Day 23: Inspired By A Movie

Hi again...this will be my last post for tonight and then i'm all caught up with all my mani's from the
31 Day Nail Challenge. This post is Day 23: Inspired by a Movie and my inspiration was Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds..*enter creepy music*...LOL. Seriously, this mani was super fun for me! I have all the DRK XL image plates and they have a lot of really cool images. Plate C has a gaggle of crows image that I always wanted to use but couldn't figure out what to do with....until today! It all came together wonderfully after that! So I found an awesome picture for inspiration which I will post here as well. I will work my way backwards like I usually do explaining what I used along the way. On with the pics!!

 And here's the awesome picture I used for inspiration...isn't that fabulous??! I used very small pieces of make-up sponges held with tweezers to dab on my clouds. I used ( in order) China Glaze Electric Beat, Recycle and White on White. Then I stamped with Wet'n'Wild Black Creme and DRK-C Plate.

 This is what it looked like before I stamped...I really liked that too! Although it wasn't quite as dreary as I wanted it to look.

 And for my base I used China Glaze Pelican Grey...a wonderful light grey creme/jelly formula that was a pleasure to work with. The color was so lovely and once I got it on I could see all it's endless possibilities. It's a hit for sure!

Well...i'm all caught up now! And I really hope you enjoy this mani as much as I did putting it together :)
This challenge is really fun!! See you again soon for day 24, Inspired by a Book.

Day 22: Inspired By A Song

Hi again..another post heavy night for me, playing catch up I guess! After all...I did do 13 mani's and not post them until now! So as you probably know by now i'm participating in The 31 Day Nail Challenge and the first two parts I did as chunks, posting 10 mani's in each category..Colors and Patterns. Now i've decided to post the last part of the challenge...the Inspired By part all separately. So now I have Day 22: Inspired by a Song. And I was inspired by Whiterabbit from Jefferson Airplane..a pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement of the 60's. For this mani I started out with 2 coats of Orly Au Champagne. Then I did a water marble using China Glaze Surfin' For Boys, Sun-Kissed, I'm With the Lifeguard, Splish Splash and Beach Cruise-R. All neons from their 2012 summer collection. All great formulas, 2 coaters with shimmer..how could one not love that?! I used Bundle Monster plate 302, the bunny was a pain in the asteroid to stamp!! I ended up having to retrace the outline with a nailart pen and then dot the color in because it wouldn't come out very well. Anyway..on with the blinding neon!!

 First two pictures are with flash, the last two are taken in dim artificial lighting.

And here's a link to the video of Whiterabbit with all it's psychedelic colors. Enjoy :)
http://youtu.be/WANNqr-vcx0

Day 21: Inspired By A Color

Hi everyone! Tonight I have the beginning of the third part of the 31 Day Nail Challenge: Inspired by...This is Day 21: Inspired by a Color and for me that is GREEN! I love green!! And leaves, ferns, moss...greenery in general. For my base I used China Glaze Westside Warrior, 2 coats. Then I applied Butter London Dosh and dabbed saran wrap on my nails one at a time. It was really pretty just like that...sorry, I didn't take pics. I then tried stamping over that with a-england Dragon and Princess Sabra but you couldn't see the image very well at all. So I decided since I needed something darker I would use my new favorite brown China Glaze IX...which was perfect because it's still nice and earthy :) I used GALS 38 from their Fairy Set.

 The first picture is with flash so I could try and catch all the layers..

Well..hope you like! I really loved this image from Gals Fairy Set..like big ferns!

31 Day Nail Challenge Part 2: Patterns

Hi Everyone! It's been a while..too long really! I have spent the last 10 days doing the second part of the 31 Day Nail Challenge. I probably should have posted everyday as this part of the challenge has more to it and would be more interesting. This is going to be a long post so i'll get right into the pics :)
First up is Day 11: Polka Dots OPI Siberian Nights stamped with Ozotic 532 (mish mash) and DRK-A XL Plate. I went back in with a dotter and made the large dots brighter. This was cool because the polka dots were duochrome and holo!

 Day 12: Stripes....China Glaze Aquadelic stamped with China Glaze Harmony & Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Pronto Purple. Used DRK-C XL Plate. I added both colors to the image so it would look almost like a duochrome effect. I liked it but then anything good looks against CG Aquadelic...the most awesome color ever! ;)

 Day 13: Animal Print...OPI Tomorrow Never Dies (2 coats) stamped with Sinful Colors Dream On and Konad M78 & M57. Seriously love how bright this was !! I didn't want to take it off!!

 Day 14: Flowers....OPI Black Onyx stamped with Nfu Oh 64, Nubar Reclaim and BM 313. Of course I had to have holo flowers! Really love how this turned out :)

 Day 15: Delicate Print....Butter London All Hail The Queen stamped with BM 314 and Wet'n'Wild Black Creme.

 Day 16: Tribal Nails....CG Running in Circles as a base and then Zoya Tangy and OPI Sprung in a saran mani. Then I stamped CH IX with DRK-B plate..a cool totem image. This was my second attempt at this and I still wasn't pleased but I wasn't doing a third!

