a-england skittlette using Iseult and Princess Sabra

Am totally in love with a-england and have four (count 'em 4!) new polishes. I plain could not decide what to do, but thought I would start with the pink of Iseult (Mythicals). True, I am not a pink person, but this colour is so beautiful, I just had to want it!

Iseult is a shimmer pink. Like all the a-england's I have, there is a holographic velvet quality to the polish. The tiniest bit of grey shimmer makes the pink (or anything) luxurious. This is an AABBC skittlette with AAC being three coats of Iseult each. I decided on the third coat to even out the base totally. The polish is not sheer, but wanted a full coverage.

The BB skittlette is Princess Sabra (Legend), in its newer form. This is a gorgeous olive bronze that shimmers like wow! The polish has a nice yellow tinge, so definitely warm. Only two coats of this and all was top coated before continuing.

The ivy is freedrawn with black as the AA part of the skittlette. This wasn't as fiddly as in the past so I must be getting better. Managed both hands before continuing. I dot-filled the leaves with Princess Sabra and then added some Beauty Never Fails (Heavenly Quotes) for depth and accents. After that all dried a bit I added some more black lines and thick top coat.

I think the pink and green look totally fab together! In fact, I am very happy with this mani. Looks delicate and elegant. Living the pre-raphaelite dream! In fact, I have started a pendant based on the drawings as the colours work so well together. Apologies for the photo spam, but just too pretty!!!

What a day. I have a big lump in my stomach since the landlord drove through our carpark (she lives behind my café). When she exited she drove right across the road to my competition to meet friends for coffee! Just gutted. She has never supported our little café, though it would be in her best interest as we pay lease etc for her. Makes me feel sad. Add that to an almost non-event of a day. At least I got to skype with my girl!!!! That was great!

right hand

Essie Resort Fling with sponged yellow tips

There has been a massive amount of nail mail coming through the door lately. I finally received my past Xmas, birthday and M-day gifts as Europe wouldn't allow anyone to send them to me with the post. Had to wait until someone actually flew to my country! So heaps of polish there. Then I invested in two new Essies from CandyGirl as they looked just too good to pass up. Up till now I have not been a fan of Essie. In the meantime, I have read up on them and, well, maybe I got a bad bottle.

This is Resort Fling from their 2014 Resort Fling collection. 'Tis a coral, but has an orange tinge to it. Not pinky coral like Selena from NOPI. A warm coral. Or soft orange. Now I read that Essie goes on streaky but the formula is supposedly so a-m-a-z-i-n-g that it all evens out as it dries. The only bottle I have is their Raise Awareness that gets a lot of use with my little old ladies. And I was never impressed with that.

True to form, the polish applied streaky and looked like it didn't cover. But I waited a tad before applying the second coat and yes! Coverage was absolutely there. A really pretty colour - great for spring and summer.... and holidays! This is two coats of Resort Fling.

I had another idea for this mani as I thought the colour was a jelly = sheerer. I wanted to do a sandwich with flowers, etc. But that did not work out as the second coat totally covered all the flowers! So, I jazzed up the tips a bit by sponging in gradient piCture pOlish Mellow Yellow and CG Foie Gras. From a distance the mani looks great, up close my nails look dirty!!! Ha! Note to self: brown on your tips is not always a safe choice.

This is late in posting as well. Seems I have a massive to-do list. Am trying to stay really positive but things are just crumbling around me it seems. We thought we had an offer in on the business, but that has yet to materialize, all so up-in-the-air. I owe so many notes and eMails, have been applying for jobs, and almost forgot my doctor's appt yesterday! Plan on doing my nails tonight, though. Oh, and packing up a pendant for Hollywood!

My Ripponburn ladies 3:14

ha! just noticed you can totally see my feet in the pic!

