Models Own Diamond Luxe ~ Princess Pink

Hello!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas! I was spoilt with some lovely presents including Pura Vida Bracelets which I love, gorgeous pyjamas and lots of chocolate. I also took advantage of Models Own's "6 for £20" sale a few weeks ago and these were given to me as a gift as well ^_^

The polish I chose to try out first is Princess Pink from the Models Own Diamond Luxe range. It's quite a Barbie pink with the signature shimmer running through it; it's not a shade I'd normally choose but I thought it would look lovely paired with some stamping. I applied two coats then chose a French Damask-style pattern from MoYou plate Tourist 07 and stamped it on in black.

And here is Princess Pink on its own:

Sorry about the fading light; it doesn't show off the polish very well. Hopefully it'll get easier to take photos now we've gotten past the shortest day of the year!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

My Christmas Manicure

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

So I decided on my Christmas manicure and it is currently complete on one of my hands (hey, there's still time till midnight, right?). It's inspired by one of my manis from last year but with added glitz and colour!

My red Santa tips were done using Jade Echarpe de Seda, page reinforcer stickers as guides and my white Barry M nail art pen for detail. The accent nail is OPI My Vampire is Buff with a letter to Santa stamped on using MoYou Princess plate 11. I topped it all with a shimmering glitter I found in Claire's Accessories a couple of years ago.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas - thanks so much for reading!

Festive Hugs,

Lisa xx

Christmas Glitter Manicure

Hello and Season's Greetings!

Today I have found my perfect glitter combination for Christmas and I'm extra pleased that they come from two low-price, UK drugstore brands!

My base glitter is the vintage gold Charm Bracelet by Seventeen at Boots, which cost me £3.99. This is a textured polish but, when smoothed out with a regular polish on top, it retains a gorgeous foily depth.

My top glitter is the limited edition Christmas Tree by Barry M. You can get it for free when you spend £6 on Barry M products at Superdrug (I bought Matt White and Silk Effects Orchid, both turning out to be great choices). It's a mix of different festive green glitters with red glitter accents, gold pieces and the occasional star! One coat gave just the sprinkle of cheer I wanted.

Manicures like this make me feel very lucky to live in the UK ~ cheers to Barry M and Seventeen!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Born Pretty Stamping Plate 23 ~ Ocean Theme

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

Hello!

Today I have two manicures using plate 23 from Born Pretty Store's own stamping plate collection. This one has an ocean theme and features five cute full nail patterns with waves and starfish and things, plus four individual images.

For my manicure on the left I used two of the wave-y patterns! I stamped them in white over a colour-changing polish to go with the rising waves. I especially love the accent pattern on my ring finger.

For my manicure on the right I used the starfish and stripes as "background" stamping using a light blue over white, and then I took a couple of the smaller images and stamped them on top in a darker blue. One issue I had is that the lines on the whale image are very very fine, and didn't stamp completely.

Here they are!

http://www.bornprettystore.com/ocean-theme-nail-stamp-template-image-plate-born-pretty-p-17204.html

As always you can get 10% off your Born Pretty Store order with my coupon code, CMBQ10

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Bunday Manicure!

Hello!

Today I realised I hadn't dipped into my water decal collection for a while, and since it's "Bunday" I went with some cute little bunnies which came from KKCenterhk!

For my colours I chose two bunny fur shades: Coconut with an accent nail of Almond, both by Barry M. A different decal went on each nail and here we are!

Sorry for the dry cuticles - it's getting colder!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Born Pretty 19 Stamping Plate ~ Leaves

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

Hello!

Today I've been trying out plate number 19 from Born Pretty Store's own stamping plate collection. This one has a leaves theme, with four full-nail images and four individual designs.

For my manicure I used my new bottle of Silk Effects Orchid by Barry M as a base colour and silver for the stamping. I chose two of the leaf patterns to try out, plus an individual leaf image as a matching accent nail on my ring finger on the right.

The patterns are nice and big and they stamped wonderfully, in great detail. The leaves on the left are especially lovely and bold! For $1.99 on sale it is incredible value.

http://www.bornprettystore.com/leaves-theme-nail-stamp-template-image-plate-born-pretty-p-17264.html

I've tried a few of Born Pretty's own stamping plates now and they are genuinely good plates - consistent in quality and lovely designs.

As always you can get 10% off your Born Pretty order with my coupon code, CMBQ10

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lace & Sparkle Manicure

Hello!

