Talon-tastic Thursday: Fit for One's Diamond Jubilee

Not that you'd guess from the endless media coverage and the hundreds of miles of bunting and the fact that the shops are bursting with products that have had the UK flag slapped on their packaging, but there's some kind of big celebration happening in London this weekend.

Products used:
OPI Start To Finish base coat
OPI Sweet Memories (base colour)
Ciaté Sugar Plum (Purple Sherbet, one of this months's Marie Claire freebies, is similar)
Models Own/Hedkandi Ibiza Mix (again!)
Black nail art pen
Seche Vite top coat

Products used:
OPI Start To Finish base coat
Angelica Holiday Fun
Black & white nail art pens
Seche Vite top coat

What are you up to for the long weekend?

Talon-tastic Thursday: Spectackular.

If it feels like ages since my last nail post, well, that'll be because it is. Let me try to make it up to you by sending not one but TWO Talon-tastic Thursday posts your way today!

We'll kick off with a few manicures that I wore earlier this week; I blame the heat for making me put together some of the tackiest, trashiest paint jobs to ever take up residence on my nails.

{when bad paint jobs happen to good people}

You know when you've an amazing idea that just doesn't work on paper? This neon gradient was a bit like that. I think the contrast between the colours I used (Ciaté Big Yellow Taxi, Angelica Hip Hop, Angelica Holiday Fun) was just too extreme. Oh, and of course bright yellow is never a great choice with my skintone.

Next!

Nude polish and glitter is always a winner, although I can't actually remember which putty-coloured nude I used as the base colour here.

D'oh.

I can tell you that the glitter is Models Own/Hedkandi Ibiza Mix, which I concentrated mostly at the base of the nails for a (relatively) sophisticated effect.

{L: indoors, partial sun; R: indoors, shade}

Nothing sophisticated about this (Angelica Hip Hop with Models Own/Hedkandi Ibiza Mix) which was bright to the point of obnoxious in real life, but sadly my camera just couldn't capture the madness. It did make me smile every time I looked at it, though.

Have any of your best laid manicure plans gone awry recently - and did the hot weather make anyone else do anything a bit stir-crazy?

Would you Tie The Knot in Topshop?

Today, there is just one question that I want to ask you.

Would you get married in one of these dresses?

Topshop are hoping the answer is a resounding "YES!" - these frocks are part of the brand's collaboration with British designer Richard Nicoll to create an affordable, fashion-forward capsule bridal collection called Tie The Knot! for budget-conscious modern brides.

The long apron-alike number on the left is the collection's most expensive at £350, while the lacy short dress on the right clocks in at £170. Prices actually start at just £75 and the colour palette includes blush pinks in addition to the more traditional white.

I love Topshop and I'm definitely a fan of the idea of a cool high-street dress for your wedding day, be it specifically bridal or not, but these... Let's just say that the £75 short white dress looks like the most expensive rag of a slip I've ever seen.

What say you? Are any of these dresses calling your name?

Trend spot: Studded flip flops

My stud obsession is going nowhere, it seems, and now I've found a summer-appropriate way to incorporate them into your warm weather wardrobe.

How amazing are these fancy-yet-fierce flip flops from Valentino? Sadly, even though they're effectively just jelly sandals, these beauties also have an amazing price tag.

Not to worry: I've put in the legwork (ho ho) and found a couple of high street lookey likeys so you can toughen up your sunshine look on the (relative) cheap!

Of course, an even more purse-friendly alternative is to grab an old pair of sandals, some glue, and a load of studs and get busy.

Would you wear studded flip flops, or maybe make your own?

{image sources: 1. The Blonde Salad; 2. Little Bird Tell}

In which I was basically at the BAFTAs.

The riverside rooftop garden where we spent yesterday afternoon happened to overlook the TV BAFTAs red carpet as well as the Thames, so I got to do a bit of celeb spotting as we were heading home. I recognised Jeremy Piven (Ari in Entourage), Tamsin Greig and Stephen Mangan, Alexander Armstrong, Lord Grantham/Hugh Bonneville, Emilia Fox, Melissa George, Ruth Jones, Miranda Hart, Tamzin Outhwaite, and Davinia McCall (and even from afar, I was not a fan of her zebra stripe dress/neon stilettos combo.)

I took a handful of quick pap snaps from my remote vantage point:

{Holly Willoughby & Fearne Cotton}

{Amy Childs & entourage}

{Rob Brydon}

I also saw but didn't recognise Robert Sheehan and, um, may have christened him "BAFTA hipster" for this natty choice of outfit.

Our last spot was Dominic West, and impressively enough it was Himself who copped his identity ("It's your man from The Wire") first. And yes, I took a photo. (It is truly terrible; you have been warned.)

