NOTD - Autumn Trees!

Hey there lovely readers!

I don't know about you guys but I am SO ready for the change of season already! Yes sunshine & Summer you've been delightful, but I'm all for the blankets, candles & hot cocoa life now...I am an Autumn baby after all!

NOTD - Earth Day Nails

Hello there my lovely readers!

Aaaah I am SO happy with how this finished design came out, so much so that it actually may be my most favourite nail art look of the month! Hurrah for nail art wins. I've had so many fails of late I was beginning to despair...

NOTD - Jade Semi Precious Stone Nails

Hi there lovely readers!

I have a particular fondness for semi precious stones, not just for their magical properties of course, I always have a few lying around the place, but you can find some truly stunning rocks with beautifully intricate patterns woven within the stone which means one thing...NAIL INSPIRATION!

You've probably seen & are familiar with the Geode nail art trend that was pretty big last year, I gave it a go myself & absolutely loved it, take a peek at my step by step tutorial HERE. 

I wanted to go further & explore other stones for which I could attempt to recreate on my nails, I have a long list...Rose Quartz, Marble, Amethyst, Opal....but first I wanted to give Jade Stone nails a try & so that is what I have for you beauties today!

NOTD - Autumn/Fall Tree Dotticure

Hello there lovely readers!

Before we wave a fond farewell to Autumn this year I wanted to share with you one of my favourite Fall Nail Art designs I did but totally forgot to put up on here! Plus I'm just not yet ready to get rid of all the comforting Autumn feels just yet!

Disney Nail Art Series - Maleficent

Hey there lovely readers!

So I felt it was about time to add another manicure into my Disney NailArt Series that I've started here on my blog. 

So far I've thrown together some Beauty and The Beast nails & a suitably fairy-tale perriwinkle blue Cinderella themed design as well. I thought the time had come to switch things up a tad & give one of the glorious villain diva's a turn in the nail art stakes. 

Alongside the Disney princesses there are also some utterly fabulous goddesses in Disney playing the role of villain whom you can't help but love & I look forward to experimenting & creating something fun for them too!

The first Disney villain I wanted to rustle up something for is one of my favourites Maleficent. Of course Sleeping Beauty is a vintage classic when it comes to Disney & a firm favourite of mine, but I also loved the live action adaptation retelling this intriguing villains story in a really wonderful way with Angelina Jolie in the lead role. 

NOTD - Chameleon Chrome Nails with Magical Unicorn Dust!

Hi there lovely readers!

Now I'm sure that you've all seen by now the chrome nail trend that looks like your rocking molten metal on the talons & is the current obsession in the nail world. Seeing these stunning mirror finish metallic sci fi nails on my Insta feed has me itching to get in on some of that shiny action!

My only dilemma  has been that the majority of chrome powders I've come across work with UV Gel polish only. I do own a UV lamp, but the idea of using gel polishes, for me & I'm sure others, is just a bit much, especially seeing as I chop & change my nails so often. Though for this there is also a solution, that being using a peel off basecoat...this way I could easily remove said gel polish after a few days if I wish. 

But for now, like Indiana Jones hunting for the Holy Grail, I've been searching for a chrome powder that works on regular polish & I've just ordered one which I think may be exactly what I've been hunting for....but until then I thought I'd share with you a lovely & very budget friendly alternative you can get to achieve a futuristic finish to you nails & is courtesy of Born Pretty Store.

Review - Revlonissimo 45 Days 2 in 1 Shampooo & Conditioner for Brave Reds

Hello there lovely readers,

Every once in a while you stumble across one of those wonderful, life changing, world shifting products that you never knew HOW you coped without. Sounds a tad over the top maybe but such has been the case with this recent find & which ALL ladies who dye their hair regularly need in their life.

The Holy Grail product in question is Revlonissimo 45 Days Total Color Care, a 2 in 1 sulfate free shampoo & conditioner which I received at a PR event & only recently discovered the wonders of. I am a regular dyer of the hair, the colour requiring topping up at least every couple of months, a task which I don't exactly relish! Not only is it a long grueling process but the amount one spends on hair dye, especially with my long hair, can end up quite costly!

It was at a time when my hair was starting to look a tad dull that I dug out & used the Revlonissimo for Sensual Brunettes, simply because I had run out of shampoo & as soon as my hair was dry I was blown away at how beautifully vibrant the brown tones in my hair had become, it looked like I had just freshly dyed it when in fact it was done at least a good four months ago! The number of comments I received after using this asking what dye I was wearing I can't tell you.

