Holiday Haul (I'm Baaaaack)

Currently watching: The X Factor

Hello girls!

I came back from my holiday a couple of hours ago and haven't yet unpacked but I wanted to see what I've missed on your blogs while I've been away and also show you my holiday haul :-)

 

I actually bought these before I left but haven't tried them yet.  Models Own Indian Ocean and Purple Haze.

 Again, these were bought before I went away.  Barry M Coral and Tangerine.

Now, I did not really expect to buy any nail polish on my holiday but when I discovered Essence polishes are available in Switzerland, well, I just couldn't resist ;-)  The pinks are Party Princess, Free Hugs and Sweet as Candy.

I Love Bad Boys, I'm Bluetiful and Absolutely Blue

 It's Purplicious and Oh My Glitter!

Peel Off Base Coat

What do you think of my haul girls?  Do you see anything you like?

Bye for now,
Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Glittering Gems

Currently listening to: Devil May Care by Jamie Cullum

Good morning dear readers,

I suspect you will have noticed in recent weeks that I have a new favourite nail art design.  I hope you're not bored of it yet because once again this design is making an appearance on my blog ;-)

 I didn't take photos of every step of this but my starting point was to paint my nails with two coats of a-England Iseult.

 Then I sponged on a layer of Essence Enchanted Fairy as I had intended to do a pink gradient but it didn't work as I had planned.

So, to cover up my mistake, I used a coat of Barry M Pink Iridescent glitter.

 Then I stamped the ever faithful hibiscus flower on the corner of each nail using Barry M Fuchsia and Bundle Monster plate BM 313 and added a pink nail jewel to the centre of each flower.  I also added a stripe of silver glitter to each tip using an Essence striper but it didn't show up very well.

What do you think girls?  Do you love this design as much as I do?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping: Flakie Flowers

Currently watching: One Tree Hill

Good morning ladies,

Today I'd like to show you a very simple manicure which I recently wore.

 A polish I bought fairly recently but hadn't worn as a base was Barry M Fuchsia so I decided now was the time to change that.  To give it a bit of a lift, I added a coat of Essence Night in Vegas.

 I kept my manicure like that for a couple of days before stamping a gold floral pattern on top using Barry M Gold Foil and Mash plate m64.

 This is one of my favourite designs to stamp but I haven't been able to use it at all this year until now as I left the image plate at my parents' house in December and didn't find it again until a couple of weeks ago.  So happy it's back where it belongs now!

 Do you like this manicure girls?  Which stamping designs are your favourites?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Art Nouveau NOTD?

Currently watching: Beauty and the Beast

Hello girls,

I'm going on holiday today, to France and Switzerland, until the beginning of September so although I do have some posts scheduled for your viewing pleasure in my absence, I won't be able to reply to any comments or visit your blogs for a while.

Today's manicure started with two coats of Barry M Matt White and a layer of Essence Night in Vegas to add some sparkle ;-)

 I then added two black stripes to my tips, using a Technic striper.

 My final step was to stamp a red rose on each nail using Bundle Monster plate BM14 and Yesensy 32.

What do you think girls?  I really liked this manicure but next time I will stamp the roses before painting the black lines so there is no overlap ;-)

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Holographic Floral Nail Art

Currently reading: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Good morning lovely ladies!

Today I have a manicure to show you which is based on a design I showed you last week.

 I used Milani Digital as my base colour and tried to capture its holographic beauty for you.

 I then used a pink Technic striper to paint two stripes at the top of each nail.

 Next, I stamped a white hibiscus flower using Konad Special Polish in white and Bundle Monster plate 313.

 For the finishing touch I added a silver nail jewel to the centre of each flower. 

Definitely one of my favourite manicures of this year but what do you think?

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

Tuesday's Talons ft Jewelled Hibiscus

Currently reading: Comfort and Joy by India Knight

Good evening ladies,

Continuing in the same vein as yesterday's post, I would again like to show you a manicure heavily influenced by another blogger, this time by MyStefyNail

My first step was to apply two coats of Crystal Lilac, a very sheer duochrome by No7.  I felt this was the polish I had in my collection which most closely resembled that used by MyStefyNail.

 Next, I sponged some Saffron pink glitter polish on to my tips.  This was the messy stage, as evidenced by the patches of glitter on my skin.

 Then I used a Technic pink striper to draw to stripes along the tips of my nails.

 After that, I stamped a hibiscus flower on the top right of each nail, using Bundle Monster BM313 and Konad special polish in white.  The finishing touch was adding a silver jewel to the centre of each flower.

I was thrilled with this manicure because it's so different to my usual designs.  Plus, although I thought the jewels would fall off quickly, they actually stayed in place for five days before I decided to remove this manicure.  Talk about staying power!

What do you think of this girls?  Which bloggers inspire you to try different types of nail art?

Bye for now,

Laura