Leighton Denny So LA

This will be a short post as I only took 2 pics. It was raining and I was using this colour as a base for another manicure so I just took a couple of quick snaps, but I love this colour so much I thought it deserved a small blog post.
I got Leighton Denny So LA in a swap a couple of years ago now, quite a funny swap I think as it had been swapped 2 or 3 times before, but once it arrived at my house, already swatched a number of times, it was destined to stay. I fell in love with it the minute I swatched it myself. I have never been into pink nails but I love this, its got the most beautiful blue tinge to it, that I think makes it very wearable.
So here it is :)

Leighton Denny So LA

 

Iconic Effect Rosey Cheeks

Just beautiful! Today's polish is another from the fantastic collection by Kelly and Kerry at Iconic Effect. Rosey Cheeks is from the Jelly Shore collection and it is mixture of fine silver glitter, red, purple and black glitter and some very fine bar glitter all set in a beautiful rose pink jelly.
I have layered one coat over Leighton Denny So LA, one of my very favourite bright pinks and I think it makes a great base for this polish. I also tried it over LD Crushed Grape and I think it looked fab but a tiny bit dark for the summer (what summer? it is tipping it down with rain)
This is quite a delicate glitter but I love it, even though there's no sun the red, purple and silver keep catching the light. Because So LA is such a strong pink you can't really see the pink base of Rosey Cheeks here but I still think they make a great combination.
Finally the sun came out and I got to take some pic but frustratingly I am not sure the camera has fully picked up the beauty of this, except maybe on the indoor shot. The delicate sparkles look stunning - love love love it!

Iconic Effect Rosey Cheeks

 

 

 

 

Rosey Cheeks - pic taken indoors - so pretty!!

Emily's leopard print nails

Not my nails today, these are Emily's.

I showed Emily the latest blog post on Nuthin but a nail thing and she wanted nails like that. Well, I think the beautiful gradient manicure was a bit beyond me but I thought we'd give the leopard spots a try. We have used 2True Shade 2 (Blue), OPI Alpine Snow and Nails Inc Black Taxi to create a leopard print, just using a dotting tool. A bit of practice needed I think but not too bad for a first go.

Leopard print nails

  

  

 

Tiger with the leopard print nails

Tiger stripes and leopard spots

Leighton Denny Captivated

After a few brights it was nice to get back to the colour I have always loved on nails - blue! This is Leighton Denny Captivated. It is a lovely deep dark blue cream, darker than royal blue but not quite navy. Coverage with two coats was great, the pics are taken here with no top coat as I was actually using this for a base for another polish, but since I'd haven't worn this since I started blogging I thought I'd take a few pics. I love my blues, blue is in joint lead with purple on my nail varnish spreadsheet. Purple only because I have a huge range from very pale lilac through to very dark maroon categorised as purple, and I have more purple glitters!
I find this blue very easy to wear, its very classic I think and I am perfectly happy wearing such a dark colour in the summer. I did miss a bit of a trick with photgraphy though as I have just blogged my latest knitting project and the colour match would have been perfect! This is me being caught out for doing this mani yesterday, saving the pics and blogging a day late.

Leighton Denny Captivated

 

 

Wonder Wave by Drops Design - knitted cardigans for my nieces

I have just completed the latest knitting request from my sister, in the nick of time!
My deadline was this week, to make two cardigans for my nieces to wear to a wedding. No problem I thought, I'd done the pattern before, it'll be simple...
... or maybe not, "we'd like them in navy blue, please" says my sister. Of course unless you are in good light you can't see any mistakes and I'd forgotten how tricky this pattern can be. It is actually a very simple set of 4 rows, repeated, 13 stitches repeated, but if you forget to wrap the wool round between stitches its 4 rows later that you spot you have a missing stitch! Its one of those where you really have to concentrate.

These are lovely little cardigans, by Drops Design. I found the pattern on Ravelry (I love Ravelry!!) and the simple repeat pattern results in a pretty scalloped wavy effect.
Knitted on 4mm needles, I used a 500g ball of Faircroft Junior, 100% acrylic in Navy. I have used this wool before for this pattern in a pretty lilac shade (easier to spot mistakes) and it washes well and is soft on little ones skin.

The pattern does get a bit tricky when you set the sleeves in, especially using straight needles as I had no doubled ended needles in the right size, but I got there in the end and I just hope my sister and her girls like them. I love the wavy pattern you get with this design, the way it decreases at the yoke, continuing the waves right up to the neckline and it sits well over a pretty summer dress or Tshirt & leggings.

 

Iconic Effect Dark Skies

Well, time for something very pretty, actually stunning! and in honour of its name, the sun has gone in, the clouds have gathered and my pics of Iconic Effect Dark Skies are taken under a rather dark sky! Nevertheless, I think you can see that it is absolutely beautiful.
Dark Skies is a mixture of blue sequins, and blue, black and silver hexes of various sizes in a blue base. The base is quite sheer so I have layered this over two coats of Leighton Denny Captivated. This is one coat of Dark Skies, and then I went fishing for the sequins. They looked huge at first but I really like them, the accountant in me keeps thinking they should be more evenly distributed across each nail but actually I think they look great with a more random positioning.
This painted on well, dried quickly and with one coat of top coat the finish is smooth.
My biggest problem with Iconic Effect polishes was that I ordered 5 and it was very difficult to decide which one to wear first! that and the fact that this will have to come off to try the others - what a delicious dilemma!!

