Berry Butter London!

Another variation on the same theme for today, and still more to come.

Berries!  As in, Blowing Raspberries.

I don't often buy red polish anymore, at least on purpose.  I have a lot, and there are only so many shades of red I can really enjoy.  I don't like them too pinky/cherry, for example.  This is a different kind of fruity red.

Dotted flowers were one of the first nail arts I learned how to do, and they're still a favorite.  Who doesn't love a good dotting tool? 

The flowers are dotted with BL Shut Your Cake-Hole, and the centers with BL Sprog.

Heading even farther into berry/wine territory, is Queen Vic.  I loved this color - so chic, and so shiny, and happy.

It felt so festive, I wanted to adorn it with even more happiness, so I used BL West End Wonderland to dab on a glitter gradient.

I like how it's festive, but because it's a lighter berry and not a red, it doesn't feel like a Christmas combo.  The stores may be stocking Christmas stuff in October, but I'm not ready yet!!

I know they're not true pinks, but they still makes me think of Breast Cancer Awareness which is all this month.  Are you wearing any pink this month? 

Glitter Butter Bomb

I'm back!  With more Butter!

Thames is like the teal cousin of BL Bluey.  It's got an aqua shimmer, and it is very sheer.  This is three coats, which is unlike most of my BL polishes.

I decided to do a gradient with BL Dosh, a gorgeous green microglitter.  It's really hard to sponge with glitters, so this is a mostly dabbing it on.  This pix is just the two colors together:

And, this pix is after a bit of topcoat, which helps blend the gradient together.  When in doubt, try topcoat!

If one glitter is good, two is better, right?

A thin layer of BL Tart With a Heart added a nice gold holo touch, without overpowering Thames and Dosh.  I loved this combo!

I really like a mani that is greater than the sum of its parts.  Together, these three colors created something prettier than any one of them by themselves.  Do you like to layer your Butters?

Brighter Butters

More Butter London!  I told you I couldn't stop, I'm addicted... and there's still more to come!

Today, I want to start with Sprog, a periwinkle. 

I've heard this compared to China Glaze Secret Peri-wink-le, but I don't think they're dupes. As much as I love China Glaze, this BL formula is sooo great, I don't think I'd give it up.  So, I'm keeping both!

This color made me feel like Spring and flowers - but it could also be that it's still very warm here in Central Florida, and Fall hasn't made it here yet.  So, your mileage may vary. 

I stamped the flowers on with Impala Azul Pavao, and even though it has a jellied formula, I love the way it stamped!  I then dotted in some details with BL Squatter, an electric lime green.  Bam!

Want more impact?  Wear Squatter on its own!

So bright, my camera was having fits.  It's not a neon, however - it's not matte, and it didn't need white undies to glow like this.

It's a very fun color, but I think I prefer it as an accent.  So, I paired it with BL Thames and a houndstooth pattern. 

I love stamping with iridescent polishes.  It's that unexpected flash of shimmer!  I wish it were more opaque, though.  I tried double-stamping on my pinky, but I just blurred the pattern.

We'll see more of Thames tomorrow!

More Butter(y) London

Well, this is turning out to be a very Buttery week!  I think I'll continue the trend, because once I started putting these lovelies on, I couldn't stop until I was done with all of them.  I'm a fan!

Next up, Lady Muck!

A light blue.. but not really a pastel in that it has a bit of grey in there.  Very on point with the whole grey trend that I am loving this year.  Can't get enough!

I thought this Borghese Mezzanotte Blue would pair well, and be dark enough for stamping a delicate pattern.  I'm pretty much a novice at stamping, but I try (at least every Sunday) to keep getting better. 

I like stamps like this one because it would be really difficult for me to free-hand such a delicate swirl.

Moving from a greyed blue to a greyed lilac.  This is one of my faves, Muggins.  It is supposed to be a dupe for the HTF OPI Rumples' Wiggin, but I haven't seen that OPI in person, so I don't know.  The OPI originally was less expensive than this BL, but it's become a very sought-after and more expensive bottle of polish, so if you want the color, not the name, you might like Muggins.

