Happy New Years Eve!

Allo polish Pals

How are you all doing? I hope you've had a great week?

Mine has been so up and down. On Christmas Eve I was told I'd be getting a permanent position in the store I've been working in as a Christmas temp. I was delighted, I've had so much fun working there and I couldn't wait to join the womens wear department. I'd make new friends and continue seeing the girls I enjoyed working with on the cosmetics/fragrance department.

By Wednesday I was told that they had taken on a lot of the Christmas temporary staff and that I wasn't put into the rota, my line manager told me that she was going to fight for my hours and to wait for an email towards the end of the week... so really now I know far much less than I did. Its a little disappointing but whatever happens I'm looking forward to the adventure of 2018.

I'm going to do a recap of my year below.. at the time there were things I couldn't blog about which I now feel I can and it will be a good way to say goodbye to 2017. I'll also add some of my fave nail art from the past year.

Festive Feels - Christmas Tree Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today? I hope you had an awesome weekend! 14 days until Christmas, how many of you are ready? I'm sat here with Deezer's Christmas play list on!

I'm 90% through with hand painting my third card, 10% through my final fourth Christmas card, I've begun present wrapping and I feel very well prepared. I'm not the kind of person to leaves things to the last minute (can't take the stress and panic!)

Talking of Christmas today I'm kickin' off the festive nail art, I know you guys have been concerned that I hadn't posted any yet but don't worry, I got this. Later in the post I also have a little story to tell you, an experience from work last week.

Dry Brush & Freehand Cat Nail Art!

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing today, did you have an awesome weekend? I spent time with my family and yesterday, us girls and little Albie (3 year old nephew) all went out for lunch and some back to school shopping. The weather wasn't on our side but it was fun none the less!

We've kicked off a new month of weekly challenges over on Tiny Canvas, I always love doing the weekly challenges along side the members but I feel like this month is super fun! Our current theme is cats! Since September is also Happy Cat month it seemed like a perfect fit.

So I've got some cats for you, I 'ave!

Excuse my cuticles in this picture. I think this was around the time I was secretly boxing all my stuff up to move home.

Jungle-Princess Nail Art! Freehand Leaves And Golden Stamping

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope your week is going well! I'm having fun being at home with my family (still missing Mr Bravo but I gotta make the most of this time with everyone) I just want to say... don't forget to come back on Saturday when my international giveaway starts!

Today's nail art was really spur of the moment, I wanted to do some more stamping but with freehand nail art too. I opted for gold.. and then had this sort o f jungle-like vision! I think it kinda does suit the idea, don't you? I added a gold feather stud from my Sea themed nail art wheel – You can see my review about those stud/charms here.

For this manicure I used my usual base coat of OPI's 'Nail Envy' and proceeded with two coats of NYC's 'Williamsburg Vintage' for my white base. Next I stamped using Barry M's 'Gold Foil' (the foils are amazing for stamping, why are there not more?!) and my Fab Ur nails plate, FUN16 plate. I really loved this pattern. I then applied a coat of my Pro-fx top coat, allowed drying time and then created some freehand leaves along the top of my nails.

For my ring finger I created a really thin line of green acrylic paint and tried to add a sort of..'adornment', some kind of princess-jungle like jewelry made of tiny Model's Own golden beads and the feather stud/charm.

When I'd finished this manicure I looked at my nails and sighed. I thought it was really terrible, but you know what? Its sort of grown on me. I think it fits the theme nicely!

What do you think of these Jungle-Princess themed nail art? Do you like to add studs and beads to your stamping?

Have a beautiful day! I'll catch you again on Saturday...for the giveaway!

Love

Ithi

Nicole Diary Water Decal Review Pt. 4

*This post contains an item(s) which have been sent for reviewing purpose however I will always provide my full and honest opinion.

Allo polish Pals!

How are we all doing today? I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and start to the new week. Can you believe we one day away from being in June?! Crazy! Hopefully I can start making plans to go home and visit my family in the next month or so.

Today I have part four of my Nicole Diary water decal reviews – there will be one more final post after this. I've had a really great experience with these decals so far. I have enjoyed their wide range of patterns and styles, you have to agree they are all so different from each other!

