LOST-athon - The End & A BIIIIIG Round Up

Hi Goddesses  

I have LOVED this week in Nail-Land.  Not only did I get to celebrate the best TV series of all time on my nails, I got to do it with 5 of my best polish friends - Bee, Kirsten, Emma, Kerrie and Stamping Sarah.

We've had the best of times doing these manis, and we've rehashed and re-cried about some of our favourite moments from the show.  I don't think there will EVER be a TV show like it, and that makes me sad, but thank God for boxed sets and summer holidays.  Also, Beth has been itching to watch it for a while, and as she's almost 9, I don't think that's such a good idea.  Hell, most of us adults couldn't follow it, can you imagine how long it would take to watch an episode with her with all the questions she'd have?  Lol. Anyways, we wanted to end with a celebration, and a thank you, to each other, and to you, our readers who have left some lovely comments this week.  Thank you.

My collage round up -

I'm not sure which of my manis is my favourite, but I definitely love some more than others.  Season 5 makes me smile, and I also really like Season 2.  Now, onto the other Lost lovelies - 

My favourite mani of Bee's came from Season 4, JUST.  It was a tough call.  All of Bee's manis were brilliant, and her level of LOST knowledge was phenomenal.  This also led her to doing some really specific images on her nails which didn't even occur to me - Mittelos BioScience, anyone?  Bravo Bee, I think your manis are the best of all of us.   You can check out all of Bee's posts on her blog, here.  (I especially love Daniel Faraday's tie on this one).

My favourite mani of Kirsten's came from Season 1.  I love that she did a turnip, and I also love that she did an island.   You should also check out her Season 6 post for added spookiness!   You can check out all of Kirsten's posts on her blog, here.

My favourite mani of Emma's came from Season 3.  Picking my fave Emma mani was really hard because all of hers felt very different to me.  I loved how she did Kate's engagement ring in Season 4, and I also loved her day-glo Season 2 mani.   You can check out all of Emma's posts on her blog, here.

My favourite mani of Sarah's came from Season 3.  I love Sarah dearly, but she IS the stamping goddess, so for me, the best parts of this challenge have been when she has done manis that DON'T involve stamping.  I've also loved that she's gone into detail about how she creates her base colours - really informative.   You can check out all of Stamping Sarah's posts on her blog, here.

My favourite mani of Kerrie's came from Season 2, where she depicted those numbers.  Hands up if you were OBSESSED with the numbers lol.   You can check out all of Kerrie's posts on her blog, here.

And that's it. LOST will never die.  It is one of my Top 5 entertainment / art experiences ever, up there with Sylvia Plath, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, Star Wars and the Harry Potter books ..... more on which ..... soon :)

Lots of love, and thank you, we're so glad you enjoyed xxx  :)

LOST-athon Season 6

Hi Goddesses  

Season 6 .... sob .... sigh .... I'm still really conflicted about Season 6.   On the one hand, I think it is pure spiritual perfection, and I congratulate Darlton on honouring their commitment that however the show ends, it would stay true to the characters.   

I love the reappearance of Desmond, the "loophole", the reunion of Jin and Sun, the submarine, the lighthouse, the candidates, Richard's back story ... all of it sooo sooo rich.

And yet I hate the whole crap with the temple, I still don't know what the fuck really happened to Sayid, and ugh, I still don't even know if I buy the whole "sideways" world.   So yes, colour me conflicted.

Those of you who know me on Facebook, know me as a creature who likes my sleep.  The last episode of Lost was shown around the world at the same time, and I got up at 5am to watch.  There is nothing else in the whole wide world that would have made me do that (I barely used to hear my baby in the middle of the night) and I remember going to work so frustrated (with the ending) and annoyed that I hadn't booked the day off to watch it over and over and surf the net for theories and answers.

So I got home from work, jumped online, and read my favourite reviewers, and gradually, it all began to make sense.  And then I watched it again, and sobbed for about half an hour.   There is majesty to that episode, sheer majesty, but the whole sideways thing still feels a little trite to me.  Just a little.

Oh and then bloody stupid ABC muppets who ran footage of the plane wreckage over the final credits!!  Do you know, I still meet people who think Jack dreamt the whole thing.  No, it was just a twat at ABC.  And this was the island, not Dallas.

