L'Oreal Blue Marine

Good morning, Dear Reader!

This morning I changed my polish to L'Oreal Blue Marine, the sparkly blue from the L'Oreal Summer Siren Collection, after wearing my Fourth of July manicure for three days.  I'll tell you, the red OPI did not hold up spectacularly well - I had quite a few chips, which is what prompted me to change it.  Anyhow, the need to change it gave me the opportunity to try out Blue Marine, so that's alright...

Blue Marine is really a three-coater for me, after two I could still see through my tips a bit.  The coats were very thin, but the pigment in this polish (the kind that seems like tiny flakes) doesn't seem to appreciate thick coats, so three it is.  I topped it off with some quick dry top coat and went to take pictures in the sun.

L'Oreal Blue Marine Nail Polish, Three Coats

Although I like this one quite a bit, there is some disappointment.  When I showed you a bottle picture of Blue Marine, I'd mentioned that there was a purple duochrome effect in the bottle that wasn't showing up in the picture.  Well, it ain't showing up on my nails, either, not in any light at all.  I applied it in a bright room with morning sun shining in through sheer curtains and could see it on the brush, but not on my nails at all, it clearly doesn't show in the sun, didn't in the shade, and doesn't here in a room with low natural light.  Now, in the post with the bottle picture, I recall at least one comment assuring me the duochrome shows up when the polish is applied, so I think this one might be a little trickier than most to get the purple to show up.  All I can think of that would make it show up for others and not me would be the curve and shape of a person's nail bed.  Mine have an unusually strong C curve (the curve left to right over the nail bed), which usually makes duochromes show up really well, but it's not helping me any here.  Regardless of the cause, my own experience is disappointment that zero purple show for me, but I know that others have had a better outcome.

That's just about all there is to tell you about today, Dear Reader, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

L'Oreal Coral Starfish

Good morning, Dear Reader!  Today isn't the best day ever, as it's the third anniversary of my mom's death, so this one's going to be kind of short.  It's not the worst day either, but I figure keeping it brief is the best bet to avoid tears this morning.

I picked L'Oreal Starfish Coral to wear today, the orange of the L'Oreal Summer Siren Limited Edition shades.  I tried to do thicker coats this time, but by the third nail quit paying much attention and did my normal thin coats on autopilot for the rest.  That meant that again, I had to use a third coat, but since Coral Starfish applied very well and dries fast, that's not such a big deal.  I finished it off with Diamont, let it dry, and took a picture of it outside even though it's a bit cloudy.

L'Oreal Coral Starfish Nail Polish, Three Coats

This one's also really pretty.  From a normal distance the overall appearance, like that of Pink Shells, is a bit foily, but the gold sparkle breaks it up and keeps it from being too garish.  This is a really good orange.

That's it for today, Dear Reader.  Until next time, love and nail polish to you!

L'Oreal Summer 2011 Limited Edition Nail Polish

Good afternoon, Dear Reader!

I'm a bit late with them, but today I have L'Oreal's Limited Edition Summer Siren Collection, their four polish shades for Summer 2011.  I'd seen these a few times before and kept walking, but today I took a look and liked what I saw - they're really spectacularly sparkly and shimmery.

I used Pink Shells, which you could probably guess is the pink one, today.  Two coats could have worked, but mine were very thin and with the clear fake tip I have, I needed a third.  It applied really easily and dried very fast.  Here's L'Oreal Pink Shells.

L'Oreal Pink Shells Nail Polish, Three Coats

I took bottle pictures of the other three for you.  The only picture I'm not thrilled with is of the blue, Blue Marine, which seems to have some purple duochrome going on in indoor lighting, but that got washed away in the sun.  Here's Blue Marine.

L'Oreal Blue Marine Nail Polish Bottle

Yellow Seahorse has the potential to be what I wanted Chanel Mimosa to be, and I'm really hoping its shimmer shows up well.

L'Oreal Yellow Seahorse Nail Polish Bottle

The last one is called Coral Starfish, and it's a blazing orange with gold shimmer.  It's really pretty.

L'Oreal Coral Starfish Nail Polish Bottle

It's my hope that the remaining three shades sparkle the same way that Pink Shells does - it's hard to take my eyes off of it.

