A Fifty Shades of Grey themed collection you say?
Many have read the books, myself included, and many have fallen for Christian Grey. Duri, the makers of Rejuvacote, my favorite nail hardener EVER, have noticed the world wide obsession with Christian Grey and his Ana and are releasing a 50 Shades of Grey themed collection called 12 shades of Desire.
I’ve emailed Duri for more information but so far I have nothing to share sadly than this one page advertisement, because I would have loved to show you more pictures of this collection!
As you can see there are 12 colors in this and I just LOVE the names for it!
- Bedroom Talk – Taupe
- You belong to me – Teal
- Behind Closed Doors – Purple
- Oh, My! – Coral
- Undisclosed Desires – Cherry Red
- Blinding Obsession – Warm orange
- Laters Baby! – Fuchsia
- Pure Vanilla – Baby Pink
- Kinky Pleasures – Blue
- Provocatively Innocent – Red tinted Purple
- Absolute Intimacy – Purple
- Indulge My Whim – A silvery glitter
I think Duri did everything they could to leave out any reference to the color grey but that’s okay because I am loving the colors they did pick for this and I think I’d proudly rock any of them.
What do you think of this collection, would you buy it? And have you read the books?
Summer challenge – Sea Shells
Recently I’ve joined a group on facebook that has a fabulous summer challenge where they have a list of manicures you do on a certain day if you choose to join in on the fun. And yesterday the theme was Sea Shells.
Due to my internet being down most of the day yesterday and this morning I wasn’t able to post this in time but here it is today!
People came up with the most amazing ideas, some used actual crushed seashells on their nails, others painted them on with acrylic paint. I love seeing this kind of creativity! My favorite set were the ones done by a good friend of mine, Laurie of Dressed up Digits who recreated the look of Abalone on her nails using a glitter gradient and stamping. You can see her nails here.
For this manicure I decided to stamp. I of course started with my Duri Rejuvacote to which I owe these long nails (for me this is long, I’ve never had them this length before) I first painted my nails using China Glaze’s Lavender Lingo (which isn’t a Lavender at all but a very soft baby pink) and topcoated them with Seche Vite. I always do this before I stamp because it will help you fix any stamping mistakes a lot easier as carefully wiping off your stamp with acetone will not ruin the basecolor right away but will give you a second chance to stamp. I picked pink because it reminds me of the pink inside some shells have and because it looks really classy with gold I think.
When that was dry I used my Fab Ur Nails Gold stamping polish and Dashica Beauty Shops Big SdP-L stamping plate which has these beautiful shells on there for the image over it.
Over that I put another layer of topcoat and here we are, a sea shells inspired manicure :)
Are you in any challenge groups for nails or make up?
Posted in 2012, Challenge, China Glaze, Cream, Crème, Duri, Gold, Lilac, Links, Pastel, Pink, Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Stamping, Stamping system, Summer | 
2 CommentsMani update – Neon-ized it!
Do you ever have this problem of enjoying the time consuming nailart you’ve done but just are not feeling the colors anymore?
That’s the problem I had with my Monochromatic Manicure. I just needed some color after rocking the black and white for a few days. So what I decided to do is give in to the current neon and gradient craze and sponge some of my neons over this to make it look more summery. Because neons are usually quite sheer it would show the pattern still so I wouldn’t feel like I had wasted my time drawing all kinds of stuff on my nails when I’d only wear the manicure for a few days.
This is what they ended up looking like:
And this is what I used to achieve the effect. Please ignore the condition of my neon yellow, I know it looks miserable but it was in a bag along with a few polishes that broke when I flew back from vacation last year and I haven’t taken the time to clean that one up just yet…
Pictured are:
- China Glaze – Purple Panic
- Essence nail art twins – Gabriella
- Kiko – 336
- China Glaze – In the limelight
- China Glaze – Celtic Sun
- A cut up make up sponge
Have you tried gradient nails yet? If so, what colors did you use?
Posted in 2012, Acrylic, Acrylic paint, Black, Blue, China Glaze, Duri, Essence, Fashion, Fuchsia, Gradient, Green, Hot, July, Kiko, Manicure, Nail Art, Nail of the Day, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails, Nails of the week, Neon, O.P.I., Pink, Purple, Rainbow, Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Sheer, Sponged, Style, Summer, Trend, White, Yellow | 4 CommentsMonochrome Monday
First a little explanation of the word:
mon·o·chrome [ˈmɒnəˌkrəʊm] noun.
1. a. A picture, especially a painting, done in different shades of a single color.
b. The art or technique of executing such a picture.
