Barry M ~ Pomegranate

Hello!

Today I am showing you Pomegranate, one of Barry M's new Gelly Hi-Shine collection. To clear any confusion, this isn't a jelly polish ~ rather, it gives a super-glossy opaque finish.

Pomegranate is a lovely rich red colour with just a hint of pink. The polish consistency is workably thick and you can tell straight away that it would be good for stamping (and I am going to be trying it out soon!). It dried super-fast making for a convenient mani! I applied 2 coats but could have gotten away with one with slight VNL.

So, here it is!

I really like this! It has such a professional finish. I would especially use this if I wanted to a great-impression manicure but didn't have time or energy to spend on my nails. And I'll definitely go back to buy more of the Gellies!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Barry M ~ Rose Quartz

Hello!

Today I have for you the second of my Barry M Jewel glitter purchases, Rose Quartz. This is a sprinkle/top coat glitter consisting of small silver glitter with a rainbow shimmer and larger rose hex glitter in a clear base.

For my photos I tried Rose Quartz over the following polishes:

Index ~ bare nail
Middle ~ Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud (lavender-hinted white)
Ring ~ 17's Sweet Kisses (pastel pink)
Pinky ~ Nails Inc.'s Power Pink (bright pink)

Here is one coat of Rose Quartz:

And two coats of Rose Quartz:

Personally I think 2 coats is perfect and gives a ton of bling! Like Gold Mine, this cost me £2.99 and is brilliantly special and unique. I only wish they'd somehow made this into a full-cover glitter, now that would be something!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Barry M ~ Gold Mine

Hello!

Today I have for you Gold Mine, one of Barry M's new Jewel glitter polishes. It has lots of gold glitter pieces suspended in a black polish, and it is opaque in 2 coats! The glitter sits well in the polish so that it doesn't get obscured in the black base. It truly looks stunning. 

The photos show 2 coats of Gold Mine with 1 of top coat:

One thing is that, because of the nature of the glitter, the finish isn't super-smooth and I got a couple of bumps where the glitter didn't settle right.  A gentle prod with an orange stick and a second layer of top coat would do the trick though :-)

Gold Mine only cost me £2.99, and right now there's an offer on at Superdrug where you get a free crackle polish with every Barry M purchase over £6. Especially for that price it is truly a special polish, and I'm very excited by all the new trends Barry M has been unveiling recently! Keep 'em coming!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

A Little Haul!

Hello!

Yesterday I went into town to print off my CV for a job interview (eek!), and while I was there I was very naughty and treated myself to a few goodies!

Firstly I went to Superdrug, where for the first time I saw one lone bottle of Gosh's Holographic Hero! People are saying that it's not as good as the original one, but seeing a holo polish on the British high street was too great a temptation to resist! Also, I was delighted to see Barry M's new Gelly collection and two of their new Jewel glitter polishes on display. I chose the Pomegranate Gelly polish (but will probably go back for more) and the two glitters, which were Rose Quartz and Gold Mine. There was an offer on Barry M where you receive a free crackle polish with a £6 purchase, so I chose the purple one ~ honestly I don't use crackles anymore but will try it out, and if it's not for me I will try to find it a happy home ^_^

Next, I had a quick rummage through my trusty local cosmetics stall, and found two bottles of Sally Hansen that caught my eye. The HD polish is called Blu and the Salon Manicure one is Navy Baby, which has a beautiful shimmer in the bottle. I also bought a cuticle remover gel as I am desperately trying to improve the condition of my nails.

And finally I popped into Lush to look for the product that everyone's been talking about, Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter! Already I can tell you that the scent is heavenly. I am going to try my best to be consistent and apply this 2-3 times a day, and I'll let you know if it helps!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Some Stamping!

Hello!

Whilst I haven't always been able to keep up with posting here, I've still been experimenting with stamping and posting some pictures on Instagram. So I'll post three of my favourite attempts here. All have been done using Bundle Monster's latest set, the plates beginning with number 3. I would say that this set is the most invaluable part of my polish paraphernalia, without a doubt! There are so many beautiful designs to choose from and I've barely begun to try them all.