{Dominic West's back}

Of all the peeps we saw, only Amy Childs and Dominic West effectively ignored the fans who were positioned around the corner from (and therefore out of sight of) the press pit. Childs at least acknowledged them with one small halfhearted wave as she gave them a wide berth headed straight for the waiting press photographers; Dominic West quite literally trotted past them as he broke into a half run for the red carpet. Bad form! 

{Robert Sheehan image source: Bafta.org}

What I Wore: Weekend Edition

After months of humming and hawwing and adding loads of photos of similar garments to my Pinterest boards, I finally treated myself to Zara's gold sequin skirt on Friday and then proceeded to wear it all weekend.

We spent Saturday afternoon hanging out in the park with Boris. In retribution for the zillion photos I took of him enjoying himself and looking cute, he decided to get his photobomb on.

 

Yesterday we visited the temporary Queen Elizabeth Roof Garden on the top of the Southbank Centre for a late lunch and some Pimm's...

... and a few awkward photos on that unsung catwalk of the underground, the travelator.

I hope you'd a lovely weekend and that your week has gotten off to a good start x

{Skirt: Zara / polka dot top: Glamorous / zebra belt: River Island / gold flip flops: Office / Scottie dog print top: River Island / butterfly belt: Topshop}

Lacy lady.

Even when the temperature's pushing 30°C in London, plenty of girls still manage to look super cool and Fierce With A Capital F in their skinny jeans (or black opaque tights - seriously.)

Sadly, I am not one of them; my (admittedly meagre) attempts at Styling Myself or Putting Together A Look go completely out the window in the heat.

Instead, I've developed a formula which I stick to fairly religiously in very warm weather, as you can see. Dress (Penneys/Primark again) + sandals (eBay, originally from Office) + sunglasses + earrings (because it's too hot for other jewellery) = done!

Today, I mostly wore...

... an aquarium.

I guess Himself's new hobby (which he's blogging about here, fish fans) is having a bigger influence on me than I realised.

The dress is from Penneys/Primark*, it's this season, it's £17 so probably €21 Eurobux, and mine was a present from Mam. (Thanks Mam x) The skirt of it is lined and it fits true to size.

The bronze flip flops are from New Look from a couple of years ago, and while I know you can't see my toenails I feel obliged to tell you that they're black with gold studs and look totally kickass.

* I know, I know. Blogger in wearing Primark shocker, eh?

Who needs Chelsea Flower Show?

Since the weather has turned all summery, my thoughts have turned to beautifying our garden. Well, "garden" is a bit of a stretch; it's really a long side return that's been gussied up with some cobblelock and the sort of masses of evergreen planting last seen in Jurassic Park.

Now, I know that private outdoor space in rented accommodation is something of a luxury in London, but I think it's fair to say that ours is looking far from luxurious at the moment. My primary concern is introducing a bit of colour. The planting area that runs almost the full length of the garden would be the perfect spot to plant up if it wasn't where the Jurassic shrubs live, and I'm not sure there's much point trying to do anything in the shaded zone underneath them.

I might chuck in a few shade-tolerant Busy Lizzies, Begonias, or hardy Geraniums and see how they fare, but my master plan is to use containers and hanging baskets to break up the sometimes monotonous sea of green. By the front door, I envision a standard bay tree underplanted with hot pink and coral Busy Lizzies and maybe some trailing lobelia in a black Versailles planter for a shot of glorious summer colour everytime we leave or arrive home.

I'm rock 'n' roll, me.

{image sources: 1. Crocus; 2. GardenForum; 3. Classic Garden Elements}

The hanging baskets will be a trickier proposition, since there isn't really anywhere to put up a bracket. However, I have a cheeky solution: I think I'll just try to hang them from the holes in the girders of our upstairs neighbour's veranda. It overhangs part of our outdoor space and could definitely use some cheering up.

Anyone else planning to spruce up their outdoor space for the summer?

Mani Monday: Tell me about it, stud

Studded nails look like way more effort than they actually are. The most difficult thing about them is probably trying not to walk into things while distracted by their total awesomeness!

1. Apply base coat.
2. Apply 2-3 coats of your chosen colour.
3. I usually pick up studs with a pointed tweezers, dip them in a little nail glue, and apply to the nail; I find the glue gives a longer lasting result than topcoat. Alternatively you can dot a small amount of nail glue or topcoat directly onto the nail to hold the studs in place, and if a tweezers is too fiddly for you try dipping the end of a dotting tool/pen/paperclip/toothpick in a smidge of topcoat and then using it to pick up the studs. The key is to work quickly, before your chosen adhesive dries.

To prolong your design, you can seal the lot with topcoat but this can lead to bubbling around 3D nail decorations. You can reduce the risk of this happening by using a regular rather than fast dry topcoat.

Products used:
OPI Start To Finish as base coat
China Glaze Liquid Leather
Gold studs from eBay
Kiss nail glue
Sally Hansen InstaDri top coat (used before applying studs)

Shoe Love: Wedge sandals

There are only two types of shoes that I can actually walk in, and by "walk" I really mean run for the bus or flee from the undead in the event of a zombie apocalypse rather than get from car door to bar stool.

