Pink Holo French Tips (aka: Menchiecure!)

Hello my friends!

I got a huge smile this week! A friend I've recently met through an online game (PS, it's Ingress, the Pokémon-Go-before-Pokémon Go-was-a-thing game) told me that he met a fan of this blog! So if you're reading this, hi Sam, and yes I will totally do your nails sometime if you like--hit me up :D

This week, I'm happy to be rocking a French manicure again. I love the style, but my nails are usually too stained for me to feel OK about it, at least not without some colour-correction (hint: the purple OPI Sheer Tint polish is excellent for cancelling out yellow tones!), but due to the mini-hiatus I took recently, my nails are pretty much back to normal. So I'm going to show you the gorgeous polish I picked up a while ago--Menchie The Cat, a collab with Starrily and Simply Nailogical!

(click to enlarge! DO IT)

Rest is after the jump, because as is usual with my holo manis, I took waaaaay too many pics!

BPS Review | Gemstone Decals (and more clear stamping action)

Hello! I'm back with some more Born Pretty Store goodness for you today. These gemstone decals are so gorgeous, and I had to accentuate them with some more stamping with my new love, the clear stamper.

(click to enlarge)

Look how short my nails are! I had a little break and decided to trim them instead of patching it. They feel so tiny, but at least they're also elegant af right now. Check after the jump to see all the information :)

Better Late Than Never...! Valentine Holo Gradient

So, I'm like three days late on this, but... here are my Valentine's Day nails for this year!

I'm actually kind of sad about these! I used two holo polishes, but it decided to be rainy and grey when I was taking the photos, so I didn't get to show off their brilliance. However, I do like the pretty colours. I used Color Club Cosmic Fate, the bottle shown here, which is actually their peachy-orange Halo Hue. The red is one I made myself--LA Colors Aztec Orange (it is not orange) with a pinch of SpectraFlair added. I like how it made the other shade look more pink somehow. I swear it really is the one in the bottle pictured!

Blurry flash shot inside, since it was the only way I could make the rainbows come out

The heart glitters are from a Nicole by OPI polish called Love Your Life, and I pretty much ever only use it around this time of year, haha.

Topped with Seche Vite, of course.

It's a shame I didn't get to show off the holo to its fullest extent--it was lovely!--but, dat gradient. The red one is just a wee bit sheer, enough to make a beautiful, seamless blend.

I hope you liked these! See you next time :) xoxo

Stripey Glitter Placement Nails

Hiya! Today, I wanted lots of flash and bling, so I did a glitter placement design!

(click to enlarge)

Fun fact... those glitters are supposed to be pink. They totally look orange. In my next mani you'll see an orange polish that ends up looking pink. FUNNY COINCIDENCES!

Ingress Skittle Mani | Enlightened Nails

Hey hey hey! Any of you out there play Ingress? If so, you'll get today's nails... and either love or hate them ;)

(click to enlarge)

Born Pretty Store Review | Shell Sheet Sticker

Hiya! I have another Christmas manicure for you today :D This one features a previously-untried polish from Picture Polish, as well as some pretty holographic "shell paper" from Born Pretty Store!

(click to enlarge)

Born Pretty Store Review | Holographic Snowflake Foil!

Hello lovely people! Look at this gorgeous foil from Born Pretty Store. It has holographic silver snowflakes on it!

(click to enlarge)

You guys know that holo is my favourite colour, right? :D Click to see more!

Holo At Ya Girl

hollaaaaaaaa

heya! Today I have some hot holo-on-holo action... can you handle it?! :D

click to enlarge... drool-rag at the ready!

Rustic Gold Stripes

Halloween is nearing, and this manicure has nothing to do with it :P

I've had so much going on lately that I haven't been able to post as frequently as I used to, nor have I been able to do all the themed manis I wanted! Today's design is, instead, a rustic, gilded sort of look that reminds me of old photo frames or tarnished jewellery:

I Survived (Although A Few Nails Did Not)

G'day! I'm back from my trip, and although it was a crazy week of working hard and playing hard, I survived! I am sick yet again, and I managed to break THREE nails >.< but I'm back.

I did not get as many photos of my travelling mani as I'd hoped. Here is the one I got before things got all cray, and it really doesn't do it justice:

(Click to enlarge)

dat holo doe. It's Color Club Over The Moon with chevron-tips of Layla #01 Mercury Twilight, and some little stone accents of course. The colour scheme is one I've always liked, but I was particularly inspired by the recent Cinderella movie for it :)

I broke my index nail really badly, and then I still have that patch on the middle one from last week and a break on the other hand too. What can I say--it was quite a week. For the first time in a LONG time, I have properly short nails. I am not digging it.

horrible phone pic, activate!

I'm pretty bummed about this, but.. I plan to draw inspiration from the queen of shorties, The Nailasaurus! She rocks all kinds of awesome art with her signature length and shape, so I'm going to do a few tribute manis to her while waiting for them to grow out. Fortunately they do grow pretty quickly.

