Saturday 25 April 2015

Hey, Swatch It! Sinful Shine Royal Flush

Hey y'all!

Today I have a quickie swatch post for you, showing off one of the polishes I picked up at half price (making it only $1) while we were on holiday in the States.  This is Sinful Shine Royal Flush.

Swatch and review of Sinful Shine Royal Flush.

Friday 24 April 2015

Doctor Crafty's Green and Orange Abstract - NCC Recreations

Hey y'all!

It's finally Friday!  This makes for exciting news for most of the us, and today I'm excited to be able to bring you my final recreation for this month's Nail Challenge Collaborative theme, celebrating 3 years of nail art goodness.  Today I've decided to recreate Doctor Crafty's Green and Orange Abstract Geometric nail art, which I thought was a really unique and colorful, fun look.

Freehand recreation of Doctor Crafty's Green and Orange Abstract geometric nail art.

Wednesday 22 April 2015

Copper Chic - WIDW

Hey y'all!

I've had very little inspo for nail art lately - mostly because I've been having some pretty bad sinus crud and that's always fun to experience, talk about, and read about, so really we're all winners here!  That said, my GP started me on a new antihistamine and a nasal steroid, so here's to hoping that my nose muscles get all ripped and hawt and appear on a nose fitness magazine cover soon... I think I lost the plot for a moment.  Ah, yes.  It's Wednesday, and that means it's time to find out What I Did (with it) - and by "it", I mean Saturday's swatch of Essie Sable Collar.  Utilizing another Essie fan favorite, my favorite new stamping plate, and a couple of studs, I created this chic copper look.

A chic copper nail art over Essie Sable Collar.

Monday 20 April 2015

Yichen UV Soak-Off Gel Polish Set

Hey y'all!

In the effort to expand my nail horizons, as it were, I've been experimenting with gel polish recently.  To that end, I found a set of UV soak-off gel polishes on eBay recently, and thought I'd give you a little swatch and review of my experience with them.  This polish set contained four solid color gel polishes plus a base primer and a top gel, and I paid about £20 for the set.  I was initially a bit concerned that the listing didn't say what brand the product was, so it was only upon receipt that I discovered the brand is Yichen, which I've seen in listings for acrylics monomers and polymers in the past.

Swatch and review of Yichen UV Soak-Off Gel Polish Set.

Saturday 18 April 2015

Hey, Swatch It! Essie Sable Collar

Hey y'all!

Today's polish swatch isn't current.  It isn't even seasonal.  It's just beautiful and it was one I thought I'd missed out on but was so pleased to find in a discount bin last month, so I eagerly snapped it up.  May I present the oh-so-lovely Essie Sable Collar.

Swatch and review of Essie Sable Collar.

Friday 17 April 2015

A Girl and Her Polish's Soft Neon Gradient - NCC Recreations

Hey y'all!

It's finally Friday, and that of course brings the next round of Nail Challenge Collaborative posts!  This month we're celebrating 3 years of NCC nail art by recreating past NCC looks.  For my third, I've elected to recreate A Girl and Her Polish's Soft Neon Gradient, a gorgeous look on which I think I missed the mark.

A recreation of A Girl And Her Polish's Soft Neon Gradient nail art.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Sparkly Purple Negative Space Zebra Nail Art - WIDW

Hey y'all!

Welcome back to What I Did (with it) Wednesday!  We're officially mid-way through April now, and time doesn't seem to be slowing down for ANY reason!  On Saturday I showed you my swatch of Red Carpet Manicure's Diamond gel polish, a holographic glitter top coat that I applied over bare nails.  Today I'm back to show you the nail art that I've created over it, using two additional new (to me) products, because I couldn't wait to play with them!

Purple zebra print negative space stamping nail art over holographic glitter base.

Monday 13 April 2015

Ron from Chamber of Secrets - Magical Monday

Hey y'all!

Here we are again on the second Monday of the month, and that mean it's Magical Monday!  This month Cat and I are tackling our favorite characters from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Since last month, Cat's "Flying Impala" nail art turned into more of a "Ron Weasley" look, and Ron was scheduled to be our next major character, I decided to go ahead and play catch up with her to do my own Ron look, focusing on his journey in the second story.