Nicole Diary are offering IthinityBeauty readers a free gift worth upto $5 when you order from either their Amazon / Alliexpress store. Just add the code 'ITH2016' to your order notes!

First we have 'Nicole Diary 04' beautful and simple looking floral pattern. I love the colour combination of mustard yellow flowers and burgundy. I feel like these make me think of sort of... a chic look. Does that make any sense? Probably not. I just feel there's something very sweet and charming about the colour combination and pattern. I decided to pair these with an accent nail of Barry M's 'Mustard' and a 'Jodie-Bow' (Aptly named after the kind friend who sent them to me!)

This second pattern, 'Nicole Diary -13' is sooo entirely different. I personally wasn't quite sure how I wanted to wear them. One side of the decal has a dark version of the pattern and the other side is a light pattern. Mr Bravo urged me to face my dark side. These decals are very solid, I don't think you can even guess I am wearing a medium bright green underneath! I paired this manicure with an accident nail of Zoya's 'Charla', a circular sequin and added some very small Model's Own 'Artstix' golden beads. If I am honest I probably like these the least but that's just my personal preference. I can't remember the last time I had green nails that wasn't grass in a freehand manicure!

Don't forget Nicole Diary are on Instagram too, you can see how other nail artists wear their decals!

Which of these manicures/water decals did you like the most? How do you wear decals – with accents or all nails? I personally love the first set!

Have a beautiful day my friends, thank you for visiting and I'll catch you again on Thursday!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Bumble Bee Nail Art

Allo polish Pals!

How are we all today?  I wish you all a fabulous weekend!
Today we are off to visit some friends - its been far too long since we caught up with them. This week has been so much busier than normal - but in a totally great way! I've not had much chance to get some freehand nail art done so I hope I can catch up next week!

Do you know something I just love about spring/summer? Fuzzy fat butted bumblebees, I've always thought they are so cute. I love sitting in the garden in England watching them go about their buzzy busy business! I realized I had never done bumblebee's before and I wanted to do something cute!

For this manicure I began with my all time beloved OPI's 'Nail Envy' and once dry applied China Glaze's 'Classic Caramel' (I never know what to use this for..so yay!) I also dabbed some Model's Own's 'Gold Rush' here and there. I then took my acrylic paints and began to paint a honeycomb pattern which I really enjoyed doing! All the hexagons where outlines, filled in and then shaded and outlined, I found this such a relaxing process! I then moved onto my buzzy little bee and used a small amount of Hema's 'Happy Silver' in the center of his wings to add a little shimmer.

I finished it all off with my Pro-FX top coat and also tried it in matte, because I can not live without seeing if something looks better in matte these days.

What do you think of my fuzzy bumble bee? Have you had done any freehand patterns before?

Have an amazing day, Lets catch up on Monday and start the week together!

Love

Ithi

DIY Dry Marbled Pastel Decals

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you are doing great! Do you have any goals set for this week? I think I am going to start setting myself goals...

I currently have have no internet besides cheekily hopping on to Mr Bravo's 4G here and there (obviously sparingly, Don't want to wrack up a huge phone bill) so I wont be able to comment and stuff until Tuesday (Hopefully the tech can fix it!)

Today I have some more DIY decals. I really enjoyed these nails because it was an easy way to get the water marble look without the failure risk. Its a more guaranteed way of getting marbled nails!

For this manicure I began by using some clear polish on a piece of old flooring (I'm not fancy enough for one of those special mats.. but hey if it works!) I allowed that to dry and painted my first base colour alternately. The polishes I used were Rimmel's 'Peachella' and 'Wild-er-ness', Model's Own 'Blueberry Muffin' and 'Banana Split', Essie's 'Mint Candy Apple' and China Glaze's 'Something Sweet'. I used a tooth pick to marble all these beautiful pastels together and set a side over night to dry.

The next day I painted on my favorite base coat, OPI's 'Nail Envy' to my clean nails and carefully peeled off my decals using pointed tweezers. I lay them onto the nail and gently patted them to get them to stick to my nails (They sort of warm up and stick to the base coat) I cleaned off any excess and took it one step further by adding a white border with acrylic paint and some simple gold sequin studs.

What do you think of my non water marble..marble? Have you tried making your own decals?

