Starburst Blue Nail Foil

Hello!

After my review on Monday of KKCenterHK's lace nail foil, I decided to delve into my existing small foil stash and try out another one.

It is said that Picture Polish's Revolution base coat for glitters is the answer to a huge prayer - a top coat that will not wrinkle, dull or destroy shiny foils! This I had to try. So I applied my very shiny Starburst Blue foil (over blue polish in case I left any gaps) then added a coat of Revolution. Here is the result:

IT'S STILL SHINY!

There is a small amount of wrinkling but, by and large, the foil is as intact as when I applied it.

A small warning - I tried applying a coat of Seche Vite over the coat of Revolution on my thumb, hoping that Revolution would act as a barrier over the foil - and the whole thing cracked like a crackle polish! So it does have to be Revolution on its own.

Since Revolution isn't strictly a proper nail polish I do wonder what the wear time will be. Unfortunately I'll be changing my nails for a Christmas meal tomorrow but I'll be trying this again during the holidays to see how long the manicure lasts!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

The Blogmopolitan Quiz

Hello!

I'm posting for the second time today because I like quizzes and wanted to do this one ^_^ It's called the Blogmopolitan Quiz and the template can be downloaded here. Thanks to Two Thirds Hazel!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Black Lace Flower Nail Foil

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

Hello!

Today I have for you a manicure using this black lace nail foil from KKCenterHK. I normally review their water decals but spotted the foil on their website and it looked too good to be true; I had to get it!

Nail foil is a kind of transfer that is applied using a foil glue. It most often comes in very shiny, holographic colours but you can also get patterned designs like this floral lace. The best thing about non-shiny foils is that you can use top coat to seal the design and it doesn't affect the foil at all!

For application I first applied a very pale pink nail polish as my background colour, Crinoline by Sally Hansen. I then painted my nails with the little bottle of glue supplied and waited about 3 minutes for it to dry - you know it's ready when the glue goes from white to clear, or when you can feel that it's tacky to the touch. I then took the foil and pressed it onto the nail, making sure to press around the edges too. I finished the manicure with top coat. Here it is on both hands:

This is so "me" I can't even describe. It looks so French and romantic! I will be using it again and again and again.

To find a negative, the nail foil glue came with a brush that was too long for the bottle, meaning it was permanently bent out of shape. I had to cut the bristles so I could use it properly! That said, the glue itself was clearly very good as the foil applied fully with no bald patches.

You can buy the foil here, with the choice to buy it alone or with two different sizes of foil glue:

http://www.kkcenterhk.com/Nail-Foil-Transfer/c214/p12026/N.Nail-Noble-Black-Lace-Flower-Nail-Foil-Transfer/product_info.html

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Sally Hansen ~ Cha-Ching!

Hello!

Today I'm wearing an ultra-festive glitter by Sally Hansen. The Gem Crush glitter collection may be showgirl inspired but the two I own are so perfectly festive. I bought them a while ago for £1.99 each at my favourite Eldon Square market stall (Which seems to have disappeared! Does anyone know where it moved to?), which is a great deal as I've seen them at full price in many shops since.

Cha-Ching! is a full-cover polish consisting of fine red glitter with larger silver pieces. Basically Santa in a bottle! It took 3 coats for full opacity but it applies thinly and only needed one coat of Seche Vite to be smooth. Here it is:

Isn't she a beauty?! Perfect for Christmas.

I've started having to take photos outside in my back yard because there is so little sunlight at the moment and it's hard to get a good pic indoors. We really are in Winter... I'm just hoping for a little snow now ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Hello Kitty Winter Manicure

Hello!

Today I tried out a Hello Kitty French manicure with a Winter twist... the end result didn't turn out as I'd hoped but I wanted to show you anyway!

The French nails are Sinful Colors Snow Me White over MeMeMe's Graceful, using page reinforcer stickers as tip guides. I used a dotting tool and a nail art pen to make the Hello Kitty face :)

The accent nails are Nicole by OPI's All Kendall-ed Up with snowflake stamping using plate BM323.

I didn't like the manicure because the stamped accents and the dotted Hello Kitties don't go together at all, even more so in the flesh. Perhaps as two separate manicures they'd fare better!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Christmas Decals!

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

Hello!

