With a gloomy Saturday afternoon to fill, a friend and I decided to give the leopard nail trend a whirl, and I learned a few lessons along the way!
Nails Inc Satin base (two coats)// Essie Splash of Grenadine spots// Pilot fineline permanent marker highlights// Seche Vite topcoat.
This took me an hour and a half. I'm sure the more you do it the quicker you get, but attempt number one took me forever
Using a permanent fineliner wasn't the great idea I thought it would be. It didn't like writing on the Nails Inc polish, so I had to do a coat of Seche Vite on top of the spots, then the fineliner highlights, then another coat of Seche Vite to seal... but...
It turns out, Seche Vite shrinks the polish slightly as it dries, so after 24 hours the polish started coming off an entire nail at a time. I have whole nail-shaped sheets of leopard polish to prove it!
So, lessons learned - buy a black nail pen (or use the black liquid eyeliner trick) and never use two coats of Seche Vite!
Despite the fact that two hours of painting my nails didn't even last two days, I really loved the effect and would do it again, without repeating my rookie mistakes!
My nail addiction has become fully-fledged since I started blogging, and I sometimes feel like curveinthemode is turning into a nail blog itself. That's until I realise I could just never compete with experts like the fabulous HayleyBee.
I mean seriously, where does she she find the time? These are just beautiful.
I've always just been a block-colour girl on my nails, until I started seeing leopard print nails a couple of years ago (I'm an unashamed leopard addict). Now I'm not very arty, so attempting such delicate work myself is something I'm still working up to. But plans have been made to attempt such finger magic this weekend, and Hayley, you've inspired me!
The lovely lady has also popped a roses how-to on her tumblr, so be sure to check it out. Oh, and how cute is she?!
My h+m Fashion Against Aids haul was filled with highs and lows. Some of the items I coveted most were already sold out, just 8 hours in, others were nabbed with cunning and stealth. I was glad I managed to grab a couple of things, but if anyone knows of a store in London that’s still well stocked, let me know!
THE HITS…
These black and white sandals seemed sold-out, until I began to search every nook and cranny of the Regent’s street branch. Finally, nestled under an accessories stand, I found them – in my exact size – 6.5! It was like a gift from the Aztec gods!
Maybe one day, if my current gym regime pays off, I’ll show you how I’ve styled them!
I wish I’d taken a pic of the in-store display that incorporated the tent… I managed to grab one, despite how uncomfortable I was carting it around Topshop later that evening… a whole two-man tent for under a tenner? Bargain!
THE MISSES…
And now to the depressing part of the day – the following were sadly out of stock. More’s the pity – those deck chairs would have looked great in my flat, and been perfect on this scorching weekend ( am I getting old or is sitting on the grass only comfy for about half an hour?)
If I’m honest with myself, these trousers would probably have been tried on and discarded. But as a leopard-print magpie I couldn’t resist having a good look for them. Probably best for everyone that ever has to walk behind me that they were sold out – I’m yet to find a pair of harem pants that don’t make my arse look like the back of a bus.
I was desperate for this multi-coloured vest, but it wasn’t to be. Oh well, I console myself with the thought that it – in fact, the whole line – was built for babes with bee-stings, not my ample bosom!
UPDATE - Stores are restocking, and my amazing friend Bethan just bagged me two deck chairs and the above vest top. She is the greatest woman on earth, and is now owed ten gin and tonics for her efforts... hurrah!
Thanks to designer/illustrator extraordinaire Jimmy-D for boosting my mad inDesign skills for the composites above!
A clothes and beauty addict who's often held back by a far-too-healthy appetite. The constant quest for a smaller arse continues, but in the meantime I try to dress it appropriately, yet stylishly.
