Chevron Nail Vinyls

Hey dolls! For those who don't know, I am obsessed with chevron print, especially in monochrome shades! I was originally inspired by @nailsofjessiek on Instagram who used zigzag scissors to cut the tape to create the design. However I couldn't seem to find a quality pair of scissors... 

Until I discovered Nail Vinyls! Linda is such an awesome lady and she creates simple, easy to use and great quality Nail Vinyls! She has a variety of designs to choose from which you can order online here, with affordable international shipping!

For international shipping between the US and the UK, I only had to wait 7-10 days with processing to receive my order which was reasonable. They came in a cute hot pink envelope which I adore!

As you can see, the vinyls are very easy to apply. I simply removed the strips from the card and laid them out evenly over a dry white base. It is very important that your base colour is dry before applying the strips otherwise it will rip off the polish. 

I then painted over the strips with black polish and immediately removed the vinyl strips! This is the result I was left with, what do you think? I am in LOVE with this mani! Definitely one of my favourites so far!

I used the chevrons for my accents and for my pointer and pinky finger I used Barry M "Grapefruit" which actually has more of a pink tone to it in real life. I then added black rhinestones to complete the look.

I love how quickly I managed to achieve this look with the nail vinyls, and it honestly falls into my comfort zone of tape mani's!

Until next time!

With love,

Jen

xXx

Updates, News & Apologies

WARNING: Lengthy post I do apologise. Do go and grab yourself a drink and a snack before you begin! <3

Okay so first off I would like to apologise for my lack of posts, honestly, I can explain! I just hope you all can understand :) ... I've been meaning to create this post for a while, I just didn't quite know how to go about it, I guess the best way is for you to get to know me a little better! 

Growing up, I was an utter geek! I was that 10 year old kid queuing up outside a book store at midnight for the release of the new Harry Potter book! I loved reading, writing, creating my own stories and I dreamed of one day writing for a living! 

As I grew older... My dreams changed. They became more realistic, and more shaped as I grew influenced by other individuals. I studied hard, and I graduated! I always thought that my dream of becoming a writer was just that. A dream. I wasn't driven to write for money, but for passion! 

But then it dawned on me to enter the world of blogging as a hobby, to be able to write and share things with you all! 

Here is where my dilemma comes in.

As you know I started this blog off to share my passion for polish and beauty! While this still remains true ... I would also like to share my thoughts on other things too, and expand my writing! So things like landmarks, locations, reviews... Lifestyle!

I really hope you don't mind the new direction I'm taking. I will still dedicate a category purely on polish, I will however be changing my blog and Instagram name to reflect my broadened niche. The name will be "Lacquer, Love & London Life" ... Which brings me to my next piece of news!

For those who haven't already found me - I have my own Instagram for polish and beauty! @Lacquer_Love_London ... There is a link to my Instagram on my homepage and along the side of my blog so please check it out! I do post on there very often and I can easily interact with you too! 

But I do promise to make a blogging schedule and make the time to blog more often :) ... Thank you for sticking with me! 

With love,

Jen

xXx

Ciate Tape Mani

Hey beautiful people! As you already know, I am in love with my quick and simple tape mani's which is what I bring to you today! I managed to bag these spectacular polishes for only £3.50 - together! The gold is named "Sand Dune", it is a subtle sandy gold. The other Ciate polish is called "Pocket Money" which is a coppery red.

I just love love love how fast these polishes dry! Making tape mani's even easier! I used the two together, to create a classy manicure and used a black nail art liner to separate the two and give a contrast.

I personally adore it! (slight throwback, this was my first attempt at a tape mani!) What do you guys think?

With love,
Jen
xXx

Nails Inc - Leather Effect Swatch

Hello lovelies! Just a quick post today for you all :) I was ever so excited when Nails Inc finally released individual bottles of their Leather Effect polish... I wasn't really too keen on the Bling It On Collection with the crystal skull embellishments, and I could only bring myself to buy the black Noho polish. Especially after some of the reviews! But again, that's just down to my personal preference :) I'm not really a "skully" kinda girl!

