Greetings All!
Today I have decided to combine Seven Days of Sally Hansen with this challenge, to save a bit of time and effort! So we'll start off with a few plain swatches, and then we'll move onto the nail art!
Today's polish is called Yellow Kitty (err, LOVE the name!) It's a pretty pale yellow, a little more muted than the usual pastel yellow though. It's pretty much the colour of butter. For a pale colour, it has a lot of richness (again,like butter lol). It also went on fairly easily for a yellow (I often find that yellows can be streaky and tricky to apply well). This is 2 easy coats, no top coat
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Friday, 15 February 2013
Seven Days of Sally Hansen: Fairy Teal AND Grass Slipper
Greetings All! This post is a little picture heavy!
Yet another Sally Hansen post! This time though I managed to combine two polishes in one post!
In addition to the seven I bought at Poundland, I also bought three from Fragrance Direct that came yesterday. I kind of want to order more already! I have nothing bad to say about any of these polishes, except for that one has been too pale for my skin tone (not the polishes fault!) they are fantastic quality and all the colours have been lovely, and complementary too!
Yet another Sally Hansen post! This time though I managed to combine two polishes in one post!
In addition to the seven I bought at Poundland, I also bought three from Fragrance Direct that came yesterday. I kind of want to order more already! I have nothing bad to say about any of these polishes, except for that one has been too pale for my skin tone (not the polishes fault!) they are fantastic quality and all the colours have been lovely, and complementary too!
Flip Flop February Challenge Day 15: Stamping or Jelly Sandwich
Greetings All!
Hope you're all looking forward to the weekend. I usually spend most of Saturday painting my nails! This week will be no different I'm sure.
Today seemed like an easy choice. I do love stamping, but I've already used stamps several times so I thought I should go with a jelly sandwich!
Ever since I read about jelly sandwiches I loved the idea, but I found it difficult to find jelly polishes. Thankfully now I have a couple! This is OPI but I can't make out the name because it has black marker pen on (like the one I think is Hong Kong Sunrise. But this is, like, indecipherable. If anyone has any ideas, it's like Guy Meets Gal-veston but orange instead of pink?). This is actually 4 coats, with 3 coats of W7 Multi Dazzle. I really wanted to get that depth effect, like the glitter was suspended in the polish instead of just a single layer. It kind of worked, but not as well as I wanted! I do love the effect though. I wish I had more jelly polishes!
Remember to check out everyone else's beautiful manicures! I don't know what I want to see more - some gorgeous stamping, or some lovely jellies!
Hope you're all looking forward to the weekend. I usually spend most of Saturday painting my nails! This week will be no different I'm sure.
Today seemed like an easy choice. I do love stamping, but I've already used stamps several times so I thought I should go with a jelly sandwich!
Ever since I read about jelly sandwiches I loved the idea, but I found it difficult to find jelly polishes. Thankfully now I have a couple! This is OPI but I can't make out the name because it has black marker pen on (like the one I think is Hong Kong Sunrise. But this is, like, indecipherable. If anyone has any ideas, it's like Guy Meets Gal-veston but orange instead of pink?). This is actually 4 coats, with 3 coats of W7 Multi Dazzle. I really wanted to get that depth effect, like the glitter was suspended in the polish instead of just a single layer. It kind of worked, but not as well as I wanted! I do love the effect though. I wish I had more jelly polishes!
Remember to check out everyone else's beautiful manicures! I don't know what I want to see more - some gorgeous stamping, or some lovely jellies!
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Seven Days of Sally Hansen: Calypso Blue
Greetings All!
Are you getting fed up of these yet? Lol I'm not! I'm really loving these polishes - they all apply so easily, and they are SO glossy! I haven't used topcoat for any of the plain swatches - I haven't needed to!
Today's polish is Calypso Blue. A turquoise blue with lots of green shimmer. The typical 'peacock' colour. I must have at least half a dozen polishes in this shade. They always catch my eye because they are so jewely! This is no different.
This is 3 coats. It was loaded with colour, but quite sheer. It's slightly more blue than other similar shades I own. Very shimmery though. I was planning on doing some peacock type nail art, but once I was wearing it, it did seem more like a sparkling ocean than a peacock feather. So I went with an underwater theme.
Are you getting fed up of these yet? Lol I'm not! I'm really loving these polishes - they all apply so easily, and they are SO glossy! I haven't used topcoat for any of the plain swatches - I haven't needed to!
Today's polish is Calypso Blue. A turquoise blue with lots of green shimmer. The typical 'peacock' colour. I must have at least half a dozen polishes in this shade. They always catch my eye because they are so jewely! This is no different.
This is 3 coats. It was loaded with colour, but quite sheer. It's slightly more blue than other similar shades I own. Very shimmery though. I was planning on doing some peacock type nail art, but once I was wearing it, it did seem more like a sparkling ocean than a peacock feather. So I went with an underwater theme.
I painted some sandy tips with Collection 2000 Lemon Soda, then stamped on a whole load of stuff! There is some subtle seaweed in the background, a failed attempt at some bubbles, and then various sea creatures and shells! I won't list all of the stamps and polishes. If you want to know a particular one, just ask!
If you're in the UK and you local Poundland doesn't have any of these polishes, remember you can also purchase them HERE at Fragrance Direct for £1.49, which is still a bargain I think! I bought 3 from them that arrived today!
Stay tuned tomorrow for another Sally Hansen bargain, that's a one coater and also stamps!
Flip Flop February Challenge Day 14: Valentines or French Tips
Greetings All! We're at the halfway point in this challenge!
Happy Valentines to those who celebrate it! I've never really been bothered with it.
Because of that, today is french tips (hey, you got hearts yesterday!). French tips are like the first 'arty' thing I learned to do with my nails, many years ago now. Having said that, I'm still not great at doing them. I didn't want to go with the plain nude and white, but I also wasn't in the mood for funky colours. I wanted something a bit elegant. Here's what I came up with.
Mmm black lace french tips! I started with No 7 So Simple (not quite 'mannequin hands', but the closest I currently have!). I then did black tips using W7 Black and some good old Sally Hansen nail guides. I had planned to use some black lace nail stickers I have, but they were straight, and the tips were curved, so it looked a bit weird. I decided, after harping on about french nail stamps, to have a go stamping. I figured as I already had the tips, it might be easier to just stamp on something a bit lacy. I used BM18 and Konad Black and just focused on getting the top bit on my nail. For the most part, I think it went pretty well!
Unfortunately my Seche Vite picked up a little bit of the stamp and spread it across my thumb! I only got it for Christmas, and there's about a third of a bottle left! It's also starting to get a little thick. I think I'll have to invest in one of those massive salon bottles (115ml I think?) and some Restore.
Happy Valentines to those who celebrate it! I've never really been bothered with it.
Because of that, today is french tips (hey, you got hearts yesterday!). French tips are like the first 'arty' thing I learned to do with my nails, many years ago now. Having said that, I'm still not great at doing them. I didn't want to go with the plain nude and white, but I also wasn't in the mood for funky colours. I wanted something a bit elegant. Here's what I came up with.
Mmm black lace french tips! I started with No 7 So Simple (not quite 'mannequin hands', but the closest I currently have!). I then did black tips using W7 Black and some good old Sally Hansen nail guides. I had planned to use some black lace nail stickers I have, but they were straight, and the tips were curved, so it looked a bit weird. I decided, after harping on about french nail stamps, to have a go stamping. I figured as I already had the tips, it might be easier to just stamp on something a bit lacy. I used BM18 and Konad Black and just focused on getting the top bit on my nail. For the most part, I think it went pretty well!
Unfortunately my Seche Vite picked up a little bit of the stamp and spread it across my thumb! I only got it for Christmas, and there's about a third of a bottle left! It's also starting to get a little thick. I think I'll have to invest in one of those massive salon bottles (115ml I think?) and some Restore.
Tomorrow we move onto the right side of the challenge!!
Remember to check out everyone else's nails. I have a suspicion that there will be valentines manicures a-plenty!
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Seven Days of Sally Hansen: Thinking of Blue
Greetings All!
Not every £1 Sally Hansen I got was a pale colour. Some were pretty deep! This is probably the darkest.
In the bottle, this is a dusty, almost denim shade of blue. Close to indigo. However it is several shades darker on the nail, almost navy blue! I don't tend to wear blue very much. It's not my favourite colour. I quite liked this though. 2 easy coats. As soon as I put it on I thought 'nautical' but my second thought was 'gold'. I love a bit of gold polish! So I did some glitter tips.
