Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Inspired by Armani

After flicking through my Catwalk Edit by Vogue for Spring/Summer, very late in the month I might add, I thought about the inspiration I could get from all the fabulous designers and their amazing designs. One that stood out big time was Giorgio Armani - I took the below design and gave it some balanced bright colours so make a little inspired simple nail art. All it took was some sponging and splodging and dotting and dipping... oh and some silver foils.


I used a base coat of Models Own Feeling Blue and Sophie's Pink for the large flowers, I sponged on smaller flowers with B. Complete Mulberry and topped it off with Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry top coat.


And here are the results :)





See yah soon x

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Tuesday, 4 February 2014

tough choices

I know I know I know.. where have I been? Well since 'The slump is over' I went to Manchester to see my family and the lovely lady Danielle for her 21st birthday.. one wild night, big hug with my baby niece and a hop skip and a 3 hour journey later I was back in the big smoke. 

2 Days of tiring work and an early night have fueled my fire and I am back with inspiration and many plans for fun posts for my lovely followers (however few they are).

So today what I've got for you is a tried and tested post. Since I started my new job, I've had to get back into the swing of breaking down boxes (my absolute favourite job of all time... ) on a daily basis. Meaning cuts, scratches, scissor danger mainly, and general rough stuff. Okay so granted its only cardboard boxes and the dangers aren't that bad but when you are a nail nerd like me loverly hands are kind of essential.


I tested: Nivea Express Hydration For Normal to Dry Hands (I'm sure it was free), Nip & Fab Yoga Blend Body Lotion (With Lavender and Rose and Coconut and other Special Stuff that smells amazing), GHOST SWEETHEART Body Lotion (A Christmas Present) and E45 Cream (from when I have a foot rash, yes, a foot rash).

So without further adieu I give you a little moisturizer tried and tested post for those of you who would like to know what moisturizer I use - because yes, I think that people need to know this kind of thing about my v.i.p life and hand care.

Smells grrrrrrrreat!

As part of a Christmas Present (That I asked for ) from the wonderful Santa Claus aka My lovely mother, I thought of it as nothing but an extra bit of crap to go on the old dressing table in my East London bedroom. However, given I LOVE the Ghost Sweetheart smell I started using it and it is now nearly empty! The only downside is it's not very well moisturizery for me. I can get quite dry skin and this doesn't really solve that problem it just smells absolutely amazing! And.. Saves wasting precious perfume! :)

The posh one :)


This one is another one that smells fantastic - and I know, like Ghost, it is a body lotion so it probably shouldn't be able to stick it's nozzle into my hand cream tried and tested post, but I love using it on my hands these days. It is one of those moisturizers where you get a little bit out because it smells so lovely and you see the size of the bottle and decide to put more on.. then more.. then more until you smell like a rose bush. It's also really silky and smooooth, and light which I have found to be good qualities in a moisturizer.


Does the job

Now this cream was a desperate buy when I started my internship working for B&Q's press agency, I was so run off my feet they felt like they were going to burst into flames every night and I longed to get home and scratch them until I started coating them in E45. It's something you know will do the job - when my cheeks got dry over Christmas it was a go to and so now it just seems entirely appropriate for when my hands are feeling extra dry and in need of some really medical attention.

Current Favourite

Currently, this is the lotion I can't keep my hands off, or keep off my hands for that matter. It absorbs super quickly which is extra convenient when you are trying to open a nail polish, and it smellss really quite nice to say it isn't fragranced, it also actually does the job by making your hands super soft, so much so you feel like your hands will slip right off the rails on the tube! (That totally didn't happen and even if it did I am so not blaming it on the hand cream...) All facts aside it is currently the best I have, perhaps as it is the only actual HAND lotion I have but that doesn't stop me from using it on my face... :)

Even though one of the key ingredients to a lovely pampering manicure is a good lotion, this post isn't really much about nails - I am considering doing some beauty posts after looking at the hoard of products I own, it could be fun.

Ciao bella

PS Click the names of the lotions to see them on their available websites :)

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Thursday, 30 January 2014

the slump is over

Yes, you heard right, I'm back. Three days away crying in assignment hell. Mostly from tears of utter hysterics thanks to my Irish assignment buddy shouting PENIS down my ear.. but they were tears none the less.

But it's over.. yayyyyy. And I realised I haven't told you all about my new favourite film.. The Wolf of Wall Street. The Leo Di Caprio spectacular expression of sex, money and drugs. Sounds like fun, looks like fun...

So here is a quick inspired nail art in tribute of my new love.



All it took was my amazing Winter Baby White and Blackout Black Maybelline Color Show polishes and my new foils I got for 1.99 on Ebay the other day! Plus a top coat of my favourite investment of the week my Sally Hensen Insta-Dry Top Coat.. I'm in love again ;) Get yourself a couple of thin brushes and way you go. Easy as pie. I wanted to show you some Great Gatsby inspired nail art I did when that came out but weirdly I can't find the picture anywhere.. So next time I have a couple of hours on my hands I'll have to give them another go.

