Friday 27 February 2015

Stamping! DRK XL Designer 2 with Avon Classic Fit and Leighton Denny Honey Trap

Well, I have been stamping again - I was all set to try a bit of lead lighting today, I'd done a base of Leighton Denny Honey Trap. I'd then painted TarasTalons Mardi Gras on my thumbs and 2 fingers of each hand. Mardigras is a delicate pale blue holo - very pretty. I had then added a touch of TarasTalons Ol' Blue Eyes - a lovely mid blue holo - with saran wrap. The intention was to stamp all the nails and then lead light the remaining 2 fingers on each hand with the same TarasTalons polishes, as they are quite sheer. It was to be a bit of an experiment, but then the postman came...
The postman delivered my DRK plates, so of course I had to try them and being rather impatient I decided I'd stick with the polishes I'd planned and stamp straight onto the ready prepared nails.
I'd been thinking to do something floral, so I quickly scanned the plates and found a very pretty image on DRK XL Designer 2 along the lines of what I'd had in mind and went for it!
I stamped with Avon Classic Fit, a lovely dark blue. I tested this earlier in the week and was delighted to see it stamped really well and was perfect for the look I was thinking of. In my mind were the images of blue Toile de Jouy, like the cup in the final picture.
The mani has ended up being a bit of a compromise as the blue base that would have been perfect for a lead lighting look is a little too close to the stamping colour so it's lost a bit of clarity. The 2 accent nails are much more successful, although my top coat blurred one of them - OK so I am really happy with the ring finger!! and the 2 accent nails on the other hand look lovely and crisp, the blue against the nude looks perfect!
DRK XL Designer 2 with Avon Classic Fit
and Leighton Denny Honey Trap
 
 
 
 
right hand - DRK XL Designer 2
  

Thursday 26 February 2015

A2Z Series - P is for Pale

It's Thursday, so it's time for the next letter in the A2Z series, this week is P for Pale.
I am not really a pale polish wearer, except for nudes but I recently had the opportunity to buy a polish which is pale and yellow - not at all in my comfort zone but sometimes you just have to try!
Above the Curve Hufflepuff is a pale creamy yellow with tiny black glitters and a few larger black hexes. This is from the Harry Potter collection, Hufflepuff being one of the houses, apparently.
The polish is a crelly so I opted for undies rather than a huge number of coats. I used the amusingly named Attitude Masking Tape as my base - this is a warm cream, a buttermilk sort of shade which I have had in my stash for ages - it really only gets used as base but it's a nice quality and dries well.
I then added 2 coats of Hufflepuff. The larger hexes were a bit shy, but I don't particularly mind - not a huge fan of big glitters, and if they'd all stayed in the bottle I'd have been quite happy. However, despite my hatred of yellow I really like this polish, I think the fine black glitters that pepper the polish make all the difference, and the yellow is a really nice soft creamy colour. I wouldn't rank it as an all time fave in the ATC range but I like it a lot more than I expected to.
I completed the mani by stamping a sort of swirly tessellating triangle pattern from Pueen Buffet Leisure 79 in pale black - yes pale black! It might look grey, but it's just a rather wishy washy black. Perfect for the look I wanted! Saffron London polishes were recommended for stamping but the formula changed so they aren't really opaque enough. However, sometimes you want something a bit more subtle so I still think there is a place for them in my stamping box.
Overall I am really pleased with my Pale mani, not my best A2Z but certainly an improvement on last week's. I like the subtle look of the stamping combined with the glitters obscured by the crelly, and I like the grey and creamy yellow combination.
Above the Curve Hufflepuff, with Pueen Buffet Leisure 79
A2Z Series - P is for Pale
Above the Curve Hufflepuff, with Pueen Buffet Leisure 79
Above the Curve Hufflepuff, with Pueen Buffet Leisure 79
 Above the Curve Hufflepuff, with Pueen Buffet Leisure 79
 Above the Curve Hufflepuff, with Pueen Buffet Leisure 79
Above the Curve Hufflepuff, with Pueen Buffet Leisure 79

Above the Curve Hufflepuff
Above the Curve Hufflepuff
 Above the Curve Hufflepuff



Look HERE to see what everyone else got up to


Wednesday 25 February 2015

Water Spotting with Nails Inc Princes Street

I have firmly avoided water marbling and water spotting in the belief that it is just too messy, but a friend set up a Facebook group for water marbling so I thought maybe I should give it a try. Another friend posted up her latest mani using water spotting so I thought I'd start there as it looked a little bit easier.
I am not going to bore you with the details of what I did, not 100% sure what went wrong but I need to practice. What I will say is that this took me 3 hours, and clean up was hideous!
I started with a base of Nails Inc Fulham Palace Road a nice soft nude, and for the water spotting I used Nails Inc Princes Street, a lovely dark blue /purple - a blurple!
I am posting pics of both hands so you can see how different they are, both look OK, not fab but I would have preferred both hands to look similar!
You'll see that clean up and picture taking are noticeably more ropey for the right hand. My left hand can paint and stamp but it can't wield a clean up brush or hold the camera still!
Anyway, I like the colours together, and either of the finished effects look quite good but not convinced it's worth the grief. I could stamp Princes Street over Fulham Palace Road in a lot less time but at least I gave it a go.
Water Spotting with Nails Inc Princes Street
 