That's L'Oreal Summer Siren and the update for today, so until next time, love and nail polish to you!

Cat Got Creamed

Does anyone remember the bottle of Manhattan 610k polish that's on a tour of the world? It visited me here in the UK last October (post here) and is currently at its 9th stop in Illinois, US with Melanie.
If you are interested in playing host to this polish and being part of the adventure, visit Melanie's post here to put your name down. You do need a blog where you can post your mani but that's the the only requirement.

Todays nails were heavily, okay wholly, inspired by Marta's recent post over at Chit Chat Nails which you can see here.

Plate: Bundle Monster BM221

Base Colour: E.L.F. Desert Haze

Stamp Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist Black Bean

BYS Astro Gold for the spots

Top Coat of NYC

Molten Metals

Not much to update today. I know it's been a few days since I last blogged but it seems like nothing has really happened except a trip to the dentist today where I had another wisdom tooth pulled out. I've spent a lot of time sat inside staring at all my notes from school because I have an exam on Friday which I need to study for but it's such a mammoth task I have no idea where to start! My plan is to knuckle down tomorrow and cram enough information in to my brain to pass.

Plate: Bundle Monster BM223

Base Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist 837

Stamp Colour: Collection 2000 Moonlight Shine

Top Coat of NYC

I Get By

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM20

Base Colour: L'Oreal Jet Set - 225
Stamp Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome - Anemone
Top Coat of NYC

Brown Butterflies

I know I've been neglectful recently when it comes to replying to all your lovely comments. Even if I don't respond underneath I do read every single one and will make all efforts to reply to your specific questions. 

If you have any of these specific questions, you'll probably get a faster response if you Twit or Email me. It might also be fun if you Formspring me. I've only ever had 3 questions asked and it would be cool to get some more! I'll answer pretty much anything you ask so go wild!

Konad Plate: Bundle Monster - BM09

Base Colour: Barry M Mushroom

Konad Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - Black Bean

Top Coat of NYC

Dotty

I'm heading home for the Christmas holidays tomorrow (yay!) which means it's going to be a bit hectic and all my stuff's going to be packed up so there may not be a mani but I'll try my best.

Konad Plate: M60
Base Colour: L'Oreal Jet-Set - 225
Konad Colour: Miss Sporty - Zodiac
Top Coat of NYC

E.L.F Mod Mauve

I've had this polish in my drawer for months now but have never worn it because I was so disappointed with the way it looks IRL compared to the swatch on the website. After looking at a few other people's swatches (here, here and here) I'm starting to think I got a dud bottle. I can only describe it as muddy red.
I was appalled at this colour when I first applied it but it's growing on me now. I don't really have anything else like this in my collection - probably because it's kind of 'blah' and wouldn't stand out to me if I saw it on a shop shelf - so I'm not going to throw it away but it won't be a polish that I pick out very often. I can't even think of any occasions when this would be a good shade to wear.

It was really hard to pick colours to match for the nail art but I think I picked some good ones which have helped in making me like this colour a bit better.

It's weird to see a picture of my nails upside down like this but I thought I'd shake things up a bit today and take some photos from different angles. I'm very particular and normally like uniformity but I realise the front on pictures everyday get a bit same-y so I'll be trying some more exciting shots from now on. 

Konad Plate: BM03
Base Colour: E.L.F - Mod Mauve
Konad Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome - Amber
L'Oreal LaquiResist 837 for the hearts
Top Coat of GOSH

Hulk Fail

I was going for a Hulk look with this one. Anyone who is familiar with the comics or the films will know Bruce Banner wears his trademark purple shorts whenever he's angry!

The little pink bits you see are some weird tiny foil strips from Viva La Nails. It's hard to come across ideas for using these.
I tried to make a line with them but ended up just making a mess instead!

Konad Plate: M57
Base Colour: Claire's Mood  - Peaceful/Confident
Konad Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - Bebe Blue
Purple: George @ Asda - Hoax
Top Coat of NYC

I'm staying away from home for a few days and trying to travel light which means I won't be packing many nail supplies or my beast of a camera so I won't be able to post anything for a while. I should be back on Friday.

