Guess Who!

Hello there!

So uh, it's been a little while hasn't it? As I mentioned in my last post I've been extremely busy at work, stepping in as duty manager for the past month. This wouldn't have been quite so bad if we weren't in the middle of a shop change and a stock take.. but I've somehow made it through haha! 

Obviously I haven't had any time for blogging, and I can honestly say i've painted my nails about 3 or 4 times over the past month. Yuck! It hasn't stopped me from buying polish however.. I've managed to accumulate around 20 new beautiful polishes for my collection which i'll share with you soon. Oh, and I might possibly have bought myself a brand spanking new bridge camera.. my bad :P

For now I've got a quick nail look to show you, hopefully I'll be back to full time blogging over the next couple of weeks!

For this look I used:

Claire's - White

Claire's - Epic Fail (Green)

Claire's - Fashion Blue

Claire's - Gel Top Coat

Black Sharpie for details

Let's just ignore that stubby little middle finger shall we? Suffered a rather nasty break and i'm in denial about how bad it looks ;)

Til next time, whenever that may be!

Becky x

Barry M Silk Effect Mist | Re Used Manicure

Just a simple look today, re-using yesterday's pinkie and index finger with the Colour Clash glitter gradient. I picked up one of the new Barry M Silk Collection polishes yesterday, and after testing it will definitely be going back for more! I bought the light blue polish called Mist. Apparently i've got a thing for blues because i seem to have double the amount than any other colour in my collection. Anyway, i digress.

Application of this polish was pretty dreamy. It slides on the nail smoothly, and is the perfect consistency. It is on the sheer side as most bloggers have already mentioned, so i waited patiently and applied three thin coats. It wasn't until editing the photos I realised i had an air bubble on my ring finger, and I'm not quite sure how that happened. Lets just call it a one off, it certainly doesn't put me off the polish anyway. I didn't apply topcoat as I didn't want to ruin the matte silky finish :) 

On with the photos!

Well that's enough photo spam for today! What do you think.. Do you prefer today's toned down look or yesterdays glitter frenzy manicure? I think this look was a little more me. Plus I loved running my finger over the silky texture, it's so soft!

Til next time, Becky x

New Seventeen - Colour Clash Effect - Tropical Punch!

I'm a huge fan of Seventeen effect polishes, so imagine the smile on my face as i'm casually strolling through Boots today and I spot two new polishes out of the corner of my eye. I swear I was just passing through, their 3 for 2 offer on cosmetics didn't draw me in at all.. *whistles innocently, you can't prove anything* 

Any way, I had to pick up only one of them as I already had my hands full of Barry M products, so I chose the blue coloured glitter. The other shade is coral based with large blue flecks, essentially the opposite of this one. 

So without further a due, here is some spam of this gorgeous new polish. Shown is two coats, and the pinkie and index finger was dabbed on with a cotton bud. I also created a simpler look by re-using the glitter gradient nails which i'll share with you soon. Application is really easy, the formula isn't gloopy at all. You do have to fish a little if you specifically want a larger glitter but it's not hard to pick one up on the brush. I'm really happy with this purchase, as I don't usually try different looking polish like this. You can pick these up in Boots for £3.99 and all cosmetics are currently 3 for 2. 

For this look I used:

Sinful Colors - Snow Me White

Sinful Colors - Tokyo Pearl

Claire's Accessories - Coral

Claire's Accessories - Mint Bluey/Green (Yeah, it doesn't have a name)

Seventeen - Colour Clash Effect -Tropical Punch

Claire's Accessories - Gel Top Coat

Isn't it just gorgeous? I never thought I would find a glitter with white, green, coral and two blue colours so appealing. And I think the name Tropical Punch just sums it up beautifully. It just screams beach and summer! 

Just before I wrap this up here's a couple of photos of my nails pre-glitter application, just because i love the combination of blue and coral! Also check out the gorgeous finish of the Sinful Colors - Tokyo Pearl, a bargain at £1.99. 

So what do you think, will you be running out to buy this? 

Becky x

Claire's Accessories Neon Purple Nail Art!

I think by now you all know how much I love using my nifty staff discount to pick up nail polish from work. Today was my last shift after 11 in a row, so i thought that deserved a little treat for myself! We got a new Neon polish in yesterday so i picked it up ready for some nail art for today. It's ultimately the perfect Claire's Accessories purple colour, and looks a million times yummier on your nails! 

I went for a gradient and accidentally went further on the blue than purple, so I haven't exactly done a great job of showing off the polish haha! But don't worry, i'm working on a big ol' Claire's swatch post.. so stay tuned for that bad boy :P

For this look I used:

Claire's Accessories - Neon Purple

Sinful Colours - Why Not

Barry M - Black & White Nail Art Pens

Claire's Accessories - Gel Top Coat 

Ohh, and look what we had today.. SUN! Was certainly happy to step outside and walk to work in glorious sunshine, even if it was still a little on the cold side. I'll ignore the fact it started raining half an hour later ;)

If you're interested Claire's have a range of about 8 Neon Polish colours at £3 for a bottle. Darker colours can be a one coater (a thick coat) and the lighter colours (yellow and orange) are best painted over a white.

Til next time! Becky x

100 Facebook Fans Celebration Mani!

Hi there!

