Geordie Nails Autumn Week ~ Sparkling Golds

Hello!

I've been posting photos of my Autumn-inspiring nail polishes all week both on the blog and on Instagram! I haven't quite written about them all here due to tiredness but today I have two manicures to show featuring sparkling autumnal golds.

The first polish is a Limited Edition Barry M for Superdrug! I can't find its name but it must have been released either last Autumn or the one before. It is a bar glitter featuring shades of gold and copper; I don't normally buy bar glitter but this one reminds me of fireworks and fallen leaves simultaneously and it's just perfect for the season. Here is one coat over the deep wine shade Victoria by Nails Inc, also a perfect autumnal polish:

The second polish is a textured glitter by Seventeen at Boots, called Charm Bracelet. It has a vintage feel to it - champagne gold with darker glitter pieces thrown in - and it's absolutely gorgeous in my eyes:

What do you think of my choices?!

I've now got some Autumn nail art in mind so hopefully I'll be back soon with piccies!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Geordie Nails Autumn Week ~ Hidden Treasure & Spiced Plum

Hello!

This is the second post for my Autumn Week of manicures. As luck would have it I was ill all of yesterday so couldn't get any painting or blogging done, but here I am!

This manicure consists of two old favourite polishes and I'd forgotten just how much I love them, especially together! I first wore this mani four years ago. Spiced Plum is by Seventeen at Boots and it's a glossy, brown-leaning purple. I think the years have turned the shade slightly more brown, but it's still wearable. Hidden Treasure is a flakie glitter by Sally Hansen; I seem to remember it being the polish of the moment at one time!

Here is a close-up of that flakie goodness...

...and here is Spiced Plum on its own:

Hopefully I'll be well enough to keep the Autumn manicures coming!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Princess Manicure

Hello!

During the week I had a look in Poundland and they had sets of little nail charms that I couldn't resist buying to try out! They came in packs of 6 assorted silver diamanté designs and I bought two different sets.

The charm I picked out to use first was a sweet little crown. I set it as the centrepiece of a skittles manicure using the pink Seventeen Sweet Kisses, the grey Seventeen Chaperone and the off-white Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud with a glitter gradient done with Models Own Pink Fizz.

I really adored the way this looked, especially for the price. At 6 for £1 they're a huge bargain.

I've never used nail charms before and so I didn't have any nail glue to secure it down. As such I just set it in top coat and it did come off after a few hours! Fortunately I have a Born Pretty Store order on the way with some glue and a couple more charms.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Dozy Owl Manicure

Hello!

Today's manicure perfectly encapsulates how I've been feeling as of late... sleepy, sleepy, sleepy!

I have a nice little collection of decals from YRNails and one of them is a dozy purple owl. To complement its colour I painted a French manicure where the bodies of my nails are white and the tips are lilac. For this I used Barry M Matte White and Seventeen's Woo Me.

I most definitely empathise with those owls! Zzzzzzzzzzz...

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Pink Patchwork Manicure

Hello!

I absolutely love using Instagram - it's full of inspiring manicures and it's an easy way for me to share my photos when I'm not feeling well. Today's manicure is inspired not by someone else's nails, but by a gorgeous patchwork pattern shared by flannelnails and made by her talented daughter (she also has some gorgeous manis on her account too so give her a look!).

My base colour was the vintage pastel pink Sweet Kisses by Seventeen, with an accent nail of Nails Inc's Power Pink. Onto the Power Pink I stamped some polka dots; I used sellotape to create a heart stencil for my index nail, and I did a stamping accent on my pinky nail as well. Here it is!

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

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

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

Ballerina Manicure

Hello!

This manicure features curved pink French tips overlaid with polka dots ^_^

First I started with one coat of a sheer French shade, Bubble Bath by OPI. I gave it plenty of time to dry then used page reinforcer stickers that you can buy in stationery shops as tip guides. For my pastel pink I chose Sweet Kisses by Seventeen. I then stamped on my white polka dots and finished with top coat!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

English Tea Manicure

Hello!

