Blue Nails Dainty Flowers

Todays theme... simple but pretty.

I had 30 mins to do my nails before I needed to leave and meet my sister and this is what I came up with. We met in the city so I could help her spend her birthday money and spend we did :-).

The base colour for this manicure is a fantastic blue called Silent Disco by NV. I got this in a gift set called Festival Live from TK Maxx a few weeks back. The application was smooth but you would need three thin coats to wear this as a stand alone colour.

I then used my Konad White stamping polish to print this delicate flower design from plate BM 221.

The below swatch picture shows Silent Disco before I stamped over the top of it. This is two coats but it looks a little thin in places so I would recommend three.

Three different shop assistants asked me about my nails today so I guess blue and white really is a striking combination!

Take care

Louise xx

Nail Party!

Last night I had my first ever nail painting party with my sister Laura and our girlfriends Faye, Faye and Caz. It was the perfect start to my weekend

We started the night with chinese food and wine and ended the night with perfectly painted nails and more wine!

I couldnt have wished for better hand and nail models, we all really enjoyed the night and I was pleased that my nail painting skills are not just reserved for doing my own nails.

First up was little sis Laura. It is Laura and Ashley's 2nd Wedding Anniversary tomorrow so we designed her nails to match the lovely new dress she is wearing when her hubby takes her out for a nice meal to celebrate. As if, this time two years ago 30 of us were in the Dominican Republic for the wedding of the year!?!

We picked a base of Color Club Nomadic Nude. Quite possibly the most frustrating formula I have ever tried to work with and I am seriously considering ejecting this polish from my collection for good. That said it was a great colour to match with Lauras dress as seen in the close up of the pattern below.

I then taped off chevron tips and painted them in Barry M Cobalt Blue. To add the finishing touch I then stuck one small black flat backed pearl onto each nail.

Please excuse these pictures I took them on my iPhone and am really wishing I hadn't as the quality is not great and I can't crop them as I would normally :-(.

Next up is Faye B...

For this cute little manicure I started with a base of Barry M Navy which is such a beautiful polish and definately features in my current top 10. I then stamped the bow tips using Konad plate M56 and Konad White stamping polish. For the finishing touches I added dots using Barry M Matt White.

Then we have Faye H...

Faye is starting a new job today that does not allow her to wear nail polish (boo hiss!) so we decided to experiment with clashing colours on Faye as we knew she would have to remove them almost straight away.

This is three coats of No 7 Pinky Pure as a base and then my favourite flower print, the large roses from BM 323 stamped in Konad Red. I thought that pink and red looked really good together - they clashed but only in a good eye catching kind of way :-).

Last but by no means least is Caz...

Caz is the only other girl in this group who always wear nail polish so I decided to add an accent nail and some small embellishments to make a nice change from her everyday nail look.

I used two coats of Ciate Jelly Bean as the base. Its a really pretty pink with the perfect amount of lilac shimmer. I then stamped a pretty flower pattern in Gold Foil from plate BM 225. To create the accent nail I just added three perfect little gold studs.

So there we have it, one happy little group of polished princesses :-)

I have another nail party planned for a few weeks time with our come dine with me girlies - so I cant wait for that.

Louise xx

Blue Roses on Blue

Happy Weekend Lovelies!

As I mentioned earlier this week I wanted to experiment with Barry M Denim and use it for stamping. It was such a good one coater as a base colour for my Denim and Swirl manicure and as a general rule that means the polish will be great for stamping. I was not disappointed...

For this lovely manicure I started with a base colour of Models Own Beth's Blue. It is a gorgeous periwinkle blue creme and whilst I adore the colour I was a little frustrated with the formula. A touch on the gloopy side already which is a shame as it is a brand new polish.

For stamping I turned to one of my favourite floral designs - the large roses found on plate BM 323. I think these roses look great in Barry M Denim as the sparkle really shows through. I can see a real mixture of blue and silver sparkles which look gorgeous in any light.

 

Needless to say I love this manicure and I love that Denim is as great to stamp with as the Foil Effects collection also by Barry M. I think I could wear this rose stamp several times a week and not get sick of it - imagine all the pretty colour combos I could come up with :-)

Take care

Louise xx

Denim and Silver Swirls

I hope everyone is having a good week so far but if you are anything like me you will already be looking forward to the weekend.

There was no particular inspiration for todays manicure however I loved how it turned out and hope that you enjoy the pictures too.

I started with two thin coats of Barry M Denim. This definately has the ability to be a one coater and I will be using it for stamping later in the week to put that theory to the test. Denim dries to a matt and slightly uneven finish but as I always use plenty of top coat so it does not cause me any complaints.

I stamped this swirly circular pattern with Barry M Silver Foil and a pattern taken from Konad plate M65. I usually steer clear of these types of patterns as they can look a little samey but I am so glad I gave this a go. I loved how it kept catching my eye at work today.

As you will see from the bottle shots below, Denim actually contains micro particles of silver glitter and whilst its not stand out obvious on your nail you can definately see it in certain lights and just makes the silver foil used for stamping even more complimentary.

This is a great mani to fall back on in a hurry as Denim can easily be a one coater and these foil polishes dry super quick. Pretty little time savers :-)

Louise xx

Nude Base with Bright Flowers

Today I fancied a change so I decided upon light nails with a splash of colour. I am really not sure how I like these nails. I honestly got more compliments about them than I do some of my favourite and more complicated designs but I remain neutral about them.

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Insta Dry in Quick Sand. It is a slight tan coloured neutral polish with contains lots of tiny silver sparkles. Unfortunately I think the sparkles are all stuck to the inside of bottle as I cannot see any on my nails which is a real shame.

exposed - Spontaneous

The pattern is stamped using Konad Black and plate BM 224. Using my dotting tool I then added in some random splashes of colour with Sally Hansen Insta Dry Brisk Blue, exposed All Nighter and exposed Spontaneous.

