52wkCrumpet33: Taupe

This is week 33 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: Paisley and taupe (either each alone or combined). I chose taupe and did a floral skittlette.

First off, this is a difficult mani to photograph! Don't know why, but almost all the pics are out of focus. Must be the white flowers goofing everything up. the base is China Glaze Foie Gras. Basically You Don't Know Jacques from another label. I have that one, too, but this bottle was in front on the shelf!!

One nail on each hand has a coat of China Glaze Electrify glitter. The flowers are in white with accents in SpaRitual Golden Gleam. There is some Electify thrown around the flowers as well. Top coated twice.

I really like this and it looks much better in real life without a macro lens!!Nice for autumn but with some happy flowers!!

An InLinkz Link-up

52wkCrumpet24: non-US brand

This is week 24 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: Kids TV and non-US brand (either each alone or combined). I chose the non-US brand as I couldn't think of anything worth wearing for a longer period of time with the Kids TV prompt. And again, this is a mix of gel and traditional polish.

The base is a gel mani of delicate pink-nude with the accents in white. I added shades of green for the gel marbling on the accents (four fingers). The gel I use, Luxio, is a Canadian company. Score 1! I mixed blue and yellow with white to get the green shades (as I don't own a true green yet).

I decided to do a negative space mani on the remaining six fingers (three each hand). This turned in to sort of a skittlette, though mix-matched. Here I used only non-US brands: Sky Blue from piCture pOlish (Australian), green base on the tips is Layla Mojito (Italy), the white hex glitter on the blue is again piCture pOlish (Storm) and I used some Jealousy (again, pp) to help glue the rhinestones (Swarovski - Austria) into place. I did the negative spacing freehand. I was going to use tape but the tape I first tried didn't stick as it was too old and I was too lazy to go get the new one out of the drawer! So, score 2!

The whole rhinestone idea is growing on me. I really like them and have invested in heaps, and continuing to buy more – also studs, larger gems, etc. Only buying Swarovski or Preciosa crystals as they reflect the light so much better. Works well with the gel nail art. The whole 3D thing. Even clients are starting to embrace the idea!!

I am also playing around with my new Foldio lightbox. It is really difficult to photograph your own hands in this smallish lightbox. And also use props. But I love the Foldio as it collapses, therefore mobile, and uses a 9V battery for power! Also, I am using my iPhone with my macro lens on it (sometimes), trying to figure things out. Bye girls! x

An InLinkz Link-up

52wkCrumpet18: fish braid and non-glitter topper

This is week eighteen 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: fish braid and non-glitter topper (either each alone or combined). I chose both and combined in an ambitious skittlette idea I had throughout the week. I really like this mani and will have a hard time getting rid of it next week. It just all seemed to come together.

I started with a black base (China Glaze Liquid Leather) on all nails. The skittlette is AABBC and I painted the C nail first using my non-glitter topper of Zoya Maisie. I also painted the bottom of the BB nails in Maisie as a base for a reverse French fish braid. The bottom of the AA nails were painted in China Glaze Deviantly Daring.

Then I started the fish braid pattern, the same on all AABB nails: first up was China Glaze Want my Bawdy, followed by Unpredictable and then Deviantly Daring. These are all from CG's New Bohemian Luster collection (which really is no longer new!).

I had no problem layering the duochromes over each other. They all pick up different aspects of the non glitter topper, so a very under-the-sea type of mani that really sparkles in the sun!

I topped first with Out the Door but then added a coat of Poshé to really add some shine. Done deal for the week - now to check out the others! Bye girls x.

An InLinkz Link-up

Skittlette with Poppies Magic from NZ indie Peacock Pie

This polish is a dream and very inspiring! I had an idea before I had even applied it!! NZ indie polish maker Peacock Pie (here her etsy shop) is relatively new to the polish scene. But she has a super love of glitter and though usually a bit blue-purple heavy (hence "peacock") she got inspired herself by the art of Jasmine Becket-Griffith (her Strangeling website here) and created these limited edition polishes. Loving green (and the combo with black and red) I chose Poppies Magic – how could you lose????

I created a skittlette using a base on all nails of one coat of Cult Nails Deal with It (a neon-y lime green) topped with one coat of Thai Diffi in a lime green shimmer. Three of my nails (pinkie, ring and thumb) were painted in ruffian with Poppies Magic. I used two coats of this Peacock Pie glitter - the polish is very creamy and opaque! Not like usual glitters, so you can definitely wear this on its own. But I wanted to incorporate the lime green aspect and thought of a ruffian design.

just finished, studio lighting, no clean-up

My thumb, middle and index fingers were painted using acrylic paints. I added a black elongated stripe under and up the side of the ruffian of my thumbs, and a white dot. The other two main fingers were first painted in alternating stripes in black (actually a very dark grey) and white. Then I added flowers in a two-tone red with white and black accents. What I really like is that the white on the lime green caused the white to be oh-so light yellow (similar to the glitter specks) – that gives the nails a vintage Hawai'ian look.

