Just a little note to say sorry...

It's been a while since I posted on here, and unfortunately it is going to have to be a little while longer before I post anything nail-related! BUT I have lots of lovely designs and reviews all ready to comment on, so I guess that's something.

Unfortunately, it's really just been one thing after another for me since starting my final year of Uni/this blog! I've been consistently poorly, which has really knocked me for six, and I've had a few other personal issues to handle, of which I don't want to go into detail, but all I want to say is that I honestly have the most wonderfully supportive boyfriend ever; he's put up with my tears and talks and just everything, and he hasn't complained. I'd also like to give a huge shout out to the best housemates ever, Cat and Sarah, who never fail to put a smile on my face every day (- even though I'm just usually laughing at them!) And, of course, love to my family; I can't wait to see everyone over Christmas, despite everything.

ANYWAY, now all that soppy nonsense is out of the way, I just wanted to post on here to say that I am still very much alive, and I SHALL be posting, but for now I need to concentrate on my studies (aaghhh SO MUCH STRESS); fingers crossed I'll be back before the new year!

Also, if anyone has any help about how on earth people can follow me on here/how I follow people, that would be much appreciated... I'm such a technophobe.

Lots of love to everyone

I WANT MY PINK SHIRT BACK! (A day later than planned... Oops)

I've done a completely stupid thing and left this post as a draft instead of publishing - oops! That ruins my perfect Mean Girls link...

This is a post of not only a new technique I attempted this week, but also a themed technique; pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Plus, as it's a pink mani and it is Wednesday, it allows me to use all sorts of tenuously linked Mean Girls quotes because well, who doesn't love that film? (If you don't like it, I've got news for you - you're wrong. It's fantastic.)

So after weeks of enviously looking at people's nails which had been water-marbled to perfection, I decided to give it a go. One word that I'd choose to describe my experience? Stressful. Another to describe the outcome? Amazing. I was literally amazed that yet another tip picked up from various accounts actually worked by some utter miracle!

Bear with me here; the photos aren't great, and as it all moved so quickly, I couldn't quite take photographs of all the steps. Plus the outcome isn't as great as those of you who are well-practised in marbling are capable of, but as a total novice, I'm pretty happy with them.

For this technique, I used Essie - Neo Whimsical as a base coat, to make the design colours stand out. I used Rimmel Salon Pro - Isn't She Precious?, Essie - Off The Shoulder and Rimmel Salon Pro - Urban Purple for the design. Actually pictured is Barry M Nail Paint - Raspberry, but this was too gloopy to use! Ultimately, I found that Off The Shoulder dispersed far too quickly, which is probably the main reason that these designs aren't particularly uniform; they were done as quickly as possible before the polish dried! As you can see from the bottom left photo, I removed the tape from my little finger in order to see how worthwhile it truly was; it was a complete nightmare to clean up! The bottom right photo shows just how much mess I made - I have forgiven myself, given the fact it was my first time. (It was one time!)

I think water marbled nails have the potential to look so fetch. (By the way, I can confirm that as an English gal, fetch has never before been used as a part of my vocabulary in any context other than when quoting Mean Girls - I'm sure all you international chicas have been wondering about that for a decade. And yes, I obviously do* speak on behalf of every English female.)

Anyway, after that little detour down Mean Girls Memory Lane, I can reveal the final result...

I am pretty happy with these! Which Breast Cancer Awareness nail designs have you all been up to? Not long left in October now, so try to get a few more in; I know I will! And if you're not going to do it every day, at least make sure you do it on the last Wednesday.


Grool.

*Disclaimer - no I don't.)

Cute Polish does it again!

Today's post is really to share an amazing technique I have discovered from Cute Polish's fabulous page, which has all kinds of handy hints and tips when it comes to nail art and even nail care.

Before we do this, I need to share with you this polish; Lady. It is just one of the Barry M Royal Glitters range, and it. Is. Beautiful. At first, I wasn't too sure if a white glitter polish was a good idea, and on first application, I wasn't too impressed; I stupidly added a top coat, which took away all of its textured glory. This time around, however, I fell in love!

It took me three coats to get this level of coverage, but you could easily get away with two; I am a little paranoid about my colours! It dried pretty quickly, as most glitters do, and I knew this time that a top coat was a no-go; it was perfect on its own. If I'm being honest (and I am!) I said more than a few times to my ever so tolerant housemates (hi guys!) that it felt like I had snow on my fingertips - this may well be the perfect go-to Christmas polish when there just isn't enough time for detailed nail art!

