Pick 'N' Mix Challenge: Patchwork & Bright/Happy

Hello, hello! 

This weeks pick 'n' mix theme had me stumped for a while, I wanted to combine the two as usual and it was difficult to decide on a design because there were just too many ideas flying around in my head. Finally I had a brainwave - they're infrequent but generally good hahaha... Sticky fabric! Fabric being perfect for a patchwork theme and this particular sticky fabric makes me feel very bright and happy, I LOVE a floral. Generally I use this stuff in my planner/journal but I'm all for bringing my craft stuff into my nail world!

I first tried this over a blue polish but the fabric just didn't pop against it so I went with this, my new favourite pink from Barry M. The process goes like this: Paint two coats of the pink, stick on squares of fabric and trim to fit, edge patches with white nail art pen and you're done! I tested how it would react to topcoat but the fabric just went see-through so this is definitely only a fun day or two look.

I just adore this mani, I'm not quite sure what it is but it's just singing to my heart and it was so perfect for todays summer sun too :) If you're wondering where I got my hands on the sticky fabric, I picked it up in 'The Works'

Barry M: Sugar Plum, White Nail Art Pen. The Works: Sticky Fabric

Enjoy the rest of your week lovelies!

Rebecca x

An InLinkz Link-up

Pick 'N' Mix Challenge: Pastels & Lilac/Teal

Oooh good evening beauties!

I can't tell you how glad I am for another long bank holiday weekend... Although I had a thoroughly enjoyable week at the new job, a breath of fresh air for sure; I've also been rather stressed trying to get used to the new routine and still trying to do EVERYTHING else (nails, blog, study, endless housework, gardening, grocery shopping, exercise, the list goes on) whether I need to or not. Of course I fail and then turn into the 'temple of doom' as my mother says hahahaha! Luckily I have the best man in the world by my side who turned my forwn upside down and today I'm feeling sunnier, and have managed to pull this weeks challenge mani together just in the nick of time...

I started with two coats of Fondant and then sponged a coat of Greenberry half way down. I finished with a quick gold dotticure and topcoat. Simple to do and almost tranquil to look at, just what I needed to escape today :) Bazza never lets me down!

Love these two colours together, it's not often I do a gradient with two such different shades and I actually really like its bare-faced simplicity. I think the gold is the perfect accent...

Barry M: Fondant, Greenberry, Gold Foil, 3in1. Amazon: Dotting Tool. Sponge.

 Hopefully I can get myself organised, prioritised and back on track over the next week, I thought I had it down last week but a couple of draining days and it's all gone to pot, I am my own worst enemy as far as putting pressure on myself! Now I'm off to see what everyone below has been up to while I've been in my lil cave lol...

Rebecca x

An InLinkz Link-up

Humpday Hare: Hidden Treasures in a Bowl of Roses

Hi-di-hi loves!
I've been a bit quiet here on the blog over the last week, I'm adjusting to my new lil part-time job and having to totally re-think my time management!! Thank goodness for my planner is all I can say, I would have been all at sea for a lot longer without it I'm sure... So on to tonight's nails, another Humpday Hare Polish affair and this time with Hidden Treasures in a Bowl of Roses; it's a stunning blue jelly polish filled with gold, white, black and bright pink hexes/glitter which I complimented with a hot bright pink & gold rose...

I used two coats of this gorgeous blue indie followed by topcoat. The accent nail was two coats of a favourite Bazza Gelly - Pink Punch and stamped with gold using a MoYou London Artist plate, again finishing with a topcoat.

Not only do I adore the unusual and beautiful shade of blue (I seriously don't have another like it, if you do, tell me!), I also love the formula on this one. It applied like a regular polish with 'no bits' and the spread of 'the bits' was perfect throughout, also dried fast using only two thin coats. 

