October Challenges - Fall Gradient and Pumpkins

I have combined Fall Gradient for #30daysof colourchallenge and Pumpkins for #clairestelle8oct.
I started with the base of Jacava Shawfield Street and then I used the Jacava and OPI Skyfall to do my gradient. I decided to keep away from the more yellow shades for this gradient, not least because I was stamping pumpkins later and I wanted a reasonable contrast, but also because I think for a gradient sometimes its nice to just use two quite contrasting colours - in this case dark sage green and deep dark red.
I was pleased with my gradient - I didn't spend too long going for a really smooth one, but I was disappointed that it was raining when I was done so I was limited with choices for taking pictures.
Then I added the pumpkins. I had decided to use Colour Alike Scary Pumpkin and Esmaltes da Kelly Bee with my only pumpkin image, Cici&sisi 10, but then after doing the right hand, I got all nervous and wondered if the yellow was too yellow. On the left hand I switched  Bee for Virtuous Polish Glory, and I deliberately did not clean the plate after each orange stamp so the golden yellow stamping picked up a bit of orange too - it's a more subtle look but even now I still can't decide which I like best!
I am blaming my indecision on a slightly woolly head caused by the most stupid cold that is lingering well into its second week. I am also undecided on whether the matte or glossy finish is nicer - to be honest I really like all the versions - I need more days to wear all the options!!!
I'll be interested to see what the Instagram response is as you really get a feel for what people like and don't like :).

OPI Skyfall and Jacava Shawfield Street

CICI&SISI 10

An InLinkz Link-up

October Challenges - Witches

The challenge on Saturday for #clairestelle8oct was Witches. I have no witchy plates so I have gone with witchy striped stockings and black cats - all witches have black cats!!!
I started with a base of Kaleidoscope Spring 09 - if I was a witch I'd be happy with these just as they are for witchy nails - it is a lovely bright green with a subtle blue glitter, almost a dust - stunning!!
Then I added stripes with Esmaltes da Kelly Tuco and Moyou London Pro XL 01. Blue is my favourite nail colour but when it comes to combos - green and purple every time! I love these stripes even if they look a bit weird on my curved nails!
Then I added the cats with A England Camelot and Messy Mansion MM50. These certainly looked better glossy but I took a matte shot too as photographing them was a challenge!

Kaleidoscope Spring 09

 

 

Moyou London Pro XL 01 and Esmalted da Kelly Tuco

 

Messy Mansion MM50

 

October Challenges - Pink Ombre and Bats

I combined two more challenges, Pink Ombre for #30dayofcolourchallenge and Bats for #clairestelle8oct - because they go together, right?
Firstly, Pink Ombre for #30daysofcolourchallenge - this was a challenge!! do I even own 5 pinks ??? well I do, but I am not a pink person so I don't have a lot of pinks, and finding 5 in the same finish was pretty tough, and yes, I do know an ombre should be different shades of the same tone but this is the best I could do. For reference, the colours used are Nails Inc Fiesta, Leighton Denny So L.A.,Nails Inc Power Pink, Leighton Denny Little Thief, and Nails Inc George Street.
I really don't like non-matching nails so I didn't keep them like this for long. I had this idea about bats against a pinkish purple sunset.
I wanted to try something like a gradient but a bit different. I painted the base of each nail with Leighton Denny Really Royal which is a lovely deep plummy purple, a freebie in the September Harpers Bazaar magazine. Then I used a small brush and some nail varnish remover to wash it down the nail. I was quite pleased with the effect and I think it helped to bring the whole thing together.
Then I added a coat of one of my favourite glitters from Taras Talons, called Vampire Bat. This is a lovely collection of glitters, mostly purple with green, red, and silver, in a clear base.
Finally I stamped the only bat image I could find, from Cici & Sisi 10 using Colour Alike Twilight. This is an interesting polish - as I went to remove some stamping (very duff placement) I realised that a light swipe with the clean up brush removes the darker part of this pewter coloured polish and leaves silver! As the stamped image is bat with a star and a moon, where I got the whole image I deliberately lightened the star and moon. Twilight is a bit messy on clean-up, leaving shimmer on your skin if you are not careful, but it stamps nicely, almost black, with that hint of silver.
The last thing I did was add a coat of OPI matte top coat - I think that helped to soften the whole thing.