So, to my final set of nails.   Well actually, my final 2 sets, cos there's a special bonus at the end :)

The thumb depicts where the season started - the surprise death of Jacob, with Ben, the arch manipulator, perfectly manipulated.  This is Jacob's sandy cave, and the firepit he was thrown into.  This is Essie Jazz with some Metro Chic rocks.  Fire courtesy of CG Orange Marmalade and OPI The It Color.

The index finger depicts the black and white theme which, although it has been there since Season 1, really came to fruition in Season 6.  This is a base of Zoya Dove and then my usual black and white.

The middle finger represents the emotional centre of the season - the bittersweet reunion of Jin and Sun.  Who would ever have guessed that the cracked marriage of Season 1 would turn into the love story that defined the show?  A masterful emotional tour de force, this is their final moment, their wedding rings shining in a sea of WnW Blue Wants To Be A Millionaire.  Mattified.

The ring finger is the church.  The hokey trite Sideways church, although those final moments again .... man, they were skilfully done.  I think this is also the time to comment on Michael Giacchino's scoring.  The music has always been an integral part of Lost, propelling key moments to their emotional crescendo, and never more so than in the moment where Jack hugs every member of the congregation.   (Oh and I know my church sucks, but man, this has been a beast of a challenge on a tight schedule lol).

And finally, just like the show, we end where we began, with Jack's eye.  One of the many reasons I love Darlton, right there.  Along with the symmetry - seasons 1 and 6 are island, 2 and 5 are Dharma and 3 and 4 are about getting off the island.  Genius.  

So, what's your bonus ?  Welllll, it's just irresistible isn't it, the black smoke over all 5 nails :)

To tell you truth, I am a little bummed with my Season 6 nails.  I feel really disappointed that I am ending with my weakest mani rather than my strongest, and all week I've agonised whether to change them or not.  To be fair it's the church.  I can't for the life of me think why I thought it was a good idea to do it with the brush from the bottle rather than with a dotting tool or smaller brush.  Sloppy Crumpet!

For the black smoke snaking through the jungle, I started with a base of Nails Inc Porchester Square (a lovely creamy taupe), acetone washed some CG Agro over the top in vertical strokes to replicate the bamboo, and then sponged black on top.

Ah LOST, how I miss you.  There has never been a TV show able to stir my emotions the way this show did.  Thanks to Bee, Kirsten, Emma, Kerrie and Sarah for taking this journey with me.  The thing we've all agreed on is how doing the manis has made us want to go back and watch it all over again, especially after we blubbed to some awesome YouTube clips.   I'll leave you with the best one right now, but if you wonder where I am over the next few weeks, in front of the TV with a box of tissues might be a good answer :)

So that's ALMOST it.  There just *might* be something special tomo to wrap up the series from all of us - 


Bee - Bee Polished
Emma - Manicurity
Stamping Sarah - Spellbinding Nails
Kirsten - Geeky Owl
Kerrie - Pish Posh and Polish

Thanks for sharing this with us xxx 




Namaste :)




http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=O9_F6qCw3_A 

LOST-athon Season 5

Hi Goddesses  

Season 5 is a strange beast.  Ask me outright, and I wouldn't say it was one of my favourites, but once I started breaking it down and planning my mani ... well, let's just say that emotionally, it's a Season that packs a HELL of a wallop.

My great sadnesses of Season 5 are Charlotte and Daniel - I loved those characters sooooo much, and I could have happily lived with them for another 3 years.  Miles, however, is one of my absolute faves, and I LOVE that he got to move centre stage.

It was the unexpected moments that gave Season 5 it's highlights - finding Jin, Rousseau, Locke (in that same relaxed beachside pose he had in Season 1), the unexpected bloom of love between Sawyer and Juliet, the Greek tragedy of Daniel and his mother and the Hitler argument, embodied by young Benjamin Linus.   Oh and Sun with the canoe paddle.  I loved that A LOT lol.

There is one thing though that sticks in my craw from Season 5.  Remember in the first few episodes, when the island was hopping through time, Sawyer, Juliet, Daniel, Charlotte, Frank and Miles were in a giant canoe, paddling through a tropical storm, when they came under rifle fire from another boat.  I was CONVINCED that was THE story that was going to break my heart more than Charlie's death once we got to Season 6  ...... and yet it never came up.  I really really regret that.  Oversight ?  Maybe.  Or maybe my mind is just too dramatic lol.

