Poker Nails

**Press sample**

Look at me.... Blogging again!

Charlie's Nail Art sent me a few nail art bits to try and here are some cute little poker cards. These are actually quite thin so I think that you could even press them down to make them flatter.


I used China Glaze Four Leaf Clover as a base and then used a nail art pen to draw on the dollar signs (which my bloody China Glaze top coat smudged!)

You can purchase these and like tons of other nail art bits from Charlie's Nail Art HERE 

Where have I been?

Hello everyone!!

You may have noticed I have been missing for a while now. I have actually still been doing nails and taking photos but I abandoned the blog for a bit. I found writing up posts to be such a pain and really time consuming so I switched to just using Instagram.

Here is just some of what you might have missed if you dont follow me on Instagram....

I do hope to be posting here again soon, watch this space! 

Please join me over on instagram to all my latest work just search @lifeinlacquer 

or by following this LINK

see you all soon!

OMG nail strips review

*PRODUCT SAMPLE, PLEASE SEE DISCLOSURE FOR DETAILS*



Howdy!
Can you believe Christmas is over? Its been a whole month since I blogged last but it seems like forever ago.

I was sent these nails strips a while ago from OMG Nail Strips. I do apologise for taking an age to get them up but life sometimes gets in the way, especially over the festive period!

To hear my honest thoughts on these please join me after the JUMP!

Water Marble Nail Art Decals

I feel so proud of myself right now! After 5 hours of practise I finally got water marbling to work for me!

I sat at my table last night and and just messed around with the polishes I had, I also got some great advice from Tracey from Bite No More. I found that my Essie polishes worked best and that's what I used to create this look.
The main thing that has put me off marbling in the past is the mess. It looked so much hassle and so much clean up. Then I saw @yagala on instagram making a water marble decal and I knew I had to try it! @Yagala also has a YouTube channel which you can see HERE 

For loads more pictures and all the details, join me after the jump!

Do You Have This Color In Stock-Holm? Swatch and GIVEAWAY!

PRESS SAMPLE 


Hello!
Sorry there haven't been more posts recently, my son isn't taking to school to well so have been really busy,
Today I have another beautiful polish sent to me by nailpolish.co.uk. They have also given me the go ahead to run a giveaway! The prize is a set of mini OPI polishes from the Nordic Collection. All details of the giveaway and raffelcopter widget is after the jump.

This is Do You Have This Color In Stock-Holm? from the recent OPI Nordic collection. This polish was one of the hardest to photograph! It took 2 days to get this picture and I am still not 100% happy with it. 

Giveaway details and more on this polish after the jump! 

Fish Scales Nail Art and Tutorial

PRESS SAMPLE

This week I saw a lush nail art by Sammy from The Nailasarus and suddenly remembered that I had some fish scales stencils from Nail Stickrs that I still hadn't tried!

To see the tutorial video and what polishes I used, join me after the jump! 

Sparkly Nails Water Decals Review and Nail Art

PRESS SAMPLE

Hello my lovelies! I'm sorry I haven't been around recently, its the summer holidays and both my sons birthdays. 

I have a review of some more water decals by Sparkly Nails for you today.

To see what I created and what I thought please click the "Read More" button! 

Moyra Estelle 907 Review and Swatch

Today I got some nail mail from Moyra UK and I couldn't wait to get this shade on!
Moyra is a European brand which is now sold in the UK. I have reviewed a few of their polishes before and use them regularly.
They are a budget brand (the most they cost is £4, think BarryM type pricing) but they are by far my favourite budget brand. They are better than BarryM in my opinion as I just love the Moyra brush. Its flatter and wider so, for me, makes application easier.

This is Estelle. Also known as No. 907. A lot of the Moyra polishes don't have names but use numbers instead.

This is from their Gel Look range. They are highly pigmented but not thick unlike the BarryM Gellys. I find them very easy to apply and the pictures show 2 coats with KBShimmer Clearly On Top topcoat.
It was quite shiny by itself but also slower drying.
No streaks or blotches which I have found to be a problem with other dark reds.

