Digit-al Dozen DOES Nail Heroes - Chalkboard Nails and Barry M

Hi Goddesses

Today marks the start of a wonderful week on the Digit-al Dozen - Nail Heroes.  It's a chance to honour the people who have inspired us, influenced us, and who we just wouldn't be the same without.

I'm starting my week with one of the bloggers who influenced me the most, Sarah of Chalkboard Nails.  Sarah started her blog at a similar time to mine, and I watched, green with envy as she shot into the stratosphere with a skill and simplicity I just couldn't match.

What I loved most about Sarah's blog has how every now and then she'd create a facepalm moment.  A nail design of such epic simplicity that I'd scream "why didn't I think of that!".   And The Ruffle was just such a moment.

The Ruffle uses a dotting tool to create rows of dots which then overlap.  When Sarah first did this, she did it in crazy colours and called it The Carmen Miranda because it looked like a great big chintzy skirt.  I've done this method sooooo many times.  It's simple, quick, and ALWAYS looks great, whatever the colour combo.

For my polishes, I used Barry M.  Barry is the biggest and best High Street brand in the UK, and reasonably priced, and for 2 years I was supremely proud to be one of their official bloggers.  The way they dumped me still stings a little, so I don't quite have the fervent devotion I used to have, but the fact remains, if you're looking to build a collection of good colours at a reasonable price, you won't go wrong with Barry M.

Don't forget to check out everyone else's link.

An InLinkz Link-up

Double Dotting

Hi Goddesses

Today I have a mani for you which drew its inspiration from this pattern I found on Pinterest -



I didn't deliberately set out to recreate it, but the image of those dots on dots hadn't strayed very far from my mind.

When I created THIS mani for DD Dotting Days, I knew it was the perfect base to try this technique on.   The base here is a combination of Literary Lacquers Aunt Beast and OPI My Vampire Is Buff.

For my smaller dots, I didn't want them to be too stark against the creamy background I'd created, so I watered my black down with some clear polish.

I am not convinced this is a total win - I think my small dots should have been tidier and more spaced out - but I like it enough to try it with some different colours at some stage.  nd yes, great big drop dot on the middle nail, I AM looking at you!

30 Days of Purple - Day 19 - Duri Grape Swirl Dotticure

Hi Goddesses

Well, it's still mayhem at Kitty Towers, hence the slightly erratic posting and sadly no Sat-ART-Day Club this weekend. Don't worry though, I WILL get that post done at some point, cos I was really psyched about honouring one of my favourite sci fi shows :)

Today features the amazing DURI Grape Swirl.  I love Duri.  Not particularly easy for me to get hold of in the UK, but gorgeous. Smooth and dreamy in application and utterly classic in bottle style.

This one is a dark metallic grapey colour, darker on the nails than in the bottle.  It's also a bit of a shape shifter, appearing much darker in certain lights than others.

The brown aspects are offset by the metallic tones, creating a perfect purple lusciousness.

I then dotted randomly with a variety of polishes, trying to vary both tone and texture.  I used - 

OPI My Boyriend Scales Walls

Sally Hansen Delphinium

Claire's Cosmic - insanely sparkly!

Barry M Blackberry

KIKO 338

There is no particular rhyme or reason to how the dots are applied - just try to keep it as random as possible.

And the overall effect ?  Well, you really can't beat a simple dotticure, and honestly, they're effortless.  Easiest nail art ever, and so effective :)

Enjoy xx :)

Purple Rainbows

Hi Goddesses

It's doodle time!!    Last night I was toying with the idea of another 31 Day Challenge (why are they sooooo irresistible) and one of the challenges was rainbow.  I'd just painted my nails lilac, and an idea was born: what sort of rainbows do they have in CrumpetLand if not purple ones ? Lol.

This is 3 coats of Essence Hang Loose from the their Surfer Babe Collection.  It is like a pink-toned lilac version of Essie's Marshmallow - very sheer, but lovely and squishy.

I wasn't totally sure how my rainbows were going to look, but I knew I didn't want them the same on every nail, or to look like 1 rainbow spread across 5 nails - and so any idea somewhere in between was born!   The boyf thinks it looks a little like a mountain range - I'm not too sure, but at least it was a compliment!

For this is used my beloved dotting tools, only because I knew I wouldn't be steady with a brush - I ended up using the 2nd largest size.   The rows were built up with -

* SH Mystic Lilac - still love - that green shimmer takes me by surprise every time

* OPI Planks a Lot

* OPI Parlez Vous OPI

* CG Spontaneous

I was going to add 1 final row in Barry M Bright Purple, but I really didn't think I had the room.

Loving how this turned out - so simple, so effortless :)

Enjoy xx :)