Monday's Manicure: Bad Boys in Winter NOTD

Currently reading: At Risk by Stella Rimington

Good morning girls,

I'd like to start the week by showing you I Love Bad Boys by Essence, a vintage teal green polish packed full of blue and green shimmer.

 

 

This isn't the type of colour I usually wear so I don't know why I bought it but I'm so glad I did, it's such a beautiful colour.

My next step was to paint silver lines down my nails using a Technic striper.

 

Then I stamped a full nail image using Konad Special White and Bundle Monster plate BM 323.

The design could be viewed as either flowers or snowflakes but I think it looks more like snowflakes, hence the title of this post.  This is a manicure I'll definitely be recreating later in the year.

What do you think girls?  Are you already starting to think about your winter manicures too?!

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Essence Peel Off Base Coat

Currently listening to: Wings by Little Mix

 Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I thought I'd share my experience of using Essence Peel Off Base Coat with you as I know this is a polish a lot of bloggers have been excited as it could lead to the end of glitter removal nightmares.

I decided to test it on the glitter manicure I showed you on Tuesday:

 

Before painting my nails, I applied a coat of Peel Off Base Coat, which applies white and dries clear after about 10 minutes.  I applied my other polishes only after the base coat had turned from white to clear, as instructed.

Two days later, I decided it was time to remove my manicure so, starting with my thumb nail, I picked at the lower edger of the polish and was delighted when it lifted up.

I thought it was great, until I started trying to do the same thing with all my other nails.  The problem I found was removing the polish on the upper half of my nails.  It just wouldn't peel off.  So I was left with this mess:

I've seen a lot of positive reviews of this base coat on blogs so I don't know why it went so wrong for me but I'm really disappointed.  

Have you tried this base coat?  Do you have any tips for me?

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Party Princess Sees Stars NOTD

Currently listening to: Hunter by Dido

Hello ladies,

I have another glitter manicure to show you today, as if yesterday's wasn't enough ;-)

 

This one features two coats of Essence Party Princess, which I applied over a coat of Essence Sweet As Candy, a pale pink jelly.

Party Princess is also a jelly so next time I think I will wear it over a darker pink as I don't like being able to see my tips like you can here.

I then stamped stars on each nail using Dior Graphic Berry and Bundle Monster plate BM 05.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Purple Glitter NOTD

Currently watching: The X Factor

Good morning dear readers!

Today I'd like to show you two purple Essence polishes I bought in Switzerland, Oh My Glitter! and It's Purplicious.  I started with two coats of Oh My Glitter!

We all know how difficult purple polishes are to photograph but I think this top picture is pretty accurate.

 Application was easy, no complaints there, although I'm not sure about the name of this polish.  It is packed with rainbow shimmer (purple, blue and orange are the predominant colours) but I wouldn't say that warrants having the word 'glitter' in the name.  Just a thought.

It's a beautiful polish though, regardless of the name, and I would definitely recommend adding it to your collection when you have the chance.

 Of course I couldn't leave it alone so I decide to add a coat of It's Purplicious, a glitter topper.  I actually saw this in Holland in June but decided not to buy it and bitterly regretted my decision so I was really happy to unexpectedly find this in Switzerland two months later :-)

 I added Rimmel's matte top coat to see how different this manicure would look mattified.  Er, not that different.  Still awesome though ;-)

What do you think girls?  Have you ever regretted not buying a polish when you had the chance?

Bye for now,

Laura

Friday's Fingers: Sweet Heart Wrapping Paper NOTD

Currently reading: After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell

Good morning ladies,

TGIF, right?  My first week back at work has been horrendous and unfortunately I can't see things improving until 2013.

 

Anyway, I'm not here to talk about work but rather to show you my latest manicure which features one of my new Essence polishes, Free Hugs, as the base.

 I then painted white and pink stripes down the length of each nail using Technic stripers.

 For the finishing touch, I stamped a full nail heart design using, you guessed it, Barry M Silver Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM 317.

 The heart image is truly one of my favourites in the new collection and I absolutely love this manicure.  It reminds me of wrapping paper for some reason.

 And yes, I realise I've gone overboard with the photos today but that's because I wanted you to see my new favourite manicure from all angles ;-)

Do you like it as much as I do?  How has your week been?

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Hi-Res Hibiscus

Currently watching: The Back-Up Plan

Hello ladies!

Remember how I said that while I was away I wasn't able to paint my nails?  Well here's the manicure I sported for the whole of my holiday:

 

 Milani Hi-Res as the base, purple stripes painted with a Technic striper, hibiscus stamped with Konad Special white and Bundle Monster plate BM 313 then topped off with nail jewels.

 This smudged one hour into my holiday.  I was not happy.  I won't even show you the state of this manicure at the end of my 11 days!

What do you think of this manicure girls?  Do you paint your nails while you're on holiday? 

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