Sunday Stamping - French Tips

These challenges sure do get me out of my comfort zone!  I have so many French tip stamps that I've NEVER used.  For one thing, they are hard to use on my nubbins, but it's better now that I'm getting a little length.  I'm just getting better at the freehand tips - now you want me to *stamp*?  aaahhhh!

Look at that gorgeous red shimmer in that nude polish.  That's OPI Who Needs A Prince?

You can ignore the red tip in that previous pix.  It's  the beginning of these red-hot-holo French tips with Glitter Gal Red 3D/Holo,  It's probably one of the best red holos I've ever seen.

And, here comes the stamp!  MASH 01. I feel kinda special using the first Mash stamping plate.  The idea was to have the red holo peek through the Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

Unfortunately, I'm not that practiced at lining up the stamp with the tip, so I had some correcting to do.  Which meant that my base took the brunt of the cleanup.  It didn't come back as pretty, though topcoat did help.

I really liked this effect, and I think it'll be worth practicing to get it to look nicer next time.  It's almost like a holo tape mani... but without the tape.  Yeah.  That's the ticket.

What do you think?  Do you like a stamped French tip?

Ecopolo challenge - Summer Stamp

There were 4 Nail Collaborative challenges and 5 EcoPolo challenges this month, so I'm sneaking in this challenge without a neon! It feels so good to be bad.

And nothing feels better than a great holo.  This is Literary Lacquers Raspberry Cordial? from the Anne of Green Gables collex.  I have watched the whole trio of TV mini-series based on the books, and the first two are in my favorites.  I have seen them over and over again - in fact, when I get sick, I usually pop one in the DVD player and watch until I fall asleep.  They are the ultimate comfort food for the soul.

But, back to the polish.

I usually prefer my holos without any additional glitter, but this one works.  It doesn't disrupt the holo, but adds to it.  I love the blue fire.

I used my standby gold, Maybelline Bold Gold, for the stamping, and two stamps from the Pueen 22 plate.  The smaller roses in a pattern, with accents of the large rose by itself.

I love the antique look of the gold roses.

Though I am sure that Marilla, from the Green Gables series, would never approve of such fancy things as stamped and painted fingernails, I loved them so much that I did both hands and went out on the town.  Sorry, Marilla!  They are my 'puffed sleeves' if you will.  

What flower says 'summer' to you?

A Hare in Priti Flowers

When I was doing this mani, I was trying to work in contrasts (again) of a neutral base and bright foreground.  My hubby said that there isn't that much contrast in this mani.  I want to know what you guys think.

I started with a base of Hare Polish Return to Nature.  I love this - a nude with small gold and white square and circle glitters. 

Understated, but with a bit of bling.  Application was fine, no problems getting the glitters all over the nail. In these close-up pix, the VNL is more noticeable, but not as much in Real Life.  Another coat would have eliminated that, but I knew I was doing nail art, so I wasn't as worried.

The flowers were inspired by this design from Set In Lacquer.  I really liked the spiky look to her flowers. 

I made the flowers using  Priti NYC Flame of the Forest and Pincushion Protea for the petals, and SkyWaltz Delphinium for the centers.

They are such bright and cheerful colors, even if I've never seen a real flower that looked anything like it!

And, the bottle shot:  Hare Return to Nature, Priti NYC Flame of the Forest, Pincushion Protea, and SkyWaltz Delphinium.

So, is my hubby colorblind, or is there enough contrast? :)

Hobby Polish Bloggers - Neon

Not only am I late starting this challenge, apparently, I can't even do things in order.  I'll, uh, have to get back to the 3-D challenge.  Whoops.

I've done a lot of neon this summer, and I'm starting to like it.  It's fun and bright.  I'm loving these new neon glitters from Salon Perfect, too.

Orly Truly Tangerine.  This is not a neon, but it's pretty bright - and I needed undies for my glitter.

Salon Perfect Bang and Exploded.  These two look very similar to me.  In fact, I think they are comprised of the same color glitters, but in different concentrations.  I found orange, pink, and yellow glitters in both.

