Fadin' Daze

Well a very Happy New Year to all of you lovelies! I posted today's post on Instagram back when I did it like 11 months ago, intending to create the matching blog post immediately afterward, but you guys know how ridiculously slack I am! So it's been the better part of a full year and I'm just getting round to it now. Big slaps on the wrist for me! I still wanted to do this post though, in the hopes that it serves as evidence and/or inspiration for anyone starting out with nail stuff. Yeah it's another before-and-after, but this time it's Gradient Style! Check it!

Obligatory Christmassy Stuff

Well Ho Ho Ho to y'all! I did some Christmas nail art in the few moments I had to myself in the raucous Christmas season! Yeah okay so I'm posting on Boxing Day, but I know a lot of you are still celebrating the Big Day, so I wanted to share. Hope you're ready for a whole lotta green, red and gold!

More after the jump......

I'm Alive!!! Muahahaha....

Well hello, strangers! Bet y'all thought I'd fallen off the edge of the universe, huh? Well you're kinda right, I disappeared into the void of a brand spankin' new job (which has entirely taken over my life for the better!!) but I missed you guys too much, so I'm back. I'm gonna cheat a little bit and use up a bunch of my old un-posted photos, mostly because they deserve to be shared, but also because I still don't really have time to do cool stuff yet. Let's crack on, shall we? 

Triumphant (lolz) return starts with a post I had saved in my Drafts here on Blogger - it's a recreation of an oooold mani with a couple of tweaks. Please enjoy China Glaze Dance Baby with special guest appearance from some BornPrettyStore glequins!

Psychedelic, Baby!

Well hello hello lovely people! Hope you're all doing wonderfully XD Today I've got some seriously psychedelic swirls to share - neon psychedelic swirls! Slip back to the swinging sixties with these babies!

Pink Thur(Wednes)Day: XOXO

Hmmmmmk so I meant to post these yesterday but I didn't get around to it... Whoops... So even though I'm a day late, Happy Pink Wednesday ("On Wednesdays we wear pink!")! I got a bit busy with some glitter placement nails that I'm aiming to have up for V-Day, so stay tuned! They're super pretty! 

Today's post was for the February "Totally Doable 'I Have A Life' Nail Art Challenge" prompt 07: XOXO. If you don't follow, this particular monthly nail art challenge is hosted by @californails and consists of prompts every few days to inspire nail artists to get creative! Click on through for deets.

Amazon...Amazoff

Disclaimer: the terrible pun title was not my creation for once - OPI's naming team is getting worse! 

Hello hello! Looks like the New Zealand nail addicts have been lucky enough to get our nabby little hands on the OPI Brazil collection a little ahead of quite a few places! I'm one of those annoying customers who comes back every few days "Have you got them in yet??!?" but it kinda wasn't my fault this time, because my local Farmers (department store not unlike Target) put the stands and names up, then left them empty! Ultimate tease! Anywho, last Friday I was on a break at work and popped in, and there they were!! They were so new out the codes wouldn't even scan at the till. I could only afford two at the time so I got a stunning perfect nude called Don't Bossa Nova Me Around which I'm sure I'll feature later on sometime, and this amazing "Jungle Green" (OPI), Amazon...Amazoff. I will be heading back for more, trust me. But today I want to share Amazon...Amazoff. Check it!

Essie x4

Hello, hello! In a recent moment of weakness I bought three new Essie polishes (...and I may or may not have four OPI on their way >.< oops!) and I wanted to share them with you! The three I purchased were Play Date, Lapis Of Luxury, and Turquoise & Caicos. Yeah I know there are four pictured... I already had Cute As A Button from a couple of months back when my local Farmers started stocking the new Essie formulas, and it made sense to 'complete the rainbow' by adding it in as a fourth. Click on through to see swatches and an impromptu watermarble. =)

Simple Stripes: Pastel Edition

Whaaaaaat?? Two posts in two days??? This hasn't happened in months! Woo! Talk about starting off the way you wanna go on XP. Honestly, I just couldn't wait to share this mani - I LOVE how it turned out! Okay, there are still a couple of bumps along the road but this mani was super fun and easy to do, so I had to share straight away! The line-up:

L to R: piCture pOlish Fairy Floss (uh, duh...), Essie Liliacism (new formula, the old one is shite), Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau (haven't I seen that somewhere before...?), and Essie Mint Candy Apple (the one polish in my whole stash I have to stop myself from wearing EVERYDAY cos I luvs it so hard). Click on through to see what I got up to with these bad boys!

