Wanna See Something Gross?

~~ Happy Halloween!! ~~

Is that totally disgusting or what?? It's my first time doing an 'effect' mani, and I have to say, I'm pretty darn pleased with how this turned out! I don't really celebrate Halloween other than making sure we have candy for the neighbourhood trick-or-treaters, but with all the hype on Twitter from my American friends, I kinda felt like I wanted to do a themed mani. I thought about doing some stamping with spiders / bats / pumpkin faces etc, but it's kinda been done a LOT... (though Marta posted this one yesterday and my gosh, I'm glad I didn't try, it would never compare to that awesomeness!!) So I thought maybe a splatter mani with blood red polish, but again, that's been done a million times over... So I decided on something a bit more gore-y that I hadn't seen done much at all. I could be wrong by now because it's Halloween and all the manis are coming out, but when I planned / did it yesterday, it was still an original thought! =P

Ewwwww, that ^ photo grosses me out a bit, and I don't gross out that easy! (When you have a Mum who's worked night shift in the Emergency Dept of a major city hospital, you develop a stomach for the oogies ;-) ) I'm quite proud of this mani... ^_^

I started with two thick coats of China Glaze Winter Berry, with a coat of Zoya Kennedy on top. Over Kennedy I used an eye shadow applicator to sponge on China Glaze Holly Day and OPI Stranger Tides, creating a festering / rotting effect. Once the polish was 'gooey', I used a small dotting tool to gouge out chunks of polish, letting the bloody Winter Berry ooze through! No top coat, because I wanted all the texture I could get!

 Gross or what??

This mani was extra easy as there was no clean up required! Because I was aiming for a roughed-up look, the messier the better =).

An added bonus: after taking pics of the deliciously disgusting mani, I thought maybe the polish was still un-set enough to come off the nails with just a tissue. I was wrong, but the result was extra-extra disgusting!! Lookit!

That Winter Berry is the perfect bloody shade...

Ewwwww..... And thus concludes my totally gross contribution to the holiday! 

Do you celebrate Halloween? Do you like themed manis or are you totally over everyone doing the same thing? Thank you so much for reading - hope you're not too grossed out!! I promise tamer manis from now on =P Happy Halloween!

Deal With It

Ohmahgosh ohmahgosh ohmahgosh ohmahgosh ohmahgosh... I'm still jumping up and down a little bit - the excitement hasn't faded! Today's post has a bit of a story behind it... Read if you're interested, but I totally understand if you just wanna scroll to the pretties ;-).

Well! At the end of September I was hanging out on Twitter with some of the most awesome bloggers in the blogosphere, and a tweet from @CultNails popped up, saying they were going to be doing some giveaways throughout October. I jokingly tweeted back something about sending me a birthday pressie because my birthday's in October, followed by a version of "I'm saving up to get your gorgeous polishes, I wannem all!". Maria (the Queen of Cult Nails) replied to me with a "Yep! Sure! Email me your address and I'll send a little something your way!". After I got back on my chair, I checked with her that it wasn't a joke, sent her my details, screamed for a while, did some ridiculous dancing and caught my breath. A week later, a little box arrived... More dancing and screaming ensued, and while I held my breath hoping for one of her gorgeous polishes, I opened the box to find a handmade birthday card, and FIVE NAIL POLISHES. FIVE!!!!!!!! Get It On - the best base coat I've ever used, their world famous Wicked Fast top coat, Deal With It which is featured today, Evil Queen and In A Trance which I'll showcase soon. And In A Trance is limited edition too. Can you believe it???? I still can't!!!! Eeeeee!!!!! *deep breaths*

The amazing Maria has most definitely gained a customer for life.

Now, if you're still with me, here is the trademark electric lime Cult Nails polish Deal With It.

Isn't that the most intense bright lime green polish you've ever seen??? It's one of those polishes you know is a Cult Nails polish - 'culties' recognise it a mile away, and not just because it shines so insanely bright you CAN see it form a mile away!! This baby is defo not for the faint of heart! This is three coats with the Wicked Fast top coat on top. The first two pics are taken outside in the shade.

