OPI How Great is your Dane and foil stamping

Hi all,

I can't believe it's been a full two months since I've last posted anything. I've only just checked my blog email account for the first time too.  Even my actual digits are feeling neglected, barely getting re-done every week.

I still have a monster back-log of manicures to post that need editing etc etc, and since moving in with my boyfriend I feel like majority of the photos have been taken on my iPhone so the quality isn't great.

Maybe some time this year when we've moved house, have gotten settled and have a little Frenchie pup I'll manage to catch up with everything and start fresh!

Until then, here's some wintery nails which I think are from September October time, when I had started growing my nails into a long almond shape, but after a bad break after much filing/growing/care I soon went back to the usual, and easy square shape.

Base Coat: CND Stickey

Base Colour: OPI - How Great is your Dane

Stamping Colours: Barry M - Gold Foil, Revlon - Copper Penny

Image Plate: Moyou Bridal number unknown

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails 

And here's a swatch of the lovely How Great is your Dane:

It usually takes a lot for me to love a brown, and this shade ticks every box.

Until next time!

Pink and Green NOPI with Dashica Stamping

Hi all,

Oh, it has been a while indeed!  I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas, and that the lead up to it wasn't too stressful like mine was.  I was still buying the odd gift on Christmas Eve (yes, I was one of those people this year!)

I was sent some Nicole by OPI polishes back in summer from the lovely PR ladies, and I wore a few of these religiously throughout July and August.  The polishes shown below are from the collection Seize the Summer.  I also stamped these using BYS Black Satin, and my Dashica Big SpD-A plate.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colours: Nicole by OPI - Leapink for Joy & Lay it on the Lime

Glitter: Nicole by OPI - Shaved Nice

Stamping Polish: BYS - Black Satin

Image Plate: Dashica Big Spd-A

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

And below is the base before stamping.  Two coats of Leapink for Joy, and Lay it on the Lime with one coat of Shaved Nice.

Not quite a great shot of the glitter, but as you can see it's quite an odd mix.  I however like the overall effect of how the pale white glitter brightens up the base colours.

That's all from me for now, I'm going to try and get my life more organised soon, so I'm hoping I can get back into the routine of doing my nails for fun, and not because my polish is more chips than anything, which is shocking I know!

OPI - The Muppets Most Wanted

Hi all.

Today I have swatches of two gorgeous polishes from the new collaboration from OPI & The Muppets.  To celebrate the release of the new movie Muppets Most Wanted.

Here's a little bit from what OPI had to say about the collection:

"The Muppets are a fun-loving, colorful cast of characters. These eight new nail lacquers were inspired by their latest adventures in Disney’s Muppets Most Wanted, which include a glamorous international stage tour – and lots of surprises"

I chose to review two polishes, Gaining Mole-Mentum, and Miss Piggy's Big Number. I am so happy with my selection as Miss Piggy's Big Number is a really gorgeous eye-catching blue, which does tend to streak a bit, but to the eye you don't notice.  Gaining Mole-Mentum is described as a chunky shredded glitter made of rose and gold, but I swear there's silver pieces in there also.  This polish, surprisingly dried quicker than Miss Piggy's Big Number.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: OPI - Miss Piggy's Big Number (3 coats)

Glitter: OPI - Gaining Mole-Mentum (2 coats)

Below is the swatch shots of Miss Piggy's Big Number.  This is three thin coats, and as it's one of those polishes that looks different in every light, there's a few pics!

This is probably the better picture of the polish, the mirror-like quality is coming through, and you even get hints of the super subtle duochrome effect too.

I will admit though, the next day I added another coat of Gaining Mole-Mentum and it looked so much better!

I was also going to include a clip, but there was an error sadly :(

**These polishes were sent to me for consideration of review**

Matte Glitter Tape Mani

Hi all!

I can't believe It's been so long since my last post! Happy New Year! I don't have any real excuses for lack of blogging other than being a bad blogger! :( Apologies.