2. The state of being in a single color.
3. A black-and-white image, as in photography or on television.
Now on to my nails and the inspiration I used. I decided to free hand this challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I love stamping, but I do it all the time and I just wanted to do something unique this time.
A little while ago I decorated some smooth pebbles with a little pen and acrylic ink and a lot of people liked them. My mom keeps the ones I made for her in a little glass bell on her patio table.
From left to right, on the picture on the right, you see Rejuvacote which I always use as a base, next to that is my Seche Vite topcoat. The bigger white bottle is my white acrylic ink. Next to that a beautiful small bottle of BK’s black holo and in the back on the right is Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees. The pen I used is laying in the foreground. It’s just a simple fountain pen that comes without cartridges and that you have to dip in ink to work. The ink I bought at an artist supply store a while ago, along with the other three basic colors yellow magenta and blue, and of course black, that way I can mix almost any color I would like.
After I had painted my nails with Suzi Skis and my ring fingers with the BK holographic polish and they were completely dry I started to draw on my nails like I had on the pebbles, just kind of going with the flow. Not having planned any pattern beforehand I came to this end result and I hope you like it! It did prove to be a bit of a challenge to draw with my left hand onto my right fingernails but I think they came out really well. I’m slightly ambidextrous and did not know it I guess!
I hope you all enjoyed this post and will become inspired to give something like this a go yourself sometime!
Posted in 2012, Acrylic, Acrylic paint, Basecoat, BK, Black, Clear, Cream, Crème, Duri, Grey, Holographic, July, Links, Manicure, Nail Art, Nail of the Day, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails, Nails of the week, O.P.I., Opaque, Rejuvacote, Style, Theme, Topcoat, White | 16 CommentsI’m feeling Nail-Venturous week, day 2: Humble Bee.
Today I’m going to show you another beauty in the Nail-Venturous family. One that is actually quite dear to me, not just because I created the label for this but also because I, just like my mom, have a weakness for bumble bees. I am not sure exactly how or when it started but just love their little fluffy appearance and the way they just make their way through the garden sampling all the flowers looking like they’re way too big to be able to fly. Adorable!
If you know a little bit about Amy’s creations you will know I’m talking about Humble Bee. She herself describes this lovely creation as follows: Humble Bee has yellow glitter and ultrafine and medium size black glitter in a clear base. It has semi-complete coverage in two coats. With topcoat or gelous, Humble Bee can have a shiny finish. However, this polish dries with a matte finish, and the glitter itself does not really sparkle. This polish also looks great as a layering polish. This polish tends to be a tad thick, but application should be easy. This product is 3 free, and comes in a 15ml/.5 oz full size bottle.
I think it’s time I stopped talking and just showed you the pictures of this fabulous polish. The micro glitter in this reminds me of Floam, another gorgeous and very sought after polish by Nail-Venturous Lacquers that I will be featuring later this week, and to me the black, bigger, glitter just really make it stand out.
In these pictures I’m wearing one layer of Humble Bee over a layer of Fiercely Fiona out of the O.P.I. Shrek collection. Underneath that I of course started with a basecoat and I topped it all off with Seche Vite to give the nails some extra shine and protection. By the way, I think that if I had added another layer the base color wouldn’t have been necessary, but since I’m really cherishing this polish I decided to take it easy and to just use one layer.
What do you think? Is this your cup of tea or are you not into these kind of polishes at all?
Posted in 2012, 3 Free, Basecoat, Black, Duri, I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous, Indie nailpolish, Indie polish, June, Links, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nailventurous, O.P.I., Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Swatches, Topcoat, Yellow | 1 CommentI’m feeling Nail-Venturous week, day 1: The Shimmer Effect, Corrupted and Flying Blue Jay.
This week I’m going to be celebrating the nail polishes I have that are made by Amy of I’m Feeling Nail-Venturous. Not because it’s her birthday, not because it’s almost my birthday. I’m doing this because she has some amazing polishes and I am very proud of the fact that I’ve designed the labels of the polishes that are being sold through Ninja Polish. You may know her work through a quirky polish that is currently taking the nail polish world by storm called Floam, which I shall be featuring later this week, but now onto the first three Nail-Venturous Lacquers that deserve a spotlight as well.
The polishes I am featuring today come from Amy’s own Etsy shop which is currently closed. Follow her Facebook page for updates though, you never know when she might return with an amazing new batch of polishes. They do not have my label but that of course doesn’t take away from how awesome these polishes are.
