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

Monday's Manicure: Pink Floral Double Stamping

Currently watching: Grey's Anatomy

Good morning girls,

I started today's manicure with two coats of Yes Love K021, a pastel pink shade.

I think the Yes Love polishes cost under €1 so I never expect much from them but this shade applied really well for a pastel so I was pleasantly surprised.  If I hadn't planned on covering it with stamping I would have added another coat to hide the ridges in my nails ;-)

 My second step was to stamp diagonal lines using a white Easy Paris polish and Bundle Monster plate BM 310.  I say this every time but this pattern is one of my favourites to use as a base for double stamping.

 I then stamped some flowers using Yes Love 477 and Bundle Monster BM16.

 Finally, I added a layer of Kiko Sparkle Touch but it didn't show up well on camera unfortunately so I don't have a photo of the final look but this is pretty close.

What do you think girls?  Are you ever pleasantly surprised by the quality of cheaper polish brands?

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

Tuesday's Talons: Glorious Blue Moon

Currently watching: Grey's Anatomy

Good morning girls,

I'm back after a short leave of absence with the manicure I wore over the Easter weekend.

This is two coats of Barry M Blue Moon topped with Essence Glorious Aquarius.

 There's only about 1/3 of Blue Moon left in the bottle but it applied surprisingly well for a polish at that stage of its life.  It's not a polish I'd wear on its own as I feel it doesn't suit my skin tone but I can't deny how pretty it is.

 Glorious Aquarius is a great layering polish, one which I think I'd previously only worn over silver.  I like how it looks over blue.

 What do you think girls?

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

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

Monday's Manicure: Color Club Makes My Nails Pop

Currently listening to: Only If by Enya

Good morning ladies,

Today's manicure is bright and almost spring-like as we make our way ever closer to that season.

I used three colours for my base: Color Club Harp On It, a silver holographic shade, a white no-name Color Club shade and Nail Pop It's Mint, the bluest shade of "mint" I've ever seen.

Using a design akin to those I've seen on various blogs and Instagram pictures I then painted dots on three nails.

I even managed to capture the holographic effect when the sun was kind enough to shine.

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

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

Monday's Manicure: Nails Inc Loves Paris

Currently watching: Top Gear

Good morning girls,

Today's manicure is a tribute to Paris, a city I love.

My base is Nails Inc Elizabeth Street, a very pale pink, which I then covered with a layer of Essence Night in Vegas.

 I stamped my accent nail with a black polish and MoYou London plate Tourist Collection 07.

 I then stamped my other nails with 17 Knockout Red and MoYou London Pro Collection 09.  Unfortunately the polish wasn't dry when I stamped so my pinkie nail smudged quite badly.  In other words, don't look too closely ;-)

 What do you think girls?

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