Pastel Galaxy with MoYou London Stamping Nail Art Tutorial

PRESS SAMPLE 

Hello my lovelies! We have been having a discussion about nail colours on Life in Lacquers Facebook page, why don't you pop over and join in?!


Today I have a review and video on MoYou London Hipster Plate 7. Here's a quick look at what I came up with

For the tutorial and more pictures please join us after the jump! 

Cadillacquer Seek the Fire with Stamping

A quick and simple mani today using one of my favourite brands, Cadillacquer.

Cadillacquer polishes are so unique and I love pretty much all of them. They have colour combinations you wouldn't necessarily put together but always look good. My fave indie polish of all time, Masterpiece, is made by Cadillacquer.

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!

piCture pOlish Aurora

Can I start off by saying that I have in no way done this polish any justice. I took around a bazillion (that's a real number I promise) pictures in so many different lights but I still couldn't capture the pure beauty that is Aurora.

Join me for some picture spam and lots of "ooo's and ahhhh's" after the JUMP!

Marcus Manis: Bridget Riley Inspired

Hello my lovelies!

Its that time of the week where we see what nail arr Marcus has been doing. If your new to the blog then ill just take a minute to fill you in. Marcus is my father in law. He is an artist and hew also enjoys painting and having his nails painted. When he comes to visit we sit ans brain storm about designs, Marcus usually goes for something inspired by another artist.


Anyway here is what he came up with this time.

 More pictures and details 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 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

Moyou Nails Stamping Plate and Polish Review.

A couple day ago I was sent a lovely package from Moyou Nails. I had been waiting for a while and turned out my first one must have gone walkies. 

It contained 2 stamping plates, a gold stamping polish, a stamper and scraper. 

I haven't tried Moyou Nails before (not to be confused with Moyou London) but I liked the look of the designs I was sent.

Here's my first play....

The gold stamping polish is really good. It has like a glitter effect to it, its not just plain gold. It picked up really well and showed up great against the dark background. 

The base is Vant To Bite My Neck by OPI. 

The stamper and scraper work fine and pick up well but they are not what I would usually use as I prefer the Magno XL Stamper as it is squishy.

The only gripe I have about these plates is that the designs are not wide enough for me. I don't have wide nails particularly and usually the XL images are FAR too big so I am a tad confused as to why these design are so skinny.

That is why the middle finger design is different.... But that could have been intentional lol!

All in all I love the polish and it didn't smudge when top coated so I would recommend that but the stamps seem to small. They would be great for me personally for feature nails or something as they would never be wide enough for my thumb (and I suck at lining up two stamps lol) 

You can buy these stamps, polishes and other bits and bobs from HERE

Press sample. Some of these products have been sent to me for my honest opinions.

Wedding Nail Art

Todays is our fourth wedding anniversary :)

We got married in a small registry office whilst I was 36 weeks pregnant. Not a shotgun wedding I swear :P

I did a nail design based on the colour theme and the outfits we wore.

I thought I wore a straight neckline but turns out I wore a sweetheart one haha! 

The butterfly sticker from Nail Stickrs represents a butterfly broach I wore gifted to me by my nan. 

The butterfly is beautiful and glittery! Also its not really thick so sits on the nail nicely.

I used Moyra 87 and Manglaze Mayonnaise for the purple and white and acrylic paint for the rest. 

Unfortunately the picture isn't the best. 

Sometimes its a battle and sometimes I don't win. 

Heres to more years together! 

 some products were sent to me for my honest review. Opinions are 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? 

Life in Lacquer is One!!

Can you believe it? 

Life in Lacquer is one years old!!! 

I cant believe its actually been a year, in fact I forgot! 

The "blogiversary" was actually yesterday..... DOH! 

It has been an eventful year and I have made some lovely friends in the "nail world" 

If I didn't start this blog I would have never have met you lovely people so for that I am thankful <3

It crept up on me so quickly, I wanted to run a giveaway and such but that will have to wait.....

To mark my one year anniversary I have done some lovely cake nail art! You may remember I did do some cupcake nail art right back in the beginning (post HERE) so I thought I would give it another go. I hope I have improved! 

