NEW31DC Day 30 - Your Favourite Nail Art Technique

Hi Goddesses

Oh I'm so sad that tomorrow's our last day!  I've really enjoyed this challenge and had so much fun with it, as well as being blown away by the manis the other ladies have posted.

I realised recently that splatter is probably my favourite art technique, as well as one of the ones I am best at.  It ALWAYS makes me smile and feel happy, and I also love the element of surprise it provides - you're never *quite* sure how it will turn out :)

This mani was born when I was prepping for Digit-al Dozen Art Week, and I was thinking of just using primary colours.  I'm not quite sure how that became a splatter, but this is undoubtedly one the most dramatic splatters I've ever created.

There's something about this mani that just POPS.  It's so bold and cheerful and brazen :)  wow it makes me happy just to look at it.

The base is my usual - OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls - and then I think I used Barry M red, blue and yellow for the primary colours.

Hope you like - tomorrow we go out in a blaze of - ooops! mustn't spoil the surprise!  xxx

31DC Day 9 - Rainbow

Hi Goddesses

Welcome to a post of pure happy !!   It's impossible to look at this mani and not feel all warm, fuzzy and smiley :)

And is it just me, or does anyone else always burst into "I can sing a rainbow, sing a rainboooooooow .... " Lol.

This is another ruffle mani.  They are so easy to do and  sooooo effective.  They do take a little while, but I think they're worth it.

I wanted to do something different on a couple of the nails, so the index has the ruffle diagonally, and the middle has the ruffle starting at the centre.

Most of the polishes I used were Barry M -

Max Factor Red Passion

Barry M Block Orange

Barry M Yellow

Barry M Spring Green

Barry M Cobalt Blue

Barry M Indigo

Barry M Bright Purple

Love it !!  I was very happy with how this turned out.

Enjoy xx

Nails Inc - Baker Street

Hi Goddesses

There have been a few polishes to make a big splash this year, and this is one of them - the ultra blue Baker Street by Nails Inc.

Beyonce was pictured wearing it the week it came out, and then it was everywhere!  Then RBL released IDK, an even bluer blue, and suddenly this was THE colour of the season. 

Unfortunately Nails Inc polishes are £11 in the UK, and as I wasn't sure whether I'd like it, I asked my good friend Jessica if I could borrow hers for the weekend.   And here it is - super super blue!

There is an intense electricity to this polish that is stunning.  It's rich, vibrant and quivers with life .... and yet, it didn't wow me quite as much as I expected it to.   Maybe it's because blue isn't my favourite child, but I did expect a little more wow.

For whatever reason, I ran out of time that weekend, otherwise I'd have skittled it with a couple of other similar polishes - for now, we'll have to make do with side by sides.

First of all, Baker Street above its predecessor, Nails Inc All Saints Road -

And now Baker Street above Barry M's Cobalt Blue

There's no doubt from the photos above that Baker Street is a brighter blue, almost neon in comparison.  To me, there are some differences between them, mainly the lack of light in the other 2 compared to Baker Street, but as blue is not my true love, it wouldn't persuade me to buy all 3.

So which is your favourite?   Enjoy xx :)

Another Blue ?? Barry and his M bring you Cobalt Blue

BARRY M – COBALT BLUE

Hi Goddesses

Here’s another amazing blue from Barry and his M.  For a non blue lover like me, he sure has made an impression.  He has a beautiful selection from the palest to the middle to ones like this – electric!

I’m not sure I even know what colour cobalt is, but this blue means serious business!  Cobalt Blue is a bright royal blue with a slightly darkened edge, as if it nudged the petrol can slightly J  It’s just a little bit too edgy to be super cheerful.  (it’s also *slightly* darker than the photos in real life).

At first glance it seems like it might be similar to CG First Mate, but it’s not, First Mate being much dirtier.

As before, I’ve done a glitter skittle,

·         Thumb – CG Snow Globe

·         Index – CG White Cap

·         Middle – CG Golden Enchantment

·         Ring – Color Club Covered In Diamonds

·         Little – OPI Rainbow Connection

I love how dramatic this looks with some glitter.

Enjoy J  xx

J

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.

200th Post !!!! Barry M Camo Skittle

Nails I Love

Barry M Blue Skittle & Blue Camo Mani

Hellooooooo Goddesses

Well, would you believe it, this is my 200^th post.  Yup, 200.  Go me!  I’ve picked up a lot of friends along the way and I’m delighted that most of you who read the blog seem to enjoy it AND my madness J

When I started the blog I planned to average at about a post a day, but in the last 6 weeks, that seems to have doubled!  I think partly because my obsession has intensified, and also because I’ve started to have a LOT of ideas of how to play with polish.  So whilst the first 200 posts have been mainly swatches, the next 200 are going to be quite different, with a mix of swatches, layering, basic art skills and whatever else tickles my fancy!

I debated doing something AMAZING for my 200^th post and my good friend Elizabeth Stern came up with a killer idea.  Elizabeth – I’m going to save that for the 250^th, cos I need to do it justice.

Then Post 200 was going to be a polish that has just crashed into the Crumpet All Time Top 10.  And then this afternoon, as I was continuing my Barry M odyssey, this just sort of evolved, and when I finished it, I KNEW it was what I wanted my 200^th post to be – something a little more wow than I usually do, but something that I have managed to pull off!  Lol.

So this started as a Barry M Blue skittle.  Barry has some brilliant blues, and I wanted to do 1 swatch that compared them, as at first glance a couple do look similar.   So here we have –

Thumb = Blue Moon

Index = Blueberry Ice Cream

Middle = Cyan Blue

Ring = Cobalt Blue

Pinkie = Navy

I love how they look together as a skittle, but then, I love skittle manis full stop.  But something strange is also happening – I am no longer aesthetically allergic to blue nail polish.  Yikes!  I don’t know how it happened, but I’m quite liking the blue against my vampire-white skin.  Blue is just purple on a cold day, right?

Quite by accident, this then turned into a camouflage mani.  I didn’t know what I was going to do and then I remembered how much I loved my purple camo mani and how wonderful blue camo looks, and as I looked at my skittles, the idea formed – a blue skittle camo mani!

And that’s what we have and I am super super happy with myself.  Each nail features 2 other blues, and I honestly can’t decide which nail I like best.  Possibly the ring finger.  Or the index.  No, the ring.

Camouflage nails are really easy to do.  I use a medium dotting tool and basically dab.  You can’t go “wrong” because you are creating a random pattern, and not just that, but a pattern that very often overlayers itself.

So, 200 posts.  Awesomesauce! 

Enjoy xx J

J

Top Tip – if you’re ever unsure what a nail colour looks like, go to Google images, which will give you plenty of contrasts and compares.