Swatch: OPI: Wonderous Star

Happy Monday loves

Tonight I have a slightly unusual polish to show you. I think this is going to be like marmite for people... you will either love it or hate it. I picked this up in a Sally's sale a while back, £4 instead of £11, but something about it stopped me from picking it up out of my untrieds stash. Until now...

Red Devil and Fishnets

Happy Friday

Yes the pictures of this finished look are as awful as the name suggests. I am not really sure what I was thinking... I struggle so much with reds. Its like I sit at my nail desk and every good idea I have ever had escapes from my mind. That I am afraid to say means I come up with things like this...

Swatch: Orly Androgynie

Good evening lovelies

Today was my first day back at work since Christmas Eve so I will keep this post a little on the short side as I need the evening to recover from doing my actual day job after so much lovely time off over Christmas :-).

Christmas Nails: Snowflakes

Happy Monday

Tonight is the only time between now and Christmas Day that I do not have any plans so I am going to make the most of it and just take the opportunity to pamper myself a little and then chill out with hubs.

Here is how I wore the swatch of Obsidian I posted yesterday...

Swatch: Velvet Goth: Obsidian

Happy Sunday lovelies

We just got home from a fantastic Christmas lunch at Loch Fyne. Mr LiPP and I were with six of our really good friends for a Christmas gathering and had a fantastic time. We ate loads, drunk a little and exchanged presents so lucky me came home with gift bags laden with goodies (one of wish has a beautiful Brocade polish in - thanks FH)

Time for another beautiful polish from the Models Own Velvet Goth collection...

Skittlette: Switch it up

Happy Saturday lovelies!

Just a very quick updated post for me today. I loved my skittlette manicure from yesterday but couldnt help but think how bad that beautiful teal was going to stain my nails. So much so, that I decided to switch out the teal and replace it with a nice simple black.

Leopard Print nails: Summer colours

Good evening lovelies

Just a quick post tonight as I am rushing in the door from a sales conference and then back out again for a team night out at a local comedy club.

I loved the idea of these nails as I planned the colours in my head but I didnt like them once I was finished...

Green and Tribal Nails

Good evening lovelies

Did you all enjoy your weekends? I had the pleasure of a four day weekend to spend quality time with Mr LiPP for our wedding anniversary. We were so lucky with the weather (although it got a little too hot for hubby and the puppies), it meant we could BBQ, dog walk, sit outside and of course enjoy the odd beer garden in the evenings.

Pink with Zebra Accent

Good morning lovelies

What do you all have planned for this super sunny Sunday? The weather is just amazing at the moment and I love it even more that it means I can get some great natural light nail pictures! These pics are so much better than anything I can take inside in my light box.

Today I am showing you one of four recent limited edition polishes from the Barry M range. I got this one free from Superdrug when I purchased a couple of the new Gelly's.

Love Themed Accent Nails

Good evening lovelies

I can't believe I am only now getting around to posting these nails. For those of you who follow me on Instagram you will have seen a sneaky peek a few weeks back when I wore this manicure to match a black and white dress that has the word LOVE printed all over it in different styles, fonts and sizes. I rushed out of the house before I could take a picture of my nails and typically when I looked at them the next morning I had a chip on my index finger. Here is how I fixed it... ;-)

On my little finger and ring finger I have two coats of Illamasqua Boosh, which is a lovely and shiny jet black polish. I also own Illamasqua Scorn which is the matte version but I'm yet to try it. I cannot wait until Illamasqua have another big online sale as I bagged 17 of their lovely polishes last time around :-).

I stamped over each of the black nails with Konad White and this text stamp which contains nice romantic words such as Heart, Kiss, Sweet and Perfect :-).

On my middle and index fingers I used two coats of the absolutely gorgeous Fuchsia Fanatic from China Glaze. I have been looking for a bright raspberry pink polish like this for a while and I am not all disappointed with Fuchsia Fanatic.

Finally I topped the pink nails off with one coat of Chalk Dust by Maybelline. I am loving this black and white glitter polish and have already used it to make some beautiful nail polish rings.

How do you like this look? I love the pink, black and white combination :-)

Lou xx
@L_i_P_P

Barbed Wire Nails with Rose Accent

Happy Friday lovelies

Yay its the weekend... The sun is shining and I have lots of lovely plans to keep me busy. On Saturday the hubs and I are going to see his sister and niece for the day. The forecast is good so we can walk up and down the seafront eating chips and ice-cream :-). On Sunday I am going shopping with a friend who needs a nice posh dress as she is going to a wedding at the end of this month. The in the evening I hope Mr LiPP will dust off the BBQ for the first time this year so we can make the most of the light evenings. Perfect!

