Hi everyone,

So, you'll be glad to know that I'm back to slightly erratic posts again after a brief stint at actual consistent posting. However, I'm quite proud that at least while things have been a little erratic, at least there have been no extended, unexplained absences.

I've just been feeling a bit stressed out and anxious recently due to the fact that I'm starting uni next week and I've been really tired all this week so all has compounded to me not really having much motivation. Although, it hasn't yet got to the the 'hiding out in my room doing nothing but reading Avengers fanfiction' stage so I'm by my standards, I'm managing all right.

Basically it was only because I really loved this design that I ever managed to photograph it and get it up.

If you're following me on instagram, you'll know I recently suffered a really bad nail break and had to chop off my baby claws, which was a sad time all around and explains the suddenly shorter and rounder nails.

As much as I loved my longer nails, I do feel (after an acceptable grieving period, of course), that it probably was time for me to have a change and cut them shorter again. They are feeling a lot healthier and I was able to cut off all the stained and peeling bits so they look super duper healthy. Yay!

How to Take Better Nail (and other stuff) Photos

Hi lovelies!

As part of my foray into the world of blogging tips and tutorials, I thought I'd put together a little post on how to get the best photographs that you can!

I can't stress how important good photography is to a blog. I also know that probably sounds a little hypocritical coming from me, whose photography is rather erratic at the best of times! But, it is really important if I had the chance to magically make some aspect of my blogging perfect, it would definitely be to be able to produce consistently great photographs. That's why I've been focusing a lot on my photography and it's set-up recently. And, I thought I would talk you through some solid tips to help you get your photography better than it's ever been! While I designed this post with nails sort of in mind, they really apply to most blogging photography.

Originally I was going to arrange these in order of importance, but then realised non are more important than any other and you need the combination of all of these (and more!) in order to produce good photos. However, in saying that, there is a couple of super important points that I want to mention before I delve into the nitty grittys.

First off is that you need to take your camera off the auto setting. You will not get any decent photos with your camera on auto (it's depicted by a little A, or Auto). Put the camera on program auto at the very least. Program means that the camera automatically sets the aperture and shutter speed but allows you to change things like the white balance, macro and ISO settings, all of which are important and I will talk about later.

The second thing that I want to touch on is that you don't need a big fancy DSLR camera to take good pictures. I have used a Canon 60D in the past, and while I liked it and it's useful in some instances, my heart lies still with my favourite baby, my Olympus XZ-1. This is a little more than a standard point and shoot but less intense as a proper DSLR. It also takes excellent glow in the dark pictures and it's less bulky when I'm trying to manoeuvre it around my rather small photography set-up.

Still my favourite baby...

Valentine's Day Heart Tips

Hi lovelies,

Here is my other Valentine's Day look for this year, and I'm disappointed it didn't come out as well as I'd hoped it would. I love the idea of using your nail shape as part of your design and so I was thrilled that my new pointy shape was going to lend itself so well to hearts.

However, it turns out that painting little hearts is a lot harder than it looks... I had to redo so many nails and I was so close to throwing in the towel completely many times. But, I persevered and by the time I got to the last couple of nails, I was beginning to like them again, warts and all.

Valentine's Day Leopard Nail Art

Hello there my lovelies,

Here's my first Valentine's Day look for this year. Considering I'd never a Valentine's look before (I know! Shock horror!) I thought this one came together quite well.

These nails all came about after seeing this picture on instagram and I fell in love with the pink and red leopard print. It (thankfully) gave me the inspiration I was lacking for my Valentine's Day mani.

However, I did my right hand first, as per usual, and added the pink dots, but then wasn't sure whether I liked them or not, so I left them off when I did my other hand. Even now, and I've been wearing them for close to two days, I still don't know which hand I like better. So I thought I'd post both and ask you for your opinion. What do you think? Which hand do you think is better?

A Nuggle's Guide to Nail Art Terms | Part 2

Hello there!

Today I'm back with my second and final part to my Nuggle's Guide to Nail Art Terms. If you missed the first, or wish to re-read it, your can find it here.

Otherwise, I'm back with my sister Tess and her boyfriend Juwan to quiz them about various nail related terms. When we left them last time, Tess was on a score of 7, out of a possible 15 and Juwan scored 5, so let's see who comes out on top!

HG
J: Hungry Jacks? Hungry Goblin? Definitely hungry goblin.
T: High definition? Oh wait that's a D.....
Well it's definitely not Hungry Goblin... HG is actually an abbreviation for Holy Grail, which is a product/s that is the best ever, in your opinion, something you swear by and would recommend to others (see my HG nail products here, if you're interested).

Holo
J: Something see through. Like a see through nail polish.
T: The ones that the ILNP brand do. The ones that change colour? Or are really sparkly?
Yup, these polishes are super-sparkly. Holo (or holographic for long) polishes have pigments in the them that means when you hold them in the light, you can see a rainbow of different colours. And yes, ILNP do amazing holos.

Jelly
J: Squishy. Jelly polish.
T: Gel nail polish. Do you call that jelly for short?
While calling gel polish jelly actually kind of does make sense, a jelly is a type of polish that is rather sheer and when built up of a couple of coats, has a transparent quality and squishyness about it that is reminiscent of jelly, so well done to Juwan for that one.

Lemming
J: White nail polish, like a lamington. And with yellow in it too.
T: Sounds like a fish.
No and no. A lemming is a polish that you really, really want, and can often be hard to find. And no, I have no clue why it's called a lemming.

Birefringence and Masquerade by ILNP (also, sorry for the dodgy white balance...)

Multichrome
J: Multiple colours of chrome.
T: More than two colours in one polish, otherwise it would be a duochrome. Ha I'm such a technical genius. (looked incredibly pleased at her knowledge)
To be honest, I don't know how widely used this term is. For me, a multichrome is different to a duochrome in that a duochrome has predominantly two colours, whereas a multichrome has a much fuller colour spectrum, like the two above. So yes, exactly what Tess said.

Negative Space Half Moon Mani

Hi lovelies,

These nails are ones I did a couple of weeks ago, when I was still working out the kinks in my new photography set-up and so the photos are a little off. But, I did really like this design, so I'm still going to post it. It's also my first attempt at a negative space nail art design and I thought it was important to record that. On a side note, check out this branching out in new techniques - first my half moon mani and now negative space and half moons together!

I also couldn't decide whether I liked it better glossy or matte, so I thought I'd post both. What do you think? I think having it matte makes the lines and the overall design look crisper and neater, but there is a reason why glossy nail polish is so well-loved..