Friday's Fingers: Blue Gradient Butterflies

Currently reading: The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

Good morning ladies,

Today's manicure features Color Club Harp On It, a silver holographic polish as the base.

It also features lots of lovely butterflies :-)

 

 I used a variety of blue polishes, from left to right: Barry M Blueberry, Barry M Pure Turquoise, Ciate Lauren, Barry M Indigo and 16 Midnight Sapphire.

 The stamping was done with Bundle Monster plate BM 307.

 The darker shades showed up better than the light ones but overall I was really happy with this design and I even managed to capture the holographic effect of Harp On It.

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Textured Essie

Currently listening to: Bells of New York City by Josh Groban

Good morning ladies,

Sometimes, when my evening does not go as planned, I end up getting up very early the following morning and painting my nails before I go to work.  This never ends well.

Last week I painted my nails with Essie Cascade Cool at about 6.30am.  At 12.30pm I sat on my hands and ended up with the texture of the chair cushion imprinted on my nails!

 My rescue plan that evening was to add a layer of 17 Daisy Darling glitter and floral stamping with Barry M Pomegranate and Konad s9.

Have you ever had a nail disaster like this?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Cherry Blossom

Currently listening to: Let Go by Frou Frou

Hello ladies,

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, that manicure was a base for today's design which features my attempt at free-handing cherry blossom.

In addition to the three polishes I showed you yesterday (Essence Sweet as Candy, Barry M Diamond Glitter, A'Pieu Twinkle Nail Touch), I also used a pink shade from Yes Love, Accessorize Lilac Sorbet, No7 Beanie and Essence Free Hugs.

 I drew branches on each nail using No7 Beanie and a nail striper brush.

 I then used the Yes Love polish and a dotting tool to place several circles on each nail to form the centre of each flower.

 Finally, I used my dotting tool and Accessorize Lilac Sorbet and Essence Free Hugs to form the petals of the flowers.  The spacing on my right hand was better than my left so for once I'm actually showing you my right hand as well.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Lilac Sorbet Confetti

Currently listening to: This Is How a Heart Breaks by Rob Thomas

Good morning ladies,

Another glitter manicure for you today, something bright and spring-like to end the week.

This is Accessorize Lilac Sorbet topped with L'Oreal Confetti.

 As much as I like Confetti, it is difficult to control the glitter distribution and achieve an ever coverage, as evidence by the abundance of black glitter on my middle finger!  I don't think it detracts from the prettiness of the manicure though and a colleague actually complimented me on my nails when I wore this to work so that was nice.

What do you think girls?  If you own this polish do you find it hard to control as well?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Essie Meets Models Own

Currently watching: This Boy's Life

Good morning ladies,

Today's manicure is simple but it features glitter so that must be good.

I started with Essie Bobbing for Baubles, a grey-toned navy polish which looks amazingly glossy in these photos.

 I then sponged Models Own Ibiza Mix on to the base of my nails.

 If ever I apply glitter to only part of my nails, it's usually the tips so this was a bit different for me and I really liked it.

 I think Ibiza Mix was released in summer 2012.  I saw it reduced a few weeks ago so I decided to get it, thinking it was similar to L'Oreal Sequin Explosion which I've had my eye on ;-)

What do you think girls?

Bye for now.

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Nails Inc Mayfair with Multicolour Glitter

Currently listening to: Let Me Go by Gary Barlow

Hello ladies,

Today's manicure is very simple but full of colour.

I started with Nails Inc Mayfair as my base, a pearly cream shade which I didn't photograph on its own as it does not suit my skin tone and I didn't make it fully opaque as I knew I would be covering it.

 I then added a layer of Innis Free glitter shade 121, a grey-toned white polish full of multicoloured glitter.

 I ordered this polish from a Korean website a couple of years ago but I think this may be the first time I've worn it.  I really love it, I just wonder how it would look over other colours aside from white.

 What do you think girls?  How long does it take you to try a new polish?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Rimmel Heart Nail Art

Currently listening to: Sunday Morning by Maroon 5

Good morning ladies,

Time for a very girly manicure today featuring pink polish, glitter and hearts.

I used Rimmel Rose Libertine, a fairly new addition to my collection, as my base.  It's a peachy shade in my eyes, veering between coral and pink depending on the light.

 I then added a layer of Kiko Sparkle Touch and No7 Daisy Darling.

 As for the stamping, that was done with Barry M Pomegranate and Bundle Monster plate BM 317.

 What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Mayfair Christmas

Currently listening to: Streetcorner Symphony by Rob Thomas

Hello ladies,

Today's manicure was inspired by one I saw on Instagram by @pukupuku15.

I started with a base of Nails Inc Mayfair.

 Starting with my thumb nails, on each alternate nail I added a green and red glequin from Born Pretty Store.  That looked really good on its own so it may be a future manicure.

 The next step was to freehand Boots 17 Knockout Red on my index finger and Ciate for ASOS Lily on my ring finer.  I then added a strip of silver glitter with Essence More Than Glitter.

 The final step was to add two white pearls on the red and green sections.  If I did this manicure again I might skip this step but I was really happy with how this turned out, especially as it's so different to my usual style.

What do you think girls?  Who would you recommend following on Instagram?

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

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

Friday's Fingers: Midnight Sapphire Polka Dots

Currently watching: Relocation, Relocation 

Good morning girls,

Today I'd like to show you a very simple manicure I created:

 

My base colour is a cream shade from Color Club.

 The polka dots were created with 17 Midnight Sapphire and a dotting tool.  Simple yet eye-catching.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Crystal Stars

Currently reading: The Third Time He Left Me by Sarah Harris

Hello dear readers,

Isn't it always the way that the manicures you are most excited about are the ones that do not photograph well?  This is the type of manicure I have today.

 

 The source of my trouble is No7 Crystal Lilac, a sheer yet buildable pink duochrome.  I don't wear it often but whenever it's on my nails I absolutely love it and the variety of tones hidden in that polish.

 In real life, Crystal Lilac was darker on my nails than it appears here but not as dark a shade of purple as the bottle shows.

After adding a coat of Barry M Diamond Glitter, I decided the perfect finishing touch would be silver stars.

 The stars were stamped using Barry M Silver Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM20.  I love this design and I can't wait to try it again in a whole host of colours.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura