Stamping

Hey guys!

Today I have a fun negative space and stamping nail art inspired by @ludochka_t to share with you!

For the manicure I started off with a mint blue base of piCture pOlish Chillax on my pointer and thumb and a yellow base of piCture pOlish Sorbet on my pinky. On my middle and ring finger I used the same two polishes and some straight nail vinyls to create the negative space effect. Lastly I stamped the floral design on my middle and ring finger using MoYou London Pro 07 stamping plate and the black polish Essie Licorice.

I cannot decide if I think this is a nail fail or not!
What do you guys think about this skittlette? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Barbecue

Hey guys!

Yesterday my fiancé was having some friends over for a barbecue, which inspired me to make some barbecue nail art!

For the manicure I started off with a blue base of piCture pOlish Freya's Cats on all my nails, excepts for my pinky which I painted silver with Essie No Place Like Chrome. Afterwards I stamped with MoYou London Cook Book 06 stamping plate and Essie No Place Like Chrome on my middle and ring finger.

Close up!

I think this manicure is so much fun!
What do you guys think about this stamping nail art? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

China Glaze Flame-Boyant

Hey guys!

Today I have a swatch and review of China Glaze Flame-Boyant to share with you!
Flame-Boyant is a bright (almost neon) red creme.

The formula on this polish is perfect - it is a breeze to apply and even though it is on the thin side, it is not runny at all. The polish is really self-levelling, which means no streaks and an even opacity on the first coat. It did need two coats to be completely opaque though, but that is to be expected of shades like this. It dries down to a satin finish, so I do recommend a top coat to make it shine.

I think this shade is incredibly beautiful and perfect for summer!
What do you guys think about this nail polish? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Orange is the New Black

Hey guys!

A year ago I made this Orange is the New Black nail art inspired by a manicure Aleida Diaz wore in episode 7, season 4. This year I binge-watched the entire fifth season and found some more Aleida Diaz nail art to be inspired by!

For the manicure I started off with a white base of Essence Wild White Ways on all my nails. Afterwards I used the dry brush technique to create a colorful background with OPI Be Magentale With Me, OPI Don't Violet Me Down, and OPI I'm Never Amberrassed. Lastly I freehanded the leopard dots with a small dotting tool and black nail polish.

Close up!

And here is my inspiration!

Screenshot from Orange is the New Black S5E5

It is so fun to find nail art inspiration in weird and unexpected places like this!
What do you guys think about this leopard manicure? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Graduation

Hey guys!

Three years ago I graduated from the Danish gymnasium and today it is my baby brothers turn! That is why I made some nail art for the special occasion inspired by the student cap and by Katrines Negle!

For the manicure I started off with a bordeaux base of Cirque Colors Garnet on all my nails, except for my ring finger which I painted white with Essence Wild White Ways. Afterwards I freehanded the student cap inspired nail art on my ring finger with a small nail art brush, the bordeaux polish Essie Bordeaux, and the black polish Essie Licorice. To finish everything off I added a small gold stud.

And here's a picture with my own student cap!

I think this nail art turned out so cute and perfect for the occasion!
What do you guys think about this manicure? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Water Marble

Hey guys!

Today I have some water marble nail art to share with you featuring three of the shades from the new Essie Summer 2017 collection (that I swatched and reviewed a few days ago).

For the manicure I started off with a pink base of Essie Baguette Me Not on the pointer and thumb, a white base of Essence Wild White Ways on my middle and ring finger, and a pinky red base of Essie Éclair My Love on my pinky. Afterwards I water marbled with Essie Éclair My Love, Essie Baguette Me Not, and Essie Blue-la-la on my middle and ring finger.

Close up!

I really like how this bright water marble turned out!
What do you guys think about this skittlette? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Essie Summer 2017

Hey guys!

Today I have a swatch and review of the new Essie Summer 2017 collection.
This collection is SPONSORED to me by Essie, but everything I write about it is my honest opinion.

First off is Éclair My Love, which is a pink-leaning red creme.
The formula on this one is amazing and it is a dream to apply - it has the perfect thickness and it is opaque in one or two coat depending on your application. I applied two coats on the picture below, as it had a few dark spots after the first coat. It also dries a little darker than it is in the bottle.

Next up I have Blue-la-la. Blue-la-la is a sky blue creme.
The formula on this one was great as well - a little on the thin side, which is why it needed two to three coats to be opaque (depending on the application). The shade is so worth it though - such a stunner!

Next up is Baguette Me Not - a pink creme with a strong purple undertone.
This polish was such a joy to apply - it is a little on the thin side, but it is easy to apply nonetheless. It needs two easy coats to be fully opaque.
This shade is my favorite from the collection! It is so beautiful!

