Knitty Nails: Esmaltes da KellyFrogger

Tuesday, 6 October 2015

October Challenges - Autumn Colours

The challenge for #clairestelle8oct was Autumn colours and I planned to build on the glitter and yellow stamping from yesterday.
I don't have a red cream stamping polish but I remembered Nails Inc Gatwick which I got in a lucky dip. It is a matte red that I'd be unlikely to use otherwise so I thought it was worth giving that a try. I did a test and reckoned it would be OK over a pale base which is why I started with the yellow stamping.
I stamped another image from Pet'la Plate Golden Russian with Nails Inc Gatwick. It looked like this hadn't worked until I top coated it and then I think it looked pretty good.
Next I used Esmaltes da Kelly Frogger and the same plate to add some green leaves, and then finally I used Colour Alike Scary Pumpkin for the final layer of stamping.
You can only just see the glitter glinting through but I am happy with the way this went, and I like the final layer of shimmery orange. These Colour Alike polishes stamp nicely but they will leave shimmer on your skin if you skip the latex protection, or whatever you use when stamping, and then clean up is tedious! Sellotape doesn't seem to shift it.

Nails Inc Gatwick and Pet'la Plate Golden Russian

Esmaltes da Kelly Frogger and Pet'la Plate Golden Russian

Colour Alike Scary Pumpkin and Pet'la Plate Golden Russian

Wednesday, 23 September 2015

September Challenges - Fall Colour, Marble and some stamping

Today's prompt was Fall Colour for #30daysofcolourchallenge.
I chose Glisten & Glow Rum & Coke as it was one of my newest polishes and it looks pretty Autumnal to me. This stunning golden brown polish is probably one of the most holo polishes I own so of course it has rained all day. However, if you google you can see lots of awesome holo shots of this wonderful creation! You still need to see just how gorgeous it is even if it is raining, after all - it is Autumn and I am in England.
This polish applied beautifully. I thought it looked a bit sheer on the first coat but the second coat gave perfect coverage and the holo in this is stunning (under the LED light, and in other swatches I have seen!)
After half a day, I gave up trying to get a sunshine shot and went for an couple of indoor shots instead.
I am really impressed with this polish from the Glisten & Glow Cocktail Collection, Round 2. This is my first G&G polish although of course I have my wonderful HK Girl topcoat which I love!
I bought this, and my topcoat from Rainbow Connection - lovely Annette has most of my hard earned wages, I think!!
The next prompt was Marble for #clairestelle8sept. I had debated with myself for quite some time whether I would try dry marbling again, or whether to try and recreate the look of marble on my nails. Watermarbling was not an option! I went for the marble look, and added Barry M Coconut and A England Camelot to the holo nails. I just added small blobs and swished them around with a small brush and some nail varnish remover.
It seemed sacrilege to cover up the holo but I will wear this again very soon! When the sun shines!
Then I went on stamping spree - no challenges, just for fun. It wasn't a huge success, but all the time I am practicing with colours and stamping images, working out where the contrast works, which images work over what types of base.
Firstly I stamped with Esmaltes da Kelly Frogger and Apipila Super Plate A. Plate and polish both stamped nicely but not really a good enough contrast over the marble base.
Then I added A England Perceval with Uber Chic UC 1-03. This looked good but because both stamped images were quite dense the holo was virtually hidden. The light was bad by now so the photos are not good and I had been striving for Autumnal - I think I got Christmassy!
Finally, and most successfully I think, I added some autumn leaves with Esmaltes da Kelly Bee and Moyou London Mother Nature 07.