Challenge 24 - Metallic

Oooh, Saturday!

I did some housework this morning, & I'm cooking a roast dinner, but I've made time to play with my nails! I have been moisturising them like crazy to try & feel better about battering them with so much polish & acetone.

This morning I got round to doing metallic nails. I've only got one metallic polish, which sounds sad in itself. This is where stamping plates come in use.

This may be the easiest manicure I've ever done! I quite like the results of it too!

I used Sally Hansens Navy Baby as the base, & then Barry M's Gold foil for the stamping. I sealed with a crappy unbranded top coat, & Ta Da! Nail Art!

I will sort out using the lightbox a friend & I cleverly created. I'm terrible at taking photos in the kitchen. Despite my job being a solderer since I was 20, & the fact I love nail art, when it comes to taking photos, my hands do some weird shaking dance.

I'm a bit sad to take this design off, but I am determined to catch up! I have an idea for the next challenge, though it may make me lose my temper.

Time to be a grown up. Must wash up, sort out the roast, wash up, then I shall play again! Woo!

Challenge 22 - Gradient!

HI!

I quite like gradient. I never used to be able to do it, & I hate not being able to, or being told not to do things. I'm far too stubborn for my own good.

Sadly, the batteries on my camera died, & again I'd left it 'til evening so crappy light, still, imagine that the light is great!

I had a shitter of a time doing the clean up. I love Sally Hansen polishes, but they stain my skin BAAAD!

I used SH 'Thinking Of Blue' & "Anenome of mine" Plus Barry M's 'Pomegranate' I then used Cheeky plate CH11 with an unbranded silver polish. I finished up with my Rimmel Matte finish.

I keep saying this, but they really do look better than I'm able to photograph them right now. I am my own worst critic, but I actually like the end result of these.

I do have batteries somewhere, but I tidied, which means they could be anywhere. It's hard taking a photo when you're trying to go as quick as you can because you're being warned the thing is about to die.

If I remember, before I do tomorrow evenings manicure, I'll try & take better photos of this one.

OPI, Red Lights Ahead... Where?

Hi Girls.

Sorry for the absence. My laptop has been naughty, & wont charge, I've managed to get enough charge to do this post, & send an email!

I'm not the biggest fan of Red Nail Polish, but this had more of an orange shade to it. I think Red can look ridiculously sexy on a night out, but for every day wear, meh.

I will say that this polish stains like a bitch. I still have hints of of around my cuticles. *Glare*

My new job has also destroyed my nails, which has given me a bit of a sad face. Going to try & sort them out later if I can find the energy!

Hope you're all okay.

x

2 (good to be) True

Hi girls.

So, as I mentioned, I've got a new job! My nails needed a complete revamp, they were far too long to be able to get through manual work. Now the're short & pretty.

I've decided to use one of my untried polishes today. 2True's Shade no 48. I forgot I even owned this one, a friend passed it onto me not so long ago.

After yesterdays sad swatches, I didn't have my hopes up, this looks gorgeous, but wasn't expecting much:

You can't tell from the photo, but it's very shimmery & a little bit sexy. I put one coat on, & you could barely see anything. Three coats later:

Eeep, it's BEAUTIFUL! I can't put into words how in love I am. 2True is available in Superdrug for only £1,99! That's right, BARGAIN! Move your fingers slightly, & the light picks up tiny bits of glitter. I cannot praise this polish enough. It applied like a dream, dried ridiculously quickly, yet was super easy to clean up.

As I said before, I'm not a fan of plain manicures, so I had to jazz it up even more. I used cheeky plate CH5 & Sally Hansens Lavender cloud.

I still need a bit of practice with the stamper, but I'm pleased with the finish.

Turns out, a happy Kay makes for happy nails! I've had amazing support about the new job, I really have some amazing friends & family. I've pretty much been smiling all day, & a few specific people in particular contributed, they know who they are. :D

Now, I just have to decide what to do for tomorrows weekly challenge. Exciting!

Challenge 12 - Violet Nails.

Hi Girls,

I've sucked this week, sorry for lack of posts. Have you ever had one of those days/weeks where you've just wanted to hide away from the world? That was me this week. There is no real reason for it. My Nan is home from hospital, My Brother is okay. I'm not sure if everything just hit me all at once, but I've hidden away in the bedroom for the majority of the last week. I do my nails in a special area in the living, 'cause I'm special, don't ya know ;-) This meant no manicures whilst hiding.

However, I'm back.

Last weeks challenge was Violet nails. I have not done violet nails. I don't own a violet polish, so I've gone with Purple. I must warn you, this is a rushed job. I wasn't too fussed for this challenge, & I have ideas for the week 13 challenge, so just wanted to go this one done, so I didn't 'Fail.' 

So, not particularly great, but it got this weeks out the way. I think the reason I screwed up the stamping was because it was a bit of a half-arsed manicure. My mind wasn't really in it. Also, where I haven't done anything with my nails this past week, including moisturising, they've really suffered. I've dolloped on an extra lot of moisturiser, & shall make myself carry on from now on. No slacking.

