Sunday's Stamping: First Time Houndstooth

Currently listening to:  Friendly Fire by Tyler James

Good morning girls,

Today's manicure was inspired by a photo posted on Instagram by victory_nails.

 I started by painting my nails with a variety of polishes: a Color Club white, Essence Cherry Juice and Barry M Silver Foil (which I then covered with Essence Disco Disco and Barry M Diamond Glitter).

 I then stamped houndstooth on my ring finger and thumb using MUA Shade 2 and Bundle Monster BM 322.

 I'm not sure whether I even like houndstooth but I liked the overall look of this design and thought I could get away with wearing it to the office ;-)

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: MUA with NYC Lights Camera Glitter

Currently watching: Mind the Gap

Good morning girls,

A while ago I cut my nails as they were just getting too long and I was experiencing a few peels.  This was my first manicure with short nails.

This is MUA shade 5, a green polish that I loved so much that I bought a back up.  That was the only time I have ever bought a back up.

If I bought this polish now I definitely wouldn't buy a back up.  I think nowadays I try to buy shades I can get more use out of ie work appropriate.

 I added NYC Lights Camera Glitter to the tips of my nails, a clear polish full of blue, purple and silver glitter.

 What do you think girls?  Do you regularly buy back ups?

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Stamping: Knockout Nails

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing 

Good morning girls,

Today I'd like to show you a manicure I created with the newest addition to my stash of nail art supplies, Konad plate s9.

Although I have a large collection of image plates, only two of them are Konad and those were the first image plates I ever bought.  Since then, I've chosen to buy the more affordable plates from Born Pretty Store, Bundle Monster, Cheeky etc but when I was browsing Amazon last week I was taken by the images on Konad s9 and decided I wanted it.

 My base is 17 Knockout Red and I stamped using MUA Shade 2 and Konad s9.  I was reminded how high quality Konad plates are and I definitely think it's worth paying more for the Konad brand when the images are intricate.  This is something I would do well to remember.

As much as I liked the initial results I decided to add some gold detail and filled in the flower petals with Barry M Gold Foil.

Then I decided to fill in the girl's bow too ;-)

What do you think girls?  What brand of image plates do you buy?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: Rose Quartz Fairy NOTD

Currently watching: The Voice UK

Hello dear readers,

When I was planning Monday's post I decided I may as well have a butterfly-themed week of manicures as I had more than one idea of how to wear the butterfly decorations I received plus it's been a while since I used my butterfly stamps.

 

 Today's manicure was inspired by an account on Instagram I follow called line_polish and features Essence Enchanted Fairy as the base.  I bought this polish in Amsterdam last June and don't think I've worn it since initially swatching it last summer.  I have no idea why I've neglected it for so long as it's such a pretty pink shimmer and is ideal for the office.

 I then added Barry M Rose Quartz Glitter to three of my nails.  I really like wearing this over pink bases and I love the big flecks of rose gold glitter.

 My next step was to stamp the butterfly image from Bundle Monster plate BM 307 using MUA shade 2.

 I always admire mixed manicures like this on other people but I rarely wear them myself however I really love this design so I'm going to do more mixed manicures in the future.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Elizabeth Street Dotticure

Currently watching: Homeland

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today's manicure features a design which is completely different to anything I've done before so I'm excited to find out what you think of it.

 

 I used Nails Inc Elizabeth Street as my base and added dots using MUA Shade 2 and my dotting tool.  Initially I added three dots to two nails, covered the whole of my ring finger nail with dots and left two nails plain.

 I then decided to see what it would look like if the two plain nails were covered in dots too...

I really like both designs although I prefer the first one.

Which is your favourite?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Pink Zebra NOTD

Currently watching: Spiral

Good morning lovely ladies,

I have to confess that I haven't been motivated by my nails recently, partly because of their short length and poor condition and partly because of the cold weather.  I take my photos on the window sill, with the window open, and the low temperatures make my fingers look so red and raw.  There's nothing I can do about the weather but I am using a variety of nail care treatments on a daily basis so hopefully I'll see an improvement in my nails soon.  I'll keep you posted.

 

Today's manicure features one of my favourite Essence polishes, Pink Hibiscus.  It's so shimmery, I love it.  Haven't worn it for a while though, strangely.

