.... LacquerDreams Halloween Challenge - Halloween Mani ...

It's already Halloween here in Australia and while we don't really celebrate it in my household I still did my nails all pretty and stuff.  I didn't completely finish the LacquerDreams month but I had fun on the days that I attempted.

I've gone for spiders and this was inspired by a mani I saw on pinterest but there was no credit [why pinterest why!!]   Google images was zero help so if you know who originally did this please let me know so I can credit properly!

The tips are Essie Meet Me At Sunset and the spider is made from Rimmel 60 seconds - Black Out and Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Xtreme Wear -White On and topped with Essence Gel Look topcoat.

... Australia Day Nails - Bogan Flannette Shirt ...

I sat down and thought a lot about what else I could portray for Australia Day ... and I kept coming back to one thing ... Bogans. 

Yes it's true ... Nobody likes a bogan! But I kept thinking of flannelette shirts and while I know they aren't "Aussie" most old style bogans seem to wear one!

I saw this beauty in Big W yesterday and I thought that this would be easy to replicate ... ummm ... yeah right!!!

Stamping ... why do you hate me??? Really!! This one just ended up everywhere ... Plus my top coat bubbled and smudged my stamping *super sad*

Anyway this is Rimmel Double Decker Red stamped with Ulta3 Black Satin using the VL001 plate from Vivid Lacquer.

And I couldn't write a post about bogans without showing my favourite one of all time ... Poida!!

In hindsight ... I think it looks more like the shirt from the Monty Python Lumberjack song!  Better get my thinking cap on for tomorrow!

... 7 days 7 ways - Day 3 Stamping ...

Day 3 already? Wow!

Today I wanted to do some stamping but I really struggled to find a design that would work well with lime green until I saw this.

[Image provided by Google Images from http://plantsvszombies.wikia.com]

I've rediscovered my love for the game Plants vs Zombies lately. My youngest is ill and there is only so much daytime TV you can handle without going inside.

This design is from the Fun 1 stamping plate that is available from Fab Ur Nails. There are so many fun designs on this plate. It's well worth the money! The black is just NYC Color in Night.

I kinda ruined it by not waiting for the stamping to dry before I put on a top coat but I'm still pretty happy with how it turned out!

Now ... back to those zombies!!

... 7 days 7 ways - Day 2 Gradient

Incase you missed yesterdays post I'm going for 7 days wearing Rimmel 60 second - 460 Limealicious.

I'm just going for a quick gradient look today. I'm going to use another Rimmel from the I love Lasting Finish range called 238 Forest. Sadly Forest is discontinued *sobs* but you can still find it from time to time in clearance bins if you have a good eye. Anyway it's a beautiful "Forest" Green with a secret green shimmer that appears when you look closely. Love!!

This is also a quick and easy way to fix a manicure if you have tip wear appearing! Also there is no right or wrong way in regards to gradients. Some people like clean lines, others like random areas - it's totally up to you.

This look is really easy to create and there are a lot of tutorials out there on how to do it so I won't go into it. Personally I just use makeup sponges [you can buy a cheap bag of them for like $2] and just tear them into smaller pieces. Practice makes all the difference with gradients and my top tip is patience. Wait for each layer to dry [or stick a quick dry top coat on] before sponging some more colour on. To smooth it all out after use a top coat.

See you tomorrow for Day 3!

... 7 days 7 ways - Revisited ...

7 days 7 ways

Rimmel 60 Seconds - 460 Limealicious

Purchased from Priceline - $6.36 AUD

I tried this series a few months back and had a lot of comments so it's back!! 7 days 7 ways! The idea is really simple. I'm wearing 1 polish every day this week but showing 7 different ways to show it off.

I've chosen Rimmel 460 Limealicious from the 60 seconds range. I picked this as it's seriously a unique colour and as with all the 60 second range it's super fast drying. I also picked this as Rimmel is an easy to get hold of brand in Australia



So Day 1 is just showcasing this beautiful polish by itself. I've used 3 coats in these swatches so you can see how pretty it is by itself. But be warned you will need rather thick runny coats or you will get streaks especially with the big brush that this series comes with.

I'll be back tomorrow with some more ways to wear!

... 7 days - 7 ways! Day 3 ...

7 days - 7 ways!

Day 3 - Stripes

Rimmel I ♥ Lasting Finish - 239 Your Majesty

Good ol' stripes! Way to bring something funky to the party.  Firstly - don't be running for the hills just yet ... this idea is seriously easy and is honestly the best way to cover up chips if you can't be bothered to find the polish remover!

** Seriously Simple Steps **

1 - Find 2 contrasting polishes, some scissors and some regular stationery tape [yes the clear stuff!]

2 - If your nails are already painted then skip ahead to step 5!

3 - Paint your nails fully in 1 of the polishes. Do a few coats for good 

4 - Wait for polish to fully dry

5 - When it's dry grab your scissors and sticky tape and cut a few lines off. The thickness is totally up to you.

6 - Place the sticky on your nail where you want it [do not cover up any chips or wear and tear that you want to cover up]

7 - Repeat steps 5 and 6 until you are happy with how your nail is covered

8 - Make sure your tape is fully pressed down on all nails [double check the edges]

9 - Grab your 2nd colour and paint your nails as normal - yes right over the top of the tape

10 - Repeat step 9 if you need a second coat of the top layer

11 - Pull all the sticky tape off [do this sooner rather than later or you run the risk of pulling off the base colour aswell]

12 - Add a top coat so it feels smooth

13 - Sit back and admire your handy work!!

If you didn't get all that and need pictures then click this link to a tutorial by Jane at Nailside - she shows you want I'm trying to explain in pictures rather than just words! [Obviously I've just gone for bold stripes rather than the look she's showing but you get the idea!]

Rimmel polishes are available at Big W, Priceline, Kmart, Target plus many others I'm sure.

... Orly - Chocolate Martini stamping ...

Hi all. I'm still feeling poorly but on the mend. Here is some stamping on Orly Chocolate Martini that I put up yesterday. I actually wasn't impressed with how this turned out when I did it but I had a lot of comments that I will definitely try this Konad plate again on a plain base and also the copper/black combo reminds me of Tigers so I'll have to do something with that in the future.

Konad Plate - m83

Stamping Polish - Rimmel 60 second 800 Black out

Thanks for all the comments and everything while I've been unwell - it's really been appreciated to know that people out there care and that I'm missed.

... first dot attempt ...

When I first started on blogger I saw someones suggestion to use a pin in the end of a pencil to do dots [if this was you please let me know - I want to give you credit!!!!] - I finally got around to locating some pins and raiding the kids pencil stash and voila.

I'm quite pleased with myself [although I know I really need to buy some actual dotting tools] and I guess you have to start somewhere and that practice makes perfect.

Base is Bourjois 17 No Chips

Dots are in Rimmel I ♥ Lasting Finish 280 Sunshine

I'm quite enjoying this look to be honest. It's different for me and it's bright and happy on a cold winters day.