Saturday, August 24, 2013

Pink Leopard Nails

(This is a post I drafted on April 1st; just never published it.)

Apparently, my daughter borrowed one of my polishes as I found it in her bedroom a few weeks ago...lid loose; polish dried out.  I reminded her that if she is going to use my polishes, they need to be put back (and while I didn't say it, I wondered why it was in her room when I have a polish room and she could have done her nails there?) Anyway, after thinner and lots of shaking, I was able to restore the borrowed polish, which was Catrice Princess for a Day.  In the saving process, I realized that the polish hadn't dried out due to anything she had or had not done, but rather, the cap wasn't a good fit onto the bottle. I'm sure the same thing would have happened over time sitting in the rack.  After I saved it, I decided to do a mani with it; this is what I came up with.


Started with two coats of Catrice Princess for a Day, topped with SV.


Stamped using black Konad special polish using HD-B.


Filled in the hearts with Jade Holografico Delirious Rosa.


Added a few dots using Jade Holograpfico Magia Negra.


Added yet even more dots using black Konad. (Canadian Dotting Fanatic is getting closer to a reality, I see!)


Topped with SV. 


It's obvious the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree which is why my daughter had the polish and why I love it as well!  Pinks were one of my favourite colours.....but that was before I got more into polishes and started expanding my polish horizons after seeing so many awesome shades and finishes in the fantastic blogs I follow!

I really am liking this polish and am on the fence if I should decant it into another bottle OR keep it in the Catrice bottle and add thinner every time I want to use it OR try to track down another bottle.  What would you do? 

Thanks for looking!

PS:  It's now August 24 and no, I didn't decant it nor did I track down another bottle...nor have I used it since!


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Simple Sophistication


I know I mention this ALL. THE. TIME. but although I try to do my nails almost every night, there are a lot of nights that I'm pressed for time or it's quite late...so it's quick and easy to just pick a full size image to use for a mani, do the base prep and coat, topcoat, stamp, topcoat and voila...a mani change in no time flat!  I frequently use a holo base but this is one of these times when I was looking for something different; this is what I came up with.



Started with one base coat of FingerPaints Black Expressionism....yes, one coat!.....perfect for mani's when pressed for time......then topped with SV for more time savings so stamping can be done sooner with less dry time!



Stamped using Barry M Foil Effects 320 Gold using an image from FUN 5.



Topped with SV.




When I was doing this mani, I was going to do an accent nail with the opposite base and stamping polish.....I decided to do my right hand this way instead.



While I didn't mind this, I much prefer the black with gold stamping.  An accent may have been OK too...maybe another time.

Here's a look at FUN 5.















I was curious how this mani would look with a matte topcoat so the next day, topped with Essie Matte About You.



I didn't mind this look...but it didn't stay like this for long because I did this not too long after I took the above pix.



I didn't have a break or any real need to cut them other than there comes a point when longer nails slow down typing, plus a strong C curve on a couple of nails, particularly the middle finger, annoys me when they are long...so chopped them off!  This was just a few weeks ago...three, I believe.....and they are pretty much already at the length before I cut them.  Plus I like wearing short nails; I like doing mani's with funky frenches on them when my nails are shorter...plus gives me a chance to use stamps that don't fit when nails are longer.

I am so thankful that there are images like this one ..and polishes and fast top coat products.....that can create such a simple, sophisticated mani in no time flat!

Thanks for looking!



Tuesday, August 20, 2013

NailNation 3000 Glow Worm

When I seen NailNation 3000 had a lime green holo polish, it was an instant lemming!  At the time, I think it was because this lime green type of colour wasn't available in a holo (at least not that I was familiar with anyway), but I do know that SmittenPolish has one now too (can be seen on SmittenPolish FB account).   I was lucky to snag it on a llarowe sale in the spring; this is a mani I did back in April using one of my favourite colour combinations....green and pink.  



Started with a base of two coats of NailNation 3000 #449 Glow Worm, no topcoat.






Stamped using Konad white special polish using an image from DRK-C.



Stamped alternating nails using same image using Konad magenta special polish.






Using dotting tool, added pink and white dots using same polishes that had been used for stamping.



