Halloween Trio

I've been off for a couple of days so I've had time to do more art! As much as I lament not having time to do it anymore, I really love sitting down and watching a good mani unfold. Here are three of my favourite looks to do for Halloween. This first one like I like to call a Slime Drip mani. 

Green and purple go so well together for Halloween! I'm rarely able to get my drips looking how I want them but these are okay. I also like the combination of glossy over matte, gives it that even slimier look. In this mani is:

• Models Own "Pukka Purple", matted by Barry M.
• Models Own "Paradise Garage", dripped using a Poundland dotting tool. 

Another look I've seen done quite a lot and am pretty proud of is the Patchwork mani.

Three more Halloweeny colours all mixed together. Patchwork and Halloween go together like Jack and Sally - coincidentally. Though I wouldn't do it any other time of the year, it's such an easy look to pull off. For this I used:

• Barry M "Mango".
• Sally Hansen "No S-pear Time".
• Primark "Purple".
• Primark "Oberon", using a Poundland fineart brush.

One mani I always do every year is the Fingerprint mani, usually with a few blood splatters. However this year, thanks to all of my white bases being old and taking super long to dry, I've been unable to get it to look how I want it too. My left hand simply wouldn't dry so it got very messy. I managed to get it to look  okay on my Cindy hand, but for obvious reasons I missed out on the splatter.

Featured here is:

• Sinful Colours "Snow Me White".
• Barry M "Can't Get You Out Of My Red", smudged with my finger.

The Week Before Halloween

Hey there cyberspace! I have a few days off so let's make this place look a little busier. Over the next couple of days, I'll be doing a few Halloween manis because yay. Today, here are a couple of manis I wore over the week that weren't just swatches. I've also added a couple of photos to the look book. 

Yeah, this chipped really fast and my hands were dry. Now that that's out the way, this ombre was inspired by a scarf crocheted by my mum which I absolutely love. Polishes used:

• China Glaze "Awakening".
• Barry M "Gold Digger".

I got quite a few compliments on this mani, probably because of how that accent figure just scatters the light so beautifully. One lady even asked what it was and I had to explain to her what indie polishes are... Anyway, something a little Spring-like with a festive sparkle. Polishes are:

• Revlon "Charming".
• Different Dimensions "Pothos".

Turns out gradients really are the best way to add a little art to my fingers for a working day. Expect a lot more of them in future!

Gore and Webs

Halloween is in a week today, but I'll be missing out this year because of work. It's a shame really, this is one of the most fun holidays for me. I'll celebrate in some small ways regardless, such as with a mani like this!

For this I used:

• A red and black polish from Primark, in a squishy saran wrap style.
• Sinful Colors "Snow Me White".
• MoYou London "The Pro" no.3 stamping plate.

Because of work I can't wear anything crazy, but this is both subtle and spooky enough to keep everyone happy. My new super-short nubs are easy to work with both at work and at my mani station too. I'm glad my stamping skills haven't waned over time. 

Blog Changes

So it's been a minute... 

Let's be honest: I am not going to get famous off of blogging and I am not inspired to blog constantly, nor do I have the time to do so. When I used to blog every day, even though it was a short while, I didn't enjoy the constant pressure. This blog is about my enjoyment and the things I love. That used to be just nail art but now it's become more than that. So it's time for a change. 

From now on, I will be blogging weekly rather than daily, though I make no promises. Basically I'll blog whenever I have the time and energy, or something interesting to say. 

I'm also starting a Look Book tab for my fab fashion choices, and may in future start blogging about makeup outside of just nails. Yes, that's another love of mine. While the blog is called Nail Knight, it's not going to just be about nails anymore. 

Let's see how this goes. Peace~.

Rimmel London - Euphoria

After finding this, I now have 199 polishes of my own... Naughty Nail Knight.

Rimmel London "Euphoria" is a champagne pink metallic polish.

2 Coats Rimmel London "Euphoria"

This photo was taken after three days of wear, and I did a lot with my hands in those three days. I even filed down the tips after a breakage and look - this held up well! The finish isn't exactly dazzlingly shiny but this colour is just, ugh, to die for. It's so subtly pretty and classy, and works all year round as a near-nude shade. "Euphoria" takes a while to dry down, but other than that the name is very apt for how it makes me feel. I'm in love! 

★★★★✰

This is a non-duochrome dupe of Barry M "Caspian".

Birchbox - WHAT'S YOUR SIGN - October 2016

You know, there's nothing better at invigorating me than a good Birchbox. This month's is great! But probably not for the right reason...

Shout out to mum's crocheted scarf in the back there!

• Batiste "Volume Spray": Okay so I thought this was dry shampoo and got excited because I use that to death. Volume spray not so much, I hate crispy feeling hair. Then again, it's always useful to have around, and maybe Batiste, the go-to for dry shampoo, will do hairspray well.

• Birchbox Eyebrow Brush: Pretty standard, I have one of these already and it doesn't do much for my thinner brows. Still useful though!

