31 day challenge..day 31 ..recreate someone elses mani

I can't believe we are on our last day of the challenge, it is so sad as i have had a blast taking part!

But here we are and today's final prompt was to redo someone elses mani from earlier in the challenge.  I chose to do Heathers puzzle nails in support of autistic children.  I think she did a fantastic job at a really fun and poineint design.  You can find Heather at peace, love and polish she has a great blog which i highly recommend you checking out.  

I hope you guys have enjoyed this challenge...i know  i have....but onto the next one as of tomorrow!!  I have some really great things coming up....stay tuned my lovelies! xxxxx

Picture Polish Splash

I have been so busy recently working on the 31 day challenge (which i have enjoyed lots) but i have really missed wearing polish as it is..if you know what i mean...half the time i have one perfectly manicured hand and another totally different with nail art on lol.  So today i thought i would show you guys Splash from Picture Polish.

I cannot tell you how excited i was to be able to buy this polish...and from a FAB new shop called Sally Magpies (visit her store here)...i believe Sally is the first online shop in the UK to sell the likes of Picture Polish, it is just so exciting to be able to buy them from here so its well worth a look ladies! ;) 

So back to business...splash....a wonderful name for a simply stunning polish.  My love affair continues to grow with PP with every one i try.  The application of this polish is flawless...no need to be dabbing the glitter on as you do some..it flows off the brush like butter! 

Splash is set in a clear base with BEAUTIFUL bright dazzling blue medium and small hex glitter.  I would say this is a layering polish..perfect for creating your own 'sandwhich' effect with a whole host of colours which would work beautifully.  I chose to layer this over OPI dating a royal.

I loved the contrast of the glitter on this base, it really makes the glitters pop...just stunning!  Dry time is super fast and this is not a topcoat eater like many glitters...ONE coat of seche vite and i am smooth baby!  Picture Polish is a brand i will fall in love a bit more (keep an eye out for Monroe, o hara and kryptonite which i have now in my greedy hands lol) xxxx

31 day challenge..day 30..your favourite technique

Hello my pretties.  Todays prompt is our favourite nail art technique....this was a no brainer for me to be honest.  My fave technique is hands down freehand art.  Before i start i must give a HUGE thank you to my beautiful daughter for taking these pictures for me..i had the hardest time trying to capture them...she is only 12 years old and has a real talent for photography!

When i first started this blog back in the beginning of September i really hadn't attempted to do more than polkas...the very idea that i would be attempting to do designs i am trying through this challenge would have sent me running into the hills!  When i decided i wanted to try nail art i was so unconfident i rushed straight out and bought a Konad kit with stacks upon stacks of plates...from konad to bundle monster.

As it turnes out i truly have hardly used them, i have practised at every opportunity with my freehand and found a true love for it like i never imagined!!  For todays idea it is once again inspired by the awesome Robin Moses.  

I saw this kind of geisha design on her blog and i knew i wanted to try it!  I love the geisha girls, they are so pretty and delicate and feminine, i have always wanted to do something like this!  I even tried the newspaper Japanese print which didn't turn out as good (purely because it wasn't newspaper i used but the ink from a envelope sent from Japan!  

My design is very different to Robins...as always i love love love her ideas but i try and use them for inspiration and try and pop my own ideas in there to! I hope you guys like this and i will see you tomorrow for the final instalment in the 31 day challenge before i move onto the next one! xxxx

31 Day Challenge...day 29 inspired by a blogger 101 dalmatians

The end is nigh my dear friends..we are now onto day 29 and i am genuinely sad this challenge is coming to a close...i suppose i should quit at the end of this challenge but i love them so much i am taking part in a February one to.  I love these challenges because they allow so much scope to try things you never thought you could do or ever would do.

Todays challenge is to be inspired by a fellow blogger.  Now let me say this straight away, i found this incredibly hard as i follow many amazing bloggers out there, i am inspired by each and everyone i follow so i feel super mean only picking one.  I have decided to recreate this mani by Kristine at Pink and Polished.  

