November Challenges - Dots

Today's prompt for #clairestelle8nov was Dots.
I decided to use yesterday's Roses mani as my base and then see how many layers I could add!
I started with Hit the Bottle Snowed Under and the very large dots on Apipila Super Plate A.
Then I used Esmaltes da Kelly Wendy and the same image again.
Then I used Kleancolor Madly Black and the smaller dot image on the same plate. Finally I added a coat of OPI Matte top coat.

Hit the Bottle Snowed Under and Apipila Super Plate A

Esmaltes da Kelly Wendy and Apipila Super Plate A

Kleancolour Madly Black and Apipila Super Plate A

Kleancolour Madly Black and Apipila Super Plate A
 - matte

November Challenges - Gothic

The prompt for #clairestelle8nov was Gothic - what better place to start than with one of the gothic beauties by A England - Jane Eyre.
Jane Eyre is a deep dark black with red shimmer, in some lights it does just look black but it has these gorgeous red glints when you catch it in the light so I used that as the base for this mani.
I did have a couple of false starts as I had been playing with the matte / shiny idea but stamping matte top coat looked wrong, and matting Jane Eyre looked wrong so I stamped with Kleancolour Madly Black which is matte and I know it stamps well.
I was quite pleased with the way this turned out and even more pleased I managed to get a reasonable photo.

A England Jane Eyre

 

Kleancolor Madly Black and Cici & Sisi 12

 

 

October Challenges - some pretty lace stamping and Skulls

I only had one challenge for yesterday, but first I added some delicate lace stamping to my previous mani with Yours Cosmetics Sascha Gossen YS02 and Esmaltes da Kelly Doguito.  I didn't want anything too strong and I think this lovely nude stamping polish was perfect. Did I mention I love the Sascha Gossen stamping plates? They are excellent quality and I love the images!!
The challenge was Skulls for #clairestelle8oct. I used my lacey stamped mani as a base and stamped the skulls from Messy Mansion MM71 with Kleancolour Madly Black. This was not the easiest thing to stamp when you have cut your nails down a bit short! The full images are quite large but I was able to get most of each face on to my nails - I should have planned my nail trim a bit better!
I added OPI Matte top coat to finish the look and I was really pleased with the outcome - the feedback on Instagram was very positive too which is always encouraging.

Yours Cosmetics Sascha Gossen YS02 and
Esmaltes da Kelly Doguito

Messy Mansion MM71 and Kleancolor Madly Black

 

 

 

July Challenges - Metallic / Gradient and Fave Decade

I have combined 2 challenges again - Metallic / Gradient for #30daysofcolourchallenge and Fave Decade for #clairestelle8july.
I don't have a lot of metallic polishes, I don't like the finish on my nails - the only ones I have, I bought for stamping but I know that if you sponge them on you get a nicer finish so they should be perfect for a gradient.
I dug out 3 of my Avon Metallic Effects polishes, Jade Reflection, Arctic Steel, and Frosted Peach. I painted my nails with one coat of Jade Reflection as a base and then did the gradient.
I must remember to check these in daylight before top coating -  I thought they looked quite blended but when I went out to take pictures they didn't look quite so good. The colours work nicely together though and the finish was OK apart from the little finger - not sure what happened there.
I decided for Fave Decade I'd go 1920s and Art Deco. I think from an artistic point of view that would certainly be my favourite decade so I used Messy Mansion MM45 and Kleancolor Madly Black.
This is a very detailed image but it stamped beautifully over the gradient and I love the end result. For all that I am prepared to do the all these challenges and give them my best shot, I am always happiest with dark nails.
The next day I just had to add a second layer of stamping. I stayed with the dark look and stamped Kleancolor Metallic Orange using Apipila Super Plate B. Metallic Orange is quite coppery and stamped beautifully. Although you can't really see the detail of the stamping here I just love the combination of colours and textures.

Metallic / Gradient with Avon Metallic Effects

Messy Mansion MM45 and Kleancolor Madly Black 

Apipila Super Plate B and Kleancolor Metallic Orange

 

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