swirly nail art tutorial!

these nails are SO easy that there's no excuse for you not to give them a go!
All you need is two nail polish colours and a cocktail stick/thin dotting tool, simple! I think it works best if you use the lighter colour for the base colour and the darker for the swirls but feel free to experiment!
Watch the video for super duper easy instructions!
Here's how mine turned out and on the bottom is when I tried them out on my mum too! (I only just realised I used similar colours for both haha)

Barry M gelly 'blackberry' swatches

I got this for my birthday on Sunday from one of my friends and I couldn't wait to try it out! If you've been following my blog for a while you'll know I'm a massive fan of Barry M so I was excited to give these a go!

(sorry for the messy application!) the colour I got is called 'blackberry' which is a very dark purple- perfect for autumn time. As you can see from the bottom photo it is very shiny (I didn't use a top coat!)
The brush is the standard one which is in all of the Barry M ones which I really like- not too big, not too small and gives you just the right amount of product. In the photo I'd already had it on for two days- no chips yet but as I'm writing this I think it's been on for four days and apart from touching up a small chip it's been completely fine! Pretty impressive if you ask me, especially seeing as there was no top coat!
The consistency is thicker and more gel like (surprise surprise) than normal nail polish and it's easier to apply as it goes on smoother than normal ones!

Overall I think this is a great nail polish as it is so shiny and lasts a really long time and I want to try out the other shades! Here are the other ones available!

(image thanks to Barry M)

In this photo 'blackberry' looks a completely different colour, I think it looks much more like 'plum' but I think the photo must be wrong because after some googling the 'blackberry' shades all look the same as mine compared to the dark teal which is pictured! I really like the look of blueberry, watermelon and prickly pear too so I'll add them to my (never ending) wish list! 

I like how they all have fruity names too, it's cute!

Barry M gelly nail polish retail for £3.99 and are available here

I ♡ autumn tag!

thank you to Lauren for tagging me! Please send me the link/leave a video response of you do this video!
Oh and sorry for how happy I look in the thumbnail hahaa

happy first birthday islaay.com

I've only just had my birthday (it was on Sunday) and now it's my blog birthday! Happy Birthday islaay.com! It's been a year today since I hit publish on my very first post- and I know this is cliche to say but it honestly feels like last month that I posted my first post!
I've chatted to so many lovely girls (and a few guys) along the way! Oh and I can't wait to actually meet some of you!
I don't really have much more to say but thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog, tweet me, comment on my posts, watch my YouTube videos, like my instagram photos, email me etc etc it honestly means so much to me!
If you're like me a year ago today- scared to publish your first post then I say go for it! It's scary at first but there's no way I would change any of it and I can't wait to continue blogging and chatting to you all in the future!
Thank you again everyone!
I was going to make a cake but I still have birthday cake from Sunday so I didn't!

IT'S MY BIRRRRTHDAAAAY

YAAAAAY I'm 17 today!
It honestly feels like 6 months ago I turned 16! To be honest I want to be 16 all over again- it's been so good!
It's my blog's first birthday on Tuesday too- yaaay!
I'll do a birthday haul in the next week or so probably if you're interested! I'm just spending the day with my family- we don't really have anything planned but I'll be tweeting about what I'm up to!
Oh and happy Birthday to Ophelia and Sam too- we share a birthday, yaaaay!

Mum's making my cake as I type (white chocolate (aka a million calories of deliciousness)) and I can't wait to eat it later! Knowing me I'll probably instagram a photo later of it!

get to know me tag!

thank you for the lovely Ellie for tagging me!

I I would LOVE it if you subscribed to my new YouTube channel!

Thanks for watching!

tartan scarf

I'm embracing my inner Scottishness here (I'm actually 100% Scottish by the way!)
I copied Laura from styleandsushi with this scarf! It's so much softer than I thought it was going to be and it's completely what I was looking for!

I love how autumnal it is at the moment with all the leaves on the ground etc! I attempted doing some photos of me throwing leaves in the air but they didn't work because I take my photos on self timer- boo.

Coat: Tesco (this season)
Scarf: H&M (this season)
Jumper: H&M (this season)
Skirt: Primark (this season)
Tights: M&S
Boots: Primark (a couple of months ago)
Bag: Zara (a couple of months ago)
Necklace: Dorothy Perkins (a couple of months ago)
Nails: Roses (tutorial here)

I've just filmed a video with the same outfit/makeup so sorry about that! I've been getting into youtube recently- it's actually quite fun!

what do you think of the tartan scarf?

birthday wishlist!

sooooo it's my birthday in a few days (this Sunday- the 21st of October to be exact) ans I love reading these posts (because I'm nosy I guess) so I thought I would share what's on my birthday wishlist with you!

