GOT Polish Challenge Flowers - Silver-lined daisies

Hello everyone! My biggest achievement today is that for the first time in forever I remembered to use only old polishes!!! I dug out the Ciate minis from my 2012 Mini Mani Advent Calendar and picked out a few that I haven't shown the love to in a long time.

I started with three coats of Power Dressing (over a very thick layer of Cacee Nails base coat - this blue is a stainer, but its worth it!). Once dry I dotted on the flower shapes with LA Colors Metallic Silver using one of my larger dotting tools. I then went over those with a smaller dotting tool using Ciate Cupcake Queen which creates the "silver-lined" effect. I finished by dotting Power Dressing in the centre of each flower and a coat of Seche Vite.

The flowers themselves are simple, but I think having the extra layer of silver gives it a little something extra. The metallic silver really catches the light when I move my hands (and being quite Mediterranean, I use my hands a lot!)

Take a look at the links below to see all the other fab and groovy flower manis from Crumpet's Nail Tarts :D

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen does Texture Day 5 - Textured Stamped Floral

Hello everyone! Woohoo! I made it! I have completed my first week with The Digit-al Dozen. I have loved every minute of it but it has been a pressured kinda week and its a massive relief to have the first one out of the way! Everyone in the group is lovely and they have been super supportive, but there is a huge amount of talent between all the ladies and its been pretty intimidating to have to jump in to it!

Today I have gone with my new found fave, stamping! It looks a little more Christmassy than I intended as I used all textured polishes to complete the look and the choices from my stash were limited! I started with two coats of Sally Hansen Sugar Fix and then stamped an image from MoYou Pro XL 06 with Konad Black. Once dry, I filled in the flowers with Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Cherry Drop and Claire's Red Leather polish (with a little help from the super sheer LA Colors Moody Red), and the leaves with more Sugar Coat, but this time Sour Apple (and a touch of Sinful Colors Exotic Green). I finished with a little of L-A Glitter Nails fab copper glitter at the centre of the flowers.

I loved how these turned out! The colours show brighter in real life so it looks more tropical (the irony of posting Xmassy looking nails at Easter is not lost on me!). I wasn't sure how the textured polishes would work together for the "colouring in" but they were great. Rexture over texture can be quite unforgiving so I had to be super careful with placement, but its definitely something I'll try again.

So there you have my first week with The Digit-al Dozen. Its been so much fun and I can't wait for next month. Next week is going to be a busy one, with lots of music/tv/film inspired manis for the NCC and a mammoth catch up with the NAILS Mag challenge on the cards. I also have lots of swatches and reviews to post (can you tell that Scarlett is heading back to school??? Normal service will be resumed)! :D

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

GOT Polish challenge - Hot Pink

Hello everyone! Another week has rolled around in the GOT Polish Challenge and the theme for this week is Hot Pink. I was a little undecided as to what to do this week, but I was stamping a floral while I was thinking about it and realized that I had what I needed right under my nose!

I started with a base of LA Colors French White and then stamped an image from MoYou Pro XL 06 in Konad Black and waited for that to dry. Once dry, I thinned out Cacee Nails Olivia and Jessica Purple Burst with some acetone and started "colouring in". I added some Color Club Fly With Me for the leaves and finished with Seche Vite.

I was originally planning to do something bold, bright and HOT pink, but when this idea presented itself I decided to go with it and I think it works! 

The GOT challenge has seemed to have become a stamping challenge for me the last couple of weeks - I promise to try and do something freehand for next week! Having said that, I have a stamping mani tomorrow to close out Texture week with The Digit-al Dozen, but after that I'll be freehanding my way into the Easter weekend :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Matching your nails to your dress - who said that was a bright idea???

Hello everyone! So this weekend I am heading to the wedding of two lovely people. Even better, they are getting married on HMS Warrior in Portsmouth so we have a bit of a road trip and are staying in a hotel on the harbour so we can take full advantage of the party!

