Revlon Facets of Fuscia

This polish has been out for while, but I only recently decided to purchase it - I love glitter polishes but rarely wear them because I change my nails so often and glitters are an absolute PAIN to remove! Revlon Facets of Fuchsia looked too lovely to pass up though! Revlon seem to be making a habit out of duping Deborah Lippmann polishes, with Facets of Fuchsia widely regarded as a dupe for Bad Romance, and their recent release Revlon Whimsical bearing an uncoincidental resemblance to Deborah Lippmann's Glitter in the Air!

Although I realise it must be irritating (to say the least) to large luxury polish brands to have their colours duped, I am glad that the Revlon equivalents are available because they are a fraction of the price - it makes them more accessible to everyone! On one hand, I wish Revlon would stop doing it, to save Deborah Lippmann's brand integrity, but on the other hand LOTS OF PINK GLITTER ON MY NAILS THAT DIDN'T BREAK MY BANK! My head says "no" and my heart says "GIMME!". It is a case of extreme inner turmoil, I tell you, I am a mess.

This is 3 coats of Revlon Facets of Fuchsia, a black jelly base with pink glitter of different sizes:

 I added a Matte Top Coat which gives an interesting effect! Let me know what you think on the comments - I know there is a lot of buzz about duping in the polish community at the moment, where do you stand? Is it worth twice the money to support luxury brands and stand up for intellectual property rights? Or should big polish brands expect to be copied and are you glad to have an affordable equivalent that you may not usually have access to?

And what do you think of Facets of Fuchsia, I suppose, forgetting the politics of it all!

Motel Rocks Feather Print - Nail Art Tutorial

It's that time of the week where I show you a manicure tutorial inspired by a Motel Rocks print! As you may know, I am the resident Nail Artist at Motel Rocks Blog and will be creating nail art tutorial for all of you lovely people based on their stunning prints! Their clothes are amaaaaaze, what's more is they've opened a US online shop and store in LA! International Hotness!

This tutorial is for Motel's Feather Print, which looks so chic on the nail! It's also really easy to do at home with only a few simple tools - if you have a go I'd love to see it! Tweet at me y'all! Or spread the love on Pinterest!

remember you can click to enlarge! :D

Click HERE for the full tutorial for these feathery nails! Thanks to Motel Rocks for hosting the tutorial!

Let me know what you think on the comments!

Scaly Fingers - Barry M Croc Nail Effects

Sorry for leaving you all lonely for a week...

You'll all be thrilled to know, I'm sure, that I spent my weekend pretty much immersed in nail polish and therefore have lots and lots of new manicures to show you! I picked up Barry M's Croc Nail Effects the other day, but wasn't really expecting to like the results. I thought it would be too subtle and a poor alternative to the crackle effects - I was proved wrong, however, and I actually really like the effect it has given!

You apply the polish just like a crackle polish, with the thickness of the layer determining the type of crackle you get. the thinner the layer, the smaller the cracks, the thicker the layer the bigger the cracks (within reason - don't go plooping loads of it onto your nail, it will just get messy!) I started with a base of Barry M Gold Foil Effects, and found the Croc Effect worked better over a "touch dry" base, rather than a completely dry coat! I applied a medium coat and it took about 2 minutes to crack fully, leaving tiny vein-like cracks in the black polish - just like crocodile skin!

index finger - moments after Barry M Croc Nail Effects application

Barry M Croc Effects 2 minutes after application

This polish also dries shiny (as opposed to the matte crackles), so this is with no topcoat. i'm two days later and I have to say it has worn pretty well, considering it's just 2 thinnish layers of polish! Nice one Barry M! As I said, I wasn't really expecting to like this effect all that much and it is very subtle to the naked eye, but its really grown on me and I've ended up loving my scaly fingers! Mmmm scaaallyyyy.



A different kind of scaly, crocodile fingers

Thanks everyone, let me know what you think on the comments!

(Did I make up the word "plooping"? I'm pretty sure I did. I'm Captain Dictionary, over here.)

Star Print French Manicure

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a great weekend :)

Here are the nails I was sporting at the Motel and Glossy Box Event (see last post!). It's a "Funky French" Mani, aside from the accent nail, and is inspired by the black and white star-print which is creeping into fashion lately. I started with a base of 3 coats of Miss Sporty French Pink and then taped my nails with Scotch Tape (once the were completely dry) so that just the tips were showing. I then painted over the nail with MUA Shade 2, an opaque black, and lifted the tape off while it was still wet so as to attain neat, crisp lines. Once this, too, was completely dry I re-taped the tips and stamped the Star image from BM14, horizontally across the nail, with Konad White Special Polish. I then went back with single, stamped stars to fill in any big gaps and make the print more complete. Once dry, I added a coat of Seche Vite. For the accent nail, I simply stamped the star image numerous times to create an all over nail design :)

Photography is getting really, really difficult now the days are so much shorter, it has been dark practically all the time, and sunlight is extremely rare! Forgive the darkness of my photos!

