The Geordie Nails Giveaway... announcing the Winner!

Hello!

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who entered the Geordie Nails Giveaway. It was lovely to see new followers and people taking part, and I truly appreciate it. And the time has come to pick a winner, who will get to choose any 2 Nailz Craze stamping plates as their prize!

And the winner is...

Congratulations Kristy! I'll be sending you a message via email and Facebook to get your prize chosen and delivered ^_^

Again, thanks so much to everyone for taking part. I'll post an update to make it known that everything's gone smoothly with the winner!

Millions of hugs,

Lisa xx

Love Trees & Sparkling Gradient

Hello!

Today I decided to dig out the rest of my Love Tree water decals from YRNails and create a sparkling glitter gradient as a background!

My glitter of choice was 3D by Topshop ~ silver glitter with a lovely holo sparkle in a green-tinted base. I sponged it on as a gradient over a sheer French shade, plus a little light green dabbed onto my nail tips so that my nail line wouldn't be visible under the glitter. I then applied two sizes of the love tree decals to my thumbs and ring fingers as accents! Two coats of top coat sealed the decals and brought out the sparkle to its max :-)

Don't forget to enter my Nailz Craze stamping plate Giveaway if you haven't already ~ it ends at Midnight tonight!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lace Stockings Manicure

Hello!

I call this the "Lace Stockings" manicure... my black lace nail foil from KKCenterHk worn over a French sheer and black tips, with a little diamanté as an accent!

This is one of those manicures that looked great in my imagination but that I just wasn't fond of once it was on my nails. I think it's because I love delicate colours normally and so all the black was a bit much! What do you think?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Gazebo Vine Manicure

Hello!

The mani I'm wearing today is yet another MoYou creation! With Topshop's gorgeous pink holo Wistful as my base colour, I added the top of the vine-laced gazebo from Mother Nature plate 01. To get the design on straight I stamped from cuticle to tip rather than rolling my stamper from side to side as I normally do, and I was very pleased that my gazebos weren't too wobbly!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

AiS Sunday Challenge ~ Three Purples!

Hello!

This is a little late, but here we are! This week's Adventures in Stamping Sunday challenge was to create a manicure using three purples.

For my base I did a three-purple sponged gradient using Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud, Nails Inc's Bluebell and Models Own's Pukka Purple. I'm still learning how to do gradients so it isn't perfect, but I feel like I'm improving!

For the stamping I once again broke out my MoYou Mother Nature plates 01 and 05. In black I stamped birds and butterflies, then in white and purple to contrast the gradient I added a rose pattern. Here it is...

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The AiS Challenge that wasn't ~ Inspired by Jewellery!

Hello!

Every Sunday, the Adventures in Stamping Facebook group holds a challenge where the theme is voted on by members. This week's challenge is to do a manicure using 3 purples, but another option up for vote was "inspired by your favourite jewellery". I've done a purple mani for tomorrow but had some inspiration and just had to do a jewellery look too! This manicure is based on my silver filigree heart pendant:

Base Colour: Kim-pletely In Love, Nicole by OPI
Stamping Polish: Blue Rhapsody, Essie
Stamping Plates: BM21 & BM316, Bundle Monster

I'll be posting again tomorrow with my purple manicure and can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Geordie Nails Giveaway ~ 1 week left to enter!

Hello!

This is just a reminder that the Geordie Nails Giveaway will close for entries next week, at Midnight going into the 31st of January! The prize is your choice of 2 beautiful stamping plates from Nailz Craze, so if you or anyone you know would love to win then do get entering! Here is the info...

Here are the plates in the Nailz Craze collection:

I've tried to keep the entries nice and simple, an easy giveaway. The Rafflecopter widget should be showing up below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck everyone and please do let me know if I've missed anything out!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Gold Shards Nail Foil

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

Hello!

Today I have for you a lovely, shiny crushed gold nail foil from KKCenterHk. You can choose to buy this with or without the glue you need for the application ~ I already had some from my last foil review so I used that! Both the foil and the glue are great quality; I painted on the glue and gave it a few minutes until it dried clear, then just pressed the foil on and got complete coverage with no gaps.