Here are a few snaps of the polish:

Isn't it lovely? I always feel very regal with glitter on my nails, but the removal process is always so time-consuming that I instantly regret it. BUT - glitter lovers, don't fear, there is a fool-proof way to remove your glitters with minimal hassle and effort.

As I previously mentioned, this wonderful technique came from Cute Polish, so go and check out her awesome nail tutorials for your own manis. For this you will need:

5 cotton pads
nail polish remover

tin foil

10 minutes of your time!

Step 1: Soak a cotton pad with nail polish remover, and place firmly over the glittery nail. 

Step 2: Wrap cotton pad with tin foil to hold in place.

Step 3: Repeat this for all nails and wait for around 10 minutes.

Step 4: Remove the foil and cotton pad; et voila! The last two photos show just how great the results are - I didn't believe it until I tried it, now I'm converted! 

Let me know how you get on with this removal technique; do you have any other hand hints and tips when it comes to nail care?

Isn't She Precious?

As promised, here is another post of a previous mani from last week. For those of you who follow my instagram (@theprincessandthepolish) this isn't the first time you've seen these nails. As will be the case with many of you, Breast Cancer has not only affected the lives of family friends, but also very close family members; as such, I always try to show support for Breast Cancer Research wherever possible. I think in doing these nails, I feel that I am doing my own little thing to support the cause. Although my amazing Granny unfortunately lost her battle with breast cancer in 2001 (along with the remaining secondary and tertiary forms of cancer which came towards the end), my beautiful Auntie is still here. I know that the work Breast Cancer Research does saves lives every day, and I only wish I could do something more to help those who have so greatly helped me. The title of this blog is apt in so many ways; not only is it the name of the pink polish I used for these "Paint It Pink" nails, but it highlights just how special each and every one of us women (and men, of course!) are to the people that we love - we are precious.

Onto the topic of nails...

Here, I have used a variety of polishes. The predominant colour I have used is Rimmel Salon Pro "Isn't She Precious?". I used two coats, and the coverage is perfect. The glitter accent nail is just beautiful, one of my favourite new polishes of the week! It is one of the Barry M Textured Polishes new Royal Glitters range, "Princess" - I felt it was quite an aptly titled polish for me! The white is an unnamed polish, I think one free from a magazine a few years ago. I must invest in a proper one as it isn't the best quality, unfortunately. As always, I've added a slick of Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat to seal in the designs and it is still my favourite and most worthwhile purchase I've made in a long time! It has certainly made me very reluctant to even try any others - highly recommended.

Sorry that this post has been a little heavier/more self-indulgent than is perhaps acceptable to be on such a subject. I hope that you can all show your support in some way and show me some of your own ideas! I'll be attempting more pink manis throughout October, so get your ideas in and I can give a few of them a go!

Blue nails for a blue mood

I wasn't intending on posting a totally new mani so soon, but circumstances have changed a little - following a very severe four day long migraine, including a very powerful (and painful) knock to the top of my head and subsequently experiencing numerous little wobbles and falls, I finally made my way over to the Northern General Accident and Emergency department yesterday. Yes, you guessed it, I have concussion, combined with the actual proper flu! Ordinarily, this would all be very exciting, if not a little scary, had I not caused said concussion myself by walking into my housemate's door frame... Ah, the joys of always completely conforming to the stereotype of my hair colour. (Blonde, of course!)

The point of explaining this (very embarrassing) story is to say that I've been advised to stay at home and rest for the next ten days (um, excuse me Doc, but I am in my final year - a simple two days of "rest" [i.e. nails] will have to do!) so expect plenty of posts, be them previous manis or new.

I took the opportunity today to attempt a new gradient mani after reading the thenailasaurus' tutorial. I'd tried it myself before and it just didn't seem to work, but following her wonderful tutorial, I already feel like a pro. Although I've taken a step-by-step pictorial approach, make sure you check out her blog post; there are a few sneaky little hints and tips there that I shan't be elaborating on. It might be a little time-consuming, but beautiful nails are always worth spending time on!

Collection 2000 "Hot Looks Fast Dry" - Button Moon
Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint - Blueberry
Rimmel Salon Pro with Lyrca - Navy Seal
China Glaze - Fairy Dust
Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

You don't have to add a sparkle coat, but I am forever in love with Fairy Dust by China Glaze, and I always look for ways to sneakily add it into manis... The curse of being a princess, I guess! This was the perfect pick-me-up; every time I look down, instead of going dizzy and gradually regaining focus on boring naked nails, I see these beauties. I've also been searching for the perfect thermal polish; this looks like one mid-temperature shift - fab!

I can't wait to try this method again, it worked perfectly. Have you got any unusual gradient methods/designs?

