2 Years!

Hi girls!

I just wanted to let you know that today is my two year blogiversary!  Thank you for all of your support, feedback and friendship over the past two years; it means so much to me.

Watch this space for a giveaway announcement!

Bye for now,

Laura

Girlie NOTD

Currently reading: A Spy's Life by Henry Porter

Good morning girls!

Today I'd like to show you a manicure I recently did featuring two of my favourite stamps:

For the white pattern I used BPS M79 and for the bows I used BPS m59.

My base colour is Kiko 338, my white is Konad Special Polish in White and my pink is Konad Special Polish in Pink.  

 This is the second time I've done this manicure (although with different colours) and I just love how easy it is to create because I never have any difficulties using the full size image.  My only problem comes when I try to place the bow exactly in the centre ;-)

I also wish that the bows were a stronger colour but I'm still really happy with how this turned out.

 

What do you think girls?  What are your favourite stamping images?

Bye for now,
Laura

Monday's Polka Dot Manicure

Currently listening to: Wild Horses by Natasha Bedingfield

Good morning girls!  I hope you all had a lovely weekend and, if you're in the UK, enjoying your extended weekend ;-)

Today I'd like to show you a very simple polka dot manicure I did featuring ELF Pearl and Easy Paris 90:

 

I think this is the first time I've worn the Easy Paris shade and although it's not a colour I would have chosen myself (it was a gift), I actually love it.  I would describe it as an orange-toned red packed full of shimmer.

Application was smooth.  What you see here is three coats.  Maybe some of you would only use two coats but I felt three were necessary to cover my nail line.

 

 I then used my dotting tool and Pearl to create a polka dot pattern.

The end result reminds me of Minnie Mouse :-)  What I really love about this manicure is that the finishes of the two polishes (one shimmer, the other pearlised) give my nails a satiny appearance.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura

Sunday's Snack - Pitta Pizza

Currently listening to: Ocean Drive by The Lighthouse Family

Good afternoon girls!

I just made this delicious snack for the first time and wanted to share it with you:

 

Pitta bread covered in red pepper hummus topped with sliced carrot and sausage cooked in the oven for five minutes.  Mmm.  Delicious and nutritious plus you can alter the toppings to accommodate whatever you have in your kitchen ;-)

Bye for now,
Laura

Nail Care Laughter

Currently listening to: Colourblind by Darius

Good afternoon lovely ladies!

I received something in the post today which made me laugh and I just had to share it with you:

These are mini bottles of OPI Nail Envy.  I knew exactly what I was getting when I ordered these but when I opened the package and saw how tiny these bottles actually are, I just laughed.

My Nail Tek Foundation has almost run out but instead of repurchasing, I decided to go with OPI Nail Envy again as I prefer it to Nail Tek.  I think I get better results using Nail Envy plus, unlike Nail Tek, it isn't matte therefore I can easily apply it on top of manicures.

 [Comparison to a normal sized bottle of nail polish]

What nail care products do you use girls?  And what's your smallest bottle of nail polish?!

Bye for now,
Laura

Friday's Minty Butterfly NOTD

Currently listening to: Exit Wounds by The Script

Hello lovely ladies!

The weekend is in sight so to end the week in style I'd like to show you a manicure featuring Eyeko Vintage Polish and Technic white nail striper.

I started with two coats of green polish and then added white vertical stripes down the length of each nail.

I love these Technic stripers, I really do.  They are so easy to use and for the price (3 for £1.99), I have absolutely no complaints.

I finished off this manicure by adding two black butterflies using a black MUA polish and Konad plate m36.

 What do you think girls?

Bye for now,
Laura

Wednesday's Colour Block Nail Fail

Currently watching: The Apprentice UK (Series 4)

Good morning dear readers!

I have a few more stripey manicures to show you which I am very excited about but I'm going to give you a break from my new love and share with you a recent nail fail using the three colours shown below:

 Yes Love, Nails Inc Spitalfields and Barry M Pure Turquoise.

I saw a beautiful block manicure in this style on a blog recently and decided to try and recreate it, using different colours.

 This was my first attempt at colour blocking and my first attempt at a tape manicure.  I think you can see from the pictures that it was a disaster.  It was all very "lumpy" as I ended up making the yellow strips too narrow so had to widen them without tape when the polish had already started to dry and then I did the blue strips without tape too.  Perhaps I shouldn't even call it a tape manicure since the majority of this ended up being free-handed.

Are you fans of tape manicures and the colour blocking trend?

Bye for now,
Laura