Lest we forget. Remembrance Day Nails.

They shall grow not old, 

as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Today, 11/11, is the anual Remembrance Day that marks the end of World War I in 1918 at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. In todays post I give thanks to all soldiers who have fought in our wars, many of whom have sacrificed their lives in order to protect our country. But let us remember that our men and women fight for our safety all year round in many hostile environments and should not only be remembered and honoured on one special day, but all year round.

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day. Poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

I used two coats of Barry M - Matt White and poppy decals from an eBay seller. These decals didn't work as well as previous decals I've used, they seemed more like paper and peeled off in corners before I added a coat of NYC - Grand Central Station and then a coat of Seche Vite. My index finger also smudged when I tried to fix the decal.

Regardless of my awful application. This mani is to show respect to all service men and women, past and present.

Lest we forget.

Bloggers against bullying: No H8!

Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay.

Most of us are, thankfully, residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish blogging community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color...even to our polish application techniques. To marginalize anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog. 

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

I'm a blogging baby in comparison to the majority of blogs I read religiously. I couldn't imagine being new to a community, all united by a love; be it polish, films or football, and have people slander something I love to do. I have been very fortunate and have had a lot of encouragement and support even though I'm far from where I want to be; my photo's are awful at times, my cuticles get into really bad states and I've posted some dodgy designs but I love what I do. The blogging bully's far outweigh the supportive and genuinely nice people in the nail blogging community and I'm very thankful for that. Don't let people get you down.

Today I'm wearing purple as a stand against bullying and for any blogger that has ever been made to feel they are not good enough. 

YOU ARE!

For this mani I used two coats of Nail Pop - Glamrock. On the accent nail I added a coat of NYC - Grand Central Station and, while it was still tacky, I sprinkled over MUA Constellations - Scorpio. Scorpio is fill of gold, pink and green mini beads. I added a coat of Seche Vite to all but the beaded nail (I've previously tried this and it ruined the beads).

The MUA nail constellations are really amazing for creating 3D nail art without the Ciate price tag; at only £3 a bottle, you just can't say no! The lid can also be turned up-side-down and double as a funnel for pouring in beads that didn't quite make the cut back into the bottle, minimising waste..genius!

The rest of the collection includes Pisces, Leo, Gemini and Libra.

Max Factor - Fantasy Fire and Intense Plum

I know way back in the beginning of the year there was mega hype over Max Factor's Fantasy Fire. Naturally, at the time, I bought it like so many other nail lovers. This polish is almost a dupe for the long discontinued gems Clarins 230 (Unicorn Pee), which would be way out of my price range even if it was still available!

Fantasy Fire is a multichrome shimmer which shifts from red to copper to gold to green in different lights and it's ah-mazing! Turns any polish into shimmery glimmery awesomeness. I couldn't stop looking at my nails for a long time after I got this polish. This swatch is over 2 coats of Max Factor - Intense Plum, which I recently bought and is what prompted this post. I'm kicking myself I didn't take pictures of the polish alone, it's so yummy. I'll edit it them in later when I next wear the polish :) And I finished with a coat of NYC In a New York Minute.

Oh, and I'm a sad bunny today. My pinky nail broke! Look how sad it looks, all short and whatnot! I was going to take the pictures using my right hand but she is very camera shy. This has become more wordy than I intended so I'll just crack on with the pictures..

Reverse Half Moons

I'M BACK!! I finally got my charger working, can I get a woop woop?! Oh how I've missed blogging. Seriously, felt like I'd lost a limb!

This is a mani I did for my first day on my masters course. I'd never done a reverse half moon but I really like how it turned out. This is one coat of Barry M Gold Foil and then two coats of strategically placed A-Engand St George (obsessed with this polish!) and I placed some Hex Glitters for a simple accent. I finished it with two coats of NYC In A New York Minute. I really like the colour combination on this one.

Ladybirds!

Something fun today. LADYBIRDS! I'm trying to hold onto summer for as long as physically possible. I HATE the cold. HateHateHate. This is definitely summer on my nails. 

I used two coats of an unnamed The Colour Workshop red and used black and white acrylic paint with a dotting tool and striper brush for the details. And topped it with two coats of NYC In A New York Minute.

Annnnd one with a cute little butterfly from my back garden, just for fun :)

I wanna see your Peacock!

I love the peacock nails that have been trending in the nail blogging world for a while. They're colourful, fun and you can use just about any colour combination. I stuck with the classic peacock feather colours for this mani.

I used Essie Feed Me base coat, I bought this to try to combat my peelies. I then used a base of Rimmel 60 Seconds At Ease on some fingers and Wild Couture Nailed It Black on the others. For the feathers I used a combination of Rimmel 60 Seconds Green With Envy, A-England St George, Barry M Magnetic Blue, Barry M Gold Foil, W7 Purple Paradise and finished with two coats of NYC In A New York Minute.

I love how this turned out, shame about my terrible cuticles! MUST.MOISTURISE.MORE!!