"This is Halloween" Nail Art - FINAL DAY!!!!

Hoorah! I made it to the end! Sure I missed a few days [whoops] but for me I'm quite pleased with myself.

Kinda embarrassed to put this up as it's definitely not what I imagined but you win some, you lose some!  Todays task is to recreate a favourite from the challenge. I chose this manicure from Cathy at More Nail Polish which looked fantastic!! I thought I could pull it off but hey ... can't compete with the master!

Instead of Kleancolor Metallic Orange I used Chemistry 523 [like Ozotic 523] and lets just say I killed it with the black! The blacks I chose weren't up to the task and my stamping sucked!! While it didn't look too bad from a distance, this macro shot does it no favours. Meh!

I'll chalk it up to experience and bring you something great tomorrow for the beginning of a new month!!

Check out some more Halloween blogs here

... This is Halloween Nail Art - Trick or Treat ..

I found this really difficult. I can easily count the number of trick or treaters I've had in the past few years on 1 hand and I have never personally been trick or treating even though it sounds like fun.

I got these awesome nail stickers in the mail and thought I'd start rocking them for a bit since I was so stumped for ideas.

I've just put them on top of Cate Ruby Purple Moon and topped with a fast dry topcoat.

** Check out some more funky Halloween links **

... Tony Moly - GT02 ...

Tony Moly - GT02

I was gifted this bottle but you can find Tony Moly on eBay or there is a limited range in Morning Glory stores in Adelaide.

Today I'm bringing you this beauty from Tony Moly! I can't believe it's been sitting untried for so long when it's seriously beautiful.

It's a smokey graphite colour with beautiful micro glitter in pink, blue and silver to surprise you! I've used 3 coats in these swatches and it was fast drying. It had really good wear time aswell! I had limited tip wear and no chips days later. Score!

Be warned that this likes to eat top coat - nom nom nom but honestly that is the only flaw I could find in this polish at all.

** Final Verdict **

Definitely one I will wear again ... and again! It's seriously stunning and the glitters make it perfect. Well worth getting your hands on!

... Flormar - U05 ...

Flormar U05

Gifted - unsure where to buy in Australia *sad*

Some of you may have seen these pictures earlier in the month as a guest post at The Polish Haven but I've been totally loving this polish lately so I'm reposting it!!

This little bottle of Flormar recently arrived at my doorstep and man it's fantastic!! It's vibrant, it's fun, it's shiny and most of all it seems to get some good wear time!! What more could a girl want??

All of my pictures show 3 coats with a fast try topcoat on top for extra shiny! I found it quick drying on it's own without the fast try topcoat and it's definitely easy to apply.

There is a slight gold shift going on aswell which I've tried to capture here for you. It's really pretty and appears when you least expect it!!!

In full sun it's deliciously pink.Sparkle sparkle!! Love Love Love

** Final Verdict **

I do like these Flormars. They seem to last forever without chipping and they are pretty colours. The fact it's fast drying is a bonus aswell. Worth while getting if you are able to source them.

... FNUG comparison post ...

Bit of a quick comparison post for you today that I've been trying to put together for a few weeks.

I received my beautiful FNUG holos from Harlow & Co and I was asked about comparisons! So here goes ...

ALL SWATCHES ARE 3 COATS ON CLEAR SWATCH STICKS. NO BASE OR TOP COAT.

First up is the silver which is called Psychedelic and I've picked out 5 holo silvers to compare this with

Left to Right ... Gosh Holographic, FNUG Psychedlic, Gosh Holographic Hero, NfuOh 61 and Jade Psicodelica

I couldn't find my MUS holo which is disappointing but as you can see the FNUG is snug between the 2 versions of GOSH Holographic. Like GOSH and NfuOh you need to apply carefully or you will get drag and bald spots. Very beautiful though!! I've been told that the KOH silver holographic is more brighter but I don't have that polish *sad*

I don't have many green holographics *sad* I'm taking it as a sign I need more!!!  Fantastica slots in on the "Wheel of Holo" in between Glitter Gal Green [or Glossy Moss if you have the large bottle] and China Glaze L8R G8R

Left to Right ... Glitter Gal Green, FNUG Fantastica, China Glaze L8R G8R

The FNUG is definitely like it's silver brother and applies a lot more dense than polishes like Glitter Gal. While I don't have Ozotic green I do have the Chemistry equivalent as it's not as holo as the Glitter Gal so I haven't shown it here.

