Neon Week - Tangled In My Saran Wrap

Hi Goddesses

I really don't understand why, but I have found Neon Week really inspiring and liberating.  Maybe it's that the colours are so "out there", that it makes you feel like anything goes, artwise.  Either way, I am a happy bunny this week.

Today's art is super simple, and is a great one for you to try if you want to dip your toe in the experimental pool. 

All the nails started with 2 coats of w7 White, and then got Saran Wrapped!  For those of you who don't know, this is when you apply your 2nd colour over your first, and then, whilst it's wet, attack it with a ball of saran wrap (or cling film, as we call it in the UK).

Now, I am lazy.  I am upstairs in the nail room, and the cling film is downstairs, so I always use what every polishaholic owns - bubble wrap!  I take a piece about 1 inch by 2, scrunch it up, and then dab at the wet polish.

The great thing about this mani, is you can keep going til you get the look you want.  Sometimes, too much white will creep through, but on the next dab, some of the colour (which is now on your saran wrap) will re-adhere to the nail.   If you need more help to rebalance, just add a line of polish to your nail, and maneovre it around.

I love the texture of a saran mani, but top coat does smooth it out.  Whilst it still looks great, it can lose a little something.

Finally, I added everybody's favourite black glitter, Wet N Wild Tangled In My Web, which was just perfect for this mani.

The colours used, thumb to pinkie were - China Glaze Orange You Hot, OPI Ogre The Top Blue, w7 Flourescent Pink, Sally Hansen Limestone and OPI A Roll In The Hague.

Enjoy xx :)

Neon Week - Fish Scales

Hi Goddesses

Wow, I am a little late posting tonight and more than a little breathless, as I was watching Andy Murray.  For 11.5 months of the year, Britain doesn't care about tennis, but when Wimbledon's on, we ALL go crazy lol.

Anyway, it was a GREAT match, but I won't spoil the result, just in case you haven't seen it yet.  To the nails, and this one was a hit at work.  If I'm honest, I don't really love it as it's not very "me", but it does work.

This started with 3 coats of w7 white as a good solid base, and then I splodged my neons over the top. We've got -

* Sation Miss Emo Shuns All

* China Glaze Hang-ten Toes

* China Glaze I'm With The Lifeguard

* Color Club Daisy Does It

* China Glaze Surfin' For Boys

The aim of the splodgerama is to create a smorgasboardof colour that blends and clashes - it's then perfect for stamping or arting over.

I used my Barry M white Nail Art Pen here.  As you can see on the thumb, the design started out as a distinct flower, but wobbled a bit as I moved round the fingers!  The pen didn't like being used over the Poshe top coat I'd used to seal my splodgerama, and so the pattern was a bit averse to laying its tracks.

I deliberately mixed it up on index and pinkie, and overall, I don't mind that the art is different from nail to nail.  I think the overall craziness of the neon base helps the randomness of the patterning.

Don't forget to check out my Lady Friends - enjoy xx :)

Neon Week - Splatter!

Hi Goddesses

Today I have a neon splatter for you, and words cannot express how much I loved wearing this mani, or how fabulous it looked.

Unfortunately, now, in photos, all I see is the really messy clean up (and man I scrubbed at this for hours) and somehow, none of the photos seem to convey the intense HAPPY of this mani.

Let's start at the top, with the polishes.  White base, and then 4 colours - OPI Roll In The Hague, China Glaze Papaya Punch, China Glaze Hang-ten Toes and w7 Fuchsia.  I was going to do you a posh photo of them, but decided to show you how they look amongst the continual clutter of my nail desk!

I absolutely LOVED how this splatter fell on my nails, and the colour collision was just perfect.  

Those cuticles though - I am so sorry.   I don't think I appreciated how much harder the neons might be to remove lol, and despite spending ages on, just couldn't get those last bits out.  I think my clean up brush just lost the will to live in the end.   In real life, they weren't so noticeable; in photos - yikes.   Still, I don't believe in Photoshopping my pics (don't even know how to) and I know you like to see when even I make a big mess.  I'm just bummed it detracts from the overall awesome.

Don't forget to check out the other Luscious Ladies - enjoy xx :)

Back In Time - Hot Hot Hot Aztec

Hi Goddesses

Oh I am very conflicted about this post!  I changed the essence of the mani ... and now, well I don't even know whether I've created something better lol.

Recap - Back In Time, where myself, Missy and Ashley go back to this time last year and recreate a mani.   I picked this mani from last year, which had a ruby-orange-yellow gradient, with some Aztec-ish stamping on top.

I remember quite loving the mani at the time, and thought it looked ripe for a makeover.  The gradient is crude - I believe I did one colour at a time - and the stamping isn't even centred ....

This time, I went with a lighter red, China Glaze Igniting Love, LACC 1964 and CG Papaya Punch.   I did a proper 3 layer gradient with a sponge, and trust me, once it was done it was so smooth, it looked like a ripening tomato.

And I think this is where the mani loses some of its charm.  That gradient is so damned subtle, you can't even tell there are 3 colours in there.   It's a little more obvious in real life, but I had to try very hard to capture the yellow on camera.

And then there's the stamping.  I'm so much better than I was a year ago, but you'd never know it from these photos! This stamp did not want to pick up for love nor money, and when it did, it wouldn't deposit it all on the nail either!   The only difference between then and now?  At least now I know it's not ME that's the problem - bloody stamping lol.

So although I do like this mani, mainly due to the tomatoey goodness of the gradient, I think I prefer the rough-edged charm of the original.

Which one is your fave?  Enjoy xx :)

Neon Week - Different Dimension Neon Holo Swirls

Hi Goddesses

This week is Neon Week on the blog, just as the sun in the UK is FINALLY starting to shine!

I must admit, I wasn't too head over heels with the idea, but once I started, I literally have not been able to stop.  So much so in fact, that I won't be doing the Tri Polish Challenge this month because right now IT'S ALL ABOUT THE NEONS!!!!  Lol.

Today's design features 3 of the awesome neon holos from Different Dimension.  The purple is called Whatever, the orange is Tubular and the pink is Ditz.  These all have an amazing thick formula and almost look like gel nails once on.  Truly fabulous.

The pattern was inspired by THIS tutorial from Fierce Make Up and Nails a couple of weeks ago.  I saw it and fell in love, and whilst mine is a *little* bit different, it wouldn't have been born without Nori's amazing talents.

I love how this came together, and how obnoxious yet "right" the colours look together :)  It reminds me of a big swirly tutti frutti ice cream.

Enjoy xx  :)