NOTD: Neon Purple w/ Kleancolor 'Chunky Holo Fuchsia'

Hi guys!

Just a quick post today to show off my NOTD from last week. I work Friday to Sunday and my nails always get wrecked at work! So I usually just do something simple on my nails on a Thursday to avoid the heartache of ruining some nail art that I've worked hard on.

The purple is an old Mode Cosmetics polish that I've had for ages and it doesn't even have a label anymore so I'm just gonna call it 'Deep Neon Purple'. The formula was really thin and streaky and really hard to work with but I managed to get decent coverage in the end. 

I only used one coat of Kleancolor 'Chunky Holo Fuchsia'. I usually use this over pinks or blues and this is the first time I've used it over a darker purple and I love the beautiful multichrome aspect to it that changes with the light!

Caitlin, xo

Nail Art: Simple Feathers

Hey ladies,

Today is Tuesday and that means I have some nail art to show you! It's nothing to exciting or intricate but I love painting feathers so here is my simple feather mani :)

The green is a new polish from Australis called  'Indie'. It has a fantastic formula and I only needed two coats! The pink is also a new addition to my collection, Nicole by O.P.I, 'Pretty in the City'.

For the feathers I used Sally Hansen 'White On' and Borghese 'Chroma'. I regretted using polishing instead of acrylic paint because the polish got a bit difficult to work with. Oh well, lesson learnt!

Caitlin, xo

Quick Update: Blogging Schedule and MM Facebook page!

Hi there!

Just a quick post today to update you on a few things to do with this blog. Starting from tomorrow, I will be (trying) to stick to my new blog schedule! Hopefully this will get me into the routine of blogging on a regular basis.

On Tuesdays I'm planning to make posts about nail art. This will include photos of my nail art as well as occasional tutorials (with tons of step-by-step photos of course!).

Thursdays will be for swatches of new (or old untried!) nail polish that I've acquired as well as some NOTD (nail of the day) posts with pics of some simple manis that I wear on a day to day basis.

Also! I've just created a Facebook page for Muggle Manicures! I know I prefer to follow my favourite blogs on Facebook so I never miss a post so I figured it was about time I made one for my own blog :)

So please go HERE and 'Like' Muggle Manicures on Facebook!

Caitlin, xo

Nail Art: Floral

Hey guys!

I'm back from my lovely weekend away and after reorganising my polish desk with some new shelves, I finally found some time to edit photos and blog!

I know I've got a long way to go when it comes to detailed freehand nail art but I'm so proud of this mani!

I used Sally Hansen 'Barely Blue Bell' as the base and acrylic paint for the flowers.

What do you think? Let me know! I know there's room to improve but practice makes perfect!

Caitlin, xo 

Glam Polish Swatches!

Hi ladies! 

I'm currently in Hervey Bay, QLD with my boyfriend and his family and it is so beautiful here! It's such a nice warm change from the weather at home. I'll be here until Monday and stupidly didn't bring any nail polish with me (I guess I'll just have to buy some...). I don't think I can handle having the same nails for 5 days in a row! 

I've got some photos of the nice floral mani that I'm currently wearing but won't be able to show you until I get back home to my laptop. So look forward to that! 

So today I'm just going to show you some more swatches from my first Glam Polish purchase! 

(I'm posting this from my phone so forgive me if the formatting is a bit dodgy) 

Glam Polish 'Tic Tac Toe', lightbox 

Glam Polish 'Tic Tac Toe', direct sunlight 

Glam Polish 'Grape Ink', lightbox 

Glam Polish 'Grape Ink', lightbox 

Glam Polish 'My BFF is Better than Yours!', indirect sunlight 

Glam Polish 'I.Q', lightbox

Glam Polish 'I.Q', lightbox

Do you have any Glam Polish polishes? Which is your favourite?

Caitlin, xo

Review: Bella's Touch Lacquer 'Emerald Sea' & 'Heartbreaker'

 Today I have some swatches of Bella’s Touch Lacquer – a new Aussie indie polish brand! Bella’s Touch is the creation of Ellie (@nailpolishaddicted1 on Instagram). What makes this brand special is that Ellie is only 14! She is extremely mature for her age, a pleasure to talk to and has made some amazing nail polish!

 I got two of the polishes from her launch collection; ‘Emerald Sea’ and ‘Heartbreaker’.

'Emerald Sea' (left) and 'Heartbreaker'

 First is Emerald Sea. This glitter topper is a mix of blue and green glitter in a clear base with small light blue squares, tiny light blue hexes, small teal hexes, and bigger pastel green hexes.

Application for this polish was easy. I and got an even mix of glitter on the brush and didn’t have to fish. Because it’s a glitter topper, it’s best applied using the dabbing method rather than just brushing it on the nail like you would with a crème. 

Bella's Touch 'Emerald Sea' over Australis 'Indie', sunlight

 For my swatches, I used two dabbed coats of ‘Emerald Sea’ over Australis ‘Indie’ and Sally Hansen ‘The Sky’s The Limit’.