Rose-print nails:

Floral nails:

Paisley-print nails:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Blue China Nails

Hello!

As a present for having gotten my degree, my lovely mam bought me some nail polishes! Included was the 'Urban Girl' set by BeautyUK which I'm sure she found in Superdrug. In the set was a blue-lavender polish, and the moment I saw it I knew what I wanted to try ~ a china pattern mani!

I painted my ring fingers white and the rest with the blue-lavender, then stamped in the alternate colour using the tulip pattern on plate BM306. The BeautyUK polish stamped way too faintly, but amazingly I found another polish in my collection that stamped to a good match! Here it is:

Thank you mam!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

W7 ~ Salt n Pepper

Hello!

I bought W7's Salt n Pepper when it first came out and was being talked about a lot in my Facebook groups ~ then wondered why I did, as I never seemed to want to try it on! I am wearing it for the first time today though, and boy am I glad that I bought it because it looks amazing! Salt and peppery indeed. The photos below show 3 coats, and the matte black glitter and the way it shows through each layer of polish is simply perfect.

Super happy with this!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Job Centre Interview Nails ^_^

Hello!

As I said in my last post, I have just been told I've been awarded a Third Class Honours in my French degree, and so am going out into the world to look for work! I had a Job Centre interview lined up before I got the news, and wanted to make a good impression with a "polite" manicure (even though people will show up in tracksuits, anything they fancy!) so I reached for Care to Danse? by OPI, the lovely lilac French shade. I built some opacity with a few coats and wore it alone rather than with a French tip :-)

The interview went really well, they were very friendly and gave me some useful help.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Geordie Nails, BA (Hons) at your service!

Hello!

This is just a little personal entry to say that I have been awarded a Third Class Honours degree in French! This is a massive deal because for a long time I have been struggling with depression and it is frankly a miracle that I made it this far. My university has been incredibly supportive and it's with their help and understanding that I managed to graduate. I am so so proud and happy.

So now I am about to venture into the grown-up world of work! I think having a job will do wonders for my mental wellbeing, as well as subsidising my polish addiction of course ;-) Time to get job searching!

Thanks so much for reading, and I'll be writing some posts to show my latest manis tonight!

Hugs,

Lisa

MeMeMe ~ Virtuous

Hello!

Now this is a confusing polish and a half! I got MeMeMe's Virtuous as part of my birthday haul back in June, and I'm just getting round to trying it now. On the website, the swatch looked like a cheerful yellow. When it arrived, it looked a mustardy colour. Looking at it in the bottle tonight, it looked like a weird Shrekky sludge. And on my nails, it looks a lovely pale olive!!! So strange.

Despite the confusion this is a really great polish. Like the other MeMeMes I bought, it has a fab formula, well-pigmented and is opaque in 2 coats. For this mani I added accent stripes in purple using striping tape.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Pinspiration ~ Framing and Stamping!

Hello!

After I applied Revlon's White on White yesterday, I was wondering what exactly to do with it ~ then I remembered this manicure by Kayla Shevonne that I'd pinned to my Nail Inspiration board on Pinterest! It comprises beautiful black-on-white floral stamping with a skilled freehand black border. For my own nails I decided to use a butterfly design from Bundle Monster's latest plates, then did my very best to paint a neat border! Here it is:

I really like the framed mani idea, and am pleased with the result, but the problem is that I'm a perfectionist ~ I just can't keep a scruffy-looking mani, and my "frame" is not nearly neat enough for my liking! Are there any tips for doing it perfectly?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Revlon ~ White on White

Hello!

I am always on the look out for good whites that I can use as a base for my manis! I bought Revlon's White on White for £1.99 from my cosmetics stall, so well worth a try.

The below photos show 2 coats! If I were wearing the polish alone and wanted a perfect finish I probably would have added a 3rd, but you can get away with 2 and it's definitely enough if you're planning to use it as a base for more polish or nail art (which I was, and I'll show you tomorrow!).

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Sally Hansen ~ Lavender Marquis

Hello!

