piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013

Celebrating the Year of the Blogger!

I am sooo excited to be a part of Picture Polish Blogfest 2013!  I applied not really expecting to get in, as so many awesome people apply!   So when I read the email saying I had been accepted, I actually squealed a little.  ;)

The theme for this years Blogfest is ‘Year of the Blogger’ and the challenge was to create my most ‘amazing nail art manicure ever’ using the 3 Picture Polish nail polishes provided, including tutorials. When I read that I freaked out a little, I am not fantastic at nail art lol.  I was excited to try though!

The 3 polishes I received were Blogger (how appropriate!), Bright White and Cosmos.

I decided to do a mix and match mani, its something I have always wanted to try.  I used Bright White as the base for all my nails.

I am not a fan of white nail polish, but this I really liked!  

I decided to leave the white pretty much as is on my ring finger, but just add a couple of studs.

I used my dotting tool, and studs I bought online. I put a layer of topcoat on my nail, then gently wiped my dot tool across the topcoat brush to get a small amount of topcoat on the tip and then used to that pick up and place my studs.

Simple but very effective looking.  :)

Next I did a striping tape mani.. I cut small pieces of my tape up, and placed them in the pattern I wanted on my nails.

I then painted Cosmos over the top, and then while it was still wet, gently peeled the tape off.  I waited a while to do the topcoat, to be sure it was completely dry.

On my pinkie i decided to do a fan mani.. I have done one of these before and loved the look.  

I put a couple of drops of Cosmos on a old plate I have just for this reason, and then gently dipped the very ends of the fan brush in it.  

It's better to use too little than too much. You can always go back over it if need be.  Then just swipe the brush softly from the edge to the center of your nails, on both sides. Repeat until you have the look you want.  Easy Peasy!  ;)

For my last nail I did a gradient using Blogger.. I know some people like to use cotton buds for their gradients, but I cant seem to get that to work.. lol  So I just wiped most of the glitter off the brush, then started applying a small amount of polish a few mm's up from the cuticle all the way to the end of the nail. Let that dry, then starting a couple of mm's up from that applied another light layer. Keep going until you run out of nail.  ;)

Here is the finished result!

I am so happy with how this turned out!

You can find Picture Polish at...

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·         Also all nail art creations go into the running to be chosen to create a collaboration shade with Picture Polish, launched in 2014.
·         There are 3 awards that will be voted and chosen as follows via the special Pinterest Blog Fest 2013 board:
·         1 x Award - as voted by PP friends and fans.
·         1 x Award  - as voted by all participants of Blog Fest 2013.

·         1 x Award - as voted by Jules & Megs of Picture Polish.

Most questions about postage are answered on their shipping page.

For details on where to buy Picture Polish outside of Australia go to their network page. 

Also, be sure to check out their Everyday Deals!!

Thank you so much to Picture Polish for letting me be a part of this awesome event!  :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Pitter Patter...

Yay!  Congratulations to Will and Kate (AKA the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) on the birth of their baby boy! Can't wait to find out what the name is!

I have had a very special polish saved for this very occasion.. Pitter Patter from Butter London.   This gorgeous opaque purple shimmer is a limited edition lacquer created for the royal baby, so of course, I had to have it!  Its available in US only, but I was lucky enough to be involved in a group buy in my Aussie nails group, so quite a few of us managed to get a bottle.  It's still available to buy here.

I adore this shade of purple!  

For an accent nail I used Femme Fatale Edge of the Cosmos.. just cause it was sitting right by me on the table, and looked like it matched.  lol  This is my first Femme Fatale polish, and it definitely wont be my last last.  Stars, moons, purple.. its all good! This pic does not do it justice, it's much more holo-ey and sparkly in person.

Thanks for reading!

Got Teal? I sure do!

Hey all!

Well it's happened.. I have caught the DIY nail decal bug!  They are so cute and super easy!

Basically what you do is get a plastic baggie, or some baking paper, and paint squares of nail polish on them. Make sure they are opaque, so a polish that is opaque in no more than 2 coats is best, as you don't want them too thick.  I realized after these are too small.. next time I will make my squares about 3 cms or a bit bigger.