So, on to the nails, and these are pretty much all Dharma-Days related, except one.

On the thumb, we have the VW camper van that featured in so many scenes lol.  This is SH Insta-Dri in Brisk Blue, with SH White On and SH Celeb City for the trimmings.   The van features in an immortal moment between Miles and Hurley, where it's revealed Hurley has been writing a little story called Star Wars ..... classic.

Next we have Charlotte's nose bleed.  Poor Charlotte.  I really dug (fnar fnar) her whiny yet spunky character, and I didn't want her to die so soon.  But die she did, and it was a gooooood death, very dramatic, lots of build up, lots of pathos.   This is 2 coats of I don't know what lol - some SH that's a milky jelly, and then sponging with my favourite blood, OPI Royal Rajah Ruby.

Middle finger is the hideous Dharma jumpsuits lol, greige before such a colour existed.  This is 2 coats of Nails Inc Porchester Square, with Konad White and then the octagon was made with my CG Ink pot.

Ring finger .... LaFleur.  Ah, LaFleur.   Just when you thought Sawyer couldn't get any dreamier or hotter or more noble or HOTTER, he went and grewed up and got HOTTER.  Bless him.    Sawyer, what a leader.  I'll follow,  me, me.  This is 2 coats of Urban Decay Exhaust, and then the flower is OPI The It Color, with a CG Agro stem and a CG Harvest Moon centre.

And the little finger is Juliet.   To be fair, she's a character I never really liked, and it's ironic, because it's the things she did for survival that turned me off her.  Yet with Sawyer, she was redeemed, and the minute she walked onto the set of the last episode wearing the infamous Red Shirt, we knew she was doomed (plus she'd signed to star in another series, but we'll ignore that).   So this is my homage to the red shirts, of all seasons, who are always bloodied, sweatied, or both. This is 2 coats of Barielle Thrilling and then my usual sponging with RRR blood.

And so there we left Season 5, on a precipice, mid-breath, waiting to see whether The Incident was THE Incident, or whether something else had happened and time would be rebooted.  Little did we know that we wouldn't get ALL the answers we wanted, and yet somehow we would get answers we forgot to ask for.




Don't forget to check out what's going on with the other Lostathon Lovelies -

Emma at Manicurity
Bee at Bee Polished
Kirsten at Geeky Owl
Kerrie at PishPosh and Polish
and Sarah (stamping Sarah with all the stamping plates) at Spellbinding Nails  


Until tomorrow, the final .. sob .. day - enjoy xx :) and Namaste

LOST-athon - Season 4

Hi Goddesses  

Season 4, oh Season 4.  My favourite season of them all.  So much drama, tension, suspense ...  I love that it's told backwards, so you get the flashforwards without knowing how they got off the island ... I love that for the life of you, you can't work out how the "right" people are going to be in the right place at the right time .... I LOVE LOVE LOVE that you get to guess who the 6 are .... ah, good times :)

Oh, and then there's Sawyer.  Gorgeous, hot, suddenly heroic Sawyer.  And Daniel ... and Desmond.  Aaarrgghhh what's not to love lol.

If I could only watch one season over and over again, it would be this one.  I never thought they would get off the island; I never thought I'd be lucky enough to know that happened to them "afterwards"; the tension of 2 timelines pulling in opposite directions; every character at their richest; the tension of trying to work out who the 6 are; the introduction of evil; and finally, the hints at what the game has been about.

As I mentioned in one of the other posts, I admire any artist that can make my jaw drop, or who is so committed to their vision that they honour the story above all else, a classic example being the last moments of the first series of 24 - wow, where did THAT come from?  And for me, this series of Lost had several of those moments - the unbelievably brutal execution of Alex; the heroism of Sawyer; and the sheer primal anguish in Sun's scream of Jiiiiiiiiiin at the end.   All of those moments left me breathless and tear-sodden.  It really doesn't get much better than that.

So, what do we have.  Well, do you remember the producers were very teasy about the end of Season 4, and kept referring to it as "the frozen donkey wheel", which in very pure literal terms, it did indeed turn out to be.  So here's my wheel.  SOPI Metro Chic in a cave of Bettina Sand Blast sponged with Iron.

