31DC2015 - Day 31 - Your Signature Style

Hi Goddesses

OMG it's the final day of the challenge!  And do you know, I'm not sure I'm ready for this to end?  This has been my favourite 31DC without a doubt, and I can honestly say I didn't hit the wall at any point - yay.

So the final day is all about the individual bloggers taking part, and our signature style.  Well, I think I'm known for purple, dotting and splodging - so here come 2 of those 3!

I deliberately used some of my very VERY favouritest bestest purples for this mani -

- on base, Barry M Blackberry
- OPI DS Original
- Literary Lacquers Rebecca, Always Rebecca
- OPI Planks A Lot
- Sally Hansen Delphinium
- Powder Perfect Lorelei

The key here was to pick purples which complemented each other but still popped, and I think this combination works really well.

I'd like to say a massive thank you to all the amazing bloggers in Crumpet's Nai Tarts who made this such an amazing adventure - we'll see you at the next one!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen DOES Thankfulness - The Nail Polish Community

Hi Goddesses

Wow, it's been a bit of a long and exhausting week for me, so apologies that this - AND #52WPNMC - are coming to you late.

I don't think I've ever had a hobby I've committed to as intensively as I have nail polish.  It's thrilled me in so many ways, and a lot of these have been detailed in the Confessions of a Polishaholic series (which WILL be coming back).

Whilst I have gained a lot of polishes and knowledge, and learnt how to do nail art, the main gift it has given me is friendship.  I had no idea this community existed, and through various groups - and especially ones I started myself - this hobby has grown into something much bigger - an international family and support network who inspire me and are there for me.

Today's nails celebrate this community, starting with the one closest to my heart - the Digit-al Dozen.   Some of my closest friends are (or were) in this group, and my life would be considerably poorer without them.   My thumb nail features one of our logos.

The middle and index nails just celebrate my love of polish.  The bottle may or not be OPI, and the heart is filled with one of my favourite polishes - OPI Planks A Lot.

On the ring finger, I am celebrating nail art and the Crumpet's Nail Tarts.   I am apparently the DD Queen of Dotticures, and I quite like the autumnal vibe of the one I created here.   

Finally, the pinkie represents the amazing polish makers that I get to count as friends.   It's very special to be trusted by a polish maker to showcase their baby, and I am grateful to everyone who lets me do that, especially Amy and Janice, who I have worked with the longest.

One of my greatest thrills was when Amy created Literary Lacquers My Red Hair for me, which is the polish on the little finger.  It's discontinued now, but it will always have a special place in my heart.


And so concludes our week.   It's been a hard theme to translate, but I'm grateful it's given me the chance to articulate some of the things I am most thankful for.

An InLinkz Link-up

The Digit-al Dozen DOES Thankfulness - Positive Mental Outlook

Hi Goddesses

There's a certain irony to today's post, so please bear with :)   I've written about my battle with depression lots on this blog, and today I wanted to celebrate some of the things that keep me sane.  Ironically, I'm in the middle of a bout of depression at the moment, which makes this almost amusing.

I've learnt over the years what things help me, and what things don't.  Just as I've had to adapt certain things to reduce my migraines, I've found there are things that help me deal with the world.

I tend to have a positive outlook.  My current work colleagues call it my Glad Face.  My ex husband called it my Positive Psycho Bullshit.  Whatever, it gets me through most days.   Not all, but more.

I remember reading, in 1989, an interview with Kate Bush where she was asked to name what she would most like to eradicate in the world.  Her answer was "negativity", and she went on to explain how it was such an empty and pointless emotion, something that achieved nothing, and I had an epiphany.  From that moment on, I tried to be more expansive, more open, and definitely glass half full.

The nails are filled with little mottos - Keep Calm, because getting stressed doesn't solve anything (although this is not always controllable).   Live Love Laugh, my motto as much as I have one.  Then there's a symbol for positivity, and on the pinkie a pair of headphones - turning the music up high, or using them to silence and exclude the world both help.   And don't forget all the bright happy colours to reinforce the bright happy things.