Upon discovering the wondering benefits of this little gem I went & purchased the version for Reds because as you can see below...I've now just recently had a revamp with red/black ombre hair courtesy of the fabulous Rockaily Cuts in London. 

I now incorporate this product in to my weekly hair care routine religiously. The instructions advise that you use this product twice each wash which in my opinion is not necessary at all. Not only is it completely unsavvy, why you would be out of product after only a few sessions! Plus it lathers up so well that one rinse is more than enough. 

The way I used to previously use this was by first using my regular shampoo, at the moment I am LOVING the OGX range. Once washed I would then lather in the Revlonissmo, massaging it in for a few minutes before rinsing out. However lately I've actually just been using the Revlonissimo on its own as I don't want to over wash my hair due to the red dye.

I then use the accompanying conditioner that goes with the OGX shampoo in to which I also add a squeeze of Aussie 3 Minute Miracle conditioner for a bit of extra TLC for the hair. I leave this for a good five minutes to work its magic before finally rinsing out as well.

I never blow dry my hair, preferring to let it air dry. This is partly because my hair is so long, to blow dry would be far too intense a workout which my wee arms just couldn't handle & yes I'll admit I'm just a lazy bum. Plus I straighten my hair, as it will be getting heat from that, to blow dry it too would definitely be overkill. But once dry the results after using this routine of late has been smooth, shiny & vibrantly coloured locks that look like they have been freshly dyed. Happy Aysh!

So my fellow hair dyers, if there is one product you NEED in your life it is this. Not only does it leave the hair looking, smelling & feeling wonderful but it will also save you a packet on hair dye as you'll find yourself needing to top up less often. The Revlonissimo comes in different shades for all hair types, the range includes variations suitable for Brunettes, Ice Blondes, Intense Coppers, Radiant Darks & Brave Reds. You can find it online on Beauty Bay HERE for £9.95...so what are you waiting for...go go go!

Lotsa love to ya!

NOTD - Pastel Winter Wonderland Nails

Hello there my lovely readers!

Happy new year to you all my beauts! I hope you all had a wonderful Xmas break & new years however you spent it. I'm certain my spirit animal is a bear as I've pretty much spent the holidays in hibernation which has been utter bliss! Like many I'm sure I'm now currently going through the “oh god no” motions at the thought of going back to work!

Not feeling QUITE so ready to part from the festive feels just yet here's a frosty Pastel Winter Wonderland mani using sugary soft tones, snowflakes & a bit of glitter thrown in! Normally I'm a glossy girl all the way, however for this mani I decided to mattify the finish & I must confess I dig it!

I wanted some pretty pastels for my base, not able to decide I went for a two tone using pale pink & mint.

For the pink I've used two coats of Zoya Bailey, a gorgeous soft pink with a pretty pale silver shimmer running through it.

For my mint green nails I went for one of my vintage Revlon polishes, this is the aptly named Minted of which two coats were also applied.

Creating the snowflakes is easy peasy, using a fine nail art brush & some white polish simply draw an X on to your nail wherever you'd like your snowflakes placed, then draw a vertical or horizontal line on top.

Now add on your snowflake details by placing smaller angled lines along the cross, playing around with different styles, sizes & designs!

To add a bit of dimension to the pastel nails I dotted on a bit of Barry M textured polish in Lady which is a really unusual & pretty frost white shimmer.

Then for the accent nail I applied two coats of this pretty silvery All That Jazz polish. I couldn't for the life of me find the name of the shade on my bottle, unless I was having a dunce moment which, lets be honest, is most likely, but it could be the shade Glam Squad

For the final touch I coated the silver pinkie with this beautiful silver & frosty blue bar & hexagon glitter mix courtesy of Essie Luxe Effects in Frilling Me Softly.

As mentioned before I decided to go for a matte look so to finish I applied a Rimmel matte topcoat to the pastel nails. Matte pastel manicures may just be my new favourite thing! I don't know if its the sweet tooth but this finish reminds me of cake frosting!

First post of 2017 done! Now I'm off to hunt down that Fondant Fancy that I know is in the cupboard begging to be eaten to satisfy the sugary sweet craving this mani has enabled. Thanks as always for sticking by to read my rambles, here's to a fab year!

Lotsa love to ya!

