Nov 30, 2012

Purple Rainbows

Fancy some purple rainbow photo spam?  This is 3 coats of Jade Fascinio violeta.  A brilliant royal purple with stunning linear holo.  It's smooth and easy to apply without any need for special base coats.  It dries pretty quickly and has a strange, but not unpleasant, scent.  I have no idea what the scent is but it reminds me of bandaids, sort of clean, medical and rubbery.
Outdoors photo at sunset so the light was a little golden.

Blurry shot to better show the rainbows.

A bit more colour accurate.

In the shade.

Oh such beautiful rainbows.

I spent a lot of time holding my hands up like this as I walked around :)

Shade again.
Then I added a coat of Lynnderella Bride of Franken. I don't know why other than I'm still trying to find a base colour that will make Bride of Franken look as good on my nails as it does in the bottle. This was not the answer.  I lost my rainbow goodness and made it look lumpy.
I haz a sad :(

Nov 28, 2012

Aussie Nails Monday - Weather

So Monday was Aussie Nails Monday with the theme WEATHER.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do, even ordered some special supplies from The Nail Shop which they sent nice and quick, but nothing went to plan.  I wanted to do rain nails.  On the weekend I mixed up a nice grey glitter polish I called Rains of Grey which I thought would be perfect as the base colour for my nail art but then Monday morning I decided to step it up a notch and do a gradient for my base.  A blue to grey gradient.  So I mixed up a lighter, slightly blue tinted, version of my grey glitter polish (called Lighter Shade of Rain) to use as the middle colour with the darker grey on the tips and I wanted a light sky blue for the starting colour.  I chose Revlon Blue Lagoon for the blue.  It's a lovely soft colour with glass flecks.  I thought it would be perfect for the clear sky above the rain and was the right tone to blend into my greys.  The problem was it didn't dry.  I couldn't get beyond the first coat and it was streaky, it needed more.  It bubbled like crazy and stayed pressure soft until bedtime (in the early hours).  Unbelievable for one thin streaky coat to behave like that and it's not like it's a cheap brand either.  We pay a lot for Revlon here.  I can only think it was the humidity effecting it.  The weather has been a bit weird and very sticky lately.  I know my nails were clean.  I always use isopropyl alcohol to wipe them clean of any handcream etc before I start painting so there shouldn't have been anything on my nails to affect drying time.  I was torn between taking it all off and starting again or leaving it over night and risking sheet nails.  I went with the overnight option and the next morning most of the polish had slid sideways across my nails.  Much worse than sheet nails.  So I started again, this time with Sinful colours Cinderella.  Similar to the Revlon in colour but with a pink shimmer.  It had the same problem, not drying and bubbling.  So last night I took it all off and tried again.  This time with Ulta3 Soft Hydrangea.  I love the Ulta3 pastels and this colour would have been my first choice except the brushes in the pastel collection suck, I just can't get an even finish with them.  The brushes seem too hard, like they wipe off as much polish as they put on unless I just flood it on and I much prefer to do thin coats.  I still had some bubbling with the Ulta3 but at least it dried.  I did 2 coats.  At some point I got so fed up with it I went outside and stuck my hand in the rain and took photos of my wet nails.  That's weather right?  Nah I couldn't give up on my plan, it looked so good in my head.

So I sponged over my 2 shades of grey.  My carefully planned 'rain' glitters were kind of lost in the sponging so I'll have to do a Rains of Grey manicure later so I can try the full effect.  For the rain I cut up some nail foils, the full nail stick on sort, then I sealed it all with topcoat.
For the clouds I dotted on some Ulta3 Lily White then sprinkled on some white flocking powder.  The flocking powder was in little balls in the jar, I don't know if it's supposed to do that or if it was suffering from the humidity too.  It was my first time flocking :)  I pressed the powder into the white polish then brushed off the excess.

Finally I grabbed a piece of large round silver holo glitter, painted it yellow for a sun, and stuck it on with a bit of topcoat and took photos.  It was late last night by the time I was done so I had to use flash for the photos but I do like the way my rain drops lit up.

Not sure how long this will last.  I'm itching to take it off and wear something new but I'm also curious as to how long the flocking powder and nail foils will stay.  Last night I removed my 'sun' before bed and today the clouds look a bit grubby and have lost most of their fluff.  I also lost a chunk of grey from my index finger on my left hand while peeling veggies for dinner and chopped my thumb nail with a knife.  I must remember to book another eye test :(
Here's the other girls who are participating in Aussie Nails Monday.  Now mine are finally done I can go and check out theirs.  I try not to look before I do mine because I don't want to be influenced or intimidated by their mad skillz :)

Nov 25, 2012

Beam Me Up Ozotic!

