The purple nail polish is W7 Purple Paradise. The pink is Misa Funky Punky Pink. The stamping polishes are Essie Good as Gold and Konad black. This images are from the Bundle Monster Create Your Own Set, BM-412.
Thursday, 30 January 2014
Golden Oldie Thursday - Dots!
The prompt for my GOT Polish Challenge is Dots. I chose a great dotted image from my new Bundle Monster set for this manicure, on a lovely purple polish that has been in my heap of un-trieds for ages - really don't know why, since I love purple nail polish!
The purple nail polish is W7 Purple Paradise. The pink is Misa Funky Punky Pink. The stamping polishes are Essie Good as Gold and Konad black. This images are from the Bundle Monster Create Your Own Set, BM-412.
The purple nail polish is W7 Purple Paradise. The pink is Misa Funky Punky Pink. The stamping polishes are Essie Good as Gold and Konad black. This images are from the Bundle Monster Create Your Own Set, BM-412.
Tuesday, 28 January 2014
Tri-Polish Tuesday - A City at Sunset - Gradient Manicure
The combination of yellow, orange and red just calls out for a sunset gradient manicure - so that's just what I have on my nails today for Tri Polish Tuesday.
I painted my nails with a base of Rimmel Spring Yellow. Once this was dry, I sponged on a gradient with Rimmel Spring Yellow, Barry M Gelly Mango and Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red. I recently got the Bundle Monster Create Your Own Set. I stamped on the Cityscape image from the plate BM-414 from this set, in Konad Black.
I painted my nails with a base of Rimmel Spring Yellow. Once this was dry, I sponged on a gradient with Rimmel Spring Yellow, Barry M Gelly Mango and Sally Hansen Insta Dri Rapid Red. I recently got the Bundle Monster Create Your Own Set. I stamped on the Cityscape image from the plate BM-414 from this set, in Konad Black.
Sunday, 26 January 2014
Got Polish Challenge - Turquoise and Gold Saran Wrap Manicure
I am late with my Challenge manicure but here it is at last! The prompt for the Got Polish Challenge for the day was Blue. I wanted to use one of my favourite oldies for this prompt - the Barry M Gelly in Gauva. Originally, I thought I would do the Turquoise Stone nails with the Water Spotted Nail Art Technique. But halfway, through I had a change of heart.
I used saran wrap (cling film) to dab on some Revlon Gold Coin on to the Guava. Most tutorials that I have seen on this technique paint the second colour on to the nail when the base is dry and then dab it with the cling film. I have tried that earlier and I found that I ended up dabbing on too much or too little and wasn't happy with the result. So I tried it a little differently this time.
I started with a base of Barry M Guava. Then I used a scrunched up piece of cling film painted with some of the gold nail polish and dabbed it very lightly on to my nails. If there was too much gold in some spot, I went back and touched it up a little with some blue polish on the cling film.
I love the gold on turquoise in this manicure. I loved it so much, in fact, that I decided to wear it as is it was. I thought the blue this way is more appropriate for the challenge, anyway!
I used saran wrap (cling film) to dab on some Revlon Gold Coin on to the Guava. Most tutorials that I have seen on this technique paint the second colour on to the nail when the base is dry and then dab it with the cling film. I have tried that earlier and I found that I ended up dabbing on too much or too little and wasn't happy with the result. So I tried it a little differently this time.
I started with a base of Barry M Guava. Then I used a scrunched up piece of cling film painted with some of the gold nail polish and dabbed it very lightly on to my nails. If there was too much gold in some spot, I went back and touched it up a little with some blue polish on the cling film.
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Tri-Polish Tuesday - One Stroke Floral Nail Art
For my Tri Polish Tuesday manicure today, I have some one stroke flowers on my nails.
The red base polish is Rimmel Riviera Red. The freehand floral nail art is done with NYC Lexington Yellow, Barry M Mango, Key Lime and Matt White. I used a flat nail art brush for the flowers, a fine detailing brush for the leaves and a fine dotting tool.
There are a lot of great tutorials on the internet for these one stroke flowers. I saw a few of these tutorials on youtube for inspiration although I didn't follow anyone exactly.
The tutorials that I saw for these flowers use acrylic paints for the nail art. I used nail polish for mine but I can see how it would probably be easier to use acrylics. I guess the best way to describe it is that acrylic paints would glide on easier - nail polish gets a bit sticky, specially when its been sitting on your palette for a few minutes and it can smear your base polish a little. Also, acrylic paints can be washed off with water if you make a mistake and want to start over without messing up your base polish. I was just too lazy to go dig out my acrylic paints - but I might have to try that the next time!
