Back In Time - Hot Hot Hot Aztec

Hi Goddesses

Oh I am very conflicted about this post!  I changed the essence of the mani ... and now, well I don't even know whether I've created something better lol.

Recap - Back In Time, where myself, Missy and Ashley go back to this time last year and recreate a mani.   I picked this mani from last year, which had a ruby-orange-yellow gradient, with some Aztec-ish stamping on top.

I remember quite loving the mani at the time, and thought it looked ripe for a makeover.  The gradient is crude - I believe I did one colour at a time - and the stamping isn't even centred ....

This time, I went with a lighter red, China Glaze Igniting Love, LACC 1964 and CG Papaya Punch.   I did a proper 3 layer gradient with a sponge, and trust me, once it was done it was so smooth, it looked like a ripening tomato.

And I think this is where the mani loses some of its charm.  That gradient is so damned subtle, you can't even tell there are 3 colours in there.   It's a little more obvious in real life, but I had to try very hard to capture the yellow on camera.

And then there's the stamping.  I'm so much better than I was a year ago, but you'd never know it from these photos! This stamp did not want to pick up for love nor money, and when it did, it wouldn't deposit it all on the nail either!   The only difference between then and now?  At least now I know it's not ME that's the problem - bloody stamping lol.

So although I do like this mani, mainly due to the tomatoey goodness of the gradient, I think I prefer the rough-edged charm of the original.

Which one is your fave?  Enjoy xx :)

Back In Time - Andy Warhol Lips (+ OPI Matte Top Coat)

Hi Goddesses

It’s the middle of the month, which means it’s time for the 2nd Back In Time post, and this time, Missy and I get to recreate each other’s manis.   Missy obviously got up earlier than I did, and has already posted her version of my Wonder Woman mani – you can check her out here.

When it came time to choose what to do, it wasn’t as easy as I expected.  Missy and I like different colours, so anything she did with green or teal or yellow immediately went on the NOOOOOOO pile.  Eventually, I narrowed it down to 2, and finally plumped for this pastel version of Andy Warhol’s famous lips paintings.

For my bases I used all Barry M Gellys

- Thumb – Lychee

- Index – Blueberry

- Middle – Prickly Pear

- Ring – Greenberry

- Pinkie – Dragon Fruit

I stamped using the same polishes and the lips on BM02.   When it was done, I quite liked it, but not as much as Missy’s.  I think the stamps are a little hard to see, and it just doesn’t pop as much as hers (probably cos I couldn’t bear to use yellow lol).

I then thought I should try my new OPI Matte Top Coat before taking the mani off and …… oh yeh, pure heaven!   LOVE this matte top coat.  Not only did it matte it pretty much instantly, it made my nails look like love heart sweets!  All sugary and sherberty lol.

Really impressed with the OPI – effortless application, no streaking, and a lovely powdery soft, almost vinyl finish.  Needless to say, it MADE the mani, proving that sometimes, even though it’s about the polish, it shouldn’t be TOO polished.

Enjoy xx 

Back In Time - Crumpet a la June 2012

Hi Goddesses

Well, this weekend sees the launch of a lot of new features on The Crumpet, and whilst this is one I’ve toyed with in the past, it’s taken a big oomph up the ass from my bestie Missy to actually get it going.

How it works is like this – on the 1st of every month, we’re both going to redo one mani from this time last year.  Lord knows I have enough disasters to ahem improve on.   Then on the 15th of the month, we swap, and I will be recreating one of Missy’s from this time last year, and she will be doing one of mine.  Cool, huh?  So here we go.

June last year was an utterly crazy month on the blog, but it was a turning point in Crumpet history.  I had Celebration 500 going on, the Summer Challenge, a Superheroes and Villains Challenge, all manner of stuff – I think nearly 90 posts worth, so choosing something to redo has been a bit difficult.   Eventually I picked this – an Acid Wash mani.

I remember when I did this I was so proud.   Another blogger (Jamie at Nails Adored) had recently done one and called it a Grunge mani, and it had 1000s of views, 100s of pins on pinterest, and I was convinced mine would get the same.  NO.   I didn’t understand why – it was awesome!

Well, NO.  In hindsight, it was messy, the colours are just nasty and … oh dear.  It wasn’t until I saw Smashley Sparkles do this genius version, that I realised the error of my ways – clean vertical lines = so much better!

So for this version, that’s what I did.  No crazy this-way-and-that, no messiness, just as clean as I could be (which isn’t easy for a Crumpet).    My polishes were Layla CE04 as the base, then Lilypad Lacquer Bubble Yummo, OPI Koala Bear-y, and finally Barry M Gelly Blackberry.

This was the other thing I learnt – you need to move from pale to dark to get the best effects.  I also stuck to one colour family, as I remember last year the colours polluted each other and didn’t look true.

I absolutely love how this turned out.  Thankfully it IS loads better than the original haha and it just proves that improvement is sometimes about just practicing.  The thing I most notice these days is not that I am necessarily better, but my dexterity in using the tools is – hence more confident lines, and thankfully, better manis.

Don’t forget to head over and see what Missy recreated, and we’ll be back with part 2 on the 15th xx  Enjoy :)