Abstract Neon Brushstroke Mani - LNTC

*** Update:  I passed! ***


Hey y'all!

So as this posts, I am setting off on my practical driving exam... for which I'll post an update once it's done, but if you're reading this between 10-12 GMT on Feb 26, 2014... wish me some luck!  That said, today's nails are all about the Llama Nails Technique Challenge: Brushstroke Mani.  The brushstroke mani automatically lends itself to abstract designs, so I added a neon theme in the secondary color scheme, and here is the result:

Pink and Grey skittles - TPTC

Hey y'all!

Can I just tell you guys how grateful I am that this is the last of the pink/grey/brown Tri-Polish Tuesday weeks?  In March we move on to purple/blue/green, and that is SO much more to my liking.  Thankfully VD month coincided with the pink so that gave me a few timely excuses, but man, this was definitely a challenging set of colors!

The concept for this design actually only ended up being represented on one nail - my ring finger - and it came from a pillow pattern that I saw on Pinterest.  Each nail kind of evolved on its own after that, and well... the result is skittlemania!

Tag: My OH Does My Nails, or, Mr. Faff Faffs About

Hey y'all!

I've got a totally fun tag today that is presented by the British Nail Bloggers (you know, the group responsible for British Nail Bloggers Get Rubbed and other such wacky tags).  Charlie from Pocket Money Polishes had the idea to mutilate the "My Boyfriend Does My Makeup" tag into something that we nail bloggers could do for fun, and thus the "My Other Half (OT) Does My Nails" was born.

Initially, I was hesitant to even suggest it to Mr. Faff, because he rarely likes being anywhere near me when I'm doing my nails, as the smells affect his asthma, but it came up in conversation and he actually seemed interested!  He decided he wanted to do Liverpool colors and dots, and here is the result:

Guest post for FingerFood

Hey y'all!

I'm guest posting today over at Finger Food!  Go check it out!

Here's a sneaky peeky of what I got up to:

Hope you're having a great day!

Hey Swatch It! Models Own Beetlejuice

Hey y'all!

As promised, I'm really trying to work through my stack of untrieds and get them swatched and up here for you to see.  Since my stack of Models Own was really starting to get out of control with the addition of the new HyperGels, I decided I should get my older ones out of the way, so today I have swatches of the Beetlejuice collection Indian Ocean and Hayley's Comet.  I was so blown away by these that I couldn't help myself and wound up doing some perception-blowing nail art with them, but let's save that for the end.

Shown:  one coat of Hayley's Comet and four coats of Indian Ocean, both topped with SV.

Bend ahead: GOT Polish Chevrons

Hey y'all!

It's time for another round of TBT with the Golden Oldies Thursday Polish Challenge.  This week's theme is chevrons!  Since I'm still deeply embroiled in getting my driving test passed, I can think of no other interpretation of chevron than as a road sign.  So that's what you get.  Road chevrons.

You can't scare-a-beetle - LNTC Stamped Nails

Hey y'all!

This week's theme for the technique for the Llama Nails Technique Challenge is stamped nails.  That's a pretty open-ended prompt, so I figured I could have some fun with it.  My final look is remarkably similar to wallpaper with a ginormous bug on it, but that's okay.

Playing with my furry marbles - TPTC

Hey y'all!

Welcome back to three consecutive days of nail art challenges!  Tri-Polish Tuesday starts us off with another installment of the pink, brown, and grey prompt.  This week I chose three muted shades and decided to add a little texture to the party.

#2014BloggerChallenge: High End vs High Street

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Hey y'all!

This week, Gaby has challenged us to talk about high end products versus high street products.  For my American readers, "high street" roughly translates to "drug store" in terms of cosmetics and beauty supplies. This prompt really is a challenge for me, because I basically only own one high-end product (but more on that further down in the post).  I've always found success working with my drug store brands, and I don't believe in fixing something that works, right?  So rather than do a comparison type post, I thought maybe I'd list a few of the brands and lines that I love.

Hey, Swatch it! Chubby Owl Polishes

Hey y'all!

So yesterday was the dreaded VD, and I did the most romantic thing I could think of for my hubby - I went and had my annual "girly bits" exam, but I'm not the only one who did.  One of my dear friends back home also goes for her annual with her sister, and they both have mammograms done.  Nobody likes to talk about it, but it's important that you find a date that you can remember each year to get yourself screened, because female cancers are a huge killer and they can definitely be caught early with routine screening.  Are you overdue for yours?

With all that out of the way, let's move on to what you really came for - the polishes.  I've got two beautiful lacquers to show you from another UK Indie - this time it's Chubby Owl.  As you may remember, I've made it a mission to try a new indie each month and I could not be happier that Chubby Owl is this month's selection.  Everything was shipped very neatly while still being pretty, and Jemma even included a sucker for me, which of course made my day, because it's the little things.