Left to Right ... Chemistry 515, Layla Ocean Rush, FNUG Futuristica, NfuOh 65

The FNUG is definitely the same shade as the NfuOh but with more holo and less patchy bald spots! The poor Layla just gets left behind ... awwww.

For all of these FNUG polishes you will need some sort of Aqua Base or there will be issues! You've been warned!!

I hope that helps people out. I'm happy to do more holo comparisons if I have them in my collection but I've picked out the few from the "ring of holo" which are the most similar in colour and holo rainbow!

... This is Halloween Nail Art - Bats ...

Ah better late than never!  I took these shots on time but failed to get around to editing and uploading so apologies about that.

Like Cathy over at More Nail Polish I was a bit of smartypants at "Bats" ;)

Made me chuckle anyway ... even though that pinky is looking very plastic like.

I ended up using some Halloween nail art stickers that I was given last year and I didn't get around to using. These are placed over Essie Pansy which I'll review another day!

** Click here for some other Bat Nail Art **

... This is Halloween Nail Art - Gradient ...

I'm unsure what gradients have to do with Halloween but I really wanted to steer clear of traditional colours.

My beautiful friend Mandy sent me a big bag of Candy Corn which I was so super excited about. Candy Corn is a rarity in Australia and I didn't know until this year that there were many flavours!!

I have been trying to improve my gradients lately and I'm quite impressed with how I'm getting with them.

For this I chose to use Ulta3 Lily White with Cult Nails Deal with It and I've topped with the Essence gel coat with a coat of quick dry polish on top. Super smooth!!

Not the perfect gradient but if you flick back to previous attempts they are fantastic!! Anyway I thought they matched the delicious candycorn perfectly!

Note to self ... don't grab fingers when they look yummy [and ewwww - red wrinkly hand!]

** Now clicky on these links to see more Gradient art. As for me ... I'm now hungry!! **

... This is Halloween Nail Art - Zombies ...

I'll be the first to admit - I'm not big into Zombies. They don't interest me at all. I don't watch shows or movies about Zombies [Simpsons Treehouse of Horror would be the only one!] and I'm not into the whole Zombie apocalypse.

I do however love the game Plants vs Zombies which I've mentioned here before. I currently just play on my iPhone and find it quite relaxing.

I've used water decals for these and while they aren't the best I'm pretty pleased with my first go at printing them myself. I just need to work on getting my background colours a bit better suited. I've tried to do the different grass patterns but it just hasn't worked.  I'm super pleased with how my plants worked out - not so with my bucket and disco zombies ... but hey ... that should stop them getting into my house!!

Colours used are Color Club Perfect Mol-Ten and Cult Nails Deal With It.

** Now go and check out some other Zombie nails - trust me they are more spookier than mine!! **

... This is Halloween Nail Art Challenge - Jack-O-Lanterns

Whoops! It seems a missed a challenge but I'll try to catch some ghosts later this month! Todays challenge was Jack O Lanterns. I'll be honest - I've never carved a freaky jack o lantern face before ... but I did carve a decent one last year that I blogged about here.

RAWR!!!!!!!

Anyway ... here's my take. It's nothing special but it was worth trying! The base is Illamasqua Optimist, the black is Color Colours Black Sateen and the beautiful holo on the thumb and pinky is actually Layla Flash Black layered over the Illamasqua for a bit of a different look.

** Check out these other challenge blogs **

... "This is Halloween" Nail Art - Watermarbling ...

I'm not exactly sure what watermarbling actually has to do with Halloween ... well apart from making a big Horror Movie of you own trying to make it!!!

I chose to use these 3 colours -  piCture pOlish Violet Femme, ChiChi Walkin On Sunshine and NYC Color Casper.

Now ...  I thought I'd steer away of the obvious Halloween colours and I went with a white base with yellow and purple to try and make some sort of night colours with the moon shining on through.

So after many many many many attempts this is what I came out with. I'm not really happy with it but whatever.

I think it's safe to say that watermarbling and I are still not friends ... but I'm glad I tried [not so glad that I wasted so much polish on this look though]

** Other Challenge Blogs to Check Out **

... Avon - Rainbow Blue ...

