New Year's Giveaway!

Woohoo, it's New Year's Eve! I'm very thankful for a great 2013; in which I started my nail tech qualification, won a few nail comps and overhauled my blog's look among so many other non-nail things!... Aaaand I am feeling really positive about 2014!

So to celebrate the new year, my good fortune this year and to say thanks for sticking with me through the last few hit and miss months as far as blog posts go... I am bringing you a nice lil Barry M Polish Giveaway to start off a couple of people's new year with a win!... 

...I promise a much more regular posting schedule and more varied types of post in this coming year!

The giveaway is open to UK Residents Only due to Royal Mail Postage restrictions... to all those international readers, I'm looking into some online polish store vouchers for the next one ;) You can enter from midnight tonight, until midnight on the 8th January. There are two prizes up for grabs (see pictures below) and I will announce the winners later that day. 

Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year! Good Luck!

First Prize - The 2013 A/W Textured Effect Collection - So Gorgeous!!!

Second Prize - Three of my favourite 2013 A/W Matte Effect Polishes - So chic!!!

Each winner will also receive a surprise polish, just because I love surprises!

a Rafflecopter giveaway   
MissLanage x

Catch Up - Coming Up!

WOW - I have been awol for some time huh?! In all honesty I just haven't had the energy for it... I've had a hectic few months at my job, had umpteen weeks away from my other half while he has been working and I've really had to pull my finger out as far as my nail tech qualification goes!!! So... I needed a break and it all just fell by the wayside! I haven't even been painting my nails!!!... 

...But this time away was not wasted; I won a nail art comp, have a got a fair bit of my coursework and case studies done, and have been busy planning some more varied posts to share with you guys in the coming year!... I also bought a few bits and relaxed a whole lot and I feel soooo much better!

My mum bought me a years Scratch Magazine subscription as a Christmas pressie and I treated myself to some indies I've lusted over for a wee while lol! Love the magazine and can't wait to use the polishes in some upcoming posts.

 Here are some early crimbo presents from my other half, he knows me so well and was so excited to give them to me I got them a full two weeks early hahaha! I fully recommend the books here. Will be featuring the OPI's soon and I'm sure I will find time to use the lush Nails Inc 3D glitters!

Next up, here are my prizes from the Superdrug/Barry M #NailThatFestiveFeeling competition on Twitter. I won with the blue mani in this post HERE. Totally chuffed :) and as some of them were duplicates of ones I have, they are now up for grabs in my giveaway coming later today so keep your eyes peeled!!!

Just before crimbo I treated myself to some nail tech goodies from my trade supplier with a cheque from my Daddy, some of which is pictured here. Cannot wait to try out the new gel colours on a client... and myself ;) Also excited to try the new Cuccio Veneer Gel Polish, interesting new formula and I'm a huge fan of Cuccio products so am sure I won't be disappointed.

Among the huge amount of gifts from my parents this year (I've no idea why in particuler this year lol) were these lovely lil nail bits. Some interesting brush/tip combo nail art pens and the mini OPI collection.

Throughout Advent and on Christmas Day I woke up to this beauty every morning!... A Tara's Talons UK Indie Polish Advent Calendar! Each day I unwrapped a different mini polish and on Christmas Day got the big one :) I was like a kid again rushing to my calendar each day, it was FAB! Here is my haul come the big day...

Gorgeous right?! Check out my Instagram or Twitter accounts for day by day close ups... I will be doing some posts featuring my faves throughout January so keep an eye out! Check out Tara's Etsy store HERE.

Last up, some more MoYou London plates! I now have 20 and love each and every one! Here I have Fairytale 02, Explorer 10, Explorer 07, Suki 10, Mother Nature 03 and Tourist 05. I have another eight which I semi-recently ordered and haven't got around to using yet so look out for some awesome stamping posts in the next few weeks. As I said, lot's planned!