Here is another mani I posted quickly on Instagram but sadly didn't have the energy to blog about. I call it an English Tea manicure because it feels like something I would wear to an afternoon tea with Earl Grey and cakes ^_^

I painted my nails with Seventeen Mint Choc Chip, leaving the ring fingers as accents. I painted those white and added rose water decals from KKCenterhk.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lucky Spring Decals

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

Hello!

Today I have for you some very pretty water decals from Born Pretty Store. They're a generous sheet of cute and lucky images in Spring colours. They include birds, feathers, hearts, four-leaf clovers and text designs ^_^

I was really, really pleased with the application of these decals! They went on smoothly after 30 seconds or so in water, and even when I applied a couple in the wrong place I could move them and smooth out any wrinkles no problem. The colours are opaque and are just beautiful. I applied a variety of the designs over pink polish, Seventeen Sweet Kisses, and here they are:

http://www.bornprettystore.com/nail-water-decals-transfer-stickers-fancy-spring-swallow-pattern-sticker-p-14785.html

How sweet?! Water decals are one of my nail art staples and I know I'll be using these many times again. I did a quick count and there are over 70 decals on the sheet for $1.86 - not bad, right?

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

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Outfit-Inspired Manicure!

Hello!

Today's manicure is inspired by a new dress and pair of shoes I bought recently! I'm not fashion-savvy at all but I love pretty dresses, and I found a nice blue floral one in Dorothy Perkins and added some bargain pink flats from New Look for the Summer. I couldn't tell you whether they're a stylish combination or not but I do feel pretty in them and I guess that's what matters :-)

For the inspired manicure I did blue floral nails with matte pink pinkies. The colours I used are Revlon Dreamer, Barry M Blackberry for the stamping and Seventeen Sweet Kisses for the pink. The stamping plate is MoYou Mother Nature 05.

And here's the mani in full size:

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Seventeen Off The Wall Metals Nail Effects ~ Bronze

Hello!

Today I tried out the third of Seventeen's new ranges - see Crushed Foils and Juicy Neons - and this one is called Off The Wall Metals. It comes in gold, silver and bronze and I bought the bronze. I paid £3.99 but Boots had a 3 for 2 offer on as well :-)

This polish is a glitter topper comprising different sizes of black and white hex glitter mixed in with bronze metallic shards. As with other glitter top coats I've bought from Seventeen, the glitter density is just right; I didn't have to do any fishing or adjust the glitter on my nails at all. Here are two coats over a latte base, Without A Stitch by Sally Hansen:

It's a very rock look and it's not entirely me, but I would have loved it when I was... well, seventeen! My style is more girly now but I was a goth back in the day. It's a good quality polish.

This will be my last long-nail post for a little while: I'll be chopping them short and painting them with one last manicure before I have my gallbladder operation on Wednesday. Eek!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Seventeen Juicy Neons Nail Effects ~ Pink

Hello!

Today I'm showing you another polish from Seventeen by Boots' new Nail Effects ranges (see Gold from the Crushed Foils here). This one's the pink member of the Juicy Neons range; I also spotted yellow, orange, purple and teal and they all have a shimmering iridescence to them in addition to that neon colour.

Pink Juicy Neon is a sheer polish; a few of the big brands seem to have released very sheer colours for this Summer so I imagine that this range is following in their steps, only with the iridescent twist. I applied two coats as suggesed on the bottle and this is the effect:

You can see that my nail tips aren't looking great at the moment so this probably isn't the best time for me to try out a sheer! That said, the colour plus the blue-tinted iridescence is really quite lovely.

I'd quite like to experiment with this polish a bit more, building up more coats or trying it over other polishes. I did do a quick try of it over white and also to colour in a stamped butterfly and here is the result:

So my first try of Juicy Neons: beautiful colour, but be warned that it is sheer!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Seventeen Crushed Foils Nail Effects ~ Gold

Hello!

A few days ago on Facebook I noticed that Seventeen had launched some new nail effects polishes, so I decided to get down to Boots and buy a few to try out! They're on 3 for 2 at the moment so I bought one polish from each new collection: Juicy Neons, Crushed Foils and Off The Wall Metals.

When I picked up the Crushed Foil polish in Gold I had no idea how it would look on the nail. It looks a bit strange in the bottle - gold shard glitter pieces in a milky polish - but once I started applying it, it started to make sense! I'll let the photo do the talking to start with. Here are two coats of Crushed Foil over black:

It's an ultra-cool rock polish!