• Doux Me "Pure Spring Mist": Lol, Do Me... So this is a hydrating skin spray? Gotta admit, I need this in the colder months when my face just cracks up from the cold. I'll probably use this like a primer before going full face for a long shift at work. Hey, I'll try it tomorrow!

• Lord & Berry Maxi Matte Crayon Lipstick in "Intimacy": The highlight of my box. And, oops! I got two of them! It looks like I've gotten someone else's lip pencil, not that I'm complaining~. I hope no one misses out thanks to me. That being said, I wore this today. It felt very drying but also light weight. The colour is the exact shade of my naked lips so it was great for a simple, matte look and over-lining. Very pretty indeed, so I'm glad I got two!

• Number 4 "Fluro Elixir Restore & Repair Oil": I saw the bottle and thought it might be nail polish... Still, a hair oil is great! While I don't like my hair looking shiny (shiny blonde hair just looks greasy to me), I do get dry ends as I go for too long without trimming of the splitties. In fact, like the Doux Me spray, I'll be trying this tomorrow.

• Rituals "Hammam Body Mud": Mm~ mud. So I thought I already had this but in a different bottle. Turns out the difference between this and the Dao Mindful scrub that I got ages ago is, other than the flavours, how to apply it. This goes on dry while the other goes on wet. Not sure how I feel about applying exfoliator to dry skin but the Mindful scrub is one of my all time favourites, so I have faith in this.

This month's theme was star signs and space - for whatever reason. I was a bit bummed that my sign (Taurus) got the least pretty of the four boxes on offer: blue for Water, purple for Air, and orange for Fire. That being said, galaxy is galaxy and I really love how this coherent theme clearly has a lot of thought put into it. 

BornPretty 3D Nail Stickers

Long time no blog! Things have been really busy but I have a treat for the eyes this week: 3D nail stickers from BornPretty! These are the first of their kind that I've tried so I have nothing to compare them to, and I probably didn't do everything right but we try! 

A pretty little set right? I love geometric designs. They were a bit fiddly but that's just because I'm not used to them and a bit ham handed. I couldn't get a shot of them when they were fresh on for reasons, so here they are after a few hours of heavy lifting at work:

Base: Primark "Oberon". 

Forgive the chips, it was a lot of heavy lifting and Primark polishes aren't the best... As per the helpful instructions on the back of the pack, I topcoated them with Seche Vite after application. I did have to press down on the edges of the strips because of how my nails curve. My nails are pretty tiny so some of these sticks might be a bit big. But these things are so gorgeous so I can hardly complain. I felt so classy and got lots of compliments for them too! 

★★★★✰

Models Own - Magenta Divine + Zest A Peel

Sometimes, no matter how hard you look, it's impossible to find what collection a polish is from. To stop these two from getting lonely, I've put them together where they can be friends. If anyone knows what collection they're from, leave a comment! These polishes belong to mum so they're just here on loan haha.

Models Own "Magenta Divine" is a hot pink glitter topcoat polish.

2 Coats Models Own "Magenta Divine": sponged on ring

Regular limitations apply here: a bitch to remove and full coverage only with a sponge. Actually this looks great on the sponge finger right?! The colour is really hot too, but overall this is nothing special. It's not amazing but it's good. So yeah.

★★★✰✰

Models Own "Zest A Peel" is a yellow-leaning orange shimmer polish. 

2 Coats Models Own "Zest A Peel"

Mum does love orange nails, especially holiday pedis. I'm not so big on orange myself but can see the merits of this one. It's pretty sheer (this might even be three coats, I don't remember), and very liquid. All that mess... The colour is pretty poppin' and shimmer makes everything better.

★★★✰✰

So this ends my Models Own swatches - what a great brand! For the next month I won't be posting daily but I will be doing nail art more often for Halloween, as well as a couple of reviews. Stay tuned!

Models Own - Red Carpet

Nail Knight feels classy in red polish, but also dull. What makes something less dull? Glitter. A red glitter polish? Perfect! This is the only polish I (or, well, my mum) have from the Models Own Hypergel collection, for some reason...

Models Own "Red Carpet" is a red polish with hot pink glitter.

2 Coats Models Own "Red Carpet"

Ooh, pretty! There's nothing like a good red, is there? Add a little bit of subtle glitter and it gets even more ooh. The glitter is pretty subtle though, and then it's suuuuper tough to get off. You know, standard. If you want a red polish with a little more, I'd recommend "Red Carpet" definitely. 

★★★★✰

Glittering Jack-o-Lanterns

It's the spooooookiest season of all~. Rather than a swatch, today I felt like doing some art for the first time in ages. The first thing my brain goes to in October is always pumpkins and Jack-o-Lanterns, like the basic I am.

• Quo by Orly "Mega Orange" as the base.
• Seventeen "Orange Shimmer" as the gradient.
• Barry M "Black" for the art.

These are the most basic pumpkins in the world, I know. No lines, no vines, and the faces are all wonky. But that's what Nail Knight's all about: being the most basic nailist in the world. Then again I like to think the glitter makes this a bit less... Flat? I really like how these two oranges work together in a gradient too so I might revisit that for just a bright look.