Pink Ombre

Pink Ombre with Purple

Taras Talons Vampire Bat

Cici & Sisi 10 and Colour Alike Twilight

Cici & Sisi 10 and Colour Alike Twilight - matte

An InLinkz Link-up

Stamping! Mentality Beige Opaque over Smitten Seasonal Lattes

I have some more stamping to show you today. I think I had already bought the plate I have used today when Smitten Seasonal Lattes arrived, and I knew that whenever I got round to trying the Smitten this is the plate I'd be using to stamp over it. I first saw this plate on a posting by Anne from Betty's Beauty Bombs, and I just had to have it! Plate no 10 from CICI&SISI includes an image of coffee beans and it was that that caught my eye so of course it was the right stamp to use with Seasonal Lattes.
I was thinking of using a cream or white but I want to use white for snowflakes later in the week so I have used Mentality Beige Opaque. This has actually ended up looking gold, but I think that's OK - it goes nicely with the warmth of the brown holo.
The stamping is not perfect, I am finding different plates seem to need different levels of scraping, some harder than others, some in different directions or at a varied angle and I obviously need plenty more practice but I think the small imperfections in the stamped image add some depth to the mani.
The Mentality polish stamped well, and it was reasonably easy to clean up afterwards. I did smudge one nail when I top coated, I have to remember to float the brush very lightly across the nail, and certainly not to go back and do a 2nd sweep which is what I did on the little finger.
On the whole though I think these are OK, I like the contrast of the satiny finish of the Mentality with the depth of the shimmery holo, the glimmers of rainbow still peeping through.
No sunshine today, so I have some outdoor pics, some indoors using the desk lamp, and 1 with the flash.

Mentality Beige Opaque over Smitten Seasonal Lattes 
with CICI&SISI 10

 

 

 

Nails inspired by a gorgeous scarf : some dotting and stamping

Today I have done a mani inspired by a really lovely scarf I bought from Colour Therapy. I don't buy a lot of clothes, most of what I wear is either ancient, knitted or both! but I do have a bit of a weakness for a pretty scarf!
This scarf is navy blue, tealy green, and a soft grey with some additional dark grey patterning.
As this scarf arrived around the same time as 2 delicious looking holo polishes from Colors by Llarowe, one blue and one teal it seemed obvious to me that I should try to recreate something of the scarf on my nails. In addition to In the Navy and Gizmo (teal), I decide to use Nails Inc Marylebone Mews for the grey part.
With In the Navy as my base I added some quite random flower shapes with my largest dotting tool and Marylebone Mews. Once dry, I then added the 2nd layer of flower shapes with Gizmo.It looked reasonable, worked vaguely as it had in my mind but something was missing, it needed some definition. I went to my stamping plates to look for something floral, and chose CICI&SISI 10. This plate has an image where the flowers look like they've been drawn with a spirograph (an arty toy I had when I was young). This was perfect as really I just wanted some lines on the mani, to pull it all together. I stamped with A England Camelot, and I am really impressed with the finished result. The 2 holo shades and the creme polish look great under the black stamping, the black barely visible over the blue but clearer over the flowers.
I am so pleased I added the stamping over this, the blue and green holos are both such lovely colours, and I am glad I used a creme for the 3rd shade, another holo I think would have been too much but the black just finishes it off.
This definitely will be recorded as one of my more arty efforts and now I am wondering what else I can do using these techniques.

Nails inspired by a gorgeous scarf

  

 

 

 

flash photo

the scarf