Here it is!

It's so rich, shining and opulent.

Normally you can't use top coat with shiny foils as it spoils the finish, but there are some special exceptions. Revolution by Picture Polish does not affect the foil and that's what I'm wearing in these photos :-) You can also do a Google search and find a few other solutions that bloggers have come up with. I've really fallen in love with foils again now I've found a way to top coat them so they'll last longer!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Time for Tea Manicure

Hello!

Today's mani is very bright and totally British. I wanted to try the teacup pattern on my new MoYou Tourist 05 plate and decided to do it in the colours of the Union Jack. On my thumb I stamped the clock face of Big Ben ^_^

For my base colours I used Sinful Colors' Snow Me White and Nails Inc's Baker Street, and for the stamping I used Konad's black and white stamping polishes and Barry M's Pomegranate.

I adore the teacup pattern and want to use it again and again! The colours of this mani would normally be too garish for me but I really wanted to do a first try of these stamping images with a British feel.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Chick Doodle Manicure

Hello!

This is a manicure I did before I went to hospital, using MoYou Princess stamping plate 11. The image is a cute doodle pattern featuring a little chick! I used Models Own's Pukka Purple as a colourful base.

I love that little chicky!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Parisian Decals

Hello!

This is the third manicure I've worn using these water decals from Born Pretty Store. They were sent to me for review, which you can read here for full information, and I've continued to use them for personal enjoyment. This manicure is made from a full-size image featuring the Eiffel Tower and a romantic floral design.

How pretty?!

You can get 10% off any Born Pretty Store order with my coupon code CMBQ10; again, I was sent these decals for review :-)

Hugs,

Lisa xx

AiS Sunday Challenge ~ Inspired by Fabric

Hello!

Today I'm taking part in the Adventures in Stamping Sunday nail art challenge. This week the theme is "inspired by fabric". Well, I looked down and there was my fresh quilt cover with lovely grey swirls and accents of black and fuchsia! I practically live in my bed so it probably deserves a tribute at this point ;-)

My base colour is Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud, and for the stamping I used the swirl pattern on Bundle Monster plate BM-314 and Essie's Blue Rhapsody. I dotted on black and hot fuschia to finish the mani.

...and here is the quilt cover in question:

I can't wait to see everyone else's ideas!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Hospital Manicures: Floral Decals

Hello!

This is the third of the manicures I tried while I was stuck in hospital following a gallstone attack. These are water decals sent to me from Born Pretty Store that I have already reviewed but love so much that I'll definitely be using them all.

My cuticles aren't great in this picture; being poorly and not being able to drink much has left my skin in a sorry state! However, having these pretty decals on my nails really cheered me up ^_^

You can buy the decals here and you can use the coupon code CMBQ10 to get 10% off your order. As I already mentioned I was sent these decals to review for Born Pretty Store and I'm continuing to use them for personal enjoyment after my review :-)

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Hospital Manicures: British Weather

Hello!

Firstly, a reminder about the Geordie Nails Giveaway - it's open till the end of the month and you can win your choice of 2 Nailz Craze stamping plates, so do enter!

As I explained yesterday, I was stuck in hospital for 6 days following a gallstone attack and experimented with a few manicures when I felt up to it. I had just ordered two MoYou stamping plates before I was admitted and this mani uses Tourist plate 05 with a base of Nails Inc's Baker Street.

Union Jacks and raindrop polka dots, very British! I would have definitely gone over the middle cross in red if I'd had a red polish to hand, and I need practice stamping the raindrops - at this point I don't know if the plate is badly etched or if I just need to change my scraping method or stamping speed, I will try again so I know for sure!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Hospital Manicures: Get Me Out Of Here!

Hello!

The reason I haven't posted recently is because I've been in hospital for the last 6 days and I've only just come home!