ABC Challenge: R

Happy December!! Today's post features China Glaze Ruby Pumps and Running In Circles. Enjoy!

ABC Challenge: P

Hiya! Well we've just had the most beautifully sunny day ever here in Wellington - light cool breeze and endless sun... Mmmm it was gorgeous! And because it's put me in the mood for gorgeous things, I thought I'd share some absolutely gorgeous polishes! There are plenty of photos to look at (five extremely photogenic polishes, and one extra...) so let's get to it!

ABC Challenge: L

Hello!! Happy October!! October's the best month IMHO - it's properly Spring-y, Christmas is creeping nearer, and it's my birthday month! What more could you want!? Oh, more blog posts? Okay! XD

Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'L'. Anyone who follows me on IG knows I have an addiction to the Liquid Sand / Pixie Dust glitter 'texture' polishes, so naturally I had to share this gorgeous grey one with you. Here's Zoya London!

ABC Challenge: K

K? K! Hiya guys! Today's post is brought to you by the letter 'K'! Our featured polish is China Glaze Kinetic Candy. Onwards!

ABC Challenge: G and H

Heya lovelies. Sorry for being a bit MIA the last few days. A good family friend passed away and I haven't really been in the polishing / blogging mood. Because of this, today's post is super pic-heavy but really quite boring - I haven't done any nail art with the featured polishes, and I'm being extra lazy and cramming two letters into one post. Two letters, five polishes. Today we've got Sinful Colors Gorgeous, Essie Good As Gold, Maybelline Gold's Night Out, China Glaze Highlight Of My Summer and Born Pretty Store Holo #1. Phew! Click on through to the scrolling extravaganza. 

ABC Challenge: F

Hello! Happy Sunday! It is so bright and sunny and beautiful here today - it really feels like Spring is here! In the spirit of things looking lighter, today's polish is a nice bright minty green: Essie First Timer!

ABC Challenge: D

Hello there, friends! Today's post is gonna be a bit of a guessing game for me, as I did this mani over two months ago (>.<) so I'm having a wee bit of a hard time remembering specifics! Let's see how we go...

Today's featured polish is China Glaze Dance Baby. I'm pretty sure I used two coats for these photos.

 Click through to see how I nail-art-y-ed it up!

ALL The Colours!!

Well hello there, friends! I have something bright and colourful to share with you today to get back into the swing of blogging. I've been MIA from here for a couple of reasons - 1) my nails took a serious beating when I was working on a construction site a few weeks ago, and I've been waiting for them to grow into something paintable, and 2) I got lazy and decided to post everything straight to Instagram instead of writing it up here - sorry! Last night I did the first properly nail-arty mani I've done in ages, and I knew it was time to share. I give you: ALL the colours!!

This one's pretty pic heavy so click through to see more ^_^

Holo, Is It Me You're Looking For?

Well hello to you! I've got a quick one for you today - I'm in hospital at the moment, but I got some day leave today so I did my nails (of course!) and had a play with some polishes that arrived while I've been away. I HAD to share this one!! It's a polish from the China Glaze 'Holographic' collection, called Infra Red. It's my first proper 'holo' and I could NOT stop staring at this absolutely stunning polish!

Even though it's called Infra Red, it's definitely more of a dark pink, don'tcha think?