I should be posting something new tomorrow. Maybe. We'll say how I feel tomorrow. :P

New toys make for better Manicures!

Hi Girls!

As I've mentioned previously I did an Amazon wish list after a friend suggested it. My oldest cat has diabetes, & where I'm struggling to find work, we were having a rough time feeding the cats. I put so many cat things on, but as I didn't expect anyone to really pay attention to it, & instead I was using it as more of a list of things I wanted/needed to buy when I had cash, I put pretties on it.

This manicure today is brought to you by some very generous people.

The O.P.I is Austin-Tatious Turquoise. It's gorgeous! I've never owned an O.P.I before. It took a couple of coats, but it was worth it! I used Cheeky CH8 for the accent finger, using Barry Ms Gold foil, incidentally this is the only thing I used in the manicure that I already owned. I then used Seche Vite topcoat. I'm not sure how I managed without this. It's amazing!

Finally, an amazing friend of mine bought me a camera! She gave me a link to add to my wishlist & bought it. I still cannot believe it. It's amazing. I'm still trying to think up a name for it. This means better quality photos! This is my first time using it, & I'm obviously still learning, so the photos will improve, but considering this is what it can do when I have NO idea what I'm doing I can't wait to see what I manage to come up with.
So a MASSIVE shout out to my friend (she knows who she is) I love you big time you sexy thang!

So as you can see, we have been more than spoiled. There are some AMAZING people in the world, & I'd like to do inappropriate things to every single one of them.

Cheeky Stamping Plates Review

Hi Girls!

One of the things I received off the wish list was a set of Cheeky Stamping Plates. I've used Konad plates before, but they all had tiny images on. There are 26 plates in a small box, which is pretty cute, & were each protected by cellophane. There were quite a few full nail designs, which I couldn't wait to get stuck into.

I have to confess straight away, I'm not great at stamping. By the time I'd gotten to my middle finger, I'd got the hand of it. My thumb & forefinger leave little to be desired, but I stress this is not the product at fault, S'all me! Thankfully, I'm not reviewing myself.

 As you can see, I did start with a different design to begin with, & didn't do it right, instead of starting again, I wanted to see what it looked like with the squiggles on top. I got my answer, it doesn't look great.

 Yes, I am messy.

There is more than enough design for the nail. I'm just still learning how to get the hang of it. So if you're a stamper beginner, then you can see how easy it is to do. I little bit of patience 7 practice & I think this could be beautiful.

I'd even go as far to say I much prefer these plates to my Konad ones. I find it much easier to transfer the design from the plate to the stamper.

If you have a tenner to spare, I would definitely recommend getting this set. I wish my set had who send them to me from my wish list, as I'd love to say Thankyou.

Feeling Navy

Hi, Girls!

I have not had a good Nail day. Everything I tried went tits up. I really want to do the Fishtail Braids, but it would not work. I tried Geometric & it wouldn't go my way, so instead I jut tried out my new Navy Baby by Sally Hansen. I have used it before, but not a a main colour.

I'm feeling very tired & down, so I just wanted to do something really simple so I wouldn't go to bed with naked nails. Really hope I'm not coming down with something!

Along with Navy Baby, I used Barry Ms Peach Melba,Rimmel Matte top coat & finished off with a stamping.

I don't know why, but all Sally Hansens stain my skin. No amount of acetone or warm soapy water will clean it up. I will admit I did a bit of a half arsed job of the clean up. I really must invest in a lamp so I can actually see what I'm doing. The light my living room gives off, my skin actually looks completely clean with no staining at all. It wasn't until I uploaded the photos I saw it, so please forgive me & blame my flat for poor lighting.

Tomorrow I have to move everything in the flat about. We moved here nearly two years ago from a bigger place, & most of our stuff has been at the boyfriends Sisters. We're getting it all back Tuesday! It's making me want to cry. On one hand, I can't wait to get our goodies back, on the other, I have no room!!!

So I'm not sure if I'll get to do a post tomorrow. Depends if I end up in tears & need to take a break from finding non existent space!

Wish me luck!

x

Sunday Morning Laziness.

When I say Sunday morning, I mean ridiculously early Sunday morning. It's chilly, so I came out to the living room, Boyfriend put on Doctor Who & I played with my nails.

As I've said before, I really want to perfect the Gradient technique, so what better time than the very early hours of the morning.

I'm very bad at choosing colours which work well together. I've looked at other blogs & so many colour seem to work, but when I try it, it never goes to plan. Still, My Mother taught me never to give up, so on I plod.

This time I went with an unbranded Pink, Rimmels Grey Matter, & an unbranded Black. I didn't know if they would work, but I don't think it went too bad considering.

I was given the advice to make my photos bigger, which I think looks amazing, sadly it shows even more I need to work on my cleaning up. I'm also looking at making a lightbox after another suggestion given to me.You guys have honestly been amazing. 

