Nails inc Winner!

Hello!

The very lucky winner of the Nails inc goody bag is:

Jan Atkinson!

Congratulations Jan - please let me know your address details - my email is on the side bar - and I will get your polishes in the post as quickly as I can. I hope you enjoy them, and continue to read Faith Hope and Charity Shopping.

Christmas 2012 Swap Partners also just announced!

Lakota x

Ta-dah! Tuesday - Nails inc goody bag giveaway!

Hey hey. I haven't forgotten you all, honest. I'm feeling a lot better now, but even in the midst of feeling grotty I did haul my bones out once last week. Nails inc got in touch with me and asked me to go along to a consumer focus group they were having at their head office. All I had to do was have a free manicure treatment beforehand, then talk about nails for a couple of hours. Plus, cash and goody bag were promised, so obviously I'd have to be at death's door to have turned that down. 

Anyway, because I'm the caring, sharing type, and to say thanks to everyone who's stuck with the blog for a while - plus hello to new followers - I have a goody bag of my own to give away. 

Kensington Caviar speed dry top coat - new

'Tate' - red nail polish - new

Crackle effect 'Hoxton' and 'Camden' polishes in purple and turquoise - new

Mustard nail polish 'Hampstead Gardens' - used once - I love this colour but it doesn't suit me so have chucked it in as an extra.

Prize value approximately £50.

I'm trying out a new way of running competitions as this way means I don't have to scribble on little bits of paper! Hopefully the Rafflecopter widget will make things easier. [There is no obligation to enter more than one way]. I haven't tried it before though so let me know if it doesn't work! Usual rules apply - open worldwide but for blog followers only. ***NOW CLOSED***WINNER HERE****

Lakota x
No link up this week as a catch up is overdue with everyone!

Ta-dah! Tuesday - Book review - The Wah Nails Book of Nail Art

[I had meant for this post to publish while I was on holiday, but for whatever reason the scheduling didn't work and I've only just realised. So here it is for today - consider my nail art attempts to be the ta-dahs!]

I was kindly sent this book to review by publishers Hardie Grant - it's proved such a popular title that I had to wait for another print run to be completed before I got my copy - but it was certainly worth the wait.

Written by Sharmadean Reid, founder of ultra hip London nail salon Wah Nails - this cute and compact hardback is a little gem if you want to get professional nail art results at home. You'd have to have been living under a rock to fail to notice the rising popularity of nail art over the last few years, and Reid was the driving force behind its transforming nail art from 'tacky and ghetto' [her words] to its current status as fun and fashionable and approved by Vogue.

Following the introduction and a pictorial guide to the 'tools of the trade' used within, the book is mainly a succession of double page spreads - with step by step instructions as to how to achieve each of the 25 of the salon's most requested looks. The models used tend to be a) achingly cool and b) in their teens or early twenties, which is unsurprising but did have the unfortunate side effect of making me feel like a loopy great aunt attempting to keep up with the kids. So no change there then. There are also stickers in the back. I'm a bit gutted I don't have any new exercise books to decorate for the new school year. [Do school kids even use exercise books any more? Maybe I'll stick them on my laptop]. But hey, it's probably not aimed at me. I'm 35. I should be keeping myself busy buying orthopaedic footwear and visiting stately homes.

Anyway, on to the designs. I figured I couldn't really review the book without trying out the designs myself, as if they weren't actually easy to achieve it would be an attractive coffee table book but fairly useless for the non-professional nail artist. I was pretty smug pleased with the way the ones I tried worked out.

Candystripe

This one was super effective and easy-peasy. It got loads of favourable comments.

Bit girly for usual outfits but I will admit to being quite taken with it. Fairly easy to do on your 'other' hand.

Leopard print

I love this one. Easy to do but looks impressive. Someone actually asked me if this was nail wraps and was amazed when I said it was free-hand. Surprisingly easy to do with my left hand [I'm right handed]

Tiger

The book showed the zebra but suggested the tiger colour-way as an alternative.

Not too bad a job on both hands but it's tricky to get it looking realistic enough for my liking.

