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!

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'

Water marbling... My first triumph!

I AM CHARBOP, MASTER OF NAILS, CONQUEROR OF WATER MARBLING!

Ahem... But seriously after numerous failed (and very messy) attempts, when I finally got it right I felt like master of the universe! 

I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who's looked at all the beautifully crafted marble-art nails on Blogger and Youtube and thought "that doesn't look so hard", only to be horribly surprised by how badly it can go wrong. I'm sure I'm also not the only one who has been massively disheartened when it  did go wrong and written water marbling off as one of those things only doable by artistic gods.

However...

With a little bit of patience and a few tips I picked up along the way I finally cracked it! Now there's already a load of tutorials out there so I'm not going to add to them, but what I will do is show you the results of my attempt followed by the tips that helped me succeed :)

Essie 'Muchi Muchi'... Update!

3 days in and still going strong ;)

Damn I love this nail polish!

Nail Polish Review - Essie 'Muchi Muchi'

Today I'm going to be looking at...

'Muchi Muchi' by Essie

Essie have been going since 1981 and have established a solid reputation for quality - being favoured by Queen Elizabeth herself! Their maHOOsive range of colours just can't be found anywhere else and that alone is enough to make me drool over their shelves...

Last week I lost my Essie virginity after making the most of Boots' current 3 for 2 make-up offer. I've been looking for the perfect pastel pink for ages and after trying shades from Topshop, Limecrime, and Model's Own that just did not compliment my skin tone I finally found a friend in 'Muchi Muchi'!

Nail Polish Review - Models Own 'Indian Ocean'

So what better way to start a blog than with a nail polish review!

I'm going to start by reviewing my most recent purchase, and a shade I've been trying to get hold of for ages... 'Indian Ocean' from Models Own's Beetlejuice collection.