I do love a glitter gradient. I think they are easier than normal gradients, because the sparkly nature of the glitter makes mistakes harder to see! This is with OPI Goldeneye. Blue and gold is a lovely combination! And I love the fine glitter in Goldeneye. It almost looks a little like gold leaf!
There will be another Sally Hansen post tomorrow! Don't worry though - I am trying to combine some with the Flip Flop Challenge so I won't be posting as much!
Not every £1 Sally Hansen I got was a pale colour. Some were pretty deep! This is probably the darkest.
In the bottle, this is a dusty, almost denim shade of blue. Close to indigo. However it is several shades darker on the nail, almost navy blue! I don't tend to wear blue very much. It's not my favourite colour. I quite liked this though. 2 easy coats. As soon as I put it on I thought 'nautical' but my second thought was 'gold'. I love a bit of gold polish! So I did some glitter tips.
I do love a glitter gradient. I think they are easier than normal gradients, because the sparkly nature of the glitter makes mistakes harder to see! This is with OPI Goldeneye. Blue and gold is a lovely combination! And I love the fine glitter in Goldeneye. It almost looks a little like gold leaf!
There will be another Sally Hansen post tomorrow! Don't worry though - I am trying to combine some with the Flip Flop Challenge so I won't be posting as much!
Flip Flop February Challenge Day 13: Watercolour or Sponging
Greetings All!
Today's nails kind pf look like they could be either watercolour or sponging! They were sponged though.
See, they kind of look like watercolour! I started with a base of Collection 2000 Candy Floss, a pale pink. Then I sponged on 17 Baby Blue, OPI A Grape Fit, and Revlon Peachy. It looked a bit rubbish plain, so I stamped with OPI Koala Bear-y and BM02 for the lips, and CH15 for the hearts. It's the closest you'll get to a Valentines manicure from me!
Be sure to check out everyone else's.
Today's nails kind pf look like they could be either watercolour or sponging! They were sponged though.
See, they kind of look like watercolour! I started with a base of Collection 2000 Candy Floss, a pale pink. Then I sponged on 17 Baby Blue, OPI A Grape Fit, and Revlon Peachy. It looked a bit rubbish plain, so I stamped with OPI Koala Bear-y and BM02 for the lips, and CH15 for the hearts. It's the closest you'll get to a Valentines manicure from me!
Be sure to check out everyone else's.
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
Seven Days of Sally Hansen: Lavender Cloud
Greetings All!
I've got another Sally Hansen post for you!
Quick bit of housekeeping. Now I've had a chance to play around with them some more, I can say that the formula is great.They applied easily, and all have taken 2 or 3 fast drying coats. They're lovely and shiny - they feel like they have topcoat on without any on! The brushes have a rubber grip, which you don't see very much, but I love! I can be a little clumsy, but these sit securely in your fingers. All in all, a great polish! And remember, all this for only £1!
Today's nails are Lavender Cloud. Spurred on by the beauty of Crinoline, I was eager to try this shade. It's another very pale colour, very nearly white but with a hint of grey lilac.
Unfortunately, this is just slightly too pale to me. It's barely off-white! It's slightly paler on the nail than in the bottle. I can imagine it would be a great base for nail art though. Here is some!
I've got another Sally Hansen post for you!
Quick bit of housekeeping. Now I've had a chance to play around with them some more, I can say that the formula is great.They applied easily, and all have taken 2 or 3 fast drying coats. They're lovely and shiny - they feel like they have topcoat on without any on! The brushes have a rubber grip, which you don't see very much, but I love! I can be a little clumsy, but these sit securely in your fingers. All in all, a great polish! And remember, all this for only £1!
Today's nails are Lavender Cloud. Spurred on by the beauty of Crinoline, I was eager to try this shade. It's another very pale colour, very nearly white but with a hint of grey lilac.
Unfortunately, this is just slightly too pale to me. It's barely off-white! It's slightly paler on the nail than in the bottle. I can imagine it would be a great base for nail art though. Here is some!
I read THIS post over at Two Days Slow, and she used the most perfect purple to stamp with. Rich and deep, but still bright and vibrant! I asked her what it was. Barry M Gelly Plum! Which I own and everything! I was very happy. That's what I've used here, and BM204.
Isn't it such a glorious purple? It's really brightened up Lavender Cloud too. Also, check out my thumb. I had to stamp it twice because it's too long. You can barely notice!
Stay tuned tomorrow for ANOTHER Sally Hansen!
