Happy Hallow-day of the Dead

This year I decided to go with sugar skulls. I felt a bit brighter than the more gothic Halloween ideas that were floating in my head. I started with a base of white and China Glaze Life is Beautiful. This pink dries matte, but in the end that didn't matter! I top coated before continuing.

Using acrylic paints and watered down polish (well, actually, acetoned down) I started painting. Using a multitude of skinny brushes I began with the pink behind the eyes, then added yellow and black and in the end a spot of white. Using black acrylic paint I drew the heart shaped nose. Then I drew the cross, and some black swirly stuff and the mouth, and some eyelashes. I watered down the red some more and added blush to the cheeks and bordered it all with blue. I dabbed on some glitter as well.

right hand

On the non-skulled fingers I drew aspects of a spider web and added some glitter. Very plain, but I wanted something on them but not so much as to take away from the skulls. Oh, I gel top coated the skulls when totally finished so they will last a while. Removing polish from clients takes its toll! And, to add that extra something, I took all of these pics before I did any cleanup so you can see all the white polish and paint smudges!! Classy.....  Boo! Happy Halloween!

52wkCrumpet5: 1980s design and three dark colors

This is week five of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: 1980s design, and three dark colours (either each alone or combined). I combined. My immediate thought when I read 80s was neon. I wore too much neon to admit to in the 80s! Putting them together with the three dark was a challenge. But I wanted to combine as I liked the idea of three dark colours.

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I started with a chevron base using three chocolate browns: piCture pOlish Malt-teaser, Zoya Louise and a Thai indie. The first step was a base of Malt-Teaser then I added the chevrons in alternating order. There is definitely a difference in the two darker shades, though the difference to the lighter shade is more apparent. I top coated when I was finished to bring the chevron together.

I don't own a lot of neon colours and the ones I do own are old – so no problems there! I decided to add small triangles bordering on the lines of the chevron in the neon colours. Alternating and mis-matching throughout the nails. The colours are: China Glaze Neon & On & On (pink), China Glaze Happy Go Lucky (yellow) and OPI Can't Find my Czechbook (blue).

 

Using a tiny nail art brush I drew triangles on different areas. I did one colour at a time and had to keep cleaning my brush as it got gooped up quickly. I waited a while to top coat as I didn't want the colours to smear as on some the coverage was a tad thick.

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Looking forward to scrolling through the other designs! Bye girls and thanks for reading!

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Quick NailMates update after gel polish removal

Hi again! I was sporting a Gelicious gel base for about two weeks and decided to remove yesterday as my nails had grown out too much. Though the base itself was still pretty good. I wanted to do a quick Nail Mates update as the last times I have used this on gel, I forgot to take pics!

I scruffed up the surface of my nail with my file. In my haste, I often forget this step. But didn't this time! Then I soaked the pads in acetone (about four Menda pumps), placed them in the Maties and slid them on my nails. After about ten minutes I rocked the pink over back and forth a bit to loosen up the pad and slid it off. As you can see from the top pic, the gel polish just flakes off! Most of that literally fell off when I tipped my hand over. Any residuals I could easily scrape off with my nail or a cuticle pusher. So, also a big shout out to Gelicious as their gel polish lasts, and is easily removable!!!

Super easy!!! No dripping, no yucks. NailMates is truly worth the investment. I reuse the pads on myself (clients get fresh pads). So I get multiple uses out of the pads. Of course, if I am removing glitter the pad gets more yucked up so their life span is not as long as gel removal. Here is their website (and I am not getting paid to say this!). Cheers girls!
NailMates website

52wkCrumpet4: 1970s design with grey and red

This is week four of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: 1970s design, and grey and another colour (either each alone or combined). I combined.

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I went to high school in the 70s so grey was a fab choice as my school colours were grey and red. So those are the colours I am working off of. The very bottom base is still the Gelicious Lemon Meringue gel that I applied last week. Using non-acetone remover I removed my yellow flowers. My polish choices are Layla Ceramic Effect Sweet Concrete (grey) and Zoya Sooki (red) and I applied in alternating accents (ring, thumb, index, pinkie). Two coats each then I top coated. I think grey and red are a nice combo and this red has a tomato aspect to it - so, very cheerful.

I have vivid memories of my jean situation during the 70s. It seemed that the proverbial "everyone except me" was wearing these cool bell bottom jeans with double button up fronts. Or double zips. Like sailor jeans, but wide and bell-bottomy. I had to wait for-ever until the style was at FedCo where we always shopped. I was so proud of those jeans! I felt like I fit in and was finally "cool". They were a faded jean with double brass buttons – and actually long enough for my tall skinny legs!!

Using black acrylic paint I drew the bell bottoms then highlighted with bronze acrylic paint. So, that is my interpretation of 70s design this week. More a 70s memory, or a 70s style than a design per se.
Looking forward to seeing the others - ciao bellas x

An InLinkz Link-up

Lemon Meringue Gelicious based floral nails

We are off this weekend to a family 80th and as suggested earlier, I have my nails done to match my outfit. I am wearing a black and white chevron striped dress and yellow shoes.

