New Year's Eve Nails

Currently watching: The Big Bang Theory

Good morning girls!

Like a lot of other posts I've read this morning, this will be my last one of 2012!  Where has the year gone?!

For New Year's Eve I decided to go for a very simple manicure full of sparkle:

Ooh, pretty :-)

 I used Models Own Mystic Mauve as my base followed by a coat of Barry M Rose Quartz.

 Barry M have released a lot of glitters recently and although I've only purchased two of them (I'll show you the other one soon) I've been really impressed by the quality and range.

And with that, I'd like to thank everyone who has read, followed and supported this blog during 2012.  Your comments and feedback mean so much to me.  I look forward to another great year of blogging and hope 2013 is kind to you all :-)

Bye for now,

Laura

2012: New to my Nails

Currently watching: Mary's Bottom Line

 

Hello lovely ladies,

 

As the year draws to an end, I thought it would be fun to recap the new brands of polish I added to my collection in 2012.

 

First up: Color Combos

 

 

Ebay purchases: Saffron London

My one and only Revlon:

Max Factor with the polish that took the blogging world by storm, Fantasy Fire:

As much as I wanted Revlon Whimsical, it was never released in the UK.  Luckily for me I found a dupe courtesy of the Korean brand Tony Moly:

 



Courtesy of a friend, I tried Models Own and NYC.  I now have quite a collection of Models Own polishes :-)



 

Treating myself to purple holos from a-England and Catrice:







Marks & Spencer's nail polish range caught my eye:



 

And finally, courtesy of Santa, Butter London:

 

There you have it girls, those were all the brands that were new to my nails this year.  Did you try any of them for the first time too?  What brands did you add to your collection this year?

 

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Ding Dong Merrily on High NOTD

Currently watching: Miranda

Good morning lovely ladies,

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas :-)

Today I'd like to show you my final festive manicure which features Accessorize Pink Spice as the base.  I stamped my accent nail with a bell from Bundle Monster plate BM 302 using Barry M Gold Foil and my other nails were stamped with Cheeky plate CH26.

What do you think girls? 

 

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Flying Snowmen NOTD

Currently watching: One Tree Hill

 

Good afternoon dear readers,

 

So enamoured was I with my previous snowman manicure that I decided to try another one:

 

This time Yes Love shade 3 was my base colour.  I stamped using Konad Special White and Bundle Monster plate BM 318, added some colour to the snowmen using my dotting tool, sponged Barry M Matt White on my tips and, for the finishing touch, added dots in the background.

What do you think girls?

 

I won't be posting tomorrow so I'd like to take the opportunity just now to wish you all a very Merry Christmas :-)

 

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Snowman NOTD

Currently watching: Scrubs

Good morning lovely ladies!

I have to start by apologising for not posting for a while.  I came back to my parents' house on Wednesday for the holidays and of course I brought my camera loaded with pictures of my recent manicures but... I forgot the cable to connect my camera to the laptop. 

Yesterday I finally had the chance to paint my nails afresh and be at home during the day when there was enough light for me to take some decent photos using my parents' camera.  Most excitingly of all, I was able to use my new Butter London polish, The Dark Knight!

At work we do Secret Santa and The Dark Knight was the gift I received from my not-so-secret Santa.  I was thrilled to get this as not only is it a pretty polish, it is also my first Butter London.

The Dark Knight is a black base packed with tiny particles of pink, blue, silver and gold glitter.  I know some people use underwear with this polish but by applying two coats over my base coat I achieved perfect opacity.

I decided the polish would make a great background for a snowman design so I made an accent nail by stamping a snowman using Konad Special White polish and Bundle Monster plate BM 318.  I then added black buttons and a carrot for the snowman's nose with a small dotting tool.

I absolutely love the end result and am so happy I now have a Butter London polish in my collection.  I can't wait to add more from the range ;-)

 

What do you think of this manicure girls and which Butter London polishes are in your collection?

 

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Klean Holo Snowflake NOTD

Currently watching: Calendar Girls

Good morning ladies,

It seems to me that this is the year of the snowflake manicure and I'm so happy to be joining in the fun :-)

 I've done a couple of snowflake manicures already but this is definitely my favourite.

