What I Wore...Glitter Goth

Hello there lovely readers!

Blimey January is a toughie eh? That struggle of re-joining the gym which is still pending action & you wonder if it EVER will...the excruciatingly slow wait for the next pay day to come round *gazes far in to the abyss*... I'd gotten so used to 3 or 4 day weeks in the last month of December that getting back into the swing of a five day working week is proving a hard task! A holiday is required methinks to counter all this stress, but good news is that New York episode 2 is officially booked & confirmed for June this year & I cannot WAIT! *cue happy dance* After falling head over heels with the city last year I knew I'd be returning for sure & to do so in the summer months where hopefully the weather will be good is the cherry on top. 

Anyhoos trooping onwards for now with a wee outfit post for you today beauts, just to mix it up a tad.

Those who know me well know that bargain hunting is a task I take seriously & not without a touch of pride! Snapping up a good deal is most satisfying, Depop is my addiction, having discovered some ace finds, most recently a Vintage Star Wars skirt featured HERE as well as a new Lolita coat which I nabbed for only £40! As they retail for up to £200 I think that definitely qualifies as a bargain buy. When it comes to shopping in stores I tend to be more weary, I don't do well in crowds & often the sale racks look like a bomb site that breaks me out in a sweat to even contemplate facing! However there is the rare occasion where I manage to discover a treasure hidden away, one such find was this piece of glitter goodness in H&M no less.

GLITTAAH! Oh yus the inner pixie was definitely happy with this sparkly number as well as satisfying my dark soul ;) I do have a soft spot for H&M as they occasionally roll out stellar items like this divine long tee with skeleton rib-cage detail along the front & sleeves covered in beautiful turquoise glitter, its glinting was what caused me to pause whilst strolling by.

The shirt is made up from a thin black see through cotton, very comfy but some underlining twas required, wouldn't want to flash any dodgy parts haha! This was rectified with the simple addition of a long sleeve black t shirt which in this current freezing climate we are experiencing was necessary too! Layers for the win.

I am a lover & loyal wearer of dresses, nothing makes me feel happier than donning a swirling skirt & I'd say 80% of my wardrobe is entirely made up of swishy numbers of some sort, so this is quite different for me. However I adore channeling the gothic vibes on occasion also so this satisfies that perfectly.

Here I've teamed it with some velvet baroque leggings from Zara & my Biker Boots which were a Debenhams purchase many moons ago, finishing the look with a bit of waist cinching courtesy of a gothic leather belt.

So yup definitely happy with this addition to my wardrobe! Thanks as always for reading beauties! Next time your passing by H&M do have a browsy through their sales section, you never what treasures you might find ;)

Lotsa love to ya

NOTD - Egyptian Jewel Inspired Nails!

Hello there lovely readers!

I've always been fascinated with Egyptian history. I adore watching films depicting the time of the Pharaohs & I hope to visit Egypt one day, being a huge Poirot fan also, a Nile cruise has been on the bucket list for a long time!

From a beauty addicts perspective, the Egyptian era is truly a feast for the eyes...the stunning hairpieces, the bold makeup, the eye catching jewels! Its the jewels in particular that inspired this particular mani I have for you today, using tones of black, turquoise & gold I came up with these Egyptian inspired jewelled stone nails.

To recreate these could not be easier. Start with applying a black base. Here I've used two coats of A England Lancelot, one of my favourite blacks, it has a divine Gothic red tint to it & a beautiful glossy formula.

Next apply your turquoise centre. To do this I used a fine nail art brush & Models Own Turquoise Gloss. Free hand a teardrop/diamond style shape in the centre of your nail, before filling in. Don't worry if they don't match, I actually think having each nail look slightly different is better!

You know I am a glitter FIEND so sparkle was definitely required. To bring out that turquoise I applied some of this gorgeous Jordana glitter in Celestial on top of the Models Own.

Then using a fine nail art brush & some gold polish or a gold nail art pen which I've done here & naturally forgot to photograph because...well...I'm a plonker, apply a gold border around the turquoise.

Finally grab that glitter again, this time some sparkly gold, I love my trusty Color Club & simply go over your gold border with the glitter using another fine brush.

Finish with a coat of topcoat & jazz up the hands with some hand jewellery if you like & your Egyptian inspired manicure is done!

This mani is actually from my archive from a few months back but I'm in mourning for how long my nails are here! Lately they've been breaking left, right & centre & its slowly driving me mad! *throws self down dramatically & wails in despair*

If anyone has any tips to share to help aid this wee problem I'd love to hear any recommendations! Thanks for reading!

Lotsa love to ya!

