Nail Catch Up Part 2: Jan-June 2014

Following on from my previous post, here's some more of my nail art and discoveries from my year-long hiatus!

6. All the colours!

Nail Catch Up Part 1: Aug-Dec '13

Like I said in my previous post it's been a long year and even though I've not been blogging I've still been playing with my nails! So here's catch-up Part 1: a round-up of what I did throughout August to December 2013...

1. Matte crazy...

Last summer I finally invested in a matte top coat in the form of China Glaze 'Matte Magic' and naturally I went matte crazy! This is just a sample of what I mattified in 2013. My favourite look is the Chanel 'Blue Satin' matte manicure (top right).

Daisy daisy...

...give me your answer, do.

I'm half crazy,

 all for the love of you.

So I thought I'd start the relaunch of my blog by sharing my current favourite look with you through the art of a tutorial! 

My current obsession is definitely daisies. I've always been in love with 90s grunge fashion: teaming floral prints, romantic laces, and floaty dresses with big boots and jackets or chunky knit cardigans. One of the dominating prints of this style is the daisy and I've been going mad for it in dresses, skirts, jewellery, and now nails!

So how can you achieve this look? Let's find out...

It's been a long long time...

...but Charbop is back!

About a year ago I wrote my last blog post fully intending to continue but unfortunately life got a little in the way and I had to take a hiatus until I finished the year at Uni. BUT I'm back with more nail art, more reviews, and more ramblings for your reading pleasure! 

Just because I've not been blogging doesn't mean the nail art has stopped and I will be catching you up on some of the best of what I've done over the past year! And of course 12 months is a long time so my nail and beauty collection may or may not have expanded ridiculously... >.> so enjoy a whole heap of reviews coming up in the next few weeks.

So that's about it really! As always I'd love to hear from you guys so leave comments and questions in the comments section below. I'd love to hear any tips, tricks, or nail art ideas you have so be my inspiration and come say hi :D

 

The Girliest Nails in the World... Vintage Rose Nail Art Part 3

Not that I'm obsessed with rose nails or anything... but here's another rose nail art post!

Previously I've shown you my blue and white look, and my shabby chic look, and now I present to you, the girliest nails in the world...

 Pink, purple, hearts, and flowers... 

I don't mean to gender stereotype but DAYUM that's girly!

This look was made in a similar fashion to my previous two, with the rose colours the same as in my shabby chic look, just over a lilac shade instead of blue. So you may be thinking why am I bothering to show you this? Well 3 things really...

Shabby Chic... Vintage Rose Nail Art Part 2

As promised in my last post on rose nail art, here is another vintage rose look with some different colours. This look was actually inspired by my favourite mug...

My kind of camouflage

I bought this mug from Asda around 2-3 years ago. As soon as I saw it I immediately fell in love. I love the shabby chic look and something about this combination of pastel blues and pinks really spoke to me. I thought it was about time, using my newfound knowledge of rose art, to translate this look to my nails!

Read on for more...

Who needs a spa? Superdrug Face Masks Review Part 3

I think its about time I did another face mask review, don't you?

So I'm on part 3 of my reviews on the Superdrug face masks! I've lost count of how many I've got left to do... but let's just see what happens shall we? So far I have covered:

• Sugar & Spice Self-Heating Mask
• Dead Sea Purifying Clay Mask

This time its the turn of the Superfruits Exfoliating Mask!

"This really is super! Superdrug Superfruits Exfoliating Mask with extracts of blueberry, raspberry, and cranberry deeply cleanses and purifies pore, while natural clay helps to absorb excess oil which can leas to breakouts. Strawberry seeds gently exfoliate the skin for a complexion so clear and bright you'll stand out from the crowd."

Read the review here...

Roses Are Blue... Vintage Rose Nail Art Part 1

The other day I posted a little preview of my latest nailart love, roses. Inspired by the dress I wore for my boyfriend's graduation, a white dress with blue roses, I decided to finally try out rose pattern nails!

With summer in full swing, Britain engulfed in a glorious heat-wave, and the roses in full bloom, floral nail art seems perfectly fitting and is a beautifully adaptable way to bring some summer to your nails! Here's what I did with mine...

Try all the nails!

As I mentioned in my update earlier today, while I've been absent from this blog I've still been playing around with my nails quite a lot (especially when exam revision was getting too much...). Unfortunately I didn't get around to taking high quality photos of them, however as I'm a bit of an instagram addict I have plenty of photos on my phone of which to show you! So here's a little run down of what I've been up to :)

1. Pastel Gradient

 Featured: Limecrime 'Parfait Day', Rimmel Lycra Pro 

'Peppermint', and Models Own 'Mermaid Tears'

Update...

Anyone who frequents this blog will have noticed my posts have been few and far between lately. Now I am properly back but before I continue where I left off I wanted to explain what's been going on with me recently so you know why I've been so absent!