I paired this one with a Brazilian polish called Impala, in Deitar Na Rede, a shimmery, sheer grey with hints of purple.  A few wispy passes with a striping brush gave me a fanned detail over Muggins.

 

These lighter colors can still be worn in seasons other than Spring!  Try pairing them with a dark detail or some glitter.  

More Butter London Blues

Well, I'd be an awful person to just tease you with BL Bluey yesterday and not show you a swatch today, right? 

Bluey is a blackened teal polish with a foil-like, almost metallic finish and a slight duochrome shift to green.  She's a complicated girl!  And she needs at least two, maybe three coats to get opaque.

Another gorgeous BL blue is Royal Navy.  I almost didn't pick this one up - I mean, I have a few navy polishes already.  This one is a keeper!  This is one coat.  It is very pigmented, so be careful with application, as it may stain.  I used two layers of base coat as a precaution, and it cleaned up fine.

This is with no topcoat.  Look how glossy!  I love dark blues that still look blue, not black.

I did two nail art looks with these colors.  The first is one of my fave kinds of manis - the dotticure.  I used Bluey as the base, and then dotted with Artful Dodger and Royal Navy.

My hubby said that the dots looked like eyes.  It wasn't what I was going for.... but, okay...

I decided to do a glitterbomb/ombre style look with the Royal Navy.  Frilly Knickers is on my pointer finger, West End Wonderland on my middle, Tart With A Heart on the ring, and Knackered on the pinky.  I love the purple duochrome of Knackered, but my fave is TWAH - the aqua shimmer is so unexpected!
 

More BL to come! 

Butter London (Monday) Blues

Butter London has had some great sales lately, with BOGO at Ulta, and then a Buy-Two-Get-One at both Macy's and Ulta.  I'm waiting for them to go on sale at the Butter London website, so I can get the online exclusives!

In the meantime, I thought I'd show you some of the pretties I've picked up lately, and some nail art I did with them.

This is Artful Dodger, a beautiful aqua creme.  This was one of THE colors this summer, and I must own a baker's dozen blues like this.  I can't get enough!  

I like how it almost looks like a jelly, Caribbean blue in some lights, and like a creme in others.

And, here's the sad (blue) Monday part.  I tried to do a saran wrap mani with BL Royal Navy.. I had seen someone mention using the blue cover from a stamping plate for the saran wrap, so I tried it.

Kids, don't try this at home!  It was too stiff, and it pulled off too much color in some places, and not enough in others.  If this were done in red, it would look like a Dexter mani! lol.

 
Here's a happier blue mani - Victoriana.  This is one of my fave BL polishes.  It's got a great texture - almost a glitter, almost a scattered holo.. I don't know what it is, but it applies great and looks fabulous.

I decided to try and fake a laser tape mani by striping over it with BL Bluey and Artful Dodger.  

 

Even though it's not a perfect laser, I like how this turned out - and Bluey has a foil-like effect that looks great in nail art.

A laser mani is awesome, but this was a lot quicker - and I only needed a striping brush.  What do you think of a faux laser mani?

Sunday Stamping - Metallics

I have been waiting a while to wear this polish - Butter London Trustafarian.  I don't know why I was waiting! I love a holo, even a scattered one. 

Like most BL polishes, the formula was impeccable, smooth...like butter.

And, even though this isn't a metallic, the frosty green looked like a perfect base for my waiting-for-fall stamping mani. 

This week's challenge is Metallics, so that's why I stamped with.  The cast:  Sinful Colors Super Nova, Kleancolor Metallic Orange and Metallic Green, and Maybelline Bold Gold.  I used this leaf pattern from Red Angel 129.  I was going for a 'crunchy, fallen leaves' look.

I love how all the different colors look together.  Leaf pile!

It's still in the 80s here in Florida, but I'm ready for some cooler weather.  This mani will probably be the closest thing I'll see to a leaf pile this year, though!

Are you stamping this Sunday?