I had decided what to wear about a week ago, had nails planned and everything (go me with the forward planning). Decided, that is, until today, when I completely changed my mind and found another dress. Obviously that meant different nails too. It also meant spending several hours painting both hands (therefore about 20 minutes on my left hand, but about 90 to do my right!). My neck is now completely stiff/sore so I'm glad I won't be even looking at a bottle of polish until at least Sunday (except for painting Scarlett's nails in the morning).

I started with a black base and waited for it to dry. I then painted in the base colour for the flowers in Color Club She's Sooo Glam and the base for the leaves with OPI My Vampire is Buff. I added detail to the flowers with a fine detail brush using Barry M Gelly Blood Orange, Ciate Mistress and Jessica Imperial Rouge. I finished the leaves with LA Colors Solar Gold, Jessica Bittersweet and Color Club Rebel Spirit, before finishing with Seche Vite.

Here's where we'll be tomorrow, can't wait!

 

And here's a quick pic of the fabric of my dress - the colours aren't showing very true, but I can assure you that I have matched them perfectly lol! ;)

So there probably won't be a post tomorrow, but I'm guessing I'll be posting a few pics on IG, so if you're interested, you can follow me here!

Sam xx

The NCC presents "Untrieds" and Polish Party "Spring" with OPI Sheer Tints

Hello everyone! Today I have my final March mani for the Nail Challenge Collaborative and itis "Untried" in more ways than one. I have been resisting getting into stamping for several reasons for a long time, but seeing some of the fabulous manis out there (especially Sarah's over at Penny Pinching Polish, Ali's at Fixin To Faff) and having a chat with the fabulous Rebecca at Lane's Lacquers (who assured me that it was a good idea!) I caved and ordered some MoYou plates. Obviously I couldn't possibly sit and wait patiently for them to arrive, so I dug out some old Bundle Monster plates that I never used and had a go. What I finished up with seemed to perfectly fit the "Spring" theme for the "Polish Party" group that I have just joined on Facebook, so I decided to combine the two :)

I received my big, juicy OPI nail mail and it seemed like a good opportunity to road test the Sheer Tints, so I layered each of the four colours - Be Magentale With Me, I Can Teal You Like Me, I'm Never Amberrassed and Don't Violet Me Down over a white base. I stamped the accent nail with Konad Black polish and then filled in the gaps with the tints :)

I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the tints, but once I knew that it was best to apply them generously, they were very easy to work with. I'm planning another post when I've had time to explore the nail art options a little more, so there will be some gradient/dotty/floral/abstract goodness featuring the Sheer Tints asap :)

So that's it for "Untrieds" month with the NCC. Next month, our theme is "Music/Movies/TV". I am super excited as I have had some great ideas for these manis - whether I can actually execute them so they look as good on nails as they do in my head is another matter entirely though! The theme for the "Polish Party" will be chosen later in the month (as we post towards the end of the month) so I will update you with that info as soon as I have it :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

Born Pretty Store Fluorescent Rhinestones Review - 80s Disco Flowers :)

Hello everyone! I was recently contacted by Born Pretty Store and asked to review some of their products - I received a lovely selection last week and today I have the first mani which features their leaf shaped fluorescent/candy coloured rhinestones. This also ties in nicely with the last March prompt of the NAILS Mag March Challenge as the prompt is "Embellished".

I started with a simple black base using All About Nails Liqorice and then added a generous layer of top coat to one nail at a time to allow me time to place the rhinestones into flower shapes.

I love the colours and despite initially wondering what I was going to do with the leaf shapes I think that they worked really well to create the flower design. This mani actually reminds me of a rara skirt I had when I was little so let's say that these are my tribute 80s disco flowers :) 

You can see all of their new arrivals here, and if you use the code UKX31 you'll get 10% off too!

Sam xx

(These products were provided for review)

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

FingerFood's Theme Buffet Flowers and NAILS Mag 31DC Inspired by Nature

Hello everyone! I'm doubling up today as luckily the 31DC challenge matches up with the Theme Buffet Flowers prompt! I'd been wanting to paint lillies for a while but a lack of time/inclination/cojones had always put me off. I needed some distraction and a bit of a challenge this week though, so decided to give it a shot.