 My base is Klean Color Holo Chrome, a blue holographic polish which I absolutely love, despite the fact it's a nightmare to remove.

 I then stamped the snowflake image using Konad Special White and, you guessed it, Bundle Monster plate BM 323.

And the real proof that I love this manicure?  I kept it on for five days ;-)

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Christmas Sweater NOTD

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing

Good afternoon dear readers,

This winter I've fallen in love with red Fair Isle designs and all the Christmas sweaters people have been wearing (as well as painting on their nails) so today I thought I'd share my attempt:

 

 My base is 17 Knockout Red and I stamped using Konad Special White.

 I stamped the stars with Bundle Monster plate BM 206 and the other patterns using Mash plate m57.

 My stamping is a bit messy and it was extremely time consuming as each nail was stamped five times (!) but overall I'm pleased with this look.

What do you think of this?  Are you wearing a Christmas sweater today? ;-)

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: White Snowflakes NOTD

Currently watching: EastEnders 

  

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I have another snowflake manicure for you:

 

My base is Eyeko Coral Polish which I then stamped over using Konad Special White and Bundle Monster plate BM 319.  Placing the snowflake in the centre of each nail was difficult but I didn't do too badly ;-)

With a dotting tool I then added two rows of dots to each nail.

 

What do you think girls?  What's your favourite image for winter nail art?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Purple Rain Snowflakes NOTD

Currently watching: River City 

Good morning girls,

Today's manicure features the dazzling Purple Rain, a magenta holographic polish from the Marks & Spencer Autograph range.

 

As usual, the sun wasn't out when I took these photos so this is what the polish looks like when its holographic effects are hiding.

 I stamped a full nail snowflake image using Bundle Monster plate BM 323 and a pink Vera Valenti polish.

 The stamping was quite subtle so I managed to wear this to work :-)

What do you think?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Red and White NOTD

Currently watching: Boardwalk Empire

Hello dear readers,

Today I have yet another simply manicure which I thought would work well on my short nails:

 

 I used Eyeko Coral Polish as my base, painted the white lines using a Technic striper and used my dotting tool and Barry M Matt White for the polka dots.

What do you think girls?  Does this count as a festive manicure? ;-)

Bye for now,

Laura

Wednesday's Winter NOTD - Glittering Snow

Currently watching: The Big Bang Theory 

Good morning girls,

Today marks the first day of my winter manicures and I'm starting with something simple:

 

 

This is two coats of Tony Moly GS08 layered over Barry M Matt White.  GS08 is a very sheer blue glitter polish which I've previously worn over Barry M Blue Moon but I decided to use white underwear for a slightly more wintery look.

What do you think girls?

Monday's Manicure: Barbie Goes Dotty NOTD

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I have a manicure in a style that is new to me.  To start with, I used Asos Paint by Ciate in Blake as my base.

 

This isn't a polish I wear often but I love how girly it is.  I added a stripe of silver glitter using Essence More Than Silver to enhance the Barbie look ;-)

 

 I then added black dots to the tips using MUA Shade 2 and a dotting tool.

 And to finish it off, I added small white dots using Barry M Matt White and a dotting tool.

What do you think girls?  Like I said, it's a new look for me but I really liked it.

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Sparkles: Boogie Nights NOTD

Currently listening to: Titanium by David Guetta

Good morning!

Here's a treat for the weekend:

 

 Models Own Boogie Nights over MUA Shade 2.

 Boogie Nights is a clear polish containing pink, blue and purple pieces of glitter in various shapes and sizes.  Very pretty and definitely a statement polish.

What do you think?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Lady of the Lake Stamped NOTD

Currently watching: Have I Got News For You 

Good morning girls,

Today I have a manicure featuring the stunning a-England Lady of the Lake to show you. 

This polish is a deep purple holo which looks beautiful even when the holo effect isn't on show (which is fortunate as the sun wasn't out when I took these photos).

 I decided to incorporate a slightly wintery Fair Isle look into this manicure so I stamped a star design from Bundle Monster plate BM 206 multiple times across the middle of each nail with Barry M Silver Foil.  Some nails were stamped more successfully than others ;-)

 I then added two rows of dots with a dotting tool and Barry M Silver Foil.

Do you like this look girls?

Bye for now,

Laura