Sunday 27 October 2013

Pokemon NAC Week 9 - Ground Pokémon

Hey all!

I am never on time for these things, but I've been trying to catch up. 



Sometimes I try and overcomplicate things and its really disappointing when things don't work out. So today's mani is super simple.. I just hope you can guess who it's based on - I took inspiration from some cool wallpapers that Becca used to use as her monitor backgrounds.





I did however forget that the Sally Hansen (The Sky's The Limit) that I used is a terrible stainer!

What do you think?? Can you guess who it is? 

Rachael xxx

Friday 25 October 2013

Review - Revlon Chalkboards

Good morning everyone! I have an amazing polish to show you today - something I have been hounding Revlon on facebook for for ages. Revlon Chalkboards! 


 If you are a true 'nailie' you will have seen the sets that Ciaté released a while back. A little out of some peoples price range though - including me. So I've waited and waited, and luckily Becca spotted them and picked me one up when she was out shopping. She picked me up Straight A's on request - as this is something I think I will use the most. 


 If you don't know the general concept of chalkboard nails, then its that you use a black matte nail polish as the base, and your colour over the top to act as your 'chalk'. The great thing about the Revlon's Chalkboard nail sets are that you always get black - the polish you will use the most of, and that the brushes are designed for the use - a nice easy to use brush to apply the base, and a thin striper style brush to apply your other colour - in this case, my white. 


Now I won't lie - I usually hate matte nail paint. I quite like this though as it still has an almost satiny finish. It reminds me of the rubber style polishes from Illamasqua. The word vinyl comes to mind. The only problem now is that I didn't have any ideas for designs! So I just doodled! 



The retail price on these is £8. You will be able to find them at all big stores, such as Boots and Superdrug. I will definitely be picking up some more colours! They are still quite expensive, but still a cheaper option than Ciaté.


Have you seen these in your shops yet? Have you bought / tried any? Have you tried the Ciaté ones? What do you think? 

 Rachael xxx

The Witch's Salvation - Giveaway!

SIGNED BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

And here it is - the giveaway! Fancy a good read? Get entered!

Rachael xxx

 
5 LUCKY WINNERS !!
This fantastic giveaway has been brought to you by 
author of The Witch's Salvation Francesca Pelaccia
5 Winners
Open Worldwide
Ending on Sunday 10th November at 11.59pm EST

A witch who demands humanity.

The immortal families who denied her of it.

Two mortals commanded to right the wrong.

That is the fate of the urban princess Anasztasia and the renegade prince Matthias, born shockingly mortal to two immortal families. If they go back in time and restore the witch’s humanity, she will grant them immortality. She will also break a 550 year-old curse that imprisons Matthias’s family in their ancestral homeland and exiles Anasztasia’s family from it.

But to make their lives their own, the heirs must return to the most dangerous day in their families’ past, Easter Sunday, 1457. This is the day Vlad III, aka Dracula, massacred all nobles and their families involved in the death of his father and older brother. 

How can Anasztasia and Matthias reverse the past when their families will not speak of their wrongs? How can they refuse when the witch owns their lives?

The Witch’s Salvation is a time-travel fantasy weaved around myth, historical fact, and a whole lot of creative license.

Buy the book from.....

Enter Below and Good Luck!


Thursday 24 October 2013

Halloween Nail Art Challenge - Day 3 Things That Go Bump in the Night

Hey all!

Day 3 - Things that go BUMP in the night!


When Becca and I worked on these themes, we wanted them to be as open as possible - so I'm pleased with today's theme as I went for what scares me most - the thought of things coming back to life! I hate zombies, I can't watch The Walking Dead or any other program / film with zombies in.. and yet I love all other things supernatural. Zombies are obviously just too close to reality for me!


My first Nerd Lacquer's arrived this morning, and the Quantum Bluniverse was just begging to be used! In my excitement I forgot to photo it on its own, so its another excuse to wear it again!



I then freehanded my design over the top, then outlined it all with glow in the dark top coat, but my camera (both my DSLR and my iPhone) refuse to pick it up. I see it though, I will just need to appreciate this element on my own! I think QB was a bit dark, so if you can't see, I have a black cat on my little finger, a tree on my ring finger, gravestones on the middle and a zombie hand coming out of the earth on my index.

Don't forget to check everyone else's out and let me know what you think of mine!

Rachael xxx


Tuesday 22 October 2013

Halloween Challenge - Day 2 Pumpkins and Jack O Lanterns

Hey all!