Ginger hair nail art base with freehand heart, broken wand, and spiders to represent Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Saturday 11 April 2015

Hey, Swatch It! Red Carpet Diamond

Hey y'all!

I told you yesterday that I would have a different kind of Swatch It today, and that's because this is my first-ever swatch of a gel polish on the blog!  Since getting my basic nail qualifications last autumn, I've been experimenting a lot with different enhancement and polishing systems, and I'm finally at a point where I'm ready to start showing and telling a bit more about my experiences on the blog, and hopefully soon on my YouTube channel.  After dipping my toes in the gel polish pool with doing acrygel overlays, I've been slowly collecting a few colors here and there, and this beauty was one of my special treats to myself from our trip to Texas last month - a Red Carpet Manicure Power of the Gem collection from my birth month - Diamond.

Swatch and review of Red Carpet Manicure Diamond gel polish glitter top coat.

Friday 10 April 2015

Geeky Owl's New Year Confetti - NCC Recreations

Hey y'all!

Happy Friday!  It has been a bit of a hectic week around here, so I've not had a whole lot to say, but I'm really excited that today I get to show you another recreation to celebrate the third anniversary of the Nail Challenge Collaborative.  I feel like although I've only just joined the NCC myself, I've been a fan of so many of these ladies for a long time, and that certainly includes the artist I'm recreating today.  Here is my version of Geeky Owl's New Year Confetti nail art.

Recreation of Geeky Owl's New Year's Confetti nail art.

Wednesday 8 April 2015

Purple and Gold Vortex Nail Art - WIDW

Hey y'all!

It's hump day again, and that of course means it's time for What I Did (with it) Wednesday!  This week I created nail art from a swatch of Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Witches Get Stitches.  I decided the plummy purple needed a bit of gold and some stamping, so I turned to my semi-recently-acquired chrome finish polishes for help to create this look.

Gold and purple plum nail art stamped vortex.

Monday 6 April 2015

Neon Leopard birthday nail art

Hey y'all!

As you may have read, Saturday was my birthday, and of course I had to give myself a pretty manicure to celebrate, right?  After a lot of hemming and hawing, I finally decided on this bright, sparkly, and fun neon leopard print with black diamond crystals and silver glitter accent.

Birthday nail art of neon leopard print and black diamond swarovski crystal accents.

Saturday 4 April 2015

Hey, Swatch It! Octopus Party Witches Get Stitches

Hey y'all!

First off... happy birthday to me!  I am turning 39 for the very first time this year (because I will not be going through the door marked "40"), so that's pretty momentous.   I'll be giving you a recap of the birthday festivities on Monday, but today is all about the swatching.  Last fall, I bought several of Octopus Party Nail Lacquer's Halloween line, and I've already swatched all the full-size bottles I bought, but I also grabbed some minis because I wasn't sure if I would love them or not.  Unfortunately they've been sitting in my untrieds for 6 months now, so I figured it was time to show a little love.  The first one I have to show you is Witches Get Stitches.

Swatch and review of Octopus Party Nail Lacquer Witches Get Stitches.

Friday 3 April 2015

FingerFood's Daisies - NCC Recreations

Hey y'all!

Happy Friday!  Today we kick off my second month in the Nail Challenge Collaborative, which happens to be celebrating its third anniversary this month!  In honor of 3 years of talented nail artists doing monthly themes, we've decided to use this month's theme to recreate some of our favorite NCC looks from days gone by.  Today I'm recreating a really sweet look done by a former NCC member and an all-around really cool chick, so here's my version of FingerFood's Sugar-Coated Daisies.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

Teal and Plum Dot Flowers - WIDW

Hey y'all!

Happy April to you!  The first three months of 2015 have absolutely steamrolled me, and I can hardly believe it's already springtime, and more importantly, birthday time for me. :)  Today's What I Did Wednesday plays on that spring theme, and I've used Monday's swatch of Plush to create some drop-dot flowers in this colorful and playful look.

What I Did Wednesday plum drop dot flowers nail art over teal textured swatch with yellow rhinestone accents.