I'll keep you posted about my internet situation but luckily enough I have posts hanging around :)

Have a lovely day!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Birthday Care Bear Nail Art - Retro!

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? Boy, do I have a random bit of nail art for you today! Since tomorrow is my birthday so I thought I'd take it out on my nails. I'm just excited to be home with my family for it! I already recieved a beautiful bracelet from Mr Bravo, a delicate chain with a sparkly 'Infinity' charm, or as he said.. Ithinity - aww! And on the night of my birthday I'll get to see my 5 year old niece in her first ever school Christmas play!

So... In the end I randomly decided to go retro (because I'm so old now, boohoo) with the birthday Care Bear. Why not, right? Its mah party, I'll care(bear) if I want toooo...

For this manicure I began with two coats of Model's Own 'Blueberry Muffin' and once dry I added NYX Girls 'Dreamy Glitter'. I hate saying this because I know its not helpful... but everything else was created with my trusty two brushes and acrylic paint. I finished by sealing it all in with two coats of Catrice top coat.

I was pleasantly surprised by how my Care Bear came out. I only had to start over once and luckily my polish was entirely dry so I could just wet-erase it right off and start over!

Did you wear something special on your nails for your birthday? What do you think of my Care Bear?

Have a fabulous day!

Love

Ithi

Black Oval 3D Nail Art Studs - Born Pretty Store Review

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you have had a lovely weekend so far? Mr Bravo and I landed in England yesterday and we are settling in here for the next four weeks. I seem to have confused some of you - thank you for the birthday messages but its actually on Wednesday! ;) It's going to be so much fun being home during this time! Of course with it being Sunday I can't wait to tuck into an English Sunday roast!

Today I have some very unusual looking studs to share with you. These are 'BlackFlatback Oval Nail Decorations' from The Born Pretty Store.

Greyscale peacock

Hi everyone!

How are you all doing today? Today I have another manicure which was created TWICE. Twice! And I still didn't like the outcome!  (That's nothing... what is on my nails right now is the 4th attempt...What's wrong with me?!) Basically, I did my peacock lady just too dark, so her sparkly little head thingy-plumes didn't glisten and sparkle as I had hoped – same happened with the eye....*Total face palm in the most dramatic way*

I'm having terrible nail luck lately. Hopefully by the time I post this it has improved. I sure hope so because I find it so disheartening to keep creating things that don't make me happy or satisfied.

For this manicure I began my usual base coat of OPI's 'Nail Envy' and followed on with two coats of Barry M's 'White'. Next I created my peacock and feathers using only black and white acrylic paints and filled in certain parts with nail polishes. For the feathers I used a mixture of Hema's 'Green circus', Pretty Serious's 'Crystal lake' glitter and Model's Own 'Gold Rush'.

Its not.. really what I wanted. I hate it when that happens. Maybe you guys like it better than I do? I can only hope!

What do you think of my peacock feathers? Have you had peacock nails before?

Have a wonderful day!

Love

Ithi

Autumnal Freehand Leaves

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Today I have a manicure which was created twice before I liked it enough to post it. My original version only had three colours in the gradient and was a typical gradient going down the nails vertically. This time, I made my leaves bigger with varying shapes, added another colour and went across the nails with my gradient!

Funny thing, I only did one hand as I was pushed for time. I had to pop to the pharmacy as my eye has swelled up again (gawd, this feels never ending..) the pharmacist would barely assist me because she was staring at my nails, she kept commenting on how beautiful it looked (too kind, but I'm really shy already) and then awkwardly looked at my other hand and said...”Ohh...only one hand is done.” really disappointedly!!

Its not uncommon for me to get one hand done before I do the other way later on, or if its really detailed..sometimes I just don't/I'm already preparing the next idea for my posts :P My family and friends are used to it but trying to explain why to strangers is a bit awkward – no they are not stickers, yes they are real nails, no I didn't pay someone to do them..yes really, tiny paintbrush..! This isn't even an overly detailed one!

I started by applying my favorite basecoat, OPI's Nail Envy and created a gradient using Jacava's 'Eaton Square' (red), Dorothy L's #312 (orange), Model's Own 'Gold Rush', and Jacava's 'Shawfield Street' (green - however this totally looks blue here, but look at the bottle?!). I then used my acrylic paints to create alternating coloured leaves across the nails.

