Halloween Manicure

Hello!

After a few days rocking my pumpkin nails, this is the manicure I will be wearing for Halloween itself. Over a vivid green I stamped Bundle Monster's gradient image in black. I finished it with Rimmel's matte top coat :-)

Happy Halloween!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Halloween Pumpkin Manicure

Hello!

Since it's getting so close to Halloween I decided to try a full-on spooky manicure today, going bright with carved pumpkin faces!

The orange is MissMatch by MissGuided, and I drew on the scary faces using Barry M's black nail art pen. Woooooooooooo...

I am definitely in the Halloween spirit with these on my nails, they're hard to ignore! What manicure ideas have you all come up with for the 31st?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Valentine Love Bird Water Decals

This post contains products which were sent to me for review :-)

Hello!

Today I have tried some more water decals from KKCenterHK! This sheet has a selection of over 60 lovely, whimsical decals centred around birds and romance.

Application was very good. The decals are all individual so you don't have to get fiddly trying to cut around them perfectly. After placing them in water for 30-50 seconds they slid off the backing paper and were ready to be placed on the nail. I used my fingers to handle them but you might want to use tweezers as I creased one by being clumsy! When on the nail they can be moved around till you get them just where you want them, then you simply press down to get them to adhere nicely.

For my manicure I used Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud as a pale background and chose a few different designs to show them off :-)

I am really, really happy with these ^_^

The selection of decals on this sheet are so great - you can have a manicure of all birds or mix and match like I did. Some of the decals are grouped together in squares and I think these might be "serving suggestions" for combinations to put on your nails. You can see all the different designs and buy the sheet here:

http://www.kkcenterhk.com/Nail-Water-Decals-Love/c106_151/p10727/N.NAIL-Valentine-Love-Love-letter-Lover-Bird-Sing/product_info.html

Once I've finished gazing at these decals I'm going to be trying out a Halloween manicure since we're getting nearer the day itself, see you soon!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Femme Fatale ~ Cloudburst

This post contains products which were sent to me for review :-)

Hello!

I am back in the polishing zone with an indie from Femme Fatale Cosmetics called Cloudburst. I chose to review this today as it's been cloudy and rainy here in NE England for the past few days, so very apt!

Cloudburst is a grey creme-jelly with a hint of green to it and a lovely, subtle golden shimmer. It's packed with a variety of glitters. We have some very small golden and holographic round glitters which I feel mimic soft rain. We then have lots of colourful squares as the "standout" glitter - white, fuschia pink, purple, black - in many different sizes.

In terms of application the polish has a lovely formula and the glitter tends to go on well, with no need for fishing around in the bottle or having to move it round the nail. For me I was happy with 2 coats - it was practically 100% opaque with a lovely, delicate look - but I added a third coat as well to show you full opacity with a bit more glitter. Here it is!

Which do you prefer, 2 or 3 coats? ^_^

Here are the other Femme Fatale polishes I've reviewed so far. Femme Fatale are an Australia-based company selling a ton of sought-after indie brands, and this polish is from their own range.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

These Are My Nails

Hello!

Since I've still been feeling quite lifeless it's taken me a while to remove my last manicure and cut my nails as I was planning to do. Now that I have I thought I'd give you a look at my nails au naturel before I go onto the next manicure :-)

As you can see I have long nail beds and long fingertips. My nails have always been very strong and fast-growing (maybe it's because I drank lots of milk as a child?!). They naturally tend to form a "squoval" shape: rectangular with rounded edges. I used to be so envious of other polishers' delicate round nails, but I've grown to accept and embrace my lot along with the rest of my body :-)

I tend to have dry skin so I use Lush's Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter on the bus to work and whenever my cuticles are looking worse for wear. I never trim my cuticles; I just push them back into place gently with an orange stick and occasionally use cuticle remover. Generally I'm a bit lazy so my nails probably won't be as neat as other polishers!