This is a mani from the back end of November. I wanted something quick and simple for a night out, and as I was (still am) obsessed with Nicole by OPI - A-Nise Treat I really wanted to use it in conjunction with a nudienudie creme. So I reached for another favourite, Barry M - Lychee.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Barry M - Lychee
Base V-Moon: W7 - Night Suede

V-Moon Colour: Nicole by NOPI - A-Nise Treat

I started by painting two coats of Lychee, and then after a shower (to avoid the tape pulling up the base) I cut triangles into the tape and placed it on the nail; painting over with W7 - Night Suede. I did this to try and establish what kind of shape I would be left with so I could then go in with striping tape and NOPI - A-Nise Treat to even out the length of the triangles, and add that loooovely matte glitter.

Here's before adding the glitter and making things much more even, and this pic shows the colours better where there's light, and my hands aren't freezing as I was waiting for a Metro for 25 minutes!

iPhone pics definitely do not do this manicure justice. I really loved wearing these as they were so bold.

Hope you've all had a good start to the year :]

Candy Coloured Splatter With Skull Stamping

Hi all.

How's everyone doing this murky Sunday? I'm particularly gloomy, and still feeling rough with this horrid cold, but I'm going to try and be productive and maybe even get some Christmas themed nails done later!

This mani is something I did back in August, and I loved these, quite a lot. I'm a little obsessed with the using the method of using the rough side of a sponge to "splatter" colours on for a base before stamping.

The base colours for this mani were all from the Nicole by OPI Selena Gomez range. I used Selena, Love Song and Pretty In Plum, and used Konad White and the Cheeky Viva Mexico Plate for stamping.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Nicole by OPI - Selena

Splatter Colours: Nicole by OPI - Pretty In Plum, Love Song

Stamping Colour: Konad White

Image Plate: Cheeky Viva Mexico

Top coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

 Here's the splatter mani:

And here's a picture of the pretty Selena

I think I'm gonna settle myself in bed with some nail supplies and a film and see what I come up with! Hope you've all had a good weekend.

Nicole by OPI - Gumdrops Swatch & Review

Hi all!

Today I have some extremely pretty polishes to show you, Nicole by OPI - Gumdrops.  These polishes all have a lovely frosted sugar-like finish, however some are more frosted than others, some have holographic glitter & micro glitter. Basically there's definitely something for everyone in this collection.

First up A-Nise Treat:

A-Nise Treat

A-Nise Treat.

A-Nise Treat is a really gorgeous Warm Black with silver glitter. These pictures show the glitter quite well, but in the swatches on a nail wheel below is where you'll get a better judgement of the real colour.  This is the first of the polishes I decided to try, and I didn't really expect to love it so much, like, so much I kept twiddling my fingers at work to watch it sparkle!

Next up is Blue-Berry Sweet On You:

NOPI - Blue-Berry Sweet On You

NOPI - Blue-Berry Sweet On You

Now this is a colour I originally thought was a gunmetal type shade, but trying it on it really showed it's true blue shade.  This is one of the frostiest of the bunch, and with the frost and the hue of blue it really gives a pretty chrome like appearance, but with this textured finish. This is one of the polishes I feel has a sort of glow about it.  Two coats was perfect coverage, and the wear on Blue-Berry Sweet On You was also really great.

All so beautiful, but these do not do My Cherry Amour any favours!

In Shade: L-R Blue-Berry Sweet On You, A-Nise Treat, I Lilac Gumdrops, Cinna-man of My Dreams, My Cherry Amour, Candy is Dandy

In sunlight: L-R, Candy is Dandy, My Cherry Amour, Cinna-man of My Dreams, I Lilac Gumdrops, A-Nise Treat, Blue-Berry Sweet on You

And because I can't help myself here's a couple of shots of these with topcoat on:

 L-R Blue-Berry Sweet On You, A-Nise Treat, I Lilac Gumdrops, Cinna-man of My Dreams, My Cherry Amour, Candy is Dandy

L-R, Candy is Dandy, My Cherry Amour, Cinna-man of My Dreams, I Lilac Gumdrops, A-Nise Treat, Blue-Berry Sweet on You

So I feel as though some of the details in these polishes are really hard to capture when they're in their normal sugar-matte form although you can see them in real life. This flash photo above really shows how the holographic hex glitter in Candy is Dandy sparkles, and My Cherry Amour, which is my favourite from the bunch shows it's looovely holographic micro glitter.  But I will talk about these more when I wear them.

