Hello lovelies,

You've probably been wondering why I haven't been posting. Well, life has gotten crazy busy and overwhelming towards the end of last year and I needed a break from blogging and all the pressure that comes with it. This was the first blogging break in 7 years ad it was much needed. Do you ever feel so overwhelmed you just want to stop blogging? Well that's how I was feeling. Some would call it blogger burnout but the good news is, I'm back! I'll be posting as often as I can but I'll take it easy now, I'm sure you'll understand. I won't be reviewing new collections as I'd rather focus on nail art and beautiful polishes. There are plenty of talented swatchers out there you can see new collections on ;)

You know what I just realised? I've missed my 7th Bloggiversary! It was at the beginning of February and I missed it! Oh well, maybe next year! ;)

Today I finally want to share with you nail art that I wore to the Olympia Beauty Show 2016 in London last October. I wanted something intricate, abstract and kind of unique. I wasn't totally crazy about the result but it was still wearable so I kept it on. Let's check out those nails...

It's very unlikely that any of you will ever re-create this monstrosity on your nails but just in case, I'll tell you roughly how I did these ;)

I painted my nails with a coat of pastel beige polish so that other colours would stand out. Then I've used small pieces of makeup sponge to add splashes of colour. I opted for mint green and pastel purple to create watercolour-ish background. For that I've sponged on one of the colours randomly and then went in with a small brush and bit of acetone. Once the subtle watercolour-style background was finished, I've added moss green and white dots using dotting tool. Then I've painted the brown rectangular shapes with a thin brush from the Winstonia Berry Wine set.

After that it still looked very plain so I've painted on some black and white line work. For that I've used another brush from the Winstonia Berry Wine set (the brushes are super  thin) and acrylic paint. Lastly, I've sealed the whole design with a coat of Seche Vite topcoat. All polishes I've used were from Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure.

I hope you enjoyed this kinda crazy abstract look and let me know what's new with you! What collections are your favourite right now?

Have a lovely day! Lucie x

Hello lovelies,

How have you all been? I can't believe another month had passed and it's time for the Paint All The Nails nail art challenge again! In two, months it will almost be New Year's! Crazy!

This month's theme is GILDED so I obviously had to reach for some pretty gold foil and I paired it up with some gorgeous blue and a hint of white lace inspired by various russian nail techs (for the love of me I can't find them because I don't remember their names :(

For this look, I've been using a new to me brand of gel polish, Semilac. It is a very popular Polish brand and it is now available in the UK too.

"Semilac is a hybrid nail polish which combines gel, UV and nail polish properties to create a high performance, long lasting product."

I've used a shimmery blue colour called Shooting Star (#114). Two thin coats were perfectly opaque and applied very nicely. I've cured it with the 6W UV LED lamp that I got in the Semilac Starte Kit*. Once cured, I've used the inhibition (sticky) layer as an adhesive for the gold foil and just pressed a piece against the nail in random places. It created the gold distressed look I was after. I wasn't happy with the look because it was a bit boring and plain so I added a freehand white lace. I've painted it using a white acrylic paint. I think it would have gotten a better result if I'd use a white nail art gel because the acrylic paint was a bit patchy and uneven even with second coat. Well, live and learn!

Lastly, I've sealed the whole design with a coat of Semilac Top Coat from the same Starter Kit.

So what do you think?

I'm pretty pleased with the whole look, and enjoyed wearing it. If you'll recreate it then tag me @lucysstash and #lucysstash so I can see your recreation :) You can also see other nail artists' interpretation of this theme by searching the #paintallthenailsgilded or check out the link-up widget below.

Have a lovely day! Lucie x

*PR sample