Take a look at the beautiful polish here on the top left. It’s called the Shimmer Effect and I was attracted to it right away, not just because it’s purple, but also because there is such a richness in other colors in there. There’s silver, green, light blue, orange/gold. It is simply stunning. And it sadly is a bit hard to capture but there’s a green pearly sheen over it as well that is just so unique. The official description is this: The Shimmer Effect has a purple base loaded with shimmer. It also has tiny square glitter as well as ultra fine green glitter. This polish has full coverage in two coats. This product is 3 free, and comes in a 15ml/.5 oz full size bottle.
In the picture I’ve applied two coats of polish over Rejuvacote, so no base color underneath to make this baby opaque, that’s how gorgeously pigmented it is, I was very impressed! It also applies easily and I did not have any trouble distributing the glitter evenly over my nails. Because it’s so full of glitter the surface of the nails will be slightly bumpy once it dries so I recommend you use a nice thick glossy topcoat over this polish to really bring out the colors and smooth out the surface.
Up next, pictured here on the right, is a polish called Corrupted. It’s a nice dark blue that I decided to apply over a blue polish, not because it will not be opaque after a few layers, but because I did not want to use a lot of layers so this polish will last me a while.
I first used a basecoat and a layer of Sinful Colors Neptune before applying Corrupted and just look how it shines, isn’t this pretty? Amy describes this polish as follows: Corrupted has a dark blue jelly base with ultra fine blue and gold glitter. It also has blue and white diamond shaped glitter, blue and turquoise small glitter, and gold shredded glitter. This product is 3 free, and comes in a 15ml/.5 oz full size bottle.
Again, as with all glitters really, you should really wear a nice thick glossy topcoat with this to bring out the glitters even more and to keep your polish from chipping.
Now, last but not least, here on the left is Flying Blue Jay, this polish is quite different from the other two as it doesn’t have any reflective glitter but only whites in different sizes and some blue micro glitter. This is what creator Amy has to say about it: Flying Blue Jay has a dark blue jelly base with various sizes of white glitter and ultra fine blue and white glitter. This polish is 3 free, and comes in a 15ml full size bottle.
I think this is a very unique polish, something I’ve not seen before in other brands. Amy also has another polish that kind of looks like this but it is a black base with white glitter called Voodoo Doll which I shall be showing you later this week.
I started, again, with a base of Rejuvacote and a layer of Sinful Colors Neptune before putting this color on in two layers. I think this one out of the three featured today is the hardest polish to apply. Well, no correction, it is easy to apply as the color applies smoothly, but you need to fiddle around a bit to place the big glitter as they will not go on evenly if you don’t. Does that ruin the polish for me? Heck no, it’s a stunning vibrant blue that only stands out more with the white glitter that shows through the color. You are guaranteed to get compliments wearing any of today’s polishes though, mark my words!
Glitter polishes usually are not my favorite but man I do have to admit to having a weakness for these three because wow, look at the colors and the glitter combinations, Amy clearly knows what she is doing and has an eye for color and texture and I admire her immensely for that.
What do you think of these three featured today? Do you have a polish by Nail-Venturous Lacquers yet? Or is this possibly the first time you’ve heard about indie (independent) nail polishes?
Posted in 2012, Blue, Clear, Duri, Franken, Franken Polish, Frankenpolish, Glitter, Gold, Green, Hot, I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous, Indie nailpolish, Indie polish, June, Lilac, Links, Manicure, Mauve, Metallic, Midnight Blue, Multicolored glitter, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails, Nailventurous, Ninja Polish, Opaque, Orange, Purple, Rejuvacote, Review, Seche Vite, Style, Swatches, Topcoat, Trend, Webshop | 6 CommentsNails of the day follow up!
I’ve decided to add some stamping to the previous nails using Dashica XL SdP image plate 8.
I am really enjoying this a lot right now. I hope you like it too!
Posted in 2012, Blue, China Glaze, Cream, Crème, Duri, Fashion, Gradient, Links, Manicure, Mattésse Elite, May, Mint, Nail Art, Nail Hardener, Nail of the Day, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails, Nails of the week, Nicole by O.P.I., Opaque, Petrol, Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Sponged, Stamping, Stamping system, Stars, Style, Summer, Topcoat, Trend, White | 6 CommentsNail of the day: Mint to teal gradient
Just a very quick drive by posting of my nail of the day which is a gradient I did using China Glaze – For Audrey as a base color and along with that I used Sinful Colors – Why Not, Mattésse Elite – Vig(Thank you again Marissa for sending me that set! They’re stunning!) and Nicole By O.P.I.’s Khloe had a little Lam-Lam to sponge over it leaving me with a nice fresh looking gradient. I hope you like it!