Over the last few weeks I've been playing with one of the new Ozotic Beam polishes.  Just about every manicure I've worn has had a coat of this at some stage.  I wanted to see how it would look over all different colours.  It's really very versatile.  Just one coat can add a subtle shimmer or completely change the way a manicure looks.  This is Ozotic Beam 907.  In the bottle it's a shimmery white.  Actually forget the white, it's like a bottle of shimmer all on it's own.  Hence the name, it's like a beam of light.  If you look closely there's tiny specks of green and blue, or is it gold and purple.  Yep, those are duochrome glass flecks.
I knew that over a dark base the coloured flecks would show up best but first I wanted to wear this one it's own.
This is 3 coats of Ozotic 907. Depending on the light there is still visible nail line which I don't mind.  It's a delicate look. I actually really liked the subtlety of just one coat but didn't think to take photos at that stage.
When the light hits it at the right angle though it's more opaque, shiny and reflective.  Not quite white, there's a peachy gold tone to it.  It's somehow a work safe colour that is also eye catching.  That shimmer had me walking around checking out my nails all the time.
Next of course I had to try it over black. One coat of Ulta3 Black Satin.  Getting an even coat of 907 was tricky though.  The black made every variance in my stroke thickness show up.  It looks best with just one coat over black or darker colours but that coat has to be even.  By the time I got to my right hand I had worked it out but I didn't photograph my right hand.  It's a little too thick on my ring finger and I dinged my pinky :(
Over black you can see the colour of the fleck much more.  The overall colour looks like a silvery foil green/blue.
Up close there's the blue, green, gold and purple colours.  I love those little purple bits :)
I think I like 907 best on it's own but the effect over black is fascinating so I decided to try some nail art to get the best of both worlds.  I started with 3 coats of 907 and painted black 'beams' over with the Ulta3 Black Satin.  I sealed it with a topcoat.
Then I added another layer of 907.  Best of both worlds?  Light beams?  I wasn't sure but my husband liked the look.  He said it looked like lollies.
So I added some minty stripes :)  Like that toothpaste with the stripes.  I have no idea why mint toothpaste and candy has blue and red stripes.  The mint in my garden is very much green. 
Ozotic Beam 907 is available from piCture pOlish or internationally from the piCture pOlish Network members

Have you seen the news that piCture pOlish will be releasing the Ozotic 'Mr Big' range soon?  $19.00AU for 30ml bottles of  Black, White and High Gloss Fast Dry Top Coat!  I'm keen to try those.  If the black and white are single coaters they will be perfect for laying polishes like the Ozotics and good for nail art and stamping.

Nov 20, 2012

Aussie Nails Monday - Glitter

It's the second Aussie Nails Monday but before I share my ANM nails let me just have a little fan girl moment.  I'm the guest blogger on More Nail Polish today.  More Nail Polish is one of my favourite blogs/bloggers so it's such a thrill for me to see my nails on there again.  Last time was a nail art competition and I thought that was exciting, even more so to have a whole blog post this time :)  You can see my blog post on More Nail Polish here and my previous nail art entry here (it's the Doctor Who Tardis design).

So each Monday we (a bunch of Aussie girls) are going to be sharing our nails inspired by a set theme and our theme this week is GLITTER.  Last week we started with BIRTHDAY, you can see last weeks birthday nails here.
I have a lot of glitter polishes but I wanted to do something a little different this week.  I also have a bit of a stash of glitter for mixing my own polishes.  Most of the glitter polish I wear or make is quite bold and strongly coloured so today I wanted to try a soft glitter look.
I started with 2 coats of Essence Colour & Go Grey-t To Be Here.   I love Essence polishes.  They're cheap and wear well and there's some really pretty colours.  The Colour & Go range also have colour co-ordinated lids that make it easy to find the right colour in my helmers.
Grey-t To Be Here is a pale grey with a beautiful pink shimmer through it.  It's a delicate colour so I used pastel matte glitters to decorate.  I poured a small pile of glitter onto my desk then used a dotting tool to pick it up one piece at a time and press it into wet top coat.
I've been struggling with my eyesight lately so the design is a bit messy, something I couldn't actually see, even with my glasses, until I downloaded the photos.  I think it's time I got new glasses again.  It sucks getting old :(  This time last year I didn't need glasses to paint my nails.  Thankfully I can still avoid painting my cuticles most of the time :) I also got bubbles in the top coat.  I used a slow drying top coat so I had time to do the glitter on all my nails before it set and then I used a quick dry top coat for my final coat and that's what caused the bubbles.
Then, because I was still feeling creative and the child was keeping himself amused for a while, I quickly added stripes.
I used Essie Lion Around (the lighter pink) and Essie Your Hut or Mine for the stripes.   Then finally the sun came out for a moment before it rained all afternoon.
Here's what was keeping the child amused.  Assembling my newest helmer.  So easy a 4yo can do it .
This helmer came all the way from South Australia.  It was cheaper to have someone buy it there and post to Sydney than to buy from the Sydney Ikea.  South Australian Ikea prices are quite a bit cheaper for things like helmers but unfortunately they wont deliver to NSW but if you have a friend down there who's willing to pick one up and drop it off at the post office you can save about $25.  Ikea's flat packed boxes are all ready for posting, you just need to stick an address label on :) 

