Wednesday, 15 October 2014

Metallic Wood Grain nail art

Hey y'all!

Happy humpday to all!  Today's nail art look takes a decidedly different turn.  I really wanted to play with creating a stamping gradient.  This is where you blend different polishes on the stamping plate as you swipe, so that your resulting image blends smoothly from one color to the next.  My results on this attempt were subtle, but I think the metallic wood grain makes a really cool effect.

Metallic wood grain nail art using the stamping gradient technique.

Monday, 13 October 2014

60s Mod Negative Space nail art

Hey y'all!

Happy Monday everyone!  We're almost halfway through October and this is normally where I would start getting really excited about Halloween, but unfortunately I have no fabulous fun plans this year (or last year, for that matter).  The British don't celebrate All Hallows Eve the same way we do it up in the US - but it's always been my favorite holiday, so at least I can celebrate on my nails.  This week's themes for the Pick-n-Mix challenge are the 60s and matte or texture.  I worked really hard on a design that would encompass all of those themes, and came up with this kind of funky look, which I can tell you unequivocally, Mr. Faff *hated*.  I'll let you be the final judge.

Nail art based on a 1960s mod theme, featuring negative space patterns and purple studs.

Saturday, 11 October 2014

Hey Swatch It: Laquerlicious In Like Flynn

Hey y'all!

As part of my recent clearance haul on Rainbow Connection UK I picked up a couple of gorgeous polishes from another new-to-me brand, Laquerlicious.  Today I want to show you this ultra-cool creation, In Like Flynn.

Swatch of Laquerlicious In Like Flynn.

Friday, 10 October 2014

Matted oxblood flakies nail art

Hey y'all!

Wow... looking at the date today, and I'm instantly transported back in time four years, when I made my first trans-Atlantic trip with two girlfriends on our first big-girl vacation to Ireland.  We spent 10 days touring and eating and drinking and it was hands-down my favorite vacation of all time.  To commemorate the trip, we all got matching shamrock tattoos dated 10-10-10.  There's no point to that story, really - I just felt like sharing it.  LOL.  Today I have a nail art look created for the Inspire Me Nails group challenge prompt: Unusual, Untried, Unloved.  I've created a matted oxblood nail with flakies.

Matted nail art look of flakies over oxblood polish.

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

Black and White and Pink All Over

Hey y'all!

Happy Humpday! October is turning up to be a sort of surreal month for me.  It's a little too personal to share with the whole wide world, but suffice it to say that I'm going through some growing pains as an epat and as a wife.  I haven't been participating much lately with the Axis of Ineptitude, mostly because I just haven't felt like "writing," and the writing I have been doing is all nail stuff.  The "nail stuff" has pretty much consumed the last couple months for me.  I've thrown myself in to creating as much content as possible and for a few weeks there, I was posting new content 6 times a week!  That's an incredible pace, which I cannot maintain, so I'm slowing it down and will be trying to regulate my posting to Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday.  That should be 3 days of nail art during the week, and swatching on Saturday.  I think that's a liveable pace and shouldn't rattle me too badly.  Today, I'm tying in to two different prompts - one for the Pick-n-Mix challenge, and one for the Axis, so I'll start by showing you the nail art, and then I'll do some faffing at the end for those who want to read it.

Gradiated mani in shades of black, grey, and white, and three different pinks, with a dotted gradient accent and black and white confetti glitter.