Lynnderella Elf Assured

Dilemma nails. Believe it or not – come on, you won't believe it – I spent time on these nails. Inspired by Procrastinating Polish, I decided to do some water-spotting and then add glitter. Originally, I was going to keep with the aqua blue water spot idea but there was this glitter that I hadn't used yet. So, why not combine??? In my mind, yes. On my nails, hmmmm.

I started with two coats of China Glaze Neon and On and On. I love this pink neon as it dries matte and covers fairly well in two coats. Not perfect, but good enough for what is to come. And the pink pops. I top coated and let that dry before doing the water spotting. Like water marbling – or anything water-y – there is heaps of clean-up and organization and preparation and just plain "work" involved. But I was game and had website pages uploading in the background, so also time. I used Orly Liquid Vinyl for the black.

Then I added a coat of Lynnderella Elf Assured (a destash glitter). The glitter is pretty cool, though am still unsure of how to wear it: black, white, metallic teal and pink bits in a clear base. Well, one coat did basically nothing for the nails. There were little bits of teal and white and pink but not at all like I thought it would cover (fishy, fish, fish). So I added another. And fished around some more. I don't know, it just seemed to be the wrong background. Way too tone-in-tone. So in the end I added just a wee bit of teal glitter (LA Colors). Now, that was too much! I tell you - not enough here, too much there. Arghghghgh!

So I went to bed (after top coating of course). It is raining like crazy here so not a lot of pics. In the "light" the nails don't look have bad, but really nothing special. All my time invested in the water spotting was to no avail as you can't really see it.
So my dilemma is: raining here today. Will it rain tomorrow? Does the craft faire take place in the rain? Do I go in the rain? Do I pull out my rain gear and "just do it"? What if I drive there and it is not happening? Do I redo my nails so they look like something worth having for the faire? Do I leave them for now? Am I taking this too seriously? 
And..... on a completely different note: where the hell is the electrician, who stood me up yesterday and still isn't here today????

My Ripponburn ladies 8:14

lilian

Well, after all these months I found out today that Ida is in fact Ina. How embarrassing. Her husband just passed last week. I found that out when my contact called me to reschedule from every other Friday to every other Tuesday. That is fine by me. I am pretty flexible with all the little jobs I have (except Saturdays which are now craft faire days). And Ina did not show up today. She was in her room being private.

dorothy

helly

jenny

I did have a big room full, though, and the sun was streaming in! A couple of men folk were also there but they ran away - for fear of getting glammed up! Dorothy only wanted a touch up (which I did, but still added glitter!). I brought some more autumnal colours this time and Helly (and Jenny) both went for Skyfall – a beautiful brick red. Really luscious. I did only do one coat on Jenny. She is quite impatient – and was knitting the whole time! Hard to keep her hands still and, most likely, the polish had smeared in no time. Oh well. The red covers well, though, so it still looked good!

joan

joyce

Next time I will have to have an earnest word with Joan! This pink obsession must stop!!!! Ha! It probably is the best colour for her, but still. Joyce stayed around long enough for her nails. She only wanted something very slight and I think that simple layer of glitter works well. She has such pretty nails and hands - she could wear so much more.

gladys

lena

Lilian (way top) was more adventurous and she does love blue. I doubled up on that great slate blue from CND with an almost tone-in-tone glitter. Looks fab! Gladys let me do anything and I had brought pale yellow and some matching glitter. She is still biting her nails (though won't admit it) - but only on one hand!! Funny. Poor Lena is almost blind but wanted a bright red. Proves you want to feel pretty at any age or shape.

joan the 2nd

margaret

Joan the 2nd was a bit more confused. Don't know if that will be an ongoing concern, or just her mood for the day. I really like her mani, though. Another tone-in-tone glitter one. And Margaret wanted something pale, yet elegant. Nellie was last. So patient. Her mani looks absolutely fab! The purple and the glitter. Wow. May have to wear this myself! So, that was 11 manis in two hours. Flew by - and am back in two weeks!

nellie

Mani breakdowns:
Lilian: one coat CND Blue Rapture, one coat LA Colors Aqua Crystals, top coated
Dorothy: one coat CG You Move Me, one coat Orly Sashay my Way, top coated
Helly: two coats OPI Skyfall
Jenny: one coat OPI Skyfall
Joan: one coat Revlon Innocent
Joyce: one coat OPI Which is Witch?
Gladys: two coats piCture pOlish Mellow Yellow, one coat CG You're a Hoot, one coat Orly Sashay my Way, top coated
Lena: one coat CG Red Pearl
Joan the 2nd: two coats Nicole by OPI Alex by the Books, one coat LA Colors Treasure Island, top coated
Margaret: one coat Nicole by OPI Selena, one coat OPI Which is Witch?
Nellie: one coat Layla Fuchsia Sky, one coat OPI Which is Witch?

piCture pOlish Aurora

This, without much a do, is the beautiful piCture pOlish Aurora. Really not much to say, as it speaks for itself! I will say that besides being hard to photographically capture, it eats top coat so in the meantime from taking these snaps I have added another coat, and will probably do another tonight.