I used LA Colors Sea Foam as a base. Its a really unusual colour. One of those ones that you spend hours trying to describe. Then you settle on one but look at it again 24 hours later and its different again. Hey ho, maybe its just me... ;)

I then used my finest detail brush from Roo Beauty to paint in the lily petals with French White, and then added the petal detail with Jessica Blushing Princess. I dotted in the centres using Color Club Psychedelic Scene and more Blusking Princess and then used Color Club Gimme A Grape Big Kiss to add some colour to the edges of each petal. I then painted in some stems using Sinful Colors Exotic Green and Barry M Gelly Key Lime and finished with Seche Vite.

I am glad I had a go at these as they turned out better than I expected! I want to spend more time with freehand painting of actual objects, rather than my favourite stylized objects and abstracts. Its also another step towards biting the bullet and having a go at one stroke! This nail art game is vertainly never boring!

As far as the Buffet goes, we have just settled on our themes for the next few months and they are up for your viewing pleasure in the group :)

Don't forget to check out everyone else's fab florals below!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

The NCC presents "Inspired by Summer" #4

Hello everyone! Today I have my final summer-inspired mani for the Nail Challenge Collaborative. Its has been a breath of fresh air painting some summery manis in amongst all this grey and wet weather and I have enjoyed this theme more than any other for a while.

For my last mani, I have had some beautiful floral stickers from Nailtopia that I've been wanting to try out for a while and this seemed like a great opportunity. I've been a big fan of their stickers for a while now. I originally bought a selection to help when I was asked to do nail art at a school fair a couple of years ago. I then tried them myself and have never looked back if I need a quick fix of something awesome!

I started with three coats of LA Colors Sand Storm and one coat of Seche Vite. I applied the stickers over four nails with tweezers and then added matching lavender rhinestones between the stickers, as well as all over the nail on my ring finger for some accent bling.

I think it has a vintage floral feel, but also a little something of summer? Maybe a bit of a stretch, but hey ho... I wish I had used the stickers over a creme base instead of a shimmer as its made the edges of the stickers show up a little more in the photos than they do in real life, but I don't think that it takes away from the design too much.

I purchased these stickers myself, although I have been sent two sets of a new range of nail stickers that Nailtopia will be carrying to review. That review will be going live later today, so see you again soon :)

Our theme for next month is "Untrieds". Given that I immediately use any polish I receive, this is going to mean a shopping trip - or as we have to do four manis, four shopping trips?! Hmmm... ;)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

The NCC presents "Inspired by Summer" #1 - Grey English Summer

Hello everyone! Today I have my first February mani for the Nail Challenge Collaborative. Our theme for this month is "Inspired by Summer", and summer feels pretty far away at the moment! So I thought I'd put a little spin on the traditional English grey, rainy summer and go monochrome!

I started with three coats of Color Club Sheer Disguise. I then dotted on flowers using Ciate Vintage and Color Club Silver Lake. Finally I added some cute little black and silver dragonfly stickers and finished with Seche Vite.

Its simple, but its a cute, quirky summer mani and I'm really happy with it. I've decided that I should use greys more often. I promise that my next summer mani will be a little more traditional in terms of colour at least! :)

Be sure to check out all the other (probably brighter!) summer designs by following the links below!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Tri Polish Tuesdays - February #1 - Hello brown, pink and grey!

Hello everyone! A new month and therefore a new colour scheme today for the Tri Polish challenge! For February the colours are brown, pink and grey. I chose these colours as I was trying to think of something a little different, and as I started to think about all the shades available, some really interesting colour palettes sprung to mind!

I've gone with all Color Club for my first February mani, starting with three coats of Positively Posh. I then added two flowers to each nail in diagonally opposite corners using She's Soooo Glam and Silver Lake. I then added a few curvy lines of graduated dots to complete the look and finished with Seche Vite.

I think these are cute, despite the fact that I've used colours that I usually steer clear of. I also hadn't used many of my Color Clubs for a while and I have since used the excuse that today is my birthday to go online and order a ton of new ones! 

I'll be back with another spin on these three colours next Tuesday and in the meantime, take a look at all the other Tri Polish Tuesdays manis by following the links below :)

Sam xx