Monday's Manicure: Autumn Leaves NOTD

Currently reading: How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I'd like to show you what can only be described as my first autumnal manicure.

 

 

I started with two coats of Beauty UK Topaz, a soft gold shimmer which applied beautifully.  I think this is the first time I've worn this polish even though it's been in my collection for some time now.  I'll definitely be using it more often now that I've seen what a great shade it is.

 My next step was to sponge on a layer of Essence Just in Case.  I normally only sponge glitter on my nails but Spellbinding Nails inspired me to be more adventurous with my sponging.

 I then stamped three leaves on each nail using Autograph Purple Rain and Bundle Monster plate BM04.  I sense this is going to be an image I'll be using a lot this month as I absolutely love the leaf design.

What do you think of this girls?  I'm glad I was more adventurous with my sponging but I don't think the blend of gold and brown really added anything to this manicure.  Perhaps I'll be wiser with my colour choices next time I try this.

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Glorious Silver NOTD

Currently watching: 10 Things I Hate About You

Good evening lovely ladies,

Today I have a very simple manicure to show you which I wore to the office yesterday (dress down Friday):

 

 

This was inspired by Pretty Digits, one of my favourite bloggers, who created this manicure a while back.

 I used one coat of Barry M Silver Foil as my base and then a layer of Essence Glorious Aquarius.

 Simple yet stunning.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Vegas Roses NOTD

Currently watching: John Bishop: The Sunshine Tour

Good evening lovely ladies,

The lack of light when I come home from work is having a seriously negative effect on my inspiration and motivation :-( 

 

However, I managed to create this colourful manicure for you a few days ago using LM 21 as the base layered with Essence Night in Vegas.

 I stamped using Barry M Pomegranate (another polish from the Gelly Hi-Shine collection) and Born Pretty Store plate m76.  The idea was to stamp the floral image in two diagonal corners but my placing was a bit off and my nails aren't really long enough for what I had in mind.  Still, I was happy with it and I loved the lift Night in Vegas gave this manicure.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons: Holographic Rain NOTD

Currently listening to: Hunter by Dido 

Good evening girls,

Today I'd like to show you a discovery I made the last time I was in Marks & Spencer: a beautiful pink holographic polish!

I was actually buying nail polish as a gift for someone when Purple Rain by Autograph caught my eye and I just couldn't resist getting it for myself.

 It's a beautiful colour, regardless of how strong the holo effect is.  Due to a lack of recent sunshine, I could only capture it under artificial light, which isn't the best, but you get the idea.

 I wore this polish on its own for a day before deciding to jazz it up by doing a half-moon manicure with Kiko 255, a similar type of polish.

I then decided to add a layer of B.O 59 glitter and position a silver star at the side of each nail.  I kind of wish I'd left the half-moon as it was though...

What do you think girls?  Have you found any holographic polishes in unlikely places?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Pear and Blackberry Flower NOTD

Currently watching: Game of Thrones

Good morning dear readers,

Today I would like to show you a manicure I created using two polishes from the new Barry M Gelly range.  I used a lovely lavender shade, Prickly Pear (ridiculous name), as my base:

 

 These polishes are advertised as offering "hi-shine" and as you can see from this photo, they certainly deliver.  I applied two thick coats to achieve this coverage and had no problems with application.

 I then sponged Essence It's Purplicious on my tips before stamping a floral pattern on the side of each nail using Born Pretty Store plate m76 and Barry M Blackberry.

 I also added a touch of It's Purplicious to the centre of each flower as I was in the mood for a manicure that would sparkle and get noticed.

What do you think girls?  This is an image I hadn't previously used but I really like how this manicure turned out :-)

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

Tuesday's Talons: Half-Moon NOTD

Currently watching: The X Factor

Good morning ladies,

Today I'd like to show you a Barry M polish I recently bought, Coral:

 

I picked this up in August but I'm not really sure why.  To be honest, I don't think I'll get much use out of it as it's a jelly.

I didn't really have an idea in mind when I started this manicure so after discovering that Coral was a jelly, I covered alternate nails with Barry M Fuchsia.  Don't look too closely though, I had a lot of problems with smudging.

 To cover up most of the smudging, I decided to do a half-moon design and chose Barry M Gold Foil as my main colour.  I really like the combination of orange, pink and gold.

 However, I thought the end result was too futuristic so I added a coat of gold Saffron glitter.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura