2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 42,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 10 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

You’re Beautiful – Polishes That Make Me Go OOH!

Hello faithful blog-readers! I’ve had a little break from the nail world over the past few months. Got a little bored (GASP, I know) with nail polish, didn’t feel inspired by the summer colours that were on the shelves, and felt frankly tired of the recent nail wrap craze. Where’s the fun in slapping a sticker on your nail? I like the whole hog of sweat, blood and base coats. Anyway, the lovely Molto Fashion posted a link on her twitter to Essie’s Fall 2012 Stylenomics range and, hoo boy, I’m in love. It prompted me to think of the prettier colours I’ve seen recently. Is it possible (hopes) that vanilla, monochromatic manicures will make a comeback this autumn? I’d like to do my bit by showing you a few of the colours that are making me swoon at the moment.

Essie Stylenomics Fall 2012

First up, the Fall collection from Essie that started this all off. It’s full of jewel tones in high gloss colour, and it is STUNNING. With a capital STUNNING. Have a looksee!

from crystaliciousss.blogspot.com

Recessionista, from polishyoupretty.com

from nailingthis.com

Essie describe this range as fabulous, intelligent and (best of all) “power color”. Sold!

OPI

Just found this delightful colour in OPI’S Disney Vintage Minnie Mouse collection. It’s a translucent pink with glitter shimmer and large pale pink glitter hearts, which makes my heart go all-aflutter. Probably works best as a top coat. How cute would this look over a cherry red?

from beautybay.com

I’m also super excited for OPI’s Fall 2012 Germany Collection – hits a similar note to Essie’s, but a few neutrals and some shimmers thrown in. Danke-Shiny Red is gorgeous, but I’m a sucker for shimmery ruby reds. Scrangie put a matte top-coat on it to resemble a Zoya shade, and the effect is stunning.

from Scrangie.com

German-icure is also gorgeous, a burnt-red shimmer with plum overtones.

from krex.se

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MAC

Mac launched their first permanent nail lacquer collection this summer, and I love the range. I particularly heart these three vampy shades, ideal for autumn and winter. Check out, from left to right, Midnight Tryst, Nightfall and Sparks on Screen.

from neutrakris.com

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Finally, Moi

Naturally, amidst all these beautiful dark and twisty colours, I am prolonging the summer by wearing a cute coral No. 7 shade I picked up in Boots this week. As long as it’s 20 degrees plus outside, my nails will be bright and summery.

from thesundaygirl.com

Until next time! xo nua eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Thirty One: Fuschia You

It’s the final day of my March Manicure Madness, and what a saga it has been. To document 31 manicures over a period of six weeks is no mean feat (for me). Fun, but it was a bit of a drag some days, to be honest. So, while April won’t be chock full of manicures, I will blog about every new polish I buy. Also whenever I get the urge to share adorable photos of my dog, which is pretty frequent at the moment.

The final polish for March Manicure Madness is from a brand I’d never even heard of before, let alone tried. Spotted it in my local pharmacy and was drawn in by the attractive price point (€3) and the pretty lace design on the cap. One swipe of my loyalty card, and a jingling exchange of coins later, and I was the new owner of this purdy thing.

Smooch is the brand, and 15 Fuschia is the name of the polish. It’s a jelly (my absolute favourite) – a translucent pink base that’s tightly packed with pink flaky shimmery bits. Three coats are a necessity – the opacity is achieved by layers of the shimmery bits, rather than the base. It’s quite eye-catching.

When I was taking these photos I noticed my sister’s Juicy Tubes lip gloss nearby, and the similarity was striking. Have a look-see.

It’s lasted quite well over the last three days, just some minor tip-wear. The more coats you apply, the less likely this is to happen.

So that’s that! *wipes off hands*

It’s goodbye from Rupert…

…and goodbye from me!

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Thirty: Lilac It Like That

Another gorgeous OPI polish (I’m developing quite a taste for them) today, in the form of Do You Lilac It?, which is a pale purple, lilac creme polish.

The colour reminds me of purple Peeps. Yum… Why can’t we get Peeps in Ireland? They’re the best thing about Easter in America.

(from lindly.wordpress.com)

PEEPS! Okay, more photos of the lovely Do You Lilac It.

That Easter egg was amazing. Never too old for Easter treats 🙂

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Twenty Nine: The Emerald City of Oz

I love the name of today’s polish – Revlon Nail Enamel 032 Emerald City. It takes its name from The Wizard of Oz, naturally.

(from songbook1.wordpress.com)

Emerald City is a matte polish (quite unusual for Revlon) in a deep, forest green with green microshimmer throughout. It’s a real beauty.

I did 2 coats for nice, even coverage. Below is a picture with flash, so you get a better idea of the colour and shimmer.

I only have one gripe about this polish – tip shrinkage. Not on every nail, but 3 or 4, and it chipped after less than a days wear. C+ for durability, Revlon, if you’re reading…

In summary – Emerald City: beautiful colour, shame about the formula.

