Barely China

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Sometimes you just have to step out of your comfort zone and do something new. I was feeling the mood today, and wanted to give this Color Club - Barely There a try. I received it in my April - Glossy Box.
I have been subscribing for a while now, and it's great for trying out new makeup items.
I am the kind of person that has no idea in the makeup isle, I tend to stick to things I already know works for me, and I am terrified trying out new stuff. Be it new colours or just a new texture.
I even have a problem with them changing the design on my BB cream. That was not a good day.
So when I get these little boxes, and they come with instructions and all, in to my own home, I feel more at ease. I have had some hits and misses, but I have also found some really great things.

Favorite so far: Coconut/Argan oil for my hair. I have been growing my hair for a while, and I am just getting past my hips now, and when I had it measured it was 80 cm / 31 inches / 2.6 feet.

But ya'all didn't get here to hear about my hair. Let's talk nails.

Color Club - Barely There

This is shown with 3 coats, and was a bit tricky to use, and to be honest it didn't wow me over or anything. I am trying to find a go-to-nude polish, and I can say for sure, this will not be it.
I wanted to give it a proper go, and wear it for a couple of days, so I grabbed my BornPrettyStore water transfers in "Traditional Chinese Painting Beauty Aspara Flat Peach Pattern (# 6076) that I purchased a while (and by a while, I mean last year), ago, and slapped them on.

To Jazz it up a little, I went with my Moyou London - Scholar Plate - 02 and my trusted stamping polish Wet N Wild - Black Creme and a black stud from a nail art wheel from Claire's.

BornPrettyStore - Traditional Chinese Painting Beauty over Color Club - Barely There. Stamping in Wet N Wild - Black Creme from Moyou London - Scholar Plate 02, and a black stud.

The water transfer was really easy to use, and I could slide them on my nails to correct the positioning after I placed them on my nails, which was great.

If you are thinking about purchasing from BornPrettyStore they offer free shipping worldwide, and if you use my code (RAMG10) you get 10% off your order. Clicking on the image below will take you straight to their site.

Until next time girls! Happy polishing!

HPB Presents: Flowers

As some of you already know, I recently got my hands on a HUGE lemming of mine. Mallard by The PolishAholic. So, for my birthday, that was the 13th of May, I decided that the best way to celebrate would be to wear it. 

Hobby Polish Blogger is currently doing a May Blog Link-Up where the theme is Flowers.
I was also looking for an opportunity to play around with my brand new Creative Stamper, so I grabbed my Moyou London - Mother Nature Plate Collection 05, and decided to stamp the flowers.

I read up on Lacquer Or Leave Her! post about "Which Stamper Should I Use, where Mishka goes in depth on how to use stampers, and most importantly for me, how to use the Creative Stamper. It is a great post, and if you ever have stamping problems, or are new to stamping and want's to get into it, this is a great place to start.

Mallard By PolishAholic

Mallard By PolishAholic

For this manicure I used two coats of Mallard By The PolishAholics, followed by the rose stamping image from Moyou London - Mother Nature Plate Collection 05, and used the arch of the gate on my index and little finger. I stamped using Barry M - Paprika.

Mallard By PolishAholic stamped with Barry M - Paprika using Moyou London - Mother Nature collection Plate 05

So there you have it, a last minute contribution for the HPB May Blog Link-Up. I really enjoyed getting back to doing these, and will try to do more of them in the future.
It was sad covering up Mallard By PolishAholic, but the manicure turned out very nicely, and I got some compliments in the office.

An InLinkz Link-up

Max Factor: Sheen Merlot

Oh, hi girls, don't mind me, I'll just have a drop of this Merlot.

...and by Merlot, I mean the new Max Factor - Sheen Merlot.

Last week was my birthday, and I did a little birthday haul, let's be honest, who doesn't get themselves a lot of nail polish and claim them as birthday presents. Haha.
I will use any excuse to get me some new babies.

When I saw this on the corner section of the Max Factor display in Boots, I knew I had to own it. 

This is one of their Gel Shine Lacquer, and I have to say the sheen of this is amazing, it's butter smooth, and it covered perfectly in two thin coats.

Max Factor - Sheen Merlot

Max Factor - Sheen Merlot

I can't stop looking at my nails, they are gorgeous. I couldn't get myself to stamp anything over it either. What would you have gone for?
 Let me know in the comments below.

HPB Presents: Russian Flowers

I received this product of my own choosing, free of charge for my honest, non-bias review from the Born Pretty Store.

I wanted to join in on the Llama Nails Challenge this month which is: FLOWERS, and at the same time participate on the Hobby Polish Bloggers (HPB) Link-Up this month which is also Flowers. May Flowers. So Two Challenges in one go!
I have been terrible at keeping up with Challenges here and there, but every now and then I like to pick them up and join in.

