Paris Manicure

Hello!

I've done a manicure to honour those in Paris because I have a personal connection to the city and it feels right to note this on my blog. I studied French at university and, as part of my course, I lived in the banlieue (outskirts) of Paris and was a teaching assistant to schoolchildren who will now be in their late teens. I only hope that they are safe and well.

I also want to say that I support everyone's different ways of commemorating (or not) the multiple tragedies that have happened in the world over this past week. We're only human. For those seeking to help in a practical way, it looks to me like the charity Direct Relief is doing amazing work all around the world to respond to disasters.

For my manicure I did a simple Eiffel Tower motif over black. The design is from MoYou's Tourist 07 stamping plate, which I stamped on with Konad White over W7 Black.

A tout le monde à Paris... je pense à vous et je vous souhaite le courage et la sécurité pour ce nouvelle semaine.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Matte Black with Glossy Tips

Hello!

Today I'm doing a copycat of a matte black manicure with glossy French tips that I've seen shared all over Pinterest and other social media. Very sadly I can't find the original source of the mani ~ does anyone have any idea?

My best friend Kellie asked me to do this manicure because it's her favourite, and I did it because she is awesome. I painted on W7 Black, matted it out with Rimmel's Matte Finish top coat then used French tip guides to add the glossy Sèche Vite. I have to warn you that neither the manicure nor the photo are my best... I'm ill with a liver infection at the moment. I managed to take one photo outside where the light is decent before my mam started scolding about me catching a cold! So it's a bit blurry:

Priorites, man. Priorities.

Hopefully I'll be back soon with a new post and feeling better! I bought three of the new Barry M Gellies the other day so I cannot wait to try those out.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Cute Bow Stamping!

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

Hello!

Yesterday I was very happy to receive a package from KKCenterHk in the post containing two stamping plates for review. I love getting nail mail and hadn't had any in a while!

The stamping plate I'm showing you today is numbered QA29 and has a variety of 12 very sweet images to use, including 5 different bows. I figured the best way to show them off was with a skittles mani ~ it's just turned March and we've had a couple of nice days, so I got the pastels out and stamped on bows and hearts and all things lovely:

And here's the plate from the KKCenterHk website so you can see all the designs:

http://www.kkcenterhk.com/p11373/N.NAIL-Love-Sweet-Cute-Miss-Words-Bow-Heart-Chink-Stamp-Plate/product_info.html

The images have a lovely simplicity to them that makes them so cute and easy to use. The bows and chick would be great for making stamping decals too (which I'll be trying to do myself with the next stamping plate). The one flaw I had with the plate is that the polka dot design is harder to pick up and stamp perfectly, which you can see in the photo.

What do you think ~ do you reckon it's close enough to Spring to rock a pastel mani?

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

Rock Feather Manicure

Hello!

Following on from the glittering peacock feathers in my last post I decided to take the idea and do it in black and silver! This time I painted W7's black as my base colour then stamped Nailz Craze's peacock feather onto each nail. I then used the edge of a cosmetics sponge to dab silver glitter over the feather strands. Here is the result:

Honestly I'm not a fan (which is why I only took a quick snap). The glitter is messy, just generally I want to take it off and do something else to my nails! Hopefully I'll have the time and energy before work tomorrow evening.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

MoYou Pro 07 ~ Vintage Flower Manicure

Hello!

This is my second manicure using my new MoYou Pro 07 stamping plate (the first with a review is right here). The image I used today, an intricate pattern of vintage flowers, is actually the one which enticed me to buy the plate.

As I mentioned in my first review I'd done a test stamp and didn't get good results, so I had a bit more practise and this mani is as good as the image got. The base colour is Sally Hansen's Lavender Cloud, the accent nail is W7's Black and the stamping is Konad's Special Black.

And, for reference, here is the stamping plate on the MoYou site where you can see this image as it was advertised:

http://www.moyou.co.uk/index.php/image-plates/collections/pro-collection/moyou-nail-art-design-image-plate-nail-stencils-collection-kit-set-moyou-nails-pro-collection-07.html

I am disappointed that the image on the nail is not nearly as detailed and intricate as was shown on the site. I still like my manicure and think you can make out the pattern, but it would have been amazing if you could see all the detail!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired By your Childhood!

Hello!

I decided to combine today's childhood challenge with a current nail trend and do a blackboard manicure!

Ciaté have come out with a set to accomplish the look, which is a cool idea but expensive! It's an easy idea to attempt and I used polishes that were already in my collection to do my mani: a base black by W7, Barry M's white nail art pen to do my doodles and Rimmel's matte top coat to give it the blackboard look. Here it is!

