Pick and Mix - Week 2 - 2nd Prompt

Hiiiii

Well, I was feeling challenged, so I thought I would give a 3 colour gradient a go! I saw some beautiful nails over at Shamelessly Polished. I can't pull off those tones, but they inspired me to try my own version.

I used two coats of L'Oréal - Rose Bagatelle as a base, then sponged over a gradient of that plus Sinful Colors - Timbleberry and Sinful Colors - Soul Mate.

Here's my final gradient - not 100% but hopefully some more practice will make it better. I am certainly happy to have my beautiful points back anyway.

I then thought what can I add to improve this - the answer is always glitter. So I put a layer of China Glaze - Fairy Dust on it. 

What do you think? If you have any tips on gradients I'd love to hear them!

Rachael xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

Back to School NAC - Day 2 ABCs

Good evening everyone!

Really late with these today, been a mental one running here there and everywhere yet I feel like I got very little done!

So here is my feeble attempt at ABC nails - calligraphy style! Not a patch on everyone elses!

Don't forget to check them all out though, we have so many people joining in and their efforts are just amazing! Also if you were thinking about joining in, or dont have time to do the full challenge, feel free to hop in and out on the days you fancy! All welcome!

Rachael xxx

ER31DC - Day 19 Galaxy Nails

Day 19 tiiiiiiime :) Galaxy Nails!

I've done these before but it doesn't matter how many times I do them, they always feel new! I do always try different colours - this time I used Illamasqua Faux Pas and a dark navy blue Sally Hansen I can't remember the name of. I really quite like the result!

What do you think? This could be my favourite colour combo I've tried so far!

Don't forget to check out everyone else's galaxy nails!

Other posts you might like:

ER31DC - Day 10 - Gradient Nails

Hey all!

I am trying my hardest here to catch up with this challenge - everyone else I believe is on.. Day 22/23. I am on... Day 10! Yaaaaaay for Day 10 haha! Got to be positive about these things :)

So anyway. I was not looking forward to today - I am not great at gradients they always look not blended. I try my hardest - maybe its just the polish I choose. 

Today I went for something unusual for me - a mix of orange and coral orange/pink. I used Barry M Gelly Papaya and one of my new Taras Talons polishes - Orange Juice.

I've worn Papaya before - its a very bright juicy orange. Orange Juice is a corally orange, which looks a bit pinker when you put it with Papaya. I think they work well together. I used two coats of Papaya, and then sponged Orange Juice on at the tip. What do you think?

I then thought it didn't look quite finished, so I went for your typical sunset look and freehanded a palm tree silhouette onto my accent nail.

Don't forget to check out what everyone else did for gradient week!

Other posts you might like:

Nail Art Challengez - Comic-Con Geek Week Day 5 - Space Themed

Today (yes these are late!) is Space themed! I went for galaxy nails - apart from my thumb for Day 3, I have never done them before - so I thought I would try it again with some different colours and as a full mani. I really love the end product - and theyre sooooo easy! They look pretty complicated, but they take minutes to do!

What do you think? I did add Sephora by OPI - Only Gold for Me as an after thought, but it really overpowered them.. much better as photoed above!

Don't forget to check out everyone else's manis for this! 

Here's who I'm pretty sure is participating!

Peace Love Lacquer (Host)

Dipped in Lacquer

Galactic Lacquer

Rachos Nail Love

Kate Kreatez

Makeup and Nails not War

Glitter Me This
Samarium's Swatches

Leslie Loves Nails

Rachael xxx

The Tenner Challenge @ Pocket Money Polishes

Morning all!

I decided to share something a little different with you today. Charlie at Pocket Money Polishes currently has a competition running with Sally Magpies to win a £10 voucher. All you have to do is explain what you would spend your only £10 on polish wise.

I worked quite hard to make good use of my £10 - so I thought I would share with you today :)

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If I only had a tenner to spend, I would definitely like to get my moneys worth. I am the same with clothes - theyre only worth it if I can wear them a number of ways. So first of all, to save money I would use my own DIY tools. I use things you can find around the house pretty easily - a rubber, paperclip, pins and nails of different sizes (free). I can then put these together (stick in the rubber to make it easy to hold each one) to make some different sized dotting tools. There is an orange stick here, but it is only for mixing which you can also do with the paperclip :)

I would then spend £2.20 on some Scotch Tape (available most places - mine is from Asda). Scotch tape is really versatile and you can use it to make lots of different patterns. I would also splash out on some striping tape from eBay - its a little faffy but so cheap I dont know how they afford to make and produce it without a loss. I got mine for around £0.25 for 10 different colour rolls.

My favourite thing at the moment is the Bling it On sets from Nails Inc - in particular the large skulls and studs sets. I can't afford one of those sets on a good day for £19, especially with the measly number of studs you get - so back on eBay again - a pack of 10 skulls in either silver or gold for £1.49. If you want to be slightly different there are two other skull choices for an extra 10p a pack.

Now for the colours. Like I said, I like to shop around and get the best deal. Poundland is one of my favourite places to check - I know some people are wary of the age of the polish, but if you use your common sense you can pick up some decent products - my favourites are the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure and Insta-Dri ranges, (the former which still retails at £6.99 in places like Boots) and also the odd Sinful Colors, Wet n Wilds and some others which pop in occasionally. My latest find for £1 is Me Me Me! in Carefree, which looks bright blue in the bottle but comes out an acceptable blue navy on your nail. While I'm in Poundland, I'll also spend £1 on some makeup sponges which work out nice for gradients and mottled effect backgrounds.

Total spend so far: £5.94

I did originally choose to use my LA Colors Art Deco pen. Theyre around £1.50 but only place I know I can get them is Boyes - which are few and far between. So i changed my mind - the basis of my collection is now my extensive Sinful Colors range so I picked a white from that instead. They do some gorgeous colours as well, all at only £1.99 each. If you can catch them on Boots 3 for 2 offers, then you can pick up a good range fairly cheaply. The colours I can't live without are Snow Me White and Black on Black, but I use the white much more often. Its great for mixing and you can then franken any lighter shades you might need. So I have picked two colours for today - Snow Me White and a muted pink - Soul Mate. (£3.98). Watch out for Snow Me White in Poundland - I have picked up a few back up bottles from there for the reduced price of £1. :)

Total spend: £9.92

And here is my final mani - a bit of a skittle but gives you ideas of how you can really stretch that £10 to come up with some different designs.

And also with some roses :)

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What do you think? Would you spend your £10 in a similar way?

Please please please go check out Charlie's blog. You can find details of the competition here along with some of the entrants (including mine!), and you can check out what other people would spend their £10 on here and here. Even if you don't plan on entering, please go take a look - there are some fabulous ideas in there!

The contest is open until 30th May 2013 so a winner can be picked on 31st May. Good luck to you if you have entered / plan on entering!

Rachael xxx