Sunday's Stamping: Soft Lilac Flowers

Currently watching: From Up On Poppy Hill

Hello girls,

Today's manicure features Beauty UK Soft Lilac as the base.

I am partial to purple polishes but this has got to be one of my favourite shades.  It's actually one of the few polishes I feel I would need to replace once it runs out, which is strange considering I wear it so rarely.

 Sticking with the purple theme, I stamped a floral pattern using Kiko 378 and Bundle Monster plate BM 321.

 The Kiko purple is also another favourite that hasn't been shown enough love.

 To finish up I added a layer of Essence Waking Up In Vegas for a bit of sparkle.

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Holly and Glitter

Currently listening to: The Fall by Bo Bruce

Hello ladies,

Today's manicure features Beauty UK Topaz as the base, a beautiful brushed gold polish.  Some gold shades can be very harsh again pale skin tones but I think this one is slightly more gentle and flattering.

I created an accent nail by applying a layer of Saffron London chunky gold glitter.

 I then stamped holly and berries at the top of each nail using Born Pretty Store plate QA58, Kiko holographic green (401) and Nails Inc Tate.

 The green shade is a bit pale but apart from that I really liked the look of this.

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

Tuesday's Talons: Queenie's Topaz Leaves

Currently watching: Homeland Season 2 

Good morning ladies,

Today I have another autumnal manicure for you.  I feel slightly more justified this time as the leaves have well and truly started to change.

 

 I started with No7 Queenie as my base. 

It's a deep vampy red full of red shimmering particles.  I used three coats for a more even finish.  

 My original plan was to stamp gold swirls on this (similar to my previous manicure) but I just felt that would be too festive and would look better at Christmas / New Year.

 Instead, I decided to stamp autumn leaves using Beauty UK Topaz and Bundle Monster BM04.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Sparkle: Hot Diamond Hugs

Currently watching: Peaky Blinders 

Good morning ladies,

As you may be aware, at the start of the month I relocated and moved house.  As part of the moving process I had to pack up all my nail polish which allowed me to rediscover some hidden gems and also spot colour combinations I felt worked well together.

 

 

One of these combinations was grey and pink so for this manicure I used Essence Free Hugs and Beauty UK Soft Grey.

 

These shades are so soft and pretty that I decided against bringing in darker colours with stamped designs and instead went for simple glitters.  The accent nail features Barry M Diamond Glitter and the other nails are sporting Models Own Hot Stuff.  The grey background topped with silver glitter has now gone straight to the top of my favourite combinations list as I love how elegant and sparkly the combination is.

What do you think girls?  What are your favourite combinations right now?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: Fairy Godmother

Currently watching: Grey's Anatomy

Good morning girls,

Here's a colour I haven't used for a while:

 

 This is Soft Grey by Beauty UK.

This is yet another of those polishes which has been in my collection for ages but rarely gets used.  I don't know why, perhaps because I find it difficult to think of corresponding colours for stamping.

 Anyway, despite how infrequently I wear Soft Grey, it only ever seems to come out when my nails are at their shortest, which they currently are thanks to my weekend filing session.

 Application of this polish was really easy and I only needed two coats.  I then added Sparkle Touch by Miss Sporty on my accent nail and used it for the tips only on my other nails.  The final look made me think of the fairy godmother in Cinderella.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Stamping: Oriental Butterflies NOTD

Currently watching: The X Factor 

Good afternoon ladies,

Today I have another butterfly manicure to show you, this time with a bit of an oriental twist.

 

I started with Barry M Gold Foil as my base but it was a bit harsh for my skin so I layered a coat of Beauty UK Topaz over it.  Then I used MUA Shade 2 to stamp black lines with Bundle Monster plate BM 316.  Finally, I stamped Konad m36 butterflies using a red polish and acrylic paint.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Dotty Topaz NOTD

Currently reading: Remember Me by Melvyn Bragg

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I have a very simple manicure to show you but it's a design that's new to me.

 I used Beauty UK Topaz as my base and then with a dotting tool added different sizes of dots in Accessorize Storm and (I think) Yesensy 32.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Stamping: Golden Leaves NOTD

Currently watching: Skyfall

Good evening girls!

My posting schedule has gone right out the window, hasn't it?  I apologise.  This week will be better!

 

 Tonight I'd like to show you a manicure which you've seen better in a different colour scheme.  Originally the base was Accessorize Pink Spice and when I wore it to work a colleague requested I did it again in colours more suited to her colour palette (ie browns).

