Sunday Stamping - Over a Purple Holo Gradient

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's challenge was to stamp over a holographic polish.  When I saw that, I was sooo happy.  Not only because I love holos, but because I already had done this mani, and was looking to embellish it:

This is a simple dabbing gradient (no sponges, just dabbing the polish brush in layers over a previous polish.)  I started with a reddish holo from Daring Digits.  It has no sticker, I don't know what it's called.  It's very light - almost translucent.  Over that, Lilypad Lacquer Blooming Violets, a pink-leaning violet.  The third is by now mostly defunct Liquid Lacquer, and it's called Houses of The Holy.  It's a purple jelly, and very light, almost too light to see, really.  I didn't know..  The last is gorgeous royal purple I Love Nail Polish Amanda Hugginkiss.

My husband thought it looked so sophisticated.  He's so sweet.  He really loves purple, and has taken a shine to any purple manis I do. 

To stamp, I chose this floral pattern from Dashika Big SdP-L plate and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme. (The other hand I stamped with Cult Nails Nevermore, which did a better job.)

I love stamping over a gradient.  For one, it makes the gradient look fantastic, no matter how sloppy of a job you did. 

Also, like the best company dinners, it looks complicated, but it's not.

I was even able to do *both* hands!

Bottle shot:  Daring Digits [unknown], Lilypad Lacquer Blooming Violets, Liquid Lacquer Houses of The Holy, and I Love Nail Polish Amanda Hugginkiss. (Not pictured: Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, and Cult Nails Nevermore.)

I love happy coincidences where I can make a nail art work for a challenge.  You might see some other incidences of that this month, where I found a nail art from the vault that worked for a challenge.  I like working smarter, not harder!

What do you think about turning this gradient into something that fulfilled the stamping challenge?  Would you have rather started a new look from scratch?

Falling for Nail Art - Glittery Crunchy Leaves

Hello, Fireflies!

For the Crunchy Leaves challenge today, I decided to go for a bomb. Glitter Bomb that is.

I started with 2 coats of Daring Digits Fallen Leaves.  Appropriate name, right? Nice green-tinted glitter with lots of micro holo. A little too sheer to be worn on its own, though.

I liked the green and brown base, but really wanted the reds and golds of dried fallen leaves, so I layered Candy Lacquer Mulled Cider over it.

  This pix is blurred a little - love that holo and gold pop!

It's a simple concept, but I really love how you can see some of the green and brown on the bottom, like a forest floor, and then the bright reds and golds on top.

I wish we had color change here in Florida, but I have lots of memories of Fall growing up, too.  Now, if only the pine needles quit dropping and covering everything, that would be great!

Indie January - Daring Digits

I've always liked Daring Digits.  They have some pretty polishes and keep their prices reasonable.  That being said, I did not enjoy my experience with the Gem collex.

This collex is sheer by nature, and is supposed to provide lots of shine without the glitter removal issues.  The colors are pretty, with a scattered holo, and I didn't have any problems with removal.  What I did have a problem with was the smell.

I'm not sensitive usually, but these were the *worst* smelling polishes I have ever come across.  By the second polish, I was getting a headache.  I put peppermint essential oil under my nose to try and combat the smell.  The third and fourth polishes I actually added the peppermint oil to the polish.  It helped some.

Peridot.  I love real peridot, and this is a good color match.

I did a tape mani with Orly Enchanted Forest over it.  I love stripes, especially with a glittery holo surprise underneath.

Topaz.  This one needs layering.  Blue is a very common holo, and I have better ones that don't require layering.

Even some glitter on top (Sally Hansen Let's Dance) couldn't really save it for me.

Tourmaline.  I was most excited for this color, but by now my head was pounding, and even the peppermint oil wasn't helping.  The smell does diminish after it dries, but it doesn't go away.  If it wasn't so noxious, I would probably wear this one again, though.  It's really pretty.

I did a black funky French with a striper.  Too cute.

Amethyst.  The most holo of the bunch, a beautiful color, and probably the most pigmented.

I added a simple chevron with black and white stripers to camouflage the VNL.  I liked the result.
 

These are pretty colors, very sheer. Might be fun to experiment with layering.  If you're not sensitive to the smell, you might enjoy them.  There are lots of Indie holos out there to choose from, but Daring Digits generally has one of the best price points out there.  You can find Daring Digits on Facebook and on their website.

If you liked a polish, would you wear it no matter what?  Would a smell stop you from wanting to wear it?

