Orange & Purple Gradient with Black Stamping

Hi guys,

Two posts in the same week (sort of) what's going on?! I think I may have slightly gotten back into the swing of editing photos & posting, still not back into the swing of looking at other people blogs and feeling inspired, but it's a start.

Today I have an orange to purple gradient stamped with BYS - Black Satin and Bundle Monster BM404.  I really enjoy doing gradients like this with a creme and a fleck shimmer polish.

Base coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colours: 2true - Mila & Sally Hansen - Pink Force

Stamping Colour: BYS - Black Satin

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BM404

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

And here's a pic of the base with a flash:

Hope you're all having a good week so far, hopefully I'll have some more nails for you this coming weekend.

Purple - 49 & W7- Mauve Suede Cheeky Stamping

Hi all, happy Wednesday yayyy. This means I have today, and interview tomorrow and then a couple of days off :D Happy days!

Today I have some simple stamping for you. I love stamping with a polish like W7 - Mauve Suede over a creme, I love the little flecks of silver shining in the stamping.

The base is a polish brand called Purple Professional, and this particular polish is shade 49, which is a very very fair lilac. I then stamped it with W7 - Mauve Suede and Cheeky plate CH44 and added a top coat.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Purple Professional - 49

Stamping Colour: W7 - Mauve Suede

Image Plate: Cheeky CH44

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

 

Above is three thin coats. no top coat.

Hope you've all ha a good week so far :]

A Few Manis From November

Hi all.

I've spent a few hours today editing through some old photos (most of which were taken on my iPhone, so aren't the best quality) so I have a few mani's to show you today, and hopefully will get some more set up to post so I can start posting regularly again!

Base coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: NOPI - Pretty In Plum

Stamping Colour: Barry M - Silver Foil

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BM417

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

Please excuse the tip wear in the next one, and the not so great stamping. I actually think that this purple and yellow combo was from mid October!

Base Coat CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Sinful Colors - Amethyst

Stamping Colour: Konad Yellow

Image Plate: BM423

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Revlon - Emerald City

Stamping Colour: Revlon - Copper Chrome

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BM415

Image Plate: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

Not the best pictures, but the first mani I especially loved. The base is Nicole by OPI - Pretty In Plum very lovely shade, and it looks quite different in different lighting.

Other than that there's not much more to say! Hope you've had a lovely weekend, mine has been a let down; as per. But at least I have a busy three days before I have an interview on Thursday, and then I'm not back in work until Monday!

NOPI - I Lilac Gumdrops

Hi all. Happy Wednesday!

By the time this posts i'm hoping my newest little nephew has been born. My soon to be sister-in-law has been in labour since yesterday evening. Dying to find out his name; dying to meet him!

Today I have some swatches of Nicole by OPI - I Lilac Gumdrops from the Gumdrops line.  This is a really stunning sugar-matte frosted polish, which has the prettiest irregular silver flecks in it. I believe this is two coats shown below, not the best light, but murky overcast days are full upon the North East of England.

Nicole by OPI - I Lilac Gumdrops

I really love the glow of this polish, in fact, all the polishes from this line (I still have more swatches to come). I also couldn't help but try this with a top coat, and with a matte top coat too, to see the difference.

Still very glowy with a top coat

Matte Top Coat, gives such a beautiful powdery finish!

That's all from me today! I'm hoping to be back at the weekend with some more stamping, and some more from the Gumdrops collection.

**This polish was sent to me for consideration of review**

A Few Christmas Manicures

Hi all.

I've been lagging in posting all of the Christmas-type manicures I've been doing recently so I thought I'd throw three in one post!

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Essie - Muchi Muchi

Gradient with NOPI - Gumdrops Blueberry Sweet On You

Stamping Colour: Konad White

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BMH02

Top coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

 

The next manicure is one that I wore for a week solid with only minimal tip wear (see pic) I loved wearing these. I honestly Just adore My Cherry Amour so much, iPhone pics do not do it justice at all!

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: NOPI - Gumdrops My Chery Amour

Stamping Colour: Barry M - Gold Foil

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BMH03

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

This purple manicure only stayed on for a couple of days as it just bored me to high heaven!

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Sinful Colors - Amethyst ( I think!)

Stamping Colour: NYC - Niagara Foils

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BMH03

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

My favourite has to be the first snowflake manicure. It reminds me of some nails I did back in 2011. I was going to link to them but man I used to keep my nails so long back then I'd rather not!

So do you have a favourite from these three?

**Nicole by OPI Gumdrop polishes mentioned were sent to me for consideration of review**

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*

Grey Cheeky Viva Mexico Stamping

Hi all,

Quicky quick post today, though i'm making this Wednesday night, i'm shattered so early night is needed!

Today I have a really short post with some stamping. Now the laptop is back up and running and I'm editing photos I've realised I should stop relying on my iphone for taking photos!

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Purple - Unknown Grey

Stamping Colour: W7 - Nightsuede

Image Plate: Cheeky Viva Mexico

Top coat: Rimmel - 60 seconds

Sorry again for the poop quality, here's a swatch of the polish - I can't remember the name of it though!

That's all from me for now, hope you've all had a good week so far :]

Amy's Flamingo Nails

Hi all

So my laptop is still not fixed, kinda hoping my friend will be able to help me out, but for the meantime I have all the photos from my phone (give or take) to edit on the family computer and post from time to time. So all hope is not lost!

Today we have some nails that I was meant to post many moons ago.  These were totally inspired by Souchka Nails, and this manicure in particular. I found these so freaking adorable that when Amy wanted her nails done, I knew I had to do something with flamingos! Needless to say my flamingo skills need improving upon, but still; flamingo nails = Yes!