I'm not wearing Nail Envy in the photo but it is my go-to base coat. I can't tell you scientifically how much difference it makes, but I do feel that it counteracts the damage done by applying and removing polish very frequently.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Noble Pure Beauty Roses Water Decals

This post contains products which were sent to me for review :-)

Hello!

Today I have for review a sheet of white rose water decals from KKCenterHK. They can be found here: http://www.kkcenterhk.com/Nail-Water-Decals-Flower-Rose/c106_217/p10536/N.NAIL-Noble-Pure-Beauty-Roses-Water-Decals-Nail/product_info.html

I am rather bemused because, before using them, I thought these were opaque white rose decals printed on black paper. It actually turns out that the black is all decal, and the roses are not in fact opaque. In addition, some dafty has printed the product code over 4 of the roses!

I really could not think how this decal sheet was meant to be used successfully. I didn't realise the black background was part of the decal until I actually went to apply it onto my nails, so here is what I ended up with (my nail polish is Nails Inc Victoria):

Again, I'm just confused as to what the purpose of these decals is! Perhaps if you painted your nails black first the decal background wouldn't be noticeable, but even then the roses would still be disappointingly transparent. Here is the decal sheet for reference:

Any thoughts or ideas, readers?

This is the first negative review I've really had to give, so I am disappointed. I do have another decal sheet that I can see for a fact isn't flawed like this one, so hopefully I will be back soon with a better review.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Halloween French

Hello!

Diary Entry (I won't be offended if you skip to the manicure!) ~ Last post I wrote about how I'm currently having serious problems with my depression. I'm still feeling absolutely awful but I have helplines to call if either I just need to talk or am in any danger, and I have been put on the waiting list for counselling. My job is in jeopardy but they may be willing to take me back on once I'm feeling better, provided I 100% turn up for my shifts. My current plan, other than sleeping a lot, is to keep going along to the charity where I volunteer and hopefully find little jobs to do while I'm not well enough to do my paid work. They've already been really helpful in giving me advice and support. And of course I will try to keep blogging :-)

Phew! Today's manicure was inspired by my awesome friend Kellie. She'd shared with me a photo of a lovely purple mani with a black French tip, and I decided to try a blue variation. The polishes I used are Odyssey Blue by Max Factor and W7's Black, and I topped them with Seche Vite for a glossy finish:

I call this a Halloween French because it's gothic and a bit spooky, but it's not overtly seasonal. I don't really celebrate Halloween but always want to make the most of the relevant nail polish and nail art stuff that I have, so this is a gentle start!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

(Unsuccessful) Interview Nails!

Hello!

Warning, here is a diary entry before the manicure! Basically the past couple of days have been horrendous after I didn't get a job that I badly wanted; it was to work at the charity where I currently volunteer. It's set my illness off and I've spent most of the time in bed with no energy to move, feeling pretty suicidal. I'm hoping the way I feel won't last long and I'm posting the manicure I wore for the job interview so at least something came out of it.

The polish I chose is clearly a favourite as I have less than half the bottle left! "Care To Danse?" is a gorgeous lilac-tinted sheer by OPI that gives a flawless look with a teeny bit of a unique edge thanks to the colour - perfect for an interview. Here are 2 coats:

So soft and lovely ^_^

Hopefully I'll post again soon, fingers crossed things start feeling a bit better.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

OPI ~ I'm Not Really A Waitress

Hello!

I bought "I'm Not Really A Waitress" at TKMaxx a while back. It was in a pretty set with Bubble Bath and a keychain, and as I'd heard great things about both polishes I snapped it up. It's taken me a while to get round to trying it as I tend to be put off from wearing shimmer/metallic polishes - I love adding nail art and you can't really do much with this finish - but I finally put it on and WOW!

"I'm Not Really A Waitress" has a richness and lux that I was not expecting. My nails looked like they had jumped out of a glossy magazine! The way it looks and feels in the flesh is hard to capture but so wonderful. What a red!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Another Sweater Manicure & Sneak Peek

Hello!

