Hi Goddesses
Ah, the good ole tape mani! Love it on others, not so keen on doing it on me lol. Actually, that's not true, I am VERY keen on doing it on me, but so much involves getting the "right" sort of tape. Anyway, back to that in a mo.
Let's talk about the base, which was sent to me for review. This is Shadow Between Us by Literary Lacquers and it's INSANELY gorgeous.
You may remember me whinging about the world having too many holos in my end of year posts - well, that doesn't apply to LL because look what she does to them - she adds MAGIC!!
This is one of the sparkliest polishes I own. I love how it twinkles, and I love how in the right light you can see those amazing small glitters in it. Super gorgeous.
For my tape mini I chose 3 Indigo Bananas polishes -
- Indigo Bananas Twice As Bright (pink)
- Indigo Bananas Electric Unicorns (lilac)
- Indigo Bananas Halcyon (purple)
Ok, let's talk tape. Here I am using some nail vinyls from She Sells Seashells, and for me, I am finding that the vinyls have a much better level of stickiness than normal tape.
I struggle using the super thin tape on a roll, as it never wants to stick to anything other than my fingers or clothes - GET ON THE NAIL - and my other tapes can be hit and miss too.
These chevrons were really easy to use, and the only dodgy part was that the lovely Twice As Bright wasn't particularly opaque, so it was a bit of an eeeek experience to try and get it opaque enough without messing up the mani.
Overall, I really love this one.
The Literary Lacquers polish was sent to me for review and can be purchased HERE.
Hi Goddesses
Good morning, good morning. Can you believe it, this is my 2000th, blog post!! And how appropriate that it's dominated by the colour purple ahhahaha.
This is the 3 Shades of Purple prompt from the #52WPNMC and all 3 are from Powder Perfect. I had no idea about what I wanted to do, other than that it would NOT be a dotticure lol, so I just ..... doodled.
Polishes used - L to R
- Powder Perfect Peeling Wallpaper
- Powder Perfect Around The Salvatore Fireplace
- Powder Perfect Lorelei
What's interesting about this mani is that once I'd done it, I was really disappointed with how it photographed, and felt the camera had been baffled by all the colours on show.
So I matted it, and hurrahed because the colours popped a little more. Yet now, after just having edited the photos, I'm really not sure I do prefer the matte version. I think the glossy version just packs more drama.
I do like the abstract nature of this design, and I think this mani represents a lot of things I've been guilty of not doing in the past - just sitting down with 3 pretty polishes, and PLAYING with them, and having fun.
Hi Goddesses
For the last couple of years, one of my first posts has been a Bucket List, crammed with goals and aims for the next blogging year.
Today, I say, I am Crumpet, and I have no goals for 2015 other than to ENJOY my blogging.
For me, that's a very liberating statement to make. I am VERY goal oriented / competitive, and I think that was part of my path to break / breakdown - wanting to Be The Best etc. As you know, taking that break has taught me a lot of things, so this year will be VERY different.
Although it may not seem like it in January haha. I have the 31DC going on, which is pretty hardcore, but I planned that in knowing that I would have the Christmas holidays to get most of it prepared (as I'm typing, Day 20 is drying on my nails).
After that though, things will go a bit slower. If I need to take a week off, I will take a week off, and I'll bloody enjoy it too!
Whilst there are no goals as such, there are still some things you can expect -
- humour and imperfection! lol
- writing. I know you love the writing, so you WILL get the return of The Secret Diary of a Polishaholic, as well as a new feature, Crumpet's Journal, which is kind of the blogging version of Polishaholic
- SIMPLES. This will continue, but probably won't kick back off again until the end of January
- honest reviews. I'll still be accepting products for review and letting you know how much I love them .. or dont
- I'm also keen for your involvement, and to write pieces you want to see. So, if you've ever wanted me to make my list of the Top 10 Red Holos of All Time or explain what a fan brush can be used for, just ask me, and I'll let you know.
Wishing all of you the very best for this next year. May it be fruitful, peaceful and darn good.
2015 - it's all about The Fun.
Hi Goddesses
It's here! The new 31 Day Challenge is here! Hopefully, it's full of enough new and different prompts to encourage you to take part, and it's still not to late to join us HERE. Here's the full list of prompts we have coming up.
Those of you who know me or read this blog a lot know that I have mental challenges lol, and creating this mani was one such example. Follow a tutorial, follow a tutorial ..... I search pinterest, YouTube, nothing catches my eye. I look up. What's that? Oh yeh, the Idiot's Guide to Nail Art I am supposed to be reviewing for my friend Emily, which features 75 tutorials. DOH!
A few things about the book first - I really like it. I love the layout, the fact it's divided into simple / intermediate / advanced types of nail art. I love how each page has the same layout - side photo and all the tools you need on the left -
Step by step instructions on the right.
So, so surface, so good. But does it actually work? I chose an intermediate design to try it out - this is Poppy Floral from page 118-9.
The first few steps were really easy -
Then I added the petals - tip. THINK ABOUT IT. Pick the right green, not just one that's lying on your desk. Bad Crumpet!
And I also didn't do so well with those wispy bits. I think mostly that was to do with having my hand at a strange angle, or maybe not leaving enough room on the nail for them.
So how does my version compare to Emily's?
Not too bad. I really like my version, and other than the wispy bits, I'm really happy with it. Hers is definitely more professional though!
I should also add that Emily's book contains all sorts of other info too - nail care, resources - you name, it's in here. Although she's a friend, I'll always be honest, and I do think this is a great book for a nail art novice. Emily always manages to make things look simple, and there are some really cool looks in here that are effortless to do.
By day, you can find Emily's blog HERE and her book is available on Amazon from tomorrow. If you're in the UK, the link is HERE, and the book is priced just £10.92.
Emily's book was sent to me for an honest review.