Festive NOTD - Christmas Puddings with Dripping Brandy Butter!

Hello there my lovely readers!

If there is one thing I'm as passionate about just as much if not more as I am for nail art...its food. Combine the two & yours truly is bonny wee bunny. Which brings us on to today's festive manicure my dears...Christmas Puddings!

Now I must confess... I'm not the biggest fan of the old Christmas pud, (SSSHHH!) but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy them on my nails eh? And for this design I actually used a scented polish so my mani smelt super sweet scrumdiddlyumptous too!

To create your Christmas pudding nails you need to start with a dark brown base. As mentioned, for this I used one of my Revlon Parfumerie scented polishes in Chocolate Truffle which smells like...yup chocolate! Apply two coats for a nice opaque finish.

Now for the brandy butter! As you can see for this part you just need to create some drip nail art. I've done this a few times on here with various different looks, you may recall on Halloween? I've done a step by step tutorial on how to create drips on your nails HERE.

I spent a while debating on which end to create my drips, I'm usually a fan of applying them on my tips, if you cast your eyes to the left of this page you can see I've done so on my Mint Choc Chip manicure. However this time I was feeling the mood for the cuticle end...I know, I'm such a rebel.

For my brandy butter drips I've used gorgeous Nina Ultra Pro polish in Rum & Reggae, which is a lovely beige cream shade. I found this delightful  brand in Sally's.

Next our puddings need some decoration in the form of a sprig of holly. To create these I just used a fine nail art brush & applied three fine dots using the nearest red polish I had to hand, then using the same brush & this time some green polish, free-handed a couple of spiky leaves either side.

As you can see I decided to rock some glitter on my little finger as an accent & for this I used a polish I picked up in Poundland called Rainbow Sparkle! Filled with gold, green & red glitters of various shapes & sizes, you really can't get more festive! A couple of coats of this on top of the brown created some satisfying sparkles. Not bad at all for a pound.

Finish it all with a nice thick coat of topcoat & you have your Christmas Pudding Nails good enough to eat! You can see all of my previous Christmas Nail Art ideas HERE. Thanks for reading!

Lotsa love to ya!

Huntsman Winters War - Evil Queen Ravenna Inspired Nails!

Hey lovely readers!

I finally watched the new Huntsman Winters War film recently which went down a treat! I thoroughly enjoyed the first film, Kristen Stewart's awful performance aside, the combination of Chris Hemsworth & Charlize Theron's fantastically crazy Evil Queen was divine & knowing that Emily Blunt was present portraying Freya the Snow Queen in this film, I simply I couldn't miss it & it didn't disappoint :)

I knew when looking at the promos prior to release that I had to attempt a mani inspired by each of the queens, Ravenna with her dark gothic gold and Freya with her icy silver was just screaming nail inspiration to me! So lets start things off with the Evil Queen Ravenna...

Unfortunately I did this mani in the evening by which time all decent lighting was lost therefore I had to wait the next morning to snap pics! Because of this it wasn't as neat as the day before, having lost a few shards & a bit of lifting! But I'm rolling with it anyhoos ;)

I started with two coats of this Revlon polish Enthrall, quite fitting actually, which I actually only picked up last week after spotting it in Poundland! The dark olive/black with a stunning golden shimmer running through immediately made me think of Ravenna. So gothic-ly pretty!

Its a bit difficult to see but I added a few sharp downwards streaks of black polish from the cuticles using a thin nail art brush & black polish.

I then used some pretty gold flakes I picked up from Born Pretty Store, using a wet brush to help pick up the shards of gold, I just placed a few pieces on top of the black streaks by the cuticle edge of the nail also.

Whilst doing a recent Born Pretty Haul (FYI you can use my code TRUW10 for 10% off your order) I couldn't resist picking up a few spike nail art charms too! This I added on to my ring finger as an accent using a bit of topcoat to help secure it down.

Finish with a thick coat of topcoat & thats it! A dark gothic gold (& perhaps slightly dangerous) manicure suitable for any Evil Queen! You may need to add a good few topcoats to keep those gold flakes in place!

Thanks as always for reading! Stay tuned for a frosty themed mani for Freya...

Lotsa love to ya!

Festive Nails - Christmas Presents!