The ring finger features 2 profound statements (and some shockingly bad lettering, sorry!).  One of them is my religion - Everything For A Reason.   Everything DOES happen for a reason, even if we can't always instantly understand why.  It is what it is, and we need to accept and move on.



The above quote by Henry Ford was a life-changing moment for me.  It summed up so much of what I believed, and also stressed how most of what we want CAN lie within our power - if only we'd let it.

So sometimes it gets strained, sometimes it cracks, and sometimes it plain old rips at the seams, but for the most part, my positive mental outlook keeps me tethered to this life.  So, thanks :)

An InLinkz Link-up

GOT Polish and Purple Birthday Nails !!!!!!!!

Hi Goddesses

Happy Sunday!!  I hope you’re having a relaxing weekend.  As a lot of you know, Friday was my birthday, and I wanted to do some epic nails for the day.  I even made sure the GOT Polish prompt was purple so that I could be all colour co-ordinated.

I was very smitten with a mani that Chalkboard nails did a couple of weeks ago – HERE – and couldn’t get it out of my head.  In the end, I didn’t go for a copycat mani, but it was definitely my jumping off point.

I decided it was a great excuse to use some of my favourite purples, and used 11, plus the gold.  Sadly, it’s not my Top 11 purples because I decided to exclude glitters and holos.

Let’s run through the combos first –

·       Base polish – Cult Nails My Kind of Cool Aid – all time classic perfect lilac!

·       Thumb – Wet n Wild Buffy The Violet Slayer and Contrary Polish Purple Smoke

·       Index – OPI Grape Set and Match and OPI You’re Such a Budapest – tonally, I don’t think Budapest worked

·       Middle – China Glaze Let’s Groove (sooooo under-rated) and OPI Planks A Lot which was too similar to the base polish – you can barely see it lol

·       Ring – Rimmel Punk Rock and Indigo Bananas Hole In The Sky

·       Pinkie – OPI Who Are You Wearing and Sally Hansen Delphinium

·       Gold – OPI Love Angel Music Baby

Overall, I love the mani, and I am really chuffed I tried something more intricate, even though it’s not perfect.  It’s funny what the camera picks up – in the photos all I see is how the under-locking near the cuticle looks like I’ve missed something in clean up!

I had to matte this because there was just no seeing the pattern when it was glossy – mainly because a lot of the colours are so similar.  I prefer the darker nails – they definitely have more drama – and if I was going to do it again, I’d keep to that colour scheme.

New Series - Four Play with Indigo Bananas Chill Out

Hi Goddesses

Is it a new series?  I dunno, but it's a cool title, isn't it hahah.  Basically, I had a mani that I did in 4 steps, which means you could use the same mani to create a different look every single day for 4 days (AND it used 4 polishes) and I thought Four Play sounded funny .... giggles.

I used to do something similar called Recycled Nails, and I know a few other bloggers have done something similar.  I still love the concept, so here we go.


Day 1 - Start off simple, with a plain swatch.

This is the GLORIOUS OPI Planks A Lot, still one of my favourite polishes.  I don't think I'll EVER get bored with this.

Beautiful tone of purple, perfectly pastel without being pukey, and shiny as a bald man's head.



Day 2 - Painted Gradient

I've briefly shown painted gradients before.  Stupidly, I didn't take many photos here, but basically, the base polish now has Illamasqua Grab painted over it.


Day 3 - Glitter Topper

Now the fun part - the glitter.  Until 2 days later when you realise you started with base coat and not PVA .....

This is a beautiful glitter from Indigo Bananas called Chill Out.  It's full of white and silver loveliness - very icy, very shimmery too.

I absolutely loved this look.


Day 4 - Matte Top Coat

I seem to be a meme at the moment, running around (well, maybe not running), screaming Matte All The Things!   I'm utterly obsessed with the qualities a matte polish brings to a mani, and I just can't get enough of them at the moment.

Another bonus - for photography, matte top coats sometimes give the best results.  Whilst in real life I definitely preferred the mani glossy, in photos, I prefer the finished version.


So, why bother, why do 4 manis like this?  Well, we're all busy.  Nail art is great (even though this is not art, per se), but it can take time.  This way, you divide the time required into little bite sized chunks - plus, you get chance to experiment!