For this mani I used a Sick Lacquers nail polish. This one is called Cotton Candied and its such a beautiful polish. Sick Lacquers were my first international indie brand and to this day they are still my fave. 

White crellys are where its at for me! 

The pictures show two coats with Seche Vite. 

Its such a happy polish and I think it works so well in this design. 

I also used Robyn by Zoya, another of my fave polishes. Such a pretty colour! 

I used Color Club stripers to do the cupcake and two OPI's for the case.

 Color Club stripers are the bees knees! 

So what do you think? Do you see an improvement compared to my old cupcake mani? 

Guest Post @ Penny for Them...

Hello my lovelies! 

As you can see we have a brand new look here! I really hope you do like it as it took me forever!

I am over at Penny for Them today with a fantastic, even if I do say so myself, nail art!

Please take a look around Claires work shes fab! 

You can find my post HERE

Have a great day!

Incoco Nail Polish Strips Review

This is the beautiful package that came last week!

These are nail polish applique strips. In simple turns they are strips of REAL nail polish. Instead of the standard nail wrap which are usually made out of plastic this is made out of polish. Base, colour and topcoat all in one!

They are from an American company called Incoco, they have just turned on international shipping so they are now available in the UK YAY!

They come in full nail,tip and pedicure strips.They come in a very wide range of designs. 

What I can straight up is that I love that they have a massive range. They have plain colours and designs. Whats more they are all 3 free.

For this review I tried the Neon Yellow ones. I really love this design and I wouldn't be able to do this by hand.

In the package you get 16 strips. Upon opening you can smell that they kind of smell like musty old nail polish LOL but this fades are they go on etc. 

You also get detailed instructions on how to apply.

Incoco make a big deal on the package and on the instructions about keeping them sealed until you use them as the air dries them out. So I used what I needed too and then resealed the pack with sellotape :)

To apply you simply remove the top plastic coat of the individual nail you have selected. the remove the bottom silver part as both ends are shaped slightly differently. Select which end fits your nail best. Peel off then apply. 

It was a bit fiddly to begin with and I did mess up on the index finger. 

But look at how good they look!! 

Yes I messed up but for a first go I am really happy and you cant really notice it in real life.

They are very thin and not like conventional wraps really as i cant feel them lifting up at the free edge. 

They claim to last up to 14 days..... 

I will keep you all updated on how they last. I really dont expect to get 14 days as real nail polish only lasts about 2 days on me. 

You can buy these HERE and check out their Facebook for the latest news.

*some of these products were sent to me for an HONEST review. The views on this product are COMPLETELY my own.*

GIVEAWAY LAST CHANCE!

It is the final day of the GIVEAWAY!

If you haven't already then please complete the steps of the giveaway in rafflecopter below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

PLEASE REMEMBER that for your entry to be valid you HAVE to submit a name to the Love Nailz Facebook page HERE

Please follow all the steps in the giveaway for extra entry's :) 

The polish that needs a name is this beautiful blue with holographic glitter. Pictured here with 2 coats and Poshe topcoat. 

 

Original post HERE

The winner will receive 2 handmade indie polishes

 DESIGNED BY THE WINNER!!

This is a great opportunity to own some fantastic polishes! 

SO WHAT ARE YOU ALL WAITING FOR ENTER NOW!! 

LAST CHANCE!!

Love Leopard Design

 

As you have probably noticed I love leopard print!

It is one of the easiest nail art designs to do and it can be done in so many different ways

On this design I have used a full nail water decal and cut it into a heart shape. Then used Barry M nail art pend to do the print.

I tried to use the Barry M Silver Nail Art Pen around the heart but Ive found its really not that bold. (not pictured) Its quite translucent and that's a real disappointment as I have so many designs in mind!

The base is Kleancolor's Pastel Pink. I wouldn't personally describe this as a pastel colour as i always imagine pastels as a lot lighter than this. But it is a great pink, very girly!

The glitter is also Kleancolor 24 Carat.

Pictured with Poshe Topcoat