Accent Nail ~ Rhubarb and Custard!

Back again with some short-nail polishing!

I personally am a big fan of accent nails - some combos do look like their owners painted their nails in the dark (am really setting myself up for criticism with that one!!!), but I think a bit of nail art or a strikingly different complementary colour on one or two fingers looks just lovely.  Also, I'm a bit of a lame sentimental girl and I like to have something different on my ring finger to remind me of my boyfriend.

Tonight I decided to try out a colour combination I've had in mind for ages now: bright, sparkling pink glitter with a light yellow creme.  Rhubarb and Custard!

The original idea I had was all nails the same, a yellow base with a slanted tip of pink glitter - but since they are really bold colours and I have no sense of style or taste, I decided to keep the glitter to my ring finger.

The polishes I used for this was the yellow from Claire's mini pastel set and a seemingly nameless pink glitter, also by Claire's:

Aaaand, here is the mani:

 

With flash:

And a blurred shot, just because the sparkle looks dreamy:

I'm wearing 4 coats of yellow and 3 coats of pink glitter, with a single-coat base of pastel pink just to make sure the colour was solid.

It's unfortunate but I think the yellow is the 'dud' of the Claire's pastel set; 4 coats and it's still a touch streaky, plus the polish doesn't dry very well - one false move and I'm positive it'll chip.  I always drool over the Model's Own stand in Boots and consider buying their pastel yellow, but am never sure that I'd use it enough, especially to justify the £5 price tag.  The Claire's pink glitter, however, is just yummy - packed with sparkle and attitude!  I think it only cost £1.50 as well, bargain.

So, what do you think - cute combo or a mani too far?

Lisa xx

Itsy-Bitsy Polka-Dotted Nails!

Hello there!

Before I show you today's mani, I will show the result of yesterday's nail breakage (it did hit me that I made a whole blog post over a broken nail... oh dear!).  Here is a photo of my naked nails before...

... and after:

My poor nails feel decapitated!!  Sob sob.

At least I've decided to use my short nails to try out some cute manis; today I went for sky blue with sheer polka dots.  Here are the polishes I used:

Here we have Save The Nail's Eau So Hydrated base coat - I found this in Boots and it sounded just like what I was looking for to help out my overpolished nails.  You can see that it has been extremely well used!  Towards the end of the bottle the consistency has turned a little gloopy, so I've moved onto Sally Hansen's Double Duty (far right), but after I cut my nails yesterday I painted them with Eau So Hydrated and went round my boyfriend's with my Boots roll-on Nail & Cuticle Oil.

Anyway, next we have the blue from Claire's Accessories' mini pastel set (got this for my birthday 2 months ago, the set cost £7), then a silver-white nail art pen from Rio's pastel nail art set (bought from Argos, also for my birthday).

Here is the pastel blue on its own, 3 coats to even out the colour:

 

And with little polka dots painted on top with the nail art pen, finished off with a coat of Double Duty...

Natural light:

Taken with flash:

^_^

I painted my nails a tad too thickly so I don't think it's going to be long-wearing... but I'll just use the opportunity to experiment with other designs!

See you soon,

Lisa xx

No... no... NO........

The nail on my left middle finger is breaking. This means that I will have to have über-short nails for a little while.  D'oh!  I am so proud of my long strong nails!!

Trying to look on the bright side here, some colours/designs look a lot better on short nails. Time to experiment while I have no other choice! So, expect some short-nails posts in the next few days - and please recommend some short-nail style tips if you have any ^_^


...it will also be nice to be able to use the keypad on my mobile phone for once!


Nailbrokenly yours,

Lisa xx 

17 by Boots ~ Woo Me

Bonjour!

I gave a slight glimpse of Woo Me in my last post, the 17 Pictacular - but since this is my absolute favourite polish in my collection, I feel it deserves a post of its own!

Woo Me is one of the first polishes I bought when I was getting back into painting my nails (not so long ago actually, only a few months). It is a very pale lilac creme, from 17's Lasting Fix range costing £2.99 at Boots. I said in my last post that the formula of 17's polishes can be hit-and-miss, but my trusty little bottle of Woo Me paints just fine! Here it is...


With flash:

In its (extremely well-loved and used!) bottle:

(click on photos for full size)

*massive smiley face*

This is 2 coats of Woo Me sandwiched between Sally Hansen's Double Duty, used as a base and top coat. The flash photo gives a slightly more accurate representation of the colour. There's a hint of grey in the colour, just because the purple is so so light and delicate.

