Mid-week Manicure: Kiko Stamped with Essence Flowers

Currently listening to: The Fall by Bo Bruce

Hello ladies,

Today's manicure is one I'm really proud of and absolutely loved wearing but of course it was really difficult to photograph.  Isn't that always the way?

I started with a base of Kiko 254, a very pretty magenta pink full of shimmer which I've only worn a couple of times since buying it several years ago.  I will definitely be wearing this more often in the future now that I've been reminded how special it is.

 I then stamped a full nail image using Barry M Silver Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM 310.  This is one of my favourite images to use for double stamping.  I love how crisp the image stamps.

 To finish, I used Essence Free Hugs to stamp the flower pattern on Bundle Monster plate BM 224, another of my favourite images.  I was surprised how clearly this stamped for a pastel shade.

 This made me think of cherry blossom, which I absolutely love, and I'm sure I'll be reproducing this manicure in the months to come.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

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

Thursday's Talons: Holo Floral Stamping

Currently listening to: False Alarms by Josh Groban

Good morning ladies,

Trying out Color Club Angel Kiss at the weekend made me hungry for another holographic manicure so this time I chose Cloud Nine, a beautiful purple shade, as my base.

I then stamped a Bundle Monster floral pattern using BM 224 and Barry M Bright Purple.

 I think it's a great combination and I know I'll be teaming these polishes together again.

Of course I didn't manage to capture this polish at its best but that's okay, there will be plenty of opportunities to photograph it in direct sunlight in the next few months I'm sure.

 I have to finish by saying how impressed I am with the quality of these polishes.  Application is an absolute dream and there's no need for a special base coat.

What do you think girls?  Which is your favourite brand for holographic polishes?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Floral Double Stamping NOTD

Currently listening to: Army of Two by Olly Murs

  

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I have a purple floral manicure to show you which started with Essence Oh My Glitter! as the base.

 I love this polish.  Purple with orange flecks of shimmer in it.  Very pretty.

 I then stamped a criss-cross pattern using Barry M Prickly Pear and Bundle Monster plate BM310.  It's subtle but I think it adds interest.

The flower pattern was stamped with Barry M Blackberry and BM224.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Homemade Spell NOTD

Currently listening to: Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol

Good morning dear readers!

Today I'd like to show you a manicure featuring Nails Inc Tate as the base:

 

 

  

This polish is super glossy and dramatic, perfect for eye-catching nails.

 In real life it appeared slightly darker than the shade you see in these photos.  I decided it could be a good polish to use for my own take on Barielle Elle's Spell, a polish I love seeing swatches of but which isn't available here in the UK.

 I added a coat of Essence Night in Vegas to make the transformation from Tate to Elle's Spell.  In real life the outcome did not appear so orange but you get the idea.

 I then stamped with one of my favourite stamping plates which I've neglected recently, Bundle Monster BM 224, and Barry M Gold Foil.

I really liked the outcome as I thought it was quite classy and I love the combination of red and gold.  What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Candy Stripe NOTD

 Currently watching: The Big Bang Theory

Good morning girls!

In my previous post I hinted that I would soon be posting a giveaway in celebration of my two year blogiversary.  I hope to go shopping for the prize in the next week or so, meaning that my giveaway will probably be starting on May 21st.  I'm very excited about it :-)

Anyway, on to today's manicure.  I used the following polishes:

 

 

Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream and white and pink Technic stripers

 Barry M was my base and then I created candy stripes

 I then stamped using MUA black polish and Bundle Monster plate BM224

What do you think girls?  I really like stamping over stripes :-)

Bye for now,
Laura

Tuesday's Talons

Currently reading: The Girl Who Played with Fire

Hi girls!

Today I'd like to show you a rather bright and spring-like manicure I did recently:

My base colours were Barry M Blue Moon and All About Nails Honey Pink.

I then stamped using Bundle Monster plate BM224 and Barry M Pure Turquoise and Konad Special polish in pink.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love this image!

Even if mistakes are made whilst stamping they're hardly noticeable with this stamp.

What do you think girls? Is it too early to be doing spring manicures?

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Talons (Patriotic Double Stamping)

Currently listening to: Difficulty by KT Tunstall

Greetings dear readers!

I'm so excited to show you today's manicure:

I say it's patriotic as yesterday (30th November), when I wore this, was St Andrew's Day. St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and our flag is blue and white therefore my colours were very apt :-)

I started with a base of No48 by Easy Paris. Although the name features the word easy, application was anything but. I had to apply four coats and each one was more difficult than the last to apply. It was such a mess I had to double stamp in order to cover it up.

First I stamped animal stripes using Bundle Monster plate BM223 and Miss Sporty silver. I didn't want this to feature prominently in my manicure but I wanted my patchy white base to be covered up and lifted.

I then stamped using Midnight Sapphire by Boots 17 and my favourite floral image from BM224.

Here's a close-up so you can see the silver stamping more clearly.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura

Thursday's Talons

Currently listening to: A Present for Everyone by Busted

Good morning ladies! Today I have a quick post for you as, due to lighting difficulties, I've only been able to take my pictures now so I'm typing quickly before I need to rush off to work!

I finally have another manicure for you:

My base is Soft Grey by Beauty UK

I then stamped a white pattern using Konad Special White and MASH plate m78. I loved the way that looked on some nails, the pattern was so crisp and clear, but as there was some smudging on a few nails I decided to cover it up with some more stamping.

I then chose two images, one from Bundle Monster plate BM21, the other from BM224 and stamped using Bleu Asphalte by Bourjois.

What do you think of this manicure girls? I'd love to know.

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

Monday's Manicure

Currently listening to: Jackie by Scott Walker

Good morning girls! Did you have a good weekend? I had to spend a lot of time studying but I also managed a trip to the cinema to see Bad Teacher. What a mistake that was; it's definitely one of the worst films I've seen in recent years.

I had to study because I'm in college this week and I have a mock exam this afternoon (which I think is very unfair considering the last classes we had were in December!) but...being at college means I don't have to worry about my manicures being suitable for the office plus I'm on holiday next week so expect lots of bright and colourful manicures in the next couple of weeks :-)

Let's start as we mean to go on then:

This wasn't exactly a fail but there are mistakes galore. However, I quite like it :-)

I used Eyeko Lilac Polish as my base and stamped using a white Boots polish and Mash m60 to create vertical and horizontal lines as a background. Stamping was not easy as the image was a lot shorter than my nails so I had to attempt some double stamping.

I didn't really mind about the initial stamping mistakes as I had planned to layer my stamping anyway.

The second layer of stamping was done using a floral image from Bundle Monster plate BM 224 and a dark Miss Sporty purple.

The purple is a lot more blue-toned than I expected so in reality it looks like I drew the flowers with a blue Biro pen. The smudging adds to that impression.

This is probably one of the better nails ;-)

What do you think of this manicure girls? And what do you have planned for the week?

Bye for now,
Laura