Monday's Manicure ft Denim Hearts

Currently reading: Secret Asset by Stella Rimington

Good afternoon lovely ladies,

Today I'd like to show you a manicure which was inspired by http://pieseyes.blogspot.co.uk/

I only found this blog recently but on my first visit I saw a manicure which I absolutely loved and knew I would have to try myself.

It started with a coat of Barry M Denim.  If I had been wearing this polish on its own I may have used two coats but as I knew I'd be stamping over it, I felt one coat was sufficient.  I'm happy to say that application was better this time than the first time I used this polish.

 I then stamped a full size heart image on my nails using Barry M Silver Foil and Bundle Monster plate BM317.  I was so happy this image stamped well as it's one of my favourites in the new set.  [Please ignore the loose bits of polish, this picture was taken pre-clean up]

 My final step was to apply a topcoat which unfortunately had the effect of smudging some of the stamping.  The flaws weren't as obvious in reality as they are in the photo. 

I was so happy with this manicure, not only with the design but also with the colour combination, and loved how it looked like I was wearing foils.  What do you think of it girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Sunday's Search (Recommend a Nail Art Blog!)

Currently watching: 24

Hello girls,

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend.

Today I have a request to make.  I've noticed recently, especially with the increased popularity of indie polish brands, that a lot of bloggers are dedicating posts to swatching.  While I'm happy that so many ladies are finding success with these polishes and obviously everyone is entitled to post about whatever they may wish to, I'm struggling to find blogs featuring nail art and not just nail polish.  So, with that in mind, I'm asking you to please leave me a comment with the link of any nail art blogs you enjoy reading and would recommend.  Feel free to leave a link to your own blog too of course.  Thank you, girls.

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons ft New Purple Holos!

Currently reading: At Risk by Stella Rimington

Good morning lovely ladies,

I recently took advantage of the a-England sale to order my first a-England polishes.  I bought Iseult and Lady of the Lake, a beautiful purple holo which I'll be showing you today.  Another brand I also sampled for the first time recently is Catrice.  Back in June I purchased Dirty Berry which, although completely different from Lady of the Lake, I would also describe as a purple holo.

I couldn't decide which to use first so I went with both, using Dirty Berry on my accent nail.  Of course the sun wasn't out when I used these beautiful polishes so unfortunately I can't show you the holographic effects but in real life these were both stunning in the sun (and even in doors, as you see them).

Both polishes were really easy to apply and neither caused me any problems.

I then decided to stamp a floral pattern using both polishes and Bundle Monster plate 321.  As you can see, the results were quite subtle.

As I was creating this manicure, it reminded me of something that one of my favourite bloggers would do so I decided to go the whole way and finish it with something which you have never read on this blog before, a funky French à la Fingers.

What do you think girls?  It was totally out of my comfort zone but it's always good to try new things.  I just can't wait to use both these polishes again and hopefully next time the sun will be out!

Bye for now,

Laura

Tuesday's Talons ft My Candy Shop / My First Glitter Sandwich

Currently watching: The Shawshank Redemption

Good evening girls!

Today I'd like to show you my very first glitter sandwich which also happens to be based on Deborah Lippmann's Candy Shop!
 

I started by painting my nails with two coats of Lm shade 21.

Then I added a coat of Essence Circus Confetti, a clear polish packed full of multi-coloured glitter.

Next, I added another coat of my pink Lm polish, thus finishing my very first glitter sandwich!  I know glitter sandwiches are usually done with jellies but this shimmer polish seemed to work just as well and I loved how it turned the glitter particles pastel.

However, part of me wondered if I should take it a step further so I applied a coat of Rimmel mattifying topcoat before deciding matte pink doesn't suit me and applying a normal topcoat to bring back the shine.

What do you think girls?  Have you tried glitter sandwiches before?

Bye for now,

Laura

Monday's Manicure ft Freehand Fail

Currently listening to: Payphone by Maroon 5

Good morning dear readers,

Remember a couple of weeks ago I said it was easy to freehand roses?  Well I need to take that comment back as today I have a freehand fail for you :-(

I started with two coats of Eyeko Vintage Polish:

 

 I then used Barry M Matt White and my dotting tool to place white polka dots on each nail.

 Then I used my acrylic paints and attempted to paint three roses on each nail.  I don't know what went wrong but they just weren't as good as last time so I removed this manicure as soon as I'd finished photographing it.

Have you had any recent fails?

Bye for now,

Laura

Saturday's Stamping ft Poptastic Holo Floral NOTD

Currently watching: Singin' in the Rain

Good morning girls!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend planned ahead of you.  To start mine, I'd like to show you a floral manicure I recently wore which started as two coats of Barry M Matt White.

 Unfortunately I didn't take photos at every step of this manicure but the next step was to sponge Kleancolor Holo Pink on to my tips.

 I then stamped a floral design using MUA Shade 2 and Bundle Monster plate BM 205.  I had a lot of trouble stamping this design and I made it even worse by smudging the black polish when I applied my topcoat.  Grr.

 To finish, I used my dotting tool to apply Holo Pink to the centre of each flower.

I felt this was a fun and cute manicure which I absolutely loved.  The smudging did annoy me but nobody who admired my nails picked up on it ;-)

What do you think of this manicure girls?

Bye for now,

Laura

Thursday's Talons ft Models Own Purple Blue

Currently listening to: Next to Me by Emeli Sande

Hello ladies,

Today I have a Models Own polish from their Beetlejuice range to show you, Purple Blue.

The Models Own website states the Beetlejuice polishes are "multi-tonal, containing four pearlescent colours mixed into one gleaming shade [...] Inspired by the beautiful wings of a beetle, this collection mimics the complex colour-shifting with flashes of vivid tones and ethereal hues giving a shimmering duo chrome finish".

I wasn't overly interested in this collection when it was released but I was given Purple Blue as a gift and now that I've tried it, I absolutely love it.  The name confused me at first as the colours I could see were closer to brown and blue but once I applied the polish and looked at it in the light, I could distinctly see the blue and purple duo chrome.  The difference is quite obvious if you compare the way the polish looks in the first photo (my initial impression) with the second.

But of course I couldn't leave this swatch alone so first I sponged Essence Glorious Aquarius on to my tips...

And then I mattified my nails using Rimmel Matte Finish.

What do you think girls?  Do you own any of the Beetlejuice collection?

Bye for now,

Laura