Monday's Manicure (My Bundle Monster Entry)

Currently watching: The Voice

Good morning girls!  I don't think anyone likes Monday mornings but let's try to start the week off with a bang:

 

 

I started this manicure with two coats of a lilac polish by the Polish brand MV.

 

I then layered a coat of Max Factor Fantasy Fire on top.  You can't really see the flashes of red that Fantasy Fire produced here but under artificial light they were really strong.

I then stamped using Miss Sporty 313 and Bundle Monster plate BM223.

To finish, I then stamped the star design using Barry M Gold Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM21.

I really liked this manicure and actually entered it into Bundle Monster's nail art contest to win a set of their new image plates.  Fingers crossed ;-)

What do you think of this manicure girls?  Have you entered Bundle Monster's competition?

Bye for now,
Laura

Saturday's Stripey NOTD (aka Using Nail Stripers for the First Time)

 Currently watching: Have I Got News For You

Good morning girls!

Welcome to the weekend :-)  What do you have planned for the next couple of days?  Anything fun?  Unfortunately I have to dedicate the majority of my weekend to studying but you can be sure I'll allow myself lots of study breaks to catch up with your blogs ;-)

Do you remember a few weeks ago I bought some nail stripers?  Well I used them for the first time during the week and came up with this:

I start with a base of All About Nails Honey Pink and then applied random stripes of colour using five of my six stripers ( I didn't think the sixth colour, black, would work for this manicure).

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the stripers were to use.  I don't have the steadiest hands but even "shaky" stripes look good!

 

I really loved this manicure and am so excited about all the possible designs my new nail stripers open up!

Do you like this manicure girls?  Do you use nail art stripers?

Bye for now,
Laura

Friday's Fashion

Currently listening to: Born To Make You Happy by Britney Spears

Good morning lovely ladies!

Today I'd like to step away from nail art and show you a bag I recently purchased which has possibly become my new favourite bag:

I bought this from Primark last week for £9.  I wasn't actually looking for a bag but it caught my eye and I just felt like it would be silly to walk away from it.

 

It's in the style of a satchel with two ornamental buckles, a lock, a handle and a shoulder strap.  Inside, in addition to the large compartment, there is a zipped pocket and two small pockets, all decorated in the pretty floral lining shown below.  I don't think I looked inside when I bought it so when I opened it to have a proper look at home I was really rather pleasantly surprised by this lining.  For a Primark bag, I think it's beautifully finished.

This week I've been at college and I've been able to use this bag to cart my books and lunch around in.  I always have difficulty finding bags which are big enough for my college materials but this one is ideal; it's so spacious.  Plus it's ideal for spring as it captures two spring trends: pastel colours and floral cut outs.  As you may have gathered by now that I'm completely enamored with this bag!

What do you think of my bargain buy girls?  Are you a fan of Primark bags?  Have you made any bargain purchases recently?

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Thanks (Blog Awards)

 Currently watching: Lorraine

Hello girls!

Tonight I'd like to thank Divine Blush for giving me these awards:

Thank you very much!  Please visit Divine Blush's blog if you aren't already familiar with it :-)

The rules of these awards are:

1. Thank the person who has nominated you.
2. Pass on the award to 10-15 bloggers and notify them.
3. State 7 random facts about yourself.

I've actually already been awarded the Versatile Blogger Award before so, with that in mind, I'd like to give the One Lovely Blog Award to the following lovely ladies and their lovely blogs:
MeMa's Mani's
Rainbowify Me
Polish and Charms
Art Evolve
Nail Stories
Gold Speck Nails
Cutesville
Brit Nails

Well done girls :-)

As for facts about myself, I'm going to give this a miss today!

Bye for now,
Laura

Gold Glitter NOTD

Currently watching: The Big Bang Theory

Good evening girls!

Tonight I'd like to show you a very simple but effective manicure I wore last week:

My first step was to use two coats of Essence Cherry Juice red jelly.

I then layered a coat of Saffron gold glitter over the top.

Voila, instant eye-catching nails :-)

What do you think girls?  I think this is the first time I've paired red and gold together but I absolutely love the combination.

Bye for now,
Laura

PS A quick question: when you leave a comment on my blog do you have to go through the "word verification" step?  I'm sure I disabled word verification on the old version of Blogger but I don't know if I need to disable it on this new version.

Monday's Manicure

 Currently watching: The Voice

Good morning girls,

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead.

Today I'd like to show you the nail art I added to Yes Love 622, which I showed you yesterday.

 I stamped a floral image using All About Nails Honey Pink.

 Positioning proved slightly problematic but I liked the results; the colour of the flowers reminded me of cherry blossom.

Can anyone recommend a good, affordable baby pink polish for stamping?  This one showed up fairly well here but it's only a small bottle!

Bye for now,
Laura

Sunday's Swatch ft Yes Love 622

 Currently watching: Ramsay's USA Kitchen Nightmares

Hi girls!

Today, if you didn't already know from the title, I'd like to show you some swatches of one of the new polishes I got from Spain, shade 622 by Yes Love:

 This is a cerise jelly which I absolutely love.

 Application didn't cause me any problems at all; the photos show three coats of the polish.

 As is normal with jellies, my nail line was visible.  I'm not sure if that bothers me or not.  Does it bother you?

Overall I was really impressed with this polish and I love the shade, especially as it's work appropriate.

What do you think of this shade?  Have you tried any Yes Love polishes?

Bye for now,
Laura

Blogger Appreciation Award

Hi girls!