I started with one coat of OPI Lincoln Park after Dark – as that was the darkest colour on my studio table and I was too lazy to go get another black! It works well. Lincoln has the slightest purple tinge and I think that works well with the whole purplesque of the polish. Then I applied two coats of Aurora.

This time I did cuticle clean up as I went along. So, once after Lincoln, then, if needed, after Aurora. Seemed to be a good idea though I was a bit too zealous on my one index finger. Oh well. The polish is an obvious duo (multi) chrome and has flecks of glitter in it. Hence the need for top coat to bring out the shine. The predominate colour is a purple to blue to green to turquoise shift. At some angles (more in artificial lighting) you will see a copper towards bronze hue. The opalescent glitter flecks pick up the blue-toned colours and give the impression of a starry night. Hence, Aurora.

trying to show the glitter aspect

It really is very, very pretty - but not omg amazing (for my taste). It is very purple toned (and I love purple), but not a deep purple. More the a-england Avalon purple, which I personally find hard to wear on its own. What I am trying to say is that the polish is cold-hued. So depending on your skin tone this can be good or bad.

artificial lighting

I am definitely very glad I have it, especially since it is a limited edition and pp has stopped with their gorgeous Ozotic duochromes. Hoping they will be making more of this type of polish going forward. It is like having a rainbow on your fingers, a definite show-stopper.

Saran wrap poppies

After I was finished, I realized these are probably poppies. Was going for red nondescript flowers but they do look like poppies. I got this idea off, I think, Crumpet's FB group - but I can't remember. Looked pretty much the same so I will give credit and thanks out there in the wonderful wide web of nail art to someone!

The base is two coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff - a neutral vanilla cream. This is a great base for art, not as stark as white but light enough to showcase what's on top. And it looks fab matte (as you will see below).

Using the saran wrap technique, I squished up a piece of saran wrap, dipped it in polish and applied it haphazardly to my nails. I used CND Vinylux Serene Green. This is a nice deep green. I didn't need much, probably one dip / hand.

I wanted a tomato-y red so chose China Glaze Hey Sailor and just did dot flowers. I pulled them together to form petals and then added Vampire dots on top of that and some black accents. Pulled it all together with top coat.

right hand

With whites and blacks (i.e. extreme darks and lights) I think it is a good idea to do cuticle clean up regardless. My lines were pretty good but these colours just seem to bring out the worst in a mani! I wore this a couple of days then decided to matte up the whole thing! There is something about pastels and lights that look great with a matte top coat.

In the photos it is hard to see a difference! But I can in real life. So, the three above pics are all with matte top coat. The mani is still looking pretty good after three days and I will also wear tomorrow to my second time out at the Queenstown faire. And I will continue to wear it tomorrow night (movie date night!) as I have no time to change. But am hoping to do something new on Sunday as I have some newbies that I am dying to wear.

Laguna Beach landscape gradient in green, purple and yellow

One of my favourite pendants is my Laguna Beach necklace (see it here). Personally, I wear it almost exclusively and always gets heaps of compliments. I never tire of making it for new customers. So I decided to draw inspiration from that. This is the mani I was wearing (and still was till today) on Saturday at the Queenstown Art Market. Decided I needed something to draw attention to my stall and my jewellery and nail art.

I started with a coat of a-england Dragon - a beautiful olive green holo. Then I gradient applied a-england Avalon from just below the middle to the tips. I went over twice towards the tips to make it darker. Avalon is a vibrant purple with a bit of shimmer. The tips I first gradiented in OPI Don't talk Bach to Me (a mustard greeny yellow - pretty ick-looking in the bottle but I tell you, I use this a lot!). The tippy tips were sponged in OPI Need Sunglasses.

After letting this sit-dry for about 15 minutes I drew my hill lines in black. Just random dunes and slopes. I used an Ozotic duochrome (910) to highlight parts of the dunes. Then I brought it all together with top coat, twice.

The purple-yellow is a vibrant combo and looks really good together. All the colours flow  – but at the same time pop. A lot of people noticed it on Saturday, and that they matched my pendant. Proof that everything is hand drawn! I would like to do more of this type of nail art for clients, but that is still slow going. I think I will get there in the end, though!

right hand

OPI Navy Shatter over lots of blue

This is a new OPI shatter for me, got in a recent destash. I always thought navy blue is a nice alternative to black. The only downside to shatter is that it eats top coat, so I usually apply two thick coats.

I started with a black base then two coats of China Glaze Deviantly Daring. DD is a fab duochrome which shimmers teal. Very stunning over black and a polish I use often at Ripponburn. Great base for art, too.

Then I topped with a thin coat of shatter. That is key, thin coat. Shatter is weird because you don't think it is doing anything until presto, effect! A pretty simple mani, but very effective. The duochrome underneath adds depth and shimmer to the shatter. And the blues on blue add a bit of elegance. This was top coated twice with Out the Door.

Life is going along nicely here, though still a tad too full. Day by day one step closer to the end of the month and the café blues are behind us (I hope). Have been to another market and it was mega fab! Finished a custom pendant and even surprised myself! More in blogs later. "Day" job of marketing cinemas is also coming together really well with an Opening Night Gala this Sat eve!