My first braided mani!

I've seen so many amazing braided manis around lately, I finally decided it was time for me to tackle this design! I expected it to be complicated, but it's really as easy as it looks - the hardest part for me was trying to keep the "overlapping"area centred (failed on that one). Not unlike a fishtail braid, it also took quite a while to do. I knew I wanted to do thinner stripes, just to see what it would look like, but I had no idea that it would take me much longer than in the video tutorials.  

31 Day Challenge, Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

We've reached day 26! Only a couple of days more and then the challenge is over! Unbelievable!

Today we're doing patterns, so I picked my favorite pattern of the Bundle Moster stamping plate set, paisley. I've also been seeing a lot of super cute saran wrap manis, so this is my first try!

I started with two layers of China Glaze Papaya Punch and the "sponged" P2 Drama on with the saran wrap. As soon as that dried, I stamped the pattern from BM-315 with Yes Love #876 (my favorite stamping polish right now!). One coat of Essence Better than Gel Nails top coat, and it's what you see up there.

I'm really happy with this mani, I love how bright it looks. The background is basically on fire! I hope you like it, too and thanks for stopping by :)

31 Day Challenge, Day 25: Inspired by Fashion

 

I have so many firsts for you today! Up there, you see my first Butter London polish, which is also the first polish ever I ordered online and my first piece of Royal Nail Mail. I have to tell you, I  really regret my purchase.. because this polish is so perfect, all I want to do now is order all the Butter London polishes!
For fashion day, I'm showing you All Hail the Queen, stamped with different gold tones. The dress that inspired me is of course a McQueen dress that I've had in my inspiration folder since it came out for spring 2012. If I ever had a fortune to spend on a dress, I would hunt this piece down and wear it day and night, all day every day, no f*cks given. You can see it here. 

31 Day Challenge, Day 23: Inspired by a Movie

Day 23 of the challenge, today the theme is "Inspired by a Movie". I was waffling back and forth forever about what movie I wanted to do.. there were so many on my list. The one that won was the one I wanted to watch the most after I viewed all the trailers: Empire Records!

The movie came out 1995 and starred, among others, Liv Tyler and Renee Zellweger. It's about an eventfull day at a record store (I suck at summaries that don't give away too much). If you like mid-90s teen movies, you should watch this asap :)

Here's a close up for you. I used Essie Mesmerized as a base and then painted on the swirls first in white and then in China Glaze Sun-Kissed, a neon yellow. I painted a record on my middle finger and dotted a couple of swirls with Yes Love 876.

On the thumb and pinky, I also first painted the letters in white and then yellow. The E and R stand of course for Empire Records, in neon yellow, as is the neon sign on top of the store. The record, because it's a record store (duh), and the metallic dots for the coins that A.J. glues to the floor (one of my favorite scenes).

Have you watched Empire Records? It's one of those movies that never get old for me. There was a summer I watched it nearly every day :D

31 Day Challenge, Day 9: Rainbow, or: Use ALL the polishes!

Finally, rainbow day! Finally, not because I've been looking forward to it, or I had a great vision of my mani today, but because I had 2 complete fails before I finally came up with this. I had lost hope, I really didn't think I'd be able to come up with something I half-like, and here I am, in love with these nails.

Long post with many pictures and all the polishes I used ahead:

China Glaze Señorita Bonita and lots of stamping

Here's a manicure I'm not sure about. This is China Glaze Señorita Bonita stamped with a sh*tload of images. 

I think layered stamping is super fun, but I'm not seeing much of it online. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places? Seeing how the different images interact with each other and then depth you can create with layering is really fascinating to me. 

It does look kind of random from afar, sometimes, but to me it's like a pattern on fabric or a painting where you can discover a thousand new things if you look close enough. 

Señorita Bonita itself is a really rich purple with little orange flecks in it. I stamped mostly with metallic and also some holo polishes. I think using different finishes gives the whole nail more dimension. 

Here are all the polishes and stamping plates I used for this mani. The placements of the stamps differ from nail to nail, but the colors and images are the same. 

The one thing I had a problem with in this mani was the Konad White stamping polish. I used it for the last stamp (the little flowers scattered on top) and the top coat I used (inm Out the Door) smudged the image on most of my nails. 

Sometimes I really want to spend some time with my nail stuff, and layering stamps is the perfect opportunity for that. 

Yes Love #44

Yes Love is a chinese brand I found at the spanish equivalent of dollar stores. These stores are magical, let me tell you. They have all the things from kitchen equipment over hardware to craft supplies, and of course nail polish. Shelves are often stacked with three tiers of different formulas and colors, all made in China and none of them free of the Big-3. 

The formula is nothing short of amazing. Like the perfect fuchsia jelly that she is, she sits where you put her, shows no sign of streaks, and layers from sheer goodness to deeply opaque in just three coats. This is two coats in the sun with a coat of inm Out the Door on top.

Yes Love polishes come in bottles of all shapes, this one obviously inspired by Deborah Lippmann. The rose gold colored cap is beautiful and adds a kitschy twist, but is a real fingerprint magnet. 

I think this is a really versatile polish and I can't wait to try a glitter sandwich with it!