Review ~ piCture pOlish Revolution

Hello!

Revolution by Picture Polish is a special base coat designed to remove glitter polish easily. This hit me as a godsend as I love glitters but equally love to change my manis often, so I'm often put off by the arduous glitter removal process! I bought it for £10 from Sally Magpies, a UK-based webstore, and have since used it for a few manicures so can give a review :-)

Application: Instructions for application are to apply 2 thin coats with dry time in-between. Revolution applies naturally thinly, and it looks like the bottle will last me ages and ages. Dry time was extremely fast; I only needed a minute between the first and second coats and I waited perhaps 5 minutes in total before applying my polish over it.

Wear: Revolution did not seem to interfere with the quality of my manicure at all - no chipping, peeling etc.

Removal: To remove my manicure I used a cotton pad well soaked in remover. I pressed the pad on my nails for a few moments before gently scrubbing the glitter off. Denser glitter required more scrubbing but in all cases the polish came off completely and with no damage to my nails. I did notice a slight glue-like residue left on some of my nails which I had to scrape off.

My Thoughts: Revolution does take away the stress of removing glitter! I no longer think twice before choosing a glitter polish to wear. It's not exactly a miracle - you do still need to do some scrubbing - but, in my opinion, it is the option which gives you the least stress whilst maintaining a high-quality manicure.

Comparison to PVA Glue: Before I bought Revolution I used the PVA glue method when wearing glitter polish ~ basically, you apply 2 thin coats of PVA glue as a base coat and peel off your glitter manicure when you're done with it. The downsides of this over Revolution are a longer dry time, the glue being dislodged when tidying the edges of your mani, and that your manicure can start peeling before you want it to! However, I would still fully recommend the glue method as a quick and easy option if you don't want to shell out £10.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Barry M ~ Blue Glitter

Hello!

Today I'm wearing Barry M's Blue Glitter. Swatches just don't seem to do this polish justice, as in the flesh its depth and sparkliness is unreal. It's a dense glitter, requiring 2 coats - I put it over a quick blue base but you really don't need to. Here it is:

Now take that photo and add depth, more bluey blueness and the tears of a unicorn, and you will have what Blue Glitter looks like in the flesh. I cannot recommend the Barry M full-cover glitters enough.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Dandelion & Glitter Manicure

Hello!

For this mani I tried a variation on my last idea: having thumb and ring glitter accents, a sweet colour and a little stamped pattern. I kept the same glitter, Nails Inc's Maida Vale, and I painted the rest of my nails with Accessorize's Ivory Lace. For the dandelion clock stamp I used my Nailz Craze plate and Essie's Blue Rhapsody. Here it is:

I feel it comes second to the Bird & Glitter idea but Ivory Lace is one of my favourite colours, so delicate!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Bird & Glitter Manicure

Hello!

I am currently wearing a manicure that I truly love and will probably be wearing again in varying incarnations ^_^

First of all, I ordered Picture Polish's Revolution from Sally Magpies and it arrived on Tuesday. It is a special base coat which allows for glitter polish to be removed like a normal polish, with no fuss or furious scrubbing. I'm still testing it out but will let you know my thoughts as soon as possible!

So, for this manicure, I applied two thin coats of Revolution to my thumbs and ring fingers and then painted them with Nails Inc's Maida Vale to make dazzling accent nails. I painted the rest of my nails with Models Own's Blueberry Muffin, a pale pastel blue-purple. Then, to my middle fingers, I stamped a little bird from my Cheeky plate. The result is this:

This is the happiest I've been with a manicure in a while! I think I could try different colours and little stamped images too.

What is your absolute favourite manicure to wear?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Apple Pie Manicure!

Hello!

Today I'm showing you another of the Models Own scented polishes (Boots have them on 3 for 2 and I fell for it like the bad Lisa I am). This one is Apple Pie, a bright pastel green. Like the other polishes in the range it genuinely smells like it's supposed to - tangy apples!

I actually have a pie design on my Cheeky Home Sweet Home stamping plate so I painted 3 coats of Apple Pie and stamped away...

Délicieux!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Recreate Someone Else's Mani

Hello!