For this manicure I used four coats of MISA - Russian Sage. I never quiet agreed with this polish. I thought it would be more opaque when I bought it, and I don't really care for VNL, so I wanted to find a way so that I would like to wear this polish. What better than to pull out a sponge and make a gradient(!).

I sponged the tips using Yes Love - 27 - Shiny Glitter. A polish I got while I lived in Spain. It is actually a brand from Portugal, but it was widely available in the shops around Madrid. I never came across this brand on my many trips to Alicante, so it might not be available all around Spain. Just so that is said.

Misa - Russian Sage gradient with Yes Love - 27 - Shiny Glitter. With BornPrettyStore flowers.

I wanted to add some flowers to this, and I received some lovely water decals from BornPrettyStore that I wanted to use for this Challenge.  Purple Floral Butterfly Pattern Sticker T112.

The instructions are pretty simple, take protective film of, soak in water, add decal to nail, remove backing paper, top coat to protect your design. Easy.

The decals comes with a protective film you have to remove. That was not a problem as it was not attached in any way to the paper with the actual decals on them. When I pulled the decals out of the pocket/pack the protective film stayed behind. This did not effect the design in any way.

Like with all water decals, you cut out the pattern you want, drop it in some water and let is sit for a little bit. I was expecting it to be kinda like water tattoos where you put the image on to the surface you want to it go, and then slide the backing paper off.

Notice how my manicure is sporting some white flowers with a purple outline, and some full on purple flowers?

If you used the T112 decals like I described above: that you place them onto your nail (backing paper up, image down), after it was done soaking in water, you would get the white flowers with the purple outline, but you could slide the decal of the backing paper before adding them to your nail.
I found it to be easiest by placing my thumb on the image and slide my index finger down over the backing paper, as the backing paper would follow the index finger and reveal the decal, you could choose which way you wanted them. Purple flowers, or white flowers with purple outline. Since they are different on each side.

On the BornPrettyStore shop you see them as purple flowers, little do you know, that they can actually be both. In my book, that my friends, that is a huge bonus.

T112 from BornPrettyStore.

By having them like this, you can create unique look by mixing and matching the decals on your nails. I really like this feature, and I love the finished result. As you can see from the picture above I was able to overlap two of the designs to make it look continuous, with the vines that goes off the flowers meeting together in a loop at the bottom of my nail.

If you want to get hold of the T112 - Purple Floral Butterfly Pattern it is sold for 2.86 $ but at the time of writing this post, on sale for 2.15 $ .BornPrettyStore offers free shipping worldwide, and if you use my code (RAMG10) you get 10% off your order.

Happy Polishing!

An InLinkz Link-up


I received this product of my own choosing, free of charge for my honest, non-bias review from the Born Pretty Store.

Birthday Hauling!

Tomorrow is my birthday, and therefor I have been hauling some little gifts for myself.

I am one of those people who love their birthday, I plan my day weeks and week ahead, and this Saturday I am going to the park with my friends for a picnic. This is a tradition I have had ever since I turned 20. Except for that one year when it was raining...

Last year I got a Helmer for my birthday, and it looks like I need to expand this year with a third Helmer. My nail/office room is coming together nicely, but I am just lacking the space, and need to expand.

But enough about my birthday, wanna see what I got?

Lots of Barry M polishes!

I got:

Barry M - Silk - Pearl
Barry M - Gelly - Chai
Barry M - Gelly - Cardamom
Barry M - Matte - Mocha
Barry M - Gelly - Paprika
Barry M - Gelly - Chilli
Barry M - Matte - Copa Cabana

Barry M - Speedy - Pit Stop

Barry M - Matte - Vanilla
Barry M - Vintage Violet

Max Factor - Sheen Merlot

I got a 30£ giftcard from work, as the Top Agent Of The Month, so it meant I could get loads of nail polishes. This actually just about covered it for me, so a couple of pounds had to go out of my own pockets.

Rainbow Connection Haul

I bought myself the Creative Stamper, and I finally got my hands on Mallard by The PolishAholic, and my second Dollish Polish; Dollish Polish - Serendipity (Store Exclusive). I can't wait to try em all out.

I also ordered myself some clear nail art tips to swatch my entire collection. I am rapidy reaching 500 now, and felt that some order was in need.

Until next time, stay healthy and polish those tips. 

Little Miss Piggy

I have seen this hashtag around with #boyfriendpicksmypolish, and I wanted to do it as well.
So I brought him in to the nail room, and asked him to choose a drawer in my Helmers, and pick a polish.
He selected Barry M - Gelly - Dragon.