The other piece of good news is that I now have a Surface 3 device! Full HD screen and this sweet pen for having more fun with my editing (and probably hand-written and -drawn notes as well). I'll be tweaking the graphics and layout of the blog to reflect this, and hopefully have a more quality site for you.

Sorry for the bad post today! I almost didn't bother since these are such meh pics, but I didn't want to totally disappear. Thanks for your patience, and I hope to see you soon with some pretty nail art :) xoxo

Born Pretty Store Review | 3D Rubber Flowers

Hullo! Last mani before I take off for a week, and last review item from my latest Born Pretty Store haul :) I saw Anna review some similar 3D rubber flowers years ago, and finally got to try them myself!

Born Pretty Store Review | Diamond Glitter Placement

G'day! Almost through my newest Born Pretty Store haul :D I'm going to fast-track these last two before I head off to a conference in Sydney next week! I'll of course do some special travelling nails, as I always do... But for today, I've got a design showcasing these diamond- (okay, rhombus, you nerd) shaped glitters :D

Stars on an Orange Field

Hello my dears! I am still fighting this awful sickness, and I'm so sorry it's been so long between posts lately. I haven't been eating much, nor had any energy for nails or blogging.

Fortunately, though, I have a mani from a little while ago I'd been saving for just such an occasion! It's simple, but fun :)

This is two coats of OPI A Roll In The Hague, a pumpkin-orange creme from the Holland collection, plus a coat of Zoya Gabrielle. That one's an extremely sheer but sparkly orange polish that looks great as a topper!

The stars are just plain stickers that I've had for years. Little silver holo stars that are so nice as nail adornments! I need to put them over a purple base one day to look like a wizard's hat... but for now I added them to this shimmery orange base and then topped with two coats of Seche Vite to keep them in place.

I hope you liked this one, and I'm sorry again for the delay. Thanks for reading today! I hope to have something nice for you soon xoxo

Swatch & Review | Harvey Specter by Colores de Carol

Hello! Man, I feel horrible this week. It's either a severe cold or a mild flu, but I'm pretty sure I'm dying. OF THE PLAGUE. /melodrama

I did manage to get my nails painted once. Because my newest purchase arrived--the limited-edition Harvey Specter by Colores de Carol!

I've been following her blog for ages, and am always awed by her creativity, stamping skill, and the fact that she manages to post every day. So when she first started her own polish line, I knew that one day I'd buy some of her stuff. The time has finally come!

I can't get over how much it matches the sequins on this bag :D

Harvey Specter is a fantastic navy/royal blue, chunky holo glitter in a clear base. It shines in electric blue, pink, purple, and green at different angles. I wish the glitter was a bit more densely-packed, but it's totally fantastic! It looks like my blog background, and I love it to tiny bits.

Black & Silver No-Water Marble

Hello! Today I've got a pretty swirly look that's a lot easier to do than it seems :)

Shimmery Rainbow Birthday Marble!

Hel-lo! Man, what an insanely busy few days! My birthday was the 16th, and as you guys know, I love rainbows and sparkles. I bought a brightly-coloured rainbow dress to wear for my special day, and did these shimmery marbled nails to go with it!

These didn't come out quite the way I expected, but I'm still quite pleased with them--especially the thumbnail! If I did it again I'd use a different orange, but I think they're still great. Read on for the deets!

Chinese New Year 2015 - The Year of the Goat

Hullo :) I hope you've had a nice weekend! I am thankful to say that although Cyclone Marcia caused some problems farther north, my area escaped with naught but some localised flooding. Everything I've read seems to indicate that no serious injuries or deaths were reported, so that's awesome!

I know it's a few days after the official start of the Chinese/Lunar New Year, but I did these cute nails for the occasion and decided I had to show you. Besides, I promised Allison (my super-sweet contact at Born Pretty Store) that I would, so... this one is for you! I know it isn't a sheep, but I just started painting and this cute little guy came out :)

(click for full-size... I couldn't bear to shrink this one down too much)

Valentine Cupcake Nails

Hiya!

Let the Valentine manis commence! Today I have some girly, sweet nails for you. That last bit being on the literal side :D

Swatch & Review Time with Indie Polish (or, Slashers to Ashes)

Hello everyone! Today I'm very happy to be reviewing some polishes by the lovely and talented Tanya from Indie Polish! You've already seen the amazing Birthday Party in action, and it will definitely make another appearance soon :) but today I have two other beauties for you!

This is quite the pic-heavy post, so clickity-click to move... onward!

Half-Moon with AMAZING Indie Polish Glitter!

Hello lovely people!

I had a really fun day today. I got to hang out with Jessie from Nailed It NZ, who is on holiday right near me! I always jump at the chance to make/meet cool new friends--especially nail friends, and especially nail friends I've admired online for ages! (Nailmates. It's a thing. Starting right now.) And, not like I'm bragging or anything, but we're some pretty sexy people, especially when we've been rained on and sweating and roller-coastering all day:

that's me on the left, Jess on the right. Some joker in the middle. ;)

I didn't have a terribly long time to spend on my nail art beforehand, but I knew I had to have on something impressive. Perfect time to try my newest polish from Indie Polish!

*drooooooooooooooool*