Next time I post about these beautiful polishes I promise I will use my camera instead of my phone for photos so you can see more of the beauty!

The Gumpdrops collection is available from Superdrug stores now, they retail at £8.00 but Superdrug are running 3 for 2 at the moment, so grab a bargain.

*These polishes were sent to me for consideration of review*

NOPI Selena Gomez - Hit The Lights & Spring Break Stamping

Hiiii all, it's Friday!

I've got some very pretty polishes to show yo today, and more to come!

Recently I got sent quite a few polishes to try from the new Selena Gomez line for Nicole by OPI, and I immediately went for this stunning beauty Hit The Lights. It is by far the nicest yellow I own, it's mega happy and bright, and the formula is great too, three thin coats is perfect.  Nicole by OPI can be found at Superdrug stores and retail at £7.99.

After a day of wearing this on it's own I decided to do a rushed stamp job before work, and while I'm not really thrilled about the turn out, I love the combination, and from afar a quick glance you can see a pretty orange.

It was horrible and overcast when I first used Hit The Lights, and gain when I stamped, so trust this is  beauty!

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: NOPI - Hit the Lights

Stamped Colour: NOPI - Spring Break

Image Plate: Cheeky - Viva Mexico

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

Crazy bright bottle of joy below!

And some swatches of Spring Break:

Please excuse the corpse hands!

The coverage was slightly better on Spring Break, using the usual two coats, where as with Hit the Lights I used a slightly thicker two. I'm really loving the polishes from this collection so far. Especially Hit The Lights!

*These polishes were sent for consideration of review*

Valentines Day - We Stamp On Sundays

Hi all, I'm totally not feeling valentines day this year surprise surprise. So while this week's challenge over at Adventures In Stamping is for Valentines Day stamping, you guys get my nails from last year that I never posted.

This time last year I was getting ready for an interview, and planning what to take to Edinburgh. I had planned these nails before hand, but then it got really late the day before we traveled so I rushed them.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Colours Used: Models Own - Pastel Pink

                          MUA - Shade 20

                          La Femme - Pink Creme

                         Sally Hansen - White On

                         Clubworks - Fuchsia

                         OPI - Excuse Moi

Nail Art Pens: White Green & Pink

Green Acrylic Paint

Striping Tape

Stamping Polishes: Konad Special White

                             BYS - Black Satin

Image Plates: Bundle Monster BM03, BM08,

                     Konad M60

Top Coat: China Glaze - No Chip Top Coat

Forgive me for the quality of the picture and the rushed job. Oddly the guy at Edinburgh Dungeons who takes the photos when you're in the stock with an axe complimented me on these.

Hope you've all had a good weekend. I spent my Friday night chilling, and my Saturday back and forth to the bathroom feeling like I was going to be sick :( Gladly I feel better today.

Over A Blue Base - We Stamp On Sundays

Hi all! I hope you've all had a good weekend! I've been stuck without the internet, and I've been beyond bored, but I guess that's what I get for waiting for someone else to make plans!

This week's Adventures In Stamping challenge was to stamp over a blue base. This has got to be the most subtle stamping I've done to date. Trust me when I say it looks much better in person! I was actually going to stamp again over the holographic polish, but because I didn't think I was going to get a chance to put this post out today I didn't bother.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey
 Base Colour: Nicole by OPI - Loyalty To The Royal-ty
Stamping Colour: Layla - Ocean Rush
Image Plate: Bundle Monster BM 314
Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

 Such a gorgeous blue. I got this for my birthday back in August, but I just haven't felt like wearing such a dark blue until now. This is three thin coats, drying time was really good :]

And here's what I used:

Well that's the quickie post for today, I hope you lot like them :]

NOPI - Fell From The Tree & Color Club - Hydrangea Kiss Swatches

Hi all! Happy Tuesday!