So the milky base is a clear-drying matte which gives your mani a really cool edge (it does lighten your base colour a little). The shards of glitter go on great and are just the right amount. This mani brought me back to when I was a goth in my late teens, a very happy time ^_^

I reckon it would be helpful if Seventeen had photos showing how these Crushed Foils look on your nails, because they are a bit confusing in the bottle! I was happy to buy one and test it out but could easily have passed them by.

I'll be back soon with the other two polishes I bought from the Juicy Neon and Off The Wall Metal ranges.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Boots Seventeen ~ Charm Bracelet

Hello!

Charm Bracelet by Seventeen at Boots was another of my naughty purchases that I really shouldn't have made! That said, it was part of the current 3 for 2 offer, costing £3.99 on its own. It's part of their textured range and it is a shimmering metallic delight. Here are 2 coats:

(please excuse the little dint on my middle fingernail!)

The name "Charm Bracelet" completely suits this polish because, as I applied it, it really was like an old charm bracelet had jangled onto my nails! It has a lovely vintage hue and there are flecks of gold in there which make it really special. Well done Seventeen!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Boots Seventeen ~ In The Surf

Hello!

Today's polish is a really cool glitter purchase from Seventeen at Boots, called In The Surf. It's part of their Colour Clash Nail Effects range and is sporting a "Just in!" sticker, so it may be new for Spring/Summer 2014. I paid £3.99 for it but Boots have a 3 for 2 offer on right now so I took advantage of that!

In The Surf is a glitter mix comprising various sizes of white, bright blue and lime green glitters with larger "accent" glitters of orange and pink. It's a top coat glitter and one coat is enough for a great manicure, although I used two just to get the fullest effect. I did have to fish around a bit for the orange and pink glitters, but overall application was lovely.

Here it is over Barry M's Huckleberry, a light pastel blue, with top coat:

How perfect for Summer?! It makes me think of sand in shallow water, it's very beachy. I love Seventeen because they come out with great polishes on the cheap, and I think they've made a winner this time ~ what do you think?

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Autumn Gradient Manicure

Hello!

This morning I am over the moon because I finally did a colour gradient manicure that I'm proud of! Since the seasons have changed so suddenly I wanted something suitably autumnal, and I had two lovely polishes by Boots 17 in mind.

I've had Spiced Plum for about 2 years now and it's a quintessential rich Autumn shade. For my gradient I paired it with Wishing Star, a shifting shimmer with gold, champagne and copper tones.

To do the gradient I used a washing-up sponge of all things! I firstly applied a base of Spiced Plum to my nails, then I used the sponge to dab on a gradient of the two polishes (The Nailasaurus does an incredibly helpful tutorial here). Here it is:

Gradient successssss!

I'm really glad I didn't give up trying to do colour gradients and I'm definitely going to carry on practising. For now I am very happy with my seasonal mani ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Lilac Flower Manicure

Hello!

Again today I wanted something sweet on my nails, and I went way back in my collection to find something suitable! 17's Woo Me is one of the first polishes I fell in love with, and to that I added some lovely textured flower stickers as accents.

I love having sweet nails and am starting to get used to them being so short!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Boots 17 ~ Cameo Crush

Hello!

Yesterday I stopped by Boots to get some bits and bobs, and while I was there I decided to check to see if 17 had any new polishes. At either end of the display they were showing off some shimmering textures and I instantly fell in love with the turquoise! It's called Cameo Crush and I paid a sale price of £2.99 (a pound off). Here are two coats:

This polish gets a joyous 10/10 from me! Amidst the turquoise it has a silver-green mermaid shimmer which shows up beautifully in the flesh as you move your fingers, and the texture is like crushed gems. It's the ocean and mermaids captured in a nail polish with a touch of vintage style.

It makes me really happy to see a cheap UK drugstore brand take on the very hit-and-miss textured trend and get it so right. I'm proud of Boots!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

P.S. Here is a bonus photo of my cat who very kindly let me disturb her chillaxing while I found some light to photograph my nails ^_^