So today's mani is a cheesy little look dedicated to the fact i've reached 100 Facebook fans! I know this may not seem a lot, but considering how short a time i've been blogging i'm really happy! I'm under no illusions that this blog will blow up and be as big as some of the top nail bloggers out there.. But the fact i've been rambling on and sharing my nail photos with people who actually have an interest feels great. So to my Facebook fans and Bloglovin followers, thank you! I can only hope that if i continue to improve my site, my writing and of course practice painting nails like mad, that the numbers will continue to grow.

Want to see the look? I used my favourite glitter polish for this one!

For this look i used:

Miss Sporty - Pop Fiction

Sinful Colors - Hottie

Barry M - White and Black Nail Art Pen

Silver Gel Pen

Claire's Accessories - Gel Top Coat 

   

Mmm just look at how pretty that polish is, and a bargain at only £2! My bottle has turned a tiny bit gloopy now but nothing a good ol' shake can't fix. Besides i could dip my hands in this stuff and it would still come out looking good!

Just in case you aren't following me on facebook just click this LINKY THINGYMAJIG.

So once again, thank you! Expect another if i ever hit 1000 ;)

Becky x

Pastel Crackle Nails & A Blog Makeover!

Hello there!

So if you haven't noticed already, i've made a few changes to the blog! It's a little more to my taste now, but i still have a few little tweaks to make here and there. I've added links to the left for my Facebook page, Pinterest and Instagram links. My Instagram account is mainly devoted to my nails but you'll find a few snaps of my life included in there as well! I've also added a Popular Posts feature to the right hand side. I'm sure i'll end up changing it again sometime in the future but for now i'm happy.. I'd love to know what you think!

Now on to the nails. After seeing this beautiful manicure by Nail Polish Wars it really inspired me to use a crackle polish, something i've only ever done once before! I started with a blue base and sponged on a lilac and light blue polish over the top. I then used a white crackle polish for the middle and ring finger, then finished them with a little gold stud. I free handed the pattern on my index and pinkie with a nail pen, and topped it all off with a matte top coat!

For this look i used:

Avon Wet & Wild - Roaring Blue

Claire's Accessories - Lilac & Light Blue (both un named)

Claire's Accessories - White Crackle

Barry M - White Nail Art Pen

Born Pretty - Matte Top Coat

I've really been enjoying darker manicures at the moment so this was a nice change for me! 

Hopefully you've noticed the changes to my photos now? I'm trialing the softer corners and i've also changed my watermark which has made my life so much easier.. no more typing out Pause For Polish on every photo!

I'd love to know your views on what i've posted today, whether it's on the blog/photo changes or the mani!

See you soon! 

Becky x

12 DOC Challenge: Christmas Critters!

Hello there!

So today's challenge was to create a manicure with lots of cute little Christmas animals.. and that was what i had planned. However, after i sat down, base coat ready to be adorned with some little penguins and polar bears, a thought struck me. What could out-festive a penguin? Only one thing sprang to mind.. and so, i give to you, the armadillo manicure.

Okay, this just got a little weird, even for me. Let me explain! For those of who you don't know the reference to this then shame on you. This is possibly from the best episode of Friends, ever. If you still don't know what i'm talking about, watch this video. If you do know, then watch it anyway because it's awesome.

To create this look i used:

Claire's Accessories - Light Denim Effect 

No7 - Stay Perfect Shimmer Top Coat

Revlon - Stunning

Claire's Accessories - Fluffy

Barry M - Black & White Nail Art Pens

Silver Gel Pen

Seche Vite - Top Coat

So uh, it's not quite what i was expecting to do.. but i like spur of the moment manicures! What do you think, have i made it festive enough? I'm off to shake my belly like a bowl full of jelly!

Becky x

12 DOC Advent Challenge: Candy Mania!

Hi people!

Apologies that this post is a day late, got home from work yesterday and put my head on my pillow for two seconds and.. zzzzzzzzzz. I was a very tired blogger indeed. But! Hopefully you wont mind the wait, as i think this look is one of my favourites so far :)

So today's (or yesterdays) challenge was to create a look based on candy canes! I ended up with a really bright, fun and cartoony manicure. It went down really well at work, i received loads of comments! I absolutely love it when people ask if my nails were done professionally and where i went to get them done, getting to say 'Oh no, i did these myself' always makes me feel good, even if it does seem trivial to some people. In fact that's why i called my blog Pause For Polish, because if someone stops just to look at your nails you know you've done a good job :)

Anyway, less talk, more nails!

To create this look i used:

Rimmel London - Mind The Gap Victoria

Sinful Colors - Hottie

Nails Inc - Un named Red (t'was a freebie!)

Barry M - White Nail Art Pen

Barry M - Black Nail Art Pen

Seche Vite - Top Coat

So what do you think? Certainly look festive don't they! Hottie by Sinful colors is one of my favourite glitter polishes, it's so gorgeous! These are really straight forward but i'd be happy to make a tutorial if anyone wants one :)

If you want to see all of the challenge posts together (there's only two so far) then pop over to my Facebook page and there's an album just for this 12 DOC challenge. Don't forget you can also enter my giveaway which ends on the 7th! Click the photo below to be taken to the page to enter :)

That's it for today, the next challenge should be up tomorrow!

Becky x