For this manicure I used another of my new Sally Hansen polishes, this one is Black Platinum. This polish is smoky black in colour rather than jet black and as a result it took three thin coats for full opactiy. I loved the slightly 'subtle' look this polish gave compared to my usual black nail polishes.

Black Platinum dries to a slight matt finish which made the pretty silver sparkles look a little more pearl like.

For my ring finger accent nail I used two coats of Sterling Silver Rose by Orly. I thought the subtle silver shimmer base in this polish would compliment the smoky black perfectly :-).

Using my most trusty stamping polish ever - Barry M Silver Foil - I stamped each of my black nails with a barbed wire design and my accent nail with large roses. Both of these patterns are found on plate BM 323.

It was almost too sunny for me to take pictures... not that I am complaining of course ;-)

I hope you all have fantastic weekends - dont forget to follow me on Instagram to see more nail pics, jewellery of the day pics and usually a couple of cute dog snaps :-)

Lou xx
@L_i_P_P

Neon Coral and Leopard Print Nails

Good evening lovelies

Happy Friday! Just to add to my excitement its a bank holiday weekend so I have a whole three days off to enjoy the company of my loved ones, catch up on some serious swatching and of course write some blogs! Tonight I am having a mini Orly Gel FX nail party with little sis and her bestie Suzi. We are going to be naughty and have a takeaway Chinese first and then I will get into the serious business of nail painting!

Here are my nails of the day...

This is the most amazingly hard to capture on camera polish I have ever had in my collection. In real life it is a super pretty neon coral orange. On all my pictures it just looks like tangerine :-(. I still love this colour so very much.. it is called Pool Party and is from the China Glaze 2010 summer collection.

On my index and ring fingers I used two coats of I Herd That which is from the China Glaze Safari 2012 collection. I cannot tell you how much I love this gold, bronze, red and orange glitter. It applies perfectly and looked as good in the shade as it did in the sun. I am definitely treating myself to I'm Not Lion from the same collection now I know how good this one is :-).

Using small 'blobs' of Pool Party over the top of I Herd That I then used my brand new Barry M Black Nail Art Pen to create leopard print accent nails :-). The Nail Art pen was beyond easy to use and I am glad I also picked up the white and silver versions.

Finally using my Orly dotting tool I added a couple of small dots of I Herd That to each Pool Party nail.

I hope you all have something lovely planned for the weekend :-)

Louise xx
@L_i_P_P

Diamond Nails and Diamond Rings

Good evening lovelies!

Happy Friday to you all... Today has been a day dedicated to Diamonds!!

Earlier this week whilst out for a meal with Mr LiPP we walked past a jewellers and both did a double take at a huge picture outside of the most beautiful bridal set we had ever seen. Instantly we knew this was THE set I had been dreaming of... I already have a yellow gold set from our wedding day but I had always dreamed of owning a white gold set as well :-).

As our 5 year wedding anniversary is approaching and it had always been Mr LiPP's intention to buy me an eternity ring as an anniversary gift he turned to me and said... if you want this white gold set you can have it! Of course I snapped his hand off at the offer and the rest is history...

It goes without saying that I wore Diamonds on my nails on the day I collected Diamonds from the jewellers...

I started with a base of two coats of Illamasqua Boosh on each nail. I know people think that all black polishes are the same but that honestly isn't the case and this one really is jet black and goregeously shiny.

On my ring finger only (for obvious, diamond collecting reasons) I added one coat of Northern Lights Hologram in Silver. Beautifully sparkly and perfect for the occasion, not to mention absolutely stunning under the intense lights in the jewellery shop!

Then using Barry M Silver Foil, I stamped the simple heart outline pattern from plate BM 317 on all fingers apart from my ring finger... which was reserved exclusively for the Diamond stamp found on plate BM 09.

A close up of my Diamond ring finger...

Introducing the Diamonds in all their glory...

Close up...

Finally as this is a nail blog I thought it best to end on a nail picture!

I hope you all have fantastic weekends - me and Mr LiPP are off to celebrate (and stare at diamonds)

Louise xx
@L_i_P_P

Yellow and Pink Leopard Print nails

Good evening lovelies

TGI Friday! I know I say it every week but I am so glad it is the weekend. Friday nights at home with Mr LiPP, the puppies and a nicely chilled bottle of Sauvignon Blanc make up my idea of the perfect start to any weekend.