The 2nd nail represents the incredulous "ends" to the Season - where did the tanker go and Woah, where did the island go?  This is CG Kinetic Candy for the sky and Bettina 189 for the sea.

I went red for Sun's primal scream.   For me, it was the artistic high point of the whole show.  The pain, the loss and hysteria in that one syllable.  Brilliantly acted.   Base of Barielle Thrilling, and words courtesy of SH White On.

The whole season is about the Oceanic 6, and that's what I went for on the ring finger, using 2 of the colours from the Oceanic logo.  This is a base of Bettina Peppermint, and the 6 is dotted in Bettina Amethyst.

And finally on the ring finger, we have the blades of the helicopter.  That helicopter was responsible for so much of the action, as well as being in what is many fans' favourite episode of the show, The Constant.   This is a tape mani with Bettina Iron as the base (for the blades) and Claire's Galaxy as the layered colour to represent the electrical storms.

Season 4, it rung me out and left me wanting more.  It nearly KILLED me to wait til the start of Season 5.  Lost, it really doesn't get much better than this :)

Don't forget to check out what's going on with the other Lostathon Lovelies -

Emma at Manicurity
Bee at Bee Polished
Kirsten at Geeky Owl
Kerrie at PishPosh and Polish
and Sarah (stamping Sarah with all the stamping plates) at Spellbinding Nails 




Enjoy xx :) and Namaste

LOST-athon - Season 3

Hi Goddesses  

Ah, Season 3 ... you mixed up, messed up, occasionally dull beast, you.

Season 3 was the best and the worst thing to happen to LOST.   It was boring as hell for several episodes - those ruddy cages !! - it stupidly introduced Paolo and Nikki, and the flashbacks got dumb - Jack's tattoo ?   But then a curse (the writer's strike) turned into a blessing, and the awesome Darlton did something no other producers of cash cow prime-time TV would do - they negotiated the end of their show.

From that point on (2/3 of the way through Series 3) EVERYTHING changed, and the writers found a new purpose - rather than stringing the plot out and providing WAY more questions than answers, they could work towards a clear goal and answer some of those pesky questions along the way.

Season 3 is also probably THE best cliff-hanger episode of a show EVER.  For 2 reasons.    Firstly, Charlie.   I never really engaged with him as a character, but his poignant death was one of the most brilliantly and movingly told I have ever seen on TV.   What a hero.

Secondly - "We have to go BACK, Kate, we have to go BACK!"   Come again ?   Wow.   I flat out admire any artist who can pull the rug from under my feet, and boy did Darlton do it with that line.  A flashback that was actually a flash-forward ?   Cool as fuck!!!   I spent the next 6 months gagging, GAGGING I say, for the show to return - I have never pondered a cliffhanger so much in my life!

So the nails, and like the series, they're a bit boring lol.

Thumb - this is all Jack and his big scary beard lol.  Nothing fancy.   OPI Black Onyx and a large dotting tool, with which I did strokes rather than dots (cos his beard did look quite ratty).   I made him some custom coloured lips - they're a but meh lol.

Index finger is the infamous cage - man I hated those episodes with a passion.  This is 2 coats of Essie Jazz and then stripes of SOPI Metro Chic, with a bit of CG Harvest Moon rust.

Middle finger - I tried to replicate the water in Through The Looking Glass, which had a swimming pool quality to it.   I used 2 layers of NerdLacquer Shiny, and in between did some sugar spun Barry M in Lime Green.  It "might" have just about worked in person, but in the photos the green looks overdone :(

The ring finger is Glitter Gal Silver Sparkle, representing Paolo and Nikki's diamonds.  Now, much as the introduction of those characters was a mistake, I LOVED the episode where they got killed off.  I also love that in Season 6 a certain awesome sarky someone found them :)

And finally, my pinkie is a night sky, with a red flashing light, representing the arrival of Naomi.  This was a brilliant episode (OMG would Charlie die) and also, it is the pivot point, for it represents the moment LOST started it's 3 and a 1/3 series long march to the awesome end.

Don't forget to check out what's going on with the other Lostathon Lovelies -

Emma at Manicurity
Bee at Bee Polished
Kirsten at Geeky Owl
Kerrie at PishPosh and Polish
and Sarah (stamping Sarah with all the stamping plates) at Spellbinding Nails 

Enjoy xx :) and Namaste