Here's the other girls who are participating in Aussie Nails Monday.  Some are blog sites and some are on instagram. I'm off to bed now but looking forward to checking out their nails over breakfast :)

Nov 18, 2012

Lighting Up Purple

November 17 is World Prematurity Day.  On this day landmarks around the world are `lighting up’ purple to raise awareness of the 15 million babies born prematurely each year and the 1 million babies who sadly lose their fight for life.
As a mother to two prems this is an issue close to my heart so I thought I'd paint my nails with purple glitter today to 'light up' my nails.  I'm lucky enough to have a gorgeous new polish to wear. It's not actually purple glitter, it's a rich indigo purple base with turquoise blue and fuchsia pink glitter. There's tiny square and hex glitter and best of all round glitter. I love round glitter :) Like polka-dots.
This is Indigo from Rachel of Glam Polish
Rachel has great taste in polish so I knew when she started mixing her own it would be impressive.  It's been exciting to see little glimpses of her design process along the way.  I know she's put a lot of thought and research into her polish, and it shows in the quality of this product.
This is 3 coats, no underwear.  I tested it over a few different base colours but decided to wear it on it's own for it's first full manicure.  The colour is sheer but builds up beautifully in 3 coats and I love the depth of all the glitter in those layers.
This applied perfectly (almost painted itself), it flows really well for a glitter (or any polish).  There was no need to dab it on or fish for glitter and it didn't drag at all.  Just 3 wonderfully even coats and no topcoat.  It dries so smooth and shiny it doesn't need topcoat.
Check out that glitter!  Dots galore!  It's such a gorgeous mix and the purple base is an incredible colour. Apologies for the shiny cuticles.  After swatching this over different bases, and removing, my cuticles took quite a beating from the acetone so I'm bathing them in Gloss 'n Sparkle cuticle oil.  Normally it soaks right in but I went a bit overboard tonight.   I also had to use flash which highlights the oil.  We've had a couple of dreary wet days and I've given up waiting for the sun for outdoor photos.  I bet tomorrow will be sunny now I've taken my photos.
The Glam Polish store isn't open yet but when it is I know I'll be snapping up some more of her range.  Keep an eye out at http://glampolish.bigcartel.com for when it opens or watch her blog for news http://glam-polish.blogspot.com.au    It's one of my favourite blogs and worth following.  She has beautiful nails and photos and an impressive collection of indie polishes.
I'll leave you with pics of my little prems.  They are 'success' stories but not every premature birth turns out so well.  Many babies don't make it and those that do can face a life time of medical issues.    It's a traumatic experience for everyone involved.   No family is ever the same again after a premature birth but we are very fortunate to have two happy, healthy boys.  My miracle boys :)
Alex was born at 26 weeks weighing 670gms.  This photo was taken when he was 10 days old.  He spent 100 days in hospital, 79 of those in the NICU, and came home (on oxygen) weighing just under 2kg.
Ben was born at 35 weeks weighing 1840gms.  This photo was taken the day after he was born.   He spent 2 weeks in special care and actually came home weighing less than Alex did when he came home.
This is a photo from today, the boys were reading to Bob the bear.  Bob is a guest for the weekend.  The children in Alex's class take turns taking Bob home for weekends and journal and photograph their weekend with Bob.  This is Alex's first time bringing Bob home and both boys are excited about it.
Alex is now 7 and in second grade and Ben is now 4 and starts preschool next year.  Alex has reached average weight and height for his age and Ben is still quite a bit below average height but has reached average weight (feeding and weight gain is such a big deal in the life of a prem).

Nov 12, 2012

Aussie Nails Monday - Birthday

Welcome the the first Aussie Nails Monday.  Each Monday we (a bunch of Aussie girls) are going to be sharing our nails inspired by a set theme and our first theme is BIRTHDAY   Appropriate for the beginning really :)
So today I'm going to show you my birthday suit.  No?  You don't want to see?  OK here's a birthday candle then, because to me it's not a birthday without cake and candles and around here the candles are the most important part.  With young kids we end up having to relight the candles over and over because blowing out the candles is fun!  Happy Birthday would you like to blow out the candle?
Yes it's a messy, lumpy looking finish but it's meant to be.  I was trying to get a soft melting carved waxy look.   I even had melted wax dripping over my fingers, but that was an accident and bloody hurt so I didn't get a photo.
I started with stripes of sheer pink and coral polishes for a translucent wax look, then added stripes of Lime Crime Milky Ways and finer stripes of pink and orange.  Then I finished with a coat of OPI Don't Touch My Tutu! which just gave it all a slightly milky finish which hopefully looks like wax.
Now I'm going to show you my birthday suit!  My naked nails with nipples :P  It's my right hand because my left hand has shocking tan lines (staining).

