Nails Of The Day - Models Own - NP214 Pear Drops

If you follow me on  Instagram (I'm @LouLou699)  then you'll probably already know that I'm a bit of a Poundland fan. I'm lucky enough to live quite close to a large branch and pretty much every week, you'll find me in there hunting for bargains.

You have to watch them a bit price wise but I can usually always find something that I need, or should I say want! At the moment Poundland have a bit of a beauty event thing going on and they've got quite a few new beauty bits including a new skincare line and a few discontinued drugstore bits. The stock changes regularly and it can depend on the store but in the past month or so, I've managed to pick up a few interesting bits including some Ardell false lashes, a fab Outdoor Girl True Matte Lip Gloss, and a few bits from Models Own including this gorgeous nail polish.

Like so many Models Own polishes this shade has now been discontinued which is a real shame; From the Sweet Shop Scented Polish Collection, this is NP214 Pear Drops.

Pear Drops is a bright, summery coral, red which is shot through with lots of fine glitter and sparkle. If you aren't a glitter fan though, you might still like this, in certain lighting conditions it's quite subtle, but change the light and it comes alive.

Although the lids can be a little awkward to hold I am a huge fan of the brushes on Models Own polishes, they are sturdy and have a nice thickness to them. This polish has a slight jelly like texture which meant that the application was a little bit sheer. It took me 3 coats to achieve full coverage, which was a bit time consuming, but it dried quite quickly and despite containing a lot of glitter it dried down to a fairly smooth, glossy finish.

Now this was one of the Models Own's Sweet Shop Scented Nail Polishes, and the name would suggest all of the polishes in this particular line have sweetie scents. There is a little scratch and sniff section on the lid but you really need to apply these polishes to get the real candy hit. When you apply this particular polish you get that familiar, chemical, nose aching nail polish scent, but it quickly dispersed leaving a subtle, sweet and slightly sour, fruity pear scent. The scent was noticeable but it wasn't that strong and it gradually faded after a day or so.

Unlike a lot of glitter polishes the wear time on this one wasn't that great and it had started to chip after less than two days, but I'm going to hold my hands up though and say that was probably my fault. As per usual I didn't use a top coat (if you're new to my blog I very rarely wear a top coat when I'm testing a nail polish) but in this case I also skipped a base coat! I know slap wrists! I committed the cardinal nail polish sin! I normally use something like OPI's Nail Envy but I was in a rush so I ended up applying this polish directly onto bare nails eek, not something I would recommend in this case. As well as potentially altering the wear time, it also made this colour a little bit trying to remove, glitter no matter how fine is always hard to remove, and this one was no exception, and because I didn't use a base coat I was also left with a little bit of pink staining on my nails. So take my advice and if you do manage to get your hands on this polish, or quite frankly any other nail polish then use a top and definitely a base coat!

Seeing as we're now into Autumn, this isn't probably isn't the most seasonal polish that I've ever worn, with the bright pink, orange and red tone but who cares, it's a beaut no matter what the season. My nails are pretty short and dry at the moment but I still love how this colour looks and if you're lucky enough to have a beach holiday planner or if hope upon hope we have a few more sunny days then this colour would also look fab on toes.

Even if we don't get the Indian summer that we've all been promised, this shade would still cheer up even the most blustery of autumn days, and I'm all for clinging on to summer for as long as possible. If you feel the same way then make sure you keep an eye out for my next post to see a review of something that will keep you in that summery mindset for just a little bit longer. In the meantime don't forget to make sure you're following my blog and my other social media channels, and if you have any questions on this post then please leave me a comment and let me know x

Nails Of The Day - Models Own - Slate Green - Reshot And Rewritten

I've got another re shot and rewritten nails of the day post for you and this time it's a polish from Models Own, NP026 Slate Green.

Models Own has changed a lot as a brand since I originally talked about this polish way back in 2010. They've disappeared from both Boots and Superdrug, and instead they now seem to concentrate on retailing via their own website and their own bottle shops. They also don't seem to have as many polishes as they used to in their collection, and unfortunately this seems to be one of the polishes that didn't make the cut

Whilst I don't think that this colour is that unusual, it's certainly different from any of the other teal and turquoise shades that I own. It's definitely a fresh and pretty turquoise green, but it doesn't have the brightness and vibrancy that some similar looking shades have. In fact I would even go as far as to say that it has an almost faded, slightly washed out appearance.

In theory cream polishes should be the easiest to apply but you need to make sure that you have the perfect base for the best finish, so apply carefully and use a good base coat. The first coat of polish was pretty streaky but the formulation was nice and smooth, and despite the slightly bulky cap, it was pretty easy to paint and apply and two coats was enough on most nails for a shiny, full coverage finish.

