Retro decals with Alanna Renee Hedwig

One that's been sitting in my drafts for a while. I'm playing a never-ending game of catch up with photos, as I so rarely download the photos and then take another few weeks to write something to go with it. Maybe I should consider a switch to Instagram? The wannabe pro photog inside me can't bear the idea of not getting high quality photos to share with the world though. 

Anyway, to some nails.

I purchased these water decals from the Born Pretty Store. But to do a whole mani with them seemed a bit busy for my tastes, so I went with the double accent look with them. The decals are actually transparent, not with a white background, but in the end I decided that white was the best base for the decals. The Alanna Renee Hedwig had the little bits of glitter in the same colour family. 

I really wanted to love it, with its Harry Potter reference, clean logo and workplace friendliness. But it is actually not a very good polish. 

The next time I use it, I'd put down a white base, as it took me about 3-4 coats to make opaque and I probably should have thought to add some nail polish thinner, as it was rather thick and lumpy. 

If it all goes well, I might even get my Easter manicure up here before the EOFY! I actually rather love the nails I'm sporting right now.

Colour vs Negative Glitter toppers

Nothing makes me look more like an amateur than seeing the amazing Nailasaurus using the same glitter topper and make it look 10 times better.

But anyhow, this is me using the Delush Star Gazer, with Illamasqua Blizzard on the accent nail.

Some splatter nail art

It's been a while since I've done any nail art. So I tried a simple splatter skittle in an unintentionally patriotic colour combo. I can't say I'm in love with it... Probably should have gone all out and did all splatter nails. But splatter is always so fun to look at!

Online tutorials always seem to suggest dipping a straw and blowing... but I've found that getting a big blob on the brush and then just give it a big blow onto my baggie works much better. 

What you see immediately below is the modified version it, which I will wear to work tomorrow. After the jump, you'll see that it's the thumb I've changed. 

I also had a go at stamping... why am I so bad at stamping? The little bit of white on my left pinkie is what I hadn't quite scratched off yet after my failed attempt at stamping. I think I need to start practicing by making stamping decals, until I get the technique right... I am terrible at lining it up and the colour is never as defined as photos of other people's stamping!

The original was three coats Celestial Cosmetics Cosmic Rays. The red nail was The Pink Planet. Both were samples from other orders.

The red in the splatter is OPI Oui Bit of Red, the white is OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and the blue is CK Electric Blue. Everything topped with a generous coat of HK Girl. I love that stuff, I really need to figure out how to get the big refill bottles, I go through so much of the regular sized bottles!

Merry Christmas Skittle

Merry Christmas! This year is the first for years that the whole family will be home all day together. Between trips and the fact that my dad works in Crown, it's not actually a common occurrence. 

My mum went and stocked up our kitchen at the market and I'm looking forward to some fresh seafood and meaty steaks.I did my nails, but then got a lot of chipping... So they're cute, but not necessarily perfect. Here's a phone snap anyway!

Polishes used are OPI My boyfriend scales walls and A oui bit of red, Ulta3 Jelly and a gold striper I picked up in Germany or Austria (much the sameness). Panda and snowman decals from the bornprettystore.

Doctor Who nails for the 50th Anniversary!

So I spent way too much time painting my nails instead of going to bed. Due the the fatigue that one naturally has late at night/early in the morning, they were a bit dodgy but I was too tired to re-do. And I'd stained my thumb and index fingers a little when I was making cupcakes (colouring for the icing).

Everything was free handed. Glitter nail is OPI A Kiss at Midnight from the Mariah Carey collection. White is the Essy Blanc.

I have seen the Doctor Who special 3 times now. The first at the cinema in all its' glorious 3-D, surround sound amazingness.

Then the exact same night, I watched it on TV.. and tonight I watched it yet again!

How long till I get more new Doctor Who??

Freehand logo

31 Day Challenge 2013 — 18 Half Moons

I got a little swept up with the Halloween/Dia de los muertos (Day of the dead) holidays, though neither are celebrated to any great extent in Melbourne. I wanted to do a sugar skull candy mani, but I didn't want to take another break from the 31 day challenge. So I tried to incorporate both into the one mani.

I ended up wasting so much time doing and redoing everything when I should have be studying and I still didn't love the end result.

But here it is, Essie Blanc with a bunch of Ulta3 in yellow, orange and purple, and the mint green was Sally Hansen. I used a dotting tool and a small brush. In hindsight, I should have taken out more than one dotting tool to save myself the hassle of cleaning it between colours.

 

In direct sunlight

I used my new Essence Express Dry Drops to hurry things along. It worked pretty well, though it gets a bit greasy! I grabbed it when I finally saw it available in a priceline store, — they are usually all gone when I go past an Essence stand. No wonder for only $3.50!

Might be do a comparison post after exams, with the various fast dry items I have.

31 Day Challenge 2013 – 15 Delicate Print

So, I tried originally to do some nail stamping, but they were a mess. So I changed tack and went for some delicate drawings. Of feathers. I spent way too much time on this mani. It took me a while to get the technique right, but in the end I was able to draw nice soft lines. I guess that's the point of the challenge - to build my skills. So here's my rather average looking delicate print.

The white base is Essie - Blanc, and Sally Hansen - Turquoise. I have a gold liner from Europe, the other lines are with a liner brush. The glitters are my faves glitters, the Maybelline Sequins. 

31 Day Challenge 2013 - 07 B&W Nails

In my mind, I think black and white, I think geometric shapes. But then I saw some bamboo print on the glass front of a Japanese restaurant and was inspired to do bamboo prints. And what goes with bamboo? Pandas!

And note that it took me almost a week to update. Yes, I did wear the violet nails for almost a week!

So after my usual OPI base, I used Mode's So Parisian. It's a new white I picked up from a sale bin a few weeks ago, but as usual, it's really sheer. I used about 4 coats here! I do love the white nail polish look though. I think it's time I invested in a nice opaque white like OPI's Alpine Snow for nail art, which is what I see so many nail bloggers use for white.

Lovely shot of both hands

The black was added with a black permanent marker and then everything was topped off with Revlon's Matte Top Coat. The eyes were tricky, and because I had redone them once, I was too impatient to wait for it to dry properly, hence the smudged eyes! Not enough white polish either, so the black is bleeding through and this morning, my right panda has blue eyes!

Closer look at my left hand