Iconic Effect Dark Skies

 

 

OPI The Impossible

I think this will be a short post. OPI The Impossible from the Mariah Carey range is a coral red sand, with red hexes, and pink, dark red/purple and silver glitter.
It is very pretty, easy to paint and wears well but I am not sure about this shade on my skin tone. I think I'll love this on my toes but I am not wowed by it on my fingers. It is possibly unfair to this polish that I had just cut my nails so they are really short, and not feeling very comfortable.
I love liquid sands, really love the texture and this has a very pretty sparkle to it, more sparkly than the camera has picked up here, just not for me this week :(
I think some polishes you have to be in the right mood for and this has been a pretty challenging week, so I feel mean for saying I don't like it, I do, but I just don't love it! I am pleased I have tried it but glad I only have it in a mini.

OPI The Impossible

 

Jacava Crimson Crush

Well this is another beauty! Since I was brave enough last week to wear a very bright pink (Jacava Candy Floss), this week I have gone one step further, and I am wearing red!
Less than 5% of my collection is red, and that includes a number of dark reds like Nails Inc Victoria and Leighton Denny Saturn Seduction - proper red reds would be Nails Inc St James and A England Perceval and that is literally it!

Welcome to my collection Jacava Crimson Crush! Crimson Crush is a beautiful red cream, which just hints towards blue and I am really loving it. I love the quality of these polishes, they glide on so easily, level out and dry quickly. I can just see my nail line, but it's not as apparent as the pictures in the sunshine show and  it was too hot really to paint a 3rd coat. This is a beautiful vibrant and sophisticated shade, and I am now really looking forward to the release of the Autumn Winter Collection to see what new colours Jacava bring out.

Jacava Crimson Crush

 

 

 

 

Mint Mani for Talia - Nails Inc Haymarket with Grosvenor Gardens

This is my tribute mani for Talia Joy. The nail blogging community and facebook ladies are all wearing mint manicures as a tribute to this lovely girl who sadly lost her fight with cancer earlier this week.

I chose Nails Inc Haymarket and Nails Inc Grosvenor Gardens to do a glitter gradient mani. 

 

Emily de Molly Harmony

This is my other posting that is out of sequence, my very first ever nail varnish from Emily de Molly. It would have been my first indie but then 2 lovely UK companies went live with their collections, and this was still on order - probably still flying or sailing over from the Australia!
Harmony is a soft grey creme with large white hexes, purple and turquoise green hexes and then smaller silver hexes. This is only my 2nd polish where the glitters are set in a semi opaque base, and I was a bit unsure of it. I was not overly keen on more than one layer, not really liking the glitters being painted over, so I have gone for one coat over Leighton Denny Zero Gravity. I did a few experimental swatches layering this polish but one coat over pale grey was my fave. It still took me a while to be sure I liked it, but I had lots of compliments about it and by the time I took it off, I was sold!
You can't love everything first time, and some I will never love but this one is a keeper! Everyone said how great these were, think they thought I was crazy when I said I wasn't sure.
These pics were taken over a few days, the last couple were taken by the time I'd pretty much fallen in love and I really liked it with my grey patterned shirt, the sun was shining and it was about 10 degrees warmer - think the lovely polish was just waiting for better weather so it could creep into my heart :)

Emily de Molly Harmony

 

 

 

Leighton Denny Zero Gravity

I am a bit out of sequence with these posts, mainly because I did this mani and the next one, and then couldn't decide if I liked it so I decided to wait until I was sure before posting. I never want to write a negative blog, as you can see if you follow me, most are about how much I love a polish, and I thought it would be unfair to blog while I was still undecided.

Anyway, I do love this, there was no doubt about that, I have actually worn Leighton Denny Zero Gravity a few times before and loved it. It's the next one that I was a bit uncertain about.

Zero Gravity is a lovely pale grey creme, perfect in two coats, with a beautiful glossy finish. I can't actually remember but I think there is no top coat on these pics.

This is a real "me" polish, safe in my comfort zone, and look - plenty of woolies to match, the other clue that this is not my most current mani :)

Leighton Denny Zero Gravity

 

 

 

China Glaze Razzle Me Dazzle Me

Glitter or no glitter, glitter or no glitter - tricky one! Jacava Candy Floss, is so beautiful, I could have done with a couple more days of wearing it on its own but it's Saturday, and it's party night! so it has to be glitter! I haven't worn this China Glaze Bitz 'n Pieces glitter yet, but I think this is the perfect occasion for Razzle Me Dazzle Me - a mix of black and pinky silver hexes of all sizes with black bar glitter.
The vibrant Candy Floss makes a great backdrop for this stunning glitter, which I think is quite delicate and I had this combo in mind when I decided to wear my one and only maxi dress, which is pink, black and white. I have applied just one coat, and the glitter distribution was perfect for the look I was after.

Razzle Me Dazzle Me - in the sun

Razzle Me Dazzle Me - in the shade