Not going to say too much more on these - I dont think a neutral base appeals to me as I am so used to colour these days :-)

Louise xx

Black and White Stripes: Take Two

On Saturday night after tea with the girls, Mr LiPP and I had another wedding reception to attend. I decided to wear my lovely black and white dress again which meant I got a second chance to create striped nails. This time I decided to go with a black base and thin white stripes.

 

This beautiful sparkly base colour is Barry M Black Multi Glitter. It has so much glitter, in so many colours packed into a really rich black base. However, the best thing about this lovely polish is that it genuinely requires just one coat to look this amazing! It dries a little gritty but that is nothing that a nice thick slick of shiny top coat doesnt fix.

To create the stripes and spots I stamped using Konad White and the pattern taken from M65.

All of the above pictures are taken outside in direct sunlight so you can really see the pretty colours hidden in this polish. I have also included some pictures below taken in the shade. This polish does lose its edge in the shade as the glitter all looks silver and it doesnt jump out at you in the same way.

Below are a couple of swatch pictures taken in the sunshine for you to enjoy. Remember this is only one coat on each nail! Look how perfect it is :-)

Black Multi Glitter swatch in the sun

Look at the amazing multi glitter showing through

What do you think? Do you like these stripes better than my first attempt seen here? Here is a little picture of me with the blushing bride and our friend Faye so you can see (kind of) my dress and nail combo from the reception a few weeks ago.

Louise xx

Happy Birthday Little Sis

Happy Birthday Little Laus :-)

Today is my younger sister Laura's birthday!!

To celebrate this happy day I designed some beautiful sparkly pink birthday nails and also put together some of my favourite pictures from the past few years as an ode to my little sister, my best friend.

I used Barry M Strawberry Icecream as the pale pink base colour. I then painted the balloons on using Barry M Fuschia. Finally I added a little sparkle by using Barry M Iridescent Pink on my index and ring fingers and a raspberry large hex glitter from a brand called Chit Chat on my middle and little fingers. Thanks to my lovely friend Hayley who bought me this glitter as a surprise a few months ago.

On my thumb nail I stamped the lipstick mark using Barry M Fuschia and added XOXO (meaning hugs and kisses) with my black nail art pen.

Marta will love this bottle :-)

The above picture is taken with one of my favourite pieces of jewellery. Its a silver bangle with a very special poem about sisters engraved on it and was of course a gift to me from Laura for my birthday earlier in the year.

Below is the collage I designed showing just some of the lovely pictures we have had taken together in the last few years.

Happy Birthday xx

Animal Accent Nails

Good evening lovelies

I hope you have all had good weeks so far and are looking forward to the weekend already?

I've got a really busy weekend planned which I am really looking forward to. Its my little sisters birthday so we have lots of plans for a nice breakfast together, then a late lunch out with the girls and also a meal at our favourite place - Yo Sushi, next week. I love it when birthdays last more than one day :-).

Onto a manicure that lasted two days... yes two days I hear you gasp. I loved the look and the colours so much that I left it in place so I could appreciate it a little longer than usual.

To create this manicure I decided I would like accent nails (as I usually do) but on this occasion I went for the index and middle finger nails as I first saw worn by Marta over at ChitChatNails. I love Marta's blog and its always a great source of inspiration for my 'to do' list (follow the above link to go and browse her lovely blog).

For the accent nails I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (MBSW). I want to love this polish so much but I get such bad bald spots in it that it makes me feel I'm doing something wrong. Its the perfect shade of white/grey so I persevere with it out of stubborness :-). I painted exposed All Nighter on my other nails which is a bright magenta/deep fuschia colour. This is the first time I've used this polish as a base and it was a tad frustrating, however it is great to stamp with as can be seen here. It dries matt in super quick time so application was a little uneven.

I then stamped this lovely zebra (could also be used for tiger) print from BM 223 using Konad Black. In order to cover up a little bald spot at the base of my thumb nail I added a mini black star rhinestone and loved the look of it so much I also added them to my ring and little fingers.

I used two coats of my favourite top coat to really shine this up as All Nighter and Konad Black both dry to a matt finish. Also the top coat helps to protect the little rhinestones.

I loved this manicure and All Nighter is one of those polishes that just draws attention and compliments :-).

One final picture below because I just couldnt resist

Louise xx

Purple on Purple

I really am not sure about todays manicure. I decided to push the boundaries a little and continue on my quest to use the bundle monster designs that I would not usually pick. I also decided that I would use a colour that I usually leave until last... dark purple.

Here are the results, I hope you enjoy the pictures...

I started with a base of two coats of Barry M Vivid Purple. As you will see from the swatch pictures at the bottom of this post this colour looks gorgeous on its own in full sunshine as you can really see the purple and silver sparkles that hide in this very dark purple base. In fact I may even be as bold as to say that I prefer this colour with no nail art over the top!

For the stamping I picked plate BM 322 again. I tried another design from this plate a few days ago, as seen here, but for todays manicure I opted for this quite edgy looking diamond shaped design. I had a little issue with the polish 'bleeding' over the lines of the design but if you can forgive those little blips then many of you will like this design. The colour used for stamping is Barry M Lilac Foil.

In the sunshine

In the shade

I didnt like this nail art enough to leave it on so it didnt survive a full day. However I will definately wear Vivid Purple again in the future. Maybe with just a few simple studs or rhinestones on my favoured accent nails?

Beautiful sunshine swatch

Still beautiful in the shade

What do you think? Do you like purple? Do you like these 'edgier' looking bundle monster designs or like me do you lean towards the softer floral designs?

Take care

Louise xx