I've mentioned in the blog before that I have issues with gallstones - last Friday I was on my way to see a consultant about having an operation to remove my gallbladder and, by pure coincidence, I was struck down with an attack of cholecystitis at the bus stop. So I ended up arriving at A&E in an ambulance! The attack inflamed my gallbladder and liver and left me really quite poorly so I was kept in hospital. Thankfully I'm feeling a lot better now so I've finally been able to come home.

I didn't have wifi access at the hospital so couldn't do anything with the blog, but I tried out three manicures over my stay. I had just ordered two new MoYou plates so experimented with those. This first manicure uses Scholar plate 06 and sums up how I was feeling about being stuck in hospital at the time!

This plate is brilliant - you could make a million creative manis from it to suit your mood on the day. What I discovered though is that you have to work VERY quickly when doing your stamping; because the lines are so fine, they dry almost instantly and then don't pick up on the stamper. Once I realised this I got much better results.

I'll be back with the other manis I tried, and also a couple I did before my stay. See you soon!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Sushi Manicure

Hello!

I had an idea for these maki sushi rolls while I was trying out some new manis in the past few days!

I started by painting my nails all black then used French tip guide stickers upside-down when painting on the white. I dotted on more white over this to give a sushi rice texture, then got my colours out! I chose the colours of cucumber, tuna, salmon, tamago and duck and dotted them on over the rice till I was happy, and top-coated it all. Yummy!

I am actually going for sushi today and I am excited! I'm trying to lose weight at the moment (and have a small, uninteresting blog to help me) so this is a lovely treat that won't break my diet ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Chalkboard Doodle Manicure

Hello!

I've been experimenting a lot with my new Moyou Mother Nature plates recently, and I realised I'd been neglecting my Princess plate!

It's plate 11 and has a really cute schoolroom doodle that I thought would look nice as a chalkboard mani. So I painted a coat of black then stamped the design on in white. I added a regular glossy top coat to prevent smudging, and finished off the manicure with a matte top coat for that blackboard texture.

Don't forget to enter the Geordie Nails Giveaway too! ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Retro & Floral Water Decals

Hello!

Today holds my first ever review for Born Pretty store! I was sent a page of beautiful postage stamp style water decals with floral and retro designs (including some French images which are particularly "me"!).

Firstly, the designs are huge! I was expecting nail-size decals but you can actually get a full manicure out of each design, or do cut-outs for nail art if you prefer. I did a bit of both to show you!

Item ID: 11349

http://www.bornprettystore.com/1sheet-retro-floral-painting-peacock-stamped-pattern-design-nail-water-decals-transfers-sticker-p-11349.html

...and here is a manicure I did with scrapbook-like cutouts of the decal over gold:

These are the first water decals I've tried where the instructions including blow-drying your nails, so I followed the instructions carefully. Firstly you need to remember to remove the protective plastic! After roughly measuring the width of my nails and cutting out decals to fit them, I followed the direction with dipping the decals in water then sliding them onto my damp nail. Positioning them was easy, they smoothed out nicely. I then got my hairdryer out! I gave my nails a quick blast on the low setting and this seemed to "set" the decal in place. After this I used a nail file to file away any excess decal over my nail tip and applied top coat, making sure to apply some over my nail edges for maximum wear.


The pros of these decals are that they are truly stunning and you get a lot for the price tag! I've suggested that it might be helpful to include the size of the decals in the product description so you know for sure what you're getting. The most fiddly part is cutting out the decals for your nails, but if you're happy to do this you will come out with a beautiful manicure :-)

I've been given a 10% discount code for Born Pretty store in case you want to get the decals yourself! I've put it in the right sidebar of the blog and it's below too, code CMBQ10:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Primark Spotty with Nailz Craze Hearts

Hello!

I was in Primark last Friday and noticed boxes of this Spotty polish for £2 each. I fell in love with Illamasqua's Speckled collection last Spring but, at £14 per polish, it was a little rich for me and I resisted. I figured that I may as well spend £2 to see if the Primark knock-off was any good!

Spotty is a mauve-ish colour containing two sizes of black glitter. I applied two coats and, as I've just launched my giveaway, I had to add some cute little hearts from Nailz Craze plate NC01 as accents ^_^

First off, this polish STINKS! Smelly to high heaven. However, the end result is a really very good take on the speckled polish trend. Despite the smell I'm happy!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Geordie Nails New Year Giveaway!