Estelle is a strange shade of red. In direct light it can be quite bright like the pictures but in low or artificial light it turns to quite a muddy deep red. Think old blood...Gross.
Although it bares a resemblance to gore, it still looks very classy and I do really like it.
I have always been a great fan of reds and feel they do suit me.

All in all this shade is fab and there are no complaints from me!
This shade and many others are available from Moyra UK, prices start at £3 (£2 sale running for a very limited time)

Life in Lacquer Challenge:INSPIRED BY ANOTHER NAIL ARTIST OR BLOGGER

Ill start of by apologising. I am really late on this prompt but I do have a good excuse I swear!!

As you can see we have had a big change here at Life in Lacquer.... We are now a dot com! This is a big step for me and its really made me feel quite accomplished!
I also have a fantastic new layout courtesy of Shiny Magic. They are so reasonably priced and was really easy to install.

Okay so back to the last prompt of the Life in Lacquer July Challenge. I chose one of my fave bloggers Let Them Have Polish.
She did a fantastic look called Rainbow Ombre and she also made a tutorial. All of which can be found on her original post.

Here's my take...

I used the exact method she did my following her YouTube tutorial. 

The colours I chose are bright so to me it looks a bit like a galaxy nail art! 

The shades I used were

Moyra Bubblegum Limoncello 622

Moyra 102

China Glaze Electric Beat 

OPI Pink Friday 

Manhattan 67N

Essie Mojito Madness

CND Vinylux Cream Puff (base) 

I used Sick Lacquers Pastel Fusion over the top to give it some glitz. This bottle is not pictured in the bottle shot (I forgot, sorry!)

I then matted it all using Mentality Matte Top Coat. I love this topcoat and the effect it gives. 

The clean up wasn't great as I got it everywhere, but I am still happy with the look. I also found Let Them Have Polishes video really easy to follow. 

So what do you think of this nail art? 

Also what are your thoughts on the new look? There's more to come with the look so its a work in progress.

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge July: FLORAL

After a little faux pas on monday, some of you may have already seen these! I was sat in my car looking at lions in Longleat when my twitter went a bit mental as I had published the wrong post DUH!

Today's prompt is Floral... I decided to give one stroke another go.I wanted to do something very feminine so decided to use pink and of course some glitter!

A couple days ago I bought the Cupcakes and Champagne collection by Ruby Wing from a nail friend only and I couldn't resist using one!
If you didn't know the collection of polishes are all scented and they change in the sunlight!
The scent is strong even with a topcoat on, its divine!

For this look I used Essie Neo Whimsical and Color Club Strawberry Shortcake. The roses are painted using some acrylic paint.

My one stroke still needs loads of work and my middle finger is the worst but I do still like the look of this nail art and I am pretty proud of the results.

You can see the other challenge entries below and please go and give them a view. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge: BLUE featuring Video Tutorial

Another #lifeinlacquerjuly mani. How are you all liking the challenge so far? I hope your enjoying seeing others work on my Instagram!

Ive been totally overwhelmed by all the people taking part! I thought no one would so I am sooo happy you are all joining me on this!

Today is another very broad prompt...Blue. 

I chose to get my Nail Stickrs out for this one. Maybe it would have been more suited to the Geometric prompt but oh well :)

AND theres a couple videos to accompy this too! Im getting there with the whole video thing. I still find them quite hard and awkward to film but I am getting there. 

Again these are fast so I can put them on Instagram. Do you think I should make longer versions for Youtube? 

Here is how I did the gradient.....

 

And here is how I used the Nail Stickrs to create a sponge chevron.


I hope the videos go a little way in showing you how I did this look.
I am really interested to know what you think about them so please do let me know.

For this look I used Essie Butler Please, Avenue Maintain and Sweet Talker. I also used Moyra 304 on the chevron nail. 

All of this was one ontop of a white base

And then of course it needed some bling! These beautiful metal star charms are from Effect Beauty. I love them! They are slightly curved so fit to the nail really well unlike other flat charms, plus you get a decent amount for your money.

Soooo what do you think? Please check out the other blog entries from Life in Lacquer July below!