Voila! A relatively short post (I'd forgotten how quickly you can write a post when it isn't 11293943 words long!), but it's a pretty simple design that's easy to re-create at home! Even if you don't have the Bundle Monster Image Plates, you could still freehand in the white starts with a Nail Art Pen or even a toothpick :D

Let me know what you think, everyone! xxx

Happy Halloween! Spooooky Nails

...I realise Halloween was two days ago now, but I hope you all had a good time! These were my spooky, themed nails for the occasion!

For the haunted house accent nail I started with a base of American Apparel African Violet, used a sponge to dab on Barry M Cobalt Blue over 3/4 of the nail, then sponged on Topshop Celestial onto the top 1/4 to create a gradient effect to act as a 'night sky'. I then freehanded in the pale, yellow moon with Rimmel Lemon Drop with Collection 2000 Angel Wings for detail. I freehanded in the 'hill' with Claire's Jade Green and a small brush before stamping the house image from BundleMonster image plate BM224 with Konad Black Special Polish. I added Barry M Mushroom brown paths and outlined the house with Claire's Silver Nail Art Pen. I stamped the bat image from BM213 and freehanded in the little ghosts with Claire's White Nail Art Pen. I smoothed it over with Seche Vite!
For the rest of the nails I started with a base of Natural Collection White, sponged on Rimmel Lemon Drop and Collection 2000 Angel Wings, sporadically, to make them look a bit old and crusty (yuummmm). I then stamped on the spiderweb and spider images from BM13 with Konad Black Special Polish before adding a coat of Seche Vite.

There is a lot of steps involved in this Manicure, but it didnt take too long!

I hope you all had a great halloween!

It Doesn't Get Much Sparklier Than This! Scotch Tape Nail Art!

When I was in the USA recently, I popped into a local Claire's Accessories, expecting it to be much like the UK shops, Nail Polish wise. I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG. I picked up some really interesting stuff like the Claire's Mood Polishes, a Glow in the Dark topcoat, a Deborah Lippman dupey-looking Rainbow Glitter and THIS amazingly sparkly holographic Gold Glitter Topcoat. Topcoat? psssssht, Ill just whack it on on its own thanks!

I did start out with a base of Bloom Goldie, just to minimise the appearance of any bald patches that might occur. Formula is fine, I only needed 3 coats for full glitter coverage, then it was like a Unicorn expoded all over my hands:

natural sunlight

A blurry picture shows the holographic rainbow effect better!

It really is a sight to behold in the sunlight! I added some Scotch Tape Nail Art, cutting tiny strips of tape, and sticking them in a "starburst" pattern on the nail. I then painted over the entire nail in MUA Shade 2, a very opaque Black. I removed the tape strips while the black was still wet, then added a coat of Seche Vite to smooth it all over.

The Gold looks great, all the holographic yumminess just peeking through. Here's a video so you can see how it catches the light:

Look at it go in the bottle haha!!

I like the trashy, blinginess of Claire's Gold Glitter Topcoat by itself, but I think it looks much more sophisticated and subtle as a highlight on a black nail. What do you think everyone?


Don't Forget you can vote for me to win Cosmopolitan's Best New Beauty Blog of 2011! Click the pic to be taken to the really easy voting system!

Thank you so much :D

PacMan French Manicure!

After painting on black french tips, I was suddenly reminded of the classic computer game, PacMan - after wondering how to incorporate this idea into a manicure for a while, I took the plunge and turned it into a PacMan "funky french"!

I started with three coats of Miss Sporty Et Voila French Manicure Pink, and waited for it to dry completely before applying scotch tape, leaving the tips exposed. I then painted the tips with Claire's Black Polish, and removed the tape immediately to ensure that the lines were crisp. I added a blue line to the very tip using a blue Nail Art Pen from Ebay. Using a white pen, I then added small white dots, and painted the ghost shape in white. I painted over the white ghost shapes once they were dry, using a dotting tool and China Glaze Papaya Punch (Orange), Barry M Turquoise (blue), Barry M Red (red) and Models Own Pastel Pink (pink). After adding the eyes with Claire's Black and White Nail Art Pen, I added a coat of Seche Vite. Done!

I had this on for a couple of days, it was a good laugh! Basically the first "funky french" I've ever attempted, as I wasn't sure I really liked the whole 'look' of them  - but this was cool :D I did have a PacMan on the thumb, but smudged it before I could take the pictures unfortunately...what a diiiick!

Let me know what you think guys! Don't forget about my Apothica $25 Giveaway! You've still got 1 week to enter!

xxx

Gosh Rainbow

Sorry for the unplanned hiatus everyone, it's my last exam in a couple of days, so I'll be back on form after that! I realise this isn't Nail Art, but I went to a Superdrug in a small town the other week, and found a bottle of the very rare, discontinued GOSH Rainbow - just sat on the shelf! For a fiver! It would be rude not to! A bit annoyed seen as I had also just bought Nubar 2010, which is a perfect dupe, but oh well! Rainbow is an effect topcoat containing iridescent flakies in a clear base, and it works better over darker base colours, giving a more subtle effect over lighter ones. Here is one (thickish) coat over two coats of Claire's Black, in natural light:-

LOOK AT THE RAAAINBOOOW

You can see more of the green flash here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

double rainbow, all the way accross the...nails?