I just find Woo Me to be young, romantic, in love... me, basically! The ribbon on my ring finger is a nail art sticker from a sheet bought at my local market - symptom of my Can't-Leave-It-Alone Syndrome, I wanted to add a little extra romance ^_^

So, what do you think? And what's your favourite polish, I want to know!!

A bientôt,

Lisa xx

17 by Boots Pictacular!

Hello!

As I said in my first post, the polish brand I have most of is 17 by Boots. Their Fast Finish and Lasting Fix ranges are £2.99 each and they have a great variety of pretty colours! So, this post will be showcasing a few photos of my collection - enjoy!

Peacock (LOVE this shade, turquoise with a green shimmer):


Chaperone (again, love it - looks great with a subtle top coat of glitter):


Midnight Sapphire:


Caribbean Coral:


Ruby Gem (a REALLY nice, rich crimson):


Woo Me (index and ring fingers ~ my favourite colour ever!!) and Heart Beat (thumb, middle, pinky):


Royal Indigo (fantastic colour but a little 'demure' for me, doesn't suit me too well):

(click photos for full size)

The vast majority of my 17 polishes are wonderful, but I have to say that I own a couple where the formula seems to be a bit off and is streaky or gloopy when applied. Those polishes are Bolt From The Blue, Nightshade and Mini Skirt - has anyone else found this? I'm not sure if it's a problem with the entire shade or if I just got a bad bottle :-/ In any case this is still one of my favourite brands, mainly because you can get great, vibrant new colours for a cheap price.

I'm wearing Mini Skirt right now, paired with Andrea Fulerton's Gemstone Overcoat (again!). Mini Skirt isn't really a polish I'd want to wear on its own for the above reason, but fortunately the flaky glitter looks beautiful over it. Here we are:

On its own (2 coats)...


... and with the Gemstone Overcoat!


*wiggles nails to gaze at the shimmer*

More posts and pics to come soon, thanks for looking!

Lisa xx

La Femme Beauty's Lilac Cream and Miss Sporty's Metallic Crystal

Hello there!

Now, as I continue to post it will become increasingly clear that I suffer badly from Can't-Leave-It-Alone Syndrome. I always want to add a little extra something to my manis. Sometimes this is good, sometimes this is very very bad. In case of the latter I will always post separate pics of my lovely polishes before I put them together on my nails!!

Today I'm quite happy with my mixing and matching, however. I have topped La Femme Beauty's Lilac Cream with a layer of Miss Sporty's Metallic Planet. Here we go...

(click on photos for full size)

La Femme Beauty is a brand you're most likely to find in discount stores and on market stalls. Indeed, I found this for £1.50 in my local market but I've seen it stocked in loads of places. For a 'cheap' brand the polish actually applies very well: it goes on smoothly and is opaque in 2 coats. The colour is a lilac crème leaning towards a reddish hue.

Miss Sporty coming up:


I bought Miss Sporty's Metallic Crystal at Superdrug while they were doing a 3 for 2 promotion (normally £1.99 each). It is part of their Quick Dry Clubbing Colours range. It is a metallic, futuristic silver. I LOVE this polish! It is very transparent though: the first pic shows 1 coat, the second shows full opacity at 4 coats.

Because of its transparency, I thought Metallic Crystal would make a nice polish for layering - and Lilac Cream seemed a good potential match. Here it is...



Well, I like it personally! You get the space-age shimmery finish of Metallic Crystal with the romantic Lilac Cream glowing through. What do you lovely polishers think?

Shimmery lilac hugs,

Lisa xx

Gemstone Overcoat with Boots Natural Collection's Sugar Mouse

Hello again!

Following yesterday's post, I wanted to try Andrea Fulerton's Gemstone Overcoat over a light shimmer. Sugar Mouse has a warm glow to it not unlike the flaky glitter in Gemstone, so I decided to try it with that. Here is Sugar Mouse before adding the Gemstone Overcoat...



I bought Sugar Mouse a while ago at Boots for the bargain price of £1.89. Unfortunately, despite its beauty it doesn't get used very much as I tend to go for more noticeable manis. It is quite a transparent polish so expect lots of VNL; I'm wearing 2 coats in this pic. The colour is a pearly white shimmer with a little bit of a warm pink/orange glow to it. Its name really does make a fitting description - sweet, innocent and sugary.

Then I added a coat of Gemstone Overcoat...