Shatter

Shatter type polish is fairly fool-proof and available for all budgets. I need to practice the colour mixing though.

Basketweave

You'll notice I'm only showing you an arty shot of two of my fingers. I have ten. You don't really want to see the others. Needs more practise. Cool effect if you can do it without messing up though.

And speaking of those which need more practise, here's a few I haven't attempted yet. I reckon there's something for everyone here.

Total comic book geek heaven. Lichenstein would approve of this pop-art 'Pow!' design

Letterhead

Really not a fan of the 'talon' trend for pointy claws, but the design is pretty genius.

If tattoo style lettering is too tricky to pull off with nail art pens, I reckon a scrabble style font would look just as good.

Double Studs

One of my favourites. Time consuming and high maintenance? No doubt. Eye-catching and awesome? Definitely.

Rock chicks don't do dishes anyway.

Roses

One for the Cath K crowd.

Details: 

Title - The Wah Nails book of Nail Art

Author - Sharmadean Reid

Publisher - Hardie Grant Books

Hardback ISBN - 9781742703206

Price - £9.99

A definite recommendation if you fancy a little bit of individuality on your nails. Or it would make a brilliant Christmas present for anyone who doesn't have an allotment teenage girl.

*******

Sorry for tardiness of Ta-dah! Tuesday (you're all going to show me sensible grown up things like master bedroom repaints and prize winning carrots aren't you?) and for the lack of time I've had for blogging recently. Please don't give up on me - just a slightly tricky time with school holidays and now the smallest starting school. And a deluge of spam on the blog has put me off a bit. [If you need any Viagra I know of at least a thousand people willing to hook you up. It's completely screwed up my email account as well, apologies if I've missed anything - try my FB page if you need me]

Lakota x

Go Team GB! - Olympics Manicure How-to

Ok, they're not the neatest - but they are fun! If like me you're showing your support for sporting achievement by sitting in a darkened room wearing your dressing gown at lunchtime, why not paint your nails while you waste the day? Obviously some nations make for an easier manicure than others (only Libyan nail artists mourn the days under Gaddafi, but you've got to admit it was an easy flag) but if you're a Brit then you'll have to suck it up and attempt a wobbly Union Jack with nail art pens. I can only suggest more patience than I have and waiting for the red section to dry properly before attempting the white outlining. [I was going for the 'rippling in a gentle breeze' look, honest]. 

But in the spirit of the games, everyone can have a go at the Olympic rings! [assuming you're a freak like me who has all the necessary colours]

•  Choose a large nail and paint in a light base colour. Allow to dry.
• Cut a drinking straw into five sections.
• Pour a little blue nail polish onto some tin foil, dip the end of a straw into it and carefully make a circle on your nail. You may have to move the straw around a little and do it in sections to get a full ring.
• Repeat with black, red, yellow and green.
• Allow to dry and add a top coat - seche vite is best.
• Run round being ridiculously over-excited about Jessica Ennis

We had an amazing day watching the basketball at the Olympic park yesterday. The trains were fine, the security quick, the crowds friendly and the McDonald's chips salty as ever. We've been looking forward to this since  Boy1 was three and captivated by the Beijing Olympics on TV (we promised him then that when it was in the UK we would take him) and it didn't disappoint. The Olympic park itself was fantastic - Britain can be proud - and we're now into basketball! Shame my boys are unlikely to ever reach 6 foot, let alone 7'1" like one of Russia's top players!

Have a great weekend

Lakota x

PS. Don't forget my giveaway ends on the 5th

Nails inc Special Effects 'Sprinkles' Review

Mr FHCS is pretty well trained. On our anniversary last month I was quite excited to be presented with a glossy carrier bag from Nails inc, which he'd visited under his own steam to facilitate my polish fetish. [Obviously carrier bags are mainly exciting for what's inside them. I'd have been less thrilled and more divorce-y with an empty one]. Anyway, he'd braved the scary orange ladies of House of Fraser and they'd assisted him in choosing some of the latest goodies. As well as some top coat and a selection of 5 mini pastel shades, they'd steered him towards the new 'sprinkles' range.