Day 2 today - Pumpkins and Jack O Lanterns!


I love Halloween, especially pumpkin carving! I am disappointed that this year I am missing Halloween due to being on holiday - so I decided to show my pumpkin carving on my nails!

I have done all of these pumpkin designs in the past, so I thought why not put them on my nails this year? :)



I used an orange Essie as the base and sponged some Nails Inc - Notting Hill Carnival over the top before freehanding the black designs with Sinful Colors Black to Black.




What do you think? Don't forget, if you would like to join in, please do! Post links to your pictures on our facebooks / instagrams / in our post comments, wherever you need to - we'd love to see your nails! 

Rachael xxx




Monday 21 October 2013

A little hallowe'en stamping

Hey all!

Last week may be a bit quiet as I have one of my other loves in my life. Pokémon! Yes, it was released last weekend, so I have devoted a fair amount of my life to it!

So I sat down yesterday and decided to have a go at some designs and get making my blog a bit more lively. No matter what, they just weren't working out.. apart from this one.



A nice simple design, but I love it none the less - the polishes and the plate are just perfect together! I wanted something I could wear for work and I got so many compliments, nobody believed I had done myself - I got accused of having salon nails and also of having used foils - compliments indeed!


I used the MoYou London Pro Collection 05 XL plate and used the cobweb design from the top row. The polishes I used are Zoya - Raven for the base and Mentality - Scalawag (my favourite stamping polish) for stamping over.



I am so pleased with how these stamped - the Mentality polish is perfect opacity and in light has a beautiful holo rainbow to it. Beautiful! And the stamp, I am so in love with these MoYou London plates so far - they are just perfectly engraved, pick up beautifully.. I just can't fault them at all!

What do you think? Do you like the simple finish or would you have gone more detailed and added something else? 

Dont forget to check out what other British Bloggers are doing!

Rachael xxx



Sunday 20 October 2013

Very late Pink Wednesdays Post for Breast Cancer Awareness

Hey all!

Dufus here forgot to press schedule on this post, so I've sat all week thinking it mustve been pants because I've had no views. As in NO views. Then I saw the big draft word next to it - duh! Hahaha! It's been a long week!


So these are dual purpose nails. They are using my favourite dusky pink 'Mrs Potts' by Taras Talons as the base, with decorated semi circles of pearls and a light topping of Barry M - Rose Glitter. I really love this base colour and it is surprisingly girly for me. I am getting into these pink wednesdays! I may have to make them a regular feature haha! I am also entering them into Taras current competition, so wish me luck! :)


Please let me know what you think - do you like / hate / would you change something? 

Don't forget to check out the other pink wednesdays we've done!

Rachael xxx

Saturday 19 October 2013

Halloween Nail Art Challenge - Day 1 Scary Movies!

Hey all!

Today is Day 1 already - can't believe how fast its come around!


When I finally sat down to have a think about this prompt, I realised what a silly idea it was for me! I HATE SCARY FILMS! I am the world's biggest chicken EVER!


Can't believe when I tumblr'd for an image, this was the first one. But it is quite relevant as I do try and block out scary things with music haha! I hum to myself in scary situations and generally come across as a bit crazy! I am a crazy bird haha!


Anyway, I digress! I really struggled today as I have watched so few scary films that I went for one that sticks in my mind - The Blair Witch Project. We never see anything scary, we see someone with their face pressed against a camera for around an hour and a half.. but I still freak out when I see those weird tree hangings if I'm out for a walk!


So my nails are supposed to be those tree hangings.. they are truly terrible and I apologise for my first nail art for this challenge - I promise my next ones are better!!

Don't forget to check everyone else's out! 

Rachael xxx


Tuesday 15 October 2013

Swatched - 'Mystery' Polish #2

Hey again everyone!


Another mystery Essie today - this one is a frosted forest green. I really love this one - nicely pigmented, applied nicely like most Essies tend to - it only needed 1 coat but I did apply two to see if it would make a difference. It didn't. I love it - beautiful Xmassy colour and you can expect to see it again soon!




What do you think? 

Rachael xxx

Sunday 13 October 2013

Halloween Nail Art Challenge!

Hello all!

I have another nail art challenge to share with you today - I hope you will all consider joining!

Becca from KPC and I have come up with a short and snappy Hallowe'en challenge. This is perfect if you can't commit to a long challenge, or an every day one. 6 themes, running on a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday rota so that we end on Hallowe'een night.