The wear time on this polish was decent, I'm notoriously hard on my polish and without a top coat, I managed 3 days without a chip, which is pretty impressive when you consider that I've been doing a lot more housework than normal and that during a couple of those days my hands were doused in hospital grade hand sanitiser!

I think that this is a lovely spring like shade that would look good on all finger nail lengths and shapes. As I say it does appear to have been discontinued but you still might be able to find something similar. The closest match that I've seen is Leighton Denny's Morning Dew but that seems to be just a touch brighter than Slate Green. If you can recommend a similar shade though then please leave me a comment and let me know x

Nails Of The Day - Models Own - Pink Blush - Redone, Reshot And Improved

When it first happened I thought that the Photobucket changes in terms and conditions was one of the worst things that could happen to me as a blogger. I could no longer use the photos that I'd uploaded to the site in dozens of my posts, so I was left with the inconvenience of having to re shoot the posts that I could recreate and unfortunately the rest just had to be deleted. Now though I'm starting to see the whole experience as a positive - yes it's annoying and inconvenient, and obviously I've wasted my time on the posts that I've had to delete but what it has done is give me the opportunity to see just far I've come as a writer, a photographer and as a blogger.

Some of my early posts were terrible - badly written, often badly photographed and lacking in any form of fact or substance. The inconvenience has given me the chance to rewrite some of my posts and improve the quality of my blog as a whole, which has to be a good thing.

This is just one of the posts that has to be rewritten, re shot and rehashed - A nails of the day post should include several things, a description of the colour, a description of the formulation, and the application and information where possible on how well the polish wears -This post originally contained none of that so I thought it was just as easy to start it from scratch.

Models Own keep overhauling their polish collections, and they seem to keep disappearing for stores including both Superdrug and Boots, but thankfully they are still readily available both on their own website, and in their own, innovative bottle shops.

I've always liked their polishes and over the years I've picked up quite a few, and this one I think was one of my first.

Pink Blush is a hot, hot pink, not quite neon and a little bit brighter than the colour of strawberry Hubba Bubba. It's a bit brighter but you can see here but it isn't a cold pink, there is just a touch of warmth to it.

Whether or not it's down to it's age or not I don't know, but this polish was a little bit thick. Despite that though, the first coat was a little bit streaky, but two gave full coverage and a nice glossy finish.

Unusually for Models Own (in my experience at least) the wear time wasn't that great, I try not to use a top coat when I'm testing a polish, and without one my nails started to chip after about 3 days. When I used the Models Own Hypergel Top Coat alongside this polish though I did manage a full weeks wear without any problems, chipping or peeling.

Like so many of their early nail polishes, Pink Blush does appear to have been discontinued but in all honesty it's probably not the hardest colour to replicate. There is no denying that this is what you would term a happy colour, it isn't a colour that most people would probably reach for at this time of year, but if you need cheering up polishes in this shade are a good one to go for. If you've got a shade like this in your collection thought doesn't it just scream summer, it would look great with your summer sandals and a tan, and if you have a darker skin tone, hot pinks are a must have on the nails. It really is one of those shades that you need in your nail polish collection. Are you a fan of bright pink nails polishes?

Models Own Mini Egg Mani

Hey everyone x I hope you've all had a lovely Sunday, and if you celebrate, I hope the Easter Bunny was good to you. Despite the fact that I'm supposed to be on a diet I still received a large bag full of chocolaty, Easter treats, and when you throw in the chocolate cake sitting on the table in front of me and a Creme Egg Cheesecake in the fridge, you could say that I'm pretty chocolated out. 

I'd initially thought about sharing an Easter chocolate recipe with you (salted caramel truffles anyone?) but I'm starting to think there is such a thing as too much chocolate so I thought I'd be good and share an Easter themed manicure with you instead.

As the name would suggest the Models Own Speckled Egg collection contains polishes which are designed to replicate the look and feel of not only real birds eggs but also those sugar candy, coated chocolate  Mini Eggs that we all love so much.

Okay the colour isn't exactly the same but you definitely have that mini egg like feel. Models Own NP202 Swan is a beautiful lavender, blue shade, with a is crammed full of varying sizes of black, matte glitter, to give that speckled egg look.

I love the effect but I have to say this colour was a real pain to apply. The lavender base was very watery and very sheer, and it took at least 3 coats to achieve this depth of colour, and slightly textured finish. The sheer amount of polish that you had to apply obviously altered the wear time and I saw my first chip after less than 3 hours.