Star Wars Storm Trooper Nails & What I Wore....

Hello there lovely readers!

Still very much on the Star Wars high here dolls. I thought I'd share with you the nails & outfit I wore to watch the film with my gang of fellow sci fi fans last week. Don't worry I didn't go as an ewok or jawa or any of the other wonderful suggestions my work colleagues kindly recommended to someone of my height... O_o Though there were a few Jedi's Knights strolling about!

I did however manage to nab this beaut one off piece vintage skirt from Depop, my favourite shopping app, I am seriously addicted to it! You can find such great bargains, I recently picked up a stunning brand new Lolita coat for a fraction of the retail price & this was another one of my finds. Do excuse the quick mirror selfie snaps! But...at least I can show you my snazzy new phone cover... ;) Also a Depop purchase!

The skirt is originally from brand MyTribe & made from the most superb vintage Return of The Jedi print material, with an elasticated waist, no belt is required so I can eat to my hearts content whilst wearing it which is most important. I paired it with a simple black lace top & knee high boots. It may be my new favourite piece & will definitely get a lot of loving! 

Moving on to the nails, if you caught my LAST POST you'll know that I recently recreated some R2D2 nails! As much as I loved these, the design was a bit palpitation inducing with its detail so for this occasion I decided to simplify it a tad with some black & white storm trooper nails!

For these you need just a white & black polish or nail art pen which I'm sure every gal has in her arsenal :)

For my white base I used two coats of Models Own White Out Hypergel, I absolutely love this range of polishes from Models Own, the white especially is guaranteed a glossy smooth opaque finish & they are also great for gradients!

I decided to use black polish with a fine brush instead of a nail art pen but use whatever you fell most confident with! Dipping your brush into you polish, start with two triangular shapes side by side for the storm troopers eyes.

Then draw a slightly upwards curved horizontal line above the eyes for the top of the helmet. Next draw another curved line, this one curving downwards below the eyes for the mouth.

Finish with three small vertical lines on the tips of the nails below the mouth to complete the ventilator of the mask.

Topcoat & that's it! I would've like to have added more detail but these were done in a rush as is obvious from a few of the lines looking more like grimaces haha! Storm troopers with gas alas.

Thanks as always for reading & may the force be with you always my lovelies!

Lotsa love to ya!

NOTD - Star Wars R2 D2 Nails!

Hello there lovely readers!

Last week was a momentous occasion as I finally went to see the new Star Wars film & it was simply...EVERYTHING. When I heard that J J Abrams had taken the helm & would be directing the movies I knew that Star Wars would be in good hands & he did not disappoint! The new film exceeded all hopes & expectations, succeeding in erasing the disastrous tragedies that were Episodes 1,2 & 3 from memory...lets just pretend they never happened. Now I know what my papa bear went through all those years ago when the original films came out, it will be hard to wait patiently for the next instalment but I cannot wait!

Inevitably I couldn't resist embodying this magical sci fi world that first fascinated me as a child on to my nails in some way or other & the first thing that came to my mind was everyone's favourite wee droid (though he may have some serious competition in the new film!) R2 D2!

After having had a closer look at all the detail involved on this little droid I did wonder what I had let myself in for, but I'm nothing if not determined, especially when it comes to a nail art challenge! So grabbing the shades required I got to recreating R2 D2 as best I could in nail form.

First step is to start with a silver base, I've used one coat of Sonia Kashuk Smoke & Mirrors, one of my favourite silvers as its so metallic & opaque.

Then using Kiko white nail lacquer for French Tips which has a fine brush perfect for nail art, I applied the white on to the bottom half of the nail.

Next up are the blue details for which I used Barry M Gelly in Blue Grape which is the perfect R2 D2 blue! Using a fine nail art brush I free handed on all the little droid details, so three small lines along the white body, one long line along the width of the nail in the middle, a row of small squares above that, before finishing with a roundish semi circle on top.

Grabbing the silver polish again, add a large dot on to the large blue semi circle, with a smaller black dot next to it. Then still using the black add on a couple of small lines on the tips of the nails for R2's legs.

Finally I stuck on a red stud for R2'S little light before sealing it all with topcoat to finish. Though I very nearly ruined everything as I didn't realise that the colour from the stone would drag when topcoat was applied! Lets just say thumb R2D2 had a distinct red tint to him O_O Topcoat was applied with a bit more care on the other nails...

Thanks for reading as always, I hope you liked the R2 D2 nails! I've got a couple more Star Wars themed nail art ideas floating around in the ol noggin, including The Force Awakens new little star droid so stay tuned my fellow sci fi lovers!

Lots of love to you!