Close-up to better see the flakes...


Almost forgot a picture with the bottle of Sugar Mouse ;-)

(click on photos for full size)

I was right: the glow of Sugar Mouse and the flaky glitter have the same warmth, so the flakes blend into the polish giving a subtle look. It adds that little extra sparkle to the Sugar Mouse :-)

The only problem I have with the Gemstone Overcoat is that from some angles it looks a little gritty and uneven over the shimmer polish, even though the finish is completely smooth. I would definitely pair it with black polish if I wanted a stronger look, but the subtle pairing has its merits too.

Time to grab something to eat, see you soon!

Lisa xx

'Sugar Mouse' by Boots Natural Collection
'Gemstone Overcoat' by Andrea Fulerton at Superdrug

Andrea Fulerton ~ Gemstone Overcoat

Bonjour à tous!

Well, I had a wonderful day today. I met my lovely friend Carl and we caught up over coffee and a bottle of rosé wine in a French-speaking café, followed by chestnut crêpes at the continental market which happens to be visiting Newcastle city centre right now.

We also wandered the high street, and in Superdrug I was drawn to the Andrea Fulerton nail polish stand like a kid to a sweet shop. The brand seems to specialise in nail art and funky manicures, so there were lots of unique polishes to lust over. I couldn't resist buying the 'French Bright White & Crème' set for £7.99 (review to come); I've been wanting a French manicure set for ages and this one looked perfect.

But what really got me squealing was the 'Gemstone Overcoat'. It is a flaky glitter!!! I have seen flakies on my US friends' blogs but had never spotted them over here. It cost £4.99, which is pretty much my ideal price for a 'special' polish.

(click on photo for full size)

Each nail is topped with one coat of Gemstone Overcoat. As you can see, the glitter flakes have a warm sunset glow and apply quite densely. For comparison I tried it over a bright coral, a classic black, a shimmer turquoise and by itself.

The combination I like best is over black; the flakes look like glowing embers, very dramatic and pretty! I had hoped for a magical mermaid look over the turquoise and didn't get the exact effect I wanted, but I think it would look a lot better with a thinner, more sparse coat of the glitter. I think it would go well over a subtle pink shimmer as well.

Overall I'd say that this is a great buy; I will definitely be using it a lot to spice up my painted nails. Like the Glitter Gal holo in my previous post, it makes a great addition to a sparkle addict's collection - something a little bit different and special. It puts a smile on my face at least!

A bientôt,

Lisa xx

Polish by Andrea Fulerton at Superdrug

Glitter Gal Holographic Polish

I could not think of a prettier polish with which start my blog than the one I'm wearing right now - my first ever holo!

Try as I may, I have not been able to find a holographic polish in UK stores - so I had a look on eBay and found a seller listing Glitter Gal (an Australian brand) holos. I chose the 'Blue' shade, paying around £9 plus £1.50 p&p - above my normal price range but not bad at all for what it is.

Et voilà...


In the shade:


With little angel wing nail stickers (found in my local market) on the ring finger, because my boyfriend calls me his angel ^_^:

(click on photos for full size)

Oh, the shimmery rainbowy goodness!

I am wearing 3 coats of polish here. There is some VNL (visible nail line) but honestly with all the shimmer you barely even notice, much less care. The polish is quite thin and goes on really smoothly and evenly.

The polish is really 'alive', and if you're a sparkle addict like me you'll be constantly wiggling your fingers to stare at the shimmer. I am so impressed and am already drooling over Glitter Gal's website in search of my next buy (when I can afford it!!). The current favourite is 'Not Another Red':

(swatch from the Glitter Gal website)

Who could resist?!

Lisa xx

Polish by Glitter Gal
Polish bought from eBay seller llarowe, a US seller who ships worldwide (can personally recommend, I gave her a 5-star rating)

Welcome

Hello there!

I have followed the advice of friends and started a blog to more neatly showcase my polish pictures. As this is the first post, I'll try to describe the kind of polisher I am...

- I have a childlike love for pretty polish!

- I like to change my nails very often - maybe 2 or 3 times a week.

- I like to experiment with nail art - I'm not that good, but practise makes perfect!

- I am not at all a rich girl, so my price range is usually under £5.

- The brand I own the most of right now is 17 by Boots.

- I am not a nail professional and I'm actually not into make-up in general ~ nail polish is my sole obsession!

OK, I will be back soon to start uploading my polish photos. Bye for now!

Lisa xx