Lavender Marquis is the result of wanting to buy a polish, any polish, to cheer myself up lol. It looked pretty in the bottle but when I got it home I realised it's the kind of sheer pearl that I'm really not a fan of! Here are 3 coats:

Meh. I mean it's a pretty colour, but still all bland and wishy-washy. Will I learn my lesson about buying polishes for the sake of it? Doubt it!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lavender Cloud, Stamped

Hello!

After I'd applied Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud yesterday, I wanted to embellish the gorgeous polish with some stamping. I chose the curly flourish pattern from Bundle Monster's newest plates, stamped it in silver and added lilac foil hearts as little accents. It turned out to be a beautiful colour combination and a result I was in love with <3

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Sally Hansen ~ Lavender Cloud

New favourite polish alert!

Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud was bought from my local cosmetics stall for a bargainous £1.99. As I've said before, I am a sucker for creamy shades, so this almost-white-with-a-touch-of-lavender was a dream to me.

The pros of this polish include: the amount of it you get in the huge bottle; the wide brush; it cleans up well around the cuticles with an orange stick, and it is OPAQUE IN 2 COATS! It's a miracle! As a con, the formula is a little runny - but once I realised I was done in 2 coats, I did not care at all.

Here are two photos in natural light and one with flash to better show the lavender hue:

Love, love, in love. Now I'm just deciding whether to stamp over it in lilac or silver.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Miss Sporty ~ 304

Hello!

Today we have polish number 304 by Miss Sporty (I wish they had names on the bottle!), bought for 99p from my local cosmetics stall. 304 is a very bright creme, red verging on the edge of pink I would say. It wasn't the smoothest of applications but I only needed 2 coats for a very standout colour. I then accented both my ring fingers with the lovely trailing flower pattern from Bundle Monster plate BM318. Here it is!

Simple but bold!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

W7 ~ Pink Pearl

Hello!

I found Pink Pearl by W7 for £1.99 on my local cosmetics stall. I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be sheerer than sheer, but it had such ethereal pink flecks in it that I couldn't resist anyway!

The pics below show 3 coats of Pink Pearl on its own on my index and middle fingers, then 1 coat over a baby pink on the ring and pinky fingers. Photo 1 is in natural light, Photo 2 with flash.

I wish I could have photographed the shimmery flecked pink better, but it is really lovely over the base colour. Definitely a layering polish though! Normally I would avoid such a polish but the finish of this is so nice that I would go for it. Not a boring pearl!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Mini Haul!

Hello!

For a while now I've been on a strict no-buy, having decided that I absolutely do not need to buy any more nail polish ever, no matter how enticing it may be, as I have enough in my collection to give manicures to a small country. But I've been feeling a bit rubbish so decided to have a wander up to my local cosmetics stall in Eldon Square to see if there were any bargains to be had!

The top row of polishes came to a grand total of £8.95. First is Lavender Cloud by Sally Hansen, because I am an absolute sucker for creamy shades! Second is Nude Shimmer, also by Sally Hansen. This looks so, so pretty and I was very happy to find it ~ the "Diamond Strength" polishes that end up on the stall tend to be more old-fashioned. Third is White on White by Revlon, because I'm always using white polishes till they go gloopy on me. Fourth is an unnamed polish by Miss Sporty ~ on the stall it looked a shocking pink but in the light of my bedroom it seems to lean towards orange! And finally, we have Pink Pearl by W7. I don't know if I'll be disappointed by this one, but it looks like it might be incredible layered over a solid pink. We shall see!

The top coats were from Superdrug and considerably more expensive! I've lost my original matte top coat by Rimmel in the landfill of my bedroom, so had to shell out for another. As for the No Chip, I'm still looking for my perfect top coat! I want a wide brush, not too thick polish, no tipwear and doesn't smudge my stamping. Let's see if good old Sally Hansen has the answer :-)

I know I've kept posting saying I'll try to blog more, it's been really hard. I'm going through a terrible time with my depression. But this time I am promising to try on the above polishes and show them to you!

Hugs,

Lisa, Geordie Nails xx