Today I have swatches of Nicole by OPI - Fell From The Tree & Color Club - Hydrangea Kiss. These swatches are from the start of September, and were the base colour for separate mani's that I never got photos of; but I thought I'd still share them.

First up is Color Club - Hydrangea Kiss, a medium dusky blue, with an effortless formula. looking back at photos now Kiko - Cornflower reminds me of Hydrangea Kiss, but a little lighter.

Next up is Nicole by OPI - Fell From The Tree. Formula wise this was a little on the thin side , needing three coats to fully cover nail line, but it was quite an eye catching colour to wear because of the lovely shimmer in it. I actually Think this looks more green in real life.

Hope you've had a good Tuesday! Hopefully i'll be back with some stamping on Thursday =]

Models Own - Slate Green, OPI - Warm & Fozzie & Black Dashica Stamping

Ahhhh today we have some nails I seriously loved wearing. I only wore them matte for one day, and I can't decide what I prefer, Scott prefers them glossy but I really like Warm & Fozzie matte!

First up the stamped nails, and then I'll show some swatch shots of the surprisingly squishy Models Own - Slate Green.

Base Coat: La Femme

Base Colour: Models Own - Slate Green

Sponged Colour: OPI - Warm & Fozzie

Stamp Colour: BYS - Black Satin

Image Plate: Dashica Big SpD-A

Top Coat: Rimmel 60 Seconds - Clear

With Rimmel - Matte Finish

Close up of OPI - Warm & Fozzie I love the warm rose toned specks of foil!

Here's some swatch shots of Models Own - Slate green. When I started applying this I was surprised by the formula. I was expecting the usual creme, but it turned out to be a bit more of a squishy almost jelly like creme. I think I actually prefer this formula though. I can't remember if this is two or three coats, but I believe it's two coats.

So which do you prefer, matte or gloss?

Hope everyone's having a good Tuesday!

OPI - Louvre Me Louvre Me Not & W7 - Purple Dazzle Swatches

Little post today showing a beauty of a polish I've not shown here before. Also showing a new glitter I bought about a month back.

 2 easy coats of OPI - Louvre Me Louvre Me Not. This was such a hard colour to photograph on this day. It's such a gorgeous plummy colour with really beautiful shimmer.

 1 coat of Purple Dazzle over Louvre Me Louvre Me Not

2 Coats with flash.

I wish I'd thought a little more carefully about the base colour as I think it's a little too warm for the gltter. But I did enjoy wearing these. 3 coats would've looked better, but I really didn't want the hassle of an extra coat of glitter to remove :P

Hope everyone's having a good Wednesday.

Models Own - Pinky Brown & OPI Designer... De Better & Konad M85

This is a slight fail on my part, don't get me wrong, I like the colour combo, but the stamping combo is just a fail in my eyes. I hate stamping over dark fleck duo chromes like this as I think it generally kills off the beauty of the polish somewhat. But after painting on Pinky brown (which I love) I really had the urge to try and stamp, so I just went for it. I think it was a bad move to stamp in another foil. I chose to stamp with OPI - Designer...De Better, which is another polish I love, as I have nothing else like it, and probably never will. The copper flecks in this polish bring me joy!

That being said I still liked the outcome, not a bold or crazy design, but it made Pinky Brown extra sparkly, and I still got the full shift effect of it.

Base Coat: La Femme - Base Coat
Base Colour: Models Own - Pinky Brown
Stamp Colour: OPI - Designer...De Better
Image Plate: Konad M85
Top Coat: Models Own - 3 In 1

Apologies for how grainy these look in the photos, I think all the sparkly goodness made my camera a little loopy =P

So, how do you stamp over a duo chrome foil fleck polish like this?