NOTD (Nails Inc and Barry M)

Currently watching: EastEnders

Hi girls,

How are you today? Did you watch the Royal Wedding yesterday? I didn't plan to but I ended up watching it and I'm really glad I did. History in the making!

Today I'd like to show you my current manicure, which did not turn out the way I had planned. I wanted something bright and spring-like so chose Nails Inc Spitalfields as my base and used a purple for my stamping colour. My nails are too long for my BM full nail images though so my stamping efforts were a farce and in desperation I ended up covering up my efforts with Barry M Nail Effects:

I'm not sure how I feel about yellow nails but I can't help but draw comparisons with certain reptilian creatures whenever I look down at my nails...

Do you like this manicure? What do you think of yellow polish in general?

Bye for now,
Laura

Kreativ Blogger Award

Currently listening to: Damaged by Plummet

Hello girls,

The lovely Sophie recently gave me the Kreativ Blogger Award, thank you :-)

The rules are:
Write 10 facts about yourself
Pass the award to 10 bloggers and tell them about the award

1. I love reading trashy celebrity gossip magazines even though I know they're wrong and I don't know who half the *celebrities* are since I don't watch reality television
2. I had one Easter egg this year, a KitKat Chunky one which I found in my office's Easter egg hunt
3. The last film I saw at the cinema was Little White Lies
4. The last DVD I watched was My Sister's Keeper
5. I'm currently reading A Beautiful Mind, the story of Nobel Prize winner John Nash
6. I have never tasted coffee. The smell is enough to give me a headache
7. My current tv staples are EastEnders and Glee
8. My favourite trees are cherry blossoms and palm trees
9. I have a collection of over 100 nail polishes
10. My favourite flavour of ice cream is melon

I think everyone who has a blog deserves this award but since the rules state that I can only nominate 10 bloggers to receive this award, the girls I would like to pass this award to are:
Olivia
Marie
Tassa
Sara
Julie
Stacie
Amy
Nicola
Clever Rabbit
Thea

Enjoy the award girls :-)

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Tootsies

Currently listening to: Exit Wounds by The Script

Greetings girls!

How are you all today? Excited about tomorrow's Royal Wedding? I don't think I'll be tuning in to watch it but I'll be interested to see pictures of the couple and their celebrity guests and of course I'm certainly not complaining about having the day off work :-)

For today's post, I'd like to show you a pair of shoes I recently acquired . They aren't my usual style at all but I desperately needed shoes to wear to a ball and these were were the most suitable shoes I was able to find:

I bought them from New Look and found them appealing because they're high, but not too high, and open-toed

I also thought the zip at the heel was neat

Do you like these shoes? Are you a fan of *fashionable footwear* or do you prefer your shoes to be practical?

Bye for now,
Laura

Wednesday's Wishlist

Currently listening to: Raise Your Glass by Pink

Good morning ladies,

How are you today? Who has Friday off work for the Royal Wedding? If so, what are your plans for this second long weekend in a row?

I mentioned in my previous post that I'd been away to Wales for the Easter weekend. My trip has inspired this week's wishlist:

Yep, what I'd like is soft, luxurious, fluffy towels :-)
The towels I use are thin, scrawny pieces of material which were bought in Big W over six years ago when I was kitting myself out for the big move to university. Staying in hotels at the weekend where towels of more substantial quality were provided has made me think it's time for an upgrade...

These towels are all from John Lewis but I'm open to suggestions about where I should head for the fluffiest towels!

Do you care about the quality of your towels? What's on your wishlist this week?

Bye for now,
Laura

Tuesday's Talons (Dior Konading)

Currently watching: Glee

Good morning girls,

Did you all have a nice weekend? Did you do anything special for Easter? I went to Wales for the long weekend and had a great time exploring the country. I'll show you photos from my trip soon but for now, I'd like to show you my most recent manicure:

Graphic Berry by Dior is the base and the purple stamping polish is from the Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours collection

I really like how this turned out although I was nervous about getting the placing of the image right and that's why I only stamped every second nail

Do you like this manicure? It's the first time I've used a Konad plate for ages but I do notice the difference in quality between the superior Konad plates and the cheaper Bundle Monster ones. I'm still glad I have the Bundle Monster ones though.

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Talons (Nail Fail)

Currently listening to: I Run Away by Britney Spears

Hello ladies,

Glad you could join me on this bright and beautiful Thursday :-) Today's talons are MUA shade 1 from Tuesday's post stamped with GOSH Holographic using a full circle Bundle Monster image plate:

I refer to this as a nail fail in today's title because, as usual with full image plates, I had to double stamp and lining up the image nicely was impossible.

From a distance, it doesn't look too bad...

....but on closer examination....

It's a bit of a mess, especially my right hand (above)

Now I remember why I never use this image plate ;-)

Have you had any recent nail fails?