I’ve had a few requests recently to post up pictures of my new dog, so, my wish is your command. Please welcome Rupert. He’s a 2 year old brindle Boxer. He enjoys long walks on the beach and meeting new people. He can sit, lie down, shake hands and dance (jump up). He folds himself into a U shape when he’s really excited, and he’s a sucker for cuddles. I got him at the Sligo Dog Shelter a few weeks ago. He’s a big bundle of joy 🙂

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Twenty Eight: Red & White

Carrying on from yesterday’s theme, today I’m sporting polka dots again. I saw a similar manicure somewhere in the depths of The Internetz but I can’t remember for the life of me where. So, if I am inadvertently stealing your manicure, sorry! Let me know and I will shower you with a blog credit and apologies.

On alternating nails, I did either 3 coats of white (Essence Multi Dimension 68 Perfectly True) or 2 coats of red (Essence Multi Dimension 77 Call It Fame), followed by a smattering of polka dots in the opposite colour once the base was dry. Letting it dry completely (give it a good hour) is really important, otherwise you’re in for a bleeding, smudgey mess.

My lovely new dog, a boxer named Rupert, was snoozing away as I took these pictures. I thought I’d sneak a photo of my nails against his fur – it’s a beautiful, tiger-like brindle – but when I put my hand up, he stuck his paw in it and went back to sleep. Ahhhh so adorable 😀

He’s enormous, in case you can’t tell by the photo…

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Twenty Seven: Emma Bridgewater nails

I love Emma Bridgewater’s classic, instantly recognisable polka dot pattern. Her unique contrast of colours work gorgeously together and carry an air of English country simplicity. I decided to give it a go on my nails, seeing as polka dots are my go-to nail art and I wanted to try something a little different, but not too time-consuming or difficult. Let’s have a look at the pattern, first.

(from eclectique.co.uk)

(from crocusandivy.com)

(from housetohome.co.uk)

I want my own house JUST to have a place to keep an Aga as glorious as that. Anyway, I rifled through my box of nail polish and these are the ones I came up with. I’m not listing them, because the polishes don’t matter, the colours do. Of course if you want specific info on any of the polishes, go ahead and ask! 🙂

I did several coats of the Wet n Wild 2% Milk to get a good, dark cream opaque base, then I added a few small polka dots from each polish. There are so many different colours to fit in, and there’s quite a bit of space in between them in the original pattern, so don’t add as many as I did!

I really liked how it turned out, and it was so simple to create – I highly recommend it!

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Twenty Six: One Blue Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Ah, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. Possibly my favourite movie-set-in-a-psych ward of all time, with Girl Interrupted nipping at its coat-tails in second place. Anyway, the reason I’m thinking of this film is because today’s polish is a sort of eggshell blue, hence birds eggs, hence cuckoos, hence favourite-movies-set-in-psych-wards-of-all-time comparisons. So yeah, eh, nail polish!

This is Revlon Nail Enamel in 044 Blue Lagoon. I love Revlon nail polish; it’s a little pricier than your typical pharmacy lacquer, almost on a par with salon brands like Essie and OPI – but, the quality is great, and their formulae and brushes are usually excellent, making for easy application and a salon-finish manicure.

This colour was part of last year’s summer range, now on special offer in Cara Pharmacy (also 20% off all cosmetics this weekend, woohoo). I think it’s a gorgeous Easter colour.

I have no complaints about this polish, at all. It took three coats to reach opacity and really bring out the microshimmer (extremely subtle silver, blue and purple).

Can you see the shimmer in the bottle? Kind of.

It’s a beautiful pastel blue that I’ll definitely be including in a Skittle manicure or two.

Gorgeous! Grab it while it’s still available…

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Twenty Five: PinkedIn

Here comes another untitled polish from Leticia Well, a Spanish brand my friend bought me on her holliers!

I did one coat and took a picture, so you can get an idea of the formula. It’s semi-jelly, semi-creme, all pretty.

Then I added a second, to even it out.

And, finally, a third! It was necessary, because there were little bare patches and streaks even after 2.

The brush with this was slightly ridiculous – there were bristles standing out at all angles that I had to rip out before even attempting to use it. Apart from that, application was fine and it dried very quickly.

I absolutely love this colour, baby pink seems to suit my skin tone well and it’s a staple colour in my nail polish box of treasure. Another spring-appropriate, Easter-y colour!

xo

Nua Eabhrac

March Manicure Madness, Day Twenty Four: OPI Super Bass Shatter

Ta-dah! Another new OPI polish, also from the Nicki Minaj collection – the very pretty Super Bass Shatter.

SBS is a shatter polish in a pink-toned purple with microshimmer throughout. I used one medium-thick coat per nail. As with any shatter polish, the thinner the coat, the finer the shatter will be.

It looks beautiful in the bottle, but on the nail it loses some of its lustre. The polish becomes semi-matte and the microshimmer is dulled practically to the point of non-existence. Could a top-coat bring out the shine again? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

A lot of blog swatches of SBS have been done over fellow Nicki Minaj polish Pink Friday, a baby pink creme. I did mine over the nearest colour I could get, which was another unnamed polish by Leticia Well, pictured below.

All in all, SBS is an unusual polish and a nice take on the shatter craze. Its colour limits what it can be painted over, however. It might look good over opaque white, or taupe maybe… Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be getting a lot of mileage out of this one. Oh well! More pics!

Tomorrow – the anonymous pink!

xo

Nua Eabhrac