An InLinkz Link-up

**some of the products featured were sent to me as press samples. All opinions are my own**

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge: GEOMETRIC

I am bowled away with the amount of people taking part and the positive feedback I have received! I have already found loads of new bloggers and nail artists, how about you?

Today's prompt is one of my fave nail art looks of all times. Geometric.

I actually did another look for this originally but I hated it so I did another. I had so many ideas but when I tried to do them they weren't turning out how I planned... One of those days where nothing went right LOL!

Glam Polish She Had A Lipstick Taser 

I love this polish! The base colour, the pink glitters, the crelly effect... EVERYTHING! Look at the way the glitter gives this polish so much depth. The hex glitter is very irregular in shape but I don't think that detracts anything from the polish.

I again used Nail Stickrs for the nail vinyls and Konad white stamping polish to do the designs.
The ring accent finger is Moyra 102 and I hand painted with acrylic paint for the pattern.

What do you think of my take on geometric? See others post from the #lifeinlacquerjuly challenge below and why not share some love and go leave a them comment :)

An InLinkz Link-up

*press sample, some products were provided for an honest review*

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge:DOTS featuring Video Tutorial!

How are you enjoying the challenge so far? Please do share the challenge around so others can take part!

Today is dots. I liked this prompt as its very open and also lends itself to beginners.


I chose to do something simple AND I made a video to go with it! YAY!


Here is what I came up with.

I used Manhattan Laque Lotus and Sugar Fix by Sally Hansen (textured) 

The bow was from Poundland! 

I love the textured polish over the smooth. I think its a great way to jazz up a simple mani.

Want to see how I did it??!! NOW YOU CAN! 

It is a fast video as I planned to put them on instagram.

What do you think? Do you like to see how it was done?

Tune in soon to see the next installment in Life in Lacquer July!

An InLinkz Link-up

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge:INSPIRED BY TV OR FILM

Today's prompt is Inspired by TV or Film

This one took a lot of thinking!
I had so many ideas but I thought I would go with a TV program I have watched for years and years...

Eastenders, if you aren't aware, is a British soap that runs four days a week on the BBC. I chose to try and recreate the title image.....

Taken from Wikipedia. 

I obviously simplified it down alot. 

I used a base of Manhattan 106K and OPI Nein Nein Nein Okay Fine. I used my usual sponge splodging. I then added Dont Mess With OPI by OPI for bits of greenery.
I used acrylic paint to paint and highlight the Thames and create London Dome. Yes that white circle is supposed to be The Dome.... I told you I simplified it LOL


What do you think? Do you watch Eastenders? You can find out more about Eastenders HERE

An InLinkz Link-up

Life in Lacquer Nail Art Challenge:FOOD

Its here! The first day of my nail art challenge! Ive never done one before so excited to see everyones work :)

The first prompt is food. I was going to do some stamping but thought I would do hand painting insted!

These are my first ever strawberry nails and I am pretty happy at how they turned out :)

For the main body of the strawberry I actualy used two reds. I used 04M and 06M both by Manhattan. You cant really see the two tones. 

I then handpainted the leaves and seeds using acrylic paint and a very thin brush by Moyra.

Topped it all off with one coat of topcoat. 

My clean up looks a bit rubbish but the red was a nightmare! Sorry!

What do you think? To see more please search for the #lifeinlacquerjuly and remember to upload your pics to our FACEBOOK

An InLinkz Link-up

Marcus Manis!

Marcus is back! It feels like ages since he has had a guest spot here!

As many of you will know Marcus is my father in law and he is also an artist. He regularly comes around and dones my nails for me. Its nice to have someone who supports my mad obsession and even joins in!

Marcus is a skilled painter and hes really good at making mosaics.. More on that very soon.
Today's nail art is based on the colourways of a beautiful picture he painted in 2000 and now proudly hangs in my living room!

I love the way this nail art came out. Its bright and summer orientated! I feel the lined gradient came out looking like a beautiful sunset.

What do you all think? Do you enjoy seeing what Marcus comes up with?