Bye for now,
Laura

Wednesday's Wishlist

Currently listening to: Conversation's Over by Sugababes

Good morning girls,

Although Easter will soon be upon us, it's not Easter eggs that are on this week's wishlist, oh no, it's the latest offering from Francine Pascal, creator of Sweet Valley High:

When I was a child, I devoured as many Sweet Valley books as I could find. Sweet Valley Kids, Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, Sweet Valley University.... I loved them all.

Earlier this week I discovered that a new Sweet Valley book has recently been released, revealing what happened to the twins once they became adults (who knows whether it will tie in with the Sweet Valley University series). I've read the reviews, and unsurprisingly they aren't glowing, but I'd still like to read this book and take a trip down Sweet Valley memory lane :-)

Were you a fan of the Sweet Valley books? Who was your favourite character? Mine was Jessica :-)

Bye for now,
Laura

Tuesday's Talons

Currently watching: EastEnders

Good morning girls,

Did you have a good weekend?

Today I have MUA nail polish in shade 1 for you, a midnight blue packed with specks of blue glitter.

This is a lot darker than the shades I usually go for but I like it

What do you think of this shade? Are you a fan of MUA polishes?

Bye for now,
Laura

Friday's Fun NOTD

Currently listening to: War at Home by Josh Groban

Hello dear readers,

Aren't we all glad Friday has finally rolled around? :-)

Today I have a fun manicure inspired by Sara. Here's my manicure:

To start, I painted my nails with Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream (colour shown is not true to life)

Then I used Barry M Nail Effects to paint crackle polish diagonally across my nails

Getting the lines straight was difficult but with crackle polish I don't think being neat matters too much

Finally, I applied a clear top coat and applied pink star nail jewels (bought in an assorted pack from Poundland)

I then applied the top coat over my nails again to ensure the jewels would not catch on anything and fall off

What do you think of this manicure? Would you try it?

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Treat - carrot and swede mash

Currently listening to: Higher Window by Josh Groban

Good morning ladies,

I hope this post finds you well :-)

Today I have a recipe to share with you for carrot and swede mash, yet another nutritious and delicious dish!

Ingredients:
carrots (number depends on desired quantity)
swede
1.5 pints of boiling water
vegetable stock cube
salt
milk
butter

Step 1: peel and chop carrots and swede


Step 2: Dissolve the stock cube in the pan of salted boiling water and add the vegetables. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and allow vegetables to simmer fo 20 minutes

Step 3: Drain water, add some butter and milk and mash the vegetables

Step 4: Serve and enjoy!

This was the first time I'd tried this dish but it was so simple to make and really tasty too. I'm definitely going to make this a regular feature on my menu.

Is this something you would try?

Bye for now,
Laura

Wednesday's Wishlist

Currently listening to: Bills, Bills, Bills by The Warblers

Hello girls,

When I was browsing on Amazon yesterday I came across this cd which has made it on to this week's wishlist:

I love The Warblers, I think they're the best thing about Glee :-) Some performances from the original Glee singers are good but in general I find the girls' voices are so sickly sweet that they ruin a lot of the songs so The Warblers are much more to my liking.

Are you a fan of The Warblers?

Bye for now,
Laura

Tuesday's Talons (Eyeko Coral)

Currently listening to: Cold Case Love by Rihanna

Good morning girls,

How are you today? Did your week start well?

Today's talons are painted with Eyeko Coral Polish, which I believe is making its blog debut today:
This is two coats which gave good coverage although three would be necessary for me to eliminate all visible nail lines.

This polish is by no means fast-drying but if you painted your nails at 6.30pm and went to bed at 10pm, you wouldn't wake up with duvet lines and smudges on your nails. You would, however, have that horrible result if you painted your nails at 7.30pm.

After less than 24 hours, there is some tip wear but nothing too obvious and no large chips.
In real life, this shade is not as orange as it appears in the photos. Depending on the light, it can look like either an orange shade of red or a pink shade of red. It is an eye-catching colour but still work-appropriate in my opinion.

I got this polish almost a year ago for £3.50, which I thought was a lot for such a small bottle (8.5ml). However, after checking on Eyeko's website today, I see the price has gone up to £5.

Are you a fan of Eyeko polishes? Do you think they are good value for money? What are your favourite shades?

Bye for now,
Laura

Monday's Manicure

Currently listening to: Exit Wounds by The Script

Good morning girls,

I have another Barry M Nail Effects manicure to start the week with:

The base colour was Barry M Berry Ice Cream

Apparently there are going to be a few new shades to choose from in the Nail Effects range. I could be tempted to try a pink shade when it becomes available.

What do you think girls, is black best when it comes to crackle polishes or should I give other colours a try?

Bye for now,
Laura