I'm still loving my Barry M nail art pens, it makes it so easy to freehand designs. And the blackboard mani is a fab idea!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

A Newcastle Nail Polish Post!

Hello!

Today I'm writing a post to showcase the nail polish deals I spotted in Newcastle city centre today! I am absolutely categorically not supposed to be buying more nail polish right now, but at least I can do a public service by leading you astray too ;-)

Here is a pic of my little haul, and below I'll write about where I got them:

TK Maxx ~ TK Maxx have just recently opened their new store at the bottom of Northumberland Street, and the couple of times I've been in there they've had a really good selection of polishes. Today they had Color Clubs in pairs, minis and big sets, Leighton Denny minis, Nails Inc sets and a few others that included the OPI duo above that I just could not resist getting ~ Bubble Bath, I'm Not Really A Waitress and a cute keychain. The set was marked down from £19 to £12.99.

Boots ~ Boots have started stocking Sinful Colors! There are currently displays in the big Eldon Square store. They're at an introductory price of £1.99 but that's supposed to be increasing in a few weeks' time. Amongst the selection are some cool glitters, but I walked away with the white as it had been recommended by fellow polishers as a great base colour. I also bought my third bottle of Sweet Kisses for £2.99 from Boots' own 17 range; it's a slightly dusty pastel pink which I adore. The Eldon Square Boots has really stepped up their polish selection with a ton of desirable brands being given their own displays.

Making Faces ~ This is the make-up barrow that used to be found near the Northumberland Street entrance to Eldon Square but now has moved further up inside, opposite Next and where the calendar stalls used to be. Today they had a great selection of Essie polishes (not just that orange one!) and Revlons for £1.99 each. I actually settled for an unknown brand called Freshcover because its icy blue looked so promising, and I'll be swatching it soon!

Xtras ~ Again found in Eldon Square, Xtras have a range of polishes by a brand called Cairuo that they are selling for £1 each! If you go in, the range of colours is impossible to miss - bright, fresh and very tempting! I bought 3 cheerful Spring shades and will be swatching them very soon to see if they are any good. They also have lots of W7 polishes for £1.99, and I decided to get the blue Suede-effect shade that people have been rating highly.

So these were my nail adventures today! I'll be updating with swatches; hopefully they were worth breaking my no-buy for because it was seriously bad of me!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

W7 ~ Salt n Pepper

Hello!

I bought W7's Salt n Pepper when it first came out and was being talked about a lot in my Facebook groups ~ then wondered why I did, as I never seemed to want to try it on! I am wearing it for the first time today though, and boy am I glad that I bought it because it looks amazing! Salt and peppery indeed. The photos below show 3 coats, and the matte black glitter and the way it shows through each layer of polish is simply perfect.

Super happy with this!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

W7 ~ Pink Pearl

Hello!

I found Pink Pearl by W7 for £1.99 on my local cosmetics stall. I had a sneaking suspicion that it would be sheerer than sheer, but it had such ethereal pink flecks in it that I couldn't resist anyway!

The pics below show 3 coats of Pink Pearl on its own on my index and middle fingers, then 1 coat over a baby pink on the ring and pinky fingers. Photo 1 is in natural light, Photo 2 with flash.

I wish I could have photographed the shimmery flecked pink better, but it is really lovely over the base colour. Definitely a layering polish though! Normally I would avoid such a polish but the finish of this is so nice that I would go for it. Not a boring pearl!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Mini Haul!

Hello!

For a while now I've been on a strict no-buy, having decided that I absolutely do not need to buy any more nail polish ever, no matter how enticing it may be, as I have enough in my collection to give manicures to a small country. But I've been feeling a bit rubbish so decided to have a wander up to my local cosmetics stall in Eldon Square to see if there were any bargains to be had!

The top row of polishes came to a grand total of £8.95. First is Lavender Cloud by Sally Hansen, because I am an absolute sucker for creamy shades! Second is Nude Shimmer, also by Sally Hansen. This looks so, so pretty and I was very happy to find it ~ the "Diamond Strength" polishes that end up on the stall tend to be more old-fashioned. Third is White on White by Revlon, because I'm always using white polishes till they go gloopy on me. Fourth is an unnamed polish by Miss Sporty ~ on the stall it looked a shocking pink but in the light of my bedroom it seems to lean towards orange! And finally, we have Pink Pearl by W7. I don't know if I'll be disappointed by this one, but it looks like it might be incredible layered over a solid pink. We shall see!