 

 

 

As you can see, the coverage really is brilliant in one coat, I can't think why they discontinued it, along with Holographic. Maybe they didn't sell well because they don't look very impressive in the bottle? Who knows. This actually looks really interesting with a Matte Topcoat, it doesn't translate brilliantly in the photographs, coming across a bit milky looking (ooer), but IRL it looks really cool.

Ring finger and Index mattified using Claire's mattifying topcoat.

Just for my amusement, I decided to compare it with Nubar 2010. Overall, you can get exactly the same effect, but you need two coats of Nubar 2010 to create the same coverage that Gosh Rainbow can achieve in just one. Considering GOSH Rainbow is now Hard To Find however, 2010 is a perfect alternative. Sorry the lighting isn't as good:

Thumb, middle and Pinky, one coat of GOSH. Index and Ring, 2 coats of Nubar 2010

So there you have it. Two iridescent Flakie Topcoats, and no nail art. The next post I have for you will make up for it, I promise...it's FIERCE.

aaaaaaaand back into the pit of revision despair I go!

GREAT #bblogger chat tonight as well! If you don't know what's going on, on Twitter, at 8pm on Sunday evenings (UK time, GMT +1), Beauty Bloggers get together for a chat (using the hashtag #bbloggers) and talk about a different topic every week. Today, it was the controversial subject of self promotion, and there are some interesting opinions out there. Would love to see even more people there next week, so get involved if you're on Twitter!

Also guys, I have an FOTD (make-up look) that I could post for you, but every time I have done this in the past, it hasn't gone down awfully well, as I know a lot of you tune in for the Nail Art. Is this something you would like to see? Not really arsed either way? Or should I stop trying to flog a dead horse? Hahaha!

Emily xxx

Twist on the Traditional Leopard Print Look

I say "The Traditional" leopard print like animal print nails are the most common thing in the world, but here in the UK at least, you still don't see them that often! I love a leopard print manicure, it's so eye-catching, and there's so many different colour combinations to try out. Today is a grey and silver combo, and my first time doing leopard print with the Konad M57, as opposed to my usual freehand technique - which do you think is better?

moley moley moley moley

All photos are in natural light, no flash. I started out with 2 coats of Urban Oufitter's Sparkle and Fade in Light Grey, and then stamped the leopard print image from Konad M57 using Konad Black Special Polish. Does anyone else find this relly messy to work with?! I find it gets eeeeverywhere and my hands always end up covered in it haha! Maybe I just need to improve my technique! I added silver dots to the centre of the circular designs using Claire's Silver Nail Art Pen. I finished off with 2 coats of Seche Vite Topcoat.
What do you think?  What other colour combos would you try? I'm dying try a neon one!

x

Gleek and Gypsy Nights.

 So my housemate is fantastic. As you know, I went home for the weekend and returned this evening to 2 lovely presents from Sophie, one of my favourite people with giant hair. One was a “glee” Easter egg, complete with Mug – which I’m thrilled about, one of our favourite things to do together is drink copious amounts of tea, eat copious amounts of chocolate, and spend a copious amount of time talking about Everything and Nothing. The other present was a “knit your own boyfriend” kit....which I'm not as thrilled about....hahaha!

Rubbish phone pic...but look at the size of that mug! Cheers, Sofa!!!

 On to the Manicure!! I recently acquired an interesting polish from Topshop called “Gypsy Nights” which is quite a sheer black with holographic glitter and flakies! I snapped it up; you don’t see flakies very often over here in the polish middle ages (UK!). I applied two coats of it over two coats of Claire’s Black polish, and then added a silver stripe at the very tip of my tips with Claire’s Silver Nail Art Pen. Topped it off with Barry M topcoat, and here are the results, as best as I could capture the glitter effects! 

Shiny shinnnnyyy

 You can't see the holo glitter tooo much here, but if you look at the pinkie, you can see the iridescence of the flakies in it.

I've seen some exciting effects created with flakies by adding a matte topcoat, so i decided to matte it up with Claire's Matt topcoat (which should be spelled "matte" - really bugs me haahah - I'm a fiendish English student/grammar Nazi!). Here we are:

With Claire's matte topcoat.

I liked the effect of the matte topcoat, it did, however, dull the holographic glitter, but I like that it's a bit different. i decided to keep it like this for a couple of days before I was boooorrreeeddd!!! I went to a 21st birthday party over the weekend for one of my best friends, I've known her since she was a tiny babba, and it was lovely to see in this milestone together - love you Rachie poops. I'll post my party manicure tomorrow!

Another exciting installment - my bundlemonster plates arrived! WOO HOOOOO now I can start this Konading business properly!! Look out!!!