These two types of shoes are flats and platform wedges. It's all or nothing with me where footwear is concerned because I just can't safely negotiate the world, even if it is (currently) zombie-free, wearing anything between the extremes.

Fabulous flats are pretty easy to find, but fabulous platforms wedges are a different beast altogether. Even this spring/summer when the shops are positively heaving with them, it's hard to find a pair of platform wedge sandals that straddle the fine line between chunky and dressy without looking too '70s. To make matters more complicated, I like my wedges with a t-bar (I think it helps compensate for the leg-shortening effect of an ankle strap) and a peep-toe or similarly tiny front opening (I like to see as little of my big toe as possible.)

These £45 gladiators from Next, which are a more tan, less shite colour In Real Life, would be perfect if my size wasn't sold out. Sadface.

Here are some of my other, mostly far-too-expensive favourites.

Any fellow wedges fans out there? Have you spotted any nice ones this season?

Talon-tastic Thursday: Minnie mani

Things I Did Not Know Before Moving To London
- Bedtime is 11PM weekdays
- Londoners really like to queue
- Some dog owners think that cleaning up after their hound means bagging its poo... and then leaving the bag on the pavement
- Catrice and Essence cosmetics are not available in the UK

It's just as well I didn't know about that last one before our move because it could have been a dealbreaker. Never mind that most Essence and Catrice stands in Ireland look like a tornado has blasted by them - so. messy! - these pocket-friendly brands do a great line in nail bits, limited edition collections, and beauty products that generally punch way above their price point. My very favourite matte bronzer is from Essence, and when I finished it several months ago I was on the blower to The Sister immediately, begging her to send me a new one.

So when we were in Tenerife and I espied a shop that stocked both brands, well, I lost the plot a little bit. One of the nail polishes I picked up was Essence Nude Glam polish in Café Olé, which is shot through with a holographic iridescence so subtle it's as good as invisible on the nail and only barely perceptible in the bottle. I used it as the base colour in this neutral mani which got compliments all over the shop when I wore it :)

I know the colours aren't exactly character appropriate, but it kind of reminds me of Minnie Mouse!

Products used:
Orly Bonder base coat
Essence Nude Glam Café Olé
Red and black nail art pens
Seche Vite Top Coat

Just another Mani Monday: Vintage lace

Himself and I did our first proper joint wedding-y thing yesterday: we took ourselves off to The Vintage Wedding Fair at Chiswick Town Hall. It was a pretty small affair, with about 40 suppliers spread across a couple of rooms, but it was a suitably gentle introduction to the world of wedding shows for a reluctant bride.

Although I hadn't intended to fit on any frocks (and was therefore wearing entirely unsuitable underwear for the makeshift communal changing room that was shared between all the vendors), I did try 3 dresses from Luella's Boudoir in Wimbledon while we were there. They were all around the £3,000 mark, which I didn't realise before I fitted them on, and if I hadn't been so shocked at their price tags I would have laughed in the assistant's earnest face.

I didn't feel like I was having anything close to a THREE GRAND dress experience in a communal changing room with 6 or 7 other birds in their knickers with a mirror and a half between us; the last time I was in a communal changing situation like that was about 16 years ago in super cheap 'n' tacky No Name on Dublin's Henry Street (and even it had loads of mirrors.)

Anyway, I think all the wedding stuff and lace and vintage palettes that we were surrounded by yesterday inspired today's manicure: the classic China Glaze shade For Audrey embellished with hand-drawn white lace detail.

I think it turned out really nicely - what do you reckon?

 

Products used:
Orly Bonder base coat
China Glaze For Audrey
White nail art pen
Seche Viche top coat

Talon-tastic Thursday: Mani double-whammy

I can't claim any credit for this design, unfortunately; I bookmarked this image a whole 8 months ago (!) and decided last Saturday morning when I was low on inspiration to try my hand at replicating it. I doodled the white over Orly Bonder with a nail art pen before adding the neon-ish bright tips and Seche Vite topcoat. 

L-R / pinkie-thumb: 
Topshop Gone Fishing 
Barry M Shocking Pink 
Ciaté Big Yellow Taxi 
Angelica Holiday Fun 
Angelica Hip Hop 

If you follow me on Twitter - and if you don't, get on that already! - you'll know that we had visitors over the weekend. My mum and sister were staying with us and on Thursday night I was put to work doing my sister's nails. 

She wasn't convinced about how awesome a scalloped pastel 'n' bling paint job would be (silly girl) until she saw it on her fingertips. I used two of this month's InStyle magazine/Nails Inc freebies (Bluebell, left, and Powder Pink, centre) embellished with Topshop Crystal Clouds.

Do we like?