Christmas Eve Nails: Santa

Happy Christmas Eve lovelies!

I cannot believe it is Christmas Eve already! Where has the time gone? I have to work until 1pm which has put a little dampner on the day but still at least it's not a full day and I have lots of presents to give out to friends at work so that will keep me nicely busy :-).

Of course I had to save actual Santa nails until today...

I used lots of polishes to create this look but as always for my Christmas manis I turned to Barry M Bright Red and Konad White.

To create the cute santa suit artwork I have on my ring finger I followed this brilliant tutorial from Kayla. If you haven't looked at her blog you should head over there right now.

This is the look I created for my right hand. Simple yet still very Christmassy...

I love the addition of both gold and silver hex glitters

I hope you all have truly wonderful Christmas Eve's. We will be with my sister and mum for somthing to eat after work and then will spend a nice relaxing evening at home with the dogs - no doubt sneaking a few presents open before the big day!

Louise xx

Christmas Nails: Candy Canes again

Happy weekend lovelies!

How are we all doing? I am feeling poorly with a stinky cold. I woke up at 3am with all the classic miserable symptons and haven't felt any better since :-(. We have got so much to do today as well with all the usual last minute errands to run and housework to finish.

Anyway lets move on to the reason for this post, I mentioned when I first painted Candy Cane nails here that I wish I had used the colours the opposite way around. So when I asked my sister in law which nail design I should paint for the family party she picked Candy Canes and I was only too happy to get a second go...

This time I started with a base of Barry M Bright Red. I have used this polish lots recently - it has been my perfect Christmas red.

I then applied one easy coat of Barry M Red Glitter. Again I have used this lots and I just love how it looks for all these festive manicures.

Using Konad White polish I stamped the same two design plates as used last time to create these bright and sparkly Candy Cane themed nails.

Which one do you prefer...? Now I see the two pictures together I cannot decide!!

Only three more sleeps to go...! :-)

Louise xx

Christmas Nails: Snowflakes

Good evening lovelies!

Tonight I thought I would finally take the plunge and feature some festive nails! I am starting with these pretty snowflake inspired nails. Completely appropriate as we saw our first (very small) flutter of snow right here in Norfolk yesterday :-)

I started with two thin coats of No 7 Sing the Blues. It has a really nice almost metallic edge to the finish.

I then stamped this snowflake design from BM 323 using Konad White. For a little something special I then added a silver holo sequin to the centre of each large snowflake.

Lastly I added a layer of my new hologram top Northern Lights in Silver. It has only just arrived in the post and was perfect for this manicure. I couldn't be happier with it. I also bought it in Gold so I look forward to trying that out soon.

Just look at all that hologram shimmery goodness :-)

This isnt the most original manicure but I love it and my sister has asked me to create a version of this for her Christmas Day manicure.

Hope you enjoyed my first festive manicure. I am sure there will be many more over the next few weeks!

Louise xx

To Flock or Not To Flock...?

I have been wanting to use this gorgeous turquoise flocking powder for months! It just never seemed the right time but with the weekend just gone and our various social events I thought... what the hell... just go for it!

I started with two easy coats of China Glaze For Audrey. It really is the most perfect turquoise blue polish. It has a creamy application and dries in super quick time. In fact on some of my nails I only used one coat... shock horror! :-)

I stamped this pretty little bow in Konad White using the design on plate BM317. I applied some bright pink rhinestones for added interest.

For the flocked accent nail I first of all passed the clumped together flocking powder through a small metal tea strainer/sieve and then when my NYC top coat was still wet I rolled my ring finger nail in the fine powder and allowed it to dry. I then took a small fan shapped nail art brush and gently swept away any loose strands.

The result was this gorgeous furry looking accent nail that was both easy to achieve and oh so effective!

What do you think of flocked nails? I would definitely wear this style again as the powder is available in every colour under the sun. I washed my hands to see how it would hold up and am pleased to say that after a few moments of drying time the flocking remained fluffy! :-)

Louise xx

Rose for a Rose

Good evening lovelies!