Water Spotting with Nails Inc Princes Street
- the other hand

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Stamping! Moyou London Holy Shapes 04 - double stamped

Today I have been stamping again - this time with Moyou London Holy Shapes 04. I fell in love with this plate when I saw it, I just saw Art Deco written all over it and I had to have it!
I decided to stamp 2 different images, one in white and one in black so I went for a mid toned base colour, the gorgeous purple holo Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan.
I didn't really think this one through - it's tricky enough getting alignment right on one geometric image but I was asking for trouble then trying to line up a 2nd image over the top. I got there (or close enough) in the end but I did have to re-do a couple.
I used Essence Stampy 001 for the white and I will say, this white is so opaque, I didn't really like it over the purple as the bands of colour were just too strong. It would have been OK for a finer lined design, but in my opinion I wish I'd chosen a slightly softer shade for stage one, maybe Mentality White Opaque, or a metallic polish.
Anyway, having almost lined up 10 images I was sticking with plan A, and moved on to the 2nd stage. I used Essence Stampy 002  and actually I think the design I chose saved the mani. The black broke up the white expanse and I was glad I had persevered. The alignment is by no means perfect but I am still happy with the end result, and I love that I can still see the purple holo shimmering in the background.
Moyou London Holy Shapes 04 - double stamped
Moyou London Holy Shapes 04 - double stamped
Moyou London Holy Shapes 04 - double stamped
Moyou London Holy Shapes 04 - double stamped



Monday 23 February 2015

Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan

Today's polish is a beautiful purple holo by Above the Curve. Pretend It's a Plan is another polish from the Doctor Who collection and it is a lovely mid purple.
The holo is very pretty, and looked absolutely stunning in the 5 minutes of sunshine I caught this morning, before the hail stones! I managed to get a couple of photos before the sun disappeared behind a huge cloud and the sunny pictures are more colour accurate than the others. This is more a pinky purple rather than the bluer purple the other pictures show.
Not the best pictures ever, but I think I was lucky to get any at all!
The polish applied well, good coverage in 2 coats and dried quickly. Pictures are taken with top coat.
This is a lovely shade of purple, which originally I didn't go for as I headed straight for the darker ones in the collection, but then an opportunity arose to acquire a few more so I leapt at the chance. This one is just a mini bottle but the new style mini bottles are great, they look just like the full size bottles and brushes are the same excellent quality.
Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan
Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan
 Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan
Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan
 Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan
Above the Curve Pretend It's a Plan

Sunday 22 February 2015

Stamping! Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001

I'd like to say I planned today's mani but actually I made this up as I went along. The intention had been to try a Sharpie and hand sanitiser mani and then stamp over it, but once I'd done that I felt it needed a bit more.
I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and then did some scribbles with a red Sharpie. Then I took a small brush, applied some hand sanitiser gel and started pushing the colour around. This didn't work as well as I'd hoped as the scribble/dots I'd drawn didn't completely disappear. Maybe my gel wasn't the right one, the colour still mixed and covered the whole nail to make a lovely pink shade but it wasn't a major success.
Anyway, since I was going to stamp over it I decided to leave it as it was. I stamped over it with A England Lancelot and the more solid rose image on Pueen Buffet Leisure 80. The result was pretty but I felt it needed something more, green probably. With hindsight maybe I would have added some green Sharpie before stamping or some green glitter.
Anyway, I added a coat of Dollish Urban Camo. This is a mix of black, white, blue, green and yellow glitters in a clear base. It is the first Dollish I have ever used and I was a little disappointed in how much glitter I got in the first coat, even after leaving the bottle upside down for some time, but it served the purpose of adding a little colour.
Then I stamped again using the line image of the rose from the same plate and Essence Stampy 001.
I really like the final combination of white, pink, red, dark red and the flashes of colour from the glitter. Not sure it looks like a flower anymore but as an abstract pattern I love it!!