ETA 5/9/2013:  Daring Digits got rid of the stinky base and reformulated these!  They are no longer headache-inducing, and they even have more holo than before.  Way to go, Daring Digits!

Purplicious with toppings

Daring Digits Almandine.  Sigh.  The moment I saw it, I wanted it!  I love how it looks black around the edges, and has that lit-from-within look, but still has a greyed-out purple look, too. 

Hits Hephesto made it look holographic!  Probably the only thing that could improve on it at all.  So, of course, I dented the middle finger, because all beauty has imperfections.

Who knew that Fergie could inspire some cool nail polishes?  This lovely glass fleck purple is Ferguson Crest Syrah.

And it goes from cool to amazeballs with 2 coats of Finger Paints Asylum!

Do you like changing polish by changing topcoats?

Fall Zoyas, Finally!

I can't help it, I'm over neons.  I was waiting anxiously for the Fall Zoya colors to have a sale so I could get some, and they didn't disappoint!

I couldn't wait to try Evvie, a grey/green creme with a perfect, shiny formula.  This color is what Fall 2012 is all about.

I couldn't bear to cover it up, so I just made one accent nail with Sassy Lacquer Utopia, a clear base with micro glitters in predominantly gold and turquoise colors. I always seem to gravitate towards the microglitters.  I love that they all mesh together.

I also picked up a bottle of Natty, a slate blue-grey creme.  Love.  I'm a sucker for any color paired with grey, I think.  

This one, I lightened up with an ice blue/aqua glitter combo from Daring Digits called Down By the Sea.

I was trying to create a dotted rhinestone effect, but, well... I think it looks more like large buttons.  You can't unsee it now, can you?

While you can find Zoya at Ulta, I really recommend getting an account on their website.  They have a Share the Love program which offers discounts based on accrued points, and they often have great sales where you can get anything from free shipping to half-off polishes. 

Are you a fan of the new Fall Zoya collections?

Heavy Metals

Today, I want to show you some polishes and glitters in the same metal color family.  First up is OPI Number One Nemesis:

Part of the OPI Spider-man collection, this color, like most of them in that collection, had *nothing* to do with Spider-man.  So bizarre.  

Look at that complex mesh of glitters, though! So beautiful.

I paired it with Pahlish Sitting in a Tin Can that I bought from a blog sale.  It's my first polish with diamond glitter.  I haven't decided yet if I like diamond glitter.  Have you tried the "super secret" glitter technique by Otaku nails?  It does make it easier to get full coverage with glitter!

  
Next up, Rimmel Hard Metal.  This is a metallic steel grey.  I don't own too many Rimmels, as the selection around here is pretty limited, but I've liked the formula of the ones I've tried.  I just wish they had more colors.

Layered over Hard Metal is Elixir Lacquers Powder Keg, a mix of black and grey, and a glitter that flashes between blue and purple, in a dark base.  I don't know if Hard Metal is *needed* under Powder Keg, but I like the steel grey/blue undertone that it gives the final look.

Last is Daring Digits Girls' Night Out.  No undies for this one.  It's a nice, full-coverage glitter.  When you look straight at the bottle, it looks black, and then as you move it, the colors flash.  Unlike Powder Keg, which is monochromatic (with maybe some blue), Girls' Night Out has multi-colored or holo glitter. 

Likely, all of these polishes could be mixed and matched with each other and get similar results.  I love a dark grey, blingy polish, what can I say?  Do you?  What about those diamond glitters?

Teal, two ways

Jessica polishes deserve more polish love.  I haven't tried one yet that I didn't love!

This beautiful teal, Scene Stealer, is from their Paint the Town collection.  I thought the paint pails were too cute, but I will admit that they were a little difficult to use as a brush holder.  They should have taken a cue from Butter London and made the novelty cap removable. The size wasn't a problem, but the little handle always seemed to be in the way.

 Kleancolor glitters are cheap and lovely, but are often slow-drying and have a little too much base to glitter ratio.  I still buy them whenever I see them, though.  I can't resist.  Peaceful Heart is a green base with green and holo glitters and hearts.

 Blam! There's a heart, right there!

Next, I tried it with Daring Digits Techno Square.  I love the little square glitters!  I would have liked the glitter to be a little more dense, but it was a nice, soft glitter look.  If it weren't for the glitter shape, however, it would be like so many other topcoats out there.

Do you also like to experiment with different topcoats?  I'll have some more coming up, too!