Hello there my lovely readers,

And so it begins...the time has come to start getting the festive nail art game on! Expect lots of sparkles in the following weeks. If you're thinking "Oh but Aysh glitter is such a pain in the caboose to remove!", fret not my dears as I have written previous posts HERE on how to make glitter nail polish removal a straightforward stress free task! So now you can sparkle to your hearts content! 

I expect that I'll probably be using a lot of reds & greens over the next few weeks so I thought Id start things off by picking a slightly different yet no less merry shade for my first Xmas mani, with some Purple Presents!

To create my Christmas Present nails I used the double ended Revlon Expressionist Nail art polish in Vincent Van Gold, which I picked up many moons ago, containing a beautiful bold purple polish on one end & a shimmery smooth gold on the other.

Begin with your base colour, of course you don't have to use purple go for any shade you fancy! I love satin-y finish polishes for this style of mani as they give the look of shiny wrapping paper. The purple in this duo is so gorgeous, a really rich, luminous, what I call 'Cadbury' purple, reminiscent to the pretty packaging of the famous chocolate brand. It has the most divine pearlescent blue shimmer running through that really makes it glow. This is two coats.

Next you need to add your bows & ribbon, the gold end of the Revlon duo does have a thinner brush for nail art however I still found it a tad too thick so instead used my new Pure Color 10 brush from WhatsUp Nails which I am in love with as its perfect for creating fine nail art.

Dipping your brush into the gold polish, draw a vertical line straight down the nail, slightly to the right instead of directly in the centre, then draw another horizontal line across the nail so you'll have a gold cross.

Then dipping again into your gold, add two loops side be side in the centre of your cross where the lines meet for the top of your bow, before doing the ribbon flicks underneath.

For a final touch I decided to go over the gold with this simple yet super sparkly Color Club gold glitter polish, just doing this additional step really does make a difference allowing that mani to pop!

Finish with the obligatory topcoat, I of course use my much loved CND AirDry & you're done!

Thanks as always for popping by, I hope you liked the first festive mani my lovelies, if you have any requests do let me know!

Lotsa love to ya!

Polish & Poise - Adore Me Lingerie Inspired Nails!

Hello there lovely readers,

I do enjoy finding nail-spiration in all kinds of places, fashion, food, media, you name it. Lately I've loved creating nail art inspired by fashion, such as this Colour Block mani that was inspired by a beautifully printed dress. Another avenue I've found myself going down is lingerie. Think about it, all the pretty lace detail & jewel tones are perfect for nail art inspo! Just the simple task of wearing a pretty set underneath your winter layers can make you feel as good as when having a freshly painted manicure, so why not match both for extra brownie feel good points? When I came across lingerie brand Adore Me I became inspired to participate in their fun Polish n Poise project by creating some lacquered looks inspired by a few of their pretty pieces, I couldn't resist the challenge!

Adore Me is a New York based online lingerie company with a vast selection of pretty pieces to tempt. From dark vampy to angelic pastel sets there's something for everyone. This time of year, the warm tones especially draw me in & this gorgeous emerald two piece Wilhemina set caught my eye with its gorgeous jewel green lace & bow details.

And here is the nail look I've created inspired by this lovely piece...

To create the design start off with your green, I'd been eyeing up the gorgeous Revlon Rain-forest polish for a while now so was happy to finally give it a whirl! Rain-forest is a delightfully deep green shade with pretty glitter particles suspended in the formula making it shimmer so nicely! Perfick for this time of year.

First step is to apply Rainforest as a V shaped tip to each nail. This is so easy to do & can be done using the brush with the polish, apply one stroke at a diagonal halfway across the tip before doing the same on the other side of the nail creating the V shape.

To start with the lace detail, grab a fine nail art brush & your green again & simply apply a row of small round circles along the top edge of your V.

For added detail do the same on the opposite inside edge using a lighter shade, here I used Models Own Chrome polish in Olive which is a beautiful green tinted gold that really stands out. Again using a fine nail art brush apply your row of circles mirroring the dark green.

Next to add on your little bows, again grabbing a fine nail art brush & a dark purple, I've used Ulta3 Orchid, simply freehand your bows by drawing on two loops with a couple of curved lines underneath for the ribbon strands.

For a final touch of bling I added a pale green rhinestone to the center of the tips before sealing it all with topcoat.

Thanks as always for reading, I hope you liked the lingerie inspired nails my lovelies! I've seen a few other sets that have got me itching to create some more nail art to accompany them! Why not try rocking your nails to match your lingerie next time?

Lotsa love to ya!