12 Days of Christmas - Wreath

So I wasn't sure I'd enjoy wearing this out so did it quickly before another manicure. I am actually reasonably pleased with the result and it may be something I will replicate later in the week.

I used an off white with a pinkish shimmer that I mixed myself as a base and with a dotting tool and Barry M's #284 dotted on a green circle onto each nail. I used Konad Special polish in red and a bundle monster stamping plate to stamp a ribbon on each wreath. I think it's cute - although totally simple!

12 Days of Christmas - Ornaments

Wohoo, so I am finally a little ahead on these challenges I am writing this post and queueing it up a whole 3 days early!

I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in 'Ivy League' for the base and stamped on ornaments with Konad black and red special polish. I added a bit of Sephora 'I'm a Rich Girl' for the tips of the ornmanets.

They actually turned out nicer than I was expecting so this may be a look I replicate. Although I think I'd like smaller ornaments on some sort of tree branch.. There's just so many chrismassy ideas and so few days left!

Orly Holiday Polishes - Smiley Faces

So I fell for the Orly Holiday Minis collection on my last trip to Sally Beauty. I used Torrid as a base which is so much more shiny and shimmery that it seemed through the bottle that I almost wanted to wear it on its own! I'd made my plan though so layered over a coat of Devil May Care and was pretty impressed with the glitter payoff in just one coat.

I should have left it alone but I couldn't resist stamping so added the smiley faces from BM plate 304 using Black Konad polish. I don't think they showed up so well over the glitter coat and regretted the stamping but after a day I got used to it and thought it looked okay.
I can't wait to try those faces over some yellow polish for a more traditional look though!

Halloween Nails

So I actually did a few halloween manicures over the October weeks and I have to say I am so impressed with the bundle monster halloween images. The children at my preschool were very enamoured with the stamps and we made up lots of stories about witches, spooky houses and pumpkins!

First, not necessarily halloweeny but I used Sally Girl 'You Glow Girl' as a base to get a spooky glow was my first attempt at striping tape. Upon the glow base (of which I used four coats to try and get a prominent effect) I arranged striping tape and painted over with Sally Hansen 'Black Out'. I removed the tape and - voila! It turned out really well I think for my first try and it was exciting to see those little glow in the dark lines whenever I walked around in the dark! The glow wasn't amazing though I did keep holding my hands under the light on my phone to get a few seconds of 'wow'!




Next I used China Glaze Orange Knockout which is sooo bright! I added a layer of Nina Ultra Pro Opal Elegance for a shine and stamped on various halloween images with Konad black polish.

The next time I used Nina Ultra Pro Evening Sun for a darker look. I added a layer of Nina Ultra Pro holographic top coat and really liked how they twinkled when they caught the light. I decided I wanted black tips and used striping tape and carefully painted them out with Sally Hansen black out. Although it was a lot more fiddly using striping tape rather than scotch tape I much preferred it, the line was crisper, there was no leakage and I think I did a pretty good job! I added more stamps with the same BM plates using Black Konad polish to finish them off and make them spooktacular! (See what I did there!)




Finally for halloween day I changed them again (!) and used Barry M Spring Green as I needed a green to match my costume (I was a green crayon!). I used the same stamps over it and it looked.. okay. I much preferred the orange but like I said I was the GREEN crayon!






Really enjoyed the whole halloween manicures and wish I'd had more time to be a bit more adventurous!

In the pink

I've been searching for a baby pink nail varnish for a little while now and still haven't found the perfect shade. I found a Wet N Wild  Shine polish in Tickled Pink. It's almost the colour I'm after but it needed three coats to get an even finish so not very impressed with it at all.
I stamped some flowers over the top (Kondad plate m21) which I was much more enamoured with. <3 my nail plates!