Today is SUUUUUCH an exciting day! It's the launch of the awesome 52 Week Pick and Mix Challenge :)
Most weeks, I will be doing both of the challenges. The first challenge this week is the PATTERN challenge, which is a 2 colour gradient.
I chose 2 fabulous untried Morgan Taylor polishes - Berry Contrary (the darker one) and PS I Love You (the paler one), and I couldn't have hoped for them to look more amazing together.
This is one of my sloppy gradients, and I LOVE how this has puddled and mushed together. Lilac perfection!
I then stamped with this fabulous huge flower image from MoYou Pro XL plate 14.
I love everything about this, and how it works with the gradient and also allows the gradient to shine through.
It also reminds me of the super gorgeous freehand flowers Alice does on One Nail To Rule Them All.
See you on Thursday for this week's colour theme - Teal.
And welcome to another Monday! Ugh. Actually, I am not too bad for a Monday. I think I slept all the way through last night, without needing a wee, or to cough or snoring loud enough to wake myself up (happens a lot, sigh) .. so I feel strangely awake today lol.
This is a simple little mani that was really easy to throw together. It features OPI DS Glamour on base, and then some zebra-tiger type thing stamped on top.
I then added red dots using a FABULOUS shade called Orange You Glad by Morgan Taylor. Insanely bright and cheery and perfect, and the formula is a dream too.
I am to be obsessed with DOTTING ALL THE THINGS at the moment. I don't know why. I blame Pinterest, probably. Oooh and this fabby mani from Nail Polish Wars.
Wow it's been a long time since I rambled, hasn't it? This is a very different ramble, a ramble of excitement and thrills and OMG I'm in love with nail polish again!!!! First of all, let's talk nail art and nail challenges. This week saw the end of 2 great nail art challenges from Crumpet's Nail Tarts - GOT Polish and the Tri Polish Challenge. From this week they get replaced by the awesome 52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge.
Each week there are 2 prompts - a pattern and a colour. You can do 1 prompt, both, or amalgamate them in the same mani. Use old polishes (GOT style), untrieds, or whatever's lying around. We're all very excited to start. If you want in, just click HERE to join the Tarts. The 2nd thing is that I am also gearing up for 13 Days of Halloween, which started yesterday with the amazing Halloween Collection from Different Dimension. I am not normally a Halloween girl, I hate the commercialisation of it, and yet there's nothing I love more than cats, witches and spookiness. So I am hoping my series returns us to the heart of what Halloween means to me, and misses out all the cutesy nonsense that, for me, just demeans it. It's supposed to be scary!!!
We've been busy in Crumpet's Nail Tarts - we also have a brand new 31 Day Challenge starting in January. It's a great mix of themes, and again, if you want to take part, just come and join us to get access to the Inlinkz, prompts and the Pinterest board. In general, polish is GOOOOOD right now. I am having so much fun. Is there a phrase that says "a rest is as good as a cure"? I think in my case that is so true. I feel rejuvenated, re-energised, overflowing with ideas and just GO GO GO, oh and I'm so glad that bloody vault is empty! So much more manageable! So, sit back and enjoy your October, there is - * 13 Days of Halloween * Digit-al Dozen does Florals * Mod Lacquer * Girly Bits nail art * and much MUCH more
For most people, lilac wouldn't merit a box of its own, but for me, lilac is one of my very favourite nail colours, especially when it's that smoky greyish toned lilac.
I find lilac an incredibly soothing polish colour. Wearing lilac seems to instantly make me feel calmer. Some of my very favourite polishes are in this box - enjoy xx
Today I am super excited to share Different Dimension's Spooky Spooky Halloween Collection with you. I've been a fan for the longest time, but it's been a while since I received polishes for review. And let me tell you - these do NOT disappoint.
Werewolves of London - ok, how many of you just went "how-woooo!" ? lol. This is orange holo turned up to spectacular.
Let me define "spectacular" - this has a glow and a showiness to it that is electric. There's a real warmth to this orange, and it was a real show off for the camera.
Not only that, it *may* have wrested the title of "best orange holo ever" from Literary Lacquers' More Like Fire Than Light - I'll need to do a comparison post to be sure, but this is incredible. Even if you don't usually buy Halloweenies, you NEED this in your stash.
Dragula - gah, this is SUCH fun polish. This is an orange and black glitter, filled with electric light, which sits in a subtle orange syrup.
As you can see, I expected this to be a bit threadbare, which is why 3 of the nails are layered. I have Essie Orange It's Obvious on the thumb, white on the index and black on the middle, with just one coat of Dragula. As you can see on the ring and pinkie - 2 coats is all that's required for full opacity.
I love that this also looks like ground down crunchy autumn leaves. And I think this blurred shot is my favourite.
The final orange is Ghostbusters - this is a glow in the dark polish, but I don't have that covered in my photography set-up.
Even without the GITD, this has plenty going on. A toxic peach base is crammed with flakies, and leans both poisonous and golden.
This reminded me of a peach blancmange I once made at school - it's a milky kind of polish, like a pumpkin frappe.
Monster Mash is the glitterbomb of the collection, and here I have it layered over Christmas Gone Plaid from the OPI Gwen Collex.
I like this. Missi described it as her perfect Halloween glitter and it's hard to disagree. All the right colours, and all the right shapes.
And finally .... ugh, drop your jaw and suck in that drool. THIS is Thriller.
I remember gasping when I unwrapped it. At that point I mistakenly thought it had a metallic quality to it, but no, this is pure darkest purple, lit with blood red fireflies.
The drama of this purple can't be understated. It's a pure, fabulous blackcurrant which is sheer goth-a-rama on the nail.
Most incredible though is the red shimmer shining through - little particles of electricity which heat up the coldness of the purple and bring it back towards plum. Spectactular.
The Spooky Spooky Collection launches today and can be purchased here. Whilst you're at it, I seriously recommend you check out the 14-piece Cosmologically Speaking collection, which I treated myself to for my birthday and which really took my breath away. These polishes were sent to me for an honest review.