As I say I like the effect but for the time it takes to apply it just isn't worth it. In future I think I'll just use this polish as a top coat over a lilac or lavender block colour to achieve a similar look without the hassle. You win some, you lose some, and whilst this polish wasn't a winner, the mini eggs that I used in the pictures most certainly were - yum yum! Have you tried any polishes from the Models Own Speckled Egg line? Let me know your thoughts x 

A Little Nail Haul Featuring Models Own, Miss Beauty And Leighton Denny

Have you ever had one of those days where you just want to pull the duvet over your head and hide? Well, I'm having one of those weeks! Mummy Lou hasn't been well, one of the cats hasn't been well and I'm not feeling particularly great myself! It never rains but it pours at times but you just need to plod on through it. Needless to say this weeks blog planning has gone out of the window but I thought it was best to get a post up rather than leave you with nothing, so apologies for the lack of variety but it's another haul post x

Although I haven't posted a nails of the day post for a while, nail polish is one of my real loves . I don't always have the best of nails but just seeing that flash of colour can make me happy. As well as being one of my loves, I guess you could say that nail polish is a bit of an addiction for me. I have an IKEA Helmer full to the brim and I still can't resist buying more.

I never need an excuse to buy nail polish but give me a special offer and I'm there! On a recent trip to the Metro Centre, I just so happened to walk past the Models Own Bottle Shop - Models Own are noted for their special offers and the offer of the day was any 5 items for £20, well it would have been wrong not to indulge, so I made a little purchase.

After a lot of deliberation I ended up going for four colours. The first two polishes came from the Sweet Shop range. These are scented polished that are themed around traditional sweets. On the left you can see NP215 - Fizzy Cola, an almost brown, taupe which is shot through with sparkle, and on the right is NP213 - Rhubarb and Custard - a gorgeous, deep, raspberry red, again shot through with gold sparkle. Both of these polishes supposedly smell like the sweeties that they represent when they're dry, I haven't tried them yet but I'll let you know what I think when I do.

The next colours that I bought come from the Models Own Hyper Gel line. These slightly thicker polishes supposedly have that gel manicure finish and wear time without the use of a UV or an LED light. In these colours  I went for two very contrasting shades - one bright and one neutral. On the left you can see SG031 - Tropical Green, which is a really vibrant lime green and on the right is SG027- Paradise Pink, which is a white based, pale pink with a hint of lilac.

To complete the offer I also got something from their make up line which I'll show you in a future post, but when I got to the till, the assistant started telling me about the Hyper Gel Gel Effect Top Coat. This wasn't included in the offer but she said it made the Hyper Gel colours last even longer and it turned any other shade into a Gel Effect Polish. I'm lazy when it comes to top coat but I decided to give this one a go anyway.

I also got a little free gift with purchase at the till, which was a mini nail buffer. I have so many of these but I can never find one when I need one, so this one was gratefully received.

Next up a couple of budget purchases from the new Miss Beauty London range at Poundworld. I've only seen a couple of videos on this range and to be honest its launch largely passed me be but on a recent visit to Poundworld I decided to have a little look. I'm going to be honest and say I was pretty underwhelmed when it came to the make up, nothing really grabbed me so I decided to try a couple of their nail colours instead.

They seemed to have two main polish ranges, a gel line, and  normal polish line, so I decided to try one of each. On the left you can see the Miss Beauty London Gel colour in 10 Lavender Dream, which is a gorgeous creamy, vibrant lilac, and on the right you can see the Miss Beauty London Nail Colour in 374 Tiffany, which as the name suggests is that perfect mint green, turquoise blue.

Again I haven't tried these but I'll let you know what I think of them when I do, for just £1 each they were worth trying.

The final nail item I want to show you is a magazine freebie from this month's Bazaar magazine. They regularly do tie up's with Leighton Denny. and in this months issue you can claim a free full sized Leighton Denny Nail Lacquer.

There are several to choose from ranging from deep reds, to lilac but the colour I went for was another one of those Tiffany blue shades, Morning Dew. It's a lot warmer and lot more bluey than the Miss Beauty one so I think I can justify the £4 or so that the magazine costs. Bazaar is probably one of the priciest monthly magazines out there but since the polishes are usually £11 each, it isn't a bad price to pay to try a designer nail brand.

I'm currently waiting for my little stubby nails to grow up a bit and then regular nails of the day posts will resume. As well as featuring all of the polishes in this post, and some other polishes in my collection, I'm also going to be showing you the prettiest OPI kit, and a couple of colours, which I also have to give away, so if you like nails then stick around for more nails of the days and some reviews x

A Small Nail Polish And Nail Art Haul

If you're a regular reader of my little place on the internet you'll know that I used post nails of the day posts quite regularly. Although I've never had the longest nails out there I love changing my polish and showcasing all of my different shades, brands and textures. Lately though my nails have been too rubbish to paint let alone photograph!