And a couple of shots in direct sunlight. There was plenty of sunshine out when I took these photos, so the incredible yellow-gold shimmer was more than happy to come and play for the camera! Something about the green and yellow deliciousness reminds me of the soft drink Mountain Dew. Maybe 'cause it's so bright and glowy and fizzy and bubbly? Whatever it is, I could definitely stare at this polish all day... and I did!

Click for an extra close up =)

The shots below were taken inside by a window. I wanted to show you how it builds up with each layer. I could have happily stopped at two coats, but the OCD polisher in me wanted to ensure I had no VNL, so I added another to be sure. The third layer helped add to the depth and glow of the colour too - more polish = more shimmer!

Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!! Yes, I'm still super blown away by Maria's kindness and generosity. Go and buy lots and lots and lots of things from her!!! I know I will!! Can you believe it?? Just... Wow!!

What's the most special nail polish in your collection? Has anyone ever surprised you with a polish you've been dying to get your hands on? 

Thank you so much for reading!! Now go shop at Cult Nails ;-P

Gargantuan Green Glow

It's Saturday! Woo hoo!! I've got a major essay due on Monday, and what better way to procrastinate than by blogging? =P Today's totally delicious feature polish is OPI Gargantuan Green Grape - one of those 'neon pastel' polishes I've been so hooked on. I knew from the second I applied it that I wanted to make it matte (like I don't with every polish?) and I'm so glad I did, it's totally scrummy!

This is three generous coats with Seche Vite to dry, then Rimmel Lycra Pro Matte Finish top coat on top. I had been warned about the application issues with this one - it's been really difficult for me to find pastel / neon polish that don't have some application issues - but as my opinion is generally colour over consistency, I didn't mind too much! Thank the heavens for Seche Vite or I'd never have got this baby to set!

If you look reeeeeally close, the weird shape of my middle nail (extra bulge-y) is due to the aforementioned ripped nail being held together with tape under the polish. I used white fabric tape until I could get some nail glue, taping along the rip then buffing the tape down and base-coating like crazy! It worked! At least until the nail lifted along the tape line instead of the rip... Well, it worked well enough to snap these pics! I really didn't want to lose my length =( *sigh* oh well!

All of the above pics were snapped outside on an overcast day, but when I came inside to the relative dark of the hallway, this polish just glowed. Poor lighting = poor photo quality, but I had to try and grab a shot of this glow-in-the-dim effect.

I'm so in love with soft / pastel-neon polishes at the moment! Maybe it's because it's Spring? Well, I was in love with them until I broke my nail off and had to revert to nubbins *sob*. I've been rockin' dark colours since I cut all my nails off *sob* but I don't know if I'll post nub pics here because I really don't like 'em! I keep staring at them muttering "... grow, grow, grow, grow, grow..."! Wah! </whinging>.

Do you love bright glow-y colours on your tips or do you prefer softer nuder tones? Nuder's totally a word, right? More nude... You know what I mean! What was the last polish you picked up that you loved the colour but hated the application? Happy Saturday, beautiful people! Wish me luck with that essay! ;-)

Caught and Torn

Well hello there, wonderful people! Today's EXTRA SPARKLY post features OPI Catch Me In Your Net - a stunningly bright and glittery aqua that refused to photograph as anything but bright blue, despite staining my base coat and cuticles bright green. Last night I was having one of those evenings when I just needed some glitter in my life, and this glitter-overload polish satisfied every glittery craving. Behold!

This is two generous coats of Catch Me In Your Net, which I swear isn't a blue polish. I guess that's just the personality it wanted to show off in these pics. Stubborn little thing! Topped off with a coat of Seche Vite - as if it needed any help being over-the-top glossy!

Oh, oh, you can almost see some of the green peeking through in that ^ one!

Yummy yummy macro glittery goodness! 

Now, uhm, moving onto some sad news. About a week ago I tore the nail on my middle finger a little on the edge, right on the nail line, and though I plastered it with polish to keep it strong, the rip grew to about halfway across the nail. On Friday I finally got some nail glue and have been gluing it back on as best I could, and was really quite pleased with my amateur repair job...

... but then last night (the night I ordered 2 of the new OPI James Bond nail polishes, of course), the nail finally gave in and tore off completely while I was removing Catch Me In Your Net. 

My reaction: WAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH *sob sob sniff* WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!