♪♫ Autumn leaves under frozen souls...

... hungry hands turning soft and old.

This is a beautiful song by Paolo Nutini. If you've never heard it, please give it a listen.
I just think 'Autumn Leaves' when I look at this brown stamping and then the song popped into my head!

Konad Plate: M56
Base Colour: Barry M - Cyan Blue
Konad Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - Black Bean
For the Line: W7 Blue Lagoon applied with a paintbrush
Top Coat of NYC

Marbling Fail

I have been meaning to try marbling for ages and was reminded by Marina a few days ago. My first attempt didn't go very well. I ended up with lumps and bumps everywhere and more of a clumping than marbling effect. I think it's because I dunked my fingers in, then pulled them back out without remving the excess which then also stuck to my nail.

I used:

L'Oreal LacquiResist - Bebe Blue

and two old Collection 2000 polishes in a red and pink colour.

then a top coat of NYC

Before clean-up:

After clean-up:

As you can see, there's much room for improvement so any advice is welcomed!

More Matte

I've finally got these tip stamps down! For ages, whenever I tried, they would end up trailing down my nail and I would get really frustrated.

I used some little flakies from Viva La Nails. They look pink in the packet but are kind of transparent pink so they just look a bit iridescent on the nail.

Konad Plate: M56
Base Colour: L'Oreal Jet-Set - 225 (No Name)
Konad Colour: Collection 2000 - Moonlight Shine
Sparklies stuck on with Miss Sporty top coat
Top Coat of Essie Matte About You

Uuuuuuhh.

Konad Plate: M57
Base Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - Bebé
Konad Colour: BYS - Glittering Purple
Top Coat of NYC

Bebé Blue

This is one of my most popular mani's of late. I got complimented by two ladies at the bank who initially thought they were false nails and were very curious about how I did it, and the lady who runs the Hula Hooping Class I went to.

I like this pattern because it's hard to tell which colour has been stamped and which is the base (except on the middle finger where you can see the edges of the stamp!)

Don't you find it hard to explain Konadding to someone who has never seen it before?! I'm always saying something along the lines of... 'Uuuh, it's a metal disc with embossed patterns and a scraper and rubber stamp and you just transfer it over!' or something else equally incomprehensible and long winded. People just look at me blankly and pretend they get it!

Plate: Bundle Monster - BM21

Base Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - Bebé

Stamp Colour: BYS - Glittering Purple

Top Coat of NYC

♪♫ Coffee's For Closers

Plate: Bundle Monster BM20

Base Colour: E.L.F - Smoky Brown

Stamp Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - Black Bean

TigerStyle

This is another from Carli's giveaway. I love this one - it dries matte and bright orange but I put a top coat on to preserve the stamping and it turned a slightly darker, blood orange.

Konad Plate: M57
Base Colour: Jay Jays - Ablaze
Konad Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - 198 Black Bean
Top Coat of NYC

Steel Stripes

Argh. The stupid poll has broken again. I don't know what I've done to break it but I'll leave it there and see if it fixes itself. As it stands, Blue had the most votes last time I checked so it will be blue unless it starts working ☺

Here is another from last week...

Plate: BM20 
Base Colour: L'Oreal LaquiResist - 837
Stamp Colour: Miss Sporty - 203 Zodiac
Top Coat of NYC

Daaaahling... Mwah

Plate: BM02
Base Colour: L'Oreal Jet Set - 225
Stamp Colour: Miss Sporty - 203 Zodiac
Top Coat of Beauty UK

My Delights

So - here is my post haul from home.

Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

I was wearing this all night and most of the day. I loooove it. Thank you so much Karen :D

(Base Colour: L'Oreal Jet Set - 225, Stamp Colour: Sally Hansen Chrome - 04 Garnet, Plate: BM09)

Bundle Monster Plates

Really pleased with the designs on these. The all over designs are really small which is annoying. But so are the tip designs which might actually be better for my baby nails.

Martian Delights Spree

Some of these polishes are really thin which, I suppose, is what you risk when you buy cheap, old polishes. I will never learn...

I tried using the Chrystal Chrome for stamping with my new BM plates. It was so thin it was practically squirting out of the plates when I was pushing the stamper to it - if you know what I mean?!