Hope you've enjoyed catching up on the last few weeks with me and don't forget to check back at 8pm tonight for details of my Barry M Giveaway!

MissLanage x

12 British Blogging Days Of Christmas - Guest Post on The Crumpet!

Hello Lovelies! I was lucky enough to have a guest post over on The Crumpet this week as part of the 12 British Blogging Days Of Christmas! I am super, super excited about it; it's my first guest post ever and it's Christmas themed... I have done Christmas Jumpers!

Check it out HERE!

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: One Pattern in Different Colours

For the second post tonight I reverted to an old favourite of mine for the base - white! It's perfect in all seasons... I went for a nice funky pattern to stamp with, it's full of my favourite things... rabbits, cats, birds, butterflies, cherries; happy stuff basically! Nice and cheerful on these drab old days.

I again did two coats of the base, white; and once dry stamped with a lilac and a bright pink and blue. Still feel so pleased every time I see how well these MoYou plates stamp. I'm a MASSIVE fan. if you love stamping and don't have any... get some! Lol ;)

The Edge - Mont Blanc, Maybelline Colorshow - Superpower Blue, Iced Queen, Bubblicious, Color Club - 3in1, MoYou Princess 13.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Three Patterns

Ok so this and the following post were due to go up on Friday but I went away to visit family this weekend and just didn't have the time!!! Will have to post tonight's mani tomorrow...

First up tonight three patterns; I went for a music/dj theme, inspired by my man who makes beats and puts out music on his own label in his spare time... He's just too clever lol! Loved this mani even if I did get the middle finger a lil squiffy lol :) The base is actually a lovely deep plum but it's difficult to tell in the photo's...

This was simply two coats of the deep purple, which dried in minutes and was stamped with gold using another stunning MoYou Plate. My recent loves are both MoYou plates and Colorshow polishes, the formula is fab, the colours and finishes on offer are fab and they are so reasonably priced! I went a bit nuts for them in the recent Boots 3 for 2 lol!

Maybelline Colorshow - Noite De Gal, Barry M - Gold Foil, Color Club - 3in1, MoYou Roxy 03.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Favourite Pattern

Finally tonight, my favourite pattern, got to be a good floral! Love floral patterns and my collection of MoYou plates left me with plenty to choose from. I decided as the last two posts were both the same base colour of pink, I would stick to the indigo but this time in it's glorious gloss finish. Love this shade! I paired it with a lovely bold floral print in gold. Bold Gold lol!

Started off with two coats of the indigo and then simply stamped the pattern over the top flipping the direction now and then. Quick, simple and really eye catching! These Bazza's dry super fast which made this a breeze! I love it, sure it'll catch some eyes at work tomorrow :)

Barry M - Indigo, Gold Foil, MoYou Princess Collection 13.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Something from Pinterest *catch up*

So continuing the theme of posts from Monday, first up tonight is a catch up post of last Wednesday's theme. I have a Pinterest board for my nails but I must say I never use it for pinning anything else, I mean to, but just never get around to it! So in this instance I simply searched for 'Nail Art' and scrolled lol... I spotted a stunning matte flakie mani with gloss black french tips, exactly what I fancied!! Pretty hapy with how they turned out considering my nails are still a wee bit nubby at the moment :)

I started with two coats of the indigo and followed that up with two coats of this ever so pretty flakie. When that was thoroughly dry I did two coats of the matte topcoat in pretty quick succession. Finally I added the gloss black tips just using the bottle brush. First time I've used this new Barry M flakie and I just love it, can't wait to try it out over some other colours!

 

 Barry M - Indigo, Crystal Glaze, Rimmel - Matte Topcoat, Barry M - Black.

...And here was my inspiration, shared on Pinterest via stylecraze.com :) I did have a redish flakie but thought I'd go for the more pearly colours for mine!

