Nails for the warmer months

With spring beginning to make itself at home, we think it's about time we brought out the brighter colours, more appropriate for the warmer days and shorter nights. Not a dark red or deep purple in sight...

Pictured (l-r): !07-Lime Green, 117-Shiny Baby Pink, 118-Rose Pink, 125-Metallic Blue, 128-Coral, 129-Tangerine, 133-Butterscotch

Sometimes winter can feel like the month that never ends, we spend half of it rushing around getting excited for Christmas and New Year, and once the festive period ends, it seems as though the first two months of the year last twice as long as they should. When spring finally begins to announce it's presence, it gets us so excited for the coming months, longer and warmer days, holidays, beach trips, picnics in the park, summer festivals... the list goes on. As soon as that first ray of sunshine peeks through the clouds after winter, we start yearning for summer.

In preparation for the sunshine and the summer months, we have picked out seven colours that we absolutely love, and feel are perfect to get you in the mood to wave goodbye to winter. Here at Vivien Kondor, we pride ourselves on experimenting with unique shades that you don't stumble across often, and we think that some of these are absolutely perfect for this time of year; don't you agree?

107-Lime Green

Lime Green may be a little out of your comfort zone (it is well known that green is significantly difficult to pull off); but what is more perfect for spring and summer than green? Green is everywhere you look during these months, on the trees, on the ground, it is all around. It's also one of the first signs that spring has arrived; when everything begins to look greener. Lime Green is not too harsh or overpowering in it's tone, and makes the perfect springtime nail colour for those looking to treat their nails to something new.

117-Shiny Baby Pink

Although Shiny Baby Pink can be worn all year round, it is a real classic girly baby pink that is just perfect for spring. Quite the opposite to Lime Green, Shiny Baby Pink is incredibly easy to pull-off and it is the ultimate colour for the transition between colder and warmer months. If you are looking for a classic colour that is undeniable for spring, Shiny Baby Pink is the essential edition to your nail polish collection.

118-Rose Pink

Another nail polish essential for those who love all things girly, Rose Pink is a classic pink with much deeper, richer undertones. We think this colour is perfect for a summer festival (for those of you who aren't brave enough to rock our Neon Collection, which we also label as 'perfect for festivals'), for a weekend away in the country or on the beach somewhere in Spain, Rose Pink is extremely versatile while being so suited for the summer months it should have sunglasses on!

125-Metallic Blue

A colour now for those who are not into the 'standard' summer pink shades, or for those who simply want to try something new. Metallic Blue is a cool sky blue with a metallic and shiny finish. This is another example of a great festival nail, but would also work brilliantly well when chilling out at the park in the sunshine with your friends. You could very easily wear this colour all year round, but we think it works really well during the summer months to add cool tones to any outfit.

128-Coral

Coral is a very unique shade, and one that we are really looking forward to wearing this summer! Mostly pink in colour, this gorgeous shade has obvious undertones of orange and blends together to create the most beautifully individual colour! This is a wonderful colour to use when spicing up an otherwise-plain outfit and catches the light in the most magical way as you move, looking differently from every angle you view it at. This colour is our top pick here at VKHQ - and comes very highly recommended.

129-Tangerine

Another unusual and unique colour, tangerine is arguably the perfect summer colour. Bright, fresh, warm and deliciously orange, this colour reminds us of beautiful summer sunsets.This is most definitely one of the harder shades to pull off, as it doesn't wear as easily as a pink shade would, for example, however the uniqueness and prettiness of this shade simply cannot denied. If you are looking for complements galore on your gorgeous summer nail shade - Tangerine is for you!

133-Butterscotch

If you have followed our blog and/or social media sites for a while, you will definitely be familiar with this shade. As we are committed to creating new and unique shades alongside the tradition nail colour here at Vivien Kondor London, we began a quest to create 'Neon Gold'. This was our first attempt (not too bad for a first try ey!?). To read all about this shade, its creation and transition into the Butterscotch that we know and love today, click here. We have had a lot of interest in this shade due to the originality and uniqueness of the colour, and we feel there is no better time of year to rock Butterscotch than summertime. It's just so perfect for this time of year; don't you think?

Remember that all our products are still on sale in the Amazon store (find that here) - but hurry, this sale will end very soon and we'd hate for you to miss out on updating your summer nail polish collection for a fraction of the usual price! We'd also love for you to check out our brand new website! Everything you will need to know about the brand is here, with links to all social media sites and the blog, as well as a place to buy Vivien Kondor products right from us! Find that here.

Thank-you for stopping by and we hope that some of the colours above caught your eye. Make sure you keep us up-to-date on your purchases, your favourite summer nails or just your plans for the summer! Pop over to our Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages if you haven't already and say hi, and don't forget to hashtag #vivienkondor.

Until next time, 

The Vivien Kondor London Team

Buying social media followers

It’s officially the weekend! Hopefully you've had a great week.

This week at VKHQ, we have been thinking a lot about a subject that has recently been drawn to our attention; the act of buying social media followers. Fake accounts that have been created for the purpose of following accounts that have brought them. 

Baring in mind, a lot of social media sites have now become wise to this, and perform regular clear-outs of fake, inactive or spam accounts.

Image Source: Mike McCready

There has been a fair amount of attention recently drawn to the act of companies/brands, bloggers and average Joe’s dreaming of being ‘internet famous’ buying themselves social media followers. It is an issue that has been gradually growing in popularity recently and more and more people are becoming aware of this option.

A few weeks ago, we posted this post discussing whether or not the saying ‘good things come to those who wait’ is a good motto to live by, or whether we should go out and make things happen for ourselves.

