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.

Russian Dolls

I have to apologise for my erratic posting lately - life has just been a bit busier than usual.
The prompt for my Christmas Challenge was Toys. And although I did think of a few ideas for proper toy themed manicures - I wanted a very adult manicure with plenty of bling! Which is why I chose this particular image and colour for the nails.

The gorgeous nail polish I have used here is Deborah Lippmann Good Girl Gone Bad. The stamped image is from the plate KD28. The stamping polish is Essie No Place Like Chrome.

It may be a very broad interpretation of the prompt and maybe its not particularly festive - but it would be a great look for all the parties, this festive season!

Try a Jelly Sandwich!

So I've been thinking of doing a manicure like this for a long time. In fact, I got this jelly polish months ago for this manicure but never tried it. I think its commonly called a "pond manicure" or a "jelly sandwich" with stamping or even a "stampwich".

This kind of a manicure is not hard to do, it just takes a bit of time because you have to wait for the layers to dry. I began with a base coat and then one coat of jelly polish. After this was dry, I stamped with the full nail image with the tiny hearts. Then a second layer of polish, a second layer of stamping and a third layer of jelly polish on top. Finally, I stamped the accent nail and used top coat on all the nails.
If you would like to try out this manicure, you don't even need to stamp between the layers, you can just dot on some polka dots with white polish. Just be sure to get a nice translucent jelly polish and wait for each layer to dry before adding on the next one.

Halloween Stamping Nail Art - Double, Double, Toil and Trouble ...

Fire burn and Cauldron Bubble ...

Another manicure with Halloween inspired nail art. For these nails, I used Essie Fear or Desire with one coat of Sinful Colors Serena and Chloe on top for a bit of sparkle. I stamped with images from the plate HD04 with Konad Black.
I really like these images, specially the cauldron - it reminded me of the scene from Macbeth with the three witches! I had to then search for that scene on the net to enjoy a good little read!
I'm not really into scary or gory images for Halloween, nail art or otherwise - so this manicure is just something that I really enjoyed wearing - its suitable for Halloween but still pretty cute!

31DC2013: Day Twenty-Nine - Inspired by the Supernatural

Posting my nails inspired by the supernatural very late today. It took me a long time to  decide on  how to do this manicure - I'm not really into anything related to this subject. It seemed fascinating when I was very young and although it still is, I just haven't really been interested enough to read up about it.
I started with Barry M Gelly in Lychee. Then I stamped with Konad Black from the image plates QA8 for the skull and crossbones, the Gals Fairy Set GA36 for the single skull image, Konad M94 for the bat image, which I stamped multiple times and Konad M91 for the black cat. I finished with the Rimmel Pro Matte Finish Topcoat.

31DC2013: Day Twenty-Six - Inspired by a Pattern

For this part of the challenge, I knew I had to go with a sari pattern! There is such a large variety of patterns to choose from and the colours are so vibrant and gorgeous. I chose this beautiful silk sari -

And here are the nails, inspired by the pattern ...

For this manicure, I applied base coat and once dry, I taped off the ends with the french manicure guides. Then I painted the top part of the nail with Color Club Secret Agent. I stamped the paisley image from the plate QA59 with Essie Penny Talk. I painted the tips with Essence My Fortune Cookie and added the hex glitter.

This is my first Essence Polish. Its a glittery, yellow gold, which was exactly what I wanted. I got it on a recent trip to Belgium since I had heard about this brand but never tried it. Right after I got it though, I found out that Essence is coming to Wilkinson's in the UK soon. I believe its already available in selected stores. Check out the Essence Facebook page for details, if you are interested and live in the UK.

31DC2013: Day Twenty-Two - Inspired by a Song

The days are getting shorter and colder - its almost autumn. That and this lovely song by Ed Sheeran inspired this manicure - Autumn Leaves - it just seemed so appropriate for this time of the year!

I used NYC Pure Air as the base. Then I sponged on some 2True Shade 9, a glittery bronze, on the tips. I stamped one nail with the music notes and bird image from  the plate Pueen47. The stamping is with Essie Penny Talk and Konad Black. The stars stamping is from the image plate QA15. I free handed the different coloured leaves with a fine nail art brush, using Rimmel Camouflage, Konad Yellow and Essie Penny Talk. I definitely need to improve on my free hand leaves but its a start ...!