BURKATRON

I have a new addition to my fingers this week; a neon purple courtesy of qvc's 20th birthday collab with nails inc!  the polish itself is a perfect autumn shade, rich but vivid. I love nails inc polishes so I was expecting a good colour and I wasn't disappointed when it arrived.  it takes roughly 3 coats for full coverage, if you paint thick coats you may get away with 2 but my manicurist friend told me to paint thinner coats as your mani will last longer and chip less.. top tip!  as it's a neon I knew the finish wouldn't be super glossy (which is pretty much always my preference!) but the shade is a winner so I can overlook the lack of glossiness this time!  nails inc chiswick park polish and caviar top coat*  the kensington caviar top coat is lovely, it gave the perfect wet look finish to the neon purple. I like my nails to have this high gloss finish and it dried quickly so I'll be using this top coat again. there are some other lovely sets on offer at the mi...

gosh I've been so distracted moving house this week I only realised it was halloween today.. fail! I had planned a spooky nail art for you guys but I think I've missed the boat! I do have this winter floral pattern that I'd though I'd show you; it was inspired by the dress I wore to the cosmo blog awards but I''ve switched up the colours slightly! I was recently sent these two butter london polishes to review cotton buds and pimms; I'm new to butter polishes so I was excited to try them!  my verdict.. I love them both! rich and creamy to apply the colours are beautiful and the finish is lovely. I'm a huge fan of white nails in particular this year and these both have a good formula.  white is a great all rounder to have in your collection; even if you don't want to wear white nails it's the perfect undercoat to pale shades. I find a lick of white under bright polishes makes them 'pop' (top tip: neon's in particular really benefit fro...

I don't often share swatches of singular nail polishes but this one swayed me! it's from the new illamasqua creators collection that I was lucky enough to sample; a collaboration with some of the uk's most loved bloggers (including the lovely milly who's created a very wearable copper toned lipgloss which you can see here !) back to this little beauty though, a galactic inspired glitter polish from style suzi called perseid.  perseid glitter polish* glitter rich it has a gorgeous pearlescent finish with undertones of purple, blue and green. it's a tricky one to photograph as you can't catch the full iridescence on camera! you'll need just two coats for full coverage; it's described as a black polish I find it more purple toned until the second coat is applied. definitely one I'll be wearing this A/W and a good alternative to the standard black polish, well done suzi for creating this little rascal! what do you think.. one for you maybe? caroline x

eeeeep lots of little polishes! I don't know where my love of 'mini' things began (probably in the form of party food ...hello dinky sized nibbles) but there's something I love about pint sized versions of the originals. cue this lovely little set from OPI; created especially for QVC its called the discovery set and it has a taste of everything OPI has to offer! for anyone who isn't familiar with their best selling products this is a treat.. first up is a selection of autumnal shades with a good quality formula and coverage that I've come to expect of OPI polishes. I wore a few of these while I was away in iceland as they were perfect travel size companions (the deep burgundy called in the cable car pool and the navy glitter alcatraz rocks glitter are my favourites)  OPI discovery set * from left to right: peace & love & opi | in the cable car pool lane | first date at the golden gate | muir muir on the wall | alcatraz rocks now for me this is the most e...

yikes my nails have been so neglected! I love to give my paws a manicure every week but since I started decorating my new house I've not had much time for pampering! just keeping them from breaking as I'm sanding down floors is an achievement ...having a few hours free to file and paint them is a bit of a treat! this is quite a quick nail art so thought I'd share it with you guys! start off with a white base coat, I've used topshop spilled milk polish here...  take a pink and yellow polish and draw on alternate circles using the brush, space them evenly I have 3-4 circles on each nail.  once dry take a black nail art pen (mine is from models own  and I really recommend theirs) roughly outline around the circles and add a small flick in the center to suggest the petals. use a dotting tool dab on green polish to add the leaves, seal with topcoat and you're all done! I did these fairly quickly so I'm sure they would look neater if you try them yourself!  now all I ...

it's been a while since I've popped up a currently lovin' so here's the latest instalment of a few items that are currently floating my boat! 1. thrifted straw bag: I love a good rummage through my local vintage & second hand shops! I picked up this little straw bag for £2  and I love it! 2. illamasqua androgen cream pigment* this is a wonder product!! a beautiful cream pigment that I use mostly on my cheeks (but can be used on eyes and lips too if it takes your fancy) a warm coral pink androgen is a shade that suits most skin types and gives a lovely glow.. if you're after a combination make up this is a great investment and has become a firm favourite of mine! 3. topshop nail polish in spilled milk: my love affair with white nails continues and this is my latest buy! the formula of this colour is surprisingly good needing 2 coats for coverage; I've found it doesn't chip too easily either! white polishes can be a little hit and miss so if you've b...