 I won't go into one of my rants about how I'd rather strangle myself with bunting than give house-room to shabby chic signs adorned with cupcakes or read pink covered chick lit called 'Welcome to the Cupcake Cafe'. [Is there a random name generator for these somewhere? I sense a new post coming on]. I am bemused at how sticking a load of icing on a sponge somehow infers it with 'vintage' status. But you can imagine I did look slightly suspiciously at my favourite nail polish brand when I saw they'd hopped onto the creaking shuddering surely-the-wheels-will-come-off-this-soon bandwagon. There's a frickin' cupcake on the lid! Gaaah! But OK, let's give it a chance. 

Nails inc - Sweets Way

The first one I tried out was Sweets Way, which has a pale milky base, with small silver. pink and blue glitter. It goes on well - not gloopy like a lot of glitter polishes - and neither do you have to spend ages redistributing the glitter with the brush, it spreads out evenly. The glitter itself is slightly mattified, so you have a subtle shimmer as opposed to in your face sparkle. The overall effect is very like thin glacé icing with, yes - you guessed it - sprinkles. So less like a cupcake with buttercream and more like a traditional fairy cake with 'hundreds and thousands'. I did two coats and a top coat and it lasted pretty well. Textured polishes are always easy to touch up if they chip and this was no exception. And I liked it! It's very girlie, but it would be a great look with ice-creamy pastel shades, or for a wedding.

I also tried Sugar House Lane, which is a latte coloured polish with matte black and white glitter particles. I loved this one, but it didn't really say 'cake' to me. More 'shared house kitchen flashbacks':

matching your nails to your 90s kitchen worktops - the new trend

Nails inc - Sugar House Lane 

Anyway, this one got loads of compliments and is definitely more edgy looking, but it's all a matter of taste and mood. There are another two in the range - Topping Lane (pink) and Pudding Lane (Blue). 

£11 each from Nails inc

They're  £11 each, although Nails inc has recently launched in the USA through Sephora, and is a lot cheaper there. They seemed to work out at more like £6 per polish. Very galling for the British girls who made the brand what it is, but there you go. If you're heading to the States I'd leave some room in your suitcase. Otherwise you could  - like me - become a Nails inc VIP and get 10% off everything on their website. Membership costs £5 for a year, and you get a free full size polish on joining, points with each purchase towards money off, and a gift in your birthday month.

What do you think? Have you tried these? Which is your favourite?

Lakota x

For how to remove glitter nail polish without tears - see my post here.

Ta-dah! Tuesday - How to remove glitter polish - without losing your mind

If you're a polish addict or regular reader of nail blogs then you'll know the secret already, but if you're just a casual user and only indulge on weekends - yeah yeah, you can give up any time you want  - you might want to read on. Glitter polish - a sparkling celebrity party the night before; the devil's own come down the morning after.

Seriously, you will be surrounded by drifts of cotton wool in your bathroom, crying with frustration and acetone fumes as you waste 45mins of your life trying to get the damn stuff off. The polish part dissolves, leaving the now colourless glitter seemingly attached to your nails with super-glue. [DO NOT be tempted to avoid nail polish remover altogether and pick it off in chunks using your teeth whilst watching Gossip Girl, men inexplicably seem to find this an unattractive trait. Also, it's not something you want to be ingesting].

Anyway, all you need is that same cotton wool and polish remover*, but you want to soak a separate piece for each nail.  Position each bit of cotton wool onto the nail, and then secure it with a strip of tinfoil folded into a parcel around your fingertip. Watch some telly for 10 minutes, and then remove the foil and cotton wool from your first nail, by firmly pressing down on the foil and twisting the cotton wool over the nail as you go. You'll find that the polish comes off pretty much entirely in one go, and any glitter left at the edges is no longer welded on, but can be simply wiped off.

The props department for 'Edwina Scissorhands' were working with a tight budget

Ta-dah!

Now you've got an extra half hour to play on the internet and ignore your offspring make the world a better place. Add your world enhancing links below. [and please don't forget to link back here]

Lakota x

*I use Cutex, from Boots or Superdrug.

