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

Stamping and a Bargain!

Hello!

Lemon Meringue by L'Oreal is another bargain I found recently at Tesco ~ it was £1.24! It's a very pale and delicate yellow, bordering on cream, and applies wonderfully. I used it as a base for some French pattern stamping using my Moyou Tourist 07 plate :-)

That's a poodle print with a cameo accent nail!

And here is Lemon Meringue on its own:

Bargain!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lisa Attempts Water Marbles

Hello!

There are a few nail art techniques that are quite beyond me, and water marbling is one of them. Mostly I have been very content to sit back and admire other polishers' amazing marbles, but this week I decided to have another couple of goes.

The basic premise of a water marble is that you drop a few colours into a bowl of water to form concentric circles, swirl them with a cuticle stick to make a pattern, then dunk your nails in! Some specific advice I've been given is to use filtered or bottled water at room temperature, to test polishes first to see how well they spread, to apply a white or similar base coat first in case your marble is a little transparent, and to dunk your nails in at a 45-degree angle. Lots of things to consider!

Here is my first attempt, a pink marble:

I really quite liked this hand but, unfortunately, the other hand was a write-off! I got globs of polish on my nails which I couldn't fix.

Here is my second attempt, a purple water-marble:

As you can see I got both hands done this time which is a success! It still felt a bit messy to me though.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Nails Inc Leather Effect ~ Clerkenwell

Hello!

First of all, a UK tidbit if you didn't know already - right now Nails Inc are transitioning to a new bottle style, which means they're having sales in their own outlets and they're also selling the old bottles off to discount retailers. If you have a TK Maxx or discount beauty shop/stall near you, check them out for potential Nails Inc bargains! For me, the stall to check out is Making Faces in the Platinum Mall (I think!) of the Metro Centre, Gateshead. They have an AMAZING selection of discount polishes.

I myself got a Nails Inc Matte top coat for £2.99 from that beauty stall, a Save The Nail brand Eau So Hydrated base coat (owned by Nails Inc) for £4.99 from TK Maxx, and this Leather Effect polish called Clerkenwell also for £4.99 from TK Maxx.

The Leather Effects are a take on textured polishes which specifically give the look of stylish leather! I really wanted to buy one of these when they came out but the £11 RRP was just too much. Clerkenwell is the cream shade and it genuinely does what it's supposed to - after two coats I got a fab, opaque finish in a pretty lifelike leather effect!

Has anyone else grabbed any bargains recently? Let me know!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

(Successful) Job Interview Nails!

Hello!

Today I went for a job interview for some Christmas retail work, and I was offered the job! All I have to do is wait for the "official" phone call to confirm it. I am very happy indeed. Sometimes I write on my blog about my struggles with depression, and this seems like a nice opportunity to try and get back into work.

For the interview I wanted simple and suitable nails so I went for Innocent by MeMeMe, which is a milky French sheer:

...and I paired them with one of my new Pura Vida bracelets! I chose the Platinum Ice Blue one in the middle:

Happy times! I'll be back soon with a couple more bargains I found recently.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Dozy Owls!

Hello!

Today I have for you some more of my YRNails owl purchases, this time the sleepy purple Dozy Owls!

To complement the decals I painted my nails a matching purple with Essie To Buy Or Not To Buy, except for a couple of accent nails which I painted with Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud and applied the owls on top!

Hoot hoot!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Barry M Bargains!

Hello!

I'm lucky enough to live near a big Tesco with a cosmetics section, and they're currently selling off bits and pieces of make-up mega cheap, maybe to make room for new collections from the brands! Amongst the bargains are some Barry M polishes going for 74p and 99p apiece; I bought Indigo, Yellow Topaz Glitter, Bubblegum and Marshmallow. I also got a L'oreal polish for £1.24.

This manicure uses Indigo and Yellow Topaz for a royal glitter mani! I used a sponge to get a bit more glitter near the base of my nails, here we are:

And here is Indigo on its own:

A bit of a bargain at £1.48 for the two polishes!

Hugs,

Lisa xx