The top coats were from Superdrug and considerably more expensive! I've lost my original matte top coat by Rimmel in the landfill of my bedroom, so had to shell out for another. As for the No Chip, I'm still looking for my perfect top coat! I want a wide brush, not too thick polish, no tipwear and doesn't smudge my stamping. Let's see if good old Sally Hansen has the answer :-)

I know I've kept posting saying I'll try to blog more, it's been really hard. I'm going through a terrible time with my depression. But this time I am promising to try on the above polishes and show them to you!

Hugs,

Lisa, Geordie Nails xx

Pastel Skittles!

Just a cute little mani, all topped with a subtle glitter top coat from Andrea Fulerton ^_^

Pink ~ Sweet Kisses by 17

Yellow ~ Spring Blossom by Ulta3
Green ~ Green from Claire's pastel nail polish mini set
Blue ~ Sheer Blue by W7
Purple ~ Woo Me by 17

Hugs,

Lisa xx

I Love My Franken!

Hello!

Here is the post where I first showed off my franken to the world, and today I found the perfect base colour for it ~ No7's Violetta.  This polish has shown up a lot in my blog since I bought it, and I genuinely do use and love it that much!

Also, if HTML goes to plan, I am adding a poll at the bottom of this post to choose a name for my franken!  I'll re-post a pic of the franken on nude nails below today's mani photos; it is a clear polish base with blue hex glitter, varying smaller sizes of silver glitter with a rainbow glimmer, and a touch of very small pink-tinged silver glitter. 

Here are the pics!!

What should I name my franken?

(note that these were just my own ideas, feel free to post a comment with your own!)

Hugs,

Lisa xx

My First Franken!

Hello!

For a teeny while I've been eyeing my bottle of W7's Blue Diamonds and wanting to make a franken with it.  I mixed its large blue hex glitters with Saffron's Shade 2 - various smaller sizes of rainbow-flashing silver glitter - a smidgen of Barry M's Iridescent Pink, and a touch of clear polish.  The two main glitters were cheap market-stall buys, so I felt happy to experiment with them.  This is the result:

And a glitter close-up:

It's my first ever attempt at mixing a polish; it was quite hard to get the proportions of each glitter right, and the resulting polish is a tiny bit thick, but I am really quite happy and proud!

Here are two coats on nude nails:

And over a few colours, 1-2 coats of franken depending on how it came out :-) :

What do you think?  Have you ever attempted mixing your own polish?  And do you think I should name mine?!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

W7 ~ Blue Diamonds

Hiya!

Today I have for you an awesome market stall find.  Something I'm fast learning is to check market stalls and shopping centre "barrows" often ~ mine seems to get new things in every couple of days and you can find some treasures. The polishes are priced 99p - £1.99 which is great for a poor girl like me!

W7's Blue Diamonds caught my eye immediately.  It's a bright blue hexagonal glitter in clear polish and made me happy just looking at it!  Here it is on my nails...

And over the MUA polish I showed you a couple of days ago...

Happy happy happiness ^_^

The one thing I'll say is that it's difficult to get the glitter to spread evenly on your nails, as evidenced by the one-coater nail above... but it is a great fun glitter and I will certainly be cheering up my Winter manis with it ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

W7 ~ Sheer Blue

Hello!

I am constantly on the lookout for a pale blue that looks lovely and applies beautifully on the nails.  I spotted Sheer Blue by W7 for £1.99 on a market stall and hopefully snapped it up. 

This is either 3 or 4 coats, I can't quite recall - but I was really happy with it because the finish was a LOT more even than the other pale blue in my collection!  I'm sure there is still a dream pale blue polish waiting out there for me, but in the meantime this is very cheap and will serve me just fine.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Glitter Gradient

Hello!

First of all, credit goes to the lovely and helpful Lusting Over Lacquers for posting a how-to for this mani!

For my glitter gradient I chose purple on purple.  The base is the dark-ish pastel purple creme from Claires' mini pastel set and the glitter is 'Purple Dazzle' by W7 (I bought this in Xtras but have seen the brand in New Look and on market stalls).  I painted two coats of pastel purple then I wet a cotton bud, dipped it in Purple Dazzle, dabbed two coats from the tip of my nail down then sealed it with a top coat.

(the flash on my camera went off funny for that last pic, but I'm including it because I think it looks really cool ^_^)

I really do like the gradient look!  My only problem with my mani is that I was using a really cheap glitter (it cost £1.50) and it gave a gritty finish.  It's a nice enough basic glitter polish, but I would love to do this mani again with a finer glitter like my holo INM Northern Lights.  That might well be my next post!

See you soon,

Lisa xx