Neon Studs - A Born Pretty Store review

Hello everyone! A quick second post for you today featuring some uber bright neon orange studs that I received for review from Born Pretty Store! They are so amazingly orange that they didn't really need much work around them so I decided to work them into a geometric skittle pattern.

I painted my nails with two coats of Barry M Blueberry and topped with Seche Vite. I placed the studs into the top coat before it dried (so one nail at a time for busier patterns, especially if you're using a fast drying top coat!). You can also use nail glue if you'd like them to stay put for a while.

You can find these studs (available in a large range of neon shades) here. They are really versatile and can be used to create all sorts of effects and shapes. If you use the code UKX31, you'll get 10% off of your order too! :)

Sam xx

The NCC presents "Skittles" 4 - A Pastel Skittlette

Hello everyone! Today I have my final May NCC mani for you. Its a bit of a win/fail for me as I loved the selection of Barry M Gelly colours I used, but the techniques don't really show up as different in the photos because the colours are so soft. Still its a lesson learned and it looks pretty so... :)

I painted all five nails with a base of Huckleberry before topping the index finger with a couple of coats of silver glitter. I then sponged Greenberry, Guava and Dragon Fruit on to my middle and ring fingers and used the same colours on my thumb and little finger to create the distressed look. I topped them all with Seche Vite to finish.

As I said before, I love the colours but not such a big fan of the fact that you can't see a whole lot of difference between the distressed nails and the sponge nails. The linear nature of the distressed pattern is a lot more obvious in real life, but these thing happen...

There'll be another post up soon explaining what's happening with the blog for June :)

Sam xx

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The Nail Challenge Collaborative presents "Skittles" 2 - Colour blocking

Hello everyone! Today I have a quick post with my second NCC mani for May. The theme for this month is skittles and I'm loving this month! 

I got my striping tape out for today and went for geometric colour block skittles. I started witha  white base and then taped off different shapes on each nail, before filling in the individual sections with either Cuccio Cheeky in Helsinki or Barry M Gelly Blueberry, Greenberry or Papaya, before finishing with Seche Vite.

I am so pleased with these, the lines stayed so crisp :) The colour combination isn't one I'd normally go for either, but I wanted to play with my new Cuccio and I think it works.

Sam xx

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The Digit-al Dozen does Decades Day 5 - The 60s (but the 1660s!)

Hello everyone! Today brings the Digit-al Dozen Decades week to an end and I have loved every minute of it! Everyone's art has been so creative and the diverse interpretations have been awesome! I'm finishing with a curveball, born out of a school project that Scarlett did a while ago. I've had this idea on the back burner since then (fire pun - yay!), and seeing as the Great Fire of London happened in 1666, I bring you the 1660s!

I started with a base of Models Own Lemon Meringue, before sponging on OPI Yellopalooza, Barry M Gelly Mango, OPI The Drummer Is Hot and Dream Black to create the burning skyline effect. I then painted in the burning building silhouettes with Color Club Rebel Spirit, watered down with a little acetone in places, before finishing with Seche Vite.

So I'll admit this isn't the cheeriest topic to end the week on, but I am in love with how this came out (even if I did have to do it twice after I painted it upside down the first time - grrr!). Decade week has been a blast, and if you haven't checked out everyone else's manis for the week you are missing a treat! Follow the Inlinkz below to check out all the other ladies' work :)

Sam xx

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The Digit-al Dozen does Decades - Lava Lamps, but 1990s ones (bear with me!)...

Hello everyone! The title here warrants an explanation. There's nothing to say that I can't do the same decade twice, but I really didn't intend to. I had this idea which is pure 70s (as was my paisley mani on Monday) for lava lamps and really wanted to put it in. So seeing as I didn't own a lava lamp until 1995, I'm going to pretend (and hope that you'll all go along with me!) that these are those famous lava lamps from the 1990s! Shhhhhhh! ;)

My stiletto tips gave me a great starting point, and I started by painting them with I'm Never Amberrassed from OPI's Sheer Tints range. I then painted the base and the tips with Nail Essentials Silver Shimmer and a little Ciate Vintage topped with OPI Matte top coat. Once dry, I used LA Colors Moody Red for the "lava", and added detail in using Barry M Gelly Papaya and highlights with Models Own Lemon Meringue. Here's how they turned out :)

So there you have my 70s/90s mani, I have a new decade for you tomorrow and there may even be one from another century before the end of the week (if it comes off, that is!). 

