Thunder & Lightening

Since the last mani I showed you was all white, let's continue with a black one, shall we?

Today's polish is Models Own Thunder & Lightening, a black jelly with tiny holo sparkles. I used four coats, but didn't get it opaque nontheless. If you're aiming for a competely opaque mani, better use a black creme base. This one dries somewhat satin matte, but one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top gave it a lovely shine. 

Aqua Violet Margot

After a very warm weekend, the temperatures have dropped again here in Switzerland. So my icy blue and silver combo fits the weather nicely (ok, a murky grey would fit even better, honestly...)

As base I used three coats of Models Own Aqua Violet.The name is very accurate, this polish is indeed a multichrome shimmer shifting from aqua over blue to violet/purple.

For the stamping I used aEngland Encore Margot and MoYou London Porcelain Collection plate 04. As usual, I added one coat of Bundle Monster Smudge Free Top Coat and one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

aEngland polishes are available at various places, you'll find a complete list of retailers here.

 

Taupe Ibiza Mix

Some glitter for today.

I didn't feel like a full of glitter mani, so I sponged a glitter gradient (well, tried to attempt a gradient, anyways...). My base is Artdeco 116, a brown leaning taupe creme. Model's Own's Ibiza Mix is a clear based glitter topper with hex glitters in pastel colors (the colors look more vivid in my pictures than they are irl), gold, blue, pink and silver, in two sizes.

Golden Oldie Thursday - Burnt Orange / Copper

Golden Oldie Thursday! This week's theme is burnt orange / copper.





As base color I chose Models Own Copper Pot, a copper polish with a light green shimmer that gives it a somewhat duochrome look. I used three coats for opacity.

Then I used MoYou Sailor Collection plate 07 and black Essence stamping polish to add this wave pattern that looks almost like flames over the copper base. One coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top finished this mani.

An InLinkz Link-up

Golden Oldie Thursday - Flowers

It's Golden Oldie Thursday again, this week with flowers.

My base color is Models Own Deep Purple, a duochrome shimmer shifting from a grey-ish green to, well, a deep purple. I used two coats for opacity.

Then I used MoYou Landscape Collection plate 02 and China Glaze Joy (Romantique Collection), a muted magenta shimmer, to add different flowers on every nail. One coat of Essence Better Than Gel Nails Top Sealer gave extra shine. Sadly, the color shift of Deep Purple almost completely disappeared after the stamping, I guess it was the topcoat that dulled it.

Have a look at all the other flowers below

An InLinkz Link-up

Behead The Dream Bough With A Green Flash

December 21, winter solstice. Ok, I admit it, today's mani has absolutely nothing to do with winter solstice ;-)

My pinkie and ring finger show three coats of Femme Fatale Dream Bough. Dream Bough has "A sheer bruise-purple base with green shimmers, various green/teal hexes, iridescence and a scattering of lavender. Suitable for layering rather than wearing alone."
(Source: Femme Fatale)

Wearing Dream Bough on it's own works pretty ok, as it's really packed with glitters, so the sheer base isn't really visible after three coats. For layering I'd recommend a dark base color, as the tinted base is pretty dark itself. Due to the huge amount of glitter, Dream Bough dries very gritty, the surface still felt kind of rough after one coat of Nail Pattern Boldness Glitter Food and one coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top.

On my middle finger and thumb I applied Colors By Llarowe Behead The Drama Queen, a shimmering, sparkly duochrome shifting from emerald green to royal blue. The green part was really camera shy, my pictures show mostly blue with just some green sparkles. IRL it was the other way round, mostly green with the blue only visible at flat angles.

Application of Behead The Drama Queen was perfect, two easy coats, no clean up needed, that's how I want my polishes. One coat of KBshimmer Clearly On Top helped with drying time and shine (not that it was really necessary, though).

On my ring finger I added three coats of Models Own Green Flash, a bright lime green foil. No issues with application here either. On coat of KBShimmer Clearly On Top here as well.

Femme Fatale polishes are available at their shop (new with international shipping), Harlow & Co. , Norway Nails  and Color4Nails. Dream Bough is discontinued, but maybe you're lucky and get one of the last bottles at the Femme Fatale Shop.


Colors By Llarowe are available exclusively at Llarowe. Behead The Drama Queen seems to be discontinued, but there are so many gorgous colors, I'm sure you'll find something else that catches your eye.

Fligh High, Purple Grey

Today I have a new stamping mani to show you.





My base color is Manhattan Fligh High (Playboy Super Nails Collection), a soft pink, that is so light it's almost white, with lots of frosty shimmer. As much as I like the color, as much was I disappointed with the formula. While application was easy, Fligh High is very sheer, and after the three coats I used it was still nowhere near opaque. Plus the drying time is aweful. I usually tap the surface of my left thumb (the one you don't see here) after a couple of minutes to check if it's ready for the next layer. Most polishes are dry to the touch after around five to seven minutes, the ones which take longer are still slightly tacky then. Fligh High was still so wet, the polish just stuck to my finger and I had a hole in the layer I applied. Adding a quick drying topcoat (KBShimmer Clearly On Top) after the third coat helped, but it still took at least five minutes until it was dry to the touch (Clearly On Top usually dries my polish, or at least the surface, in one or to minutes at most).








On top of Fligh High, I used Models Own Purple Grey, a purple toned taupe (yes, taupe, not grey) creme, and the new revised Bundle Monster plate BM-023 to add the stamping. Another coat of KBshimmer Clearly On Top finished this mani.