Bella's Touch 'Emerald Sea' over Sally Hansen 'The Sky's the Limit', lightbox

Macro shot, lightbox

The second polish I got from Bella’s Touch is ‘Heartbreaker’. This polish is a sheer duochrome layering polish to be used over the top of a plain crème polish. I’m a sucker for colour-shifting polish and this one is a great addition to my collection!

Bella's Touch 'Heartbreaker' over Savvy 'Blue Lagoon'

‘Heartbreaker’ shifts from blue to purple, depending on the light and angle that you’re looking at it.

This polish features a great formula that makes for super easy application. I used two coats for my swatches. You could also add a third coat but I found that wasn’t necessary.

Bella's Touch 'Heartbreaker' over Savvy 'Blue Lagoon', lightbox

Bella's Touch 'Heartbreaker' over Savvy 'Blue Lagoon', lightbox

 It’s also really versatile! I find that some duochromes layering polishes only really shine over a black base but as you can see from the photo below, ‘Heartbreaker’ looks great of a great range of colours.

L-R Sinful Colours 'Black on Black', Ulta3 'Royal', Sinful Colours 'Endless Blue', Sally Hansen 'Cherry Cherry, Bang Bang!', Nutrimetics 'Cafe', and Sally Hansen 'White On'.

Which is your favourite? I like it best over Ulta3 'Royal' which is a dark purple.

 Bella's Touch Lacquer is Australian made, 3-free and available for purchase at Ellie's etsy store here, where she also sells nail polish jewelry! Bottles are $8.50 for 15ml with shipping only in Australia.

*purchased with a blogger discount*

Caitlin, xo

Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?'

I was supposed to have this post up on Friday! But between work and celebrating our one year anniversary with my boyfriend over the weekend, I couldn't find the time!

Anyway, today I want to show you some swatches of Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles'.

Ever since I saw this swatch of Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?' by @strawbie, I was in love. After weeks of lusting after it, it's now finally mine. I also bought 'My BFF is Better than Yours' which was another polish that I had been eyeing for ages.

Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?' over Covergirl 'Lav-endure' and Essence 'Absolutely Blue', lightbox

'Lost Your Marbles' is a glitter topper filled to the brim with tiny, large, and huge circle holographic glitters. And it is perfect. Now that I own it I find that I have to restrain myself from adding it to every single manicure.

I tried it over China Glaze 'Flying Dragon' but I don't think it was the best choice. 'Flying Dragon' has lots of blue and red glitters through it and with 'Lost Your Marbles over the top, I think it looks to busy.

Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?' over China Glaze 'Flying Dragon', outdoors

Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?' over China Glaze 'Flying Dragon', outdoors

Personally, I think 'Lost Your Marbles?' might be better suited to be worn over lighter, pastel colours. Here, I used Covergirl 'Lav-endure' with Essence 'Absolutely Blue'.

Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?' over Covergirl 'Lav-endure' and Essence 'Absolutely Blue', outdoors

Glam Polish 'Lost Your Marbles?' over Covergirl 'Lav-endure' and Essence 'Absolutely Blue', lightbox

Application was pretty good, I only needed one dabbed coat with minimal fishing required.

I bought 4 polishes from Glam Polish (plus a free mini!) so I'll be posting the swatches of those in a few days so keep an eye out!

Caitlin, xo

Nail Art: Homemade Chevron Decals

 Just a quick post today to show off my chevron/skittle mani from a week or so ago. The pastel blue polish is Ulta3 'Soft 'Hydrangea' topped with Ulta3 'Outasight' on my thumb and Australis 'Speck-tacular' on my middle finger. On my pointer and pinky is Smooch 'Lazuire'. And for the chevron decals I used Sinful Colors 'Black on Black'.

 After trying and failing to do freehand chevrons, I opted for homemade chevron decals! If you have some zigzag craft scissors, they're really easy to make. All you have to do is paint at least three layers of polish (letting each coat drying thoroughly) onto some baking paper, leave it overnight and then gently peel it off the paper. Then cut small strips of the dried polish and apply it to your freshly painted (wet) nails, trim the sides, and topcoat! While this technique did work, it was a bit fiddly and time consuming so I think next time I'll just use my zigzag scissors to cut some tape and just use that instead.

Have any of you tried to make handmade decals? How did it go? Leave a comment and let me know!

Caitlin, xo

Nail Art: Purple Leopard Print

It appears that I've been neglecting my blog recently, sorry! I'll try to update it at least twice a week from now on. Maybe I should work out a blogging schedule?

Anyway, today I'm going to show you my favourite leopard print mani yet. I did it as part of @californails #nailartjuly challenge, the final day being 'animal print'. The previous day was 'favourite colour' and I chose to do a purple ombre gradient which I recycled for the animal print day :)

For the gradient, I used Covergirl 'Lav-endure', Sally Hansen 'Good to Grape', and Mode 'XOXO'. Then, for the leopard print, I used Sally Hansen 'White On' with Ulta3 'Royal Fever'.

I also made a little logo thing. Like it? I'll probably have changed it by the next blog post...

I love leopard print so much (seriously, a lot of my clothes and most of my accessories are leopard print) and I love that this technique is so easy!

Would you like to see a tutorial for these nails? Let me know in the comments!

Caitlin, xo