Last years Autumn manicure.

I feel a bit awkward as I know other people have done leafy manicures but when I think of Autumn.. I feel a little block and I really wanted to do something better than my leaf manicure from last year. I do think its an improvement, I think I've become more confident with acrylics since that post.

If you create freehand nail art do you always do both hands? Do you prefer this manicure or my leaf nail from last year?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi

Freehand Baby Dragon And Spirit Friends

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? Hey, you there! Yes you, with the finely fancy finger arts! Tell me, do you love flakies? I am always looking for an excuse to use the couple I have! Most manicures I create don't call for flakies so I get excited when I think of an idea where it might actually look awesome. I've wanted to do dragon nail art since forever. I've so many ideas and inspiration pictures but for this manicure I opted for a less realistic looking dragon. I will try a higher detailed on in the future. I wanted this to be a super cute diddy baby dragon. Just because I can :)

So I began with two coats of Sally Hansen's 'Resurrection' and created a gradient on top using Model's Own 'Purple Grey', Barry M's 'Supersonic' and 'Resurrection' again for the tips. This was a seriously miserable looking gradient so on top of that I added Model's Own 'Pinky Brown' where 'Purple Grey' – This was all part of the plan, strangely. Once that was all dry I added Nubars '2010' for an extra deep and flakie look.

Everything else was done with acrylic paint and my darling bamboo brush. I still seriously can't believe this brush has done me so well and only cost $0.99

What do you think of my baby dragon and his little bunny/spirit friends? Do you like flakie polishes?

Have a great day,

Love

Ithi

Model's Own: Luis Lemon Swatch & Review ★★★★★/5

Allo polish Pals,

How are you doing today? Is the sun shining where you are? Ah I just love, love, love these warmer days! I think today's swatch will be well suited for the weather here in Holland. However I may want to warn you now that you should put some sunglasses on before I show you Model's Own's 'Luis Lemon'.

Colour ~ 'Luis Lemon' is a bright acid like neon yellow. It is very sheer and I recommend wearing it under a white polish to get the colour to really pop! I am wearing two coats of white polish and two coats of Luis Lemon on top. To wear it without the white you will find that you need so many layers to get it completely opaque. This can be said for many yellow neon polishes though.

Application ~ I didn't have too much trouble with application, You need to be aware of how much is on your brush as it can look a little gloopy but all in all the application was fine and it even surprised me by self leveling a little on the second coat – nicey nice :) Dry time is reasonable given its formula.

Texture ~ This is a hard one to comment on... It is almost like a gelly texture so its somewhere between medium to thick in consistency but it is totally workable. Dries to a semi matte finish.

★★★★★/5 I do really love Luis Lemon. She's a fun sunny day kinda gal. I'd like to hang out with her :) I love how Luis Lemon looks combined with nail art such as gradients but it isn't something I would willingly wear out casually. I have a couple of yellow neon polishes and I prefer this one hands down. Other polishes I've tried don't have such a powerful pop of colour and some I have tried even had weird black flecks through it... If you want to wake yourself up I highly recommend Luis Lemon for the job.

What do you think of this acid yellow? What are your favorite neon polishes?

Have a super sparkly and productive day!

Love

Ithi

Follow The Magical Butterflies... Freehand.

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I can't believe its almost Friday again – it even feels like I say that with every post, haha. Today I have another freehand attempt for you. The inspiration actually came from *this* pin on Pinterest– I like the idea of following these butterflies to a secret garden. It's perfectly warm, there is an assortment of tea on the table to help your self to. There's probably a little natural pool which is the perfect temperature. If this was my secret garden that what it would have. And probably WIFI and tons of cats. Anyway...

I'm not overly confident with how this came out despite the fact it took me a good few hours. My back was killing me by the end! I only used one polish for this manicure, Model's Own 'Utopia'. Everything else was create with Oumaxi acrylic paints. It's not quite as elegant was I wanted it and if I am honest... I could really do with a decent top coat that would help smooth out my finished result but its just not in my pocket money allowance right now! Too bad.