I started with a base of Lemon Meringue Gelicious. Personally I haven't worn gel in a while and I got all inspired by clients who were requesting gel manis. For me, gel manis are the best working mani as I use non-acetone remover on clients, do not harm my own art and don't have to refresh that often. On the flip side, though, I don't wear as much different nail art as I would like to. I applied three very thin coats of Lemon Meringue, a soft pastel yellow, and then cure top-coated.

Initially I was going to do feathered stripes in black and white but I tried that on one nail and didn't like it. Then I was thinking of doing hibiscus like flowers but went off that as well. Finally I decided on freefall petal flowers and bursts of white and black.

Using acrylic paints, I drew the basic flowers and bursts in black then filled in the petals with grey and also added some grey bursts. Then I highlighted the petals in white and yellow, adding some bursts here and there. When all that was done I added some black dots and top coated with Out the Door.

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I am very happy with these and think they match my "ensemble" perfectly!! I am a bit anxious going in to the weekend as there are some members of the family I have yet to meet – in fact, I don't even know if they know I exist! But I think all will be good and I am looking forward to it! Bye girls! x

My Ripponburn ladies 15:14

janice

Then I arrived the ladies were listening to country music. A local duo had their amps, guitar and organ set up and were singing songs of the past. Miss Joan was singing along! We all listened for about two more songs and then it was time for them to go and me to begin!

This day I started with Janice. The kindest soul, rather trapped in her wheelchair-bed-thing. Sometimes she needs to go back to her room so I wanted to be sure she got her mani. Usually Janice goes for blues and teals but today decided on lilac with some blue based glitter.

margaret

dorothy

jenny

Margaret wanted a soft pink, but an elegant look – so I added some side glitter accents. Both Dorothy and Jenny wanted purple, so that was easy! Jenny is lucky as she doesn't need to keep one finger free so gets a "full" mani. It is a bit of a shame to leave one finger out, but I do understand the reasoning.

ina

nellie

Ina had something very similar to last time, but I used my new China Glaze glitter from their current Halloween collection (Apocalypse of Color). And Nellie stayed pretty true to her blues but had alternating accents. Funny.... Lots of ladies like the same colours but I always cringe when they say "pink" but never when they say "blue"! I guess pink seems so.... normal and non-adventurous. But in the end, it can look just as groovy and elegant as any other colour. There is a lesson to be learned here!

joan

gladys

lilian

Ah yes, pink. Miss Joan had the dusty pink. Gladys let me do whatever I wanted so I chose a caramel base with holo green in ruffian. After all the pinks and blues I felt like someone should have green! Lilian was last and also wanted purple but I jazzed it up with an accent in lilac and glitter. She had waited so long.

aniya

And last but not least – but still tiny!: Jenny's six-year-old niece was visiting and wanted her nails done as well. She had to wait until the very end to be sure we did not run out of time. And she was very patient and got neon bright pink. Her accents I did in full glitter so she had some bling, too. Jenny was wondering what her mum will say, but that's not our problem!!!

Mani breakdown:
all had Seche Clear as a base, two coats of base polish and Out the Door as a top coat.

Margaret: China Glaze Pink of Me, BYS Cold as Ice accents
Janice: Thai Flower Pot lilac, China Glaze Your Present Required accents
Dorothy & Jenny: Layla Purple Galaxy
Joan: Kyo Kyo dusty rose
Nellie: CND Vinylux Blue Rapture, alternating accents in Thai Flower Pot lilac topped with China Glaze Your Present Required
Ina: China Glaze Mind the Gap topped with CG Rest in Pieces
Gladys: Zoya Flynn ruffianed with Layla Emerald Divine
Lilian: Layla Purple Galaxy, accents in Thai Flower Pot lilac topped with China Glaze Your Present Required
Aniya: China Glaze Wicked Style, full BYS Cold as Ice accents

52wkCrumpet3: 1960s design in matte

This is week three of Crumpet's 52 week challenge! The "rules" are very flexible and you have all week to accomplish the mani. As always, must be done on your own nails, using the colours suggested (or parts thereof).
This week's prompt: 1960s design and matte or textured (either each alone or combined). I combined.

Am early in the week on this one as we are going away on the weekend and will need to do my nails to match my outfit. This prompt I had a difficult time choosing a design. I immediately thought "pop art" when I read 60s, but then did some research and there are all sorts of things out there. And, historically speaking, pastel tones were mega in as the red of the 1950s was so yesterday! I got confused. I ended up doing a bubble lava lamp type design and matted the accents.

I started with an alternating base of Zoya Wednesday and LA Girls purple. I thought they looked a bit 60s. Just for the fun of it I matted the purple ones to see how they looked. Really like how that looks, the purple heather tone is perfect.

harvey being a lazy nerd and waiting for me to open the door

Then I mixed chartreuse (another great 60s colour, and don't you just love the name!) in acrylic paints and painted bubbles and lines. Using the polishes, I filled in the bubbles in alternating colours and added more bubbles on the sides. I only matted the purple nails but think with the designs, all need to be matted. So I may end of matting them all. For now they are like this.

Since it waaay early week (Monday here) I will rock this till about Thursday eve when I have to start my mani for the weekend. Off to an 80th and must match my dress!
Looking forward to seeing the other girls and how they interpret the 60s. Cheers ya'll x.

An InLinkz Link-up