Talon-tastic Thursday: Sophisticated bling

I took an absolutely ridiculous number of photos of this paint job. Seriously. I'm so embarassed about it that I don't think I can bring myself to actually tell you what the final count wa- oh, go on then, twist my rubber arm.

It was 72.

And this was the only one of them that came close to doing it justice! 

This week's Talon-tastic Thursday offering was inspired in part by Nonie Creme's work for the Yigal Azrouel show at New York Fashion Week (black with jagged gold glitter tips) and in part by Sophie's diversionary mani (a reverse French manicure in greige with perfect gold tips.)

My weapons of choice for this one were Essie Chinchilly, a grey creme with a slight purple undertone, and the gold glitter from Tenerife that seems to get a mention every other time I do a nail post.

What can I say, I heart it.

I applied a base coat of CND Stickey, two thin coats of Chinchilly, and then sparingly applied the gold glitter polish to the tips (I did a little "how to" on this for Beaut.ie; you can find it here.)

You could use loose glitter, of course, but I usually prefer to use a glitter polish where possible. It's far easier, not to mention less messy, especially for someone as graceless as myself who would be quite likely to upend the loose glitter and then have to spend the next 6 months picking bits of it out of the carpet...

A note on the lighting conditions in these photos: The weather in London hates me and wants me to cry. That is all I can conclude from the truly terrible light that it throws my way anytime it sees me getting my camera out. All of these pictures (and the other 68) were taken indoors without a flash, but the one of my nails was taken during a split second of proper bright daylight that was nowhere to be found when I was taking the rest. Bah!

Hat's all, folks.

Since Himself's 3-year-old niece decreed that my straw cowboy hat was so last season (by putting her foot through the crown of it), I am in dire need of a chic sunhat for an upcoming trip to Orlando.

The lucky item I choose will need to work with my lahvely '50s cat's eye stylee Tom Ford tortoiseshell sunnies, which is the easy part. 

It'll also need to work with what I'll euphemistically describe as a diverse and eclectic summer holiday wardrobe, most of which probably doesn't go that well with the sunglasses anyway. 

Oh, and it'll need to not make me look like a twat, which is a lot to ask of any hat that's to be worn on my noggin. 

Here are the current frontrunners - all of which I have yet to try on In Real Life - and yes, there are only four of them: 

{two from Topshop}

{both from Accessorize}

Mais oui!

{all images from the Dior website}

I love these bits of bling from Dior.

What perfect placeholders* for An Actual Engagement Ring, representing the hopes of the proposer and the opportunity for the proposee to pick out one she'll actually want to wear for the rest of her life.

Well, they're a bit more elegant than a jelly ring, like...


* Yes, I said placeholders. I'm a high-maintenance sort of bird, y'know.

Talon-tastic Thursday: Spot the difference

I was going to hold off on showing you this paint job until next week so that I wouldn't have two green nail posts back to back, but it's so damn pretty and spring-appropriate that I just had to share.

The base colour is Topshop Gone Fishing, and I did the spots with my white Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen, which is rapidly becoming my favourite implement ever. It's more like a regular pen than any other I've used and as a result is far easier to control. Oh, and the polish it dispenses is water soluble, so although you must use a topcoat to prevent your design disappearing the next time you wash your hands, correcting any mistakes you make while creating that design is an absolute cinch.

In other news, spring has sprung good and proper in our new-to-us, didn't-have-to-do-any-work-in-it garden! It seemed to happen overnight; I just walked out one morning to find this:

Nice one.

Talon-tastic Thursday: Lá Fhéile Pádraig special

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone! I've no idea yet what we'll do this evening; Porterhouse in Covent Garden has been suggested, but I think I might be too old to put up with the crush.

Oh well. At least the nails are done.

I used Barry M Mint Green as the base colour on all nails except my ring finger, then sponged a nameless Claire's Accessories yellow-green and Sephora by OPI Leaf Him At The Alter over that, trying to achieve an impressionist mossy/lump of shamrock effect at the tips.

The shamrocks on my thumbnail were done with a white Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen.

For the nail on my ring finger, I started with a base of M&S Baby Blue and then used Sally Hansen and Nails Supreme nail art pens to draw Howyeh Kitty (inspired by this manicure.)

I got these shoes last weekend in Madrid without even thinking about Lá Fhéile Pádraig, but they're accidentally perfect for the day (and night) that's in it!

Ben de Lisi's canine lamp: the dog's danglies or bullology?

I can't quite make up my mind about this French bulldog lamp by Ben de Lisi for Debenhams (€56).

On one hand, it's got a decidedly Abigail Aherne/Jonathan Adler-esque feel, but without the price tag associated with either of those designers.

On the other, I don't think the lovely idea of turning de Lisi's pet Ella into a lamp has been perfectly executed. The shade sits a little too high, exposing way too much of its silver stand for my tastes, and the base is seriously super shiny, which looks a bit cheap-y, although I'm told she's a proper stunna In Real Life. 

Still, there's no getting away from the fact that the eyes look a little strange. I bet she could bend you to her will no bother.

What do you reckon? Love it or leave it?

Puppy power.

Having reviewed all relevant reports, Puppeh is decidedly unimpressed with the latest quarterly figures.

Heads will roll, dammit. 

Jog on, kitties.

My Monday morning gift to you: the brilliant Cravendale cats TV ad.

Yizzer welcome.