Friday's Fingers: Mayfair Moon

Currently listening to: Let Me Go by Gary Barlow

Hello dear readers,

Today I have a manicure featuring some simple stamping to show you.

I started off with a base of YSL Pink Moon, a terracotta-toned pink packed with blue and violet shimmer.

In the past I've struggled to find suitable colours to stamp over Pink Moon with but not any more!

 I teamed it with Nails Inc Mayfair, a cream shimmer, and stamped using Bundle Monster plate BM 224.  Cream is a great alternative to white as it's not as harsh resulting in a softer looking design.

What do you think girls?  Are there any polishes you have trouble finding stamping solutions for?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: Magical Autumn Flowers

Currently watching: Location, Location, Location

Good morning girls,

Taking advantage of the last few days of autumn, today I'd like to show you an autumn-themed skittle manicure.

From left to right: Nails Inc Porchester Place, Stylure 102, Barry M Coral, 17 Knockout Red, Nails Inc Tate

 I used the majority of these colours for another autumn-themed manicure last month I think and really loved how they complimented each other.

 Unlike last time however, I decided to stamp using brown instead of gold and oh how glad I was with my decision.

I stamped using Accessorize Magical Mocha, which showed up better over the orange tones than gold would have and looked so beautiful over the red shades, and Bundle Monster plate BM 205.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Stamping: Paisley Printed Mocha

Currently listening to: La-Bas by Natasha St Pier

Good morning girls,

Today I have another Accessorize polish to show you, this time Magical Mocha.

Didn't I just say that I wasn't a fan of Accessorize polishes and here I am showing you two in a row?  Yep.  It's really the cremes I have a problem with and Magical Mocha is a frosted shimmer polish so that's okay ;-)

 I'm not a coffee drinker so I don't know how accurately the name describes the polish but it is a very warm, rich shade of brown.

 As we're nearing the end of November, I thought this may be one of my last chances to create an autumnal manicure as surely the beginning of December signals winter- and Christmas- themed manicures, and I have to say this turned out to be my favourite autumnal manicure of the year.

I stamped a paisley pattern using Bundle Monster plate BM 315, Barry M Pomegranate and Essie Orange it's Obvious.  Not only do I love the colour combination, I also love the way the cremes contrast with the frosted background.

What do you think girls?  Do you love this as much as I do?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Pink Spice Flowers

Currently listening to: Happy in my Heartache by Josh Groban

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I have one of my absolute favourite polishes to show you, Accessorize Pink Spice.

I've had this for a few years and showed it here on numerous occasions but I can't help but reiterate what an amazing polish it is and how strong the duochrome effect is with ever-changing flashes of pink and orange.

 

I'm not a big fan of Accessorize polishes but I can't fault this one.  My bottle is nearing the half-way mark so I'll definitely be buying a back-up bottle soon.

 Inspired by the orange tones in Pink Spice I decided to stamp a floral pattern using Essie Orange it's Obvious and Bundle Monster plate BM 321.

 I liked the outcome of this as in some lights the stamping appeared to be very subtle whereas in other lights it was very strong. 

What do you think girls?  Do you have any back-up bottles of your favourite polishes?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: Leaves Falling on Belgravia Gardens

Currently listening to: I Have Nothing by Russell Watson

Hello dear ladies,

I have yet another of my new polishes to show you today, Nails Inc Belgravia Gardens, which is a camel-toned shade of brown.

[You'll have to excuse the discolouration on my index finger; I trapped my finger in the door and was left with this bruise.]

 

 

 I felt this shade was perfect as the background to falling autumn leaves so once the polish was dry I stamped a pattern from Red Angel plate RA-116 using Nails Inc Fenchurch Street.

 I then stamped a variety of other leaf designs in other colours from Red Angel plates RA-121 and RA-118 and Bundle Monster plates BM04 and BM05.  I hardly ever use my Red Angel plates but I think I should reach for them more often!

 Polishes used, from left to right; Barry M Pomegranate, Accessorize Pink Spice, No7 Queenie, Nails Inc Belgravia Gardens, Nails Inc Fenchurch Street, Essence Just in Case, Accessorize Magical Mocha, Accessorize Storm

What do you think girls?  Do you like multi-coloured stamping?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Bobbing for Argyle Print

Currently watching: The Big Bang Theory

Good morning ladies,

Today I'd like to show you one of my new Essie polishes that was in my recent haul, Bobbing for Baubles, and some experimental nail art I tried over it.

  

Bobbing for Baubles is a grey-toned navy blue which, in real life, is not as bright as it appears here.  I think it's a great shade for autumn and winter so I'm going to try to get a lot of wear out of it over the next few months.

 Orange it's Obvious came in the same set as Bobbing for Baubles and while I'm not a huge fan of orange I decided that since the two shades were in the same pack, somebody must have decided they would look good together.