Finally cracked rose nails!!

I just did my nails for my boyfriend's graduation tomorrow so I don't have time to post a proper blog about them but here's a little preview before I do a tutorial over the weekend :D

Who needs a spa? Superdrug Face Masks Review Part 2

Hey lovelies! I'm so so sorry for disappearing for a couple of weeks :( had resit exams to do so I was busy working away...

But fear not! I'm back for summer with part 2 of my reviews of the Superdrug face masks.

Last time I reviewed Sugar and Spice Self-Heating Mask (click here to read the review). This time its the Dead Sea Purifying Clay Mask!

"Kick start the day with this Superdrug Dead Sea Purifying Clay Mask - the perfect solution for oily and blemish prone skin. With an uplifting fragrance of cool Eucalyptus and zesty Lemon. It will revive and refresh your skin. With Witch Hazel and Willow Bark Extract to deeply cleanse pores and Dead Sea Minerals to help draw out dirt and impurities, it will leave skin looking clearer and more radiant."

Read the review here...

Who needs a spa? Superdrug Face Masks Review Part 1

Think good facials. Think £30 at a spa or beauticians. 

Think good facials. Don't think 99p at your local Superdrugs.

Or do you?

Last week my friends and I had a bit of a girly pampering day, something I have never actually indulged in with friends before (being largely friends with guys or tomboys). We decided to add face masks to the agenda but our limited budgets led us to seek out the cheapest we could find. Our feet took us along to Superdrug where lo and behold we struck gold: rows of multicoloured sachets, 99p a pop, and 4 for the price of 3!

I picked these 4:

• Sugar & Spice Self-Heating Mask
• Dead Sea Purifying Clay Mask
• Superfruits Exfoliating Mask
• Cucumber Cooling Mask

Here is part 1 of my reviews of the masks I bought...

The Evolution of Photography - a brief floral journey through my photography career.

I'm a bit bored and also quite excited to be back in the blogosphere! So I thought I'd share with you some of my photography :)

I'm feeling happy so this week it's flowers - a collection of floral themed photography I've taken over the years...

Let's take a look...

Unofficial Studio Ghibli Day... Totoro Nail Art Tutorial!

Guess who's back... 

Back again...

CharBop's back...

Tell a friend...

After some HELLISH exams I am back with a vengeance for a summer of nails, beauty reviews, and general musings! I'm going to start of this new spate of posts with something I'm loving at the moment - nail art. And this time, its a tutorial!

My best friends and I spent yesterday having a girly day of Studio Ghibli movies, nail art, facials, and oriental food. Inspired by this I decided to do nail art based on Studio Ghibli's signature movie - My Neighbour Totoro. (If you haven't heard of or seen it I suggest you google it ASAP.)

 

Charbop signing off... but one request before I go!

Hey guys!

As you may have gathered from recent blog posts, I begin my 4th year exams in less than a week and as such I'm going to have to go on blog hiatus until after they finish on June 13th :( Hopefully I've left you plenty to check out so have a look at some of my nail art tips, beauty reviews, and other general musings while I'm gone! 

In the meantime I need your help...

It's so hot I'm melting! Dripping nail art...

Inspired by the sweltering recent (and probably brief) appearance of British summer, the end of my hospital placements for the year, and the arrival of my new dotting tools, I decided to make my last nail art (and thus my last blog post) before exams melt before your very eyes!

Intrigued? Find out more... :)

To Boldly Go.... Galaxy Nail Art Part 2

So yesterday I decided to try out galaxy inspired nail art and gave you guys some tips on how to create the look as best you can...

As the day went on and the sunlight began to fade I noticed the shading becoming less and less noticeable, and by the end of the day when I was just in artificial light you couldn't even see the detail any more :(

I thought I could just deal with it but when I woke up this morning I just wasn't happy with the results and decided to follow my own advice from yesterday to redo my nails properly! Quite aptly watching Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Country, I went ahead and did my nails again, this time using lighter and more shimmer shades, as well as adding large glitter "stars".

Here are the results...

To infinity and beyond! Galaxy nail art...

Yeah so I said I wasn't going to be doing any more nail art until after my exams... but it's just too tempting! It's Spring Bank holiday so I have until Thursday before I'm on a hospital ward again, and I thought what better way to spend a revision break than painting my nails? Et voila - galaxy nails!

Now with added sparkle...

Intrigued? Find out more... :)

Exam eyes? A little additional advice.

Quick update in relation to my review of Simple's new revitalising eye roll-on. I forgot to add that products like these aren't the only solution to the hang-ups of exam stress! 

Make sure you drink plenty of water, take short breaks away from computer screens, eat properly, and try to get around 6-7 hours sleep a night if you can. (The 8 hours thing is a fallacy: studies have shown that the body needs around 6-7 hours a night to maximise life-span and improve daily functioning. Any more or less actually has negative consequences in the long-run.)