NOTD

Currently listening to: Tiger Suit by KT Tunstall

Hello dear readers!

How is your week going? Here in Manchester we are finally getting some summer weather and it seems to be lifting everybody's mood :-) Fingers crossed it lasts for the weekend!

Today I'd like to show you the manicure I'm currently sporting, one which is new to me:

I used Eyeko Coral Polish as my base, which I love.

I then stamped using Konad Special White and Bundle Monster plate 205.

Unlike my previous stamping attempt with Konad polish, I didn't have any problems this time. I think it's because I stamped over my base polish instead of my fast dry top coat. Success :-)

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura

Monday's Manicure

Currently watching: Glee Season One, as per usual

Good evening girls!

Did you all have a good weekend? Has your week started well?

Today I'd like to show you a manicure I did using one of the old Bundle Monster plates which I hadn't used before, BM20.

My base is Simply Pink by Boots 17

I stamped using Eyeko Tea Rose Polish

I forgot how problematic some of the images from the old plates could be to work with. It was near on impossible to get a clean image on my stamper so the results are deeply flawed unfortunately.

What do you think girls? Do you still use the old Bundle Monster plates or have you switched to the new ones?

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Talons

Currently watching: Glee Season One

Hello ladies!

My Sally Hansen top coat chips so quickly I'm easily getting back into the routine of regularly changing my manicures.

Today I'm wearing Soft Grey by Beauty UK as my base stamped with Bleu Asphalte by Bourjois using image plate m64 by MASH.

I love this design, it's definitely my favourite from my MASH plates and seems to work well no matter what size nails you have.

What do you think?

Bye for now,
Laura

Wednesday's Wishlist

Currently watching: Glee Season One

Good morning ladies!

Are you all having a good week? I'm working in the office this week which means every day I am faced with temptation at lunch time due to my office being located in the middle of a shopping precinct. Yesterday I purchased these purple trousers from River Island:

As you can see, they were on offer with £15 off making them a bargain buy at £20. However, I don't actually have many things to match them, especially not coats. What I'm really after is a faux fur leopard print jacket but I'm struggling to find any affordable styles that I think will suit me.

This one is from River Island and is priced at £90. I'm not sure how long it is but I like the fact that it has a hood.

This one is also from River Island and also priced at £90. I'm not a great fan of the collar but I think the length would be good for trousers as I don't want anything too short.

This one, obviously not leopard print, is £65, from Next. It may be a more sensible option but it does look quite short.

Do you like any of these jackets? If so, which would you advise me to buy? What would you wear with these trousers? And, more importantly, what's on your wishlist this Wednesday?

Bye for now,
Laura

Monday's Manicure (NOTD)

Currently watching: Glee Season One

Good morning girls!

Did you all have a good weekend?

Here's my manicure to start off the week:

I used MUA shade 12 for the pink background and stamped using Konad Special White and Bundle Monster plate 224.

I had a lot of trouble stamping with my Konad polish; sometimes the image just would not transfer at all from my stamper to my nail. That's why the pattern is ruined on a few nails.

I've said before how much I love this floral image and I think the pink and white go well together but I feel added detail, eg coloured dots in the centre of the flowers or a gliiter top coat, would really lift this manicure. However, as this is a weekday manicure and not a weekend manicure, I'm leaving it as it is.

What do you think girls? Have you ever had problems stamping with Konad Special polishes?

Bye for now,
Laura

Sunday's Stamping NOTD

Currently listening to: Joshua Radin

Good morning girls!

Sorry for the lack of posts last week, this week will be better! Here's what I'm wearing on my nails today:

The base is Graphic Berry by Dior

The butterflies weere stamped with Accessorize Magical Mocha

and I used plate 36 by Konad

Despite being impressed with Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry top coat in terms of drying time, its lasting power is ridiculously short; chips being to appear within 24 hours of applying the top coat.

Of course I'm going to stick with this top coat until I reach the end of the polish but does anyone have any recommendations for a fast-drying top coat which also lasts well??

Bye for now,
Laura

Sunday's Stamping

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing

Hi girls,

Are you all having a good weekend?

My nails have been without polish for about three weeks now. At first they looked all right but now the white tips have begun to turn transparent and peel etc so they just look awful. Plus I always think bare nails are more prone to breakages and damage than painted nails. Anyway, I was going out last night and didn't want plain nails yet didn't want to redo my nails today so I settled for a bright but work appropriate colour, Pink Grapefruit by Boots 17.

Today I had more time on my hands than I had anticipated so I thought it was time to get my stamping kit out after ignoring it for so long.

Of course I struggled picking a design to stamp and a colour to stamp it with but in the end I settled for a swirly image from MASH plate m63 and Raspberry by Natural Collection.

It looks quite nice in person but unfortunately it was difficult to pick up the pattern on camera.

I then topped it off with a coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dry top coat, my replacement for Seche Vite. I really hate Seche Vite now. I think it is one of the worst polishes for your health, it smells horrendous and it does not keep well. I haven't had mine for long but it's turned really stringy and is just impossible to use. I'm much more impressed with this fast drying top coat from Sally Hansen despite usually disliking Sally Hansen products. This is the first time I've tried the top coat so I don't know what its long-term use is like but so far, so good.

My only complaint really is that, like all top coats, it makes my nails too shiny to photograph well ;-) I think in the future I'm going to take my pictures before applying my top coat.

Here are two pictures taken indoors to try and make the pattern a bit clearer.

What do you think girls? Any tips for photographing shiny nails? And any tips on how I can rediscover my love for creating pretty manicures? My passion for polish seems to have diminished slightly during my hiatus...

Bye for now,
Laura

Back With Bubbles

Currently watching: Dawson's Creek

Hello girls!

My last exam was yesterday so now I'm back! In my absence I actually cut my nails and then painted them only once (more on why in another post) so here's the manicure I came up with:

I used Kiko 338 and Accessorize Lilac Sorbet

After painting the base colours, I used my dotting tool to put dots in the opposite colour and then used a smaller dotting tool apply the base colour again.

It wasn't an entirely successful manicure as the *bubbles* remained raised even under a top coat and I couldn't decide whether they looked nice or just strange.

What do you think girls? Would you try something like this yourself?

Bye for now,
Laura