Today I'm wearing a manicure that's been inspired by one of the Christmas shopping bags we sell where I work. It'd be funny if a hardcore customer could tell what shop it is from the mani!

I've been wearing the mani for a few days now because I ended up in the A&E department of hospital shortly after my last post. I'm OK but a bit precarious.

On four nails I have black lace over white, stamped using Born Pretty plate 02 which I received for review. Then on my pinky fingers I have an accent of sparkling red, which is Jade Echarpe de Seda.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Born Pretty 18 Stamping Plate ~ Leaf & Feather

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

Hello!

Today I am reviewing plate 18 from Born Pretty Store's own stamping plate collection. It has a mixture of different designs including some detailed waves & leaves and bolder feather & bamboo patterns.

For my review I decided to show you both a detailed pattern and a bold one! On the left I stamped the feathers in black over a pink-to-blue gradient; on the right I stamped the leafy design in white over a sparkling blue.

http://www.bornprettystore.com/leaf-feather-nail-stamp-template-image-plate-born-pretty-p-17263.html

Both of the designs stamped very well, especially since the plate is so cheap to buy. You'd expect poor quality for $1.49 but it's really not! The feathers are definitely my favourite but I want to go back and try the other designs as well.

As always you can get 10% off your Born Pretty order with my coupon code, CMBQ10

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Born Pretty 10 Stamping Plate ~ Starfish & Shell

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

Hello!

Today I'm getting back into the swing of blogging with a new Born Pretty Store review! They sent me four stamping plates to try and this one is the Starfish & Shell theme featuring a lovely marine pattern.

As I've done with other stamping plates I did a manicure to show all the designs on my nails. I started off with a seafoam-coloured base using the clingfilm/saran wrap nail art technique, Mint Choc Chip by Seventeen and Misstique by Missguided. On one hand I showed off the whole marine pattern across all four nails and on the other I stamped the individual images of a starfish, a seashell and flowers ^_^

http://www.bornprettystore.com/starfish-shell-theme-nail-stamp-template-image-plate-born-pretty-p-16857.html

I love that pattern a lot! It stamped really easily with plenty of detail and it's big enough to get a nice variation across your nails. It reminds me a little of a paisley pattern but with a nautical twist!

As always you can get 10% off your Born Pretty order with my coupon code, CMBQ10

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Geordie Nails MoYou Giveaway ~ The Winner!

Hello!

This is the blog post to officially announce the winner of my MoYou giveaway after drawing the prize on Facebook. The winner is... Ella J!

I've already gotten in touch with Ella and sent her the £10 MoYou gift card. She'll let me know if it arrived safely (and hopefuly what she bought with it!).

Thank you so, so much to everyone who entered and to everyone who glances at, reads and interacts with my blog & Instagram - it makes my day! My posting is being a little sporadic right now as I get to grips with illness and my Christmas job, but I'm determined to keep painting and blogging the best I can. I have a few mani photos to show you soon ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Golden Lace Manicure

Hello!

My MoYou giveaway ends in two days time, eek! Do get entering!

It's been really difficult to blog recently due to a combination of both me and my nail polish desperately struggling to survive my Christmas retail job! It's taking all my energy, and when I apply a manicure it's often chipped before I can even take a photo. But this time I succeeded in getting a quick pic ;-)

For this mani I started with Seventeen Spiced Plum. I then stamped on some Born Pretty 02 lace in gold, which I received for review, using page reinforcer stickers to get a half moon on my nails.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Ombre Stripe Manicure

Hello!

First off, do enter my MoYou Giveaway if you haven't already! It ends in 5 days and there is a gift card to be won ^_^

I'm sorry for the gap in posting - I haven't been well. This is a mani I did during my absence using striping tape: a blue ombre mani! Over a silver base I painted on stripes of Models Own White Light, Barry M Huckleberry and Barry M Elderberry.

I loved the way this mani looked but it took so much time to do! I wish I had a magic wand!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Sweater Manicure ~ Flocking vs. Glitter!

Hello!

Today I'm wearing a mani inspired by ChitChatNails - do check her out!

It's a Christmas sweater manicure done using the Fairisle pattern on Nailz Craze stamping plate NC03. My colours are Barry M Almond with matte top coat and a pink accent nail, and this is where I switched it up a bit! I bought a tub of MUA flocking powder maybe 2 years ago when it was a trend and have been wanting to try using it again. So my first pass of the manicure had a fluffy pink accent, like so:

Yeah, I think it's funky and I love it! I know lots of other people wouldn't though...