She did this a few days ago now and i just had to tell her how fab i thought it was...also that i wanted to join in her Disney Days challenge to lol (i know..i just cant stop lol).  Her version (and much better!) can be seen here.  I am blown away by her manicure and was so excited i could do one of my own.

I am a huge dog fan...i love them so much and this remains one of my fave Disney films....i wish i could keep this mani on for ages but another challenge awaits me.  Thank you to the lovely and talented Kristine for inspiring me to try this as i never thought i could have done it..who would have know Mimi can!  xxxx

HELP IS NEEDED! pretty please xxx

Hey ladies, i am after some help if you can.  The beautiful Maria from Nailnation has been through an awful trauma today when her lovely daughter was carjacked at gunpoint....this is her message on fb:

EVERYONE TODAY UNFORTUNATELY My daughter was carjacked at gun point. She is ok now but now has no way to get anywhere with the baby or to work. I am going to offer every polish I make except shine on me at 11.00 flat for the next few days so I can maybe help her. Please pray that this man gets caught he gas her house keys and address and said he would kill her so pray police catch up with him soon. Thanks for all the support you have all given me and my brand and I truly appreciate you all

Please can anyone who can afford a cheeky polish pop along and help her out...not only will you be helping an amazing lady and her family but you will be owning a stunning polish!!!  you can find the link here at her fb page xxxxx

31 day challenge day 28...inspired by your favorite colour

Hello my beauties, and here is day 28...boooooo its almost over, blimey this month has gone quickly!!

Now i apologise in advance but i have cheated today (*hides face with shame*) i am recycling an older post of mine as i have been so busy  today and i am beet!  So i have decided to give my older design an airing what with it being Superbowl weekend in America.

I am showing you my New York Giants nails i did for my hubby as he is a huge fan...and even though they didn't make the SB, its all good....plus they are red and blue...my 2 most favourite colours!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a very special mani.....inspired by a blogger is the theme...hmmmm i am looking forward to this! xxx

31 day challenge day 27..inspired by me

Day 27 and this mani is inspired by me.

This prompt is one that should have filled me with enthusiam to do, but its to hard to sum up what i am!

I asked my daughter Lucy locket what she thought i should do and she said i should do flowers because i love flowers an i am a ray of sunshine..awww isnt she a sweetheart?! 

So i did a floral mani.  I wish i could have the time to redo something else but i just didnt have a clue on this one ;)

See you guys tomorrow xxxx

31 day challenge day 26..inspired by your country

Yay, today brings you nails inspired by your country , and here are me sporting the very best of British!

It's a funny old thing with us brits, we will happily moan about our country but when we have special occasions here the euphoria brings us together so much and we all realise just how amazing it is to be British!  the UK had an amazing year last year with the Olympics and the Queens Jubilee and this year we have a new little royal on the way from the beautiful William and Kate.  I hope it gives this country the welcome boost we all need in this economic climate!

Thinking about how i would interpret my great country onto my nails was hard, there are so many wonderful things i could have done, all things that make this one of the best places in the world.  I chose to do a London themed manicure because i live quite close to the capital, for those who havent been, it is an amazing city with so much history, buzz and excitement...i must admit i find it quite daunting when i visit!  The possibiites for inspiration are endless!

How could i not include our British flag? an iconic telephone box (which didn't go as well as i wanted to..i almost turned it into a bus!) the royal guards, a skyline of London and the royal crown.

I am very proud of this mani...it turned out better than i thought it would and it also turned out to be one of my fastest designs i have done!

As always i hope you guys like them...please do look through the other girlies and see other great country inspired manis! xxxx

31 day challenge day 25...inspired by my chidhood

Hello lovelies.....day 25 brings you 'inspired by your childhood'   Chrikey what could i do...i swayed from strawberries because it reminds me of fruit picking with my amazing mum, caravans because it reminds me of our camping holidays when i was younger (and found a love for nice hotels lol.  Then i remembered the care bears.....

I loved these as a child...i was always a real girlie girl, forever with a doll in my hand and watching the likes of she ra and the care bears!

