The Easy Way to Textured Nails.

Textured Nails are everywhere at the moment. Nail art with studs, sequins and rhinestones are huge at the minute. With MUA making the Caviar Manicure at anyone's price range, nail art wheels available from most pound shops and eBay coming up trumps for pretty much anything, it's easy for everyone to jump on this trend. But what if you could make it easier and get textures just with a polish? Here are my top 3 Textured polishes for you.

Illamasqua Rubber polishes are a favourite of mine, mainly for the colours.If I can't find a colour in eyeshadow, nail polish or blush I always head to the Illamasqua stand. When I couldn't find a dark green polish in the shade I wanted, I went to see them and obviously, found what I wanted. I didn't realise it was one of their rubberised polishes at the time but I'm glad it was or I'd never  have got to try them

My favourite nail texture is a matte nail, preferably with black. A lot of companies make a matte top coat but I use the one from George at ASDA. It's only £1 and  it does the job, so why not! Paint your nails in your chosen colour and simply one coat does it. It's also a top coat so makes your polish last that little big longer. As you can see I use this a lot!

A drug store option now. The Revlon Matte Suede line is very similar to the Illamasqua Rubber polishes. They're not a matte colour though, they have glitter in them. Glitter with a . Matte finish? I didn't understand it either. There's no real reason why this polish is green too, I thought it would be pretty for Christmas. Available at most high street drug stores, this polish is more accessible and is almost half the price of the Rubber polish at only £7.95.

If you are a fan of nail art then here are my top picks at an affordable price. As mentioned there is the MUA Nail Constellations which give you a Caviar Manicure for only £3.

Nail Art pens are also widely available now. With studs, sequins or gems in one side and a polish with a fine applicator on the other, they are an all in one over your favourite polish. Hip-hop have one available for £6.50 but this one was only £2 from good ol` Primark and comes in different shades too.

Most pound stores stock these nail art wheels that have different studs and stones in them. I found one with black studs in, so I stocked up. And for £1 it really wasn't a big deal.

My Favourite Drug Store Make Up!

I live in the UK, so I have classed drug store as anything NOT high end - Boots, Superdrug etc. I found it really hard to pick 5 items and I did end up choosing 6, but even that was hard. These aren't the products I'd use from a drug store if I had no high end, these are my everyday make up items. 

Left to right we have;

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Sun Baked Bronzer in 03 Pure Shimmer. This is my all time favourite highlighter. Its perfect for my light skin but isn't too shimmery or glittery. I can wear this on it's own with some bronzer or with a blush and it always looks good. I also use this on my eyes and nose as well as my cheek bones. I cannot give it enough credit. It also lasts a super long time, I've had this one two years and it hardly seems to have gone down! Love, love, love. 

Gosh Natural Touch Cream Blusher in 001 Peachy Rush. The only thing I hate about this product is that call it a blusher and not a blush - pet hate! Aside from that the colour, texture, wear and staying power of this blush is amazing. It's super bright but you can blend it really light so it's super versatile. For some reason I just haven't found a nice orangey coral blush anywhere so this is the one. I don't really use this as a base for blush but I can't see why it wouldn't work! For the price it's as good at the MAC Creme Colour Bases, for sure!

No7 Lipstick in Brigette (Limited Edition, Spring 2010). This is my all time favourite light pink lipstick. MAC's Hue is in the category of pinky nude. It's a really sheer colour but really buildable and makes your teeth look whiter! I don't know if this available now but I'm nearly out so will have to go and find out soon! It's quite a glossy lipstick too so you can just throw it on and you don't have to worry about a gloss. Great for spring on top of an SPF lip conditioner. 

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Ultimate Concealer in Medium 3. I have this in the colour that matches my foundation the best as I use this for blemishes. It is the best concealer you will ever find in a drug store. It's amazing for blemishes and under the eyes. IT doesn't cake, it stays all day and it really does cover everything!

Collection 2000 Glam CrystalsDazzling Gel Eyeliner in 07 Rock Chick. I love this eyeliner for my top lash line. I tend to wear it over a black just to make sure it's dark enough but it has great staying power and a great look for under £3! I only wear the black one though I own most of them. They are the prefect item to transition from day to night.

Make Up Academy Mascara in Shade 1. This is the clear gel I use for my brows - the bottom one to prove it! I use this every day without fail. It holds my brows and colour all day and is so quick and easy to apply. It costs £1, yes £1 from Superdrug. You need to check out the MUA range if you haven't before as it is AMZING. Some of the eyeshadows are up there with MAC and the colour range reminds me a lot of Illamasqua. 

'I have a Cold' Haul.

Yes, I have done what every girl does; felt a little under the weather so cheered myself up with a trip to my local Debenhams.

I've been reading Elle this weekend while I was away - which was gorgeous and I will post pictures soon! I think as well as rocking my usual goth look, I'm going to try out this military grunge glam vibe thats around so I was on a khaki hunt. I think I've finally decided to purchase a new parka from Zara so basing it on that, I wanted the perfect green nail polish. My usual first stop of Essie drew a blank. As did Chanel, Dior, MAC, Barry M, Revlon and every other beauty counter in Debenhams and Boots. I ended up at Illamasqua which obviously had exactly what I wanted. After a quick trip to MAC I was done - for make up anyway.

Left to right we have;

Illamasqua Nail Polish in Kink. This is the polish I was looking for - or at least the closest I was going to get. I wanted a really dark forest green. These don't exist. This was the nicest, darkest green I could find. Though it does have a teal tint to it, it isn't as blue as most of the others out there. In two coats it's a thick, even coverage. This is my first Illamasqua nail polish so I don't know what to expect from the wear just yet.

MAC Eyeshadow in Humid. I've never owned this shadow or indeed had any desire to own this shadow but on my new military green kick, I thought it would look good smoked out over a black - my entire reason for going to MAC. I was really impressed by the quality and colour of this green as there were surprisingly a few to choose from. I tried the look when I got home and thought it looked great.

MAC Eyeshadow in Carbon. It's black. I get through these like they're going out of fashion. It's a good, dark black and easy to use. My second favourite is the MUA for a quid. It's hard justifying £12 on an eyeshadow sometimes!

Swatches. MAC Carbon and MAC Humid.

Illamasqua Kink Polish on the nails.