Et voilà, the best nails I've ever had in my life were destroyed. Although I'm trying to stay optimistic and think that this is a great opportunity to grow strong, healthy nails almost from scratch, another part of me is screaming "I'VE BEEN GROWING THOSE SINCE JULY, DANG IT!!!". *sigh* C'est la vie n' stuff...

What's the worst broken nail you've ever had? Do you try to grow them out or keep 'em short n' sweet? Thank you so much for reading, lovelies!! See you soon! =D

For Megan

Hello hello, lovelies! Happy Labour Weekend for those of you in NZ =D Hope you've all got nice relaxing / happytimes plans for the long weekend! Today's post is a) to prove I'm still alive and b) because I got told off for not blogging enough *hangs head in shame*. I bumped into a good friend and fellow polish nut on Friday, and she said "I keep checking your blog and getting annoyed when you haven't posted! Come on, woman!!" or something to that effect. So, just for you, Megan, here's some new nail porn ;-).

I may have mentioned (often, to many people, via many mediums..) that it was my birthday last Sunday - woo hoo! My Mum cooked the most delicious pork roast ever with mountains of veges and perfect crackling, with an incredible cake to follow! OMG, my cake... It was two slabs of chocolate brownies with cookies 'n' cream ice cream between them, covered in ice cream and smothered in chocolate ganache. *drools* Mega incredible. This is all relevant because the two polishes featured today were given to me by my ever supportive and insanely brilliant brother Andy for my birthday. Behold: ORLY Skinny Dip and Jealous, Much?!

First up is Skinny Dip - a gorgeous poolside blue, perfect for Summer! I have a feeling that this might become my go-to Summer pedi colour, replacing OPI Barefoot In Barcelona which has pretty much stayed on my tootsies year-round.

This is two coats with Seche Vite top coat =)

Skinny Dip has the most beautiful pale aqua shimmer shot through it, which helps the 'ocean-y-ness' of the blue to shine! Sadly the shimmer was a tad camera shy, but go find a bottle and you'll see what I mean ;-). 

Next up is Jealous, Much? - a totally delish pastel / mint green that reminds me of the Goody Goody Gumdrops ice cream. I still don't know if that's a worldwide flavour, or unique to us kiwis. Let me know if you have Goody Goody Gumdrops in your country! I'm curious about these things =P.

This baby was a three coater, but only because my application was shockingly uneven.

I've been really diggin' the 'neon pastel' shades lately - light blues, mint greens, aquas, lilacs... I'm yet to give in and buy my first coral polish, but I can feel it coming - must be near! Jealous, Much? completely satisfied those cravings. Did I add a matte top coat, you ask? Of course I did, silly!

... but I alternated nails to give you a comparison ;-). Matte or glossy? I love it matte, but you know that's just the addiction talking =P.

Do I have the best brother or what? To be fair, I think he know he's pretty safe getting me polish for a present ;-), but his choices were spot on, and perfect for me! Thanks, Andy!! =D

Thank you muchly for stopping by, wonderful peoples! Hope that keeps you satisfied for a little while, Megan ;-). See you soon!

Birthday Treats

Happy Saturday, gorgeous peoples! I have two polishes for you today! Tomorrow is my birthday (woo hoo!) so after class yesterday I decided to treat myself with some eye candy, so I popped into my favourite polish stores. Sitting front and centre in one of the stores - obviously new in - were these two stunning babies! I was only gonna look, but when I saw this purple... Oh it was love at first sight - she took my breath away ♥. Her brother - the blue - was a couple of shelves lower, and I knew she'd be lonely without him, so he came home with me too ;-). May I present BYS Orchid Ice and Rhapsody!

First up is my new baby girl - Orchid Ice. That finish... Oh my gosh, that finish! This is one - yes, ONE - coat over Cult Nails Get It On base coat, with a coat of Seche Vite on top. I have never seen a finish like this in the under $10 category, let alone being able to get two for under $15! I am one happy chickie! 

Ooooh that shimmer... Definitely one of those polishes you know you're wearing! The colour, the formula, the finish, the shine, the application... Perfection in a bottle! Well, aside from the smell... Both of these polishes REEK like you wouldn't believe! However, addict that I am, the almighty stench is SO worth the gorgeousness of this baby! If you're gonna try them, hold your nose ;-).