 Not being sure if the orange would be opaque enough to stamp over the navy, I freehanded my first Argyle print design instead and used a Technic nail striper for the white lines.  I should point out that you're seeing my right hand for a change because I had a huge smudge on my left hand hence my lines are a little shakier than normal ;-)

I absolutely love Argyle print but for a nail art design it's a bit too challenging for me.  What do you think girls?  What designs do you struggle with?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Miss Fancy Berry NOTD

Currently listening to: Toucher l'Instant by Grand Corps Malade

Good morning ladies,

Last week I showed you a swatch of Essie Miss Fancy Pants.  After admiring my plain nails for a day, I decided to add some stamping.

When I looked at my nail polish collection I saw so many colours which I thought would look good over Essie Miss Fancy Pants but several of my initial attempts didn't show up so I eventually settled for Dior Graphic Berry.

 The plate I stamped with was Bundle Monster BM314.

 I usually use this design horizontally on my nails but this time I chose to use it vertically after being inspired by a photo on Instagram.

 Once I saw the final result, I kind of wished I hadn't bothered with the stamping.  I don't know whether it was the pattern or the colour combination but I didn't feel this manicure was a success.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Essie Miss Fancy Pants Swatch

Currently listening to: The Hands I Hold by Bo Bruce

Hello lovely ladies,

On Tuesday I showed you my recent mini haul and today I have swatches of a polish I bought in that haul, Essie Miss Fancy Pants.

I would describe this shade as a grey-toned brown and unlike anything I have in my collection.

  I think it's a great colour for autumn and winter and perfect for wearing to work or at the weekends when you want something simple and chic.

What do you think girls?  How do you feel about wearing a manicure without nail art?!

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Mini Haul

Currently listening to: Book of Day by Enya

Good morning girls,

Don't you love it when fate makes an appearance?  Last Wednesday I watched a video on Youtube where the vlogger was wearing Essie Miss Fancy Pants on her nails.  I thought it looked very chic and despite it not being the type of colour I usually favour I decided to add it to my wishlist.  

The following day I took a trip to TK Maxx where upon browsing the nail polish section spotted a lonely trio of Essie nail polish.  What do you know, Miss Fancy Pants was included in the trio along with Bobbing for Baubles and Orange, it's Obvious.  I like finding these trio packs because in TK Maxx they retail for £9.99 whereas one Essie polish on the high street sells for £7.99.

I added it to my basket and also picked up this set of Nails Inc polishes too.  From left to right, Porchester Place, Fenchurch Street, Mayfair and Belgravia Gardens.

 

To be honest, I can't see me getting much use out of the two polishes on the left but who knows, maybe I can rustle up a few more "autumn leaves" manicures this month before the opportunity escapes me.

Do you own any of these polishes?  What bargains have you found lately?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Tea Rose Stamping

Currently listening to: Speed the Fire by Bo Bruce

Hello lovely ladies,

On Thursday I showed you a rather simple manicure featuring a glitter accent nail.  As much as I liked the manicure, I found myself adding to it...

Earlier that week I'd tried to paint my nails with Eyeko Tea Rose, only to find the polish was too old and thick to apply well.  Instead of throwing it out I decided to see if it could still be used for stamping.

 This felt like the perfect manicure to test it out on so I stamped a criss-cross image from Born Pretty Store plate QA57.

 I felt like I needed something else to tie all the colours together so I then stamped a silver bow on each nail using Barry M Silver Foil and Born Pretty Store plate m59.  I do love my bows but I always find image placement tricky!

What do you think girls?  Which designs do you find difficult to stamp well?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Bleu Asphalte Diamonds

Currently reading: House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Good morning girls,

Today I'd like to show you a manicure that was inspired by Shades of Beauty.

Using the nearest colours I had to the ones she used meant my main colour was Bourjois Bleu Asphalte.

 I actually really like this polish although I don't often wear it due of my dislike of removing dark colours.  This manicure makes me think I should make more use of it, especially at this time of year.

 My accent nail features Barry M Silver Foil and Barry M Diamond Glitter, which is probably my favourite topper.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Born Pretty Store Fair Isle Tribute

Currently listening to: Titanium by Jasmine Thompson

Good morning girls,

Today I'd like to show you a winter themed manicure I created with an image plate sent to me by Born Pretty Store.

I don't know about you but last year I really fell for Fair Isle-type / Christmas sweater patterns, especially in red and white.  My love for these designs is still strong this year so when I found this image plate I jumped at the chance to review it as it features three full sized images akin to those found on products during the festive season.

 I think it's still too early for winter-themed nails but I was eager to try this image plate out so I decided to use Beauty UK Soft Grey as my base and save my red nails for December.

 As you can see, for such an intricate design, this stamped very well and I didn't have any problems with the size of the image.  I was really happy with the overall result and my nails were even complimented by a stranger when I wore this manicure.

I can't wait to try the rest of the designs on this plate, which is currently available for the extremely reasonable price of $1.99, and would definitely recommend it for the festive season.  If you are buying any nail art supplies from Born Pretty Store remember to use code APL91 at the check out for a 10% discount.

What do you think girls?  Are you a fan of this type of design?

Bye for now,

Laura