The Digit-al Dozen does Texture - Day 2

Hello everyone! Today is the second day of Texture week and I have something a lot simpler than yesterday's creation featuring one of my favourite colour combinations (so much so that this was the colour scheme for my wedding)!

I painted freehand sections of Claire's Accessories Black Leather polish and Pretty Hot Pink Leather polish. Pretty is a brand I have only ever found in Poundland - the effects polishes are a bit hit and miss and the smell is not something they should be proud of, but some of their polishes are gems and this is one of them. I separated the colours with LA Colors Metallic Silver to add a little bit of shine and that was that!

This is a very "me" design, in very "me" colours, but I'm not a huge fan of textured polishes so I have ventured at least a little bit out of my safe zone! Tomorrow is a little bit more "out there" though, and doesn't really involve a whole lot of polish ;) Check out all of today's other awesome DD manis below!

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen does Texture - Day 1

Hello everyone! I am so excited (and not just a little bit nervous) to bring you today's post as it is my first with The Digit-al Dozen! 

I was thrilled to be invited to join this group of talented nail artists, but I was so nervous when I saw that the first theme was Texture! In fairness though, it could've been "Animal Print Abstracts and Neons" (there's my comfort zone!) and I would've been just as nervous, so here goes!!!

Starting with a confession - I'm a gamer. I love my Xbox. While thinking about this theme I've been playing Fallout 3 which features Rivet City (pictured at the end of the post) as part of the post apocalyptic landscape. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to try and recreate the rusty metal texture of the city wall (please note the use of the past tense - "thought" it was a good idea...).

I started with a base of Nail Essentials Silver Shimmer and then added in some guidelines for the panels with Ciate Vintage. I sponged along those lines with LA Colors Fiery Orange and Jessica Electric Teal to create the rusted effect and then redefined the lines with a little more Ciate Vintage. I dotted the rivets and screws with Silver Shimmer and Vintage and then sponged around a little more "rust" before finishing with OPI Matte Top Coat.

Finally, here's a picture of Rivet City:

 So, there's my first post for The Digital Dozen! I know its not exactly pretty nail art, but once I'd had the idea, I had to see it through and I'm actually pretty pleased with the results! 

I have four more Texture themed manis to show you this week, some a little more traditional than others ;) You can see all of today's other fabulous DD Texture manis by following the links below and I'll be back with another one for you tomorrow :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

Tri Polish Challenge March #2 - Name that mani!

Hello everyone! Today is the second installment of the green, blue and purple March for the Tri Polish Challenge! I doodled this idea down a while ago and decided to use it for today.

Staring with a base of LA Colors French White, I freehand painted sections of Color Club Pucci-licious, Bright Night and Abyss, and separated all the coloured sections using LA Colors Metallic Silver before finishing with Seche Vite.

I have no idea what to call this, so all name suggestions gratefully received! Inspite of that, I really like it and this doodling designs idea is really working out well for me. I always have a nail template and a pencil next to me to capture ideas and its so much better than sitting at my nail desk trying to figure out what to paint exactly when I need to paint it!

Hope you all like this one, and don't forget to check out all the other ladies TPC nails by following the links below :)

Sam xx

An InLinkz Link-up

The NCC presents "Inspired by a Tutorial" #4 - Kayla Shevonne's peacock feathers

Hello everyone! Today I have for you my final NCC mani for January and this one was inspired by Kayla Shevonne. I've always done peacock feathers in a very different way but loved this version so thought that this would be a good opportunity to have a go.

I followed the tutorial fairly closely, only really changing the polish selection, so I started with a base of Collection 2000 Hot Looks Shimmy Shake and added the black detail with LA Colors Black Velvet. For the colour detail, I used Color Club Sky High and Fly With Me, LA Colors Morning Glory and Barry M Teal.

So that's it for "Inspired by a Tutorial" month, and February welcomes "Inspired by Summer"! I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity to welcome summer several months early and bring in some bright and bold colours! In the meantime, check out all the other fab tutorial-inspired manis linked below!

Sam xx

NAILS Magazine 31DC catch up post - Metallic and Stripes

Hello everyone! Today is another catch up post for the NAILS Magazine 31DC and I managed to cover two prompts in one mani! 

I have the complete collection of LA Colors Metallics so decided to put them to good use with some ombre stripes.

I painted each nail in a different colour starting with Metallic Silver on my pinkie, then Metallic Pink, Metallic Purple, Metallic Blue and finally Metallic Green on my thumb. Once dry, I taped off the stripes and went over the metalllic polishes with two coats of Black Velvet before carefully removing the tape and finishing with Seche Vite.

I love the effect of the metallics shining through the black, and I'm happy that my indecision made me use five different metallic colours too!

This is the mani that is going to see me through the weekend and I'm going to be sad to have to change it on Sunday, but onwards and upwards! So many challenges, so little time (and not enough nails!)!

Sam xx