The amazing duo-chrome fleck shimmer in this polish is just to die for! It's a true purple through and through, but flashes the most beautiful bright fuchsia pink in the light. Yep, this is gonna be a long and loving affair ♥ ;-). You gotta know what's coming next...

Matte! *drools* My gosh, I only added a matte top coat out of curiousity, but I am SO glad I did! Lookit! It's like velvet! All the shimmer and duo-chrome-y yumminess with a velvety matte finish - could this polish get any more delish??

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This pic shows the intense duo chrome effect - the deep purple with the breath taking fuchsia flash shining through =D. Yum yum yum yum yum!!! 

Now for her brother... I'm a sucker for a good polish name, and the fact that this is a blue polish called Rhapsody won me over almost as quickly as the colour did. Look look look! =D

Okay, so this baby leans pretty close to a frosted finish (which I'm pretty sure died with the '90s), but the unbelievable shimmer and totally delicious shade makes up for that, right? Right? Please tell me I'm justified in wearing this near-frosted-finish polish! =P He was also a one-coater, finished off with Seche Vite.

 

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Click this ^ one to see the intense shimmery beauty! *drools*

With the matte top coat. Yup, this baby and his sister are more than welcome in the ever-growing family that is my polish stash! I need more fingers - I really didn't want to take either of these babies off!

~~~~~~~~~

Phew - that was a bit pic heavy - sorry! But worth it, don'tcha think? I had to share these newbies with you because they're still totally stealing my heart! ♥ They're completely unique in my stash - though I wish they'd had a green one too! I'm surprisingly fond of green polishes at the moment. It's all Radha of ThePolishOwl's fault! She's been spoiling me with pics of totally delish greens on Twitter ;-P.

What was the last polish that you fell in love with on the spot? Did you buy it then or are you still in a long-distance relationship? Glitter, shimmers, cremes or jellies? I love to hear from you, lovely people! Thank you so much for reading! =D

Sparkly Sweet Heart

Hello lovelies! Hope the sun is shining wherever you are - it sure is here!! Today's mani wasn't going to make it to the blog but because it got such positive feedback on Instagram I decided to post it after all! After rocking some pretty dark / bright colours for a few days, I needed a delicate palette cleanser - OPI Sweet Heart and Pirouette My Whistle hit the spot!

This is two coats of OPI Sweet Heart over Cult Nails Get It On base coat. I was craving the pretty delicateness of Barre My Soul from the NYC Ballet Collection, but I didn't want to use sixteen hundred coats of polish to see my nail line finally fade, so I opted for Sweet Heart instead - similar shade in a much more opaque formula. Naturally, I had to add some sparkle... ;-)

I added a coat of Pirouette My Whistle over Sweet Heart - delicious shimmer delicate girly goodness! The almost grey base of this gorgeous glittery baby adds even more of that delish silver to the polish. If you haven't tried this over My Pointe Exactly (the grey from the NYC Ballet Collection) - do it! I did quite a while ago and can't wait to do it again with my new nail shape! The whole collection is simply dreamy!

Sparkle sparkle sparkle... =)

As you can see the micro flecks in Pirouette My Whistle are silver, but the large hexes are sheer white which prevents the glitter from being too heavy - everything adds to that delicate deliciousness! 

To wrap up I thought I'd share this little guy with you! My step-dad found him on our front lawn - thankfully before our cats could get to him!  

We think his Momma pushed him outta the nest a bit too early because he wasn't able to fly, try as he might! Loud little guy too! We know that mother birds won't feed their young after they've been evicted (pushed out of their nest...) so I mushed up some bread in milk and he went absolutely nuts for it! We noticed his leg was sticking out at a funny angle, so we took him down to the local vet where they informed us that he'd perforated his abdomen when he landed on the lawn, and he wasn't going to make it =(. At least we know he had a nice afternoon in the sun, plenty of noms, and was put to rest in the most humane way possible. Poor little guy! Still, it was nice to meet him! =)

Thanks sooo much for stopping by, you wonderful people! Hope the rest of your week is as bright and sunshine-y as a Summer afternoon =D