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Lines

Second up and on time, my lines manicure. You might be able to tell from my last couple of posts that I'm in a pink phase lol! So this was a mix of the same bright pink used in the other of tonight's mani, but this time with the lovely texture of the OPI liquid sands and some bold striping. Really pleased with the colour combination and I love using striping tape, whether in this way or as an actual decoration in itself; it's so versataille and cheap!! ;) I usually find mine on ebay in big bundles!

I started with two coats of the bright pink and left to dry for a good time. I then placed the striping tape in random directions, but always in three's. Next I did just one quick lick of the liquid sands and immediately took of the tape. That's it! Easy peasy! Really getting use out of this particular OPI polish, love the sort of denim colour and finish.

 Color Club - Warhol, OPI - Alcatraz Rocks, Striping Tape.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: New Technique *catch up*

Ok so I am a week behind again, just couldn't find my mojo last week and was super stressed with work and my boy heading off on the road again. I cheered myself up with some Christmas shopping though :) Almost done!! Record for me! As I am a week behind, I have decided to post last week's and this week's manicures together on the Mon, Wed and Fri. Awesome solution!

So first up tonight is the new technique to you mani; there are not many I haven't tried now but I had a couple in mind and chose to go for the slightly more adventurous water spotted. I am just gonna say now... I LOVE this mani lol. Although the spots stretched to a more marbled look on most of the nails, I just love the result regardless!... And after all, it is the first time I have attempted this ;) What do you think? Have you tried this and have some tips??

I started with two coats of the bright pink and then added a coat of the pink sparkly. Looked gorgeous just like that I must say! Then I took an old (clean) yoghurt pot and filled with luke warm water. I then put a couple of drops of the black polish into the water and then lightly sprayed a mix of alcohol gel & a few drops of water, from a slight distance, over the water. After which, I dipped in my nails, removed the excess and removed them again. I did the thumb on it's own but did the others two nails at a time; which I think is why the spots spread lol! Finally I topcoated.

 Color Club - Warhol, Sinful Colors - Pinky Glitter, Avon - Licorice, Color Club - 3in1, Alchol Gel/Water Mix.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Most owned colour polish...

Third up and last tonight, my most owned colour... Well this took a bit of counting lol! But in first place was pink :) followed closely by blue and then purple. No surprises there, those are my three favourite nail colours, followed up by grey and white, in case you'd like to know haha ;) I went for a nice simple design that a friend did on me just as I was starting to do nail art and not long before I started my blog, but this particular design has never been on my blog so today is it's day!

 

I started with two coats of the light pink and once completely dry, I taped off diagonally and did just one quick lick of the dark pink. I removed the tape immediately and then let dry again. I finished up by using a silver glitter striper polish to add the sparkle along the seam of the two colours. Pretties I think! I just adored these Colorshow polishes, gorgeous colours and top notch formula, so much so that in the recent 3 for 2 in Boots I increased my collection of them from 7 to 22 heeheehee! ADDICT! How shiny are these?! And no topcoat!

Maybelline Colorshow - Pink Boom, Bubblicious, Andrea Fulerton - Silver Stripe & Sparkle, Decorator Tape.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Geometric

Second up this evening is last Wenesday's Geometric mani... I stuck with the 80's plate for this using the crazy geo-stripe print, but went with a wintery feel when it came to the colours. I used some of my most favourite Models Own polishes for this one, they were just the colours I wanted and gave an added sparkle too! The purple metallic stamps really well, as do all of the Champagne Collection. Loved this mani!

I started with two coats of the grey and then stamped the print randomly in both directions with the metallic purple. Next I topcoated, and then once dry used a paintbrush to add a bit of sparkle to the ring finger; if in doubt, just add glitter that's my motto! Lol! Real crisp and shiny result, just my thing for a winters day.