The themes are as follows:


We have time to prep ahead if you need to, but if you would rather pop in and out, or you can't do a certain day, then don't worry - thats fine! Never done nail art before? Have a go! We'd love to see your designs and ideas. You can share these with us if you have your own blog or not - share your designs with us either way at:

Tag us on instagram: @kittyspaintedclaws / @rachosnl / #NAChalloween2013
Twitter: @kpclaws / @rachosnl


For those who do have blogs - link your posts up with our Hallowe'en inspiration board on Inlinkz (same code for each day). Above is the square graphic for Instagram if you want to share / promote!

Thank you to Becca for making the graphics and sorting the inlinkz for us!

Can't wait to see everyone's manis! So excited!

Rachael xxx


Swatched - 'Mystery' Essie #1

Just a quick swatch today - this is of a mystery Essie that I picked up from TK Maxx in a set of 5. It has a strangely smaller lid than other Essie's in the set and has no identifying information other than 23 stamped into the glass bottle. This information has yielded nothing as to what colour or shade this polish might be.




I would describe it as a frosted caramel colour. In the bottle it looks much darker and richer brown with streaks of silver pigment. When you apply it to the nail, it comes out like an antique gold. It covered well in the first coat, but I added a second for good measure. With its frosted appearance, it does show brush strokes so you have to be careful when you apply it to reduce how obvious they are.

What do you think? I'm not sure...

Rachael xxx

Saturday 12 October 2013

KKCenter HK - Review of N.Nail Blue Peony Decals

**Products in this post were provided for an honest review**

OMG I LOVE THESE!


When KKCenterHK let me pick some products, I was drawn to these. I love anything that looks like old blue and white china, so when I saw the peony design I just had to ask for them!

These come with no instructions and they also come attached as one sheet of 10 so if you cut wrong, or if you mess one up, you're pretty screwed. But for the price of only $2.82 they are definitely worth a go!


I cut mine up and soaked them in water until the decals would slide off easily. I used tweezers to pick up each sheet and place it on the nail. Each decal is quite long - I had to carefully file off the end of each to fit my nail once they had dried in place. They are 2.3cm in length, which is a fair size I think! One thing I didn't anticipate was that theyre not blue and white, the blue design is there but if you want blue and white, you will need to apply over a white base.

I have them here over 2 coats of Revlon 'Sneak' which is a pale pastel blue. I think they look really cute!


I am super impressed with these - I really like them. Theyre beautifully delicate and elegant and suitable for any occasion. Just something special that is easy to do and quick to apply. What can't you like?

What do you think? Have you ordered anything from KKCenterHK before? Anything you've had your eye on?

Rachael xxx

Friday 11 October 2013

Book Review - The Witch's Salvation by Francesca Pelaccia

Hello all! I have something totally new and different for you today. My second love - reading. I have a wonderful book called The Witch's Salvation by Francesca Pelaccia to share with you today.




The Blurb

A witch who demands humanity.


The immortal families who denied her of it.

Two mortals commanded to right the wrong.

That is the fate of the urban princess Anasztasia and the renegade prince Matthias, born shockingly mortal to two immortal families. If they go back in time and restore the witch’s humanity, she will grant them immortality. She will also break a 550 year-old curse that imprisons Matthias’s family in their ancestral homeland and exiles Anasztasia’s family from it.

But to make their lives their own, the heirs must return to the most dangerous day in their families’ past, Easter Sunday, 1457. This is the day Vlad III, aka Dracula, massacred all nobles and their families involved in the death of his father and older brother.

How can Anasztasia and Matthias reverse the past when their families will not speak of their wrongs? How can they refuse when the witch owns their lives?

The Witch’s Salvation is a time-travel fantasy weaved around myth, historical fact, and a whole lot of creative license.

My Review

So you've already read the gist of what the books about - so I'll give you a bit more information about what its like to read.

Pelaccia pays particular detail to the description of characters and as you read through the book, it pieces together bits of their past to give you a fuller picture of who the characters are and what made them become who they are. This really helps you identify with the characters and turns the book into a real page turner - it keeps you reading wanting to find out more about each of the characters. I really loved both the main characters in the book - you identify with them and their situation straight away and it makes you want to find out more.