Have you tried gradient nails yet? Or is this not your thing at all?
Posted in 2012, Blue, Cream, Crème, Duri, Fashion, Gradient, Manicure, Mattésse Elite, May, Mint, Nail Art, Nail Hardener, Nail of the Day, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails, Nails of the week, Nicole by O.P.I., O.P.I., Petrol, Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Sponged, Style, Summer, Teal, Topcoat, Trend | 4 CommentsGradient Friday!
I’d like to take this moment and share my nails of the week with you, these are gradient nails that I made using O.P.I. polishes and a little make up sponge. It looks complicated but it really is quite simple. If you want I’ll soon do a tutorial to show you exactly how to do this type of nailart that will surely blow many people’s minds this summer. For now I’ll just show you some pictures.
Okay onto the manicures. This, besides the sponge, is what I used for the one pictured on the right.
I used Alpine Snow, a pure white, as a base. It’s important to use a light opaque base when you use light colors to sponge as the sponged colors go on very sheer. Over that I sponged (from the bottom left to the top right) Need Sunglasses, A Roll in the Hague, Red Lights Ahead… Where?. Dim Sum Plum, Funky Dunkey and last but not least I put on a thin coat of DS Shimmer to give it the subtle holographic effect. And really that’s all there is to it! I know I’m making it sound like it’s a piece of cake, but really it is!
Now I enjoyed this manicure so much that when I finally had to take it off later that week due to chipping I whipped up another gradient manicure by just using 5 polishes instead of 7.
This next one I made by using a clean make up sponge and first painting my nails white again with OPI’s Alpine Snow, and letting that dry, before I painted my sponge for the gradient (as you can see in the little picture on the bottom right of that little collage on the left there.) I went from yellow to green to deep blue using Need Sunglasses, Jade Is The New Black and Roadhouse Blues, all colors by O.P.I. I topped them again with OPI DS Shimmer to give them that nice holographic shimmer and after that they were good to go.
I feel there are a lot more gradients in my future and I want to try one with metallics soon.
But for now I leave you with the gradients of a few good friends of mine who all did their own version of a gradient this week for Gradient Friday.
I hope you’ll pay them a visit and check out their work.
And of course let me know what you thought, did you have a favorite, and will you be trying this technique for yourself soon?
Posted in 2012, Blue, Cream, Crème, Duri, Fashion, Fuchsia, Green, Links, May, Nail Art, Nail of the Day, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails of the week, O.P.I., Orange, Purple, Red, Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Topcoat, Trend, White, Yellow | 22 CommentsGo Grey in May for National Brain Tumor Awareness Month.
Being a member of a few facebook groups dedicated to either Nail Polish or Nail Art I noticed that quite a few of the members started to create manicures to support the Go Grey in May Campaign. I became fascinated and curious and did some research before I decided that I also must “Go Grey this May” to support this great cause and raise awareness.
May is National Brain Tumor Awareness Month in the United States. During the month of May, the Brain Tumor Awareness Organization encourages raising awareness through a variety of campaigns and activities. Each campaign or activity will serve as an education and outreach opportunity, a fundraising opportunity, a fitness event, a healing program/exhibit, a community initiative, a support group project or any combination that suits you and/or your group.
People often ask me what’s on my nails and sometimes even why, so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to wear grey, a color that I otherwise rarely wear because it makes my hands look more red than they are due to the cool tint this color naturally has.
For this manicure I put on a nice base of Rejuvacote by Duri, my new favorite nailhardener and basecoat, and two coats of China Glaze – Recycle, a lovely opaque and creamy grey.
Over that I layered two coats of a holographic topcoat I created myself by putting a little bit of Spectraflair pigment into a regular topcoat and I decanted a little bit of China Glaze’s amazing Sexagon into the topcoat as well to make sure the spectraflair had some suspension.
After that was dry I added a nice topcoat, Seche Vite in my case, and there you have it, grey nails with a little bit of a holographic pop that will surely make heads turn on a sunny day.
What do you think, will you be going Grey in May and help spread awareness for this cause?
For more information on the campaign please visit: www.braintumorawareness.org
Posted in 2012, Awareness, China Glaze, Duri, For a good cause, Grey, Holographic, May, Nail of the Day, Nail Polish, Nailpolish, Nails, Nails of the week, Rejuvacote, Seche Vite, Silver, Spectraflair, Topcoat | 5 Comments
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