The lighter, more yellow glitter on my thumb and ring finger is Bang, and the darker, more orange glitter on my index, middle, and pinky fingers is Exploded.

I tried to do a glitter gradient by putting the opposite glitter on the tips, but I couldn't really tell any difference... except that now my thumb is all lumpy.  Neither glitter really shows up over the other - another reason why I think they're made up of the same glitters.

I had to try with topcoat.  Wow, they look positively juicy. 

Bottle shot.  Salon Perfect Exploded, Orly Truly Tangerine, and Salon Perfect Bang.

Do you like the more orange glitter, or the more yellow one?  I'd love to see it with more pink, too!

Another Pink Wednesday

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm feeling secret-club-ish today, so I'm using our code name.  The polishes I have for you today aren't very secret, though some of the Indies may not be as well-known.

Lex Cosmetics Tuilleries.  I don't know how to pronounce it, either.  I looked it up, and apparently, if it's spelled with only one 'L' it's the name of a Royal Parisian Palace that was on the river Seine.  With the 2 Ls, it's apparently a common typo for the Palace - or something on page 2 of Google search, but who looks there?
  

I can't decide if I like it with the delicate, see-through pink base, or if it should have undies.  It's so pretty, like spun sugar.

Julep Helen and Barbara.  Ok, I think Helen is actually lavender, but I topped it with Barbara, a mix of pink glitters.

These are some older pix I took, and I almost didn't want to post them, but I think it's interesting to see how I've progressed with my nail care and photos.  Though I do sometimes regress.

Isn't Barbara pretty?  I love the flashes of the different bright pinks, and maybe even a purple in there?

 

Nail Sauce by Felifel Hot Heart.  This is a really glittery, scattered holo pink and red extravaganza!  It's a real attention-getter.  Application was great, no undies.  I didn't want to take it off.

I wish I could have done a better job capturing the bling.  It's quite pretty.

If you'd like more information, Lex Cosmetics can be found on Facebook and on the web.  Nail Sauce also has a Facebook page and a shop.

So, what are you in the mood for today?  Delicate and sweet, a delicate base with bling, or all-out BLING? 

Colorful Cracks in my Concrete Sprinkles

Today's mani combines a little bit of quiet with a little bit of loud.

I Love Nail Polish Concrete Sprinkles.  Such a quiet, soft grey.  There is some scattered holo in there, but just a touch.  I wish there was more... but I pretty much always wish there was more holo.  I mean, I love a good creme, but if you're going to be a holo, be a holo!

So, I had a random thought to put these bright stripes on the grey.  They are both from Revlon - the red is Lava, and the purple is called Violet.

And, the bottle shot:  I Love NP Concrete Sprinkles, Revlon Lava and Violet.

Sometimes, it can be fun to get out the brushes and sponges and tools and make a nail art mess masterpiece.  Sometimes, simple is best.  What say you?

ETA:  If you'd like more information about I Love Nail Polish, they can be found on Facebook and their webstore. 

Hobby Polish Blogger Challenge - Skittle

I don't know why, but I find skittle manis to be among the most challenging!  I have a hard time finding 5 colors that belong together, but that aren't an ombre.

So, for this challenge, I decided to go with a collection from OPI... and a ringer, since I don't have the entire collection!

It's a pretty famous collection, so I'm sure some of you recognize it.  And some of you have even figured out which one doesn't belong.

It's the Shrek collection!  Index - What's With the Cattitude, middle - Who The Shrek Are You?, ring - Ogre the Top Blue, and pinky - Funky Dunky. The thumb is the ringer - I didn't have Rumples' Wiggin, so I used Butter London Muggins, which is supposed to be close.

Here are the true members.  Do you think they make a nice skittle?

Bottle shot.  Boy, does that Butter London look out of place! Muggins is first, then OPI WWTC, Who the Shrek are You? Ogre the Top Blue, and Funkey Dunkey.

I guess I really do need Rumples Wiggin, now!