 Day 17: Glitter...2 coats of China Glaze Frostbite and 2 coats of OPI Last Friday Night...love this combo together! The bright blue really makes that pink opalescent glitter jump right out!

 Day 18: Half Moons....Used OPI Black Onyx and China Glaze White On White as the base coats, then applied them to opposite nails with french tip stickers. Next step was to add a topcoat..let dry..apply french tip stickers and paper reinforcements over exposed color..then stamped with Konad White & Black using DRK-C XL Plate. Then went in with a dotter tool (smallest tip) and applied OPI Big Apple Red. I really LOVE this mani ♥

 Day 19: Galaxy Nails...I was dreading doing this mani because for some reason I thought it was going to be sooo hard...NOT! I also didn't think i'd LOVE it this much and NEVER want to take it off!! lol I used OPI Black Onyx, A-england Order of the Garter, Zoya Tallulah, China Glaze Gothic Lolita, White on White and Fairy Dust. I looked all over Youtube and this was the tutorial I followed because it was quick, simple and I loved the colors used. I'll post the link at the bottom of the page :) I should also add that I used tiny sponges instead of the big one she used..I had no clean up because I stuck with the little ones and I just found it easier to add small amounts of color that way.

 Day 20: Water Marble....Oh boy the fun...NOT! Getting the hang of it isn't fun but when it all finally comes together it's nice! I tried this a few times before I got a decent combination. I'm also super happy I got smaller lines cause that's what I love when I see it on someone else. I used Essie Tart Deco, NOPI My Lifesaver and CG Fairy Dust as a topcoat. 

So..I must say that doing this challenge has made me step outside of my mani comfort zone! I never thought i'd be doing water marbles or certainly not galaxy nails..didn't ever even really fancy those until I got them on my tips! I didn't want to ever take them off!! So i'm really glad I did..and am still doing this challenge! I would recommend it. Here's that link for the galaxy nails I did. Hope you liked!!
http://youtu.be/jQsnYEzzbAY

Quo by Orly Beyond The Sea

Hi again..fourth post today..that's a record! I have for you Quo by Orly Beyond the Sea..I saved the best for last!! This is a stunning polish!!! I put on the first coat which was rather jelly-like and waited a couple minutes..to discover it's matte! How awesome is that? Perhaps it has some neon elements going on because it is SUPER bright. It also has some insane aqua/teal micro-shimmer going on (the reason I bought it in the first place). I can't begin to describe how gorgeous this color is..and sadly my little iphone camera just would nt pick up the shimmer :( It's there..you see it in person very easily..another polish with a lit from within quality that makes most of us polish addicts fall in love. So I leveled things out with just 2 coats. It has a great formula! So on with the pic spam :)

 The first 3 photos are matte..taken in natural lighting. The next five are with topcoat. I used Out The Door fast Drying Topcoat. (my go to topcoat)

 The above shot is the only one I took in direct sunlight. It pretty much hid the aqua/teal shimmer but was still stunning!

I think this last pic might have picked up some of that aqua/teal micro-shimmer if you look closely you can see it. As I mentioned before..in person it's always there and you don't need any special lighting to see it. I loved this polish both matte and with topcoat! What do you think?

Quo by Orly Super Cute

Hi again..my third blog post today!! I will mention again..in case you didn't see the other post...that Quo by Orly is a Shoppers Drug Mart Exclusive and you should be able to find these shades in all the Shoppers. A lot of these colors are duplicates of Orly colors...like the polish i'm swatching today is identical to Orly Preamp. But if you're not able to get your hands on Orly you can get these. They do cost more and are smaller bottles..14ml for $10. compared to Orly's 18ml for $9.25 but I suppose that's what we get here in Canada. I usually buy all my Orly's from Nail Polish Canada.com but I know some of you don't like buying online so this is an alternative. Also..when Orly comes out with new collections they have those colors available for a limited time at Shoppers...just called something different by Quo. Super Cute is a lavender pink color with stunning shimmery particles! They look pink but i'm pretty sure they're gold..it also doesn't look gold on but a lovely glow from within type look..it's gorgeous! Nice formula..a bit on the thicker side but nothing unmanageable. I used 3 coats but probably could have gotten away with 2. 

All photos are taken in natural lighting. The third pic has some sun in it...lucky me..lol. So what do you think of this color? Would any of you buy the Quo by Orly brand?

Quo by Orly Prepster

Hi everybody! Today I have some swatches of a few Quo by Orly polish' I bought from Shoppers Drug Mart. Quo is a Shoppers exclusive brand so you should be able to find these at any Shoppers. First off i'm gonna start with Prepster. When I tried Googling images of this color and other Quo by Orly colors there wasn't much out there so hopefully this will help. I had to have this polish!! It's a lovely aqua..leaning a touch more on the blue side..with shimmer! I kind of figured it would take a few good coats and it it did..four. I probably could have gotten away with 3 thicker ones. It was a thicker formula but applied well...just be careful not to drown your cuticles. The shimmer adds something special..it's more noticeable in person. Well..i'll let you judge for yourself :)

The photos are all taken in natural lighting..the last one has some sun but I could not get a good close up to show the lovely shimmer..sorry :( Need to get myself a good camera but funds are not allowing it! So what do you think of this color? Is there an Orly twin for this out there?