52wkCrumpet11: red and gold

This is week eleven 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: chevrons, and red and gold (either each alone or combined). I chose red and gold as it is Christmas and I feel like I just did chevrons. I took inspiration from the great Robin Moses and painted poinsettias.

Inspiration from Robin

I started with a one coat base of OPI Gwen Stefani's last year's holiday collection: L.A.M.B. (Love.Angel.Music.Baby). This is a beautiful polish, applies very satiny and is 95% opaque in one coat. I did not worry too much about the remaining 5% as I knew I would be painting over the gold.

Although, in the pics, you can't really see it, the poinsettias are painted in two tones of red. I mixed a darker red and a lighter one. I started with the darker petals, then drew the lighter petals on top. I had to go over some of the petals twice. At fault would be the gold base vs a white base. Well, that's my excuse!!

Then I drew the leaves in two tones of green and added some white and black accents here and there. In the middle of each flower I used a dotting tool and dabbed a splotch of China Glaze Electrify (a great holiday red-gold glitter).

right hand

I am getting better at using my non-dominant hand. Key is to hold the brush really far down, at least for me. I find I am having a lot of control now. Top coat brings it all together. I will be adding a gel top coat on this one so that I do not ruin it by removing client polish and for it to last until the next challenge mani.  I wonder if any of the girls will also do holiday stuff???? Cheers all! x

An InLinkz Link-up

PANZ Challenge: Dressed Up Nudes

So exciting - a challenge. I like the idea of a challenge as it makes me think outside my usual pattern. I have been a bit lax on the ol' Crumpet challenges (bad llama) and want to get back into that. But, the super fun NZ polish group PANZ (polish addicts new zealand) are starting challenges off their cool new blog (new panz blog).

As you can see (and read) this challenge had to do with nudes and jazzing them up a bit. You could also bling them, but I'm not that into bling. You had to use your own designs, your own nails, have done it yourself, no archive manis allowed, one polish manis not allowed (love this one! no non-art manis!). I decided to do a tape mani with hand drawn flowers. I was on the fence a bit in doing a skittlette, so incorporated a bit of skittlette in the mani.

I started with a sheer nude base. Only one coat and you can see VNL shimmering through the stripes. That part is intentional! Then I taped and applied OPI Barefoot in Barcelona, a fab nude for me. Very close to my skin tone, or put it this way: warm like my skin tone. Just one coat as the polish is rather thick and the sheer base gave it something to latch on to. I let that dry, but no top coat. I did four fingers on my left hand and the thumb of my right. I manicured the rest of my nails in two coats of Barcelona.

Using a mix of brown and white acrylics I one stroked flowers on to the striped nails and to the tips of the "plain" nails. The first level of flowers was more white, the second level more brown. Then I added some light gold glitter in the middle of the flowers (OPI Spark de Triomphe). Top coat sealed the deal.

The whole mani looks very subtle, easy on the eye, but not boring. Thx PANZ for the idea, think it's great. I am looking forward to more challenge ideas in the future!

right hand

right thumb

P&P H-equinox in gradient with accent nail

I saw this mani on Eeeek! Nail Polish! blog a couple of days ago and totally stole it!!!! I think she used plates but I don't stamp so tried a freehand drawing of the hearts. I think this whole mani of gradient with glitter and hearts and accent and - oh just so fab!!! Eeeek, I thought. Must have!! And I knew exactly the glitter I wanted to use so planned the whole mani around that.

The glitter I have wanted to wear forever it seems is Pretty & Polished H-equinox My Socks Off. I have had this for months but spring then summer came and the colour just appeared too "wrong season".  The base of this glitter is light nude-grey. Very faint, but not a clear polish. Then there are specks of turquoise and gold. Totally unique.

I started with one coat (accent nails two) of Cult Nails nude. I fast dry top coated the accent nail so I could work on that later (last). Then I sponge gradiented the turquoise about three times on to my tips. This was then topped with one coat of the P&P glitter. I knew the coloured base of the glitter would give the visible nude a bit more depth – that's why I only applied one coat of nude.

right hand

By this time, my accents had dried sufficiently to start the heart art. I drew overlapping different hearts and then coloured them in using the gradient polishes as well as a blue glitter and grey. I used Out the Door top coat on the whole thing.

I was out and about in town, picking up my nail studio flyers (invested $20 in flyers, no idea of where to put them!), going to the bank, etc. Basically showing off my nails! Quite a few women said they looked "a-may-zing" and I told them they could have this, too. This prompts their automatic look at their own nails and the typical sentence: oh, my nails look so bad and I'm going to crawl under a rock and die because polish always chips on me and radi radi ra. Oh, how to build clients - that will be a challenge. Had another lady today (fab pastel orange glitter sandwich) and someone wants to call for an appt next week. So, let's hope.

Polishes used main nails:
nude = Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude
turquoise = alessandro 1507
glitter = Pretty & Polished H-equinox My Socks Off

Additional polishes used accent nail hearts:
grey = Pahlish Sitting in a Tin Can
gold = OPI L.A.M.B.
blue glitter = LA Colors Aqua Crystals

Below my inspiration, gorgeous nails from Mrs Eeeek!!! Thank you!!

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)!!

Sunburst gradient with Nostalgic Lacquer Athlete

Happy 2014! I started the year with a bright sunny gradient, inspired by one of my new Nostalgic Lacquer glitters. Erin sent me four beautiful glitter to review, along with the two I ordered from her. So I am currently the proud owner of six new NL glitter polishes!! Here I am using the Athlete from the Saturday Detention collection, a groovy orange, yellow and white glitter.

I started with two coats of OPI Goldeneye then gradiented China Glaze Orange Knockout (neon orange - finally a good use for it!) and Mariah's OPI Sprung over that. I didn't bother top coating that and just went ahead and applied the glitter.

The Athlete is a clear base with orange, yellow and white glitter. It has large white square glitter mixed with very small pinpoint white specks, and that would be the only drawback for me. I like the white idea, but the white bits are big and "loud". I would rather they be smaller. And, I have to admit, one rolled upwards and I had to pick it off after it dried.
What I really like are the orange and yellow bits with the white. A very summery glitter, and over my gradient or a solid metallic it looks great!

I had to fish and dab a bit to disperse the white around. But I only did that on the first coat. The second coat of glitter I applied normally and that seemed to fill in any spaces. I can also imagine some jewelry ideas with the glitter.

right hand

So... we started the new year with a kitten, six weeks old. The Mr wanted a kitten, but he will not admit that. He thought Harvey needed a mate. It does make sense, though. Two person household, two cats. And why not? They eat basically nothing so care is minimum and if we go away, taking care of two cats isn't much more difficult than one. Right now we are calling him George – king for a day! – but that will most likely change soon as his personality comes out. Behold, the tiny tot.