31DC2015 Day 26 Fishbraid

Hi Goddesses

I absolutely LOVE fishbraid manis, there's just something about the triple whammy of colour that warms my heart, but sometimes they can be a beast to do.

My success rate is about 50/50 with them, which really pees me off, as my first one was perfect, and I wasn't prepared for failure to come AFTER.   What I've earned since is that there are a LOT of variables ready to ruin your fishbraid, and I'll go through them soon in a SIMPLES tutorial.

Today we have a stunning colour combo.  In fact, the base is so delicious, it's going to get it's own post.  It's Scattering Sunlight from Lilypad Lacquer (via a duo Nicole did with Octopus Party Nail Lacquer), and it's just incredible.   You can have a little peek now, but for details on exactly HOW incredible, you need to come back in a couple of days.

To make my fishbraid, I wanted to highlight some of the colours in the polish, so picked Barry M Blood Orange for my red, and my beloved OPI Sparrow Me The Drama (below the halfway line now - eeeeek!) for the pink.

I love how these 3 polishes work together, and I was actually quite sad to take this one off.

An InLinkz Link-up

Textured Fish Braid

Hi Goddesses

I originally did this mani a few weeks ago for Digit-al Dozen Texture Week, which I then had to drop out of.   I still can't decide whether I truly like it, but it does come with an interesting tale of caution.

First of all then, the details - this features 3 China Glaze Texture polishes - Unrefined, Bump and Grind and Toe-tally Textured.  All 3 are gorgeous and vibrant and play well together.

I've done Fish Braid manis before, mostly (but not always lol) successfully, but let me tell you, fishbraiding with a texture is totally different.

It's not impossible, but it's trickier, and that's why you'll see some bumps and divots in my mani.  Key things I learnt -

* textures dry differently
* don't try to go over what you've just painted whilst it's wet because it will drag and create bald spots
* don't try and go over what you've painted when it's dry either!!  This is because the texture flattens out on the 2nd application

Summary - it's a one-shot mani.  You need to do thickish swipes, and get them right first time lol.   I think the pay-off is worth it though, it just needs a bit more practice!

Stripe Week - OPI Czechbook Fishbraid

Hi Goddesses

So, my OPI Euro Centrale obsession continues with today's post, which uses Can't Find My Czechbook as its base colour, with a little bit of My Vampire Is Buff thrown in for good measure.

Again, Czechbook will get its own post verrrrrry soon, but can I just say one thing?  BUY THIS POLISH !!!! It is the very epitomy of turquoise perfection.  I love it.

Ok, breathing deeply, calming down.  I'm sorry, I just LOVE IT !!!  Ha ha.   So, this mani is a simple fishbraid.  I've done them before and love their simplicity, but I must confess, this one gave me some issues.

For some reason, MVIB just would not play nice.  Its brush seemed to splay out in a way that Czechbook's didn't, and it made drawing lines with it REALLY difficult.

Also, there's a bit too much shiny shiny going on.  This was very hard to photograph with the light bouncing off the gloss.

Still, a sensational polish, and a groovy design, even if the Crumpet-y bits weren't the epitome of perfection lol.

Don't forget to check out Ashley and Emma and Kerrie   xx