I'm not normally into Christmas, but I think making it along to the two festive markets in Newcastle has put me in the mood. I've been drinking lots of spiced Winter tea and hot ginger wine, bought a couple of presents and I've tried roast chestnuts for the first time ^_^

So I was extremely happy when I received some Christmas water decals from KKCenterHK yesterday! The ones I have on now are these Xmas water decals here. They come in a sheet of 25 decals with 5 different designs: a sleigh, a Christmas tree, a wreath, a moon and candy cane, and a wise man (or Santa, I can't decide!). I dipped them in water for 30-60 seconds then applied them over a base of a mislabelled light green Essie which may be called Shore Thing.

How cute?! I especially love the tall, slim designs of the tree and the wise man. Application was very smooth and simple; they adhered fully with no wrinkling.

You can buy the decals here:

http://www.kkcenterhk.com/Nail-Water-Decals-Festival/c106_145/p8442/N.NAIL-Xmas-Christmas-Santa-Claus-Moon-Water-Decals-Nail-Art/product_info.html

I have another sheet of Christmas water decals to try so I will be back soon with another festive manicure :-)

Hugs,

Lisa xx

China Pattern Manicure

Hello!

Today's manicure has a china pattern as French tips and full accent nails. Luckily there was enough sunlight to photograph this, although it's not as vibrant as in the flesh!

Here's a step-by-step of what I did:

1. Painted a sheer French base of MeMeMe's Graceful on my index, middle and pinky fingers.
2. Painted 2 coats of Sinful Colors' Snow Me White on my ring finger and thumb.
3. Gave the French base lots of time to dry, then used page reinforcer stickers as French tip guides.
4. Painted white onto the tips and removed the stickers straight away.
5. After drying time, stamped the pattern from MoYou's Pro 07 plate using Barry M's Blackberry. Used page reinforcer stickers again as quick guides so I didn't stamp over the rest of the nail.
6. Plunged my nails into cold water for 30 seconds to set the polish.
7. Top coat!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Remembrance Manicure

Hello,

Today's manicure is a muted floral. I painted 3 coats of OPI's Don't Touch My Tutu! as a sheer white voile. I then used Nails Inc's Bluebell and my MoYou Pro 07 stamping plate to add delicate lilac flowers.

The manicure is purposefully subtle and light as it's in remembrance of my nanna xx

I'm trying to start using my very much neglected Facebook page again, as it seems that lots of people prefer to follow bloggers on Facebook. Here is the page if you'd like to follow:

http://www.facebook.com/Lisa.GeordieNails

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Mind Manicure

Hello,

Today is not a wonderful day as there's been a bereavement in the family. I wanted to show you this manicure anyway as it represents the charity I love and volunteer for. Mind is a mental health charity and does really great work, both in campaigning on a national level and in providing vital support services locally. Both myself and family have benefitted from their help. I painted my nails in Mind's colours as I was meant to go to their annual general meeting today, but I didn't make it sadly.

The manicure is a sponged gradient, a technique I struggle with. That said, this attempt is an improvement on my last go! I started with 2 coats of Sinful Colors Snow Me White then swirled together the white with Barry M's Blackberry on a piece of scrap paper and applied it to my nail with a damp sponge.

I will continue to practise gradients as the effect is beautiful when it's perfected, as lots of inspiring bloggers have shown ~ the Nailasaurus comes to mind, and I've relied on her gradient tutorial when learning the technique.

Hugs,

Lisa xx

Letter to Santa Manicure

Hello!

It's December already! Both my cat and I opened the first doors on our advent calendars yesterday (I got chocolate, she got cat treats) and I figured it was time to start wearing festive manicures! This mani has a "letter to Santa" theme.

For the French nails I painted a sheer base of MeMeMe's Graceful - this has been showing up a lot in recent manicures and it's my #1 recommended French shade. I used page reinforcer stickers as a tip guide and painted on Orly's Star Spangled, a sparkling jelly-red which came free with Cosmopolitan magazine this month. I added the white using Barry M's nail art pen.

For the accent nails I painted OPI's My Vampire Is Buff then stamped over a letter design by Bundle Monster. Everything was top coated and that's the manicure!

I'll try to think of more seasonal designs to adorn my nails for the rest of the month ^_^

Hugs,

Lisa xx