The red base polish is Rimmel Riviera Red. The freehand floral nail art is done with NYC Lexington Yellow, Barry M Mango, Key Lime and Matt White. I used a flat nail art brush for the flowers, a fine detailing brush for the leaves and a fine dotting tool.
There are a lot of great tutorials on the internet for these one stroke flowers. I saw a few of these tutorials on youtube for inspiration although I didn't follow anyone exactly.
The tutorials that I saw for these flowers use acrylic paints for the nail art. I used nail polish for mine but I can see how it would probably be easier to use acrylics. I guess the best way to describe it is that acrylic paints would glide on easier - nail polish gets a bit sticky, specially when its been sitting on your palette for a few minutes and it can smear your base polish a little. Also, acrylic paints can be washed off with water if you make a mistake and want to start over without messing up your base polish. I was just too lazy to go dig out my acrylic paints - but I might have to try that the next time!
Sunday, 19 January 2014
Textured Stamped Roses
I think I've said this before that I never thought I would like textured polish but I've loved them since the first time I used one. And I really like stamping over them. Although, after this manicure I realised that bold images with thick lines show up the best with textured polishes. I used OPI My Favourite Ornament as the base polish for this manicure - its a very pretty Champagne glitter. I don't think OPI states clearly that its textured (not to my knowledge, anyway!) but it does have a fine textured effect to it.
I stamped on top with Klean Color Metallic Purple (on the accent nail) and Metallic Pink. The images are from the MoYou London image plate 04 from the Pro Collection. The Klean Color Metallic Pink is so highly pigmented that it stained my stamper - but it does stamp very well. I didn't use any topcoat on these nails to keep the textured effect.
I stamped on top with Klean Color Metallic Purple (on the accent nail) and Metallic Pink. The images are from the MoYou London image plate 04 from the Pro Collection. The Klean Color Metallic Pink is so highly pigmented that it stained my stamper - but it does stamp very well. I didn't use any topcoat on these nails to keep the textured effect.
Thursday, 16 January 2014
GOT Polish Challenge 2014 - Stripes
Its been quite interesting going through my stash and trying to decide which ones of my old polishes to use for the manicures for this challenge! The next prompt in the GOT Polish Challenge is Stripes. I considered stamping the stripes on - there are some really nice stripey images on some of my plates. But then thought I would try my hand at striping tape one more time. And going a bit further with it, I decided to use three colours in stead of the two that I have normally used before.
The base colour for this manicure is China Glaze Fast Track, which is a really nice nude with a gold shimmer in it. The stripes on top are done with Sally Handen Insta Dri in Ruby Rush and Emerald Express.
The base colour for this manicure is China Glaze Fast Track, which is a really nice nude with a gold shimmer in it. The stripes on top are done with Sally Handen Insta Dri in Ruby Rush and Emerald Express.
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Tri-Polish Tuesday - Fishtail Braid Manicure
For the Tri-Polish Challenge, I need to use three colours for a manicure, so what better time to try out the lovely Fishtail manicure? I tried it first here - 31DC2013: Day Thirty-One. I absolutely love this look. It does not need any special equipment other than three colours of nail polish and is relatively easy to do and looks great. What's not to like?!
I used NYC Lexington Yellow, Barry M Gelly in Mango and Rimmel Riviera Red for these nails. The rhinestones are from Cheeky. I began by painting three nails yellow - other than my middle and little fingers. Then I painted the fishtail pattern on the two nails with alternating, overlapping, diagonal criss-crossing stripes! Its good to wait a minute or two between each stripe to let it dry a bit, specially when you cross a dark colour (like red) with a light one (like yellow) - that can smear if very wet. I finished with top coat. It was sunny today and this is just the look for a day like that - it would be a great summer manicure!
I used NYC Lexington Yellow, Barry M Gelly in Mango and Rimmel Riviera Red for these nails. The rhinestones are from Cheeky. I began by painting three nails yellow - other than my middle and little fingers. Then I painted the fishtail pattern on the two nails with alternating, overlapping, diagonal criss-crossing stripes! Its good to wait a minute or two between each stripe to let it dry a bit, specially when you cross a dark colour (like red) with a light one (like yellow) - that can smear if very wet. I finished with top coat. It was sunny today and this is just the look for a day like that - it would be a great summer manicure!
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Red and Gold Half Moon Manicure
I did this manicure just before I cut my nails. It was one of my sparkly manicures for the festive season.
For these nails, I used Essence My Fortune Cookie, a sparkly, dark gold. I used paper hole reinforcement stickers like these to mark out the half moon shape on the nails, once the gold polish was dry. Then painted the rest of the nail with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Quick Brick. Took of the stickers while this polish was still dry. Lastly added the hex glitter to outline the half moon shapes. The colours on the accent nails are reversed. All the nails are finished with top coat.
