The NCC presents "Skittles" 3 - Color Club Dot-skittle-icure

Hello everyone! Today I have my third NCC mani for May (with the fourth and final one following tomorrow). I picked a simple selection of Color Club polishes to create this look.

I started with a base of Silver Lake on all five nails before adding different dotted patterns on each nail using Daisy Does It, Sparkle and Soar and Wing Fling using two different sized dotting tools.

So there you have it! Super simple but I got to use some of my favourite polishes (still in love with the whole Take Wing collection) and I think the soft grey underneath really makes the other colours stand out.

One more Skittles mani for tomorrow before we move on to June's theme :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

The Nail Challenge Collaborative presents "Skittles" - A Neon Skittlette

Hello everyone! Following on from my oh so serious post earlier today, normal service is somewhat resumed now with the first of my NCC manis for May. I was thrilled when I found out that this month's theme was Skittles (so much so that I have three of the four done already, which is unheard of!). I'm starting with a skittlette and a bit of LA Colors neon :)

The middle and ring fingers were painted with a base of LA Colors French White, with the leopard print dotted on using Absolute, Spat!, Mint, Flicker and Black Velvet. I freehanded the stripes on to my index finger with Black Velvet, French White and Absolute and used more of the black and white to complete the dotted design on the thumb and little finger. 

So there you have number one! And on the 2nd of the month - go me!!!

As I explained in my previous post, I won't be posting on the blog over weekends from now on,

there may be a few bits and pieces on the "quickfire" sites, but I will be back next week hopefully feeling all renewed and full of sunshine, joy, kittens and candy floss (if that turns out to be true then you won't recognize me lol!). I also have a giveaway coming up very soon that I know you'll want to check out :)

Have a fabulicious weekend!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

A Pointy Radiant Orchid Dotticure (and my first #NAILLINKUP mani :)

Hello everyone! Today I have a mani that I did quite some time ago, but that I completely forgot to post! That was until I saw the May/June issue of Nail It! magazine as they featured it in their dotticure section! 
It also coincides with me discovering a new nail art link up put together by Craftynail, Brijit's Digits and Eeeek! Nail Polish! and this week's theme is dotticure. Its a fairly non-committal link up where there are set weekly themes - you can dip in and out when you like and the Inlinkz remain open all month. You can find the themes, challenge graphics and Inlinkz here :D

I started with three coats of LA Colors Lilac Frost and then dotted on a French tip shape using Orly Pink Waterfall, Revlon Sassy and LA Colors Wisteria on four nails and fully dotted the accent nail, before finishing with Seche Vite.

This is such a simple design, but I think its pretty cool. A springy test for colour blindness on stiletto tips with a radiant orchid colour scheme - what's not to love? :)

Sam xx

Tri Polish Tuesdays April #3 - A quick neon dotticure

Hello everyone! I have been so preoccupied with The Digit-al Dozen week that I almost forgot about Tri Polish Tuesdays! I figure that if I can get through this first week and stay on top of all my challenges along with having Scarlett home and working, then I'm probably doing okay :)

Having said that, I realized at 7pm that I needed to do something quick so settled for a dotticure with some bright neons. I started with a black base of All About Nails Liqorice and then added dots in white so that the neons would pop. I covered over most of the white with LA Colors Flicker and Absolute, and Color Club Otherworldly before finishing with Seche Vite.

Despite the fact that I literally threw this together at the last minute, I love the colours and its been ages since I did a dotticure! 

Tomorrow will bring another DD mani and I already have my GOT ready for Thursday so I can continue to pretend that I'm on top of things :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

GOT Polish Challenge and NAILS Mag April Challenge - Pastel

Hello everyone! Today I painted my nails while watching "Frozen" with Scarlett which may be responsible for some of the colour choices. I'm not really a fan of pastel colours, or Disney films if I'm honest, but I'm enjoying this one so far, and its the quietest that Scarlett has been for about a week in one sitting, so I'm happy with that! Luckily, the NAILS Mag challenge prompt for today is also Pastel (serendipity, yay!) so its a buy one, get one free today too :D

I started with a base of Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau (I adore this as its opaque in one coat!), and then added curves of graduated dots in Nail Essentials Silver Shimmer. Once dry I added smaller dots inside the silver of OPI Gargantuan Green Grape, and Models Own Lilac Dream and Lemon Meringue before finishing with Seche Vite.

