#33DC Chinese - with OPI The Spy Who Loved Me

Hi Goddesses

Did you have a good weekend?   I did.  I actually feel ahead of the game for the first time in months.  I got at least 12 art manis done, launched the You Tube channel AND added a RANDOM POST button to this 'ere blog.  'Mazin.

So today is an ode to all those polishes that live in Mount Untried, and then you pull one out and squawk - "why the HELL haven't I worn that one yet?!!??!!".    Step forward OPI The Spy Who Loved Me.

TSWLM is from last year's Skyfall Collection and it is THE most perfect red I own.  I think.  I can't be sure.  There's so many of them.  And they're *listening*.

This is an amazing bright tomato / poppy red, shot through with gold shizzle.  Absolutely drop dead gorgeous.

I then stamped on top of it using a great lettering pattern from LLC-A.  Now, knowing my luck this is probably Japanese but if it is, let's keep it a secret, okay?

The gold and the red just work perfectly together.  They're also the iconic colours I think of when I think of Chinese designs - red, and then always gold somewhere.

Don't forget to check out all the other awesome ladies - I guarantee you'll find someone new to follow :) xx

Autumn Week - Aaaand Sometimes, We Try To Be TOO Clever

Hi Goddesses

Today's mani was going to be sooooo awesome, but the idea just didn't translate onto the nail, so I am fulla sad :(

On base we have the divine Barry M Mocha, rich, chocolatey matte brown goodness.

I then thought it would be a great idea to stamp it in holo, to show the changing seasons, and THEN I had the even cleverer idea to stamp with a peach and a green holo to further depict the colours of autumn.

So I turned to my trusty Color Club holos - Kismet and Cosmic Fate - and striped them over one of my LLC plates, which is full of itty bitty pretty leaves.

And yeah .... can you tell I used 2 colours? Nooooooo.   Does it look like I put extra thought into this?  Nooooooo.  Is it fabulous?   Nah - disappointed :(

Simple Snowflakes

Hi Goddesses

A short and simple nail art post today.

You know I love to recycle my nails.  Well, a couple of weeks ago, when I was swatching Ninja Polish Caribbean Reef (over KIKO 387) and decided to stamp some snowflakes over it.

I decided to keep the sparkly theme of the polish and go with silver, but now I wish I had gone with white for a better contrast.

The stamping plate is LLC-A from Llarowe.

Enjoy xx :)

30 Days of Purple - Day 15 - Ozotic 902 Sugar ... and a feather

Hi Goddesses

I have always been a massive supporter of the Ozotic brand. From the moment I first laid eyes on them, I couldn't get enough of them, from their amazing holos to their duochromes to their Elytras - I quickly and lustily amassed 20 or so.

Then a couple of months ago, they retired most of their famous polishes.  Sad, but also exciting.  I had no doubt that all the new shades were going to be awesome, and even more special than what they'd released before.  But no, one by one, they've left me underwhelmed and rather sad.

So I had already decided to leave these new polishes alone when Kim from Overall Beauty asked me if I'd like to review one.  I did think twice, as I didn't want to be disappointed, but I'd also seen them look more interesting over black.  I hummed and hawwed and then, not surprisingly, I chose the purple one :p

And THIS is why I am so grateful that wonderful people out there let me review their polishes.  There is no way I would have bought this, but now that I've worn it ?  Wow, call this one of my most sensational purples.

Sugar 902 is just amazing.  It's high on duochrome, blurpleness, zing, electricity, sizzle, shine, dazzle, and just out of this worldness.  It's AMAZEBALLS.

You'll no doubt notice there's some pretty strange hand positions in this post.  Nope, not because I took leave of my senses, but because I was trying to show the multiple personalities of this colour - it can be blurple, grape, aubergine and blueberry, all at the same time.

I really didn't want to layer over black, so I didn't.  Instead, I chose a pure dark purple - Zoya Pinta, which is pretty much as perfect and pure as deepest darkest purple gets.

So after 2 layers of Pinta and 2 layers of Sugar 902, my plan was to be ultra cool, and stamp over the mani in a dark purple.  Unfortunately, neither the purple nor the pattern were remotely visible lol, so I had to go for something a bit more obvious!

Eventually I settled on this fabulous feather design from LLC-A.  As I've said before, the designs on this plate are HUGE, so unless you have talons, you're unlikely to get the full image down in one go.

Instead, I tried to show aspects of it over the various nails - you can't deny it's a gorgeous stamp, it's just a real shame it wouldn't all fit on one nail.

Enjoy xx :)

30 Days of Purple - Day 7 - Stamping with LLC-A

Hi Goddesses

A simple little stamping pattern today, with a timely reminder that sometimes, it's AWESOME to stamp over glitter.

The base is Dollish Polish Deadly Nightshade, which you originally saw HERE, a superb purple, green and black soupy glitter.

I then stamped over it using my favourite Barry M Silver Foil and this intricate pattern from LLC-A.  The LLC plates are sold at Llarowe, and have some really interesting patterns on them.

I think my favourite aspect of this mani is how in some photos you get an intense flash of purple as the light catches a hidden glitter.  It isn't hard to stamp over a glitter, but it is important to select a pattern that allows the glitter to shine through.

Enjoy xx :)