 You can see more of Marcus's Art work HERE 

LIFE IN LACQUER NAIL ART CHALLENGE

The day will soon be upon us... The start of Life in Lacquers first nail art challenge.

This is open to absolutely everyone. You do not need to be a blogger or anything. Even if you don't feel like you are any good I would still love to have you be part of this!

The reason I am running this is so we can all meet new friends and get some inspiration!


The prompts run on a Monday and a Thursday. You can post your image to our FACEBOOK page or use #lifeinlacquerjuly AND tag me @lifeinlacquer on Instagram, twitter and other medias. I will then share some on my Facebook and Instagram (with full credit of course)

You do NOT have to do every prompt if you don't feel like it.

There is also now a inlinz. So if you write a blog post you can add the inlinkz via HTML so you can all see other entries. You may add as many links as you want as long as it relates the the challenge and the links are your own. You can find the inlinkz code HERE


if you have any questions AT ALL then please drop me an email through the Contact Me/PR page above!

Cant wait to see all your efforts!

Fantasy Unicorn Nail Art

This has got to be the cutest, most girly nail art I have ever done!

I used some nail vinyl stencils from She Sells Seashells for the unicorn. I know I have been doing loads of reviews for Nail Stickrs recently but of course they are not the only supplier and they do different stencils too. She Sells Sea Shells is also based in the UK.
They were easy to use and I got a great result too! I used Konad stamping polish in white to do them as it covers better than other whites.

You also get the cut outs left in the middle so they can be used as stickers :) 

I used Zoya Robyn, Unnamed Color Club Glitter, Essie Cascade Cool and Zoya Mira

I used Essie Cascade Cool as the base. Its such a powdery sweet pink. I really love it. Then used a sponge to splodge on the two +Zoya Nail Polish. Topped off with the Color Club glitter.
I hate that they don't label half the Color Clubs! I think its all the ones that come in sets that remain unnamed.

The metal charms are from eBay. I think I payed like £1 for a wheel with loads of different designs.

What do you think of my unicorn fantasy nails? I LOVE them!

I think I may be turning into an actual girly girl! HELP!

You can browse and buy various stencils and other nail art items from She Sells Seashells HERE




*some of these products were provided as a press sample for my honest review*

Mylar Nail Art

Heres a new one for me.... Mylar.

I first heard about it years ago when I was working as a nail tech but I had never tried it.Until now!
I know Mylar can be great encapsulated in gel or acrylic but I was unsure how to use it with polish.

This is shade Iridescent Hot Pink and in the bag you get 5g but that is loads!

I basically just put it on top of wet nail polish to stick it and then topped with topcoat. 2 coats needed at least. If you are one of those people who don't like things sticking on your nails then this wouldn't be for you at all.

I really like this Mylar. Its pink but also looks blue and even Orange sometimes. I think it adds a unique dimension.
I was in a massive grump doing this nail art so as you can see its not my best. I just hate Rose Hip by +Barry M . Its streaky and hard to apply. It gets me in a rage every time I use it! I just love the colour though... Anyone know of any alternatives?

I used a darker pink acrylic and a nail art brush from Effect Beauty to do the squiggles and dots.

You can buy the nail art brushes and Mylar from Effect Beauty. They sell everything you could ever want in regards to nail art plus you can get 10% off using code LACQUER

Like I said Mylar may not be for everyone but sticky up bits don't bother me and I rather like it.

*press sample, All opinions expressed are honest and my own*

Aboriginal Stamping Nail Art

I havent done stamping decals in a long time but today I fancied doing it. I also wanted to use a colour I dont use a lot, brown.

I actually like brown and I think this particular brown suits me :) This is You Don't Know Jacques by +OPI Products. Its what I would called an iced brown as it doesn't have a strong red undertone.

The stamping plate I used was from +MoYou London and has some funky australian themed designs. I used acrylic to fill it in and as you can see it didn't go quite to plan and ever some as the stamping cracked (on the lizards body) but I still like it. It also doesn't look so bad in real life! Damn you macro!

Of course I matted it all afterwards and I think that adds the the effect! I use Mentality matte top coat and that works so much better than others I have tried. 

What do you think?