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

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

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

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

Accented French

Hello!

Today's manicure is a little different from my normal style. Normally I avoid French manicures as:

a) I can't do them well, even with tip guides, and
b) they tend to remind me of Essex-style false nails which I'm not a fan of!

However, I had the unexplainable urge to do a French with ultra-glittery accents and a decal to boot, so here I am!

For the French nails themselves I took lots of time for proper drying and to get them perfect. As a tip guide I used round page reinforcer stickers. My white was Sinful Colors' Snow Me White and my sheer was MeMeMe's Graceful. Both of these I recommend; Snow Me White gives great coverage and Graceful has a wide brush which is perfect for getting a one-coat even finish.

The glittery accents are Nails Inc's Marylebone, topped with a liberal coat of Gelous then Seche Vite.

The water decal is by YRNails, a UK nail decal store; I bought the love trees here.

I'm not sure if this manicure is to everyone's taste (I wasn't sure if it was to my taste!) but it's nice to experiment and to keep trying out new ideas!

Hugs,

Lisa xx

31 Day Challenge ~ Inspired By Your Country

Hello!

For today's challenge I decided to go a little cliché and do an England flag! I used Sally Hansens red and silver glitter, Cha-Ching!, for the cross and Sinful Colors' white polish for the base. I have to say I'm not very impressed with the white because, although it gives good coverage, it has a very long dry time :-(

It was actually St George's Day last week and I'm sad to say that I did not celebrate it at all! It doesn't seem to be as big a deal as the days for the other patron saints of the United Kingdom; perhaps, because England tends to be politically privileged, we don't feel as much need to celebrate.

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