Models Own - Mushroom Grey, Mystic Mauve, Northern Lights, 3in1, MoYou London - Back to the 80's 03.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: 3 Colour Gradient with Pattern

Whoa! Massive amount of catching up to do!.... A week late, is my first mani, followed by last Wednesday's and Friday's; I will post today's tomorrow, or else I will be stuck at this laptop all night! So, the the three colour gradient part of this mani was a bit of a disappointment because the pink and purple just blended into one colour in the pictures; despite trying several different light's and the fact it was clear to my naked eye... grrrr! Ah well. Here it is...

I'm an 80's baby and used my 80's plate for the lightning bolt design so decided to stick with the theme and mix some classic black with a bit of neon! I didn't fancy a sponged look so went for a crisp gradient with clear levels. I started with a base of two coats of the yellow; I then painted two coats of the pink from near the top to tip. From mid-way down to tip I did two coats of purple but it's sooo hard to make out :( sorry! I then stamped the bolts in black and painted the ring finger in the same polish as an accent. Really liked it until I photographed it lol!

 

Don't forget to check out what the other participants have been up to down below!

 W7 - Pearlescent Neon Yellow, Pink, Purple, Avon - Licorice, Color Club - Topcoat, MoYou London - Back To The 80's 03.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Europe

Don't think I'll get time to post today's challenge theme tonight, so that will be up tomorrow instead... But here is the final catch up post from last week before I head to my lovely bed!... I wasn't really sure what I fancied doing with this theme beforehand but as it was close to Rememberance Sunday I decided to go a little patriotic with a union jack inspired design... And I fancied some pastels... So my simple mani was born lol! 

I used two coats of the white for the base; then used a small, square paintbrush for the main crosses and a small striper for the smaller, diagonal crosses. One nail in each pastel shade. I love white nails so was quite fond of these.

Boots Natural Collection - Nail Tip Whitener, Barry M - Berry Icecream, Lemon Sorbet, Strawberry Icecream, Blue Moon, Mint Green, 3in1, Small Square Paintbrush, Small Striper Brush.

MissLanage x

Crumpet's 33DC: Pattern in your wardrobe!

Urgh, work and cooking and other boring stuff got in the way of my catchup posts... so we continue...

...I had soooo many patterns to choose from in my wardrobe and I was just about to settle on a love heart print dress, when I spied my paisley print linen trousers from Spain :) LOVE these pants!!! Beige with red, blue, yellow and green paisley pattern print. I used a mixture of stamping and dotting to recreate the fabric in a nail design; think they turned out pretty well actually, got heaps of comments from people thinking they were a sticker of some sort which was most flattering!

I started with two coats of the beige base; I then stamped a paisley print in random directions, first in red and then in a dark blue. I then added a little more red and introduced the yellow and green elements by placing some dots in any small circular parts in the design. Finally I added a topcoat. A complex design made easy!

Barry M - Lychee, Passion Fruit, Blue Grape, Yellow, Spring Green, 3in1, Cheeky Jumbo Plate 10, Dotting Tool.

MissLanage x

Crumpets 33DC: Follow someone's tutorial

I struggled with this one at first, nothing in my inspiration folder contained tutorials?! I just don't use them really... When I did find some I liked it was so difficult to see whose original work it actually was to credit them. Finally I took a look at One Nail To Rule Them All, a source of many an inspiration, and woohoo!... Recent, cute tutorials :)

I went with her jellyfish look because it was so darned cute and because it wasn't something I would ever normally paint on my nails! Can't say I really needed a tutorial to recreate this mani but it fulfilled the brief hahaha ;)

I used three coats of the Sally Hansen to get it fully opaque, you could layer over a blue but I just love the deep blue gelly finish on this polish when used as is. I then painted on the lil jellies with a bright white and dotted on some eyes, real simple but so cute, the lady in the post office loved them!

Sally Hansen - Mermaid's Tale, Boots Natural Collection - Nail tip Whitener, Barry M - Black, Color Club - 3in1, Small Striper Brush, Small Dotting Tool.

And here is a quick screenshot of Alice's tutorial :)

MissLanage x