'Ard As Nails Dewy Morning and some Paisley stamping

Today I am wearing another polish from the My First Winter Collection by 'Ard As Nails. This is Dewy Morning, a gorgeous sage green with subtle holographic shimmer.
This applied beautifully, dried nicely and pictures are taken with top coat. I am afraid I failed to pick up the holographic shimmer but I saw it and it was pretty!
I used this as my base for #wnac2015 for this week - the prompt was Paisley.
I used Messy Mansion MM48 and did 3 layers of stamping using 3 different images on the plate. This is a pretty plate but it is quite a tricky one to clean.
For the first layer of stamping I stayed with green and used Barry M Black Pistachio, then I used China Glaze Liquid Leather and then finally Saffron London White.

'Ard As Nails Dewy Morning

 

 

Messy Mansion MM48 and Barry M Black Pistachio

Messy Mansion MM48 and China Glaze Liquid Leather

Messy Mansion MM48 and Saffron London White

November Challenges - to match a party dress

This wasn't a challenge as such - just me trying to match my nails to the dress I was wearing for a 50th birthday party.
I had this idea of stamping across two images from the gorgeous MJ XXX1 plate that I got from Nail Artisan. My dress was a sort of patchwork of black and white florals so the idea was to reflect that on my nails. It didn't go entirely to plan as the patterns side by side were quite similar but I did want to keep it quite subtle and I was happy enough with the outcome. If I do it again I'll be a bit braver, I think.
I used Saffron London White over China Glaze Liquid Leather as I like the off-white/grey stamping I get with the Saffron polish.
The next day I added a second layer of stamping with the same plate and Hit the Bottle Snowed Under. I loved that and kept it on for a second day!

MJ XXXI

MJ XXXI

April Challenges - Random and Grunge

The #30daysofcolourchallenge for today was Random and the #clairestelle8april challenge was Grunge. I can claim some responsibility for the grunge prompt. Claire always wears pretty girly colours and I suggested she wore something more grungey! What I meant was the more neutral shades, although when I googled "grunge" it seemed more grey than the greens and browns I was thinking of. Anyway I have used colours that in my mind are a bit grungey, but no less beautiful! I think the whole thing fits into random, so you are getting 4 stages of random.
I started with OPI Stranger Tides, a beautiful soft khaki shade. I love this colour, although I did need 3 coats for full coverage.
Then I stamped with Nails Inc Foubert's Place and a sort of water spotted design from Vivid Lacquer VL 010. I love Foubert's place too, a lovely warm khaki shade - I have seen some quite extensive arguments as to whether this is green or brown. I say green (a browny green)
Then I added grey, in the form of Saffron London Black, which stamps as a grey and I used the same plate and a leopard print image.
Finally, I added some delicate flowers from Vivid Lacquer VL 030 using Saffron London White which is a soft white. I really like the way it stamps and adds that prettiness to the whole mani.
I am really happy with the way this turned out!

OPI Stranger Tides
#30daysofcolourchallenge #clairestelle8april

Vivid Lacquer VL 010 and Nails Inc Foubert's Place
#30daysofcolourchallenge #clairestelle8april

Vivid Lacquer VL 010 and Saffron London Black
#30daysofcolourchallenge #clairestelle8april

Vivid Lacquer VL 030 and Saffron London White
#30daysofcolourchallenge #clairestelle8april

An InLinkz Link-up

April Challenges - Black and Monochrome Swirls

The #30daysofcolourchallenge is black today, so I have chosen a rather special one. Above the Curve Sirius Black is from the Harry Potter Collection. It is a gorgeous holo and it glows in the dark!
In the sunlight it does look like a black holo but in daylight without the sun it does look very slightly dark green - I assume that is the glow pigment. The finish is also a bit grainy which again I think is down to the pigment so I did add a 2nd coat of top coat for a really glossy finish.
No pictures of it glowing in the dark I am afraid as my phone doesn't have the capacity to take those sort of pics but it definitely glowed last night, a white green eerie glow.
I love this, it is so wearable, the holo softens it so if you are not in the mood for a really black, glossy polish this is a lovely alternative.
I was lucky enough to get a reasonable sunshine shot but I have also included a daylight shot and an indoor LED shot.

The #ukstampersapril challenge was monochrome swirls so it made sense to do the swirls over Sirius Black. As I had used a soft black I decided to stay subtle and use Saffron London White with Pueen Buffet Leisure 74 for my swirls. I think they look very pretty and delicate.
I was a bit concerned that my Essence white might have been a bit too harsh... but then as I am a bit addicted to double stamping, I did it anyway!

Above The Curve Sirius Black
#30daysofcolourchallenge

 

Monochrome swirls - Pueen 74 and Saffron London White

 

Monochrome swirls - Pueen 74, saffron London white
 and Essence Stampy 001
#ukstampersapril

An InLinkz Link-up

A2Z Series - U is for Unusual

Well it is Thursday again so it's time for this week's A2Z - today we have U for Unusual. I struggled for ages on what on earth to do but then I decided my best option was just to go for an unusual combination. So we have camouflage nails with lace... unusual enough?
I started with a base of Leighton Denny Attention, a lovely khaki green. Then I added a quick coat of Dollish Polish Urban Camo, a really pretty mix of green, yellow and black glitters in a clear base. (I ignored the white glitters, partly because I don't like them and also I was stamping with white later)
Then I stamped using Vivid Lacquer VL 010 and Leighton Denny Undercurrent, a deep dark olive green. VL 010 has a wonderful camouflage image on it and it was this plate that really inspired the whole mani. I love both these greens by LD and I think they go perfectly together to make a great camo look, especially with the added hint of glitter.
Finally I used Born Pretty plate BP-02 and Saffron London white to stamp the lace. I like ths Saffron polish for stamping. Because it isn't completely opaque, the camo pattern and glitter still show through.
Now they are finished, I am not convinced you'd look at these and think they are particularly unusual but I have to say, I think they are really pretty and I love them!

A2Z Series - U is for Unusual
Camouflage and lace

 

 

 

An InLinkz Link-up

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