Pueen Buffet Leisure 80 and A England Lancelot
Pueen Buffet Leisure 80 and A England Lancelot
 Pueen Buffet Leisure 80 and A England Lancelot

Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001
Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001
 Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001
 Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001
 Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001
 Pueen Buffet Leisure 80, A England Lancelot and Essence Stampy 001


Friday 20 February 2015

Stamping! with Pet'la plates, A England Saint George and Mentality Green Opaque over Fancy Gloss Pumpkin Patch

I have a 3 part mani to share with you today, a new polish and 2 new plates. This is also my Chinese New Year mani but I'll try not to make the post too long!!
I started with Fancy Gloss Pumpkin Patch, which is a beautiful pumpkin orange with really pretty glitter that picks up red, yellow and green in the light. I think this might have been limited edition (for Halloween) but I bought mine from Rainbow Connection and it is still available there.
The polish applied well, good coverage in 2 coats although I could see the nail line in the light. Not so much that it worried me but I am finding the longer my nails are the more I can see it as light shines through - I'll have to learn to live with it!
I did this mani over 3 days, so yesterday, Chinese New Year, I added the Mentality Green Opaque and used Pet'la plate Golden Russian. I love the Pet'la plates - they are brass so they look a lot different to all my other plates but the quality is excellent.
I think the metallic Mentality polish worked well over Pumpkin Patch, a lovely contrast between the soft polished sheen of the green  and the sparkly intense orange.
Finally, today, I added a 2nd layer of stamping with A England Saint George, a gorgeous dark intense holo teal and Pet'la plate Flake No More. I love it!! I think the dark teal with the paler green work really well against the orange, and again the plate was brilliant.
I love double stamping, it's a bit trial and error for me but sometimes you get some really lovely combinations, and whilst I wouldn't wear orange for more than a day or two, I'd happily wear this for some time!
Fancy Gloss Pumpkin Patch
Fancy Gloss Pumpkin Patch
 Fancy Gloss Pumpkin Patch
Mentality Green Opaque  and Pet'la plate Golden Russian
Mentality Green Opaque
and Pet'la
 plate Golden Russian
 Mentality Green Opaque  and Pet'la plate Golden Russian
A England Saint George and  Pet'la plate Flake No More
A England Saint George and
Pet'la plate Flake No More
 A England Saint George and  Pet'la plate Flake No More


Thursday 19 February 2015

A2Z Series - O is for Old

It's Thursday again and this week's letter is O - O is for Old.
I decided to use my oldest polish, Avon Lagoon. I am not entirely sure how how old it it is, but I think it's from about 2004. Back in the days before I was really into nails, I only had Avon polishes and Lagoon was a real favourite.
Obviously my tastes have changed a bit in 10 years and pale blue sheer and shimmery would not be a go-to polish but blue is still my favourite colour for nails.
Anyway, I wasn't really going to wear this on its own although I took a quick picture for reference.
I decided quite some time ago that the gorgeous Messy Mansion plate MM43 would be the perfect plate to use, as it is all about clockwork type images and in this digital age, clockwork means old!
I also decided that A England Virgin Queen would be the perfect stamping partner, with its burnished bronze shade being just right for the clockwork, giving the mani that antiquey feel.
What I failed to factor in was how it would photograph. What I can see -  pretty, but quite subtle mani of blue and bronze - what my camera can see - something blue perhaps? shame my oldest polish wasn't a bit darker or lighter!
Well, since pictures are being unhelpful here, I can report that Messy Mansion MM43 is a lovely plate, A England Virgin Queen is a beautiful polish and stamps nicely, and my oldest polish is the worst choice ever for a stamping base. Rest assured, MM43 and Virgin Queen will be used again, very soon over a nice dark creme base!
A2Z Series - O is for Old
A England Virgin Queen and MM43 over my oldest polish
 
 
 
 

Avon Lagoon
Look HERE to see what everyone else got up to


Wednesday 18 February 2015

Stamping! Emily de Molly EDM 11

I am so pleased with my stamping today. I was really torn, I loved the polish I was wearing and wasn't sure I could bear to stamp over it, but on the other hand I wanted to stamp!
Last week Annette did an Emily de Molly restock at Rainbow Connection and added some new plates - EDM11 has these wonderful Art Deco style geometric designs, and I had to have it! I decided to try out this plate with a white polish over the green ATC mani.
Essence Stampy 001 is a great polish for stamping but it is very white, so this time I decided to try my other white that I bought for stamping, and I am glad I did. It is by Saffron London, and it is a much softer white. I don't think it has a name but it stamped really nicely.
The end result is quite subtle but I am really pleased with it, the plate is perfect and I love the image I chose over the green base. For a geometric design it is reasonably straight on most of my nails, and I think I'd have been less comfortable with the stronger white.
I did disturb it a bit with the top coat, I'll need to be mindful of that in the future but all in all I love this mani!
Emily de Molly EDM 11
Emily de Molly EDM 11
Emily de Molly EDM 11
 Emily de Molly EDM 11
 Emily de Molly EDM 11
 Emily de Molly EDM 11
 Emily de Molly EDM 11
 Emily de Molly EDM 11