The chapters are at times quite lengthy and often end with a cliffhanger - this is somewhat a good and bad thing, especially if you want to put the book down (or don't want to.. but have to!) and also because it's so frustrating that you get to the end of a chapter and oh NO! Can't possibly stop reading here because the cliffhanger just makes you need to keep reading. 

The only thing I would mention is that at times, some phrases can be confusing - at times I have had to go back and reread to check I really got what was meant. Also throughout the book there are some mentions of things that leave you wondering - they're not tied up. I hope the case is that this will be answered in another book!

I would recommend this for anyone who likes a mix of fantasy intertwined with history - there are some great snippets that have been picked and written into the book that makes it a truly enjoyable read.

Buy the book from.....

Francesca Cesario Pelaccia grew up in Toronto, Canada, and went to the University of Toronto, where she studied English literature. She started her working career moving in and out of teaching and corporate editing and publishing before settling on teaching adults English as a Second Language. 

The Witch’s Salvation is Francesca’s first published novel. She has many other manuscripts in various stages of completion and genres gathering dust on her bookshelves. But it was not until The Witch’s Salvation that she “found her voice”. Francesca lives just outside Toronto with her family. She is working on the second book of the Witch’s trilogy, entitled, The Witch’s Monastery.

Follow the Author
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Follow the Book Tour
Photobucket

 
printed book         ebook version

I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.


Nail Art using MoYou London stamping plates

Good morning all!

Just a quick little post to show you my autumny nails - these are my first full hand of successful stamps - I feel like I have just 'got' stamping!


I used an image from one of the new MoYou London plates - I picked up a few when they released some of their new collections. This is one of the XL plates, although my nails are easily small enough for the small plates at the moment.


The base is the beautiful Butter London Tee Total. I then used Barry M Gold Foil Effects as the stamping polish (because its brilliant for stamping!) and used the tree rings from the top row. I really love this plate and can't wait to try out some more images - the tree rings turned out really crisp - they picked up well from the plate and then transferred brilliantly from the stamper to the nail. Really really happy!


You will definitely be seeing more stamping from me! Those cobwebs are definitely on my to-do list for Halloween! 


What do you think? Are you yay or nay for stamping? Do you have any of the MoYou plates yet? What do you think? 

Rachael xxx

Thursday 10 October 2013

Nail Art with Revlon's French Mix 'Sneak Peek'

Hey all!

Today I have some nail art to show you using one of Revlon's French Mix dual ended polishes in 'Sneak Peek'.

I actually picked this little beauty up in TJ Hughes a while back for £2.99 as its last years line, but after getting some of the Moon Candy range, I wanted to try these.

I've only just read reviews of this line while searching for the name of the polishes. I was surprised to see that so many people haven't rated them at all, but I really love the combination of light blue and a sort of difficult to describe golden caramelly brown colour. 

Here is my nail art - I am determined to master stamping, so I tried out my NC01 plate again and used the small dandelion image to stamp onto two of my nails. Its really quite subtle, but the image transferred well and both polishes dried nice and quickly.


Sneak, the pale blue needed 3 coats to be completely opaque. I wasnt surprised as pastel cremes are notorious for needing so many layers, but they dried quickly and levelled nicely so I couldn't complain too much.


I was worried after waiting for those layers to dry that Peek (the shimmery golden coppery caramelly brown) wouldnt stamp, but luckily it did and next time I will be double checking by stamping first!

What do you think? I know these are supposed to be for french manicures which I am sure I will try at some point, but I quite like the subtle stamping design. Please let me know what you think!

Rachael xxx

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Pink Wednesdays for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Hey all, I have a new little wednesday installment for the next month - Pink Wednesdays for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

I know there are already a lot of reasons for wearing pink on wednesdays, so I thought why not mix the two together.

So here is my first pink mani of the month - a stamped mani using one of my new MoYou London plates - the Princess plate 14.


I am loving so many of the MoYou London plates - I still have about 10-15 (and soon to be more with the new Mother Nature release) on my wishlist. I picked up 3 in my first purchase - this was one of them. I love the flower design, as well as the swirly dots and hearts, the jigsaw puzzle pieces and the interlocking hearts and the gingerbread men. I will definitely get plenty of use from this plate!



I used the swirly hearts design for this one - I was worried it wouldnt pick up as if you run your finger over it the design is so shallow and delicate that you can barely feel the engraving. But it picked up beautifully and looked lovely over the paler pink. The two polishes I used were both Essie - We're In It Together for the base and Big Spender for stamping with.


What do you think? 

Rachael xxx


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