Today is the very last of the laid-back 31 Day Challenge! I've absolutely loved it ~ it's gotten me back into blogging, inspired me to try new ideas and I've had the pleasure of seeing amazing manicures from the other challengers. It feels strange that it's over! :-(

The final day is to recreate someone else's mani from earlier in the challenge. This would have been so hard, as every single day I've been inspired, but I decided to take the mani that popped straight into my memory as being fun, cute and with a personal meaning to me. Missy from Missy's Manis did a ladybird manicure for the "Inspired by Nature" challenge ~ I know she didn't think they turned out right but I found them adorable and personally loved the half-moon idea! Ladybirds also remind me of my grandad, so this was my choice ^_^

I used Barry M's Pomegranate as the base red then added the detail with my black Barry M nail art pen.

I'm so sad this is over but we have a final set of amazing manicures to click on below ~ thank you so much if you've been following my nail art journey!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Rose Quartz Sammich

Hello!

This is a manicure I did a couple of weeks ago. I took Barry M's Rose Quartz glitter polish and layered it between a sheer pink (I think it was OPI Bubblebath). I left a coat of glitter on the top and finished it with a matte top coat to complete the look. Here it is!

Glitter heaven!!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

InVogue Feather Polish ~ Sunset

Hello!

This is my third and final Fragrance Direct naughty purchase ~ a dupe of the Nails Inc feather effect polish that I really wanted but couldn't justify spending £11 on! InVogue's Sunset consists of bar glitter in a gorgeous mix of peach and white. I painted a base colour of white then proceeded to add 3 coats of Sunset...

*small voice* I don't like it.

I was so looking forward to wearing this polish but it didn't look nice on the nail at all (although it seems to have fared better when photographed). Perhaps the solid white base was too much; I will definitely try it again; perhaps with a less opaque nude base. I'll also be more patient as, when I saw that it wasn't going well, I didn't try to keep my coats nice and thin and it ended up lumpy on my nails.

Sigh... to be tried again!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Rose-Stamped Manicure

Hello!

Today I am showing you yet another Cheeky manicure (I could use this Home Sweet Home plate forever, I swear). My base colour is another new OPI purchase, Elephantastic Pink. It is a gorgeous pink and the perfect base for some roses, which I stamped on in white. Here they are:

Very cute and cheery!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

OPI ~ Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear?

Hello!

I bought OPI's orange sorbet polish from Fragrance Direct ~ I really, really shouldn't have but the price was right and I couldn't resist!

"Y'all Come Back, Ya Hear?" is a perfect polish for the Summer, sheer with the colour of fresh orange juice. As I've mentioned before I am not shy about my nails and am more than happy to swan around with orange polish and a visible nail line if I think it's pretty! Here are two coats:

So juicy!!!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Your Favourite Nail Art Technique

Hello!

My favourite nail art technique is really a no-brainer... stamping! So for today's challenge I once again got out my new Cheeky stamping plate and chose the coffee bean design for a caffeine-fuelled mani ^_^

My base colour was Sally Hansen's Without A Stitch, a delicate latte shade. I stamped on the coffee beans and added real gold flakes by way of OPI's Man with The Golden Gun for some espresso opulence!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired by a Blogger

Hello!

For today's challenge, I scoured my Nail Inspiration board on Pinterest and found a beautiful mani that I pinned to try a while ago. It's by francophone blogger Didoline's Nails and it is a white paisley print over pale pink. I used the same base colour as she did, OPI's Bubble Bath, and a similar design from my Bundle Monster plates. Here is my homage:

How delicate?!

Merci beaucoup à Didoline's Nails for the inspiration, and I can't wait to look at my fellow challengers' inspired manis below!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Models Own ~ Pink Punch

Hello!

I've been meaning to post this for a while ~ I bought Pink Punch when Boots had a 3 for 2 deal on, and I absolutely LOVE it. It's part of Models Own's latest neon range. The press release said that you can allegedly keep the neon colour bright by keeping the bottle in the fridge... well I'm pretty sure my dad would have something to say if I started putting my polish collection in the family fridge, so sadly I won't find out if it's true!