Hare Polish: Hidden Treasures in a Bowl of Roses. Barry M: Pink Punch, Gold Foil Effect, 3in1. MoYou London: Artist 10

If you're looking for somewhere to buy these in the UK, I frequently use Rainbow Connection, a fabulous resource for international indies!

Rebecca x

Pick 'N' Mix Challenge: Paisley & Taupe

Afternoon loves!

It's pick 'n' mix time again and this week we have a paisley and taupe combination... I picked out my colours and started flicking through my stamping plates only to discover that out of alllll of those plates as seen in my stash post which you can see HERE, I only have one singular, lonesome paisley pattern plate! And it's not the best at picking up, boohoo! There is clearly a large hole to fill in my collection here, how has this even happened?! I love paisley lol!

Both colours here are from the Barry M speedy collections; first the base which is two coats of Pit Stop followed by the stamping in Get Set, Go using the Cheeky Happy plate. Finished off with a lick of 3in1 topcoat.

As you can see, this old Cheeky plate really didn't perform as well as I'm used to with my newer MoYou London ones. The engraving is soooo much shallower and boy did I notice the difference! I love the colour combination and the pattern itself though so it wasn't a total loss :)

Barry M: Pit Stop, Get Set Go, 3in1. Cheeky: Jumbo Happy Plate.

See what my fellow nail tarts have been up to below...

Rebecca x

An InLinkz Link-up

*NEW* Barry M: Supersonic & Sugar Plum

Evening my beauties!

Monday is over and I'm feeling cheerful because I finally have my mitts on the remaining two new Barry M polishes; Supersonic from the Speedy collection the rest of which I swatched HERE and Sugar Plum, the new Gelly shade which is a perfect match to the spring colours released back in February, you can see swatches of those HERE. I couldn't wait to get these swatched and shared with you guys so got home and got to painting immediately lol...

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First of all we have Sugar Plum a scrummy dusky pink creme, this is two thin coats with topcoat but to be fair you could get away with just one! You can't go wrong with a Gelly and this went on like a dream...

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Ahh the stunning Supersonic, when I saw swatches and snaps of the bottles it looked quite dark and certainly more purple than blue, not all that summery I thought, but not so! It is a beautiful periwinkle blue which shimmers purple and shines in the light, this is two coats with topcoat. LOVE!

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Lovely jubbly eh?! Two reasons to be cheerful... And a welcome distraction too because I'm starting a new lil part-time job tomorrow and I always get anxious, even when I'm excitied about it as in this case lol! It's a lovely little NHS role giving me a bit of security plus the right amount of hours and flexibility to work around my nail studies and soon enough nail clients!... EEK :)

Rebecca x

*NEW* Barry M: Speedy Quick Dry Swatches & Review

Hooray for summer nails!

I popped into Superdrug this lunchtime and after seeing no hint of the new speedy shades on the shelves I edged towards an assistant to ask... Fortunately she was very kind and let me rummage around in the drawers to find what I wanted! Unfortuntately one of the collection was missing from their stock but to be honest Supersonic, a deep blue/purple shimmer, is not the most summery of colours so I'm not too upset... and I have ordered it online lol!

So let's get on with seeing what I DID get...

This is Speed Demon a very pretty baby pink with silvery scatter holo... But it did take four coats before it was opaque and I was happy to topcoat! Very sheer and rather streaky... But so preeeeetty!!!

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Next up is Turbo Charged a beautiful coral shade with a more golden scatter holo shimmer to it. This was a three coat job before topcoat as again it was quite sheer, not so streaky though.

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Oooh number three is Need For Speed a lush, lush lilac creme. I used two coats and topcoat, the first will look quite sheer but the second transforms it! This is my new fave purple, it's the perfect shade.

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Now for a super sunny shade On Your Marks a pastel neon, yellow creme. I used three coats with topcoat, some nails could have passed with two but others still looked patchy! Not too keen myself...

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Last up is Get Set, Go a stunning raspberry pink creme that looks good enough to eat, LOVE it! This is two coats with topcoat but to be honest with you I probably could have got away with one!