Quite a simple design for me, and I toyed with the idea of adding more to it, but I think it works fine as it is so I'll leave it there :)

I have had the chance for a bit of a catch up this morning and am making good progress with my first Digit-al Dozen manis which will be coming at you from the 14th April - I can't wait to show you all some of them. It'll also explain why my fingers have spent a lot of this morning stuck together with nail glue, and why I am therefore now missing sections of skin from a couple of fingers... 

My MoYou plates also arrived today and I haven't even had the chance to play with them yet - how's that for self control?! If I get a chance later today, that's next on my agenda, so hopefully I'll have some manis featuring those too...

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILS Mag 31DC - Colour Block Patchwork

Hello everyone! The theme for today in the NAILS Mag March Challenge is "Colour Block". Normally I would go right into a taping mani but today I felt like doing something a little different. I have been looking through some old photos with my parents recently and was reminded of my favourite duvet cover from when I was little. It was purple patchwork and I thought it would be fun to try and replicate it for this challenge.

I started with a white base and then drew in some guidelines with a purple Sharpie. I filled in the sections with Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear, Collection 2000 Hot Looks Go Retro! and China Glaze Spontaneous and then added flowers, spots and criss cross patterns for the patchwork feel. To finish, I went over the lines with the Sharpie and added some little "stitches" before finishing with Seche Vite (after the Sharpie had had plenty of time to dry)

So there's a trip down memory lane and my version of colour blocking for this March challenge. I've been reliably informed that NAILS Mag are also holding an April challenge which I will be joining in on as much as possible - although with the school Easter holidays in full swing and my first Digit-al Dozen week coming up I'm not sure how much I will get through! All my NAILS Mag challenge posts are on IG with the tag #31NAILS2014, so if you've missed any head over and take a look here - you can see all my pics without having to to read my verbose nonsense ;)

Sam xx

The NCC presents "Untrieds" and NAILS Mag 31DC "Your newest polish"

Hello everyone! Today I have a double post for you as the prompts for the NCC and the NAILS Mag 31DC cross over - yay!!!

I recently took advantage of Kleancolor sale and managed to pick up some neons and a glitter for £1 each. I hadn't bought Kleancolor polishes before and couldn't decide which to use, so in true FingerFood tradition, I used all of them! I also couldn't decide which pattern to do so I did a few of those as well and created another skittlette. This mani can pretty much be summed up with this picture- it also comes with a sunglasses advisory...

I colour blocked my thumb and little finger nails with tape and filled in the gaps with Neon Yellow, Neon Pink and two Neon Purples (they are meant to be the same colour but there had been a problem with one batch and it was lighter than the other purples - I liked it anyway!). I used the Neon Yellow as a base for the middle and ring fingers and then painted bubbly/dotty/spotty shapes using all the other colours (over a bit of white to keep the colours clean - spot the unintentional pun?!). For the index finger, I painted City Never Sleeps over Neon Purple and then glued it all together with Seche Vite :)

Okay so its a bit mad/random, but that's not necessarily a bad thing! I think it works in a quirky, bright kind of way and I got to showcase all my new Kleancolor polishes in one go!

I am super excited to show you tomorrow's mani - its another double prompt post for Tri Polish Tuesdays and Nails Mag 31DC. Its a different kind of design style for me but I am hoping you're all going to like it - you won't need protective eyewear to look at it either, promise!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Purple madness! GOT Polish, Theme Buffet and NAILS 31DC!

Hello everyone! Today I have a three in one post for you. This mani combines the GOT Polish challenge and NAILS Magazine 31DC "Purple" prompts, along with FingerFood's Theme Buffet "Dots and Stripes" prompt. The polishes are all over 1 year old, there are dots and stripes and its all purple, so therefore made of win!

The base is two coats of Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear. I then taped on a grid pattern and went over the whole nail with French White before carefully removing the tape. I added dots to each white space using a selection of my favourite purples (light to dark: LA Colors Wisteria, Electra and Edgy) and finished with a coat of Seche Vite.

I was able to use some of my favourite colours in this design and I love the fact that I managed to get it to line up for the most part!

So that's my three for the price of one post! I hope you like it. There are loads of links beliw to some gorgeous nail art, so be sure to check them out!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

GOT Polish Challenge - Skittles!

Hello everyone! Its Skittles week in the Golden Oldie Thursday challenge which makes for a very happy Sam! I love having an excuse to get random!

I also felt the need to use some clashy colours, so this post comes with a "May need sunglasses" advisory :)

I started with Barry M Gelly Prickly Pear as my base and then added in dots, heart flowers (Hey, why not? Its skittles!), stripes, leopard print and a hybrid zebra/tiger using LA Colors Hottie and Barry M Gelly Blackberry.