We have a family gathering at my in laws to look forward to on Sunday and hopefully lots of other nice things between now and then.

A very bright start to the weekend...

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Yellow Kitty. Those of you who have followed my blog for a while will know I don't like yellow... plain and simple. I picked this polish up in Poundland a few weeks ago mainly because I am a sucker for a bargain but also so I could learn to love yellow.

What better way to learn than to add pink :-). Using my newly developed free hand leopard print skills I went a little crazy and added lots of leopard spots to each of the yellow nails.

I think the contrast of these two colours worked unexpectedly well together and this manicure is a fun way to start the weekend :-). What are you wearing on your nails tonight? Do you have lots of lovely things planned for the weekend?

Louise xx
@L_i_P_P

Black and White Filigree nails

Good evening lovelies

This is one of my favourite manicures to date... even if I do say so myself! I love the contrast of white and black together but with the addition of a super bright accent nail it was even lovelier :-).

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed wearing this manicure...

I started with a polish that I want to love but the formula gives me trouble so I tend to shy away from picking this out of my stash too often. Other bloggers rave about the formula of this polish but I always need three coats and for me that is a bad thing :-(. The polish in question is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls... a very subtle grey white. In all honesty a fab base for this manicure but such a pain that it needs three coats!

My accent nail is two coats of Exposed All Nighter. This polish dries to a matt finish but a top coat of Northern Lights Hologram Gold soon fixed that. I added the black star shaped rhinestones just to finish this nail off.

Using Konad Black I stamped this gorgeous filigree pattern on all nails that had a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls (MBSW). I am so into this contrast and although I like to wear bright eye catching colours it did remind me how good black and white work together, and that I should wear it more often.

How do you like this finished look? Do you have polishes that everyone else loves but you struggle to work with? Thanks for reading :-)

Louise xx
@L_i_P_P

Taped Chevron nail art

Good evening lovelies

Time for some nail art that does not involve stamping... I know unusual for me, right?

This didn't turn out quite as I had in mind... I think mostly that is because of the colours I chose. The finished look really reminded me of the colours and designs that you would see on a cheerleaders school uniform! Do you know what I mean... or am I a little crazy off the nail polish fumes tonight :-)

I started with two coats of Orly Glow on all nails except my ring finger. Glow is a very pale nude creme which if I was wearing it alone would need a third coat just to even it out but as I was covering more than half of each nail I stopped at two. At this point I added a layer of Seche Vite and went off to make a cuppa as you really need plenty of drying time before you start laying the tape strips down.

I taped off half off each Glow based nail with a pre cut chevron strip I purchased on eBay. I then painted the visible part of my nail with Orly Flicker. A stunning copper polish that I unexpectedly adored last time I wore it. At this point I added another slick of Seche Vite and sat with hubby to catch up on TV...

Finally I taped my nails off again using fresh chevron strips, this time covering a V shaped section of Flicker. Then using Illamasqua Boosh (black) I painted the tip on each nail as well as my full ring finger.

Here is a small tutorial I put together for Instagram... I cannot make it bigger as the picture quality is too low but I hope you can get the idea :-)

Finally I added three small square rhinestones to the accent nail and covered the whole lot in one more coat of Seche Vite.

This was a labour of love caused by the necessary drying time in between each colour layer but I like the end result and will definitely use these pre cut strips again. You could of course free hand the chevron shape if you have a steady enough hand (I do not).

Hope you enjoyed this post lovelies?

Louise xx
@L_i_P_P

Pretty Filigree and Mothers Day

Happy Sunday and Happy Mothers Day :-). Have you had a lovely weekend?

Today we took my Mum for lunch at Rocco's. They do a lovely Sunday roast with plenty to pick from and we all ate so much that we had to almost roll out of the door when we left :-). After lunch we went to see Craig's Mum for a cuppa and a catch up with the Cook family. All in all it has been a lovely day.

For this gorgeous manicure I started by painting all nails in Illamasqua Boosh apart from my ring finger which is two coats of the very sparkly Merlin from a-England. Merlin is described as a spectacular scintillating silver and I would have to agree. Just look at that sparkle!

Then using my Barry M Silver Foil I stamped this beautiful filigree design from plate GA 33 over all the black nails. This design  could easily become one of my favourites. It would look fantastic in just about any colour combo and I got lots of compliments (which is always a good thing).

To finish off the accent nail I added two simple black rhinestones with a nice thick coat of Seche Vite.

Here we are at our Mothers Day lunch...

Enjoy your Sunday evening lovelies

Louise xx
@L_i_P_P