Nails Inc. Goodybunch!

Morning Everyone! I've been digging out the nail paint, much to the relief of my best mate Hinal, who constantly shouts at me for not using the ridiculous amount of nailpolish I use and buy. So check it out:

 

Nails Inc recently had a massive fature in Glamout Magazine (UK), of which I am a subscriber. Although I no longer wear make-up or nail varnish, I love to buy them and read about them. Just a true sign that I am lazy and have let myself go, which I'm now needing to reign in.

Above is the gorgeous new line from them; the brand new Nail Jewellery Range. Above is the Diamond shade and below is my use of the Sapphire Shade. I'm a Nails Inc Club member, which entitles you to a 10% discount, so I bought both, plus the red magnetic polish and a holographic topcoat. Essentially, a massive sparkly goody bag, with a mahoosive, lovely free gift bag!

  

I'd bought the Sapphire with a view to matching my engagement ring. But being that I'm so aversed now to having a bit of colour on my hands, I start off with each colour by trying them on my feet. Above is one coat (allbeit, a thick one) of sapphire over two coats of Betty Blues by No7 with a couple of coats of Sally Hansen Mega Shine Topcoat.

The shine is dazzling. I own a million glitters and this is by far the most multi-dimensional with a deep, thick cover of colour. It's gorgeous. Im so happy I bought it. That Deep Electric Blue is pretty much my favourite colour.

With that in mind, I felt a French Mani was in order. My new book is just out and I'm teaching a knitting course in Peterborough on Saturday, I'm just praying it will last really, but it would be nice to have prettified hands for the day! So a special mani. I'm a little out of practice, so don't mind the mess!

 

I'm tring really REALLY hard to stay recession-proof at the moment. My money seems to be going nowehere. So having my nails done is not a viable option. But with the amount of polish and gadgets I own, it shouldn't be, really.

As you can see, my nails grow quite well, they always have done, but for added strength, I use OPI Nail Envy for Dry/Brittle nails, applying every other day as suggested. It contains Vitamin C and lots of other nutrients which help reinforce the natural structural integrity of your fingernails.

The polishes used are OPI 'Alpine Snow' (White) and 'Passion' (Sheer peach), 2 coats of the latter, with a subtle (yes - very subtle, it's not really come out in the picture..) coat of 'I Juggle.. Men' over the top. In an effort to get them dried quickly, I've used the China Glaze fast drying top coat so I could get on with packing for the weekend ahead.

I quite like this mani. But if you're not-so-confident with freehand tips, you can get self-adhesive french manicure guides which stick to your fingernail like a stencil, and you just paint over the top, helps keep them looking straight. I used them once, but they adhered to a not-quite-dry base coat and ripped it up when I removed it. You can get them off ebay but be careful!

 

DO NOT TRUST SOY!

So this whole 'dairy free' thing is, to be honest, getting me down a little. You'd be surprised what foods contain dairy sometimes. When was it made a rule that cow boob-juice had to be splashed willy nilly into let's face it; everything. Oy.

The real sincher has been the tea. I swear by my tea. Several cups a day, easy. With a sink and kitchenette in my room, I'm pretty self-contained, so tea is no problem. Let me tell you people, rice milk and soy in tea is probably what hell tea would be. Makes the whole thing taste like scout camp conditions; s***ty water.

My problems all really kicked off with dairy when I became addicted to caffeine. Living and working in and around central London 6 days a week will do that to you. Starbucks' secret language drinks, once you've mastered the lingo, are addictive and equally expensive. But when I say master the lingo, having started off with black americanos, after several years, I began to ask for;

Grande Skinny Latte With Two Extra Shots And Sugarfree Hazelnut Syrup

...even I was amazed that I could come out with said sentence after a wheezy running-of-the-commuters at 8am in the morning. Anyway, all of a sudden the eczema had returned with a vengeance, and it was time to stiop kidding myself that I was ever, nor had ever, been a dairy queen. Fudgeth. So, okay; I can still have my secret lingo coffees, just gotta 'soy them up'. I felt like an utter ponce adding the word 'soy' to the above order, and like a fool gaining weight the second I'd switched.

In fairness, unless you wear a suit, have an over-trimmed moustauche, briefcase and an obsession with being a faster walker than the dude to your left, I've always felt like an outsider in that place! So giving up the expensive coffees wasn't a problem. Withdrawal is over and I can type and everythgni.

My point being, that soy generally, is a lie. Don't fall for it, people. I've been all around Europe and goats' milk is preferable in many countries. Soy is full of fat and sugar being that it tastes like licking a backed-up cistern. Don't fall for it. If you want to fall for something, try the freefrom tesco chocolate bars. They're gorgeous!

Switch to goatsmilk, Olivio spread, and dark chocolate. It's not as disgusting as I once thought. Now Ben, (the old ball and chain) has taught me to suck, and not chew, our relationship has never been better. Enjoy.

Free Colour Gotye Cross Stitch Chart - Courtesy of Me!

I've had a bash at making cross stitch charts. Hope you like this one. This is the picture on which it is based, Uses Anchor Threads, for a finished size of 20" in Width on 16ct Aida. Click on the below link to download directly from my skydrive. I am so OBSESSED with this song. It'll be totally worth it.

Knitting Rocks

So I've had the recent honour of taking over the ol' Knitting Rocks campaign on Facebook. Our first meeting was today, and was a plethra of super-cool knitters we've had the pleasure of meeting over the years. It was great!

Author Emily Blades attended, a professional puppet-maker, sequin knitter and Rowan Consultant Annette Traves, which was kind of awesome.

Coats Crafts provided us with allsorts of goodies including customised T-shirts. Here I am, from the reverse (left):

 

Of course, no special occasion like the Knitting Rocks launch party, should go without a very special nail polish creation, and after my best friend Hinal's latest rant about how I'm 'not Fred anymore' for not doing my nails and wearing make-up, I thought I'd give it a bash. So what do you think?

 

Featured here are the following polishes;

OPI Shorts Story (Pink), Gossip Girl Serena Collection on my Ring Finger (Black with Blue flecked overcoat), OPI Black Crackle and China Glaze quick-drying topcoat, followed by Sally Hansen Silver Bottle topcoat. Lovely stuff.

It's a little odd coming back to nail polish after such a long time, so it came straight off on Saturday!