Next week our theme is "Purple". Wondering now why I didn't look at next week's prompt in advance! Not to worry, I think I have bought more purple polishes over the years than anything else, so finding some different ones for next week shouldn't be too hard!

I will be back with a fun post for you later today as its "Your favourite drink" day in the NAILS Mag 31DC - can't wait to share that one :)

In the meantime, check out all the other skittles on show from Crumpet's Nail Tarts today...

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

NAILS Magazine 31DC Day 2 - Gold (A 70s retro glitter bomb)

Hello everyone! Day 2 of the March challenge today and our theme is "Gold". I started with the idea of something simple and classic with gold accents. But then some nail mail from L-A Glitter Nails showed up and I ended up with a retro glitterbomb instead... Meh, these things happen!

I started with an opaque base of LA Colors Solar Gold topped with Color Club Sultry Diva. I then added curves using L-A Glitter Nails Taffy and Chocolate (more stunning glitters from Lyka-Ann!) and contrasting dots before finishing with Seche Vite.

Despite the fact that they didn't turn out anything like the original idea in my head, something was obviously trying to find its way out of my brain, as my Mum told me that this really reminds her of their lounge wallpaper in the late 1970s when I was a baby (ouch!).

I have something different for you tomorrow, as well as more challenge nail art. Hope you are all having/have had a fabulous weekend! :)

Sam xx

FingerFood's Theme Buffet - Abstract

Hello everyone! Its Abstract week over at FingerFood's Theme Buffet and as everyone knows I love abstract! I intended to go with one of my traditional swirly "out there" abstracts but then I did this mani (intending to use it for something else entirely!), and thought it would go well here!

I started with three coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Deep Blue Sea and added a coat of Seche Vite. Once dry, I used a large dotter to create large dots on each nail, then added a smaller dot of white inside and another smaller contrasting dot in the middle. In between, I added smaller white dots with one inset colour. I would love to list all the colours I used in the dots for this mani, but the only repeated colour is LA Colors French White and this post would be waaaaaay too long! I left them to dry and finished with a final coat of Seche Vite.

I'm so in love with these and am planning on recreating them for the weekend! Well, I was until I sliced through my cuticle and the top part of my finger while trying to slice through a grape stalk today. No more pretty nail pics from me for a while lol - I'm so lucky I managed to build up my mani stash this week and I still have so many great guest posts on the way for you all.

Our theme for next week is "Cute". I haven't decided where to go with that one just yet, but we'll all be posting from Sunday so be sure to check out all our designs :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

My OH does my nails!

Hello everyone! When I saw a suggestion in the British Nail Bloggers group on Facebook that we all get our OH's to paint our nails, I barely had time to get the words out of my mouth before Scott told me he was up for it, asked for a sheet of nail templates and started drawing ideas (he also muttered something about 80's bay thrash metal). Here's us in various incarnations (we've known each other for 19 years, although the school uniform pic was only a couple of years ago for my birthday!):

Here's what he had to say about it all:
When asked to paint my wife's nails my heart immediately sank. Imagine Leonardo da vinci's other half being asked to emulsion the back bedroom. It's not going to go well. Still, it sounded like a laugh so I jotted down some ideas from what I'd seen her do in the past and decided to keep it deceptively simple. Dots, stripes and dark, gloomy colours to match my love of heavy metal. In reality, they looked bright, jaunty and oddly optimistic! I found the whole process quite relaxing and I think the finished product turned out better than expected! Now I'm going to sit back and wait for my Jessica endorsement. Scotty x 

He asked for striping tape, a brush, dotting tools and chose some "intreresting" colours before he got to work. Now I'm a control freak at the best of times but when it comes to my nails (which are in really bad shape at the moment for various reasons), I had such a hard time with this! I spent most of the time looking anywhere else but at what he was doing! I took a few snaps though. As you can see by his posture, its a good job that he doesn't do nails often lol :)

And here's what he came up with, using Jesscia Ruffled Bottoms, Color Club Age of Aquarius and Take Me To Your Chateau, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Wet Cement and All About Nails Licorice :)

I'm the first to admit that I was actually impressed and quite proud of him! It worries me slightly that he already has ideas for "the next one". I can just see all the OHs getting competitive and starting their own challenge ;)

We've all linked up so go and check out what all the others have got up to - there are some crackers in there! :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up