Purple Mermaid Dotticure

Hi Goddesses

Another post from the vault today.  I'm not sure whether this was done for a challenge, but for some reason I never got round to posting it.

This combines several of my favourite things - lots of purple polishes, dotting and a mermaid dotticure.    I tried to use my very favouritest purples, but that's not always possible as purple can lean brown or blue.  Still, I'm really happy with the colour combo here.

Mermaid dotticures always look gorgeous.  IMO, they're not as difficult or as time-consuming as they look, you just have to get a good system going.

I'm always keen to use a mixture of textures as I think it adds more interest - in this one we have holos, glitters, shimmers, all sorts!

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

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.

Digit-al Dozen DOES Fashion - Leopard Print Flip Flops

Hi Goddesses

Sorry that I am posting so late tonight.  Beth and I have had an epic day out with her beloved Auntie Fluffy, and I am super in love with my purchases, which I will show you over the weekend.

Today's post was the last mani I did for Fashion Week.  Sometimes, you look and you look, and you just can't find the right pattern, and then other days, you look, and you find inspiration in the weirdest of places.

So yes, today is inspired by a pair of flip flops lol.   I think most of us love leopard print, and it's hard to resist when that also involves more than 1 colour.  I also liked that the colours were pastel, as that's not a colour scheme you usually associate with a violent carnivore lol.

Above you see my polishes, and also the base.  This was done by painting each nail one of the 5 colours, and then adding random colour blocking and brush strokes.  With hindsight, I really wish I had used more lemon.  It's a colour I hate, but there's no denying that it helps the pattern pop more - a great example of how sometimes you have to go against your gut for the best results.

The stamping this time was from a stamping plate, the Wild At Heart Cheeky Jumbo Plate 9.  Usually I freehand, but I wanted this mani to have uniformity.   Finally, a little bit of white acrylic to colour in some of the spots.

Overall, despite the use of pukey pastels, I really like this mani.  It also features one of my favourite nail art tricks - a multi-coloured base.  They are not difficult to do, and really help a mani add up to so much more than the sum of its parts.

Enjoy xx :)

The Digit-al Dozen does FESTIVENESS - Snowstorm

Hi Goddesses

I admit, I've been in a bit of a bubble this week, trying to deal with family issues and just get through.  Nothing however prepared me for the shock of yesterday's awful news from Connecticut.

As a mother, what happened is pretty much my worst nightmare, and my heart goes out to everyone who lost someone precious yesterday.   A lot of bloggers today are posting white nails to mark the loss of innocence.  I won't be, purely because I've got a lot of other things to do today, but my heart and my thoughts are in the same place, and I am immensely proud to be part of a community that would pull together like this.

Today's mani is a simple one.  The first day of Festiveness featured THIS mani, and I knew it was too beautiful not to recycle.  Eventually, I picked this delicate pattern on MJ7, which you can buy from My Online Shop.

There's something very peaceful and pure about it, and I hope that eventually, the people of Newtown can find some peace in their hearts.  Innocence should ALWAYS be cherished and protected; it's the greatest sadness of our modern life that heartfelt values seem to be melting away like the winter snow.

Peace xx