Frock on a Friday!

Yes, it's a bit of a rarity round here to find me taking part in Frock on a Friday - not because I don't love frocks, I do - but because I loathe having my photograph taken. Whether or not a piece of my soul is lost remains to be seen, but I figure you can't be too careful. Anyway, I decided it was worth battling the camera demons to enter Ceri's amazing competition over at Style Eyes, and decided to wear my most recent vintage purchase - two posts for the price of one. You might have seen entrants strutting their stuff with somewhat more élan on other blogs - the idea is to showcase an outfit with an ethical element to it - whether second hand, bought from a free-trade/eco-friendly label, handmade or recycled. 

Yeah, squinting into the sun is so flattering...

Outfit details

70s maxi - eBay

belt - charity shop in Ireland

denim jacket - swapped

vintage clip on earring worn as brooch - found in attic

vintage wedge shoes - stolen from mum

30s earrings - charity shopped

Indian glass bracelets - bought by husband in Hydrabad

seed necklace - bought by me (direct from maker) in Thailand

Nail varnish - China Glaze 'Gothic Lolita' + Barry M 'hologram'

(neither tested on animals)

This was not what I wore to the park this afternoon with Boy2 - it would not have stood up to all the dinosaur fighting and tree climbing he insisted on. However, it is what I changed into when I got home - school's out and so was the sun!

Have a fabulous weekend.

Linking to Flea Market Finds

Magpie Monday
Thrift Share Monday

Lakota x



My Facebook competition to win a copy of 'Junk for Joy' ends tomorrow, so pop over if you fancy getting your hands on a book full of upcycling ideas. 


I've also been shortlisted for a BiB award (in the 'LAUGH' category), so if you've ever laughed at my eBay nonsense or the things I've dug up on Pinterest, I'd love your vote!

Oh, and in an ever more bonkers turn of events, I've also got a nomination for 'Blog of the Year' in the MAD awards. So, y'know - feel free to nominate me again! That one appears to have actual prizes. 

Minute Make-up - Washi tape manicure How-to

After my nail varnish rack post, a couple of people enquired about the 'ribbon' I had on the shelf. It's actually washi tape (Japanese decorative masking tape) and whilst most people use it for crafting, I use it mainly for nail painting purposes.

I've never really gone for the traditional French manicure, generally considering it to be either pointlessly time consuming (like the 'no make-up make up look) or liable to make you look like a refugee from The Only Way is Essex. I do however like the updated versions, using either two colours, or a matte and a shiny finish - as shown in the picture below from Yves Saint Laurent's Terriblement Noir range. How cool is this gothic French manicure - matte black nails with shiny tips?

Dark Side  = good

Tippex Tips = Bad

The difficulty I always had with French style manis was that it can be a bit of a bugger to paint the tips to a uniform size - partly because of my teeny child size paws and weeny nails, partly because I'm generally cack-handed - so I looked around for an easier method and came up with washi tape. I've since seen sellotape recommended, but I find it's liable to pull your varnish off unless you're very careful. Washi tape is low-tack, so easy to remove. 

Anyway, at the risk of preaching to the converted, all you do is:

1. Paint 2 coats of your base colour and allow to dry FULLY. 

2. Decide whether you want different coloured tips, or geometric stripes etc and arrange washi tape pieces on your nails accordingly.

3. Paint your second colour where you've blocked out. Thinner layers work better, or you may end up with a ridge between the two shades.

4. Allow to dry for a minute or so, but not fully before removing tape carefully.

5. If you want multi colours, allow each to dry fully before starting the next.

6. Top coat to seal.

Incidentally, I did get the YSL black polishes for Christmas and loved them, but it was impossible to photograph so you'll have to take my word as to how good it looked really. It's super high maintenance though; the matte polish takes ages to dry (as you can't use a quick dry top coat), and any contact with something oily ruins the finish - so no washing up, and definitely no body lotion or hand cream. Boy1 has eczema, so the second I put his skin cream on it was bye-bye to my designer nails. I bet Angelina Jolie doesn't have this problem.