I realised that I probably wanted something more hard-wearing before I go to work tomorrow, so I switched up the flocking powder for Nails Inc Holly Place and matted it to go with my other nails:

My camera had real trouble photographing these manis - I think it's a combination of the colours and the pale Winter sunlight. But which accent nail do you prefer?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Born Pretty 05 Stamping Plate - Egypt Style

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

Hello!

Today I'm trying out the second of Born Pretty Store's own range of stamping plates sent to me for review, the 05 Egyptian design (see 02 Chic Lace here). I have some info from Born Pretty about these plates. They've re-released them in a bigger style after some customers found them too small - so, if you bought this first plate and aren't satisfied, you can claim a replacement free with your next order. Just leave a comment in the comment box when ordering! Here is a link to the new, fixed plate:

http://www.bornprettystore.com/egypt-style-nail-stamp-template-image-plate-born-pretty-p-16852.html

Both of the plates have the designs I'm going to show you! There are 4 individual images which stamp with a great level of detail, and 4 ornate full-nail patterns - these have been resized on the new plates so they will fit on longer nails. I thought black and gold would be the perfect combination for some Egyptian stamping, so here we are:

Unfortunately I'm not actually in Egypt and you can see some raindrops from the great British weather!

My favourite design has to be that hand image; it's just so intricate! As always you can get 10% off your Born Pretty Store order with my coupon code, CMBQ10

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Born Pretty 02 Stamping Plate - Chic Lace Pattern

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

Hello!

Today I am reviewing one of Born Pretty Store's own stamping plate designs. Born Pretty tell me that they've re-released the plates in a bigger style after some customers found them too small - so, if you bought this first plate and aren't satisfied, you can claim a replacement free with your next order. Just leave a comment in the comment box when ordering! Here is a link to the new, fixed plate:

http://www.bornprettystore.com/chic-lace-pattern-nail-stamp-template-image-plate-born-pretty-p-16849.html

I did find the plate small, but at the same time I managed to get the designs onto my nails in one go and I was very, very pleasantly surprised with the level of detail and quality of stamping. The lace is just stunning!

Because the detail is so fine you need to be quite fast when stamping - I learnt this with my left hand but got it perfect with the full lace designs on my right! There's a different lace pattern on each finger.

Despite the size I adore this plate, and so I'm sure the bigger size will be even better.

As always you can get 10% off your Born Pretty Store order with my coupon code, CMBQ10

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Geordie Nails MoYou Giveaway!

Hello!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today I am very excited to announce the launch of a giveaway to win a £10 MoYou London gift card!

MoYou sell wonderful, unique stamping plates and many other nail art goodies; their e-newsletter is always exciting to receive as they release new plate designs every week. I chose this prize as it's one I would love to win myself :-)

This giveaway is a "thank-you" for looking at my blog and Instagram - I struggle a lot with illness, but painting my nails helps me feel better and seeing that someone has liked my manicure makes me feel like I'm doing at least something right. As it's a thank-you to you all, I'll try to make entering as quick and simple as possible!

The giveaway is open internationally and MoYou have kindly said they will refund the winner's shipping costs. It ends on the 1st of December which will hopefully allow enough time for the winner to have a lovely Christmas present! Please be sure to read the T&Cs on the Rafflecopter widget and let me know if you think I've missed something.

Here's a collage of some of my MoYou manis...

Good luck in the giveaway, and I hope the winner loves their plates as much as I do ^_^

All my love,

Lisa xx

A Manicure and a Surprise!

...and the surprise is a giveaway!!!

I will be launching a giveaway tomorrow to say thank you to everyone who's taken an interest in my blog and Instagram - this is something which cheers me up when I'm ill and I am really very appreciative.

I will reveal the prize tomorrow as well, but as a big clue... it involves a very popular stamping plate company who release amazing new plates every week and whose design I am using in the below manicure!

Do you know who it is? ;-)

Excited hugs,

Lisa xx

Winter Jumper Manicure

Hello!

Welcome to my first sweater mani of the season! I broke out my Nailz Craze NC03 stamping plate which has a Fairisle pattern on it, and paired it over another clingfilm manicure using Blueberry Muffin and Cornflower Gleam by Models Own.