I would say the polish is on the red/pink border, a lovely colour. It's slightly on the sheer side but in a nice way, and it builds up well. It has a slightly matte finish; my photo below shows it with a matte top coat as well because I tried a glossy finish at first and didn't like it. I was not prepared for how BRIGHT it is. Have a look:

Wowza!!! After nearly 2 years of polishing and blogging I am not shy about what I put on my nails, and this neon will get you noticed from the other side of the country. It is stunning. It makes me want to buy the rest of the collection even though I can't afford to!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Modern Floral Manicure

Hello!

I am back with another manicure using my new Home Sweet Home stamping plate by Cheeky. The inspiration was a little storage box I have in my bedroom which holds old penpal letters ~ it's silver with a pink and blue blossom branch print. Here is the mani, with the box in the background:

For the stamping I used Sally Hansen's The Sky's The Limit on my thumbs and ring fingers, and Barry M's Grapefruit on the rest. They're both amazing polishes for stamping and give a really rich colour! Again I have to say that I love my new stamping plate and there will be more Cheeky manicures to come!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired by your Favourite Colour

Hello!

I think my favourite colour is blue, so for this challenge I went for the bluest blue ever then smothered it in the sparkliest blue glitter know to man. It's bluetastic ;-)

My base is the famous crazy-blue Baker Street by Nails Inc, and on top is two coats of their Sapphire Nail Jewellery. The resulting sparkle is hard to capture on camera but it is a veritable bluefest!

Blue Hugs,

Lisa xx

Blueberry Muffin Manicure!

Hello!

This is another manicure using my new Cheeky 'Home Sweet Home' stamping plate; you'll be seeing a lot of them as I can't wait to try out all the designs!

One of the patterns is of smiling little muffins, which is just perfect as I actually have a scented polish by Models Own called Blueberry Muffin! It's a gorgeous light pastel on the border of blue and purple with a very pleasant scent - it is actually reminiscent of a blueberry muffin and doesn't have a chemical edge at all. I painted 3 coats then stamped on the pattern with Konad White... here it is:

...I think this is adorable! The nail polish obsessive in me now wants to get the rest of the scented pastels and match them up with the other sweet patterns on the plate >.<

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ A Mani Inspired by You

Hello!

Today's challenge is to do a mani inspired by you, which is a difficult one to decide on! I settled on a design commemorating something that has rather defined me - a Mental Health Awareness ribbon mani. I've already mentioned in this blog that I suffer very badly with depression, so this seemed like a good chance to wear the green ribbons! Here it is:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Delicious Skittle Manicure!

Hello!

I'm still overjoyed with my Cheeky Home Sweet Home stamping plate and decided to test out a mani using five of the patterns at once! I don't know if this was intentional, but included amongst the designs are five different fruits and veggies that correspond with the colours of the rainbow - perfect for a Skittles manicure with a delicious difference.

First of all you'll have to excuse the slight smudging - I tend to need a couple of practises to get my stamping perfect with new designs. I stamped using Konad White, and the colours I used are...

Tomatoes ~ Pomegranate by Barry M
Carrots ~ Missmatch by Missguided
Bananas ~ Orange by Cairuo
Garlic ~ Greenberry by Barry M
Aubergine ~ My Denim by Rimmel

And here's the mani!

I'm so cheered by this look! As well as looking great as a set, I'm inspired to do separate manicures showing off each design and colour combination. I actually have a banana-scented pastel yellow by Models Own, and what would be more perfect than to stamp the bananas over it?!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Cheeky Stamping Plate ~ Home Sweet Home

Hello!

Yesterday I was overjoyed to find that my very first Cheeky stamping plate had arrived in the post! It's called Home Sweet Home and it's part of their new 2013 collection. The designs are absolutely adorable, so much so that I want to try them all straight away - despite my first manicure being so beautiful that it'd be a shame to remove it!

For my first Cheeky foray I chose a light pastel green base colour by Essie (name a mystery, it might be Shore Thing) and stamped the birdcage pattern, with the key pattern on my ring fingers as accent nails. Here it is:

How cute?! I love the vintage, homely style!

Here is a picture of the plate showing all the designs:

(source: Amazon)

I have a million manicures floating around in my head and can't wait to try them all! You can buy Cheeky plates on Amazon for £5.99 each or in sets. I was silly and bought mine for a little more before they were listed on Amazon UK, but I'm still majorly happy and consider it one of my best nail art investments :-)

Hugs,

Lisa xx