Spring nails

Springtime! I was out in the garden planting tomatos today, now that all risk of frost has passed and I've finally got my act together. Very satisfying.

I've got a seasonal mani to match - literally, because it's themed around Spring. I got a plate from Bundle Monster with "spring" written on it, and I couldn't resist! Still, since it is already November, I knew I had to get my skates on.

I painted my nails white with Face of Australia's Miss Congeniality, then stamping using some Mu do de Unas stamping polishes. I used Bundle Monster BM-710 for the Spring logo, and Born Pretty plates BPL-024 and BP-L001 for the flowers and leaves.

Halloween - Trick or Treat!

it's Halloween - time to go Trick or Treating!

I painted my nails with Ulta3's Sour Grape, then stamped on the skeleton (Winstonia 116) and the Trick or Treat text (Moyou Festive 16). I had made some stamping decals for the candy corn (UberChic Beauty Halloween), using Mundo de Unas orange for the stamping, Face of Australia Miss Congeniality for the white, and OPI I Just Can't Cope-acabana for the yellow. I used the same yellow to light up the haunted house (Bundle a Monster 315).

I used two new sticky stamping heads which I got from UberChic Beauty to make the candy corn decals and I was quite impressed by them! They're a bit flatter than my other stamping heads, and their softness made the decals easy to remove. I also made a decal using their stamping mat, which didn't go as well - I couldn't stamp directly onto the mat very easily, although it's possible it just needs a proper wash first.

I posed with a little plastic jack-o-lantern filled with Halloween treats for trick or treaters - so cute!

Halloween week - blood splatter

Blood splatter for today! I painted my nails white using Face of Australia's Miss Congeniality, then stamped the blood splatter on with Bundle Monster's BM-416. 

31 Day Challenge - stripes

I bought two new polishes today from the Face Of Australia Iconic collection, so I put them to good use with a French themed manicure. I used Miss Congeniality to paint my thumb and two middle fingers white - i used two points but you could possibly get away with one. I then used Not Just A Pretty Face for the index and little fingers.

I then used a striping brush to freehand the pink stripes, and stamped on the Eiffel Tower (Winstonia W114) and the Fleury de Lis (Born Pretty BP-L007). C'est magnifique! 

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More dot than polka dot - I attempted a dot-and-negative space mani but it didn't work out, so I went to an old favourite.

I painted my nails white using OPI's Alpine White, after Buff & Polish suggested it on my mani for the Black and WhiteBlack and White challenge - I realised I already had it in my collection. It definitely worked better, at two coats instead of three. I'm also going to check out some of the other suggestions; both Gelic and Buff and Polish suggested Essence polishes so I'm going to head over to Priceline tomorrow and try to snag a bottle.

I then used my dotting tools to dot on orange (Face of Australia's Some Like It Hot), grey (OPI's Embrace the Grey) and black (Ulta3's midnight). Done! 

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31 Day Challenge - rainbow

I'm trying to continue branching out from just plain stamping, so today I made some stamping decals using Lily Allen plate 07. I then coloured it in using Essie's Twin Sweater Set (red), Face of Australia's Some Like It Hot (orange), OPI's I Just Can't Cope-a cabana (yellow), Sally Hansen's Just In Lime (green) and Brisk Blue, and China Glaze's Grape Pop (purple).

In hindsight, I wish I'd used brighter colours - the purple in particular is too dark. Ah well. I might try using some smaller decals later in the challenge instead of trying for a full nail look, as clean up was a bit of a pain.

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Gradient stars

I really wanted to try my hand (so to speak) at another gradient - really pleased with how it turned out! I did multiple coats of the gradient, sponging it three times, and got a much better result.

For this look, I made a gradient using OPI's I Just Can't Copa-cobana, Face of Australia's Some Like It Hot, and Butter London's Pillar Box Red.

I then did some stamping using Lily Allen plate 07, which I'd used in the 31 Day Challenge and loved.

Here's a shot of the gradient - a bit rough without any topcoat:


 And finally, a bonus shot of where I went on holiday this weekend! :) Such lovely weather.

31 Day Challenge, Day 28 - Inspired By A Flag

This challenge is a bit what? for me... inspired by a flag? I decided to do some freehand bunting, because bunting is nice and festive, and again, freehand practice.

I painted my nails white with Ulta3's Lily White, then used Butter London's Pillar Box Red, Essie's Butler Please (blue), and Face of Australia's Some Like It Hot (orange) for the flags. Ulta3's Midnight for the black rope.

I finished things off with OPI's Matte top coat - omg! So much better than my previous matte topcoat! One coat and done. I like the illustrated look matte coat gives.

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31 Day Nail Challenge, Day 11 - Polka Dots

A simple and easy manicure today - dotting tools make it so easy to get a great look!

I painted my nails black with Revlon's Black Magic, then used Revlon' White on White and Ulta3's Sour Grape and Fairy Floss to make the dots. I finished it with Face of Australia's Platinum matte topcoat from their Screen Siren collection.

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Day 31 Challenge - Rainbow nails

A quick manicure tonight - a skittle manicure with black frames (can't remember the proper name!). I freehanded the black outline, and it turned out fairly well for a first attempt but it's still pretty wobbly! I think more time would have helped but I want to go to bed, so a quick lining it was.

Polishes used:
Ulta3's Sour Grape (purple)
Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri Brisk Blue
Butter London's Pillar Box Red
Face of Australia's Some Like It Hot
OPI's The "IT" Color

Some Like It Hot photographed a lot yellower than it is in person - in person it's a much more vibrant orange. The perils of photographing at night under my desk lamp...

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