Today I'd like to thank the lovely ladies at Polish and Charms and Rainbowify Me for giving me the Blogger Appreciation Award.  It really means a lot to me so thank you for thinking of me :-)

    

Here are the rules:

The rules of the Award:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award with their blog link on your post.

2. Answer the following 4 questions.

3. Award the Blogger Appreciation Award to as many readers/supporters/followers as you’d like.

4. Let the blogger know you've just awarded them (by leaving a comment, a tweet, an email, etc.)

The questions:

1.  How long have you been blogging?

2.  What are 1-2 reasons why you started blogging.

3.  What types of blogs do you like to follow/read?

4.  What is 1 thing you would like to improve on as a blogger/on your blog?

 

My answers:

1.  I've been blogging for almost two years now although my enthusiasm has grown a lot since the early days.

2.  I started blogging after I randomly stumbled across a make-up/nail art blog and discovered the world of Konad and nail blogs.  I was living abroad at the time, away from my family and friends, so I think part of the reason I started blogging was because I was excited to share my life and new-found love of stamping with people.

3.  I like to follow nail art blogs mainly but also fashion and make-up blogs.  If the tone is right and the writing is good, I'm happy to follow any type of blog.

4.  I would like to improve the quality of my pictures.

 

As for the bloggers I'd like to give this award to, I really appreciate every single one of you who visits this blog and takes the time to read my posts and give me your feedback and support; you all deserve this award.  I would especially like to give this award to:

Sara Loves Pretty Little Things

Zebra Nails

Spellbinging Nails

MeMa's Mani's

Nail Stories

My World

Paint That Nail

Art Evolve

Fingers Polish Mania

Red Hair and Black Nail Polish

Sekhmet's Purple Castle

Enjoy the award girls!

Bye for now,
Laura

  

Thursday's Talons

Currently watching: The Apprentice UK

Hi girls!

Just a quick post tonight to show you a subtle manicure I did for wearing at work earlier this week which started with a coat of Eyeko Tea Rose Polish:

I really like this shade as I think it's quite flattering. I only used one coat here but if I was wearing it alone I would use two.

I then added two layers of my new pale pink Yes Love 622 polish. The difference isn't obvious but the polish added a touch of shimmer.

My final touch was to stamp two Konad butterflies using Barry M Silver Foil.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura

Tuesday's Talons ft Yes Love

Currently watching: Titanic

Good evening girls,

I hope you are well and enjoying the start of your week.

This evening I'd like to show you some swatches of the grey Yes Love polish I recently acquired:

It's not often I'm surprised by a polish but I was certainly surprised by this polish. Firstly, on account of how dark it is compared to how it looks in the bottle and secondly, because it dries matte.

I don't think it's very flattering on me but I'll probably save it for stamping.

Since I wasn't too pleased with the way this polish looked on its own, I decided to add some Boots 17 heart stickers. That was a mistake.

I then added a layer of Barry M Pink Iridescent. Also a mistake.

What do you think girls? Would you have been pleased with this manicure or, like me, would you have removed it straight after taking these photos? ;-)

Bye for now,
Laura

Saturday's Star Stamping

Currently reading: The Hunger Games

Good morning girls!

I had a bad week nail-wise, hence the lack of posts, but towards the end of the week I finally did a manicure that I liked enough to show you! Here are the polishes I used:

Yes Love 477, Natural Collection Hibiscus, MUA 20, MUA 15, Asos Blake

I decide to do a pink skittle look although unfortunately the differences in the pink polishes weren't very distinct.

On the bright side, because it was a subtle manicure it was appropriate for work ;-)

The Yes Love polish (used on my thumb) is from the collection my uncle brought back from Spain. I really like this polish, especially as it's a jelly.

I then stamped stars on my nails yesterday (dress down day at work) using Barry M Silver Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM05. I need to use this plate more often!

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura

Sunday's Shopping (and news for UK readers)

Currently watching: The Voice

Hi girls!

Happy Easter!

Just a short post from me today.

My uncle was recently on holiday in Spain and I felt like updating my nail polish collection so I asked him to bring me back some cheap nail polish from the Asian bazaars over there. Here's what he came back with:

I will show you these in greater detail when I swatch them but I think he chose well; I can see myself using all of these :-)

I also bought some new nail art supplies myself as when I was in the shop Bodycare I noticed these nail art stripers which I have never before seen in the UK:

Each set of three was £1.99 so I thought they were worth trying. Bodycare isn't a shop I often go in but I was really surprised by their range of nail art supplies. Not only did they have these, they also had stickers and nail foils. Plus...in the Technic range of nail polish I spotted a holographic silver nail polish for £1.99! I didn't buy it as I already have GOSH holographic but I thought any ladies in the UK who can't find GOSH holographic, or who don't want to pay £5, may want to investigate this Technic version. I didn't look at it closely so I din't know how good it will be but if you end up buying it do let me know what you think of it!

Bye for now,
Laura

Saturday's Shooting Stars NOTD

Currently listening to: Video Games by Lana Del Ray

Good evening ladies!

Following the success of my previous manicure, I decided to do another one using Barry M Pink Irridescent :-) Here's what I started with:

I started with Essence Very Berry and layered Pink Irridescent over it.

I liked this so much I even decided it would be appropriate for work ;-)

The only problem was that I had a lot of tip wear after less than a day so I stamped a Bundle Monster star image over it using Barry M Foil Effects in silver:

The stamping worked better on some nails than on others but oh well. I find that unless I use a topcoat over my stamping, the stamping gradually rubs off during the day. When I stamped I couldn't be bothered with the smell of China Glaze Fast Forward so I simply layered another layer of glitter on top to protect the stamping :-)

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura