17 ~ Spring Petal

Hello!

Today I am showing you the first of 17's new Spring polishes that I've tried out, Spring Petal. It's a lovely, warm, pinky-coral with a slight pearly shimmer to it. The photos below show 2 coats, but I could have gone for a third for perfect coverage.

I actually really like this!  I was disappointed when I saw that this Spring's "in" colours were bright and tropical, because that's so not my style ~ but this polish is not in-your-face, it's just eye-catching in the loveliest of ways and it is bringing me round to the trend.  I can't wait to try out my other 17 colours!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

I never meant for this to happen...

...but I went to the dentist and to a lecture today and came home with all these:

:-O

Firstly, the 17 Spring collection is out!!!  Not as lovely as last year's vintage colours, but a lot nicer than some of the Spring brights I've seen in press releases.  The first Boots store I went to only had Glisten and Spring Petal, so I bought them and a fresh bottle of Sweet Kisses as there's a 3 for 2 offer on.  My bigger local Boots store had all the new colours, but I chickened out on the green one and got Mellow Yellow along with Royal Rose (is this new?) and Mint Choc Chip.

Aaand, Revlon have new scented polishes out!  These ones carry the name 'Fizz' and the polish reflects that ~ it looks nice and shifty and shimmery in the bottle.  I got Grape Fizz and Grapefruit Fizz, and may go back for the Orange Fizz if I could pluck up the courage to wear it!  They are 2 for £10 at Boots, which is still expensive for me so I don't know what came over me!

The last four buys are from my trusty market stall ;-)  I was delighted to see a bottle of Revlon's Blue Lagoon peeking out, and also one of the older scented polishes in Papaya.  I also got a bold blue and lovely lilac by Rimmel.

So yes... bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad LisLis.  Someone take my debit card away from me please!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

PCF Spring Challenge ~ Your Favourite Spring Lilac

Hello!

Like the 'Spring pink' challenge, this was a natural choice ~ 17's Woo Me, also from their Spring Vintage collection, is one of my favourite polishes ever.  It is just lovely!

Again, this is an old pic, hence the (very, my god!) long nails.

~

The Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge is a group on Facebook where members take part in fun and varied nail art challenges! I am currently participating in the Spring Nail Art Challenge. Here are the other lovely group members and their blogs:

The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.com

Purple Fairy Dust All Things Beautiful -
http://claire-purplefairydust.blogspot.com/

Manicurity - http://manicurity.blogspot.com/ and http://manicurity.tumblr.com/

PhishPosh and Polish - http://pishposhandpolish.blogspot.com/

Bee Polished - http://beepolished.blogspot.com

Obsessive Compulsive Nail Painting Disorder - http://ocnpd.blogspot.com

http://bubblyfairy-nailpolishjunkie.blogspot.com/

Happy Nails - http://happynailsuk.blogspot.com

Tales of Knit and Nails - http://ofknitandnails.blogspot.com/

The Girl with Rainbow Hands - http://rainbowhands.blogspot.com

No Junk Nail - http://NoJunkNail.blogspot.com

Only Always Soccermom - http://soccermom5982.blogspot.com

The Nail Newbie - http://nail-newbie.blogspot.com

~

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Strictly Fabulous Nail Polish ~ Sparkle

Hello!

Today I am showing you Sparkle, a polish which came as part of the Strictly Fabulous box set I received for Christmas from my parents! Now, I don't think I have watched Strictly Come Dancing in my life, but I was very glad of this present ~ there are a few little polishy gems in that box :-)

Sparkle is a warm, shimmery, peach/pink polish and I absolutely adore it. The colours it flashes... ooh! So ethereal and mermaidy.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

PCF Spring Challenge ~ Pink Polka Dots

Hello!

Today is the 'pink polka dot' mani. Firstly, I have to say that I did not realise how much cleanup this mani needed till I saw the photo! A shame because, other than that, I really quite liked my sweet lil' spring polka dots. The white base is Color Club's French white, and the pink is 17's Sweet Kisses, which I dotted on with a dotting tool.

~

The Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge is a group on Facebook where members take part in fun and varied nail art challenges! I am currently participating in the Spring Nail Art Challenge. Here are the other lovely group members and their blogs:

The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.com

Purple Fairy Dust All Things Beautiful -
http://claire-purplefairydust.blogspot.com/

Manicurity - http://manicurity.blogspot.com/ and http://manicurity.tumblr.com/

PhishPosh and Polish - http://pishposhandpolish.blogspot.com/

Bee Polished - http://beepolished.blogspot.com

Obsessive Compulsive Nail Painting Disorder - http://ocnpd.blogspot.com

http://bubblyfairy-nailpolishjunkie.blogspot.com/

Happy Nails - http://happynailsuk.blogspot.com

Tales of Knit and Nails - http://ofknitandnails.blogspot.com/

The Girl with Rainbow Hands - http://rainbowhands.blogspot.com

No Junk Nail - http://NoJunkNail.blogspot.com

Only Always Soccermom - http://soccermom5982.blogspot.com

The Nail Newbie - http://nail-newbie.blogspot.com

~

Hugs,

Lisa xx

PCF Spring Challenge ~ Spring Clean

Diet Update ~ I have been having dreams where I semi-consciously stuff my face with chocolate, then horrifiedly remember my diet.  -_-  In real life though I'm enjoying lovely fruit snacks and being in control of what I'm eating!  Lisa xx

Hello!

Today is time for the 'spring clean' mani, an out-of-season colour.  Shamefully, I bought 17's Magnetized polish in the week it came out in the Autumn... and have worn it ONCE.  Bad bad Lisa.  So for today's mani it had a spring-clean airing, and here it is:

It's lovely but I'm definitely out-of-practice with getting a strong magnet effect!

~

The Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge is a group on Facebook where members take part in fun and varied nail art challenges! I am currently participating in the Spring Nail Art Challenge. Here are the other lovely group members and their blogs:

The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.com

Purple Fairy Dust All Things Beautiful -
http://claire-purplefairydust.blogspot.com/

Manicurity - http://manicurity.blogspot.com/ and http://manicurity.tumblr.com/

PhishPosh and Polish - http://pishposhandpolish.blogspot.com/

Bee Polished - http://beepolished.blogspot.com

Obsessive Compulsive Nail Painting Disorder - http://ocnpd.blogspot.com

http://bubblyfairy-nailpolishjunkie.blogspot.com/

Happy Nails - http://happynailsuk.blogspot.com

Tales of Knit and Nails - http://ofknitandnails.blogspot.com/

The Girl with Rainbow Hands - http://rainbowhands.blogspot.com

No Junk Nail - http://NoJunkNail.blogspot.com

Only Always Soccermom - http://soccermom5982.blogspot.com

The Nail Newbie - http://nail-newbie.blogspot.com

~

Hugs,

Lisa xx

A Little Diary & Velvet Lace Nails

Hello!

Firstly, a little personal note... I have started a diet!  I'm finding this a big thing to admit on my blog but I've crossed the line between overweight and obese, and need to do something about it.  I'm doing it on my own but am using the WeightWatchers points system (I'm lost without structure and this really works for me!).  So I might be adding little notes to my posts letting you know my progress if you care to read them!  Lisa xx

OK, now onto the goodies... tonight's mani!  I went for my black lace nail foil and applied it over a light, vintage pink (17's Woo Me) for a romantic French feel.  Then I wondered if a matte top coat would make the lace look more... well... lace-y, and I really quite like how the finished mani looks!

The matte top coat makes the lace foil look lovely and velvety!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

PCF Spring Challenge ~ Small Flowers

Hello!

Here is my small flowers/flower bed mani, which I am really quite proud of! With the help of tape and French manicure guides, I painted a green grass bed and then stuck on cheerful little dried flowers.

~

The Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge is a group on Facebook where members take part in fun and varied nail art challenges! I am currently participating in the Spring Nail Art Challenge. Here are the other lovely group members and their blogs:

The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.com

Purple Fairy Dust All Things Beautiful -
http://claire-purplefairydust.blogspot.com/

Manicurity - http://manicurity.blogspot.com/ and http://manicurity.tumblr.com/

PhishPosh and Polish - http://pishposhandpolish.blogspot.com/

Bee Polished - http://beepolished.blogspot.com

Obsessive Compulsive Nail Painting Disorder - http://ocnpd.blogspot.com

http://bubblyfairy-nailpolishjunkie.blogspot.com/

Happy Nails - http://happynailsuk.blogspot.com

Tales of Knit and Nails - http://ofknitandnails.blogspot.com/

The Girl with Rainbow Hands - http://rainbowhands.blogspot.com

No Junk Nail - http://NoJunkNail.blogspot.com

Only Always Soccermom - http://soccermom5982.blogspot.com

The Nail Newbie - http://nail-newbie.blogspot.com

~

Hugs,

Lisa xx

PCF Spring Challenge ~ Your Favourite Spring Pink

...and it just HAS to be 17's Sweet Kisses!

I believe this was part of 17's Spring Vintage collection last year, and that just sums it up... a lovely, vintage, non-sickly pink.

These are old pics, hence the slightly longer nails!

~

The Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge is a group on Facebook where members take part in fun and varied nail art challenges! I am currently participating in the Spring Nail Art Challenge. Here are the other lovely group members and their blogs:

The Crumpet - http://thecrumpet.blogspot.com

Purple Fairy Dust All Things Beautiful -
http://claire-purplefairydust.blogspot.com/

Manicurity - http://manicurity.blogspot.com/ and http://manicurity.tumblr.com/

PhishPosh and Polish - http://pishposhandpolish.blogspot.com/

Bee Polished - http://beepolished.blogspot.com

Obsessive Compulsive Nail Painting Disorder - http://ocnpd.blogspot.com

http://bubblyfairy-nailpolishjunkie.blogspot.com/

Happy Nails - http://happynailsuk.blogspot.com

Tales of Knit and Nails - http://ofknitandnails.blogspot.com/

The Girl with Rainbow Hands - http://rainbowhands.blogspot.com

No Junk Nail - http://NoJunkNail.blogspot.com

Only Always Soccermom - http://soccermom5982.blogspot.com

The Nail Newbie - http://nail-newbie.blogspot.com

~

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Happy Valentine's Day!

^_^

I have already received my presents from my lovely fiancé, and amongst the bundle of romantic little goodies he gave me is Barry M's Red Glitter ~ and so this is my Valentine's mani! He got me the Blue Glitter for Christmas and I've been wanting the red one ever since, so it was a perfect present!  Here is the glitter, photographed with the red rose he also got me (eeeeeeeee!):

Needless to say I feel extremely spoilt, lucky and in love. Happy Valentine's Day to all!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Matte Flakie Mani

Hello!

Today's mani was inspired by Gems in a Bottle ~ I had never thought of mattifying my flakies and it looks beautiful!  So ethereal.  I'm wearing 2 coats of Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure over OPI's I Vant to be A-Lone Star, sealed with Rimmel's matte top coat.

Love love love!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

OPI ~ Come to Poppy

Hello!

Come to Poppy is one of the OPI minis I own, from the Nice Stems! set.  I wanted to put on a quick and pretty colour before I ran out the door, and this was my choice.  It's red/pink with a nice solid shimmer to it, really pretty ~ the colour did make me feel a little like a Barbie doll!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Rose Decals

Hello!

Today I'm showing you the amazing mani I'm wearing now, using full-cover water decals with a rose design!

These were not difficult at all to use, but application was very time-consuming!  I positioned the wetted decals over my nails (painted a rose red to match just in case of gaps, but wasn't really necessary), then carefully filed away the extra on top and used a cotton bud with polish remover for the sides.  You do have to be careful not to pull at the decal.  Since this was my first time using full-covers the resulting mani could be a tiny bit neater, but I am SO happy with how it looks.  Truly the decals are amazing and I feel so romantic!!!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Patchwork Heart Nails

Hello!