How adorable is that logo?  I mean, seriously...

Happy VD!

Hey y'all!

So, VD, we meet again.  No, not a social disease - Valentine's Day, of course!  Arguably the most mixed-feeling holiday of the calendar, I've long had a love/hate relationship with today's commercialized guilt-trip towards both those who are in relationships and those who aren't.  If you're in a relationship, there's all this pressure to be romantic (and we all know how sexy it is to feel obligated to show affection), and if you're single, there's little escaping the signs all around that everyone in the universe has someone EXCEPT YOU!  It's crap and you're danged either way.

However, I suppose if there's any place on earth where you're allowed to be a little girly, it's in nail art, so I tried to put together a Valentine's Day manicure that wasn't too pink and frilly while still containing some feminine, romantic elements and likewise commemorating today's festivities. I also really wanted to try to make a gradient with Rimmel's Space Dust collection (which was a mess, as you'll see) - so may I present to you the results.

Valentine's Hearts Argyle - GOT Polish Thursday

Hey y'all!

I'm back in the GOT Polish Challenge this week with a new take on the argyle pattern using polishes that are all over a year old, and in at least one case, probably about 10 years old.  The theme this week is Valentine's Day, so I've adapted the typical diamond shape in argyle and replaced it with hearts!

Electric Cotton Candy (Faery Floss)

Hey y'all!

I'm back with another new technique, courtesy of the Techniques Challenge presented by Llama Nails.  This week our prompt was Sugar Spun Mani, so I created a candy-coated look with three bright colors. 

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Nails!

Hey y'all!

It's Tuesday, so I'm back with another Tri-Polish Challenge mani.  If you'd forgotten, February's colors are brown, pink, and grey.  Since it's Valentine's week, I thought there'd be no better chance to make some chocolate dipped strawberries on my nails!

Hey Swatch It! Quirk Polish Peace Is Free

Hey y'all!

I'm back with another UK Indie from Quirk Polish!  This beauty is called Peace Is Free, and originally I wasn't going to swatch it because we thought it was being discontinued.  However, Kerrie just announced that she had a miracle supply for one more batch!

#2014BloggerChallenge - Where the Red Fern Grows

Hey y'all!

We're taking a break from nailing again today.  This week, Gaby has challenged us to write about a book, any book, read at any time.  As a fairly voracious reader, this was a difficult one for me because there are so many to choose from.  Ultimately I keep thinking back to one of the books that profoundly affected me as a kid.  I'm going to basically tell the entire plot of the story, not because I'm a fan of spoilers, but because you have to know how the book ends to understand why it affected me so.  Consider this fair warning. 

Llama Nails Technique Challenge: Waterfalls

Hey y'all!

Today brings about the start of a new Llama Nails challenge, this time based on techniques.  I'm really excited about this one, because it will give me a chance to try some techniques that I haven't yet attempted, and an opportunity to perfect some of the ones in which I'm already pretty well-versed.

Tri-Polish Tuesday: Brown, Pink, and Grey Skittlette

Hey y'all!

It's the first week of February and that means a palette swap for Tri-Polish Tuesdays!  As I mentioned before, I'm really racking my brain on this month's palette - Brown, Pink, and Grey.  For me, I can make any two of those colors work together, but all three is definitely... challenging.  Oh, I guess that makes sense now.  Moving on...

Since the rules this year state that you only have to use all three colors once in a month, I figured I would get the hardest bit over with, in case I didn't come up with any other ideas using all three, so I have a skittlette for you!

Mani Monday: Purple Shinies!

Hey y'all!

I like to play on top of my swatches, because it seems like a waste of good polish otherwise.  Yesterday I showed you the gorgeous shade-shifters from the Rimmel Metal Rush line, and this is the nail art I'm wearing on top of it today.

Hey Swatch It! Rimmel Metal Rush

Hey y'all!

I promised you guys I would start making a dent on my untrieds, so consider today step one in fulfilling that promise.  Today I have three polishes to show from Rimmel's Metal Rush collection, which I picked up at B&M during a pre-Christmas sale for about a pound each.  I love multi-chromes, and I love bargains, so I grabbed every shade I could find, and it looks like I only missed one from the collection, a bronzey green-gold shifter called God Save the Queen.  That's a shame, really, as I currently don't have any shifters in that color scheme, but I do love the three I managed to find!  Prepare yourselves, kids... this one's gonna be pic-heavy.

L-R: Royal Blue, Purple Reign, Pearly Queen