I was kind of disappointed how these turned out, i  have had a banging headache for the last couple of days and have been told i need to wear glasses for my nail art so i have been a little 'off' and my detail isn't as good as i would have liked.

But hey ho here they are...hopefully tomorrow will be better...until then.....xx

31 day challenge..day 24 inspired by a game

Oh this challenge has gone so quick so far...i am going to miss it when its finished!  But here we are, day 24 and we have been asked to be inspired by a game.  I really wanted to do monopoly, but i just knew a lot of the girls would be doing it, and you know me, i like to break the mold a little.

So today my inspiration is from the Playstation game Buzz..Monster Rumble.

We have had many many happy hours playing this game as a family...i love it!

I love the cute monsters, they make me chuckle!

I used Nina Pro black and various acrylic paints for the design.  I hope you guys enjoy this..see you tomorrow xxx

OPI Liquid Sand Collection

I cannot tell you how much i have been dying for this collection, ever since i saw the press release agggges ago i HAD to have them. I am a huge Mariah fan...more back in the day than i am now.  She is a legend in my eyes...ahhh music box remains one of my fave albums.  So of course i needed these! I kept going on at my beauty supplier here in the UK and they promised to phone me as soon as they had them....huraah i got the call yesterday before they even unpacked them, within the hour i was there with my liquid sands in my hands!


Before i move onto the swatches i am going to say a foreword about all 4 of these polishes so i don't repeat myself.  All 4 i found were on the thick side, not unworkable by any means though.  They were all fantastic coverage...2 coaters, but i used 3.  Dry time was definitely longer on these, but not silly dry time.  Now onto the swatches, i have shown you both without top coat and with top coat.  

GET YOUR NUMBER.  Omg what can i say, this is the one i was most excited about and the one that blew me away.  My pictures can never do this justice!  Without the topcoat the effect is one i adore, its matte and sparkly at the same time, its just wow!  Worn alone this is a lot lighter in colour, the holographic glitters sparkle against the grittiness.  Add a topcoat and it completely changes the look of the polish....a deep beautiful blue where the holo comes to life...all traces of the 'sand' gone...absolutely stunning.  This is without a doubt my favourite of the collection and will go down as one of my must haves for this year!

THE IMPOSSIBLE.  Yup this name does this polish justice...impossible to capture accurately on my camera.  I cant decide if this is red or pink..each leans slightly toward each other to be honest.  What ever colour it is, it sure is pretty but a bitch to capture!  This polish has hex glitter and star glitter in the mix but be warned the stars cling crazy to  the sides, i had to swirl my long nail art brush around the sides...even then i struggled to find the stars (they are in there but refused to get on my brush!).  When a topcoat was applied it didn't change the overall look half as much as the GYN.

CANT LET GO.  Awww one of my favourite songs!  This is the purple glitter number of the bunch, very very pretty with cute purple shiny hex glitter.  This one reminded of GTN by the way it dried, very pretty and just had this little something else that makes it stand out.  With topcoat, again the polish was transformed into a deeper more vibrant purple..again it turned smooth as a button with generous topcoat.  Totally stunning polish!

STAY THE NIGHT.  Now for the surprise of the bunch.  I have seen pics of this polish and didn't think i would like it very much, i only really bought it because i wanted to own the set.  I loved it in the bottle...stunning doesn't come close...i knew i would love this top coated...i had seen the pictures so it wasn't a surprise to me, but i didn't expect to like it worn alone...i did!  This is definitely a unique polish and in the flesh i think it looks so much better than my camera could do.  This is a black polish with super beautiful fuchsia contrasting glitter.  It is such a beautiful combination, one that i didn't think would work so well but so does!  Topcoat completely transforms it into a glossy vampy stunner. 

So there we have it!  Opi in my opinion have totally outdone themselves here.  The liquid sands are not something i have seen before with any other textured polish, let alone be as pretty even without topcoat... can only hope they show the same imagination for upcoming collections.  Even when these nails were totally dry they didn't feel half as gritty as they look and removal wasn't as bad as anticipated.  My favourite is no surprise, get your number is my pick of the collection....but each are in their own right worthy of a place in my beautiful collection!