Avon - Rainbow Blue

So I did mention that I've been busy lately and what has been taking up my time was rather unexciting. I wasn't lying there! It was major Spring Cleaning!! It was boring but needed to be done ... and took up all my blog time.

I discovered The Organised Housewife's blog and started my way through September armed with my bottle of Pine O Clean. [I highly recommend printing out her 20 days to an organised home if you are thinking about having a decent cleanout soon!!! ]

Anyway ... I came across this gem hidden in the back of my bathroom cabinet. Never been opened.

And yes you read the title right ... this is an Avon polish. Apparently they made a range of Holographics???? Who knew!!! The range is called "Rainbow" which is appropriate and the little silver rainbow on the box is a holo too.

I sure as hell didn't and Google has been limited help on this. I've gathered it was available around 2003 and I know that my bottle definitely came from my mother.

All these swatches are 3 coats. 3 magificent coats!!! No top coat. The only downfall I can find is if I'm super picky ... the size is tiny! It's not mentioned how many mls it holds but I'm sure it's not a lot!

As to where to buy ... well ... I have no idea and assume they are long sold out. There is nothing on eBay that I can see *sad* I want the rest now. Oh and here it it is without any direct sunshine as it's a really pretty colour!

And another ...

** Final Verdict **

I've been jealous of people who have super great finds from polishes long ago so I'm glad my turn came up!!! If you manage to find one of these in your collection then hug it tight! Luck is definitely on your side!!

... Fail Nail Art - Angry Birds ...

I wasn't planning to share this but I need to remember that if I don't document the failures I can't see how far I've come in the future!!

So this is continuing on from Essence Fall for Me from yesterday. I thought it made a great sky colour and I have been playing a lot of Angry Birds with the kids over the school holidays so I thought I'd make a point of using my Angry Birds stamp on the FUN1 plate.

So presenting my fail ... little red angry birds and their slingshot!

Obviously there are 2 main flaws ...  the fun bedsheet wrinkles on 2 fingers ... plus the fact that the red is way too dark but I liked the idea behind it. Obviously it didn't look too bad from a distance as I did have a few random compliments on it.

And white doesn't make it any better ... Lesson Learnt!!

Colours used are ...
Red - Illamasqua Aorta
Brown - Nails Inc Basil Street
Light Green - Butter London Dosh
Dark Green - Orly Lucky Duck
Black - Coral Colors Black Sateen
White - Ulta3 Lily White

... Essence - Fall For Me ...

Essence Multi Dimension XXXL Shine - 74 Fall for Me

Essence is available from Target and Priceline in Australia but this bottle was gifted!

I pulled this beauty out my pile recently. A beauty - a shiny sky blue that I was given last year by a dear friend. I honestly regret not trying this earlier!!

There was some slight bubbling but apart from that there were no issues. It was fast drying and everything you expect from Essence polishes. All these photos are 3 coats.

I can definitely see myself wearing this again but I thought it would make a great base for some nail art which I'll hopefully show you tomorrow!

** Final Verdict **
A pretty polish that is super easy to apply and fast drying. It's a shame about the bubbles but that's easily fixed with some creative thinking!!

... "This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge - Horror Movies ...

Howdy people! I'm back after a well deserved break! :D I'll go into more detail on what I've been up too in a later post!

While Halloween isn't big at all in Australia even though more and more stores seem to be pushing it out in recent years. I thought I needed a challenge so let's go!!

*sings loudly and offkey*

♫ Watch Horror Movie right there on my TV ♫

♫ Horror Movie right there on my TV ♫

♫ Horror Movie right there on my TV ♫

♫ Shocking me right out of my brain ♫

♫ Shocking me right out of my brain ♫

Skip the horror movies ...  some of those old 70s music video clips are pretty freaky!! I mean has anyone else seen the clip for that song?? My brain is still suffering from the horror!!

I've been very much off my swatching game lately so I've done some really basic nail art for this ... so presenting "Scream".

Really simple - and dodgy!! I need to work on my nail art although I do love my new brushes!! The black used is Coral Colors in Black Sateen and the white is Ulta3 Lily White.

** Other Challenge Blogs to Check Out **