I said it was a rubbish photo. Maybe I'd do better with a new camera.
What's that? A Thrifty Mrs has an awesome competition to win a Lomography Diana F+ camera?
I'm so there. You should be too.

Have a lovely weekend folks, I shall be back soon with a quiz I've been working on - "What Kind of Blogger are You?". It'll be HIGHLY scientific!

Lakota x

Nail inc. Trafalgar Square Magnetic Polish - Review

Since seeing these new magnetic polishes advertised I'd been desperate to try one out, and put the Trafalgar Square shade - described as a 'metallic chrome' on the Nails inc site - on my Christmas list. I went for this as I don't really have any other silver shades, but the teal (Whitehall) and  purple (Houses of Parliament) are also calling to me! My nails haven't been in the best shape this winter and have been breaking quite a bit, so whilst Santa did come through for me, I still had a frustrating wait trying to get them to a suitable length to make a manicure worth while. They're not at their best even now, but you'll get the idea.

I removed the outer cap, which has the magnet set into the top, applied a base coat, and then a thin coat of the polish to all ten nails as per the instructions. I waited only a couple of minutes - it seemed pretty much touch dry by then, which is fast - and then applied a thicker second coat to one nail. At this point you are ready to create the swooshy effect using the magnet. There is a small plastic lip at one side of the lid, and it's here you position the edge of your cuticle so that the length of the nail is over the magnet. I held it in place for 15 seconds and an airbrushed looking chevron design had appeared. Ta-dah!

You then repeat the process with each nail in turn, and I finished off with a glossy topcoat to seal it. You do have to be careful not to touch the magnet, or the polish will smear and the effect won't work. I did do this a couple of times on my right hand - I'm used to painting with my left hand now, manoeuvring the magnet was different matter - but another coat of polish and another go at the magnet seemed to do the trick, it's fairly forgiving. Despite sounding rather gimmicky (anyone remember coloured hair mascara?) the 'science bit' - iron particles in the polish which are drawn up towards the magnetic charge - really does work. I'm really pleased with the look and it's been commented on already this morning.

As to the price - well, it's not a budget polish. Nails inc is never the cheapest, but it's one of my favourites for the shades and ease of application. When used with a basecoat and topcoat, they also last very well. The magnetic polishes are £13 from their website (free delivery) and from Amazon, although if you're prepared to do battle on Ebay you will be able to find them cheaper. There are budget brands offering their own versions, although I have heard  mixed reviews of these. Besides, as I already have base and topcoats, I was able to get a airbrushed look for a fraction of the price of going to a salon.

I love it. What do you think?

Lakota x

Not a sponsored post. All views are my own.

Flea Market Finds

Just a couple of things to show you, but I'm very pleased with one of them, enough to risk ruining my manicure to get it looking how I want! First of all a couple more books to add to the collection, both from the local hospice shop and 60p and 30p respectively. Both are from the 1960s.

Super stylish heroine

As well as exciting stories like 'Chewing Gum and Sheep' (makes you want to read on, doesn't it?), Dean's Premier Book for Girls also has several craft projects, from making your own pot-pourri to creating a groovy 'trinket tree' out of swizzle-sticks! I thought that the big patchwork resurgence was very much a 70s thing, so maybe the readers of this book were the early adopters of the craze - learning as teens and continuing to make everything out of hexagons as they set up home a few years later.

Cath Kidston's new book wasn't quite what Jane had expected...

 These buttons were from a car boot sale, they appear to be real snakeskin and I have no idea how old they are or what I'll do with them, but they just caught my eye!

Scaly

Finally, we went to Dulwich village on Saturday (a well-heeled kind of area, nice independent shops and a few market stalls like a one street Portobello) and had a wander round with the kids. They have limited patience for shopping, although Boy1 found a Ben10 DVD in the hospice shop, so I rewarded his rummaging and bought it for them. He also enjoyed coming into a make-shift changing room made of blankets in the market, where I tried on a 50s dress and he wondered loudly whether it felt strange to be getting undressed outside.

