30 Days of Purple - Day 20 - Short Stroke Mani

Hi Goddesses

All Hail The Splodger !!!  Behold, the perfect Splodger's mani !!!!  :)

Lol, to be fair, that's  not how this mani started life.  A couple of months ago, Gorgeois Pig created it, and it looked like an artwork.  Well this is my version - messier, obviously - but I still like it.

There are several things I love about this mani -

* there is no right or wrong.  You can't mess this up

* it's splodgers' paradise!

* it's random

* it's flexible, and lends itself to multiple colours, tones and textures

* and doesn't it look a little like a patchwork ?

I started my mani with OPI Planks A Lot.  You need to start with your palest, plainest colour so that the other polishes still look true. 

You then take your next polish, and do a random brushstroke on your nail with it - short and swift, to create a ragged swipe effect.

I did 2 swipes on each nail in each colour, one one way, and then another crossways, but not intersecting.   After all the colours were used, I then surveyed the damage, and decided on strategic extra swipes to balance the colours out.

I deliberately used cremes and a metallic in this combo - just using one polish with a different finish adds an extra degree of delish that you just can't buy.  Don't overdo it tho - too many different textures and you'll compromise the design, with all the textures competing against each other.

When I saw Gorgeois Pig do this, my mouth dropped.  She posted an awesome video tutorial here, which I urge you to check out.  If nothing else, it will convince you how simple this is to achieve - oh, and her blog is SENSATIONAL.

I've got an alternate version of this coming up before the end of the month, this time with longer strokes - just as gorgeous.

Enjoy xx :)

30 Days of Purple - Day 11 - Camouflage

Hi Goddesses

I am really in love with this mani, albeit it's not quite what I had in my head!

This is a camouflage mani, which is ridiculously easy to do - all you need is a dotting tool, some polishes and then off you go, making random squiggles!

I scuppered myself by using the gorgeous Sally Hansen Delphinium as a base.   Because she's quite a pink-toned lilac, I had to go with brownier (rather than bluer) purples, and sadly, most of my best ones are in the bluer group.

Second unfortunateness?  2 of the colours I chose were just tooooo similar :(  So you've got Bettina 191 (the dark one), then China Glaze Jungle Queen (medium dark) and Duri Grape Swirl (palest, and slightly metallic).

That said, I do love this combination of colours, there's something very striking and arresting about it, and it certainly has impact.

If you're scared of camouflage nails, don't be, they are soooo easy.  Best of all, the dotting tool does most of the work for you.  Place your dotting tool on your nail, and drag it halfway or two thirds of the way towards the other side.  As you do so, the line will thin itself out as the polish gets used up - this creates the perfect uneven, jagged appearance of your camouflage stripes.

Enjoy xx :)