Flip Flop February Challenge Day 12: Drips or Matte
Greetings All!
Today I have decided to incorporate both elements of the challenge, and I've done matte drips! I've never tried drips before. Oh! And I should also mention, I changed my nail shape! I love almond shaped nails, so I thought 'why not?!'. I know that square nails are the current fashion, but they were long enough to shape and I really wanted to try them, so I did. Never fear though, 3 or 4 days later I suffered a catastrophic break, so I'm sure they'll have to go back to square soon enough.
Onto today's nails. I started with W7 Black (surprise!), and used Asda matte topcoat. Then I tried to think what the opposite of matte black would be. I decided on holographic glitter!
This is Models Own Northern Lights, the counterpart to Southern Lights (which I used HERE). Northern Lights is a pale pink holographic glitter, which gives full coverage in 2 coats. It doesn't kick out quite as much colour as it's Southern partner, but is still very sparkly. It was also very easy to draw drips with! On my thumb and forefinger I tried to draw the outline. On the other three nails I just painted down my nail, then joined them up at the bottom. The only problem was, it was pretty thick by the end (you can see in the pics how thick it looks. It even did something weird to the shape of my nail on my middle finger!). Next time I'll just use a creme polish!
Remember to check out everyone else's nails!
Today I have decided to incorporate both elements of the challenge, and I've done matte drips! I've never tried drips before. Oh! And I should also mention, I changed my nail shape! I love almond shaped nails, so I thought 'why not?!'. I know that square nails are the current fashion, but they were long enough to shape and I really wanted to try them, so I did. Never fear though, 3 or 4 days later I suffered a catastrophic break, so I'm sure they'll have to go back to square soon enough.
Onto today's nails. I started with W7 Black (surprise!), and used Asda matte topcoat. Then I tried to think what the opposite of matte black would be. I decided on holographic glitter!
This is Models Own Northern Lights, the counterpart to Southern Lights (which I used HERE). Northern Lights is a pale pink holographic glitter, which gives full coverage in 2 coats. It doesn't kick out quite as much colour as it's Southern partner, but is still very sparkly. It was also very easy to draw drips with! On my thumb and forefinger I tried to draw the outline. On the other three nails I just painted down my nail, then joined them up at the bottom. The only problem was, it was pretty thick by the end (you can see in the pics how thick it looks. It even did something weird to the shape of my nail on my middle finger!). Next time I'll just use a creme polish!
Remember to check out everyone else's nails!
Monday, 11 February 2013
Seven Days of Sally Hansen: Crinoline
Greetings All!
If you're a UK nail polish fan (or addict!) or you're in a nail art Facebook group, you may be aware of something of a frenzy going on here. Women (and men!) up and down the country have been scouting out their local Poundland stores (it's a 'pound' shop. Like a dollar store) in the hopes of finding Sally Hansen Salon Manicure polishes! Many of us have been very lucky. These are last years colours or whatever, but bear in mind in Superdrug (which for me is right next to Poundland lol) they are selling the exact same brand (but different colours) for £6.99. Seven times the price! I do love a bargain, so I looked repeatedly until they showed up (about 3 weeks later!). I managed to bag seven, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you, and give me an excuse to use them!
Today's polish is Crinoline. I know several people have blogged about this shade already, but it's so darn pretty it's the first one I tried!
Crinoline is a very pale pinky nude. Normally I shy away from very pale colours, but this has just enough pinky warmth to make me love it. It's very soft, feminine and elegant. The name is perfect! It's gorgeous worn on it's own, and would be a great base for nail art. This is 3 coats for full opacity.
If you're a UK nail polish fan (or addict!) or you're in a nail art Facebook group, you may be aware of something of a frenzy going on here. Women (and men!) up and down the country have been scouting out their local Poundland stores (it's a 'pound' shop. Like a dollar store) in the hopes of finding Sally Hansen Salon Manicure polishes! Many of us have been very lucky. These are last years colours or whatever, but bear in mind in Superdrug (which for me is right next to Poundland lol) they are selling the exact same brand (but different colours) for £6.99. Seven times the price! I do love a bargain, so I looked repeatedly until they showed up (about 3 weeks later!). I managed to bag seven, and I thought it would be fun to share them with you, and give me an excuse to use them!
Today's polish is Crinoline. I know several people have blogged about this shade already, but it's so darn pretty it's the first one I tried!
Crinoline is a very pale pinky nude. Normally I shy away from very pale colours, but this has just enough pinky warmth to make me love it. It's very soft, feminine and elegant. The name is perfect! It's gorgeous worn on it's own, and would be a great base for nail art. This is 3 coats for full opacity.
I knew a colour like this was just crying out for some pastel glitter. I got this from Claire's Accessories. It's pastel green, pink and gold hexes and silver glitter. 2 coats. It's so perfect for spring! I've also used some matte topcoat here to mute the glitter down even further. Plain, it was a bit too sparkly for the look I was going for. I loved this so much I kept it on for 2 days! (for me at the moment with the challenge I'm doing, that's like the highest praise!) A pretty colour plus pretty glitter equals very pretty nails!
I still have six more to show you! Maybe a new one tomorrow. I haven't decided yet lol
If you are near a Poundland and you haven't yet looked for these, GO! If you aren't near one, they are available at Fragrance Direct for £1.49. I've already ordered some more lol
Internationally, I'm not sure. Apologies!
Flip Flop February Challenge Day 11: Splatter or Cocktail Nails
Greetings All!
A new week! Tuesday and Wednesday are my days off work, so I like Mondays! If you don't, why not cheer yourself up with some splatter nails? I didn't really get cocktail nails. It's basically where the fingers you would hold your cocktail with (thumb, index and middle) are different colours to the rest of your fingers. I
think. Either way, I went with splatter!
This is only the second time I have done splatter nails. The first time (HERE) I was pretty happy with. I knew exactly how I wanted these to look in my head, and surprisingly, they are pretty close!
Unfortunately the pictures don't quite do them justice! This is a matte black base (W7 Black of course) splattered with three metallics: Barry M Gold Foil, Asda Warrior (like, a metallic neutral?) and Sally Hansen Lotus (a red bronzed metallic). This time, instead of doing one nail at a time, I taped them up in the 'claw' position and did all the nails at once, hoping they would be a bit more uniform. I also ended up sticking my straw in the polish bottle, as the puddle method just wasn't working (maybe the polishes were a bit thin?).After each colour I trimmed the straw down to prevent contamination!
I like these. I liked them better in real life! There was something about the juxtaposition of the soft, dull matte black and then these flashes of shine and shimmer. I would definitely wear these again, but I'll admit I'm a little put off by the technique. It's not difficult, but it is fiddly and time consuming. Also, I always tape my fingers too tight because by the end they have gone numb!
Tomorrow - matte or drips. Matte, you say? Not sure I've heard of that (LOL)
Remember to check out everyone else's lovely nails!
A new week! Tuesday and Wednesday are my days off work, so I like Mondays! If you don't, why not cheer yourself up with some splatter nails? I didn't really get cocktail nails. It's basically where the fingers you would hold your cocktail with (thumb, index and middle) are different colours to the rest of your fingers. I
think. Either way, I went with splatter!
This is only the second time I have done splatter nails. The first time (HERE) I was pretty happy with. I knew exactly how I wanted these to look in my head, and surprisingly, they are pretty close!
Unfortunately the pictures don't quite do them justice! This is a matte black base (W7 Black of course) splattered with three metallics: Barry M Gold Foil, Asda Warrior (like, a metallic neutral?) and Sally Hansen Lotus (a red bronzed metallic). This time, instead of doing one nail at a time, I taped them up in the 'claw' position and did all the nails at once, hoping they would be a bit more uniform. I also ended up sticking my straw in the polish bottle, as the puddle method just wasn't working (maybe the polishes were a bit thin?).After each colour I trimmed the straw down to prevent contamination!
I like these. I liked them better in real life! There was something about the juxtaposition of the soft, dull matte black and then these flashes of shine and shimmer. I would definitely wear these again, but I'll admit I'm a little put off by the technique. It's not difficult, but it is fiddly and time consuming. Also, I always tape my fingers too tight because by the end they have gone numb!
Tomorrow - matte or drips. Matte, you say? Not sure I've heard of that (LOL)
Remember to check out everyone else's lovely nails!
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Sun-tried-day (part 2) Some W7s!
Greetings All! this post is picture heavy!
Here is part 2. I guess I could have saved these for another week, but I'm trying to power through those untrieds!
Here is what I'm working with, by the way
Here is part 2. I guess I could have saved these for another week, but I'm trying to power through those untrieds!
Here is what I'm working with, by the way
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