Pastel with Lace Stamping

Aargh!  I just clicked something in my Pictures folder and now my new polish photos aren't where they used to be and nothing I click can make them resurface to the top of the folder :"-(  Boo!

My mani today is 17's pale lavender Woo Me with white lace stamped over the tips using my Konad m71 plate.  I really, really wanted this colour on my nails before I applied it, but now it's on I want to change it!  How silly of me.  Anyway, it still does look pretty...

Sorry about my ragged nails there, I'd just done a bad job of cutting and filing them *blush*

Before I go, here are some extra pics of Woo Me on its own ~ as I already mentioned a while back, it is my favourite polish!  I'll need to get a new bottle soon as mine is running out!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Random Polish Pick ~ Vivid Violet!

Hello!

In life I tend to be a comfort-zone girl and go for the same things over and over ~ the same meal at a restaurant, the same Starbucks, etc.  Today I wanted to go for a polish I wouldn't automatically pick,so I used the high-tech randomisation technique of closing my eyes, sticking my hand over my polish collection and picking the first one I grabbed XD 

I ended up picking No7's Vivid Violet, a nice purple shimmer.  I made the mani my own by adding a super-sparkly accent nail of Filthy Gorgeous' Opulence.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge ~ My LEAST Favourite Polish

Hello!

Firstly, I am very happy to be part of the Purple Crumpet Fairy group and am excited for the polishy fun ahead!

This week's challenge is to show your least favourite polish, and I have chosen 17's Bolt From The Blue.  This polish is also my biggest disappointment because I chose it as a birthday present for myself and was SO looking forward to trying this lovely pale, pale blue.  Unfortunately the consistency, application and finish are dreadful.  The pics below show the polish after I'd thinned it down a bit and it's still dreadful.  And no photograph could convey the icky application.  Sob :"-(

I think 17's Lasting Fix polishes are a lot more reliable than their Fast Finish ones, which seem to be a bit of a gamble.  This polish goes firmly to the back of my collection :-(

Crumpetty hugs,

Lisa xx

NOTD: Violetta + Gemstone Overcoat

Hello!

Just to start off with, the depressing North East Winter days are being considerably brightened by the continental market that is in the city centre right now!  I have already conversed in French with some stallholders whilst buying a crêpe with Grand Marnier, and will return to check out the French pâtisserie stall and also buy some roast chestnuts ^_^ Happy times!

Today I have two of my favourite polishes for the Winter combined: No7's Violetta and Andrea Fulerton's Gemstone Overcoat!  I love the purdy flaky glitter over such a colourful dark purple.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Polishaholics Anonymous... um... Thursday Nail Art Challenge?

Oops ^_^

I didn't see Mondays' Polishaholics challenge till Tuesday, and didn't get a chance to post till today - but the theme was lace and I had some nail decals just waiting to be used!

I bought these full-nail white lace stickers for £2.50 from Accessorize, and placed them over alternating pink and grey nails (Sweetheart and Chaperone, both by 17).  I wish I had better photos of the result, because it really did look pretty and charming... apologies in advance, these really are blurred!

If I were to criticise the lace transfers, they weren't sized too well - there were gaps at the side of the nail.  I don't think it's bad enough to make them lose their beauty, though.  They are probably meant to be worn for a special event, not for everyday attention-seekers like myself, but they did last a good day or two before looking tired.  I would definitely buy them again!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

My First Franken!

Hello!

For a teeny while I've been eyeing my bottle of W7's Blue Diamonds and wanting to make a franken with it.  I mixed its large blue hex glitters with Saffron's Shade 2 - various smaller sizes of rainbow-flashing silver glitter - a smidgen of Barry M's Iridescent Pink, and a touch of clear polish.  The two main glitters were cheap market-stall buys, so I felt happy to experiment with them.  This is the result:

And a glitter close-up:

It's my first ever attempt at mixing a polish; it was quite hard to get the proportions of each glitter right, and the resulting polish is a tiny bit thick, but I am really quite happy and proud!

Here are two coats on nude nails:

And over a few colours, 1-2 coats of franken depending on how it came out :-) :

What do you think?  Have you ever attempted mixing your own polish?  And do you think I should name mine?!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Nails Inc. ~ Victoria

Hello!

As other UK girls may have seen, Glamour magazine have a Nails Inc. polish as a free gift this month!  Ordinarily Nails Inc. polishes sell for £11 each, so as a freebie with a £2 magazine it was worth a buy!  I think there are a choice of 4 different shades and I chose a magazine with Victoria, a deep plum colour.

Here are two coats:

I have a base and top coat by Nails Inc., but this is my first colour.  I found the application a little awkward but the finished result was glossy, rich and a lovely colour.

Would I pay £11 for this polish?  No.  But as a free gift with a £2 magazine (which was a good read, by the way), I say go out there and snap one up!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Fiancé's Choice ~ Smashed-Up!

Hello!

To my fiancé's nail polish choice of space-age silver Moonstruck by 17, I added Models Own's black Smash-Up polish for a rock look!

Hugs,

Lisa

Fiancé's Choice ~ 17's Moonstruck

Hello!