OK so they're not really naked, I'm wearing clear Gelicious, a UV gel hybrid which I use for my base coat.  My husband complained my nipples are the wrong colour (on my nails) but I think it's pretty good colour.  I used Cult Nails Cruisin' Nude so it must be right, right?  I started with OPI DS Classic for the large circles then dotted on Ulta3 Pale Dahlia and layered with Cruisin' Nude for what looked like a good skin tone to me.  I really hope you can see the humour in this.  Does birthday suit have the same meaning worldwide or will this just seem weird to non Aussies?

Now here's the other girls who are participating in Aussie Nails Monday.  Some are blog sites and some are on instagram. I can't wait to see what they all come up with :)

Nov 9, 2012

Purple for No H8

This morning I've been seeing a beautiful array of purple manicures around the blogosphere.  It seems that it's November 8 for No H8: Eradicate Hate in the Nail Polish Blogger Community.  I don't know where this started and what the 'rules' are.  Somehow I missed the news (been busy offline) and it's already the 9th here, but as I am against bullying in any form so I'm going to join in with my purple manicure.
I've actually been wearing this combination for 6 days now and can't bring myself to remove it.  It's so beautiful.  There's no chips or tip wear and it's still shiny after a week of hard use.  The growth is starting to bug me though, my nails are getting too long so I'll probably have to remove this tonight and trim my nails :(

This is one of the stunning new glitter polishes from piCture pOlish, Gene Doll, over piCture pOlish Violet Femme.  You can't get much more purple than this :)  These are both available direct from piCture pOlish in Australia but you can also purchase these from Llarowe.com in the US.  Llarowe will be donating $2.00 for every purple polish sold on the site from 12:00am on Thursday, November 8, 2012 to 12:00am on Friday, November 9, 2012, to Pacer.Org, an organization devoted to education to stop bullying.  Those are US times so you'll have to do your own date/time conversion but if you need a little extra incentive to grab these beautiful polishes you can do so for a good cause, if you're quick. 
Or if you check out piCture pOlish on facebook today you can find out about their 'Flash Friday' Facebook Friend Deal and grab yourself a pretty awesome deal.
Gene Doll is a brilliant mix of small and medium sized magenta hex glitter in a clear base.  Being a single colour glitter means this can be layered over any colour base.  I haven't found a colour that doesn't work.  I like it best over darker colours, they seem to make the magenta colour 'pop' more.  It looks particularly good over Picture Polish Bombshell but this week I went a bit more 'matchy matchy' with Violet Femme.
The blue is a reflection of the sky.
Violet Femme is one of the piCture pOlish Neon shades.  It doesn't look neon to me but it is certainly a fantastic purple. It's probably my most used dark purple.
This is two coats for a perfectly smooth, opaque finish.  It dries quickly to an almost rubbery looking finished.  It's still shiny enough that I had trouble photographing it without the blue sky reflecting off each nail but it's not a glossy finish.
Add a one coat of Gene Doll and it's pure glossy perfection.  The purple of Violet Femme looks deeper and darker with the clear polish and the magenta glitter glows against the purple base.  Perfect!
I can't stop staring at this, even after a week.  In low light the purple is a vampy, almost black with the glitter shining like little fairy lights.  There's so much depth to this with just one coat of Gene Doll.
Gene Doll dries to a smooth finish.  Impressively smooth for a glitter polish.  There's absolutely no need for a top coat for shine, smoothness or to prolong wear.  Two coats of colour, one coat of glitter, no top coat = no chips, cracking, shrinking, peeling, dulling or tip wear after six days!
I love Gene Doll, the formula is fantastic.  I have a lot of glitter polishes but this stands of for it's smoothness and shine, and it doesn't stink like some of the cheaper brands. If the other new piCture pOlish glitter polishes are this good I want them all!
Yes I'm putting together a little shopping list for piCture pOlish and Ozotic :)  Did you notice piCture pOlish have a top/base coat?  I don't know when that appeared.  Has anyone tried it?  I'm curious to know how good it is.  I like it when I can do a single brand manicure from base to top coat so this really appeals to me.  If you've tried it let me know what you think please :)

November 8 for No H8: Eradicate Hate in the Nail Polish Blogger Community

copied from http://www.eradicateh8.blogspot.com.au/

Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay. 



Most of us are, thankfully, residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.
As members of the nail polish blogging community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color...even to our polish application techniques. To marginalize anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.
 I can't find the link code to include a list of participating bloggers here but you can find a list at http://www.amandalandish.com/
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