Look who's back, back again... Hey hey hey lovely people! Sooo it's been a wee while since my last post (yes, I'm ridiculously slack) but in my defence I've been a tad ill + it was production week last week for Hairspray here in Wellington NZ, which means the show is OPEN! Well, we close this coming Saturday =( but tonight is one of the two nights we have off, so I thought I'd better bloomin' post something! As the queen of indecisiveness, naturally I couldn't choose what to share with you. Instead of sifting through my reserve piccys (yes, I've been taking pics without posting them, naughty!) I decided to do something fresh and new for you. Well, lots of fresh and new, really. I did three different manis using the same colours in different tones (ie blue on blue, purple on purple...) then added a matte top coat over each completed design to create six snazzy lookin' manis. Wanna see??
Click on the pic for a bigger image. Cute, no? I really haven't decided which look I like the best - I think it's tying between the purple and the blue... Hmmm... Let's break it down =D
I popped into the local Cosmetics Plus in the mall to have a look for some cheap dark jewellery for the show (booth singers [which is what I am] have to wear black as we sit in the orchestra pit in front of the stage, so we can be seen but we're not meant to be!) and in the corner I spotted a Miki mini's stand packed full of goodies! With 2 for $3 pick'n'mix, naturally I pounced on the cute mini nail polishes and even bagged myself a quad-colour eye shadow compact. Score! This Miki mini polish is one of the ones I picked up - Miki No. 21. It's a little sad that they don't name their colours, but they're such yummy shades that I'll get over it ;-).
A delicious buttery two-coater. This pale lilac-y purple sits just perfectly between a couple of other purples I have, and I'm more than happy to have spent the $1.50 to add this little cutie to my stash! Stamped over it is Bundle Monster plate BM317 in BYS Reign Supreme. This purple refuses to photograph its true shade, but rather prefers to lean toward a navy blue. I swear it's purple!!
The completed look with a coat of Seche Vite. I stamped my middle and ring fingers first, then realised how matchy-matchy the stamp was looking, so tried to mix it up a bit on the others. I'm just going to take a second to say how much I FRICKIN' LOVE THESE BUNDLE MONSTER PLATES!!!! Everyone I know who's got them is absolutely in love with them - they are the easiest stamps I've ever used, and the customer service at Bundle Monster has me itching to go back just because they are so lovely to deal with! I may have mentioned before my massive blonde moment in ordering these plates? I clicked the wrong ones... The lovely people at the site fixed it all for me complete with smiley faces =D. One happy girly right here, I can tells ya!
This is the same look (duh) with a coat of Rimmel Lycra Pro Matte Finish over top of the Seche Vite. I'm still impressed with the ability of this matte top coat to cut through the intense shine of SV every time =P. Going matte is such an easy way to change up a mani just a bit and make it something less everyday-ish... I think so anyway!
Okie dokie, next up we have the blues! The base colour for this mani is a polish I came across in a local Dollar Store. I'd never really looked at this brand because I assumed (like a snobby little girl) that a nail polish that's $3 and stocked next to packets of imitation... everything... with poorly translated Chinese descriptions on the packets maybe wouldn't have such a good formula. However, after (more time than I'll admit) surfing through online auction sites looking for polish, this brand kept popping up over and over in the $10-$15 range. They had some colours I've been hunting for, and I knew they sold them cheaply in the Dollar Store so I took the plunge and bought a couple to check them out.
I'm in love.
The base colour is Kleancolor Sea Ice - a perfect creamy two coater! I nervously did a swatch immediately after purchasing it and was majorly impressed! Such a great find - this brand is dangerously plentiful in the cheapy shops... The stamp is from Bundle Monster plate BM322 in China Glaze First Mate. The more I look at it, the more I think this is my favourite mani of the 3 (6..) in this post.
There's something a little bit mod about this one, and as each performance of Hairspray transports everyone back to 1962, I think everyone in the show has been in a bit of a mod mood lately!
With the matte top coat. I definitely like this one better matte. Whadda ya think?
And finally, go go green!
The base for this mani is Revlon Posh, a polish I haven't used before today. Farmers (department store) had Revlon polishes for $11 each for about a week (they usually retail around $20-$25 here) so of course I pounced. I was getting a teensy bit tired of painting my nails by this point (I know, blasphemy on a nail blog!) so my strokes were a bit off, meaning I ended up doing three coats when I ordinarily would've needed two. Lazy bum. This polish is aaaaaall shine, even before my beloved Seche Vite was applied.
I stamped in China Glaze Holly Day with Bundle Monster plate BM319. I'm really glad the design shows up in the photos because the contrast was so slim when I first stamped it. I did consider trying to double-stamp, but my aim is so bad that I knew it wasn't worth it!
Yummy Matte-y goodness... Love this mani in the matte version! With a gloss finish, I honestly don't think I'd wear this mani out, but with the magic matte top coat, it's right up my alley. Funny how the littlest last minute additions can make all the difference, huh?
Do you agree with me, or are ya lovin' the shiney shines? Maybe I'm just obsessed with matte at the moment and it's making me biased =P.
Phew! That was a long post! I might be making up for missed time... =P
So what are your favourites? Are you all about the shine or are you crossing over to the matte side? Talk to me, beautiful darlings, I love to hear your feedback! Check in again soon - I have my Pink Wednesday all sorted ;-).