In a time where dreams and ambitions are easier to chase and more achievable than ever, it appears that shortcuts such as this have begun to pop up, but just as we discussed the idea that it is more realistic to make something happen for yourself, does it not then go hand in hand with the idea that it is much more fulfilling to earn something through genuine hard work, rather than buy your way in using alternative and less-then-genuine methods?

Everything seems to be more accessible these days. Advice on launching new brands and businesses is on hand at the end of a simple Google search, hundreds of new blogs are being set up daily and more people are flocking to university than ever before every September in order to set up their dream careers in their early twenties. Sometimes it can seem as though every young person has their own blog, YouTube channel and a 2:1 from a half decent university. It is getting harder and harder for us all to avoid that dreaded question: how do we stand out from the crowd?

A quick scroll through Facebook/Twitter can give us a pretty good insight into the new blogger, new brand or new product we've stumbled across while online or overheard our friends talking about, and you can usually guess the size and success of a blogger or business by the amount of social media followers they have, right? More followers = more people interested in that account, their products, blog etc. At least that’s how it used to be.

More so now than ever before, it is incredibly easy to click that ‘buy now’ button and bag ourselves thousands of new followers quicker than it takes us to make a microwave meal. So how do you really know whether the social media account you’re scrolling through has a truly impressive amount of followers, followers they have worked hard to gain, or if they have simply caved in under modern day pressure and brought themselves a social media quick-fix?

Image Source: The Huffington Post

Within the ‘good things come to those who wait’ post, we discussed our views here at VKHQ that it is about quality, rather than quantity when it comes to engaging with people. What is the point of having 10,000 followers if only 1,000 of them are bothered about what you’re posting? What’s the point of looking like you have thousands of followers at first glance when, after searching through your page, it’s clear to see that only a handful of followers are actually engaging with your content?

 At the end of the day, a follower count is only ever going to be a number at the top of a screen, it seems to us that it is much more about posting relevant and engaging content. And anyway, if you are posting content that people enjoy reading and are interested in, they will, one-by-one, press that follow button in order to read more.

The option is there, and with the internet becoming more and more crowded with people trying to make their voices heard, it is inevitable that some will cave under the pressure and take this option. 

The big questions is, is it worth it? Not only are social media sites regularly decluttered of these accounts, but the followers that you have purchased won’t do anything. They won’t share your posts or draw attention to your account, they will inevitably just sit, inactive, in your followers list.

What do you think about the act of ‘buying’ followers? Do you think the positives outweigh the negatives? We’d love to hear your opinion.

As always, get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and let us know your thoughts, and don't forget to hashtag #vivienkondor.

Have a great weekend.

The Vivien Kondor London Team

St. Patrick's Day 2015

Hello and a happy Friday!

Can you believe this is the first post of March? We know it's said at the beginning of every month, but this year really is going so fast! 

Image source: Quotes Blog

March is one of our favourite months of the year here at VKHQ. The 'beginning-of-the-year' blues are really starting to melt away as we welcome in the cheerier months, springtime is on the horizon and everything starts to look a little prettier as the trees and ground start to spout this years flowers and blossom, it really is a lovely time of year.

March is also, of course, the month of Mother's Day (check out our Mother's Day gift guide here) and of course, St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day falls on 17th March, and arguably one of the most well-known traditions is to wear green. Green is a notoriously difficult colour to pull of, particularly on the nails. As a guide, and to give you a little helping hand, we have three green Vivien Kondor shades to show you with the help of three lovely bloggers, Sherbert London, Nail Lacquer UK and Taras Talons. 

Image Source: Sherbert London

108 - Mint Green

Easing you in with what we believe to be the most wearable of our green colours; is Mint Green. Slightly darker than the traditional mint green, this colour is cool and has tones of blue that help balance out the green. Very easy to wear, perfect for the spring months and a gorgeous shiny finish make this colour an absolute winner for those who want to celebrate without standing out too much this St. Patrick's Day.

Image Source: Nail Lacquer UK

107 - Lime Green

Still very wearable whilst being much more obviously green than Mint Green, Lime Green is a personal favourite for us here at VKHQ. It is perhaps not a colour you would think to reach for, and may be a little out of your comfort zone, but we think it's the absolute perfect colour for the Spring months; so why not try something new? Gorgeous, light green polish with a creme finish that shines without topcoat, Lime Green is the perfect choice for those who are feeling a little more daring this St. Patrick's Day.

  Image Source: Taras Talons

127 - Neon Green
Not for the faint-hearted; Neon Green is the ultimate green polish. Perfect for those who really want to make a statement, or great for anybody creating nail art in need of a splash of bright green. If you're feeling brave, really want to stand out from the crowd and show your Irish pride, or simply love the colour green - this is definitely the polish for you. 

Can't decide which colour to go for, a real lover of anything green or just really looking forward to trying something completely new? You're in the right place! Our gift set; 'The Green Collection', contains all three colours shown above and is on sale right now in the Amazon store! You could own all three of these polishes plus a gorgeous gift box for just £6.49! You will struggle to find a better deal anywhere else, so why not head over to our Amazon store and check it out? All our other products are also currently on sale for amazing prices, find them all here.

However you are celebrating we hope you have an amazing St. Patrick's Day! We'd love to see your St. Patrick's Day nails, or hear about your plans for the day, so get in touch with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and let us know! Don't forget to hashtag #vivienkondor.

Have a wonderful weekend, and we'll see you back here next week.

The Vivien Kondor London Team