Tomorrow will be a now rare two post day as its Scarlett's 8th birthday and I promised her that she could help me write a post (she also painted my nails), so stayed tuned for those and in the meantime check out all the other fabulous Digit-al Dozen manis via the links below! :)

Sam xx 

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The Digit-al Dozen does Decades Day 2 - 1960s Emilio Pucci

Hello everyone! The second day of our trip through the decades with the Digit-al Dozen and I'm bringing you a little bit of the 1960s! As most of you will know I love my fluid, abstract designs along with bright (and occasionally strange) colour combinations, so it goes without saying that Emilio Pucci and his prints are a constant source of inspiration for me!

I started with a white base and freehanded sections of Color Club Pucci-licious (how could I not use that one?!), Revlon Sassy and Barry M Gelly Dragon Fruit and Lychee, before carefully outlining each section with Color Club Rebel Spirit and finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

There's a Taschen book which is full of Pucci prints - some of the covers are shown in the photo below in case you're not familiar with his style. I'm off to trawl the internet for more of his bags for my collection and will be back with another DD mani for you tomorrow. Don't forget to check out the other ladies work via the links below! :)

Sam xx

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The Digit-al Dozen does Decades - 70s Paisley

Hello everyone! Today sees the start of another Digit-al Dozen week and our theme for this month is Decades. I'm a lot happier with this theme as there is a lot of scope to stretch it! I'm starting with pretty much my favourite print of all time, mostly famous (and infamous!) for being omnipresent in the 1970s, but luckily for me it had a minor resurgence in the 90s that I was able to take advantage of and wear it to death for about a year. Fortunately, I'm not a teenager any more and don't care what anyone thinks, so now I wear it whenever the hell I like :D

I started with two coats of Jessica Ruffled Bottoms, before painting in the paisley shapes with LA Colors French White. I added the inner details using Barry M Gellys in Lychee and Key Lime, Models Own Lilac Dream and a little more Ruffled Bottoms before finishing with Seche Vite (still haven't chosen that new top coat!)

I'm loving this, but then again I would - its paisley! I know its not everyone's cup of tea, but it floats my boat every time!

Same time tomorrow! In the meantime, check out everyone else's Day 1 Decades :)

Sam xx

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Tri Polish Tuesdays May - Patch Pockets

Hello everyone! Today sees the start of a new colour scheme for the May Tri Polish Challenge! At first I thought my choice of red, purple and green was super clever. Then I thought about it some more and started to doubt myself. Then I slept on it one more time and was relieved to have come up with an idea. Well, kinda someone else's, but you'll see what I mean ;)

I've been a big fan of Brethil's manis over at Druid Nails for a while, and I've been dying to have a go at her stitch effect nails ever since I first saw them on her blog a couple of months back (check out this post). I don't know why I thought they'd look good in these colours, but I pulled out some Barry M Gellys and got to work!

I started with a base of Key Lime and then painted in random (but regular) shapes using Passion Fruit. Once dry, I used Blackberry to add little stitches before finishing with SV.

My stitches aren't as neat as I would've liked them, but I like the quirky, fun look and will be looking at other ways of playing with this technique :)

In other news, I'm looking for a new top coat. I've been getting headaches on days where I do a lot of polishing and after a lot of research, it could (please note the "could") have somehting to do with my choice of top coat. It also might not, but I'm on the look out for a new quick drying top coat that won't drag my designs and stamping - can't hurt to try eh? I'm thinking Poshe, and I know a lot of people swear by HK Girl, but are there any I'm missing that I should consider???

Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway for a personalised blog planner - all the details are in this post here :)

Sam xx

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The NCC presents "Music/Movies/TV" - The Mystery Machine

Hello everyone! Today I have my last NCC Mani for April and I'm quite relieved! I think there was just so much choice for this theme that my brain couldn't cope with it! I was looking at options for another upcoming theme week when I stumbled across this idea and decided that it would fit well for my final mani. Who doesn't love Scooby Doo??? :)

I started with a base of Barry M Gelly Key Lime, and then added in the lower turquoise section with Barry M Gelly Guava. I separated the green and blue with a fine(ish) line of Ciate Vintage and then allowed it to dry before painting in the orange flowers with Revlon Siren and outlining them with a little more Vintage. I finished with Seche Vite.

This was a little bit of a last minute throw together mani (when I realized that there was only one day of April left to post this!), but I think its worked out ok in the end :)

Next month I am far more excited about our theme, which is "Skittles"! The troublesome nerve in my neck is playing up again, but luckily I've got the jump on this one, so hopefully I won't be posting on the last day of the month next time! Hopefully... ;)

Sam xx

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Got Polish Challenge "Something Tropical" and NAILS Mag April Challenge "Pink"

Hello everyone! Today I am combining prompts again! The Golden Oldie Thursday challenge wanted "Something Tropical" while NAILS Mag wanted "Pink" so I combined the two and here's what happened!

I started with two coats of Jessica Purple Burst and waited for it to dry. I then stamped some hibiscus flowers from an old BM plate on to each nail with Konad white. I added in a little more detail with some white acrylic paint, used Color Club Psychedelic Scene for the pollen, Color Club Pucci-licious (thinned with a little acetone) for the petals and Barry M Gelly Greenberry for the greenery, before finishing off with another coat of Seche Vite.

 I think that I also deserve a cheer this week for remembering to use only old polishes! The last couple of weeks I realized as I typed up my posts that I may have forgotten the central point of the challenge (oops!), but I made sure this week that they are all well over a year old and despite the fact that its both pink and flowery (two of my least favourite things!), I actually think that this turned out pretty cool :)

Tomorrow's prompt is "Inspired by your favourite nail artist". I'll be honest and say that I hate this kind of prompt. I always feel like I'm copying (even though I always give full credit - I'm a good girl!), and I would much rather be doing my own thing. Still, I'll have a go and see what happens! 

Follow the links below to see all the other fabulous tropical manis from Crumpet's Nail Tarts below :)

Sam xx

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The NCC Presents Movies/Music/TV #2 - A Twin Peaks Skittlette

Hello everyone! And Happy Easter to those of you that celebrate! As I mentioned, I'm not really doing any Easter manis, but I do have some swatches of my Easter present polishes coming up later today and some of those colours are a little bit Easter-ish, so that'll have to do.

This post has my second April mani for the Nail Challenge Collabrative and I've painted a skittlette inspired by one of my favourite TV series of all time - Twin Peaks. I remember watching it when it was first on TV with my Dad when my Mum was out at an evening class. I was definitely too young to watch it and my Mum would never have let me, so its also tied in with a lot of nostalgia and some fond memories of time with my Dad. Its also not his usual kind of TV at all, but he loved it and we're planning to make time to watch the DVDs through again sometime soon.

I wanted to recreate the style of the Red Room in the Black Lodge/White Lodge, so I started by painting my ring and middle nails with white and allowed them to dry. I then applied some vinyl nail decals (which I bought on Ebay after reading this post on Glowstars.net), painted over the spaces in All About Nails Liqorice and removed the decals (I totally arsed this up so the chevrons are more than a little bit wonky, but I was tight for time so couldn't redo). I painted my thumb and little finger with Dream Cheeky Cherry and while still wet, dragged through lines of Barry M Passion Fruit, MAC Vintage Vamp and a little white with a striping brush. For the index finger I did a simple glitter gradient using Color Club Art of Seduction over black. All finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

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