This time I used Beauty UK Topaz as the base, stamped the leaves using Barry M Mushroom and Red Angel plate RA 121 and used a dotting tool and Accessorize Magical Mocha for the dots.

What do you think girls?  Do you like repeating manicures in different colours?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Autumn Leaves NOTD

Currently reading: How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I'd like to show you what can only be described as my first autumnal manicure.

 

 

I started with two coats of Beauty UK Topaz, a soft gold shimmer which applied beautifully.  I think this is the first time I've worn this polish even though it's been in my collection for some time now.  I'll definitely be using it more often now that I've seen what a great shade it is.

 My next step was to sponge on a layer of Essence Just in Case.  I normally only sponge glitter on my nails but Spellbinding Nails inspired me to be more adventurous with my sponging.

 I then stamped three leaves on each nail using Autograph Purple Rain and Bundle Monster plate BM04.  I sense this is going to be an image I'll be using a lot this month as I absolutely love the leaf design.

What do you think of this girls?  I'm glad I was more adventurous with my sponging but I don't think the blend of gold and brown really added anything to this manicure.  Perhaps I'll be wiser with my colour choices next time I try this.

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons ft Half Moons

Currently watching: One Tree Hill

Good morning dear readers!

Today I'd like to show you a half moon manicure I did at the weekend.  I think this is the second half-moon manicure I've done during the past two years, mainly because my first one was a bit of a disaster, but I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.

 

 My first step was to paint my nails with two coats of Soft Lilac by Beauty UK.

 I love lilac polishes, I think they suit everyone.  I have three polishes which could probably be called lilac but they all have their own subtle differences ;-)

 My next step, once the polish was completely dry, was to stick a reinforcer on the lower section of each nail and paint the remaining nail with Marks & Spencer Limited Collection Lilac (G0) polish.  I peeled off each reinforcer almost as soon as I had painted each nail.  The last time I tried this manicure, I waited until the polish had dried a little before removing the stickers and I was left with lots of flaws.  This method seemed to work much better.

 Et voila.  A simple, two-step manicure.  Like I said, I really like how this turned out and I think the colour combination works well.  Lilac (G0) is a relatively new polish in my collection but it's a gem, a lilac packed full of golden shimmer.  I think it's relatively expensive (£3.50 for 8ml) but it's a unique shade and I don't think there are any cheaper dupes available.  Luckily I had a voucher for 20% off when I bought this so I managed to pay only £2.70.

So what do you think of my half moon manicure girls?  Are you a fan of this design?  Do you like my new nail polish?  I'd love to know your thoughts :-)

Bye for now,

Laura

Nail Mail and Haul!

Currently watching: Have I Got News For You

Hi girls!

In my previous post I told you it was my birthday and someone left me a comment saying they hoped I'd get some nice nail mail.  Well, I did.  My friend gave me Models Own Purple Blue, NYC Lights-Camera-Glitter and Barry M Indigo.  I haven't tried Models Own or NYC before so I'm happy to add these two brands to my collection :-)

 

Then when I was in town yesterday I went into Superdrug, who currently have a 3 for 2 offer on across cosmetic brands so I picked up these four Barry M polishes, Denim, Bright Purple, Teal and Fuchsia:

I also bought NYC Grand Central Station Quick Dry topcoat and Posh Polish Beauty UK Topaz.  I've heard good things about this NYC quick dry polish and at under 1/3 of the price of my regular China Glaze quick dry top coat, I thought it was worth trying.

What do you think of my new polishes girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

PS Don't forget to enter my second year blogiversary giveaway!

Thursday's Talons: A Transformation

Currently listening to: Right Here by HeyHiHello

Good morning lovely ladies!

So, remember the other day I showed you Beauty UK's Soft Lilac and you were all kind enough to let me know how much you loved it? Well I decided to transform it with Max Factor Fantasy Fire:

This mainly came about because I messed up some stamping and when I was removing that I discovered I could remove the stamping while leaving most of the lilac polish in decent condition.

I couldn't leave it as it was though so I chose to cover it up with two coats of Fantasy Fire.

I absolutely love this polish, it is so mesmerising. I couldn't help but glance at my nails every so often while I was at work ;-)

I still felt tempted to add something extra though so the next day I added a coat of Barry M Pink Iridescent. The changing colours of the glitter coat really gave this manicure a magical air, one which I really loved.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura