Saturday's Stamping: Midnight Snowflakes

Currently listening to: La-bas by Natasha St Pier

Good morning ladies,

Today's manicure sees a return to my favourite image plate for this time of year and some surprising sparkle.

I started with a base of Boots 17 Midnight Sapphire.  I used only one coat as I knew I would be stamping over it and didn't need it to be fully opaque.

 I then added a coat of Kiko Sparkle Touch.  The last time I used this I had a pink base and the sparkle didn't show up at all so, following your advice, I tried it over a darker colour and am pleased to report it's much more effective.  Look at the difference!

 I then stamped using a white shade from Easy Paris, Bundle Monster plate BM 323 and Born Pretty Store plate QA58.

 I don't usually mix and match my image plates but I'm glad I did for this manicure.

What do you think girls?

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

Saturday's Stamping: Miss Fancy Berry NOTD

Currently listening to: Toucher l'Instant by Grand Corps Malade

Good morning ladies,

Last week I showed you a swatch of Essie Miss Fancy Pants.  After admiring my plain nails for a day, I decided to add some stamping.

When I looked at my nail polish collection I saw so many colours which I thought would look good over Essie Miss Fancy Pants but several of my initial attempts didn't show up so I eventually settled for Dior Graphic Berry.

 The plate I stamped with was Bundle Monster BM314.

 I usually use this design horizontally on my nails but this time I chose to use it vertically after being inspired by a photo on Instagram.

 Once I saw the final result, I kind of wished I hadn't bothered with the stamping.  I don't know whether it was the pattern or the colour combination but I didn't feel this manicure was a success.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Tea Rose Stamping

Currently listening to: Speed the Fire by Bo Bruce

Hello lovely ladies,

On Thursday I showed you a rather simple manicure featuring a glitter accent nail.  As much as I liked the manicure, I found myself adding to it...

Earlier that week I'd tried to paint my nails with Eyeko Tea Rose, only to find the polish was too old and thick to apply well.  Instead of throwing it out I decided to see if it could still be used for stamping.

 This felt like the perfect manicure to test it out on so I stamped a criss-cross image from Born Pretty Store plate QA57.

 I felt like I needed something else to tie all the colours together so I then stamped a silver bow on each nail using Barry M Silver Foil and Born Pretty Store plate m59.  I do love my bows but I always find image placement tricky!

What do you think girls?  Which designs do you find difficult to stamp well?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Digital Butterflies

Currently listening to:  I Follow Rivers by Lykke Li

Good morning ladies,

The sun was hiding when I did this manicure and all I could see from my window was grey skies and raindrops yet I was inspired to bring out my holographic polishes.

 

 

I started by painting my accent nail with Nail Pop Dusky and my other nails with Milani Digital.

 Not knowing how well a holographic polish would stamp, I then stamped two butterflies on the accent nail with Nail Pop It's Mint and Konad m36.

 My final step was to fill in the butterfly wings using a dotting tool and Color Club Angel Kiss.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Stripes and Bows

Currently watching: Star Trek 

Hello ladies,

As much as I loved my elegant nude nails, I just had to add some nail art after wearing them plain for a couple of days.

 

 My first step was to paint vertical stripes down the length of each nail using a Technic white striper.

I then stamped a bow on my accent nail using MUA Shade 2 and Born Pretty Store plate m59.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Neon Pink Floral NOTD

Currently listening to: False Alarms by Josh Groban

Good morning girls!

Today I have a very bright floral manicure to show you:

I started with a base of neon pink by Yes Love (shade 17) and then applied a layer of fairy dust, also known as Kiko Sparkle Touch, shade 228.

 I then stamped a full nail floral pattern using Easy Paris shade 48 and Bundle Monster plate BM 321.  I smeared one of my nails when I applied my top coat but it wasn't at all noticeable in real life.  I've been wearing this manicure for four days now and I still can't stop admiring it.  Because the pattern is so big and bold it kind of makes me think of nail wraps :-)

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Glitter Daisy NOTD

Currently watching: Glee

Good afternoon lovely ladies,

It's a gloriously sunny day here in Manchester so what better way to celebrate than with a pretty glitter daisy manicure?

 

My base is two coats of the Accessorize duochrome Pink Spice covered with a coat of Tony Moly pink glitter.

 

 

It's the same glitter I showed you on Thursday.  Recently I really like using it as a subtle topper.

 

I then stamped a flower in the bottom corner of my ring finger nail and the top corner of my thumb nail using Easy Paris 48 and Bundle Monster plate BM03.  I've had that plate for years but I do believe this is the first time I've used it.

I then finished the manicure off by placing a yellow dot in the centre of each flower using a dotting tool and Nails Inc Spitalfields.

What do you think girls?

 

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Kawaii NOTD

Currently watching: The Graham Norton Show

Good afternoon lovely ladies,

Today I have some nail art in a new style (for me) to show you:

 

To start with I painted my nails with a clear base coat then, once dry, placed stickers over the bottom section of my nails, which is what I always use when creating a half moon manicure.  I painted my nails using Essence Free Hugs (pink) and Easy Paris shade 48 (white).

 I then added polka dots using my dotting tool.

For the finishing touch I stamped a purple bow at the base of each nail using Barry M Blackberry and Born Pretty Store plate m59.

What do you think girls?  Have you tried this style of nail art before? 

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

Saturday's Stamping: Lilac Sorbet Princess NOTD

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing

Good evening girls!

Blogging has turned into a bit of a challenge now that there isn't enough daylight during the week either before or after work to take photos.  What's a girl to do?

I suppose I can start by showing you a manicure I created last weekend which featured Accessorize Lilac Sorbet as the base:

 

 I like this polish; I have no issues with application and it's suitable for work which is always a bonus, especially now that my firm have tightened up our dress code.  There's no mention of nail polish in the dress code policy so let's hope it stays that way.

 Looking at this picture below you will realise you have seen this manicure very recently, but in blue.  I liked it so much that I wanted to wear it to work so I changed the colour scheme to pink.

 I sponged Essence Party Princess on my tips and stamped using m36 and Konad Special White polish.

 Party Princess is a jelly which made me worry that it would look very thick when sponged on but a layer of topcoat got rid of any worries I had.

I loved this manicure the first time I did it, in blue, and I love it just as much, if not more, not that it's in pink.  What do you think of it girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Multi Coloured Stamping NOTD

Currently watching: Strictly Come Dancing

Good morning girls,

Today I'd like to show you my first attempt at multi coloured stamping, as the title of the post suggests ;-)

 

I started by painting my nails with two coats of Essence Enchanted Princess.

 I then stamped a full nail image using Bundle Monster plate BM310, Yes Love 477 and Dior Graphic Berry.

 Next, I layered a coat of Barry M Pink Iridescent over the stamping.

 I then stamped two pink butterflies on each nail using Bundle Monster plate BM05 and Konad Special Pink Polish.  For the finishing touch I added some Saffron glitter to the tips.

What do you think girls?  Have you experimented with multi coloured stamping?

Bye for now,

Laura