Hello!

I am happy to announce that the Geordie Nails New Year Giveaway is now live! The prize will be the winner's choice of any 2 stamping plates from the Nailz Craze store, shipping included. Nailz Craze is an indie brand with unique, intricate designs that I think are really special - the reason I chose it for the giveaway is that I would love this prize myself and am very proud to offer it ^_^

Here are the plates in the Nailz Craze collection:

I've tried to keep the entries nice and simple, an easy giveaway. The Rafflecopter widget should be showing up below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck everyone and please do let me know if I've missed anything out!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Stamping Decal Manicure

Hello!

Firstly, giveaway news - it will start at Midnight tonight! Rafflecopter seems to like things to begin and end at midnight on the dot, so I'll be ready tonight to launch it. Very excited!

On Thursday I was having trouble getting a good stamp of the intricate birdcage on MoYou's Mother Nature plate 01. In addition to switching to a firmer stamper and getting a better result, I also made a few decals on a sheet of plastic so I'd have them handy for future manis. I started with nail-sized coats of clear polish (Seche Vite), left them to dry for a couple of hours then added a second coat so they'd be thick enough to come away from the plastic. After another couple of hours I stamped the birdcages onto them. Making decals is a lot less of a chore if you get them done for the future between watching TV or something :-)

For my manicure I used Nails Inc's Holly Place and stamped a problem-free bird onto the ring finger of one hand. Getting the birdcage decal onto my nail was less fiddly than expected - I painted a coat of Seche Vite onto my nails then stuck it down, pressed it into place gently then used a cotton bud soaked in polish remover to clean away the excess decal around the nail. I then finished with more top coat. You end up with a thick layer of polish on the nail but a success!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Black & Pink Rose Manicure

Hello!

I did this manicure for the Adventures in Stamping Sunday challenge, which is "Your Favourite Flower". I'm posting it a day early as I'll be launching the Nailz Craze Giveaway tomorrow!

I've had this manicure by LauRobles pinned to my inspiration board on Pinterest for ages, but until now I hadn't had a suitably romantic rose pattern to do my own version. Now I do! I painted a base colour of Sally Hansen's Crinoline with accent ring fingers of black, then used the trailing roses from MoYou's Mother Nature plate 05:

I'm so glad I've finally been able to rock this mani! It received two compliments when I made it out to town yesterday which made me a very happy Lisa ^_^

See you tomorrow for the giveaway!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Surprise Revealed ~ It's a Giveaway!

Hello!

Well I said that something nice would be coming to Geordie Nails in the New Year, and now I can reveal what it is. I will be hosting a giveaway starting this Sunday and the prize will be stamping plates from Nailz Craze!!

The butterfly wing manicure that I posted as a hint was made using Nailz Craze stamping plate NC01. I'm a really happy customer - Natalie's designs are intricate, original and made with love - and I very much wanted to share the joy with someone else too. The winner of the giveaway will be able to choose any 2 plates from the Nailz Craze Etsy store as their prize ^_^

The giveaway is now live!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Mother Nature Manicure

Hello!

Firstly, the mystery Geordie Nails surprise I've been hinting at ~ I will reveal what it is tomorrow! It's something I'm really happy about and I hope it'll be a nice surprise.

Now, today's manicure features my two new MoYou plates from the Mother Nature collection. I am seriously happy with these and can think of endless manis to do with them! I painted a base of OPI's Bubble Bath then got stamping. On my thumb and pinky finger are the trailing roses from plate 05, and for the rest I used the birdcage (doing a "shadow" in gold) and birds from plate 01. I filled in the rose vines with my Barry M nail art pen.

At this point I have to say I am so grateful for the nail community. I was having trouble stamping the birdcage and got excellent advice from both the Hobby Polish Bloggers and Adventures in Stamping Facebook groups. Thank you! And here is the mani:

Hugs,

Lisa xx