What do you think of my butterfly and wicker-type trail? Have you tried freehand butterflies before?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi

Christmas-y Poinsettia

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Less than a week until Christmas! How are you feeling about this? Do you feel prepared? Have you got everything ready? I still need to do a few things and wrap up my presents for the children. All is good! Today I have a manicure which is partly dedicated to my Mum (Or Skeebab as I call her) She used to love having poinsettia plants in the house at Christmas, the trouble was she is terrible with potted plants. No matter how well she tried to care for them they never last long! So here are some Christmas-y poinsettia – A popular flower for Christmas!

 

I was lucky enough to win a set of three blue polishes from TipTop Nails so I used 'Jazzberry' Blue on my index and pinky finger and Seventeen's 'Navy Glint' on my remaining nails. I then layered on Catrice's 'Glitz Carlton' on top. Once everything was dry I used OPI's matte top coat for a nice smooth base and painted on my flowers using Oumaxi acrylic paints. I finished off with OPI's top coat and added a few gold beads with Model's Own's Artstix nail beads.

What do you think of this blue and red combination? Have you painted any Christmas nails – what did you chose to paint?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi

Refreshing Pastels With Zigzags

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope your having a weekend with whatever plans you have made. Unluckily for me I seem to have picked up a cold... And I know who the culprit was. I'm telling myself I have one week to get better because I do not want to be sniffy on the airplane next weekend.

Today I have a creation I was really excited to show you but actually all that changed once I saw the pictures. I'm so sorry about the state of my nails, the crappy nail polish remover I am currently using is leaving my nails looking a mess so I apologize for the terrible clean up around my nails!

For this manicure I started with two coats of Barry M's 'Pearl' (Yes, again. Really.) I then used tape to create two diagonal sections and applied Barry M's 'Peach Melba' and Essence's 'That's What I Mint'. In hindsight I should have started with perhaps the peach or the mint so my lines would be neater. I then used Model's Own's 'Grey Day' to stamp MoYouNail's 128 plate to add the chevron pattern. On my ring finger I added a little of Essie's 'Set In Stones' to the tip and added a square/diamond stud.

I'm really feeling this manicure for spring. My weather detector seems to be so backwards doesn't it? Something about these colours just makes me so happy – If only it had been a neater manicure.

What do you think of this pastel combo with chevrons?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love

Ithi

Models Own: Blueberry (Scented) Swatch & Review ★★★★/5

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Did you opt for a relaxing and quiet weekend or have you been busy and productive? I have to say mine was a pleasant mixture of both, I managed to completely reorganize all my nail polish, get a lot of swatches done and get everything tidy. (for the time being, anyway!) I'd say to say a quick Happy Birthday to the lovely Jacquie over at Claws Up! I have been following Jacquie near enough the time I started my blog and she comes up with some really cool designs – go check out her blog! Today I have Model's Own's 'Blueberry' to show you which came from their scented polish collection.

Colour ~ Blueberry certainly lives up to its name in the form of a beautiful soft pastel blue. I like this shade and how delicate it looks but I have to say one thing. Blue Tac. I'm not sure if its called other things in different countries but it reminds me of the sticky stuff you use to put posters on the wall ~ That doesn't sound good does it?! But I do feel very positive about this shade though and I know from past experience it looks great with nail art.

Application ~ Application was a dream, I am wearing three coats here and at first it may appear streaky but don't worry because it will even out beautifully. I also applied my coats quite fast in between and had no issues with bubbling. I'd also like to mention that dry time was relatively good.

Texture ~ This polish is medium in thickness and applies as a creme, Its easy to get too much on the brush which will cause it to look thick so remember that less is more, start little and add more if need be. It dries to a flawless and shiny finish.

★★★★/5 I really suggest blueberry for anyone who is looking for a blue as light as this and who may have had trouble with streaky blues in the past. This one will look flawless and streak-free if you take your time. If your buying purely for the 'scent' aspect I urge you not to as eventually the scent will fade over time – Remember it is only the top of the cap that is scented – NOT the polish itself. But I love the polish which means that really isn't a factor for me, just a novelty touch.

Do you own any blues as pale as Blueberry? Have you ever owned a polish bottle with a scented feature?

Have a fantastic evening, see you soon!

Love

Ithi