Bye bye Leo lovers.
Abigail xxx
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Monday, 27 January 2014

paisley princess

When I was about 13 years old, my mum kept up her time old tradition of the Pyjama Christmas present - given on Christmas Eve it is a gift that I have gotten and given for as long as I can remember - But this one particular Christmas my mother gave me the best pj's I ever got! Pink Paisley.. need I say more?

This was when I realised my adoration for the intricate and ever so vintage look that paisley patterns give. Granted, the paisley shirt only your Grandad buys in a second hand charity shop and wears when he decides he is 'Super hip and trendy' like the wonderful yet unfortunate David Tennant, is not a good example...


It is a pattern I can pretty much love ANYWHERE :)

So it is only natural that over time I have done many paisley designs when it comes down to my nail art, testing different styles, shapes and colours to see which I like best...


Some where ugly as, some where Saved By The Bell inspired, some where simple and some where favourties.

Today I have done some inspired nail art based on the current paisley I have picked out for my new and very different laptop background - I have gone from pink and fluffy to monochrome and sharp. All it took was Maybelline's Colour Show in Blackout with a matte top coat from George Asda Matte Manicure range in clear and a White Pearl Rio Professional Nail Care pen :) So here it is... Inspiration to final design ...


Instagram me your paisley @pawsandclaws101
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Abigail xxx

Sunday, 26 January 2014

the magic of a white base

When doing intricate or simple nail art, a white base is the easiest and most attractive option .. undoubtably.
I tend to resort to my trusty white and must have gone through 10 bottles of it this year! Especially over Christmas...
So, seeing as the colour white is the right one for me, it's best to get a really good quality brand. That does not mean go for the most expensive.. never do that. This year, I found the easiest way was to try as many as I could! It's the way I found my favourite white and black and clear top coat.. Practice makes perfect in this business.

Ergo this is a tried and tested post.. I have picked out all my old whites and gotten enough out to test one nail from each bottle. Just to show you lovely people which is the best and why you should buy it.. It saves you the journey of using them all :)

Low cost, low quality?

NOT SO BEST: Primark: Angelica Nail Colour in Snow White £1.00

I don't mean to be harsh but I like a nail polish that doesn't crust in the bottle over a matter of months.. I have had this colour for as long as some of my other polishes and it is the only one that has managed to completely seal over. So I am unable to do a quick test now.. HOWEVER.. Once upon a time (4 months ago) This was a decent nail polish. It went on nicely and came off nicely as far as I remember.. But unfortunately.. It doesn't match up to the next nail polish I had for a single pound!






BEST: George, Asda: Manicure in Natural White £1.00

'When money is tight - nip to trusty Asda.' Mum's motto must be something along those lines. It's actually true, as a student I've discovered amazing cheap tights and a dish cleaner that works miracles. So when I had little to no money over Christmas and was in desperate need of a white, I jumped in the car with mum and grabbed one of these nail polishes.

Even though the bottle is so unbelievably tiny the result wasn't too bad.. The colour is nice however it does come out a little runny meaning two generous coats and a bit of clean up. Then, I would say that about most white nail polishes. So for the price I would definitely recommend this one over the Primark polish.










Go on.. Just spend a little more.

IT AINT NO.1 BUT: Miss Sporty: Et Voila Tip Whitener, Extra White Effect Manicure £1.99

Now you must be asking yourself, why is she using a tip whitener as a nail polish?!, and the answer is that the only difference is the name.. and in this case the slanted brush.
Bought in a time of desperate need - It is a low priced polish but it is such a good quality there is a reason it isn't priced at a pound like the loved George Manicure varnish. When I first bought it months and months and months ago it was silky and you only needed one coat of it. Unfortunately it didn't last very long - not due to the fact I do my nails 3/4 times a week - but due to it living up to it's cheap stereotype. That is why I rated it lower than the best white polish I've ever had. Now a gloopy mess - it comes at number 2 in my rankings.






NUMERO UNO: Maybelline, Color Show by Colorama in Winter Baby £3.99

In this particular case, spending more is better, however this is not the most expensive white nail polish and it doesn't need to be.
Silky and light, this nail polish is my favourite of them all. The only downside is having to use two coats (but like I said, this is the case with most white polishes). It gives the best results and lasts a long time. There really isn't much more to be said other than I bought it in Boots along with another one and a black in the 3 for 2 offer (so get yourself down there is what I'm saying ;) )




I hope you like the designs I put up to show how well a white base works, and why it is soooo important to have a decent white polish in your bag of tricks.

Happy white polish hunting, I hope I have narrowed the field for you! :)


Abigail xxx

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Thursday, 23 January 2014

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

treating myself

Decided the other day to scourer Ebay for some well needed supplies and today they all arrived!

So happy; I got all new brushes and a dotter as well as some replacement Rio Professional 2 way pens (my favourites) and some foils (which seem to be the new craze in nail art so will be giving them a go this weekend)!

I do love to treat myself, especially to these brushes as I've wanted them for ages! I was getting desperate...


Abigail xxx