Another fun Ripponburn day has come and gone. Very warm day. Six ladies were waiting and I immediately missed Ivy. And wee Norma. Knowing from last time I went down to the other "medical" lounge to see if Norma was up to having her nails done in her room. Well, she was sitting in the lounge and had just had her hair done - I hardly recognized her!!! And yes, she would. Later my liaison Frankie went down and brought her to our main lounge so she could sit with the other ladies. Better than watching that damn soccer like last time!

joan

ida

Well, since Joan was having a nana nap last time and missed out, I started with her. She wanted something very simple and chose..... pink! That probably is a good choice. Unfortunately, Joan has some callouses on her finger tips and she probably doesn't want to draw more attention to them. Though, in the past, she has worn coppers and reds. Ida was here again as well. Haven't seen her in a couple of times. She also wanted a pink but with glitter. She kept telling me about her daughter going to someone in town to get her nails done (painted) and how awful it was and if I would do this for money for others. Well, I am thinking, maybe a way to earn some coin.... Note to self: will have to look into that.

gladys

For both Gladys and Dorothy I brought along special polishes. Gladys always lets me do whatever I want and is very adventurous. And Dorothy loves coppers and rusts. All the polishes are from my personal stash but I do leave my "good" ones at home in the studio. Sometimes, though, I grab something special. Gladys has some really groovy Pretty & Polished glitter over nude. It is late summer and slowly going into fall and I thought this would be a nice change - colourful but also more subdued.

dorothy

For Dorothy I brought along one of my fav autumn glitters from China Glaze. She is still wearing her nails pointy - maybe it is her 2014 thing!!! Dorothy has one good hand (with her beautiful rings) and her other hand that is "quieter". She doesn't like it when I take pics of that one. And I don't. Both polishes cover very, very well so only needed one coat each.

A newbie!!! Helly lives in town but has had a hip OP so is here recuperating. May never see her again but that is OK. She was very excited to get her nails done and chose a vibrant purple. Then we got to jazz it up with glitter, yeah! I hadn't seen Lena since the Xmas manis (she still had that sticker on!!!). Lena doesn't see very well at all but wanted something. In her mind pale and soft. So, light pink it was.

norma

Now to Lilian!! Lilian had had a bit of a mishap. She wasn't very happy but didn't know what to do. Seems the current hairdresser ("an Asian woman who you can't understand") painted her nails for her. She meant well. But.... good grief! All over the cuticle and sides. Red everywhere. Lilian didn't know what to do. Could I jazz it up? she asked. There seemed to be no more remover anywhere. Well, Frankie to the rescue. Found remover and Lilian set out getting as much off as possible. In the meantime I - with the help of Frankie - did Norma's. Norma is so weak, you feel like you are pulling at her arms and hurting her. I only did one coat of each (so poor coverage) and Frankie had to hold up her hands and I went as quick a I could.

lilian

ivy

Since Lilian had to wait so long and was so frustrated she got something special - she always likes to have something no one else has. On her accents nails I freedrew hearts for her. Ah, all good in her world!! So happy. Well, I packed up my things and went down to see Ivy in her room. Poor Ivy. She is not feeling very well and, like Norma, I always fear for the worse next time. But she was chipper, let me sit on her bed and she chose bright pink with glitter. She was watching TV, too, but had on Ellen - much more enjoyable than ol' soccer!
Am back in just over two weeks! Oh, and I got a box of yummy chocolates!!

Mani breakdowns:
Joan: two coats Essie Raise Awareness
Ida: two coats Orly Artificial Sweetener, one coat CG Make a Spectacle
Gladys: one coat Cult Nails Nude, two coats P&P The Athlete, Out the Door top coat
Dorothy: one coat Thai In the Army, one coat CG I Herd That, Out the Door top coat
Helly: one coat Layla Fuchsia Sky, one coat CG Make a Spectacle
Lena: two coats Essie Raise Awareness
Norma: one coat Essie Raise Awareness, one coat CG Make a Spectacle
Lilian: two coats OPI Got your Number i.e. No Room for the Blues, acrylics, Out the Door top coat
Ivy: one coat CG Wicked Style, one coat CG Make a Spectacle

Happy Hands Banana Stand matte

This afternoon is a Ripponburn day! Yeah! Thought I would have some yellow for awhile. After all it is summer.... still. Not really a shade I can wear in winter with my skin tone.

This is a pretty straightforward mani: three coats of Happy Hands Banana Stand topped with Out the Door then a matte Orly top coat. As you can see from the different pics, the yellow goes from light to darker depending on the lighting. The colour doesn't change, but the lighting effects the saturation.

The colour is intended to resemble bananas (love bananas!) with their brown and black spots. The yellow has a very slight green tinge (like unripe bananas) and there is some green glitter in there as well. Pretty groovy colour!

