this brand on other people's blogs in the near future.


BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #18

There is this thing that I call the 'Three S and an F'-factor when buying nail polishes. If a polish is sweet, soft, sheer and feminine you can bet your bottom dollar I am going to buy it. And although today's shade has been seen on here before, I hope you'll like it just as much as I do. Pictured up top is Essie's Sugar Daddy, the prettiest softest pink in my collection to date.

It requires at least two coats to cover the way I like it, although you could very well wear it as sheer as it is with just one coat. I can imagine this also being a perfect wedding shade. No worries, I'm not walking down any aisles yet.

I've started a new period at school and we're focusing on short documentaries which means I'm putting in a lot more hours coming up with ideas and translating them into scripts and treatments. It's a lot of fun but also a lot work, why did I choose to go to journalism school again?


BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #18

A Monday Manicure that doesn't show my nails decked out in some gorgeous shade? No, today I'm shining a light on my favorite shades to wear during the warmer seasons. Where the last few months I have pretty much worn a mix of black, grey, navy blue and nude shades. But now that the temperatures are rising (I had bare legs yesterday, first time in forever) it is definitely time to start wearing more appropriate shades.

As you may already notice from reading this blog, I have a soft spot for Essie nail varnishes. Her shades and formulas are the best and I really like lining up all the colorful bottles with their white caps. For the new season I have picked five shades that will bring sunshine to your nails, and have people asking about what shade you are wearing, I guarantee it.

All the way in the back we have the red shade Snap Happy, the orange Fear or Desire, the gorgeous lilac Cascade Cool, the dark pink Watermelon (a must have shade for every woman) and the gorgeous bright pink Lights. Some of these were part of previous collections so if you have any difficulty finding them I direct you to my little friend eBay. The magic place where previous editions are pretty easy to find.

Have a lovely Monday, girls!

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #17

       

       

Another Monday, another manicure. I'm back at school and work this week and feel a bit more pressured into looking like I have my stuff together. A manicure is part of that, and even if my nails are super short and still on the thin side, they need a little TLC every now and again. 

This week I went for a simple but interesting design. One coat of the incredibly shiny and opaque black from American Apparel, with some subtle striping work done with Essie Blanc. I used a thin brush that I got in a set off eBay. 

At school we're doing a radio talk show this week, which basically means I'm up to my ears in prep work. Along with my physical therapy and shifts at the movie theatre, posts might be a little slow this week. I really want to get back into some sort of schedule, but it is proving to be a challenge. 

I hope you are having a wonderful Monday, if that is even possible. 

The Monday Manicure #16

It's been a while, but I'm finally doing another Monday Manicure. Mostly because my nails were a terrible mess for the last three weeks. But I am done moping around feeling less than myself, so I'm getting back to it and letting positivity rule my life from now on. And with my new positive outlook on life comes a lovely fresh and happy nail polish shade. Nails Inc Brook Street.

This is my one and only shade from the British brand Nails Inc, and I am in love with it. I picked it up when there were still Sephora's in the Netherlands, which have now all been closed. The shade is wonderful and fresh, perfect for the days that seem to be warming up a little. It's opaque and super shiny in just one thin coat, and it dries very quickly. It does require a top coat as I've noticed it can chip easily. However this could also be caused by the abysmal shape my natural nails are in. I vowed not to get new acrylics for a while, but seeing those poor little stubs makes me second guess my decision.

I'll be going back to school this week, probably a challenge to go into public transport with my crutches, but I don't want to miss any more classes and lectures. Plus I was getting extremely bored at home. I've also upgraded my phone and am now the proud owner of an iPhone 5S. Expect a lot more selfies and pictures on my Instagram.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #15

There are few holidays that I don't get that excited for, and Valentine's Day definitely is one of them. Where Christmas and New Years get me incredibly hyped up and ready to celebrate, the day in mid-february just doesn't do it for me. It has nothing to do with wether I am in a relationship or not, I just feel like it's overhyped and commercial.

However, I do like all the cute nail art designs that come out during this time of the year, so I wanted to bust out some of my dotting tools and create a little special nail art for this week. I couldn't stay away from the shade I've been rocking for the last two weeks, Essie Master Plan. So many people compliment me when I wear this shade, it's a positivity magnet.

Wanting to keep it simple I only added a few hearts in pink and white and placed some dots in random spots.It's relatively easy, but to add a little something extra to this post I did a step by step tutorial on how to achieve to create the hearts for yourself. It's open to personal interpretation, and you can experiment with colors! I think it would look great with white and red as well.


1. Gather your polishes, I used Essie's Blanc and Master Plan and the Ciaté color Candy Floss 2. The tools you'll need are several different sizes of dotting tools. These are really easy and cheap on eBay. 3. Paint all nails except your ring finger in the base shade Master Plan 4. Paint the ring finger with the accent shade Candy Floss 5. Load up your dotting tool with the white polish 6. Place two dots a little apart on your nail  7. Take a smaller dotting tool with the same white polish and drag a line at angle from both dots, creating the outline of the heart. Fill in any gaps with more white polish.  8. Your result! Repeat this in other colors on as many nails as you wish, keeping the ring finger free 9. Place random sized dots on your ring finger nail and you're done!

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #14

I have a weakness for anything that looks pretty. You could call it the magpie complex if you want, but last week when I was in Amsterdam with a friend we stopped by the American Apparel and I fell head over heels for the large rack of nail varnishes. Every color imaginable and so many great glitter combinations. I couldn't keep myself from snatching up a few.

