Summer Challenge Day 23 - Blue, Aqua and Green

Hi Goddesses

Today's challenge allows us to cool off and wear the breezy, sea toned colours of summer - blue, aqua and green.  I'm really hoping someone's done a water marble today, because those colours blend so perfectly.

Talking of which, I am in water marble hell.  I STILL can't get my polish to spread.  I don't know if there's too many chemicals in the water or what but AAARRRGGHHHH lol.

So today I went for a splatter, which is one of my favourite types of manis.  They're fun to do (because you can't really predict how it will turn out) and they ALWAYS make me smile.  Don't know why, but they make me happy :)

The polishes were Nails Inc Baker Street as the base coat, and then splatters of Essence Bella and CG For Audrey.   I ended up with 1 or 2 aqua splatters that were too big lol, so I ended up having to go back over them with Bella.  Since then, I've switched to narrower straws, and it's making a huge difference.

So, short and sweet today - the next 2 challenges are disasters, so you might want to stay away lol.  Not really.  Well, yes, really .. maybe ...

Enjoy xx:)

Teal-tastic

Hi Goddesses  

If you're a fan of the terrific Gnarly Nails, you will see this post here today.  It's my Guest Post for the Purple Crumpet Fairy Spring Challenge - enjoy xxx

Hi Everyone

This is Debbie from the Crumpet, and Missy and I have swapped blogs today for the Purple Crumpet Fairy Spring Challenge.

A few weeks ago, there was a massive argument about teal in one of the nail polish groups I run, and when Missy recently started her Teal Tuesdays, it seemed too comic an opportunity to miss :)  

So, me and teal.  It's not that I hate it, I've just never worn it, and I hate that it can't decide if it's blue or green lol.  That said, I think it looks AWESOME when I see it on other people ... which is why I bought several.   And have never worn any of them .....

Until today !!  I am soooooo happy with this mani, I have to tell you.   It came to me (as all my best ideas do) one night whilst I was falling asleep, and it turned out pretty much how I envisioned.

So, lets show you what I used -

* the black lines are done with an amazing striper by China Glaze called Ink - its like a mini nail polish, but with a mega thin brush.  I can't love it enough, and it is soooo precise that not even a Crumpet can screw it up

* the teals - OPI Ski Teal We Drop, CG Atlantis, CG For Audrey, SH Fairy Teal, SH Teal-y Cool and CG Techno Teal

This started as a base of CG For Audrey (pick your lightest colour), then create your lines with the striper, and then colour in!  I used a dotting tool, as I'm better with these.  Normal people will probably use a nail art brush.

A bit like splatters, and water marbles, this falls into my favourite nail art category - random.   There is no obvious design or structure here, so whether it goes wrong or right, only you will ever know :)

If you follow my blog, you'll be able to see a whole week of these - I've done them in just about every colour combination.  There's something so simple, colourful and happy about them.

Hope you enjoy xxx  :)

All That Glitters - Cha Cha Twist

Hi Goddesses   

Oh.

My.

God.

From the moment I first saw this polish, I thought it was sublime.  The awesome perfect clash of blue and red, the effortless variety of colour and glitter, the epic shininess and dazzle ......

Oh.

My.

God.

This is Cha Cha Twist, and this baby comes from an Etsy seller called All That Glitters.  Kirsten doesn't seem to be as well known as some of the other frankeners, but honestly, tell me this polish is not a work of art.

With this post I have also done something I have never done before - blogged the polish within an hour of wearing it, because I just *couldn't* wait to share how beautiful this is.

This is beyond stunning.   A teally blue syrup, filled with -

* red glitter, various sizes

* blue glitter, various sizes, with a holographic dazzle

* micro aqua holographic sparkle

* blue bar glitter

* larger, silvery hexes

Oh.

My.

God.

I've been disappointed too many times by a glitter (usually red) that wasn't opaque enough to be worn on its own, so I decided on some CG For Audrey as underwear.  Actually, I think this would have looked gorgeous on its own, although I suspect it would have needed 3 coats.

I planned to do 2 full layers of the glitter, but as I watched the first coat dry, I noticed how the tips looked darker, as that is where most of the first coat glitter settles, and a gradient was born.   I LOVE how this looks like a demented mermaid on Sparkle Day - there's some real pretty aquaticness going on.

I am 1000000% in love with this polish and what's more, I have about 6 others to show you from Kirsten.

All together now, one last time -

Oh.

My.

God.

:)  xx Enjoy.

Red and Aqua Nails

Hi Goddesses

Sometimes, my daughter is a frikkin' genius!  She may only be 8, but she has a really evolved colour sensibility.  You may remember her input into my frankens, and that she was responsible for picking the colours for my watery water marble a couple of months ago, and now she has excelled herself ...... with THIS.

I've been planning to do this mani for AGES lol, and actually bought my "supplies" a couple of months ago.  It wasn't til Sarah actually did it on Chalkboard Nails though that I knew it would work.

This is a base of OPI I Don't Do Dishes, sponged in a special way with CG For Audrey.  When I asked Beth what colour we should sponge with, I was thinking gold, black, maybe orange, and when she said blue .... Ta-dah!  Genius moment.  I cannot BELIEVE how well For Audrey works against the red.

So, tools you will need for this are simple -

* a big sponge

* a thingy - I don't know what they're called, but they're the things you use to soap yourself with in the shower

* ideally a Boo Boo - lol, I asked Beth to help as I thought I'd need a helping hand; turned out I didn't, but she loves that she "created" this look

Cut a piece of both sponge and thingy.  You'll need to hold the piece of thingy over your nail, stretching it to get the pattern you want.  As long as you've cut a decent size, it's possible to hold this in place with the fingers of the hand you are painting.  And then dab your polish on with a sponge et voila!

Sometimes, it's the accidental things that work, and I love how on the index finger Beth got bored with the sponging, and on the ring finger she overdid it - this randomness appeals to me, and I much prefer it when the nails aren't uniform.

Really loving this mani - it TOTALLY rocks in person, and it's sooooo simple.






Must find Beth and steal more ideas ... Boo Boo ?

Enjoy xx :)