Today's mani is using some of the water decals I got in my Nail Delights package yesterday. I think I paid 50p in the sale for this sheet of Patchwork Hearts decals, which is ridiculously good!

For the mani I wanted a sweet look so I painted my nails alternately with 17's Sweet Kisses and Woo Me, then chose some patchwork hearts to place on my usual accent nails!

So sweet ^_^ (P.S. Please forgive the clumsy bits!)

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Nail Delights Haul!

Hello!

There was lots of happy meeping when I dashed back home between university and the dentist, as my Nail Delights package had arrived!!

Here we have water decals (full-cover rose, lettering, chocolate hearts, patchwork hearts, glow-in-the-dark tips!), really nice textured flower stickers, shiny nail foil and 2 packs of what were described as cracked ice glitter flakes... they look like they'll be REALLY cool to add to manis.

Now, if time allows, I shall daub on a quick new mani then rush off to the dentist ~ eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Max Factor ~ Dazzling Blue

Hello!

Dazzling Blue is the polish I bought alongside Fanstasy Fire since they were 2 for £5.99 at Superdrug.  It is shimmery, mermaid-y, barely opaque and has a lot of green tint to it!  It is a lovely polish but Dazzling Blue is a bit of a misnomer!  Here are two coats:

P.S. I forgot that I tried out the polish while my nails were still long as well, here's a flash pic where you can see the green hue:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

NOTD: Foil on Foil!

Hello!

First of all, I have been naughty and ordered from Nail Delights during their sale.  A mixture of foil, water decals, stickers and glitters should be on their way to my door very soon!

Today I got out my Lilac Crush nail foil and added shards of it over Barry M's Lilac Foil Effects polish.  Here it is!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Laura Paige ~ Diamond Amethyst

Hello!

Diamond Amethyst is part of my bargain haul from yesterday. I found the Laura Paige stand in my local pharmacy and snapped up this polish for £2.29.  The polish base is lavender-tinted and has amethyst micro-glitter and larger holo glitter!  Here are two coats over 17's Woo Me:

The sparkle is truly amazing.  I can't believe I got this so cheap from a brand that's stuck in pharmacies!  It really is a joy.  I might try it over a different base colour; as you can see, the lavender tint altered Woo Me completely.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Another Bargain Haul :-)

Hello!

First of all, apologies for my sporadic posting as of late ~ I've just started back at uni for second semester. As I've been ill with stress since September it's really daunting, but so far I'm managing to do work and attend classes, and I'm proud of myself :-)

This bargain haul comes, of course, from my favourite "barrow", but also from my local pharmacy! Here it is:

From the barrow are 5 £1.99 finds:

Sally Hansen nail growth solution ~ my nails grow really well anyway but wanted to give them a helping hand!
Sally Hansen Dry Kwik top coat ~ I usually like to take time over my nails but it's hard when you're in a rush for uni and you're trying to put tights on with a fresh mani!
Sally Hansen Super Shine top coat
Sally Hansen Diamond Strength 'Love in Bloom' ~ a sweet shimmery rose
Revlon 'Rock' ~ a cool purple crème

And at my pharmacy, I found 2 amazing glitters!  It's one of those outmoded pharmacies where they cram as many random products into their tiny shop as possible, and they have a Laura Paige cosmetics stand.  I remember my mam letting me get an unfashionable, chalky pink Laura Paige polish when I was 9!  Normally nothing on the stand catches my eye, but then I saw these glitters ^_^

Laura Paige 'Diamond Amethyst' ~ a mix of purple-based micro glitter and larger holo glitter
Laura Paige 'Diamond Opal' ~ seems to be blue and silver glitter.

I have on Diamond Amethyst and it's amazing, can't wait to try the others!

Hugs,

Lisa

Mani on the move!

Before I run off to my lecture, here is a quick pic of my baby-short nails wearing 2 coats of Glitter Gal's holo Frappe!

Hugs,

Lisa xx