For these nails, I used Essence My Fortune Cookie, a sparkly, dark gold. I used paper hole reinforcement stickers like these to mark out the half moon shape on the nails, once the gold polish was dry. Then painted the rest of the nail with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Quick Brick. Took of the stickers while this polish was still dry. Lastly added the hex glitter to outline the half moon shapes. The colours on the accent nails are reversed. All the nails are finished with top coat.
Thursday, 9 January 2014
"GOT Polish Challenge 2014" - Pink and Silver Criss-Cross
You know how you see this beautiful bottle of nail polish in the shop (or online) and think that you have to have it? Then you buy it and end up using it once and then just never get around to using it again. And sometimes, that bottle of polish lands on your heap of "un-trieds" and doesn't even get used once! Well, I am very excited about doing two nail art challenges this year - the second of which shows a little love to just some of these forgotten polishes in the nail polish stash!
The prompt for the day is "Pink".
For this manicure, I painted three nails with Revlon Silver Dollar. The other two nails are painted with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Presto Pink. The pink rhinestone on the ring finger is from Cheeky. I used striping tape to mark out the criss-cross pattern on the thumb and the middle finger. I painted the presto pink on top, removed the striping tape while the pink was still wet, in the "last on first off" order.
The Golden Oldie Thursday - GOT Polish Challenge 2014!
The basic rules of this challenge are that the nail polishes used should be at least a year old or one of the oldest that you have, preferably previously used, though you can use an old one never used before too. More than one polish can be used if it fits the themes and the rules. The prompts are:The prompt for the day is "Pink".
For this manicure, I painted three nails with Revlon Silver Dollar. The other two nails are painted with Sally Hansen Insta Dri Presto Pink. The pink rhinestone on the ring finger is from Cheeky. I used striping tape to mark out the criss-cross pattern on the thumb and the middle finger. I painted the presto pink on top, removed the striping tape while the pink was still wet, in the "last on first off" order.
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
Tri Polish Challenge 2014
I haven't posted in the last few days because I got a nasty cut on a finger and thought I would give it a few days to heal. Its still not healed completely but its better. Also, I broke a nail quite badly and had to cut my nails really short. I like my nails a tiny bit longer for nail art but they'll have to do for the next week or so! I am also planning to invest in a couple of nail products to strengthen my nails some more. If they work, I will post a review.
I am starting the Tri Polish Challenge for 2014 today. The rules of the challenge are that we post up to four manicures a month from the three colours chosen for each month. Black, white, gold, silver and glitter are allowed for nail art. At least, one of these manicures should use all three of the colours and the others, at least two of the chosen colours.
The colours for the Tri Polish Challenge for January 2014 are: Red, Orange, Yellow.
I chose the colours yellow and orange for my first post in the challenge.
The yellow polish is NYC Lexington Yellow. The stamping has been done with Klean Color Metallic Orange. The images are from the XL Image Plate A.
I am starting the Tri Polish Challenge for 2014 today. The rules of the challenge are that we post up to four manicures a month from the three colours chosen for each month. Black, white, gold, silver and glitter are allowed for nail art. At least, one of these manicures should use all three of the colours and the others, at least two of the chosen colours.
The colours for the Tri Polish Challenge for January 2014 are: Red, Orange, Yellow.
I chose the colours yellow and orange for my first post in the challenge.
The yellow polish is NYC Lexington Yellow. The stamping has been done with Klean Color Metallic Orange. The images are from the XL Image Plate A.
Thursday, 2 January 2014
The Ten Most Popular Posts in 2013
Another round up of manicures from the year just gone. I started this blog in August 2013 and since then, these have been my ten most popular posts ...
I also want to add a few more of my favourite manicures to this list as well. So here are some more that I loved ...
 Poppy Nails for Remembrance Day |
 Trees, Birds, Blue Skies ... |
 31DC2013: Day Twenty-Eight - Inspired by a Flag |
 31DC2013: Day Eleven - Polka Dots |
Christmas Challenge 2013 Manicures Roundup
Happy New Year!
I thought I would do a quick round up post of the Christmas Challenge I participated in.
Here are the prompts that I did the manicures for ...
And here are the manicures... Please click on the pictures to go to the original posts for details. My Candy Cane and Gingerbread nails were not exclusively for the Challenge but since they were part of the Christmas manicures that I did, I have also added them to this roundup post.
I thought I would do a quick round up post of the Christmas Challenge I participated in.
Here are the prompts that I did the manicures for ...
And here are the manicures... Please click on the pictures to go to the original posts for details. My Candy Cane and Gingerbread nails were not exclusively for the Challenge but since they were part of the Christmas manicures that I did, I have also added them to this roundup post.
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