Wait for them to dry.. and this is the hard part, for me anyway as I have no patience.. lol   I found it best to do them at night, then go to bed and let them dry overnight. That way I wasn't checking them every 2 seconds to see if they were dry.  ;)

Once they are dry, I run one side of my tweezers under one edge of the polish to separate from my baggie (or baking paper if that's what you use) and gently lift it up.  Use a craft punch (can be bought at most craft stores) to to punch out the shapes you want.  And voilà!  DIY nail decals!

I put on my base coat, waited until it was dry than a layer of my top coat, placed my decals and then waited a few minutes before adding another layer of top coat.   I love how these look!

My base and decal colour is Ulta3 Get Teal, and my accent nail colour is LOL (Kmart brand) In The Deep. I was quite impressed with the Kmart polish and will definitely be getting more!

I did not come up with this idea.  I used a combo of tutorials from DQN, Ten Little Nubs and Oh My Gosh Polish.

Have you ever made your own nail decals?

YOU by Terry White

Hi all!

Sorry I have been a bit slack in posting, it's school holidays here and haven't had much spare time.

Today I have another gorgeous YOU by Terry White polish to share with you. This is shade #17. 

I really wish they would give their polishes proper names!

I love a good purple polish, and this is right up there on my list!  Shade #17 has small purple and blue glitter in a purple  base.  I adore blue and purple combos in nail polish, it works really well together!

You by Terry White can be purchased online here, or at your local Terry White Chemist. 

Gelogic Day 2

Hi all!

Day 2 of my Gelogic mani test. No chips, and still nice and shiny.  There is some minute tip wear on one finger, but probably only noticeable by me lol   But the odd thing is, looking at these pics I have noticed some odd looking 'cracks' in the purple polish!  Can't see it looking at the mani in person, maybe cause the black and white glitter is covering it?   If that wasn't on there I think it would be alot more noticeable.

I was going to try to keep this mani on as long as possible to test the wear, but honestly now that I have seen those cracks in the pics, they are bothering me. Even though I really can't see them in person, I know they are there!  lol

Gelogic Test: day 1

Hello peoples!

Today I am doing something a little different.   I have a super busy weekend coming up, and will not have time to change my polish.  So I have decided to do a test of some Gelogic 'No UV Needed' gel polish I bought recently.  I grabbed one polish in Deep Purple, and the titanium top coat.

I love the purple, dried super quickly and its so shiny, even without top coat.

Of course I had to add some black and white glitter, its my new obsession.  ;)

I then put on the topcoat, which is lovely as well. Dries fast, super shiny. All the things I need in a top coat. 

So it has been just under 24 hours since I did this mani, I will post pics again tomorrow.. here's hoping it lasts a few days!

Dance Legend TermoTrio #1

Hello lovelies!

Hope everyone has had a great week. My 'baby' turned 9 on Wednesday, so I am still recovering from that. Wasn't he only a baby just a few weeks ago?  That's how it seems to me anyway.  ;)

I have an amazing polish to show you today..  Dance Legend TermoTrio #1.  

This polish changes color depending on temperature. From dark purple (cold) to light purple/pinkish  (lukewarm) to light blue (warm).  I could not stop looking at this polish to see what colour it was, and even spent a good 15 minutes running my nails under cold water to make them all dark purple, then letting then change back slowly.  lol

*Outside photos*

*Indoor photos*

The only problem I had with this polish was the formula.. its not great.  First coat was very patchy and sheer. I did the second coat a bit thicker and it seemed to fix it up. Also, this polish dries matte so unless you like that look, you need a top coat. 

Oh and accent nails are a custom polish from Love Thy Polish called Black Star Supernova. I am addicted to black and white glitter toppers at the moment, so the lovely Emma from LTP made me my very own and even put some black stars in it!  Do love!

Dance Legends are a Russian brand, and can be bought at http://www.dance-legend.com/en/ .

Have you ever tried a colour changing polish?