The matte top coat adds an element of jelliness to the polish. It does dry normal and top coat evens out the glitter. The matte top coat brings out a depth to the colour - really cool! I will probably keep this over the weekend. Like I said, Ripponburn this afternoon.
Workwise today is a bit of a non-event. Just so many thoughts going around my head. In fact, my stomach is feeling very upset this morning. Too many unanswered questions and decisions. Makes me feel very anxious. I don't like life when it gets this way.
Funwise haven't sold much on etsy lately. Though I do sell in my café (when customers come)! etsy school is also a bit of a non-event. My new partner hasn't filled out any of my forms yet, so am playing the game alone still. But it is fun and learning experience. Am applying for some jobs so have hope there as well. Lots of hope everywhere it seems!

GOT: valentine – pink hearts on red

Am a bit late to the party here. And for some reason the inLinz is not working anymore, or at least not today. So can't join the rest of the party, either. Did this yesterday, which was the 14th here. Definitely two of my oldest polishes!!

The base is just one coat of OPI Red-y for Anything (from the Legally Blonde collection). I got this polish ten years ago at a press junket for Legally Blonde 2. In fact, I got three: red, white and blue. But I only have the red left. The red reminds me very much of Zoya Elisa (or vice versa). Still works well. And only needed one coat for complete coverage! Then I free hand drew hearts on a string (like about five million others this year!) and filled those in with an equally old Chanel Marilyn. This is really only a good dotting or nail art polish now. Has gotten a bit thick (could use restore on it, though).

For some reason the mani is really difficult to photograph. After top coat, the red is so shiny and reflective! The difference between the hearts and the background is not that great, either, so everything blends a bit. Better in real life. The thought with the hearts is that they are all hanging, but a couple are falling off, and one is lying on the ground. Or is it laying. Never can get that right!

What a day so far today. By noon two cars had driven in to the carpark, turned around, and drove out! What is with people? Will never comprehend that. Then, though, at noon customers started coming for breakfast and coffees, and to make it the best: I sold jewelry!!!! So, know what I will do tonight - must start pendants and earrings. I'd say, check out the others but my linky thing isn't working.

Valentine's 2014: a bit of Gwen love

Confession right off: this mani is really difficult to photograph. It doesn't help much that the skies have been overcast. Don't know why, but the gold reacts weird with the black and the photos are not capturing the satiny finish of the gold..... at all. This is my take on Valentine's this year and I can't include it in GOT as these are obviously not old polishes. Not really as black as it appears (ha! - so, anti-Valentine....). Relationshipwise I am in a very good place. Though the Mr is all bloke Kiwi and not even interested in the day, apparently. Time will tell on that one.

Visually this is a pure OPI Gwen Stefani mani. But I cheated on the red as I did not buy her "signature" red. Looked like a lot of other reds to me. So I snuck (i.e. substituted) in Zoya Sooki for the red. I'm pretty sure the mani would look exactly the same with her red. I used L.A.M.B. as the beautiful gold, and 4 in the Morning (with a dab of Zoya Storm) for the black.

I started with a coat of red on that part of my nail that was to be taped. Waited. Then I taped off using thin nail art tape and applied two coats of L.A.M.B. Took the tape off immediately after coat two. Then I waited again. I freehand drew hearts and filled them in using my dotting tool with 4 in the Morning and Storm. I added a couple of red hearts for good measure. I purposely didn't fill in perfectly, wanting to leave a very freehand aspect to the hearts.

The top coat pretty much cancelled out the matte of the polish. If you get it in just the right light, you can see that the gold is full of satiny pearly bits. Really, really pretty. And application is super smooth, like velvet.

right hand

Now, if I can get my act together I may be able to do another V mani, this time for GOT challenge. I have the perfect red for that. But tomorrow night is movie night (currently a non-event in regard to attendance) so won't be able to do nails in the eve.

George has been trying to get Harvey's attention. Look at me, Harvey!! It's me, Harvey! Harvey doesn't care. I took off today. Wasn't feeling 100% and Monday was such a terrible day businesswise that I decided to stay home two days instead of just one. I managed to get a lot of jewelry finished and designed and created, so that is good. Back to work tomorrow, hoping for better business and a successful film night.

And..... made a pendant to match (more here)!!