Nails Nirvana...

I love nail varnish. I think it's my favourite cosmetic. Lipstick is all very well, but unless you spend an inordinate amount of time checking yourself out in the window of Primark, you don't get to appreciate it much. Ok, so other people have to suffer my usually bare daytime face, but I get to admire a manicure all day. And have you ever got out of the washing up by triumphantly telling your other half you've just put mascara on? I don't think so.

But it wasn't always this way. Years of bribery from my parents, inability to undo knots or successfully fight with my younger sister failed to stop me mangling my fingertips with my teeth. I became immune to the taste of Stop n' Grow (remember that? My insides are probably a post-Chernobyl disaster area) and it seemed inevitable that my hands would always resemble those of Kurt Cobain - bitten nails, chipped polish, ideas for Hole’s second album…

Me after a hard night

Getting married was the first incentive to look a little more ladylike (my 'something blue' was my pedicure) and somehow I managed to quit chewing. However it was winning a year's worth of nails inc. manicures in a Glamour magazine competition that caused the polish love to really take root. I have what I like to think of as an edited collection of essential nail varnishes these days - a mini suitcase tin and a make-up bag full - but have been following polish blogs recently, and keep finding looks I never knew I needed. The PolishAholic has lots of nail art posts - I'm in love with her latest look using decals she posted yesterday - and fuckyeahprettynails has all kinds of craziness.

That said, I don't go in for acrylic/gel nail talons or those dodgy looking air brush designs - some of which do make an appearance on fuckyeah - so I was excited to see this idea for cheapo nail art when watching C4’s Super Scrimpers the other day. Gem Fatale from the fab blog of the same name was the younger thriftster featured last week, and suggested using a hair grip as the perfect tool to do a polka-dot pattern over your base coat. Just tip a small amount out of the bottle – I poured it onto a tin foil covered plate – and use the bobble end of the grip to dip in the varnish. Voila! 

Base: nails inc. The Hills collection Melrose Avenue

 Spots: nails inc Monmouth Street 

Gem also has excellent tutorials for leopard and tiger print - I am a trashy rock chick at heart so those will definitely be next!

Has anyone watched much of Super Scrimpers? I enjoyed it when Gem was on, but Mrs Moneypenny’s advice to the spendthrift couple who were featured seemed to be much what anyone with half a brain could offer. Buying two brand new DVDs a week and got no money? Stop buying DVDs! It reminded me of the tedious money saving articles which are recycled constantly in glossy magazines and are never any use to me. “Make your own lunch instead of buying from Pret a Manger”, “Cancel that gym membership you never use”, “Put all your debt onto one credit card with a 0% introductory rate”. I could write this stuff in my sleep. It’s on a par with fashion editorials on Summer style entitled “Nautical but Nice”. Sigh. Are you listening, Cosmopolitan?

Lakota x

PS. If you entered my giveaway yesterday, Blogger has eaten half the comments, so please check and try again if necessary. And if not - off you go! Win the launch issue of Trashion Magazine

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