Look at that rainbow shimmer!! This is what sets 'holo' polishes apart - that breathtaking, ever-stare-worthy flashing rainbow on your tips. This was bad lighting, rushed photography and I had no idea how to photograph to show off the intense holo-ness, but even from these crappy photos, you still get an idea of the amazingness! Yes, I walked into things because I was staring at my nails - we've all done it, and this polish deserves it!

Mmmmmm rainbowy goodness... I used two coats for these photos, and I used INM Out The Door fast-dry top coat... that was a mistake. The holo finish is much MUCH more obvious without topcoat, but as I said, this was a rush job so I didn't bother to take it off and start again... Sorry! Maybe in the future I'll take better snaps - I just had to share!

Yep, I'm hooked, and can you blame me!? I definitely wanna get my greedy little paws on some more holo polishes. There's nothing like this in my collection, and it's getting lonely there by itself =P. Must be time to save up and do a proper haul...

Have you tried a holo polish yet? Were you pleased or disappointed? I'd love to hear any stories you have - I'm always interested in fellow polish-holic experiences! =)

Hopefully I'll be back in full swing soon so keep checkin' in. Hope you're all smiling your lovely smiles! Thanks for reading ^_^

- Ally xx

Quick n Dirty

Well hello there, strangers. I trust you've all had amazing and relaxing wonderful New Years, Januarys and half Februarys! To crack into the new year of blogging, I've got a couple of quick n' simple silver / grey manis for you. First up: I was feeling musical.

Do you remember how I was in a local production of Hairspray last year? Well the next show is Phantom of the Opera (SO freakin' excited!!!) and yesterday was the presentation for all auditonees to get a snapshot of the new set design / general creative jist of the show. That put me in a super excited musical mood, so I thought I'd share some (poorly) stamped musical nails.

This mani is two coats of China Glaze Pelican Gray, with a coat of OPI Pirouette My Whistle over top. Accent nails are two coats of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls from the Spiderman Collection, stamped in a generic black using fauxnad (Konad knock off) plate m73. All topped off with a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

Yeeeeah so my stamping was terrible at best, but it gets the point across, don'tcha think? I'm obviously out of practice... Will make an effort to improve, promise!

Next up is the mani I'm still wearing. This is China Glaze Glistening Snow. Freakin' gorgeous!!!

This baby is tricky to capture with my lighting setup (ie: my bedside lamp...) because whenever it's in direct unfiltered lamplight, it just looks silver, and it's NOT! It's every colour ever, in a beautiful sparkly, shimmery, dancing mosaic of gorgeousness. Can you tell I like it?

For these photos I used three coats, with a coat of Wicked Fast to set it. I've found with this one the more coats you use, the more intense the sparkle becomes. I'm so madly in love with this polish, you don't even know. It's become my go-to 'happy polish'. I mean, I like all my polishes, but this one always makes me smile.

My mum and I have an ongoing in-joke about owls (long terrible pun-filled story), and I got her this silver owl ornament for Christmas last year, and he goes perfectly with this polish, so I had to include him in the shoot!

So there ya go, quick n' dirty! What's your favourite polish that can always lift your mood? Do you have a favourite musical? Thanks for stopping by - hope to see you again soon!

Bahamian Blues

Hello, hello lovely people! Yeah okay so I've been a touch AWOL for the last few... weeks... and I am sorry I haven't been sharing / updating, but working in retail over Christmas leaves VERY little time for anything else. For example, I finished all of my Christmas cards on the 21st, because it was my only day off before the big day. SO glad to hear the lovely blogging ladies I sent cards to a bit earlier in Dec received them in time ^_^. Anyway, on with the post! 