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I love Barry lol. These colours are just what I was needing in my collection this summer and bar the yellow I'm smitten with them all... Even though there are coverage issues with a couple of them, the fact that they really do dry in super quick time negates that for me. They also seem to hold up to wear and tear quite well with a supple, almost latex-like finish. Currently buy one get one half price in Superdrug if you fancy treating yourself over the weekend!

If you missed swatches of the spring collection you can see my post HERE...

*edit* See swatches of Supersonic and the new summer gelly Sugar Plum HERE.

Rebecca x

Humpday Hare: Anemone Gardens

Humpday loves and I've another Hare mani to help us get over it...

I can't say I've enjoyed all the spring rain we've had this week but my garden has, my flowers have sprung blooms up all over the show so I felt a floral manicure coming on! Anemone's are super pretty so this Hare Polish was the perfect choice! Anemone Gardens is a beautiful purple gelly with pink, purple and green glitter and hexes....

This is two coats of Anemone Gardens with topcoat. Followed up with stamping a single flower multiple times in white and dotting the centres with yellow. I finished with a final layer of topcoat.

I don't know what's happened to this polish but it's gone very thick and gloopy, ideal for getting good coverage in two thin coats but did take a long thirty minutes to dry. A couple of the florals still smudged over the slightly squishy base lol! But I love it!!

Hare Polish: Anemone Gardens. Barry M: White, Yellow, 3in1. Cheeky Vibrant: CH7. Amazon: Dotting Tool.

I must confess to being tempted to pop a bit of *don't tell anyone* acetone into the polish to thin it out... DO NOT EVER do that lolol, it may work for one mani, then it will destroy your pretty and dissolve it's sparkles!!! Buy some proper thinner instead ;)

Rebecca x

Pick 'N' Mix Challenge: Outlines & Orange

Good evening beauts!

Is it just me, or is it soooo hard to get back into gear after a long weekend?? Ugh!... At first glance I didn't quite like the look of this prompt either - outlines gave me too many ideas to choose from and I detest orange lol! Then first thing this morning, bam it slapped me in the face -I lurrrved to get henna on my hands and feet when in Tunisia, it's made up of lots of orange outlines and would translate nicely into a nail art... My frown was upside down :)

In line with henna on skin, I have stamping on a natural base, one coat of Barry M 3in1. I stamped a floral pattern using the orange and finished off with another coat of 3in1. I don't think there's a quicker mani around!

I must confess I wasn't sure if my idea would look as nice on my nails as it did in my head but I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! I might go for a different floral pattern the next time, but overall it looks how I hoped it would and I like the shimmer in the orange polish.

Barry M: 3in1, Carousel. MoYou London: Pro 14

I've even managed to find some snaps of my hands after being henna'd in a lil old ladies house in Sousse a few years ago...

Back tomorrow with another Humpday Hare mani!...

Rebecca x

An InLinkz Link-up

Exploring with Alcohol Inks: Take II

Late one tonight loves!

If you didn't catch it I posted an Alcohol Ink Pearl Additive mani on Friday, and I used that as the base for a bit of stamping. It's not the first time I've combined this sort of thing, I did an Exploring with Alcohol Inks post a wee while ago which was the same technique but I think that one very much said 'spring' and this one says 'summer'... Get the cocktails out!

This was a simple case of using a crisp white to stamp over the alcohol ink base using one of my MoYou London plates and finishing up with a topcoat.

I really love the two nail art methods blended together in this way, and both are super simple to do, anyone can have a go! It's a shame the pearl shimmer is sort of lost amongst the white pattern but the pattern itself it lovely, I think the MoYou Explorer plates are my favourite

Barry M: Cotton, 3in1. MoYou London: Explorer 22

Have a fabby weekend everyone, especially those of us in the UK with a Bank Holiday to look forward to on Monday!

Rebecca x