I finally took the plunge and invested in the muji acrylic drawers  that are a firm favourite with bloggers and make up addicts! oh boy.. they're just the handiest thing ever and whats not to love about keeping everything tidy? I've filled mine with my everyday make up; the top drawer is for my favourite essentials that I always reach for.. foundation, mac skinfinish powder, mascara, blusher and my eyebrow pencils.  I've filled the second drawer with my most used lip products and some other bits and bobs! I wish I'd bought one of these earlier; the flip top lid makes life easy when I'm scrabbling around for my concealer in the morning! I'm definitely going to get some more of these muji wonders for my skincare and nail products... quite possibly the best £11 I've spent this year! have you got anything similar.. any recommendations? caroline x

I've been so busy recently I've not had much time to dedicate to my favourite pastime.. nail painting!  I can't help but get a little bored of plain nails so nail transfers are my go-to 'nail art' when time is precious (if in doubt cheat your way to fun fingers!)  I have quite a few favourites but these tiger transfers from janchristie are definitely in my top 5!!  they're incredible easy to use just peel off the transfer and stick the image onto your nails.. voila! make sure you apply a few layers of top coat to seal the image otherwise it will rub off when they get wet!  in case you wondered the nail polish is the gorgeous lemon meringue from models own  (yum) the transfers are available from  janchristie  in dozens of animal varieties! in other news I realised I never did anything to celebrate reaching 1000 followers so I'm planning a nail art giveaway next month hurrah!! (I'll buy a few transfer sets to pop in along with some other surprises as I ...

a little mooch through instagram reminded me I haven't put up a photo post for a while so here's some of my snaps from the last week or so.. paddling pool fun (yep they're not just for children) | pear cider on a sunny day | the beginning of a white shoe affair | watermelon nail art topshop sale candy cane dress | sewing machines! gosh I want at least three of these | cath kidston nails | pretty lace trims for DIY's climbing trees with the boy | afternoon tea & cake | a lovely present from laura ashley, a set of bird night lights ! | his & hers ilcentimetro bracelets, james is so pleased with his! help the nail polishes are taking over!! | essie fiji polish | matchy matchy barry m blueberry nails & toes | lunch in cambridge at jamies italian (I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the polenta chips..!) kukee delivery! | bikini shopping for holiday, thanks primark you little shop of bargains! | summer gradient nails with illamasqua radium and nobel nail ...

my inner child loves fruity fingers so I decided to paint some strawberry nails at the weekend! I thought I'd share the tutorial with you as it's quite easy and a fun option for summer (I hope you'll try them too!) start off with a red base coat, I've used my go-to va va voom red, the gorgeous models own red alert , this polish has a great formula and only requires 1-2 coats (if you're looking for a classic red this is the one!) once dry you'll need to paint on the strawberry leaves, I've just used the corner of nail polish brush but you can also use a nail art pen/brush to do this. lastly you'll need to add some white dots to suggest the strawberry seed pattern! I used my white models own nail art pen but you can use a small dotting tool! slightly drag down the circles of white polish so the shape becomes more like a teardrop. seal with polish and you're good to go! I hope you like them! back soon caroline x you keep up with my nail art tutorials o...

wowza it's been a while since I first painted this nail art... an oldie but a goodie! I figured that some of you wouldn't have seen these (I first painted them just over a year ago here ) I never posted a full tutorial and I wanted to show you how I did them! I've used one of my all time favourite colours  models own beth's blue as the base. the formula of this colour is crazy good- I'm wearing just one coat in the photos below. so here's the steps I've used! first start off with the base colour and leave to dry next use a white nail art pen to draw a white circle, dab small dots around the edges to create these 'cloud' shapes above. next use a dotting tool to add a small dot of a light and dark pink to suggest flowers, then dot on greens to suggest leaves. finish off the design by adding tiny white dots in a circle shape around each flower centerpiece (it's important to space out your design so you have enough room to do this!) seal with topcoa...

hey guys! here's the latest installment of currently lovin' (with it's usual collection of completely random things!) I've been buying little bits and bobs lately in the misguided attempt to not overspend this month. yep this backfired as I just ended up spending a small fortune in paperchase instead! (note to self I do NOT need any more notebooks) I shall attempt to reign in my growing stationary addiction but in the meantime here's some of my most loved things this week: 1. palmers cocoa butter body scrub : my mum purchased this little beauty and I 'borrowed' it a few days ago... holy lord this is the best smelling creation ever! close your eyes, it's like scrubbing with chocolate mousse (weird but good!) it's not the grainiest scrub but it smells so damn good I don't care! 2. enamel floral mug, urban outfitters sale:  I tend to top up on accessories and cute little trinkets when the UO sale lands. this little mug caught my eye a few months ago...