Polished Art: Liebster Award

A huge thank you to Tara from TarasTalons for nominating me for the Liebster Award!

Here are the rules:

Post 11 facts about yourself
Answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated you
Ask 11 questions
Nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers

I exhausted my store of facts about myself in previous award posts, so I'm gonna skip that bit (you can read them here).

Here are the questions that Tara asked.

1. Where did you grow up?

In Swansea (in South Wales). And no, that's not a part of England.

2. What is the best thing about where you grew up?

My parents live on the Gower Peninsula, and the beaches are AMAZING. I still adore it, and I miss it so much! I love being able to go down the beach for a BBQ of a summer's evening, and you have this whole massive beach to yourselves :) And the sand dunes are great for sledding when it snows (or sliding down on a plastic bag if you don't have a sled...ahem).

3. If you could only use one range of polishes for a whole year, which brand would you choose?

Assuming I don't have to pay for all these polishes, then absolutely OPI. I've yet to find a brand that comes anywhere close in terms of quality. The brush and formula are so perfect that painting my nails with it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

4. What is your party trick?

Getting really drunk and embarrassing myself...does that count? I can also converse fairly well in French when I'm drunk...

5. Why do you blog?

Hmm...well the reason I started blogging was mostly because I finished my teacher training and suddenly had free time. I didn't quite know what to do with myself. I'd started posting pictures of my nails on Facebook, and I'd been reading a few blogs, so I decided to just give blogging a go. I got my first few followers pretty quickly, so that was exciting! I still get very excited when I get new followers (one time I lost one...that was sad) or new comments, and I guess that's why I've kept going with it :)

6. What is your favourite animal?

ARGH! I hate this question! It's impossible to answer because I love them all! I wish I had an ark. But only the cute animals would be allowed on...no snakes. Tigers are definitely up there in my top 10 because they're just so fricking adorable. It genuinely makes me sad that I can't have a pet one. Like now I feel sad because I've thought about it. Also up there are rhinos, because LOOK AT THEM! They are ridiculous, and therefore amazing. I discovered there's a zoo just north of London that has white tigers and snow leopards, so clearly my boyfriend has to take me there for a day out when he's home (sometimes I imagine being with me must be rather like having a small child to entertain...). Ummmm...what else are my favourites...POLAR BEARS. I can't believe I almost forgot them. I want a pet one of those two. Ugh, they just break my heart with their cuteness. Now I just need to resist the urge to google pictures of cute animals, because I'll literally never start my coursework....

7. If you had to live in another country, where would you choose?

Probably somewhere very similar to Britain, because I hate change. Aren't I boring? Maybe France because the wine's cheap and it's not too hot or cold.

8. What blog is your favourite/gives you the most inspiration?

What a hard question! There are loads that I love, for all different reasons. Chalkboard Nails and Creative Nail Design by Sue always have perfect nails, so I love seeing their new posts. Clawsome Nail Art has amazing false nails that she sells - they're always so unique, so I love seeing those. Scrangie is great for swatches. The Nailasaurus has unique ideas for how to use nail art products, and the things that girl can do with a medium striper brush... And I really love new blogs. I love seeing how people's skills develop, and watching their blogs grow.

9. What three famous/well known people (living or dead) would you invite to a dinner party and why?

I know a lot of people go for inspirational figures from the past when asked this sort of question...but I'm gonna go for Bryan Adams so he could sing to us, David Tennant so he could talk at me in his Scottish accent, and Dermot O'Leary so I could touch him. In a totally innocent way, of course.

10. How did you get interested in nails?

When I was in my teens, my mum used to get Special FX nail art kits of QVC, with nail foils and that sort of things, so I got quite into it then. Then I stopped painting my nails when I got my first job at 16 (apparently red nail polish and making baguettes don't go together - whatever). I randomly decided after my...er...oh no, I've gotten so old I can't remember one birthday from another anymore. Sad times. Maybe my 22nd? Anyway, I decided to spend some of my birthday money on a couple of Special FX foils off ebay. And so it begun again... Actually though, I only started having them painted 24/7 after I used Rimmel Sunshine and it stained my nails so badly that I had to have them painted all the time otherwise I looked like a chain smoker.

11. What is your favourite TV program?

Coronation Street. I don't even care if that's the most tragic thing you've ever heard.

And here are the 11 questions for my nominees! Lifted straight from my last Liebster award post...ahem...

1.Why did you start your blog?

2. How did you get in to nail art?

3. What's your go to manicure when you're feeling uninspired?

4. What polish are you lusting after at the moment?

5. What is your favourite brand of nail polish?

6. Are you a fan of indie polishes, and why or why not?

7. What's your favourite thing about the festive season?

8. Where in the world would you most like to visit?

9. What other hobbies do you have?