Topped with SV to finish.



Different lighting.



The next day, took a pix in direct sunlight.




Love this bright, lime green holo!!!  I think it will be awesome with orange and black holo polishes at Halloween...maybe even purple holo too!  I haven't come up with a mani yet, but it's on my list of mani ideas for then!

Although I bought this at llawroe, I see NailNation 3000 is no longer for sale there....after doing some internet searching, I found that NailNation 3000 is being sold here via an online store here.

Thanks for looking!


Friday, August 16, 2013

Digital Dozen; Fashion, Day 5

Day 5 of Fashion Week!  When I was thinking of fashion, it got me to thinking about designers....those who create the awesome fashions!  After searching through some pix on the internet and my plate stash to see what images I have that may relate to fashion labels, this is what I came up with.


I'll be honest; this seemed so much cooler in my head....and to top it off, there were a couple fingers that the stamping is so way off which was disappointing so what could have been "wow, really cool!" is just 'OK'.  

Anyhooo, base polishes used, starting at thumb and going clockwise are CQ Vintage, FingerPaints Black Expressionism, OPI Bride's Bouquet, Borghese Almondine and OPI Bride's Bouquet again; all two coats, topped with SV.


For the fabric look I was going for to mimic the Gucci purse, sponged index finger using Barry M Mushroom and Quo by Orly Naked.



Stamped using assortment of Konad special polishes using Handy 24 (thumb), Handy 26 (index) GA21 (lines), Handy 12 (Chanel logo), Handy 17 (index), and Handy 14 (pinky).



For a little added bling.....this is fashion week so I think it is appropriate....added a few colourful rhinestones to the index finger.



Topped with SV to finish.



(Still ticked at myself for really missing the mark on the Burberry and Chanel fingers!)

Here's a look at the Handy plates that have fashion images on them; there's a few more than the ones  used here.

Handy 23


Handy 14


Handy 13


Handy 12


Handy 26


Handy 17


Handy 15


Handy 18


A couple notes about these Handy plates; they stamp well and I was especially impressed with how well the very small, detailed images stamp. For example, the Gucci image used on the ring finger; to get images that small and in such detail is amazing for a stamping plate!  However, the full size images are on the smaller side and may not fit fully on the nail for those with long or wide nails.

These Handy plates and more can be seen on Mundo de Unas' FB page here.



Pix used for inspiration.















Here's the other ladies Day 5 mani's.




Hopefully you've enjoyed Fashion Week......thanks for looking!




Thursday, August 15, 2013

Digit-al Dozen; Fashion, Day 4

I'm not terribly into fashion, so when I was surfing the net for inspiration for another fashion mani, I Googled famous dresses.  Didn't see anything too exciting (or at least something I thought I might be able to stamp close enough to resemble one!) so then did a search for Oscar dresses....a pix came up on the results (even though it wasn't worn at the Oscar's!) that I decided to use for inspiration; here's what I came up with.


This was the dress I used as inspiration, a Carolina Herrara dress worn by Lucy Liu at the 2012 Golden Globes.


Started with a base of two coats of Sinful Colors Sugar High, topped with SV.  The base isn't as close in these pix as I wanted; obviously there are some screen colour variations as when I was doing this mani last night using a pix I had picked on my iphone, the base was bang on but these pix, my base isn't nearly light enough. Or could be my camera/lighting.


Stamped leaves from plate MM07 using Sally Hansen Insta-dri Jumpin' Jade. (Really liking the mani just like this!)


Plate pix of MM07.


While I fully intended to use the assortment of single roses in different sizes from this plate, when I did a test stamp on a nail on my right hand, I wasn't liking how the rose looked.  Decided upon an image from DRK-A and then stamped random roses throughout using FUN stamping polish in Mango Shake and a franken made by mixing Konad pastel orange and pastel pink special polishes. ( I dabbed a bit of both directly on the image plate, mixed up a little using an orange stick, then scraped and stamped.)



Topped with SV.  (See the shimmer in Jumpin' Jade once it's top coated; it's most noticeable on the middle finger...love it!)



Here's the other ladies Day 4 Fashion mani's.





Thanks for looking!