I asked my fiancé to pick a nail polish for me in Boots, and this is what he chose ~ Moonstruck by 17, a solid silver.  It's one of his favourite colours :-)

Moonstruck is a one-coater, but the pics below show two as I was planning on topping it with a crackle.  It is a very industrial and space-age silver!  You can see the brushstrokes, but it doesn't look bad.

And with flash...

I like the sentimental value of looking at my nails and knowing my fiancé chose the polish... I am so soppy!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Filthy Gorgeous ~ Opulence

Glitter ahoy!

On Thursday I was walking through Fenwick, a posh Newcastle department store, on my way to university (which failed miserably... I felt too ill after an hour and had to leave :-( ).  They had two new displays of this brand Filthy Gorgeous, one of which was a selection of 3D glitters, and I snapped one up. It cost £9, way over my budget ~ I have no idea what I was thinking but looking down at my nails right now I am kinda glad I'm so crazy!

The polish I chose is called Opulence, a densely packed silver-blue glitter in a transparent blue base.  Here are two coats in natural light:

Wow!  It really does pop and looks... well... opulent!  This polish cheers me up every time I look down at my nails ^_^

I had never heard of the brand Filthy Gorgeous before but it seems really cool!  Here's a quick photo of the bottle showing off the lace-print cap and the cool plectrum charm that comes with the bottle:

As for the £9 price tag... I won't moan too much since I was the one silly enough to go over my budget and buy it ;-)  If the price is fine for you I would definitely recommend checking this 3D glitter range out!!!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

NOTD: Lace on Pink

Bonjour!

Today I am wearing my Black Lace nail foil (bought from Nail Delights) over Revlon's very lovely, milky Sheer Pink for a bit of a French look! 

Bisous,

Lisa xx

Wintry Glitter Gal Mani!

Hello!

These are two Glitter Gal holo polishes ~ Frappe with an accent nail of Blue, both 3 coats.  On the accent nail I placed some snowflake nail art stickers and I feel ready to sparkle through Winter!

Holographic hugs,

Lisa xx

NOTD: Sparkling Ruby Gem!

Hello!

Today I got out 17's Ruby Gem - a beautiful, rich crimson - and topped it with 2 coats of INM's silver holo glitter.  It is insanely sparkly and... even though I firmly believe Christmas should be ignored till December 1st at the very earliest... rather festive!

Glimmering in the dark...

...and BAM!!!

I am loving the holo goodness ^_^

Sparklingly yours,

Lisa xx

NOTD: English Rose

Hello!

Today I applied my English Rose nail foil for a sweet romantic look - I love this foil!  I applied just one coat of sheer white as a base colour and that hid any little patches and wear.

Hugs, 

Lisa xx

Matte Meep!

Meeeeeeeeep!!!

Meep-Meep-Meep meep meep meep meeeeeeeeeeeep ^_^  Meep meep meep meep meeeeeeeep!  Meep meep meep meep meep meep meep meep Meep-Meep-Meep, meep meep meep meep meep meep.  Meep.  xx *

*Hello!

I have discovered that OPI's Meep-Meep-Meep looks great matte - the photos below don't show it as well as in the flesh, but the shimmery flecks look wonderful.  Today I've put gems on each nail over matte Meep-Meep-Meep, and the last photo shows a stamping effort I tried yesterday xx

Meep,

Lisa xx

Glitter Gal ~ Frappe

Hello!

I received in the post the Glitter Gal polish I'd ordered from llarowe with her Halloween Scavenger Hunt coupon ~ Frappe!  It's a beautiful delicate lavender colour that I have been lusting after ever since I first saw it.

Shown below is two coats of Frappe over one coat of a similar solid shade, 17's Woo Me.  Glitter Gal polishes are a real luxury for me so I like to economise a little!

It is soooo beautiful and dreamy; I will love wearing this for a little sparkle all Winter.

Did anyone else enter the Glitter Gal polish naming contest?  I am so hoping that one of my humble entries gets chosen!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

BYS Colour-Changing Polish

Hello!

This is my first time trying a colour-changing polish, and I LOVE it!!!  The polish changes colour with temperature - purple when it's cold, pink when it's hot.

This is 4 coats of the polish - the formula is sheer but in quite a pleasant way, so I could have gotten away with less. 

When I went out in the cold, the tips of my nails were a strong purple; when I was cuddled up warm in bed, the whole nail was pink.  It was so cute to see!  I am easily entertained, heehee.  You can actually see in the last picture that the polish has gotten more pink than in the previous two - that's because I had just applied the polish when I took the photos and it was still adjusting to my body heat!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Pikachu Mani!

Firstly, all credit for this mani goes to cutepolish and her YouTube tutorial!

It was a great coincidence that I received a sweet yellow polish as a nail mail present and then stumbled across a Pikachu mani idea on YouTube... I just had to try it out and it is indeed super-cute ^_^

Unfortunately, I am desperate to try out my colour-changing polish from the same nail mail (blog post to come!) so Pikachu did not stay for long... but he may make a reappearance if ever I am brave enough to wear him for uni ;-)

Pika-pika hugs,

Lisa xx