Never mind  though after a few months of short, split, and peeling nails I eventually have some little stubs to paint again. My secret? Dr Lewinns Renunail, lots of cuticle oil (including something new which I've been loving) and lots and lots of hand cream. So to celebrate my now all be it short, but neater nails I've been buying some new polishes and some nail art bits.

Every time I do a haul at the moment I seem to buy something from Poundland and this one is no different. I'm a huge, huge fan of nail art and I seem to spend a lot of time lately looking at Instagram and Pintrest to pick up some ideas for when my nails grow back, so I decided to get a few nail art bits from Poundland's own Allura range.

The first thing that I got were some Nail Art Tools, these are basically 4 double ended dotting tools. Each tool comes with a swirled, plastic handle, and every rounded metal tip is a different size so you can make different sized dots. You can also use these for picking up gems, decals and crystals.

I also got a pack of 7 Nail Art Brushes. You get a wide variety of brushes that you can use for striping, freehand and detail work. You also get a fan brush to create a fanned or feather effect. I've seen a single nail, fan brush priced at £2 so this kit is great value.

As well as the tool the Allura range also includes a variety of fake nails, nails stickers and gem wheels. I've already got a gem wheel and a few tubs and packets of crystals and sequins but I couldn't resist this fruit decal wheel.

I've already got a few fruit decals that I got from Nail Rock, but these ones are a bit thinner which I actually prefer. You get a wide variety of thin slice of plastic fruit including dragon fruit, kiwis, apples, limes and oranges. You also a miniature nail file and an orange stick to help with application.

Sticking with nail art I also bought some gold nail foil from Avon. Years and years ago I was obsessed with nail foils. QVC used to features a brand called Special FX, that sold all different sorts of nail art kits including lots and lots of foils. The idea is pretty simple you paint your nails as normal, then you paint you nails with the special glue and when it goes clear you press the foil sheets against your nails. You can either cover the whole nail or you can draw designs or just place random splodges of glue to create different looks, I recently picked up some more foils and glue from Essence but with this one from Avon you just apply it on top of wet polish. I'll let you know how I get one with it x I'm planning on just using it for maybe an accent nail or for a bit of freehand work.

As well as the foil I also got a few nail polishes including another one of the Stardust colours from the sale brochure.

I love these polishes, these have an almost demi matte finish and they're packed full of sparkle. This shade is Cherry Dazzler and it's a lovely red packed full of gold glitter. These shades really are for people who like sparkle with a twist.

These Stardust polishes do occasionally pop up in the sale catalogues and if I can I'll definitely be trying to pick up a few more shades. If you can't manage to get your hands on these though the new Avon Magic Effects Mineral Crush polishes are very similar -how do I know? Well I bought one and on the left of these pictures you can see Topaz, a pale, turquoise blue packed full of tonal and silver sparkle.

From the new range I also picked up one of the Magic Effects Fringe polishes in Jacquard Metal. These are basically topcoats that give a sort of feather effect. This one has a clear bases and is crammed full of thin strands of gold and teal blue glitter. I think that would look fab over a plain gold polish or even a paler blue or turquoise.

I have quite an addictive personality and I'm very addicted to buying nail polish, I just love looking at row upon row of pretty colours, and a month or so ago my dreams came true when Models Own opened their first North East bottle shop in the Metro Centre, near to where I live.

I love, love, love the look of these little nail polish bottle shaped stores, and I was like a child in a sweet shop when I popped into the shop on opening day. The polishes are organised by colour and you have the opportunity to swatch till your hearts content. Although I was tempted to buy everything I was good and only got two polishes.

On the left you can see one of their Scented Polishes in NP152 Grape Juice. This is a lovely pale, pastel lilac that has a subtle scent of grape bubblegum :) I also got one of their Colour Chrome Polishes in NP239 Chrome Silver. I'm a bit funny with foils and metallics and brush stokes, but when one of the lovely assistants swatched it, IT looked pretty good, so I thought I'd give it a go. Since it was their first day I also got a little branded, hand mirror as a gift with purchase x

The final polish that I've picked up lately was a magazine freebie. A month or so ago Cosmopolitan magazine had a free New CID Cosmetics I Polish on the cover. There was a couple to choose from but I went for a hot, summery pink perfect for toes, Pink Macaroon.

This issue isn't on sale any more but if your a fan of magazine freebies then you might want to check out the new issue of UK InStyle, which is on sale today and includes a free full sized Nails Inc polish. There are four shades to choose from and the shade names are all themed around 80's pop and rock anthems.

If you want to listen to my talking about this haul in more detail please have a little watch of my latest You Tube video, and if you subscribe don't forget your entitled to an extras entry in my NARS giveaway x



Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or any suggestions  as to what to do with my nail art bits, then please let me know x