 I stamped an animal print pattern using Bundle Monster plate BM 223 and MUA shade 2.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Chinese New Year Nails

Currently watching: Glee

Good morning lovely ladies and happy Chinese New Year :-)

In celebration of the lunar new year, I decided to do a simple red and gold manicure:

I started with two coats of Knockout Red by 17 as my base.

 I then added gold flowers using a dotting tool and Barry M Gold Foil.

 To finish, I placed a black dot in the centre of each flower using MUA Shade 2.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Swirly Bow NOTD

Currently listening to: Dear Darlin' by Olly Murs 

Good morning lovely ladies,

This morning I'd like to show you a manicure inspired by Julie over at Tales of Knit and Nails

When I saw her version of this, I thought it was so pretty and elegant.  Despite it not being a design that I would have come up with myself, I thought I had similar enough colours and the right image plates to try it myself.

My accent nail was painted with MUA shade 2 and stamped using Barry M Silver Foil and Born Pretty Store plate m59.  My other nails were painted with Easy Paris shae 90 and stamped using MUA shade 2 and Bundle Monster plate BM 314.  I loved how this turned out and found it really rewarding to be able to copy a design I admired.  Thank you for inspiring me Julie :-)

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Barbie Goes Dotty NOTD

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I have a manicure in a style that is new to me.  To start with, I used Asos Paint by Ciate in Blake as my base.

 

This isn't a polish I wear often but I love how girly it is.  I added a stripe of silver glitter using Essence More Than Silver to enhance the Barbie look ;-)

 

 I then added black dots to the tips using MUA Shade 2 and a dotting tool.

 And to finish it off, I added small white dots using Barry M Matt White and a dotting tool.

What do you think girls?  Like I said, it's a new look for me but I really liked it.

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Sparkles: Boogie Nights NOTD

Currently listening to: Titanium by David Guetta

Good morning!

Here's a treat for the weekend:

 

 Models Own Boogie Nights over MUA Shade 2.

 Boogie Nights is a clear polish containing pink, blue and purple pieces of glitter in various shapes and sizes.  Very pretty and definitely a statement polish.

What do you think?

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

Monday's Manicure: Fireworks NOTD

Currently watching: Boardwalk Empire 

Good afternoon lovely ladies,

In recognition of today's date (ie Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfire Day in Great Britain) and the fact that tonight the skies will be illuminated by thousands of fireworks, I thought I'd do a fireworks manicure.

 

I started with two coats of MUA Shade 2 and stamped using Barry M Gold Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM21.  I love the look of black nails but you'll rarely see them on me as I hate the removal process.

 I then added pink dots using a dotting tool and Accessorize Pink Spice and filled in the stars with Milani Hi-Res.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Tiger Stripes

Currently listening to: Payphone by Maroon 5

 Good morning girls!

Isn't it funny how quickly we fall back into our old routines after being on holiday?  I'm back at work today, joy of joys.  At least I've now had time to unpack and, more importantly, paint my nails ;-)  I had to go for 11 days without changing my manicure while I was away so I'm sure you can imagine the state of my nails and the manicure when I got home yesterday!

 

Anyway, yesterday evening I decided to start swatching my new polishes and the first one I chose was Tangerine by Barry M.

 I'll let you in on a shameful secret: I only bought this polish in order to do this manicure.  Tiger stripes came into my head a few days before I went away and although I was doubtful of finding an appropriate orange polish on the high street, I headed to Superdrug and found the exact shade I was looking for.  I shouldn't have been surprised really, Barry M caters for all tastes.  I would never wear this polish on its own as it doesn't suit me at all but it's ideal for what I had in mind ;-)

 The stripes were courtesy of MUA Shade 2 and Bundle Monster plate BM 223.

What do you think girrrrrls?  Have you ever bought a polish for a particular manicure?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons ft Iseult Stamped

Currently listening to: Crashed the Wedding by Busted

Good morning girls,

Today I'd like to show you the second a-England polish I purchased during their summer sale, Iseult.

Iseult is described as a "delicate romantic pink with opalescent pearly reflection" and is very pretty.

 I then stamped a full size floral design on each nail using MUA shade 2 and Bundle Monster plate BM 221.

 I love this stamp although I don't actually use it that often.

 To add a touch of sparkle, my final step was to apply a coat of glitter using this Color Combos polish.

Do you like it girls?  Do you own any a-England polishes?

Bye for now,

Laura