Raindrops are becoming a regular fixture in my photos! You know I'm an authentic Englishwoman at least!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Tartan Manicure

Hello!

The weather is getting colder and wetter here in England; Winter is definitely approaching! Today I'm wearing a season-appropriate manicure inspired by a red tartan design I saw in the Adventures in Stamping Facebook group ~ credit and thanks to Jacqui!

This mani uses two nail art techniques, clingfilm and stamping. I started by painting my nails red with Barry M Pomegranate. I then used the clingfilm technique to create a mottled green effect for an aged tartan feel with Revlon Emerald City, and smoothed it with a layer of top coat before moving onto the stamping. I own a plaid pattern on plate QA84 from Born Pretty Store, which I stamped on in black. Another layer of top coat finished it all off!

As I said, the weather has gone really dismal and it's been difficult to get a good photograph - but I hope you can see the effect I got with the clingfilm!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Cheryl Fernandez-Versini Inspired Manicure!

Hello!

I've been watching the X Factor this year for once, and last weekend they had a Fright Night theme. Cheryl Fernandez-Versini, one of the judges, wore an absolutely stunning dress of sparkling purple with nude reveal. It inspired me to do a matching manicure! For my design I stamped purple lace over sheer polish and added some purple glitter.

Here it is, alongside its gorgeous inspiration:

I have a huge crush on Cheryl ^_^

A little whisper: I may, in the near future, be hosting a giveaway featuring a very sought-after stamping plate brand! Stay tuned!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lisa's MoYou Halloween Round-up!

Hello!

I hope you all had a great Halloween! I'm not well so have been bored at home, but I have managed a few spooky manis in the run-up to the 31st. All have used my newest stamping plate, MoYou Gothic 05, so it was well worth the investment! My Jade Special Glitz collection of polishes have also featured heavily - I can't thank Sally Magpies enough for awarding them to me as a contest prize last year.

Here's a collage of my designs and I'll post full-size versions underneath along with a couple of extra manis!

 

Spooky hugs,

Lisa xx

Frankenstein Manicure

Hello!

Here is my latest manicure using my MoYou Gothic 05 plate - this is seeing me all the way to Halloween, it's a brilliant plate ^_^

For my base colour I used MeMeMe Virtuous and on top I stamped the Frankenstein stitches from Gothic 05. I chipped the mani on my first day of wearing it, but for a not-so-bad reason - I was working, and managed to survive the shift with my nails as the only casualty!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Purple Rose Design Manicure

Hello!

Today's manicure is another design featuring my new MoYou Gothic 05 stamping plate! I wanted that gothic style without going full-on Halloween too early, so I decided on a purple gradient beneath the plate's rose and netting image.

For my gradient I started with 2 coats of OPI's Care to Danse and sponged Jade's Vestido de Gala onto my tips with a damp washing-up sponge. I top-coated to smooth the gradient out then stamped my design on!

I'm not normally 100% happy with my manicures but this one looked really professional in the flesh - some credit has to go to the polishes and MoYou for that! - and I really, really loved it.

Lastly, a Lisa Update (feel free to skip this bit!): I've been writing on the blog about my struggles of trying to get back into work whilst suffering with mental illness. Fortunately - well, fingers crossed it's fortunate! - I was hired for a new part-time Christmas job! This week is the induction week and I'm being physically ill because of the fear, but I'm still trying because I know the only way to get better is if I push myself. I won't say where I'm working in case it backfires on me, but safe to say that it seems like a great place to work with lovely people.

Hugs,

Lisa

French Lace Manicure

Hello!

Today's manicure uses a lace pattern from one of MoYou's newest stamping plates, Gothic 05. I was planning on using it in a more Halloween style but I actually have a new job interview tomorrow and thought I'd try and show off my nail art in interview-appropriate colours!

In the vein of a French manicure I used the lovely sheer Bubble Bath by OPI as my base; I then stamped on the lace design using Konad's white polish. Here it is:

I'm so happy with this! The lace design is just gorgeous (well done as usual MoYou) and, while it isn't perfect, my stamping accuracy has definitely improved. Has anyone else bought this plate?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Stained Glass Manicure

Hello!