I took my time and did a proper right hand (non-dominant). The ruffians, of course, were simple but the stripes and flowers were more complicated using my left hand. The whole mani took well over two hours to complete. But then I was creating as I went and working on multiple levels at the same time (I simultaneously did a nail set). When done I top coated with Out the Door.

The green really pops and the colour combo with Poppies Magic is fab. The glitter of PM is really cool and has brilliant red, white and black specks of different sizes. The only specks that are larger are the red ones. Well done, Serra, on this fantastic shade – and I hope I can get a back-up!!! Hope y'all like it. This mani will take we through the weekend at the market.
Cheers! xx

Gelicious blue and pink candy magic

Although I have some new totally fab "normal" polishes to try, I could not resist another gelicious mani. I'll be wearing enough normal colours while I am away soon. I only wore the fourth of July nails for 5 days and then I was over it. The mani was still going strong but enough was enough. They were also a tad thick, too, and that bothered me. All the layers of gel mani and then the nail art and then another coat of gel top coat to protect at glammy mani parties. Funny enough, you couldn't see it - but it felt heavy.

I decided to do a mini skittlette with two beautiful bonbon type shades: Aztec Blue and Strawberry Milkshake. They are so pretty! And I have a nail art idea for the next day or so. Aztec Blue is a robin's egg type blue. Not quite a For Audrey blue, but a beautiful soft shade. Strawberry Milkshake is a creamy pale pink, very delicate. I used three thin coats each. After two coats I was not happy enough with the coverage. Then, of course, cured with gelicious top coat.

The nails shine so much and the colours really pop! I applied an alternating skittlette with the blue and pink. It still takes the best part of 45 minutes to do my nails. Application is key, and wrapping the tips. I tried a new idea of wrapping first then painting my nail but I prefer the other way around. I paint the nail, wrap, then repaint the tips to smooth out. My technique is improving but still need to work on the wrapping to make it cleaner.

In pure digital timer time it takes 6 minutes for the three sets and full mani, but there is a lot of work between the sets. Thirty secs a cure x 4 cures (three coats plus top coat) x 3 sets (left hand, right hand, thumbs). Not really that bad as the mani lasts days. Better to invest in a good foundation and be happy and carefree for days!

I think this is the perfect look for dreary grey days, don't you?! Will update later with some nail art but am happy to rock this for a couple of days alone.

China Glaze Agro in skittlette with hearts

What a total hectic of a time it has been! And it is still not over. There are so many things I want to write about; for those who follow and myself for future reads. Time just gets way from me from day to day. It has been over a week since my last post, and my FB pages are pretty bleak as well. But I know things will be looking up soon and I will be back on the social marketing bandwagon!

This was the mani I was rocking for my first craft faire on Easter weekend (blog to follow on that as well). I fact, I wore it a couple of days before and after. The base is two coats of China Glaze Agro. Love this green - perfect autumn shade. I decided to do an AABBC skittlette, leaving Agro alone on the AAs. I had made some wee bracelets with a heart and Agro as a background, so I recreated this on my nails.

The hearts were drawn asymmetrically and are in Ozotic 502 Sands. The duochrome shifts from gold to brick red to brown through copper. Very earthy. The pinky received a coat of CG Electrify - also from the Hunger Games collection. A very Katniss look – in fact, I made a ring for the craft faire (just for fun).

right hand

Since I last wrote I have had two garage sales at the café, with one more to go this Saturday. I never had so much business! But you would not believe the amount of work involved getting all the old (bought with café) cr*p down from the attic areas and put out on tables. It was massive! Our fault for not insisting she (landlady-preowner) clean out her junk before selling. But I was wide-eyed and anxious for my fantastic wine bistro plan! Dumb. There are still things to do, all very overwhelming at the moment. But we had good sales and some big ticket items are gone.

just part of a massive massive pile

Then in the midst of all this the film society had their members only night (and final night of the season). I got yellow flowers!! All a tad emotional and I got a bit teary eyed. So sad to see the venue go - seemed perfect for the film nights. Generally sad to see the venue go.

There is another mani to post, and with Anzac day tomorrow I am working on my mani for that. And Ripponburn today. Also, getting my paperwork together to apply for NZ citizenship hopefully Monday (yeah, big yeah!!). May have a mani client tomorrow (need to get my studio up and running - have secured web domains, need business cards....). I "rewarded" myself with a small polish buy. Just because, I felt like it. Some indies from overseas.

Bye girls! Thanks for being a part of my wild ride!