I'm not the biggest lover of Valentine's Day, I don't really think we need a special day to celebrate our love for others or, if you're single, for yourself.  It is something we should celebrate all year round but I have to admit it is nice to have an excuse to eat a nice meal or have a bit of a pamper.  Me and my boyfriend usually only buy each other a card and then have a nice meal and spend some quality time together to mark the occasion.  We don't go all out.  I didn't want to let Valentines Day pass here on the blog without a little nod to the occasion and as I had a little play around painting my nails I thought I'd share those with you.

Products used:

Models Own Hypergel in Pink Veneer

Models Own Hypergel in Red Lustre

LA Colors Rapid Dry Top Coat

Small Dotting Tool

Now I don't claim to be a professional nail artist but I think they turned out ok.  I decided to go for the classic Valentines colours of pink and red.  I went for this pretty pastel pink so it had a bit more of a contrast against the red.  I used two coats of the Models Own Hypergel nail polish (which I love) for a more opaque finish.  I also really love the glossy finish to these nail polishes.  I then used the dotting tool with the red nail polish to create the little hearts.  I did this by placing two dots next to each other at the bottom of the nail and then dragging them down to join them together at the bottom to create a heart shape.  They didn't turn out perfect, but you know what they say, practice makes perfect!  I then applied the top coat, which I made the mistake of not letting them dry enough first and it smudged the hearts slightly.  All in all though I'm fairly happy at my first attempt, they look perfect from far away, ha ha!!

What are you doing to celebrate Valentines Day?

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Southern Lights, £4.99 - Models Own

I am a huge fan of Models Own nail polishes, especially their Gel polish and Beetlejuice collections, so when they were on offer recently I decided to give one of their glitter polishes a try.  Now, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with glitter polishes, I love how pretty they look (who doesn't love a bit of sparkle?!) but they are an absolute pain in the backside to remove and it can be quite a chore having to layer on about 4 coats for an opaque finish.  When I saw the prettiness of this Southern Lights polish from their Wonderland collection I decided to look past all the things I hate about glitter polish and hope for the best. After all Models Own have never disappointed me yet.  As you can see the sparkliness of this nail polish speaks for itself and I was impressed that this opaque glitter was achieved in just 2 coats!  A first for me when it comes to glitter polishes!  This is such a pretty nail polish, which is slightly more lilac in colour in real life than it looks in these photos, and looks gorgeous when the little flecks of holographic glitter catch the light.  As expected though it is a devil to remove and I was slightly disappointed with the drying time.  I am so impatient when it comes to waiting for nail polish to dry, but when it still smudges 45 minutes after applying may be a little long for even the most patient of nail painters.

Even though it has it's downsides and still wouldn't declare myself a glitter polish lover, I am still in love with it's sparkle and is one of my favourite glitter polishes thus far.

How do you feel about glitter polishes?  Which is your favourite?

I thought I'd try a little something different on my nails this week and was feeling inspired by all the daisy print dresses around at the moment.  So I took to the garden to paint my nails in the sunshine and attempted a little daisy nail art.

1.  Paint your nails your selected base colour, I used Barry M's Gelly nail polish in Greenberry, it's one of my favourites.

2.  Using a nail dotting tool and some white nail polish or a nail art pen, I used a Models Own Artstix Nail Art Pen dot four or five dots in a circle on each nail to create a flower shape.  Once that has dried, again using either a dotting tool or a nail art pen (this time I used a limited edition Barry M nail polish I got last summer and the end of kirby grip as my dotting tool), and put a yellow dot in the centre of each circle of white dots.

3. Once they have dried finish off with a top coat.  Be sure to make sure your nails have dried properly first and apply swiftly to make sure the daisies don't smudge.

Have you been trying any summer nail art?  Let me know if you have, I'd love to see.