Today's mani is the first I've done in OVER TWO WEEKS. I know, right? Insanity!! Over the Christmas rush at work I simply didn't have the time or energy to make my nails all pretty, and have been working with nothing but a coat of OPI Nail Envy on my tips. I kept ripping nails at work (if any of you know of or have Pandora bracelets, you'll understand that the clasps are hazardous to even the most basic mani!) so I had to chop 'em all off again. Behold the nubs.*sigh*

Before Christmas I ordered a bunch of nail polishes from Head2ToeBeauty.com, and today's featured polish is one of the 9 China Glazes that arrived on my doorstep. Yes, I bought 9 China Glazes. You already knew I had a problem!! This is one coat of Bahamian Escape, with an accent nail gradient using OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls to mix it up a bit. All nails finished off with Seche Vite fast drying top coat.

The gradient on my left hand sucks, so I photographed my right hand instead =P. A lovely gal on IG asked for tips for doing a sponge gradient, so I thought I'd include some here since it's a wonderfully easy and effective technique once you get the hang of it. For a foolproof method, check out Sammy's tutorial.

1- Always remember that as with any nail art technique, it takes some practice to figure out how it works / what works for you / your own method to get it how you want it. Having said that, I've discovered that some gradient accidents are pretty much universal. 
2- Let the polish on your nail dry before trying to add layers, otherwise sponging over it will lift the underneath polish instead of adding more. This is how you get blotches of missing polish (it took me a while to figure that one out... I'm notoriously impatient!)
3- Make sure you have plenty of polish on the sponge, because if the polish on your nail isn't dry enough and less than what's on the sponge, again you'll just lift off what you've already put down.
4- Be prepared for it to take a few layers before the colour is as opaque as you want it to be. Considering how little polish you're using each time you sponge some on (especially when using polishes that can take a couple coats to be opaque during normal application), it's gonna take some time to build up.
5- PRESS LIGHTLY. Pressing too hard, especially if you don't have much polish on the sponge, will cause bits of the sponge to break off and get stuck on the nail. It's a pain in the [bleep] to sit there picking out bits of sponge with tweezers because you were getting impatient with the colour not going on! Patience and practice are key =).

If you scroll up and look at the first pic of my left hand, you'll see I managed to make all those mistakes =P there are bits of sponge stuck on the nail, bald spots from pressing too hard with too little polish, and lovely big blue dots from being impatient with my sponging. I'm still learning, too! I do love how my right hand turned out though...

I said I got 9 new CGs, so here's the lineup! For US$3.25 each, I had a really hard time controlling my impulse buying LOL. Click click click new polish! It's dangerously easy these days =P

Click on the pic to see 'em bigger =). I bought my very first backup polish (Happy Go Lucky) but all the others are brand spankin' new to my collection! So excited to get creative with these babies! I haven't taken their mugshots yet, but for Christmas my amazing brother Andy got me 4 OPI polishes - all from my wishlist! Either he's psychic or he can tell what I'll like LOL. He got Wocka Wocka, Skyfall (my biggest lemming for the last month!), Wooden Shoe Like To Know?, and Dating A Royal. Are you jealous? Yeah, I know you are. Who's got the best brothers in the world? That would be me! =P 

Have you bought a backup of a nail polish you use a lot, or are afraid of not being able to get in the future? What's the largest number of polishes you've ever bought at once? I hope you've all had amazing holidays wherever you are in the world, and thank you for checking in! Only 2 days left of 2012!! Woohoo!!! ^_^

PS: Did you know that 2013 will be the first year since 1987 that has four different numbers in the date? Random useless fact for the day! Xx

Golden Glitz

Hiya lovelies!! Happy Friday! ^_^ It's after 9pm, and I have a BIG day tomorrow (going to a friend's wedding, and I'm doing her nails in the morning - eek!!) so I'm a bit too tired and lazy to do proper writings of wonderfully witty snippets of goodness. Instead, you can just enjoy the pics of my latest Christmas mani!

All nails are two coats of OPI Glitzerland, and the accent nails are dotted with OPI Big Apple Red and China Glaze Holly-Day. Everything's topped off with a coat of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.

Sorry for the nasty dry cuticles - I've been neglecting them lately =(

That's all, folks! Quick and painless, huh? =P Hope you all have exciting weekends ahead! Thanks for stopping by ^_^