Black and Gold

As usual, I've received nail mail a-plenty this week, and I can't wait to use and share my new goodies with you all! However, I wanted to do a design using some of my favourite polishes from the days before my obsession really took hold. As you may have seen from my instagram post (@theprincessandthepolish), I've used my University's colours because I'm such a top supportive Uni gal - bleed black and gold!

Barry M cosmetics have always been one of my absolute favourite brands, and while my tastes have become more varied, my inner 15 year old (and my 20 year old student's pocket!) will ultimately always return to Barry M for both nostalgia and quality. I've also used Seventeen's "Fury" in the design, plus a little glittery polish I picked up this summer in Puerto Rico. 

My "nailspiration" this week came not from one of the fabulous nail community, but from my own bedroom, or rather an item from my own bedroom; my new babies (not literally...)! I found them when wandering around the very lovely little town of Buxton in Derbyshire, attempting to amuse myself without spending whilst my boyfriend was at work. Unfortunately, I have zero willpower so they found their way to me via the wonders of online shopping and they aren't going back - I wish I were sorry, but I'm not. Of course, I did also manage to pick up not one, not two, but three little bottles of nail polish on sale... But they were on sale! That counts as not spending, right? Yes? Okay, I feel I've convinced myself now...

Base coat: Rimmel Stronger Try Harder Base
Black: Barry M Nail Paint - Black No. 47
Polka dots: Seventeen Fast Finish - Fury
Glitter: Holiday bargain!

I've got a lot of work on at the moment so I've not managed to do many posts this past week (evidently) but I have, of course, made time for my nails; expect a few posts when this week's deadlines have passed of some of my favourite manis. 

Have any of you absolutely fallen in love with a nail art design inspired by an item of clothing that you own?

Remember: it's October, so Breast Cancer Awareness month. Keep posting your painted pink manis to show solidarity! It's a great excuse to have extra girly nails. Although it IS Monday... So maybe wait until Wednesday? On Wednesdays, we wear pink.

Endless Possibilities

I suppose as this is my first real post in the world of nail blogging, I should introduce myself a little. Here goes; hi. I'm Alexandra, a 20 y/o final year law student at the University of Sheffield. After a few ups and downs in the first year, I'm completely and utterly settled here, and I've never been happier. (Yes, this is going to be a little soppy, but once it's out of the way, I won't put you through any of it again, promise - winners all round, I'd say!) I've a great circle of family and just the most wonderful friends around me, who actually encouraged me to start this (shout-out to my house bitches Cat and Sarah!) plus my amazing boyfriend Gareth, to whom I will be indebted forever for my complete and utter happiness. But, more importantly for this blog, I have a (somewhat unhealthy) obsession with nail polishes. Whether I'm doing my own, my mum's or my friends', I'm always thinking of new nails to attempt. Hence, the birth of this blog.

I'm no professional, and I shan't pretend to be; I'm merely an enthusiast with far too much time on my hands. It'll take a while for my to find my blogging feet, so if you could all just bear with me for a while, that'd be great. For those of you who know me, you'll understand why, but for those who don't... Let's just say, if I were a superhero, my superpower would be the ability to destroy all forms of technology within a 30mile radius. (I promise I'll try to use it only for good.) Take a look at my instagram page @theprincessandthepolish while I get accustomed to blogspot if you're curious, and link me to your blogs - I love to find new "nailspirations" and there are so many wonderfully talented nail artists, professional or not, that I'm not sure there's even room for a fledgling like me! I guess all that's left for me to do is attempt to post a few photographs so that I don't look like a total novice and say; au revoir mes petits - until next time!

My pride and joy

Essie - Neo Whimsical

Essie - Neo Whimsical
Accent nail: China Glaze - I Herd That

MUA - Deepest Purple
Accent nail: China Glaze - I Herd That

Rimmel London Salon Pro - Disco Fever

Base colour: Rimmel London Salon Pro - Urban Purple
Polka dots - Unbranded white polish
Top coat - Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Barry M - No. 47 Black 

Miss Sporty - Metal Flip 3161
Top coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Base coat: Rimmel London Nail Care - Stronger Try Harder
Base colour: Essie - Neo Whimsical
Gradient colour: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Nail Paint - Prickly Pear
Glitter: China Glaze - Fairy Dust
Top coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Base colour: Barry M - No.47 Black
Chevron: Beauty UK - Frozen Kingdom No. 60
Gold stripe: Striping tape
Top coat: Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat

Base colour: Rimmel London Salon Pro - Isn't She Precious?
Glitter accent nail: Barry M Textured Nail Effect - Princess
White nail art - Unbranded white polish
Top coat - Seche Vite Fast Dry Top Coat