Friday's Fingers: Pear Confetti

Currently listening to: Friendly Fire by Tyler James 

Good morning dear readers,

Today I'd like to show you a manicure featuring a polish which is new to me but which you've probably seen all over the blogosphere over the past few months.

 

Yes, I'm talking about L'Oreal Confetti.  Why oh why did I wait so long to buy this polish?  I absolutely love it!

For this manicure I layered it over Barry M Prickly Pear but I can't wait to layer it over a whole host of pastels.

And actually I do know why this has only just made it into my collection: I hate removing glitter polishes.  I'm still wearing this manicure today so I have yet to experience the removal process but I hope it's not too painful.

What do you think girls?  Are you fans of the L'Oreal special top coats?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: First Time Using Water Decals

Currently watching: Undercover Boss 

Hello lovely ladies,

Today I want to share my first experience of using water decals with you which were sent to me by Born Pretty Store.

 

 

My first step was to paint my nails using Klean Color Pink Chrome Holo.

 The decals I chose were a set featuring a whole sheet of different designs.  I was most excited about using the star design in the middle but I decided to wait to try that until I was accustomed to the application of the decals in case it proved tricky.

I needn't have worried as the procedure is very straight forward.  I simply peeled off the layer of film, cut out my designs, dipped each once it cold water for about 20 seconds and then applied it to my nails.  I was worried about the placement of the decals but actually they can be moved around the nail when wet so there is room to correct any initial misplacement.  I then used a layer of topcoat to seal the decals in place.

What do you think girls?  This was a really positive experience for me.  Although decals are similar to stickers, the advantage I think they have over stickers is that they lie a lot flatter and the edges are therefore better concealed.

If you like what you see or find any other Born Pretty Store nail art supplies that you'd like to try, remember to use my code APL91 at the checkout to receive a 10% discount.

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Cool Diamonds

Currently listening to: Speed the Fire by Bo Bruce 

Good morning dear readers,

I'm so sorry for being such a bad blogger.  I promise I'm back properly now.  It took longer than I expected to recover from exams and rediscover my motivation for nail art and blogging.  Add in to the mix a holiday and a relocation to a new city (currently in progress) and you get a month without news from me.

But enough about me, let's move on to today's manicure.

 

This features Essie Cascade Cool as the base.  I love the combination of soft, pastel pinks with silver glitter so I thought Barry M Diamond Glitter would make the ideal companion for Cascade Cool.

 It's the first time I've attempt a glitter gradient.  Not entirely successful but I'm still happy with the result.

What do you think girls?  Any tips for my next glitter gradient?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Animal Print and Glequins

Currently listening to: Awake by Josh Groban

Good morning dear readers,

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last post!  Wow.  My exams finished last week so I'm getting back to normal life now.

I did continue to paint my nails during my study leave but I didn't have time for nail art.  This is one of my last manicures featuring nail art before studying got serious.

This is a style I've seen on various blogs and Instagram accounts and I just love it.

 I used Barry M Matt White on my accent finger and drew the stripes with a Barry M Nail Art Pen.  My other nails were painted with Barry M Pomegranate then I attached a silver glequin to the base of each nail.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Mid-week Manicure: Kawaii Glitter Bows

Currently listening to: Awake by Josh Groban

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today I would like to show you this manicure which came about by accident but which I absolutely loved because it was so fun and cute.

 

I started with this no-name, very light pink Color Club polish which I got in the All About French set.  This was the first time I tried this shade and I was pleased by how well it applied.

 I then applied a coat of pink Tony Moly glitter.

 My final step was to add a white bow to each nail.

 Like I said in the introduction, I absolutely loved this manicure because it was so fun but I only wore the bows because I knew I would be staying indoors!  I don't know if I'd wear the bows out in public considering their staying power is rather limited.

What do you think girls?  How do you get your 3D nail decorations to stay on your nails?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure: Pink Stripes

Currently listening to: LoveStoned by Justin Timberlake

Good morning lovely ladies,

Today's manicure features a polish by a brand called Lm as the base:

 

 This is a very cheap polish (purchased in Spain for less than £1) and not one I'd recommend as despite the pretty colour and pink shimmer, the smell is very strong.  It definitely isn't 3-free!  I do love the way it looks though so I'll continue to use it until it runs out.

 To create the pattern I painted stripes down the length of each nail using my Technic nail stripers in pink, white and purple.

 The pattern was inspired by the tshirt I was wearing at the time of painting my nails ;-)

What do you think girls?  What have you been inspired by lately?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons: Minty Glequins

Currently watching: The Apprentice

Good morning dear readers,

Let me start by apologising for my absence; I'm in exam season so unfortunately studying takes priority over blogging.  I'll try my best to blog with some regularity during the next month but if there are long gaps between posts or a lack of comments on your own posts you'll know why.

Now that's out of the way, let me show you today's manicure.

 My base coat is Nail Pop by It's Mint, a great spring/summer shade which I received lots of compliments on when I wore it last week.

 I then added a silver glequin from Born Pretty Store to the bottom of each nail and added a row of glequins on my accent nail.  This was a really simple manicure to create but very eye-catching.

What do you think girls?

Bye for now,

Laura