I still need a lot of work, but I'm quite proud of these. I don't think the colours look too bad. Where I used a White base colour, it almost looks like I used four colours.  My actually technique is a bit crap. I dislike how you can see the sponge-y marks still, but I'm guessing over time I will figure it out, (Unless some lovely people can give me some tips?)

I definitely need to sort out my extensions. They need infilling, plus the ones that have lasted the longest are the ones I did first. You can tell this in the photo above where I still hadn't figured it all out, & the extension is actually too big for that specific nail. Oops!

Of course, I was on a roll, so I thought What the Hell, Let's play with my stamper too. I've only used it a couple of times, as to be honest, I'm not great at it. I can't get the placement right, which is quite annoying, especially seeing other girls using it with amazing results.Again, practice, practice, practice:

I think I may have ruined he manicure doing this, but it was still fun to play. I'm in a total nail playing mood, which is bad for 0400hrs. Must go to bed, not clean off & star more playing! Naughty Kay!

Catch you laters,

X

I'm Blue Da Ba Dee Da Ba Die...

Good Morning!

I ended up in bed all day yesterday, which seems to have done me a bit of good, as the Kay!Flu (As it is medically known) is feeling a bit better. Unfortunately, it also means I am pretty much nocturnal right now. Not much to do during they night, so yay for Nail Art.

I just want to point out, I cheat. My nails have never been strong. I've tried for years to get them in a decent condition, even refraining from painting them for a couple of years. I've tried every trick in the book, & nothing has worked. So now I wear UV gel extensions. I know, not going to be helping my nails at all. I love longer nails though, I have tiny hands, which also mean tiny, yet chubby fingers. Longer nails make my whole hand look much prettier. I do my own extensions, but I've only been learning since just after Christmas, so as you can see from photos, my nails don't always look 'normal' I've also got some growth, which I need to fix. hopefully it's not too noticeable.

I went into New Look Monday, & they had some polishes on sale. To be honest, I was expecting much from it. It was quite pretty, but it was only a pound, which don't always mean good quality. I do love being surprised though.

I wanted to play with my Konad set again, & came up with this:

As I've said in a previous post, even if I'm not happy, I'll post a photo anyway. I'm still learning, so what better way to see how I improve than to have photographic proof. I love the base coat, it's so pretty & only took two coats. 

I've obviously still got a lot to learn when it comes to stamping. I definitely need to work on my placement, & not worry too much about it drying too quickly. I also have to make sure I scape all excess off the plate, otherwise, as you can see on my ring finger, it will go on the stamp, & then go onto the nail. Very annoying. Still, it is such a quick and easy way to jazz up your design. 

Everyone needs to get a kit, even if it is just a starter kit.

I do have a question for fellow bloggers. Clean ups. I see so many blogs where the clean up is beautiful. I currently use Pure acetone & a cotton bud, but I don't seem to be very successful. If anyone has any advice, I would appreciate it a lot. 

I have my next post lined up, this whole blizzard thing England has going on is keeping me in the house, but giving me plenty of time to play with my nails.

Catch you laters.

x

Konad Stamping!

One of the first things I discovered when I first got into Nail Art, looking at blogs, Konad was a big thing. I was desperate to get my hands on a kit, but due to not having pennies, I wasn't able to play.

For Christmas, my Boyfriends Brother got me an Amazon voucher, and after a month of umm'ing & aww'ing, I went for a starter kit.

I was literally like a little girl when it came, it's so diddy & pretty:

It also came with some Rhinestones, however I was a little disappointed that they didn't come in their own tub it's loose in the plastic with a sticker covers so as to stop them escaping, so they're not in the following photo:

It's so shiny & pretty. The nail varnishes that came with it are the tiniest bottles I have ever seen, but to be honest, paying around the £8 mark, I wasn't expecting a lot. Luckily, you aren't limited to only using Konad Polishes. 

I still have my Orange Butterfly nails on from yesterday, & really didn't want to remove them just yet. I still wanted to play, so my friend, Megan stepped up to the challenge of being my model. 

It's so much easier than I thought it would be. It took a couple of attempts to get the stamper to pick up the design, but that was just trial & error. Once I figured out to roll the stamper on the plate there was no trouble.

Megan decided on a purple base & we went for gold for the print. Sticking with my Butterfly theme I have going, we went for a little one, these are the results:

Please excuse the lack of tidying up. I had a go, but I'm a lot sicker than yesterday, & my lungs were having none of it, so Megan took over on the clean up. Lovely girl,  but blind as a bat. It is a New Years Resolution of mine to make sure I do a proper clean up, but I'm hoping you forgive me this once. 

I love the little design, it's so delicate & yummy. The Barry M Gold foil worked beautifully. I'm not particularly keen on the base coat, but it's not me that has to wear them, so I cant really complain about that too much. (Still can't help focusing on the mess around the nail!)

I can't wait to experiment more, & have plenty of ideas, but not enough hands to play with, so it will be periodically.

I was also very naughty, & got myself a Matte top coat. Seriously, so many ideas. Looking forwad to sharing them with you.

Catch you laters!

x