Down a side street I discovered a very nice vintage shop, where his brother decided to show us up by bellowing "I'm going out now, it's too SMELLY in here!", right in front of the owner. It wasn't even bad, just a little musty - they sold bric-a-brac rather than clothes. She didn't seem too offended, and I redeemed our family by buying a printers' tray. I've wanted one for ages, as my earring collection is outgrowing its current home in a cigar box and I've seen fantastic makeovers to turn them into jewellery storage. It's a bit cobwebby, but not too filthy, and should clean up nicely. I just need to sand it, wax it, maybe add some backing paper and buy and somehow screw in a gazillion little hooks...

Or I could fashion something out of swizzle-sticks...

Finally, check me branching out into beauty blogging! This is my somewhat lame attempt at the classic 'swatch' shot to show off a nail varnish colour, and I thought I'd share it as it was a win. Special K is probably the most expensive breakfast cereal on the market, and I usually buy the supermarket's own version, but as they had a promotion running to win a limited edition Nails inc polish, I bought a box so I could enter. [My Nails inc obsession is well documented]. They're giving away 100 every day, so the odds are pretty good - I won first time! It's a really beautiful classic stand out red - well worth adding to your collection. And there's a blingy lid too, for the magpies amongst us. [Er, that'd be everyone, right?]

I'll spare you the picture of my matching pedicure.

Lakota x

PS. Check out my Facebook page, I'll be running a giveaway on there soon.

Linking up to Flea Market Finds

                     Magpie Monday

                     Thrift Share Monday

                     Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays

My swap parcel from Blighty Boutique

Well, it was definitely worth organising the Faith Hope and Charity Swap, as I got my goodies from the lovely Amy at Blighty Boutique yesterday. She's been really busy organising her own Vintage and Handmade Fair - if you're near Warwickshire this Sunday do go along -  but despite this managed to find time to shop for, make and wrap lovely gifts for me. The postman handed me a box beautifully covered in polka dot paper, but I ripped it all off wantonly before remembering to fetch my camera. Inside were 5 tissue paper wrapped gifts for me, and a stripy package for my two boys. This was really thoughtful and the boys were thrilled.

Inside their parcel was a gorgeous painted spinning top each (they have been christened 'Pirate Plank' and 'Captain Jack') and a healthy supply of Fizz Wiz - that popping candy that explodes on your tongue. [Incidentally, if you step on Fizz Wiz with bare feet on a slate floor, you'll discover it explodes like that too] This was their first experience of popping candy, so as you can imagine Amy is very much in their good books. No school either, due to striking teachers, so probably a perfect day for Boy1, given that a lovely old man later insisted on buying them an ice-cream each (we didn't know him).

On to my pressies, which naturally I didn't get to open in as leisurely a fashion as I would have liked. Instead I had to make a desperate grab for my goodies from the chubby paws of my children as they tore merrily at the tissue paper before I could read the labels.

A beautiful Tricia Guild journal, which is so luxurious with its ribbon bookmark and hardback covers. I'm going to have to use this for something really special, definitely no scrawling down shopping lists!

A beautifully finished handmade glasses case, perfect as I'm forever scratching my sunglasses by dropping keys on top of them in my handbag

A copy of Woman's Weekly from 1958. Like Amy, I really love vintage books and magazines, for the social history, the fashion, the adverts and often the unintentional humour. This is a cracker, with wonderful illustrations, some romance stories and adverts making all kinds of bizarre claims. No doubt I will share extracts from it when I've read it fully.

A crocheted Gisela Graham trinket pot in the shape of a cupcake. The boys immediately said I could keep all my rings in it - they know their mother well!

And finally, someone else obviously knows me well as Amy included this FANTASTIC ring, made by her mum, who you may know better as Annie of The Felt Fairy / Reclaimed Vintage fame. It's made of a beer bottle cap - isn't it great?

How great does this look with my nails?

Thanks so much Amy - your presents will be on their way soon.

Lakota x

PS. I've seen some great swaps already, but have had a couple of messages from people concerned that their purchases won't be as impressive. If you haven't done your swap yet - do please remember that the rules were a maximum of 5 items and no higher than a £12 total spend. This was to make it achievable for everyone.