Two of these were actually necessary (she says to convince herself) because I ran out of both my black and my matte top coat. I really appreciate the way these are designed. Long, slim and sleek bottles with minimal writing. They look great standing next to each other on a shelf, or the way I like most, on an acrylic tray.

I decided against doing a manicure this week as my acrylic nails have grown out incredibly and they're not getting removed until coming Wednesday, and now they look terrible. I'm not getting new ones this month as I am not allowed to wear them during my knee surgery, so my nails are probably going to look like a giant mess for a while. But as always, I'll try to make it work.

I love the shades and I swatched the black one in store quickly and it's a gorgeous one coat opaque but super shiny black polish. I'm going to get tons of use out of this one. The grey shade is beautiful and mysterious, just how I like it. And a matte top coat is an essential in my book.

I'm having some trouble with my laptop but I hope to replace it before the week is over, so I should be getting back to regular posting pretty soon! Sorry for any inconvenience.

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #13

To be completely honest I didn't want to take off last week's manicure. The color sits really well with me and it wasn't showing any signs of wear. But, blogging duties and all I had to bite the bullet and remove that gorgeousness. I wanted something just slightly more interesting than just a solid color for this week, since I'm going to be heading to school again and I'm going to need all the help I can get to get through those days.

I started with a base coat of the unusual but pretty 'Maximillian Strasse Her'. It's a cool toned grey green polish. I traced my almond tip with one of my all time favorite Essie colors called 'After School Boy Blazer'. Miss Weingarten surely loves to give long names to her polishes. And then I placed a single dot at the base of the nail. Simple, but yet so much nicer to look at.

This Thursday I'm heading out to Amsterdam with one of my loveliest friends. She's just too funny, so I'm sure you'll see some of the damage I did there during the following weeks. There loads of new posts coming this week, so stay tuned!

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #12

I was out doing some grocery shopping with the mister when I told him I wanted to step into the drugstore to see if they had 'Ballet Slippers' in. The prettiest light feminine pink that of course I don't own anything like. That's a blatant lie, by the way. But sadly, that wasn't in, so he sighed and said 'well, another time then'. To which I replied 'hell no, I'll just get another one'. After more than a year he's still not familiar to the extent of my shopping addiction. I digress.

The color I ended up picking was Master Plan. This has nothing to do with my blog crush Suzie from Hello October mentioning this a couple of times on her blog lately, I swear. This color is a gorgeous grey color, with just a little tinge of beige to it it. It makes the reddish tones in my skin stand out a little more, which I really like. It's chic, I dig it.

The week was pretty uneventful. I created a blog calendar for myself that I am trying to keep up with. Posting every day is a challenge but I'm liking that I can put out a regular stream of content. Going to Utrecht to see a friend was a really nice experience, we had loads of fun and bought some really great stuff. Sadly there wasn't a Style Diary this Sunday, but Mike and I are working hard on making that happen next week. I want to post at least one outfit a week. This is after all a beauty and fashion blog.

Lots of new posts coming this week, so stay tuned, lovely people!

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #11

So, it's another new week, eh? I can't believe that January is already nearly halfway done. I hope this year doesn't go as fast as the last one did. This week wasn't that eventful. My boyfriend is having a 'guys week' in Malta. Lucky bastard. But he'll be back tomorrow and then I can bother him with all my ramblings.

This week's color is one I happened to find at the back of an Essie display with a delightful little sticker saying fifty percent off. My second favorite three word sentence. It is called 'Twin Sweater Set' and it's a little different from my usual Essie formula preference. This is somewhere between a creme and a jelly formula. Result? Beautiful color with an amazing shine.

What I like most about it is that it isn't the usual in your face bright red nail polish. It even has some hints of magenta. Overall it's a classic red that looks beautiful on most nail shapes and skin colors. Speaking about that, I'm back to pointy nails. This time with a slightly more rounded tip. I love how long and slim this makes my fingers look.

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK

The Monday Manicure #10

The first manicure of 2014. Do you find yourself saying this about everything you do this year? The Monday Manicure is back after being away for a while. During December I posted about the Ciaté Advent Calender every single day, showing you which polish I got and my thoughts on that shade. This minty blue shade called Pepperminty was behind door number eleven and back then I swatched it on a nail wheel instead of my own nails. 

Because this pastel blue shade does not cover in one coat, I first applied a coat of Essie Blanc. I normally would just go with two coats, but because these are miniature size nail varnishes I want to make it last as long as possible. Just a thin, not quite opaque coat, of the white polish will make Pepperminty pop that much better. The result is a creamy soft shade that still pops and looks interesting. 

Although this is a pastel shade, it's more of a bolder color for me. Especially during this time of the year. I stick to dark shades of red, taupe or navy usually. This shade is a lot lighter than I am used to. But I wanted something cheery to lift up the crappy day I am having. Nothing serious, just had a bad sleep and dealing with a terrible cold. This week will be pretty uneventful, just finishing up on the travel magazine at school and then I have quite a bit of time off to catch up on things from the previous year. I've made plans to meet up with a friend who lives in another city, and I haven't seen here in a while. So I'm really excited to go to her and take some photographs of gorgeous Utrecht. 

BLOGLOVIN'  |  TWITTER  |  FACEBOOK