I am getting the urge to just do mani after mani with my Nailz Craze Fairisle sweater stamp because it feels so perfect for the weather! This time I stamped over Jade's Vestido de Gala, a sparkly and rich purple jelly.

SO SO COSY. The only gutting thing is that I've run out of Konad's white stamping polish and I'm using Sinful Colours' white instead.

I also have a "sneak peek" of some water decals I just received from KKCenterHK to review... I'm sharing a quick photo of them beforehand because I'm so pleased with them!

Birds! Romantic birds! And given the white roses are on black paper I'm hoping they'll stay opaque over a dark Autumn colour ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Femme Fatale ~ Keeper of the Grove

This post contains products which were sent to me for review :-)

Hello!

Today I have for you a lovely glitter by Femme Fatale Cosmetics called Keeper of the Grove. Femme Fatale are an Australia-based company who sell lots of sought-after indie brands, and this polish is from their own range.

Keeper of the Grove is a lovely glitter mix in a light green jelly base. I see very sparkly glitter in different shades of green, gold and red and even the surprise of little hearts! It looks perfect for the Christmas season but I also think it suits Autumn too.

When it comes to application you can choose whether to wear it alone or layer it over a base colour. I applied two coats of the polish by itself to show it off, and this gives a glitter-rich look but a slightly transparent base. Here are the two coats:

I had such a hard time getting a good photo because the weather was SO dull and miserable yesterday. You can even see a raindrop on my ring finger because I ended up taking a photo outside to try and get some light! Hopefully you can still see how beautiful and sparkly the glitter is though. I personally do not mind sheer finishes at all but I'm sure many people would want to layer this polish over green for a more opaque look.

You can see my other Femme Fatale review for glow-in-the-dark polish Pools of Vision here.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Fairisle Sweater Nails

Hello!

Today I have for you some jumper-themed nails, another manicure using a dark colour! This is so unusual for me as I adore my light and delicate colours; I think it's the sudden onset of Autumn that's had me craving a different and seasonal look.

For my base colour I used Revlon's Emerald City. I found this in Poundland so have no idea how old this polish is, but it's a deep green boasting a matte suede finish. The formula was great and, after two coats, I was indeed left with a matte finish with a rich green sparkle/shimmer to it. Over this I stamped my Fairisle pattern which comes courtesy of Nailz Craze stamping plate NC03.

After allowing plenty of dry time I then applied Rimmel's matte top coat. This spoilt the mani slightly as I lost that depth and sparkle from Emerald City. I wanted to protect the stamping but perhaps next time I'll see if it lasts without a top coat. Here it is:

So cosy!

I have heard that Starbucks are releasing their Pumpkin Spice Latte this week; I am dying to try it! I've also been buying some clothing bits and bobs for the new season including a lovely purple lace dress, a cardigan, a hat and some mini-boots ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Barry M ~ Gold Dust

Hello!

It's weird that I'm doing two posts for a polish but I really love Gold Dust and have noticed there aren't really any swatches out there, so here I am!

Gold Dust is made up of gold and rose gold strand glitter; it's a limited edition polish that has just been released in Superdrug alongside a pink glitter called Fairy Lights.

To best show you the polish I painted my right hand with Vanilla from Barry M's Matte collection and my left hand with Blackberry from their Gelly collection. I then added one coat of Gold Dust and finished with a layer of top coat. I took my smartphone outside to get some clear photos as it's getting darker and darker indoors now that Autumn has set in!

First of all here is Gold Dust over Blackberry:

And, secondly, here is Gold Dust over Vanilla (my favourite combination, very chic and autumnal!):

I've already had divided blog comments as "hairy" glitter is not to everyone's taste - and I've had bad experiences with it in the past too. I think it's the seasonality that won me over to Gold Dust, I could wear it with Vanilla all week long!

Hugs,

Lisa xx