How are we all doing so far this week? It is my Grandad's birthday this week so we are having some family over for tea for a little mid week celebration. I am doing us a nice chicken curry in the slow cooker as it takes the stress out of being stuck in the kitchen all night - plus the house will smell lovely as soon as I walk in the door! Got to love the slow cooker. Anyway onto my nail of the day...

I started with two super easy coats of Revlon Guava (coral pink) and Revlon Hazy (soft grey). These are my first Revlon polishes and I was very excited to find them in a set of three during a recent TK Maxx haul.

Then using Konad White I stamped a large single rose on each of the pink nails using plate BM 14 and one of myall time favourite prints of roses and vines from Konad M65 on the grey accent nail.

I mentioned recently that I was looking for my perfect pale grey - Is this it? Do you think I have found it?

Two little white roses for my thumb nail...

I am loving this look - the two colours work really well togethe. I am looking forward to showing you the third polish from the set, Revlon Ocean, which is a shimmery blue/green foil.

Take care

Louise xx

Peach with Grey Tips

A pretty peach and grey combo has been on my to do list for a while now. Today I decided to go all out and put several different nail art techniques togethers. This manicure has sponging, stamping, glitter and rhinestones. What more could a girl want...?

I started with three thin coats of Orly Prelude to a Kiss. This is a pale peach creme finish polish that dries beautifully and was the perfect base for this manicure.

Then using the corner of a clean make up sponge I dabbed small amounts of Barry M Magnetic Multi Sparkle a.k.a Super Nova just across the top half of each nail.

Once the sponged tips were dry I used Konad White to stamp this small leaf style pattern from the very first bundle monster plate BM 01.

Lastly I applied a single black rhinestone to the centre of each stamped design whilst the top coat was still tacky

Swatch of Orly Prelude to a Kiss

I am really pleased with this look. No doubt it wont last too long as I cant help but pick the rhinestones off but I look forward to using the sponge technique again soon.

Louise xx

I Heart You

Evening all :-)

I hope you are doing well? Thank you for your nice words of support about our recent bathroom crisis. We are still travelling to my sister's to use her shower but we are closer to having our own bathroom back together. I picked this particular stamp as a little dedication to my hard working hubby...

I started with two nice easy coats of Bourjois So Laque in Bleu Asphalte. Its a very dark grey polish with lovely application and could be a careful one coater if you were in a rush. I applied two anyway as it improves the richness of the overall colour.

I then stamped this pretty little heart and dots pattern from Konad M78. The genuine Konad plates are very expensive so I dont own too many of them - I was fortunate enough to receive this one in error (I ordered M77) and the seller let me keep it as an apology for the inconvenience :-)

I painted the one little pink heart on my ring finger nail to show my eternal love for my husband. He is working such long shifts already but still coming home every night and working extra hard on rebuilding our bathroom and kitchen.

Mr LiPP - My Hubby - My Hero

Have a Great Evening

Louise xx

Watermelon, Flowers and Grapefruit

Good evening!

I hope you are all well and had fantastic weekends? While I was very glad to not be at work we did spend the whole (and I mean whole) weekend doing essential DIY following a serious leak in our shower which resulted in considerable damage to the bathroom and kitchen. We literally had to rip out the full bathroom suite and start again with all new stuff :-(.

We are not quite finished yet so I am afraid my nails and cuticles will continue to suffer but I will soldier on and still change my polish as often as I can!

I used two coats of Barry M Gelly Watermelon as my base colour. It was a little on the thick side but I guess thats why they are marketed as one coaters (still needs two coats in my opinion).

I stamped using Konad White and one of my go to stamping patterns taken from playe BM 224.

Finally I added some co-ordinating dots using Barry M Gelly in Grapefruit.

These Gelly colours have a high shine formula but I added my usual top coat for extra shine and extra protection. I love the colour and formula of Grapefruit as seen here but I am not a huge fan of this forest green shade - Watermelon. I wanted it to be brighter and more juicy looking!

Take care

Louise xx