The Northern Lights in the Messy Mansion

Hi Goddesses

Today we have possibly my best stamping mani EVER, and as is so often the case, it was a complete accident lol.

I am currently obsessed with the MM20 plate from Messy Mansion, and I don't need much / any excuse to plonk it on top of something.  When I did my Northern Lights mani for Digit-al Dozen the other week, it practically BEGGED me to stamp over it lol.

This is one of those finished results that is so much more than the sum of its parts.  Whilst the base was glorious in its own right, the addition of the stamping cranks it up a notch, and gives it an air of complexity it doesn't really have.

I totally loved this mani - shame it had to come off an hour later for something else!

The Digit-al Dozen DOES Countries - Northern Lights

Hi Goddesses

You may have seen my joke mani for DD Week featuring a white mani as the Antarctic.   Bizarrely, a joke provided some inspiration, and as I thought about polar regions I thought of the Northern Lights and saw this photo on Google.

It appealed to my artistic sensibilities, such as they are.  Requirement for precision?  Low.  Opportunity to slop polish on randomly?  High.  Done.

For my base, I used the matte base of Barry M Espresso, and then I picked my Northern Lights.  I ended up settling for 3 Lilypad Lacquers - Slimey Limey, She's All That and Bubble Yummo.

Because I wanted a streaky effect and didn't want the colour to be too saturated, I mixed my polishes with top coat to thin them out.  I lined them up as if I were doing a gradient, looked for my fan brush, couldn't find it, gggggrrrr'd, picked up the largest brush I could find, and applied the polish in vertical lines.  I then added extra pink on top to create the effect seen in the original photo.

It's a really simple technique that created quite a spectacular mani - next week you'll see this as the base to possibly the best stamping mani I have ever done.

Bravo for the Northern Lights!   Don't forget to check out the other ladies :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Brand of the Year - Part 2 - Lilypad Lacquer

Hi Goddesses

And welcome to the 2nd of my 3 posts celebrating the brands of the year.


I have bought more Lilypad Lacquer this year than any other brand, and I would buy more in a heartbeat.  Why?  So many reasons, which I will get into in a moment.


I was first introduced to Lilypad in June this year, when Sally Magpies agreed to be their UK Distributor. I remember falling in love from the very first polish stroke and messaging Sally after 1 nail to tell her she had to stock the brand. 


The hardest part, was that I then couldn't show the world the polishes I had swatched until Sally's full order arrived, and man that was difficult.   It was like sitting on the world's best secret :)


Since then, I've been back to Nicole's shop many maaaaaaany times, and here's why I love her polishes -

* the pigmentation.  Nobody else has managed to get such intense colour pigmentation out of holos.  Even colours that were previously off limits have fallen to Nicole's holo magic
* formula - always a dream to apply
* gel like finish.  These polishes always look classy on the nail.  My standard way of wearing polish is 2 coats + Poshe, and every time I wear a Lilypad people ask me if I have had professional gel nails done - THAT'S how good they look
* ALL the colours !!  Nicole's shop is a rainbow!   Looking for a blue?  Well she has about 17 of them for you to choose from!
* hangs head and whispers .... she made me buy green.  Just one?  No, a few.   Yup, she's THAT good.
* I've seen what she's got planned for 2014 ... and my wallet is scared


So here, in no particular order, are the 9 Lilypads which have rocked my world this year :)

Bubble Yummo



This was the one that doomed me - the first polish I tried.  Will you get a look at that pink??  Crazy, crazy.  So intense.  I bought shitloads of bright pink holos this summer and this trounces every single one.


Pink Flamingo



No, it's not the same, it's similar!  Another stellar hot pink holo.  Drooooool.


Sweet As A Peach

I've developed a real love of corals and dark peaches this year, and this is a perfect example.


I Love Lilac



Ah, this was like wearing a ickle fluffy cloud on my nail.   I love that this is quite blue toned.  Lovely, calming and simple.


She's All That



A beautiful indigo denim / soft blurple, this didn't get nearly enough attention this year.  Really beautiful.


Ruby Slippers



An utterly SENSATIONAL red holo, and *probably* the best red holo I own.  Again, stellar pigmentation and just ..... slurp .... sorry, the drool got me again.


Popping Purple



This is an amazingly intense purple holo - almost cartoonish in its density.   I love that it is so unapologetically purple too, no hints of blue or brown.  Nope, just PURPLE!


Velveteen



It shows you're an awesome polish maker when this ISN'T the best thing you released this year.  Velveteen is wonderful, a warm purpley-burgundy grape of deliciousness.  Stunning.

Which means the winner is ..... True Blood.



This polish blew my socks off when I received it.  Dark, deviant, of cauldron-bred, this is just a satanic dream of a polish.   Similar to Velveteen, this is a few clicks darker, and those clicks make all the difference, giving the polish exquisite galactic and nocturnal qualities.  A wet dream.


Did you succumb to Lilypad's charms this year?  And if you did, which polish was YOUR favourite?

Holo Month - Reeds In A Lilypad (Lacquer)

Hi Goddesses

Today sees the start of holo month (there's a LOT headed your way), some SUPER simple nail art .... and a secret, but we'll save that to the end.

On base we have my new favourite brand - Lilypad Lacquer - and the divine pinkholobomb that is Bubble Yummo.  You've seen it already on the blog, but wow I can't get enough of it.

On stripes we have OPI Miami Beet, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and China Glaze Purple Panic.

I used a thin striper brush to apply my stripes at random angles, intersecting and overlapping with no distinct pattern.  To be honest, this is where I am happiest, being random :)

I loved the effect here, and the best bit?  (and the secret) ..... when I applied the first stripe, it was supposed to be vertical, and went on wonky ... and so this mani was born, as I turned my accidental wonk into deliberate randomness.  A fail, saved, and a much better mani as a result!

Enjoy xx :)