Time for some S'il Vous Play, which is a metallic pink foil.
The formula on this one is amazing. It needs two thin layers to reach full opacity as it has a few bold spots after only one coat. The dry time is incredible and it quickly dries down to a matte finish.
The only downside to this polish is that it is a pain to remove, but the shade is really unique so it is totally worth it.

Close up!

Next up is Sweet Soufflé - an off-white polish with a few drops of bluish grey and a golden shimmer.
This polish is the only one in the collection that was hard to apply. It needed three runny layers to be completely opaque. The dry time between the layers was good though.

The shimmer was so hard to capture on camera, but you can see it in the close up shot.

Lastly I have Fondant of You, which is an orange polish with a beautiful golden shimmer.
The formula on this shade was good and the dry time between the layers was great. It needed three coats to be fully opaque, as it had a few dark spots after only two coats.
The golden shimmer in this shade looks the same as the shimmer in Sweet Soufflé.

And here's a closer look, where the shimmer is really in your face! So pretty!

My favorites from the collection is Baguette Me Not, Blue-la-la and Éclair My Love, which is the most stunning creme shades for summer!
What do you guys think about this collection? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Hibiscus

Hey guys!

Today I have some simple freehanded nail art to share with you!

For the manicure I started off with a blue base of piCture pOlish Blue on all my nails, except for my middle and ring finger which I painted white with Essence Wild White Ways. Afterwards I freehanded the hibiscus flowers on my middle and ring finger with OPI Pen & Pink, black acrylic paint, and a small nail art brush.

Close up!

I originally painted this design on my toes, but fell so much in love with it that I had to recreate it on my hands as well!
What do you guys think about this hibiscus manicure? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Leopard

Hey guys!

Today I have some simple leopard nail art to share with you.

For the manicure I started off with a nude base of piCture pOlish Beige on all my nails. Afterwards I followed my own tutorial using the brown polish China Glaze Desert Sun, the gold polish Essie Good as Gold, the black polish Essie Licorice, and a dotting tool.

Close up!

I cannot seem to get enough of leopard manicures!
What do you guys think about this nail art? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Le Mini Macaron Gel Manicure Kit

Hey guys!

Today I have a swatch and review of the Gel Manicure Kit from Le Mini Macaron in the color Cherry Red.
This kit is SPONSORED but everything I write about it is my honest opinion.

The kit contains an LED lamp with USB-cable and power supply, a 10 ml bottle of gel polish, a cuticle pusher, a mini nail file, 10 remover pads and instruction folders.
A cool thing about this set is that the tools (including the LED lamp) matches the color of the gel polish!

When reading this review bear in mind that this is my first time ever trying gel polish.

First off, this gel polish is opaque, shiny, leveled out and beautiful in two coats. I did find the gel polish a little hard to work with though. It shrank away from the cuticle area and the tips of the nails after application. This made it hard to apply as I was trying to apply it as close to my cuticle area as possible without touching the cuticles at the same time. Other than that the formula was smooth and easy to work with.

The dry time is great (30 seconds between each layer), but you can only cure one nail at the time, which slows the process down a lot. A good tip is to apply polish to the next nail while another nail is curing in the LED lamp. But I would still say that regular nail polish is faster to apply when using a quick drying top coat.

My last concern is that my nails were stinging a little bit when curing in the LED lamp. I do not know if this is normal, as I have never tried gel polish before, but it felt uncomfortable nonetheless.

I did not have the opportunity to test the lasting time on this polish (they promise up to 10 days lasting time), but let me know if you would like me to test it!

What do you guys think about this review?
Let me know in the comments!

Stay polished.
- Louise

Gradient

Hey guys!

I am really looking forward to the Cirque Colors Vice 2017 collection, so today I created this bright gradient with two of the colors from the Vice 2016 collection!

For the manicure I used Cirque Colors Plastik (magenta) and Sin City (coral) to create the gradient effect with a make-up sponge.

Close up!

This bright nail art is perfect for summer!
What do you guys think about this gradient? Let me know in the comments.

Stay polished.
- Louise

Floral

Hey guys!

Today I have some simple floral nail art to share with you!

For the manicure I started off with a white base of Essence Wild White Ways on all my nails. Afterwards I stamped the floral and chequered patterns into my nails using the black polish Essie Licorice and the MoYou London Trend Hunter 01 stamping plate.

I love this simple design!
What do you guys think about this nail art? Let me know in the comments!

Stay polished.
- Louise