First of all, just a little thank you for reading and for anyone who's commented when I post about my depression troubles - it does help when I'm feeling sad and uncertain about what's happening in "real life". Massive hugs xx

Today's manicure uses my first stamping plate purchase in quite a while! MoYou have released some new plates for Halloween and I just could not resist Gothic 05. Amongst its gorgeous designs is a stained glass window image, so I decided to take the leadlighting technique very literally and paint over it with some sheers!

My base polish is Barry M Pearl, my stamping polish is Konad Black and my sheers are OPI Y'All come Back, Ya Hear?, Nails Inc Strawberry and Barry M Greenberry. For the Barry M to be sheer I had to dilute it with some clear polish; unfortunately I didn't dilute it quite enough and it spoilt the mani slightly to my mind. However, since it's my first time trying this, I'll call it practise and happily learn for next time ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Owls! Owls! Owls!

Hello!

I haven't been writing blog posts recently, and I'm sorry! I'm quite open on here about my struggles with depression, so what's been happening is that I started a Christmas job last Tuesday - but after only a few hours it was too much and I became physically ill. I had to go home and missed the rest of the week. It's been devastating; I'm in this awkward place where I feel too ill to work but am not going to get any better unless I push through. With fingers crossed it seems like I still have the job and will have that chance to get better.

Onto the nails! I ordered some more owls from the lovely YRNails because I'm crazy for them, and so here are 3 different manicures I've done using them as accents!

1. Baby Owls! These are the Excited Owl and Winking Owl as centre accents paired with a baby blue, pink and white skittle.

2. This is the Dozy Owl paired with purples to match the colours in the decal.

3. For World Mental Health Day (apt considering this post!), this is the Shocked Owl along with the holographic Layla Emerald Divine. Green is the colour of mental health awareness and I wear it with pride!

Hopefully write soon,

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Blue Owl Manicure

Hello!

This manicure uses these blue owl decals that I bought from YRNails; I can't recommend them enough because they're adorable!

I painted a blue skittles manicure using polishes that match the colours of the owls: White Light by Models Own, Huckleberry by Barry M and Stand Back! by Boots No7. I applied the owls to my white nails then top coated. Here are both hands:

They're so very, very cute. It's only £1.50 for a sheet of decals, go support YRNails!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Cheery Half-Moon Mani!

Hello!

I've been seeing quite a few "negative space" manicures in my nail art groups recently - this is where you leave areas of your nails bare in your design for a really creative look. My manicure is more classic than creative, a half-moon design with some hearts and polka dots!

My polish of choice is the cheery Raspberry Crush by Models Own, and the stamped pattern is done with their White Light polish. The stamping plate is QA29 from KKCenterHK. Here we are!

The half-moon manicure is super easy to do - I bought some round page reinforcer stickers from a stationery shop ages ago to use as guides, and they're lasting me forever!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Autumn Portrait Manicure

Hello!

This is a manicure I did before I cut my nails, using a water decal I bought from Born Pretty Store. I haven't reviewed them for a while since I've been ill, but I am being sent new stamping plates to try and I'm quite excited!

For my nail polish I chose Coconut by Barry M. I cut a circle around the focal point of one of my BPS decals, an autumnal scene of a couple sheltering under an umbrella, and applied it as an accent. Here they are!

The decal I used is QQ-14 on this listing.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Jelly & Neon Manicure

Hello!

Today my nails are newly short because they felt a little in danger of catching on somethng and breaking, so I decided to go for a cute pink mani and to mix up two styles of polish - jelly and neon!

My jelly is Nails Inc Henley Regatta and my neon is Models Own Bubblegum. Together on my nails they give a "lights on, lights off" look!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Autumn Gradient Manicure

Hello!

Here in England the weather is changing and Autumn seems to be setting in, so I decided to do a gradient to suit the season! I actually did the same manicure last year, but I couldn't think of a better polish combination so it's coming back out of the closet :-)

My colours are both by Seventeen at Boots and they're still on sale according to the website! Spiced Plum is a rich, glossy brown-purple and Wishing Star is a stunning shimmer. I applied Spiced Plum first then used a damp washing-up sponge to dab Wishing Star onto the tips of my nails.

You can see from the bottle that I've had Spiced Plum for a good while!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Soft French Manicures

Hello!

I've been on a French kick for my past few manicures, and I've got a couple to show you using my Barry M Silk Effect polishes. For both I used page reinforcer stickers to get a nice curve.

This is Barry M Pearl:

And Barry M Heather:

Hugs,

Lisa xx