Nail It With These New Polishes

I recently spent a lovely afternoon wondering the beauty counters and discovered some oh so fabulous and super fun new ways to dress up the standard mani. My favourite instantly reminded me of a deliciously sweet cupcake with sprinkles - and I knew I had to have it!

Said to be the first three dimensional manicure kit of it's kind - it's called the Ciaté Caviar Manicure ... and it is ah-mazing!  Such a great way to play with color and texture. 
Ciaté Caviar Manicure (above):  Black Pearls, Rainbow, Mother of Pearl. They are available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Ciaté and Amazon.

Ombré has moved beyond the hair salon and is now a big trend in nails. But if you're anything like me, when it comes to DIY home mani/pedi's you don't want something you needed a degree from nail tech school to apply. Solution? I found these fab nail polish kits from The New Black, who describe them rather nicely as "a five-piece set of expertly curated colors in a range of complementary ombré tones". There are six different color sets to choose from, my favourite is Haze (right). They are available from Sephora and Nordstrom.



Another interesting treat for your talons is the UV light activated Color Changing Polish from New York based Ruby Wing. The one I like is called Horizon (right), it goes on red and when outside in the sunlight, changes to a maroon-ish red wine tone. With 18 colour choices in the range, this translates to an impressive 36 different shades.

And finally, this wouldn't be complete without a mention of OPI.  I just love their polishes - they last so well, have a great range of colors and even better price tag.  I think their new collection called Skyfall, in honor of the James Bond film, is perfect for fall / winter.  OPI makes it hard to choose favorites, but I simply adore You Only Live Twice, a luxe high shimmer magenta shade. Other noteworthy colors include Live and Let Die, a deep blackened green with gold shimmer flecks and Casino Royale, a glamorous plum tone.


What are your thoughts on the new 3D manicure kits?  Do you like this style, or prefer something more traditional?

Peanut Butter, Banana & Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I made these delicious cupcakes for a friends birthday recently. Instead of using regular cupcake patties, I baked them in mini heart shaped tins to make them extra cute and fun!

What You Need:

255g (8oz) unsalted butter, softened

200g (7oz) caster sugar

115g (4oz) self-raising flour

115g (4oz) self-raising wholemeal flour

1 tsp baking powder

4 egs

3 tbsp ground almonds

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 tsp cinnamon

4 tbsp peanut butter chips

4 tbsp plain chocolate chips

250g (9oz) mashed bananas

For the icing:

200g (7oz) cream cheese, softened

175g (6oz) icing sugar, sieved

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla essence

115g (4oz) mashed banana

Shaved chocolate / nuts to sprinkle on top

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Place 24 paper baking cases in muffin / cupcake tins (or directly into mini shaped tins as you desire).

Combine the butter, sugar, flours, baking powder, eggs, almonds, vanilla and cinnamon in a large bowl and beat with an electric whisk until smooth and pale, about 2 - 3 minutes. Stir in the peanut butter chips and mashed bananas. Spoon the batter into paper cases (or tins).

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese and icing sugar in a medium bowl with an electric whisk until smooth and light. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and mashed bananas. Beat until well combined. Spoon the icing over the cupcakes, finish with chocolate or nut shavings as desired.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment or send me an email :)

Enjoy!