I didn't want it to be too easy, and just do a plain manicure with this polish, so I asked him to choose an image from my stamping plates. I started with showing him my Cheeky plates, and his eyes found this little piggy on the Cheeky - Jumbo Plate 9 - Wild At Heart (check the link for a full view of the plate).
So I suppose that means I gotta have to show some Piggy-love on my nails. Who better to take inspiration from, than Miss Piggy and do something girly.

I used W7 - White as a background, and stamped the little piggy on my middle finger using Barry M - Gelly - Dragon. The image didn't stamp very well, and showed up very faint on my nails. The lines on the head of the piggy are just too thin.
I redotted the eyes, and took a striping brush and did some lines for the body, and added a button.

On the rest of the nails I made animal prints using a small angled brush.

Barry M - Gelly - Dragon

So there you go! I have done the #boyfriendpicksmypolish for the first time. What do you think?

(TAG) Confessions Of A Nail Polish Addict

Hi everyone!

I saw this tag over at Brit Nails , and I decided to jump on it, and do one as well.
If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged.


1. What nail are you wearing on your nails (and toes) right now?
Right now, I am wearing Barry M - Silk - Forest. I have had it for a while and was feeling in the mood for something a bit darker than what I have been sporting lately. Swatch will be up soon-ish.


As for my toes...

7 months ago, I had a little accident involving a knife and my big toes. I was doing dishes and it slipped out of my hand, and fell tip first on my toe, just below the cuticle line, bounched off and landed on my other toe. What are the odds?!

It didn't cut off anything but I got a huge bruise under my nails, and they have been black every since. They are finally getting close to having grown all the way out, but there is a huge dent between the old nail and the new one coming out, So, to not make it noticeable I have hidden my toes ever since.

I just hope they will be fine for my holiday this summer...


2. What is one nail product you can't live without?
Lush Lemon Flutter, that stuff is seriously God-sent. It smells amazing, and feels great.

Lush - Lemon Flutter

3. What is your favorite nail polish brand (mainstream and indie)?
By looking at my collection I would have to say Barry M. I always get excited whenever they are coming out with a new collection, and it's the first shelf that I check out whenever I go to Boots.

I don't really have a lot of indies.. but I would have to say Cult Nails for that one. They have a special place in my heart, and makes me all giddy inside whenever I decided to wear it.


4. What kind of nail shape do you wear (short or long)?
My nails are somewhere between squoval and oval, with a little bit of free-edge. As I spend most my days in front of a computer, and do a lot of typing, it's hard on my tips.


5. What is your go-to color?
Living on the Emerald Isle, makes me lean towards picking green for my talons. I also have a weakness for purples and blues..


6. What is your favorite nail polish finish?
Cremes, most of my collection is based on cremes.


7. What's on your nail polish wish list?
I am trying to scout of more indies for my stash. There are so many great ones out there, and I am just getting on my feet financially after not having worked for 3 years, so I am trying to be careful, and take things slow.


8. When do you usually paint your nails?
After I have made dinner on weekdays, and in the morning with my morning-cuppa, and around lunchtimes when the sun is good for pictures.


9. What's your top nail tip that you swear by?
Moisturize. Like, ALL THE TIME.

I keep argan oil in a small polish bottle in the office, with Burt Bees Hand Salve, as the office is very drying on my nails and cuticles. And I have a small sampler size tub of Lush Lemon Flutter in my handbag, and at my desk and nail station at home.


10. What nail polish do you regret buying?
Without a doubt YSL - Bleu Majorelle.

Not that it isn't a great polish, it goes on like butter, and the cobalt blue is great, but the YSL gave me the worse stained nails I have ever seen. I also found some dupes for it, so it rests in it original box in my drawers.

YSL - Bleu Majorelle

11. Neons or pastels? Brights or darks?
I don't have a lot of neons and pastels, though lately I have been getting a lot more pastels than previously. Looking at my collection there is a huge variety in the shades that are present.


12. What is your holy grail white, black and neutral polish?
Sinful Color - Snow Me White. I am on my third bottle, and got several backups for it. I have tried several other pure whites, but I always fall back on this one.

Sinful Color - Snow Me White and Franken - EmOzean with black striper

Wet N Wild - Black Creme I love it for stamping, and since I never really wear black nail polish alone, it has only been used for stamping purposes or as undies for other polishes. It works great for that. If I was going to sport a black polish to wear alone, I would go with Essie - Licorice.

As for a nude, I am still working on finding my "holy grail" nude polish. I recently bought a whole load of them, as you might have noticed on my blog. There are plenty more to come.

Barry M - Matte - Vanilla  with flower stamp from BornPrettyStore - Y013

Barry M - Gelly - Lychee with black french tips and stamp from Moyou London Scholar Collection

13. What is one brand you want to try but haven't yet?
Dance Legends, Butter London, Hare, Delush Polish.. the list goes on and on.