Here is how I decided to use my Leather polish!

I love how by using it for my accent nails, gives my whole mani an edgy look! I added the black rhinestones to complete it :)

As you guys have probably gathered by now, I adore my Gelly polishes! Isn't this one lovely? It's the exact shade that it is pictured as above, I love the colour lilac! This is Barry M's Gelly Hi-Shine "Prickly Pear" <3 

By the way, yes that is my uni work you can see in the background. These were taken a few months ago - so excuse the outdated post! Do you girls still rock the leather look? I guess it is time that the summer colours are put away! 

Jen

xXx

Half Moons

After a couple of months of depression, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, and to celebrate I have decided to turn back to my nail art! Here, I bring to your attention my current mani! Isn't it lovely? I'm usually used to bright and funky nail patterns, but today I opted for something a little smarter!

For my half moons, I used reinforcement rings! You can get a pack of 250 for a £1 from any pound shop :)

I absolutely adore nude colours, a classic shade that will never go out of season - and matched with a darker shade it is perfect for a day at the office. I love my Kiko polish, which is touch dry in minutes... However it doesn't appear to have an interesting name for me to give you! Bad Kiko! But I am currently in love with Barry M's Gelly Hi Shine collection! This shade is called "Blue Grape" and it is just as vibrant in real life as it is in these photos!

Jen :)

xXx

Scotch tape is my best friend!

Sorry guys, here I am reposting from my old blog! I'm quite proud of this mani, so I thought what better way to start? I apologise in advance for any poor quality photos, I'm afraid I am not armed with a Canon or the best quality phone, but I have certainly tried my best for now - it's my promise to you all that I will improve!
It's come to my realisation that many nail bloggers/intagrammers have a particular forte! To be quite honest, all their work seems pretty damn amazing to me. But mine would be my love for tape mani's! Yup. A simple strip of scotch or striping tape can go a long way.  Well, for me personally anyway as I'm constantly on the move and I simply don't have the time these days :( ... But you can never go wrong with double colours.

For tape mani's especially, I really recommend using Ciate polishes! I for one, am very impatient. Boy, oh boy, if I had the photographic evidence of my failed tape manis purely down to being too giddy to get creative! But seriously, Ciate! Even though the application is quite sheer and needs a couple of coats, it dries sooo quickly!

This mani I managed to rock for a few days without any chipping! (please excuse my small nick) ... I've used Ciate - Cookies and Cream and Rimmel Lycra Pro - Fancy Fuchsia, both of which I adore!! The colourful rhinestones can be bought in wheels, cheaply through Amazon. The Lycra Pro and the Salon collection are amazing. Like literally, it just glides on, the application utterly smooths itself out.

Until next time :)

Jen
xXx

Welcome!

Hey everyone! Yes, I've had to create another blogger account as my last one had major problems, which means all my hard work is now lost! *takes a moment to mourn*

Buuut, I guess this means a fresh start and I am back better than before! I have finally crawled back out from under my rock, and more inspired than ever!

For those who don't already know me, hi and welcome to my very first blog post! I've been wanting to start my own blog for a while now,  but I suppose I've never really had the fire in my belly until now to do so.  I've been inspired by how wonderful and creative you lot are, so I thought I'd try and take a shot at it myself with the encouragement of my nearest and dearest <3

This is mainly a nail inspired blog, but I must warn you in advance that there may be a few beauty inspired posts to mix it up a little.  I guess I've only really been into nail art for about a year now. In actual truth and honesty, I used to believe painting my nails were an absolute CHORE having been the least arty person ever!  It was until I stumbled across some amazing work, that I looked down at my naked nails and had a sudden change of heart.

So a lot of failed stamps and watermarbles later and *bam* here I am!

That's my awkward introduction and first blog post over with guys... Just kidding :)

Jen
xXx