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colours: Color Club - Blue-ming & Zoya - Solange

Other Colours: Zoya - Solange Acrylci Paints, Models Own - Pastel Pink, Beauty UK - Jelly Bean

Glitter

Top Coat: Advanced Hard As Nails

What do you think of these? I can't recall if I glitter-bombed the thumb nail, or did another flamingo. Either way I love them, and love the colour combination.

Hope you've had a good Tuesday, I will be spending mine at an away day for the service I work for, which means lectures, some training, and a buffet lunch. Nom.

Zombie Hand Nails - New Bundle Monster Holiday Plates

Hi all.

It's a Sunday, which would normally mean "boooo" but I'm not working tomorrow, I almost have normal function of my injured finger (mentioned in last Sundays post) and there is new Walking Dead.... Who's as excited as I am?

This was the fist image from the two new sets of plates I bought from Bundle Monster recently. Honestly it was the one I was the most excited about, and I thought it would help to really get into the swing of Halloween nails.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: 17 - Forever

Sponged Colours: Beauty UK - Purple - No. 5

2True - Shade 12 - Mushroom

Matalan - G - Storm

Image Plate: Bundle Monster H08

Stamping Colour: Konad White

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

And just for funsies, here's a picture of my injured finger. I haven't had it checked out yet, although some movements bring tears to my eyes I can type relatively normal (which is good considering most of my working day is spent typing - especially at Neuropsychology where I'm typing up reports).

Sunday, Tuesday, Friday.

That's all from me today, I shall be back with something later in the week.. And so the count down for Norman Reedus dreams begin!

Barry M - Bright Purple & Flakie Layering

Hi all.

It's Saturday! Woop! Small post from me today as I still have to unpack from when I got back on Monday!

Today we have the combination of Barry M - Bright Purple & Essence Nail Colour 3 - City That Never Sleeps. It's a pretty combination but nothing that made me stare at my nails for more than a few minutes.  Ever since I did this combination, layering tends to be the sort of thing I do if I don't have time to decide on an image to stamp. I don't think I'll ever get sick of flakies, especially when they're in a tinted base, as then the combinations are truly endless.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey
Base Colour: Barry M - Bright Purple
Flakies: Essence - Nail Colour 3 - City That Never Sleeps

Blurry last pick but you can see the kind of frost the flakies give to this. I thought I would have some swatch shots somewhere of Bright Purple but I don't!

Hope you all have a good Saturday, and I shall be back tomorrow for Adventures In Stamping - If I don't have too much tequila tonight ;)

Saran Wrap Base - We Stamp On Sundays

Hi everyone, happy Sunday and all that :]

I hope everyone's doing good. I've had nice lazy chilled weekend, ready for the chaos of the week ahead.

This week's challenge for Adventures In Stamping - We Stamp On Sundays is to stamp over a saran wrap (clingfilm) base. When I started painting my nails I knew I wanted to do pastel, so I picked up one of the palest polishes from my 'untried' tub and went from there.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colour: Models Own - Banana Split

Saran Colours: Purple Professional - 53 & 55

Stamping Colour: W7 - Blue Lagoon

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BM 313

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

 Here's the saran wrap base using Purple 53 & 55 over Models Own - Banana Split

Swatch of Banana Split & What I used:

Banana Split was the first scented polish of two I've tried and I wasn't that impressed. Formula was kind of normal for yellows like his, crelly like, but the scent just didn't last an hour. Which is very disappointing as I've had scented polishes that last until they come off. Nevertheless, very pretty yellow, perfect as a base which is why I bought it - so I can't complain too much.

How do you guys like the saran wrap method? I really love doing it, it always reminds me of stone. and it's so so easy.

Til next time!

Favourite Colour Combo - We Stamp On Sundays

Hi all, hope you've all had a good weekend.

I've not really done much productive blog-wise recently but I've spent the day trying to organise some stuff together so I'm feeling a little less chaotic, but glad i'm off tomorrow too heh.

This week's challenge in the Facebook group Adventures In Stamping called for a manicure with favourite colour combo. So I opted for Aqua and Purple, these two polishes in particular are favourites of mine seperately, so when I used them together on a manicure I did for Amy a few months back I was eager to try them together again.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colours: Color Club - Blue-Ming & Beauty UK - Jelly Bean

Stamp Colour: BYS - Black Satin

Image Plate: Bundle Monster BM 211

Top Coat: Sally Hansen  Advanced Hard As Nails

And here's the base.

If my nails had been a little bit longer I think I would have been able to make the purple more intense.

Time to have a relaxing Sunday night, I'll be back in the next couple of days with some swatches.

Green, Purple And Gold Animal Print

Hi all. Happy Sunday.

Not taking part in Adventures In Stamping this weekend as I haven't got a clue what to do for it!

These were meant to post yesterday but after having a lush little trip to Seahouses (clicky here) on the Friday  & Saturday and seeing Despicable Me 2 as soon as I got back into Newcastle there was no way I had the energy to do anything but be lazy and snug.

I did these the start of May which is crazy! I loved wearing these though, and they were were definitely more interesting to look at in real life as the stripe of flakies shifting colour broke up the nail completely.

Base Coat: CND - Stickey

Base Colours: W7 - Mauve Suede & Cutex - Sweet Pea

Flakies: Golden Rose Scale Effects - 13

Stamping Colour: Barry M - Gold Foil

Image Plate: Konad M60

Top Coat: Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails

Better representation of the colours here.

Before Stamping

Above is two coats of the gorgeous Mauve Suede, I could have got away with just the one if I was more careful about coverage. Below is two coats that has a little of hand lotion on so it's not as matte as it normally is.

And for good measure he's a couple pictures from Friday night when myself and Amy were running along the beach like loons trying to catch the sunset!

Hope you've all had a great weekend like I have!