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11

Hairdryer: I used to have a really cute pink hairdryer with flowers on which I think I got for my birthday a while ago but sadly it broke so I need a new one! I'm not really bothered which because I think they're pretty much all the same!
RayBan tortoise shell 'clubmaster' sunglasses: I broke my other RayBan sunglasses when I was on holiday (sob sob) so I need a new pair! I love these ones but I might have a look on eBay to see if they have them any cheaper instead...
Puppy: my sister and I have been DYING to get a dog for years. We both have a puppy on our birthday/christmas list every single year so I thought I would put one on there anyway!
The Vaccines tickets: I've already seen them live a couple of months ago but I would love to go again! They have released their tour dates and I would love to go! I don't know if there's still any available though?!
Essie nail polish: the one in the picture is 'turquoise and caicos' I really like Essie nail polish so it's just a general thing on my wish list!
American Apparel 'galaxy glitter': this nail polish is SO pretty and there's nothing else like it! I have a bit of a 'thing' for glitter polish and I would love to receive this as a gift!
Liz Earle cleanse and polish: I've already gone through a couple of bottles of this but as it's quite expensive I would love to receive it as a gift instead as it does wonders for my skin!
AA Disco pants: after months of not letting myself try them on I persuaded myself to just see what they look like on. I now need a pair... I don't even know if they are considered 'cool' anymore but to be honest I don't care- they are amazing.
Cath Kidston purse: I'm in need of a new purse and I really like this one! Everything I have from there has lasted an age and I'm slowly but surely turning the whole contents of my bag into Cath Kidston one thing at a time!
Cath Kidston scarf: I love this scarf and I think it would be perfect for spring (even though that is months away) but it's about £45 which I think is ridiculous for a scarf (boo). I'd quite like a red tartan one too but forgot to include a photo! I saw in styleandsushi's new post that she found one in her local H&M so hopefully the English ones have them too!
Cath Kidston cardigan: I think everyone needs a cream cardigan and this one is just so soft and nice and I'm like dying for it. The only downside again is that it's about £55 (double boo) they also have it in green and burgundy which I like too but I think cream would go with more!

Anyway that's it! Obviously I'm not expecting to receive all of this as it would be very expensive but as it's christmas in a few months (can I hear a woop woop?!) my wish list is kind of joint between them!

is it your birthday soon? What's on your wish list?

Islay has new shoes!

this is just a bit of a random post which I thought I would do to show you my new shoes! I got them about a week ago in Primark for £20 (bit steep for Primark but oh well) They fit my feet really well and are quite comfortable as long as you aren't wearing them for too long! (I wore them when I went out last week and ended up having to take them off after four hours as my feet were killing but I guess they're quite high!

I really like the gold zip and I think it looks a lot better than it would if the zip was black! They will also go with anything which is perfect- I'm not planning on wearing them every day because I will probably end up like a crippled old lady with weird feet but they're nice for going out!
Oh and they make me taller than my dad which is hillarioussss

have  you bought any new shoes recently?

Primark nail polish review/NOTD

hey everyone!
This post had been sat in my drafts for like forever- I completely forgot about it so sorry it's late!

I was chatting to the lovely lovely Helen from Beautifully Superfluous ages ago on twitter during a #bbloggers chat about the Primark nail polish. Helen being the really really lovely person that she is said that the next time she was in her Primark she would send me a set to try out because I couldn't find them in my local (which isn't really all that local) Primark.
They arrived in the post a couple of days ago and the first thing I noticed was the really lovely colours that were in the set! They don't have names but there's a pink, purple, blue and mint green colour. I pretty much immediately got out my nail wheels and got swatching! The little leopard print box that they come in is really cute too, and I think it would make a nice inexpensive present/stocking filler!
I've swatched them all and painted them all on my nails but I can't for the life of me find the photos of them, but here's what they look like!

and here's what I thought of them...
I haven't tried any of the Primark beauty range before (except for a fake tanning mitt) so I didn't have a benchmark to compare them to. The actual formulas of all the colours were really creamy and very opaque, which to be honest I wasn't expecting at all! I chose to do two coats on all of them but I could probably get away with just one coat, especially with the pink one which is the most opaque!
The brush is similar to the Barry M ones, which are one of my favourites! (not too big, not too small) and it also doesn't com out streaky on the nails!
The only negative thing I have to say about these is the lid is slightly awkward to hold as it is quite round and short if you get what I mean but this doesn't really affect the finished result so I'm not complaining!
The mint colour is pretty similar to the infamous 'mint candy apple' from Essie which I have and love so if you're looking for a cheaper alternative for it and don't want to splash out £7.99 for a nail polish (ridiculous, I know) then give these a shot!
They've lasted three days so far on my nails without chips which is pretty impressive if you ask me!
I'm in love with these nail polishes, I'm not sure how much they were as they were a gift but I'm guessing it wouldn't be a lot! The next time I'm in a larger Primark I'm definitely going to have a look to see which other colours they have!

Have you tried Primark nail polish before? Which other colours are available? 

Don't forget to check out Helen's blog!

nail tutorial: orange and pink with white dots

I made up this design the other day to try out on my nail wheels! The pictures are pretty self explanatory  Let me know what you think or if you have any questions :)

paisley nails

I wanted to try out my new camera so I thought I would take a few outfit photos!

cardigan: H&M

top: H&M

bag: Primark

leggings: Topshop

shoes: converse

necklace: Dorothy Perkins

earrings: New Look

lips: Revlon lip stain in 'crush'

socks: Poundland (lol)

nails: paisley(ish) print

my nail wheels!

hi guys- I made another YouTube video! This one took foreverrr to upload which completely sucks but oh well it's up now! I thought I would include a few more detailed photos in this post as my filming was probably terrible (I haven't even watched the video back...)
Oh and since making the video I've made another two (and a half) nail wheels but I thought I would just include photos of them!

Let me know what you think and are you enjoying my videos? My channel name is 'islaayx' by the way! :)

mini haul

I thought I would show you a couple of bits which I picked up in town earlier!

The socks and ring are from New Look and the body butters are from the Body Shop (I'm so excited to use the grapefruit one- I've been lusting after it for like forever!)

Have you done any shopping recently?

room tour!

okay so I know I have already done a post on this here but I thought I would do a video too! I hope you like it :) oh and I'm so annoyed I've got a rubbish thumbnail but it was the best out of all three! boo