Favourite Lipsticks for Spring and Summer.

Okay, so... I like love lipstick. I love lipstick quite a lot. I think that Spring and Summer is a great time for bright neon and pastel colours on the lips and nails. A crazy bright lipstick is something that looks great with a tan and, when paired with some bronzer and lashings of mascara, can make you look like you've put a lot more effort into your make-up than you really have. When it comes to bright colours like these, it's really all about balance when it comes to the rest of the face. Sometimes I like to go full whack and do a full coverage foundation, eye make-up and a bold lip but I think for most people, a light coverage base, mascara and winged liner would be enough with a neon lipstick. I honestly believe that everyone can wear something this pastel or neon, it's just all about finding a shade that is right for you! A good lip exfoliator and some lip balm beforehand is definitely recommended, too... pastel and neon shades are notorious for settling into lines in the lips and in the words of (any) Kardashian: seriously like, I mean, that is not cute!

5 Favourite Nail Polishes Picks for Spring/Summer.

As a disclaimer: I don't really believe that you can only wear a certain colour (clothes, nail polish, lipstick, blush) at a certain time of year. I personally am more inclined to wear a dark burgundy lip in November and a bright pink in June. I encourage everyone to wear whatever they want in whatever season it is but I do like these sort of posts because the colour palettes are normally very 'season appropriate'. However, for Spring and Summer, I typically favour pastels, neons and brights. These colours always recycle themselves in make-up and fashion every S/S season so nothing I'm saying is really that groundbreaking. That being said, I hope you enjoy my top 5 nail polish picks for Spring and Summer 2014. If you tend to shy away from brighter shades on your nails, try painting your toes with a bright blue or coral!

P.S. I often post pictures of my nails/nail designs on Instagram (@drnktxtrmeo_) and have to give massive credit to my wonderful nail tech Rachel at 'Elegant Nails' for her talent and skills (and patience when I can't decide on a colour!)

Since moving to Galway and finding the brand readily available in Boots and Cara pharmacies, Essie has become one of my favourite nail polishes. They're not the cheapest, but they're definitely not the most expensive and I've found the texture and formula of all Essie nail polishes I've tried to be really great! Go Ginza is a gorgeous pastel shade, somewhere between a pink and lavender. The problem I typically run into with pastels is that they're watery and sheer, taking 4 coats to get a good opaque coat. I don't have this issue with Go Ginza which is very refreshing for such a pale pastel shade!

Essie Go Ginza

Barry M Nail Paints are easily my favourite lower-end polishes. They come in a HUGE range of shades and finishes for next to nothing (they're normally on special offer in Boots, too). Mint Green is just that - a mint green. Green isn't something I wear too often but done in a pastel form I think it looks very flattering on the nails. I loved this shade when I had very short nails and think it looks great with or without a tan. Barry M and Essence both do a very good range of pastels (pinks, purples, greens, blues, yellows, peach).

Barry M Mint Green

Meet Me At Sunset is a briiiight shade, there's no way around it. It's just shy of 'neon' so if the whole acid green nails isn't your thing but you still wanted something bright, this is the shade for you! Meet Me At Sunset is hard for me to describe, it's not quite a red, not quite orange.. or coral.. or tomato - it's all of those in one. This shade looks particularly lovely against a tan and is very summer appropriate! This is also super opaque and only takes 2 coats to achieve a bright manicure.

Essie Meet Me At Sunset

Models Own is another brand that do some fantastic shades in all different sorts of finishes and textures. You can buy these polishes in Boots but my friend from France sent me over a couple of beautiful Models Own polishes for Christmas last year and this happened to be among the bunch. This colour is stunning and the picture doesn't really do it justice. It's a peachy orange with golden yellow shimmer and a golden orange duochrome throughout. It reflects the light beautifully in the bottle and on the nail! It's quite sheer, so you'll need a couple of coats. Alternatively, you could layer it over an orange or another bright to give it a really cool shimmer effect (this is my favourite way of using this polish!) Tropical Sun is great for those who aren't too keen on the whole neon/bright trend because it's a more subtle way of adding colour!

Models Own Tropical Sun

Another present from my froggy friend; Kiko nail polish. We searched Paris high and low for the Kiko store but we couldn't find it anywhere. So, I was so happy to see this in my birthday present parcel. I've heard a lot of things about the brand and know they can be found throughout Europe in France, Spain and Italy (maybe Germany too?). So, if you happen to be on holidays and see a Kiko shop, I'd absolutely suggest you have a look! The formula of this polish is brilliant, it's a smooth cream, dries quickly and only needs 1 coat. I love all shades of blue and turquoise for Spring and Summer so I had to include one in this post!

Kiko #8

 Some Spring/Summer nail ideas from my Instagram @DrnkTxtRmeo_ :)

Thank you for reading! Let me know if you have any suggestions/requests/recommendations - tweet me @drnktxtrmeo_ or email: longhairandlashes@gmail.com