Sunset Smoosh

This post is a collaboration with my gorgeous friend Sumeet.  If you love nail stamping, you need to take a look at Sumeet's blog: http://talesofcoffeelacquerandbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/tales-of-coffee-lacquer-and-beauty-and.html  She posts the most gorgeous, inspiring manicures you could imagine.  Sumeet has such a wonderful way of explaining how to use techniques to get the effects you want.  Furthermore she also provides some of the best stamping product reviews I have seen in combination with her love of indie polish reviews.

Close-up

Take a look at these popping colours by Sumeet:

Our manicures together ❤

Now, I would like to explain my post title.

Sunset:  When I first sent a message to the lovely Sumeet, my mobile phone was convinced that I needed to change her name from Sumeet to Sunset!  And even though I knew I hadn't misspelled it, Sumeet will always be a gorgeous sunset to me.

Smoosh:  This is a technique I'd never heard of before.  It involves stamping multiple colours onto the nail in one go.

Sumeet directed me to @With2L (http://instagram.com/p/sZlXl2KmiM).  Elle applies different coloured polish onto one stamper and smoooooshes it onto a second stamper before placing it onto the nail.  And then Mariana (http://instagram.com/stampingqueenblog) showed me a similar technique by @Nailstamp4fun  (http://youtu.be/aQE9lIdYG4o) Swanette applies dots of different nail polish onto a non-porous surface.  She then uses a stamper to pick this smooosh up and transfer it to the nail.

I used Swanette's method, but adapted it slightly by waiting for the "smoosh" to dry on the stampers before applying it as a decal to my nails.

Bottle shot

Halogen Lighting

Gigantic Fingers.

How I smooooooshed!

Base colours:  (Sumeet was much braver than me)

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, Blood Orange GNP 4

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, Paprika GNP 32

Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, Satsuma GNP 7

Stamp colour: Konad Stamping Polish, White
Stamping plate: DRK xl Designer - 01

Smoooooosh Atttttack!!!!!!

Cobbles and Waves

A = Angles

A-Z Weekly Blog

I am so happy to be part of a group of nail bloggers A-Z challenge.  We will post alphabetically every thursday. This is the first week and so we have the letter A.  The theme for A is "Angles" (and also angels).

Base colours:

• Sinful Colors, 101 Snow me White
• Maybelline Super Stay, 20 Uptown Blue
• Essie Nail Lacquer, Where's my Chauffeur

Stamp colours:

• Konad Stamping Polish in White
• Essie Mirror Metallics, 944 Blue Rhapsody
• Rimmel 60 Seconds, 825 Sky High

Stamping plate: Q Girl - 016

Close up

Alphabet themed nail art!!!!

This is a fantastic polish for stamping

Massive finger!!!!!

Halogen lighting

Variations

Tools of the Trade

The first stamp

If you have noticed that this base stamp does not match the photos of my finished manicure, you have great eyes!!!!  This happened because I badly damaged the stamping on my ring finger during clean-up (I was at my Dad's house). I had to remove the stamping and the old polish and start fresh.  I only had a white polish with me so I stamped in turquoise.

The base for my index finger

More cat hair

An InLinkz Link-up

Diwali Gradient with Mariana

I had the opportunity to work with two very talented nail artists to collaborate manicures for my birthday.  Here is the full post for the first manicure:

My amazing Mexican friend Mariana contacted me as soon as I sent out invitations to join my Diwali Birthday Party.  She wanted to work with me and create a manicure together!  I was over the moon.  We realised that we both owned the konad stamping plate m99 and Mariana suggested gold stamping over an orange to red gradient.  So lush!!!!  I was so happy she joined me to celebrate my birthday together.

Check out her fantastic manicures on instagram:
http://instagram.com/stampingqueenblog

Base colours (from left to right in image below):

• Maybelline Color Show, 220 Orange Fix
• Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, Paprika GNP 32
• Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, Chilli GNP 33 

Stamp colour:  Barry M Instant Nail Effects Foil, NP319 Silver
Stamping plate: Konad m99 (Not shown)

Bottle Shot

Indirect afternoon autumn sunlight

Close up

In the shade outside

Our twin manicure <3

Humongous finger!!!!

The base gradient

The base colours

Neon Disco

This is week four of the Crumpets 52 Week Pick n Mix Challenge.

Every week, there are two prompts.  Participants can choose whether to do one, both or combine them. The first prompt is a technique and the second is a colour or a range of colours

This week, we have been given the prompts:   "The seventies" and "grey + colour"

Base colour: Sinful Colors, 101 Snow me White

Decals: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine, Chai GNP 29 and all neons from Primark

Stamp colour: Konad Stamping Polish, Black
Stamping plate one: Moyou London Princess Collection -
Stamping plate one: Moyou London Pro Collection - 20

Bottle Shot

Are you dancing yet?

Disco!!!!

Halogen lighting

Tools of the Trade

The decals

Scary swirls!

Big hypnotic fingers!

Catch you on the Flip-side!

An InLinkz Link-up

Pink Polka Dots

Today is another challenge manicure for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, October 2014.  Every Wednesday this month I will be wearing pink and following a theme.  This weeks theme is "dotticure".  There are two Wednesday left in October so I will be following the themes.  22nd Oct:  Pink gradient and 29th Oct: Pink flowers.  Please support this campaign by joining in :) Use the following instagram hashtags when you post a manicure using these themes:

#‎enoctubreusamosrosa‬
‪#‎manirosaenoctubre‬
#fuerzarosa
‪#‎OnWednesdaysWeWearPink‬

This week I  really wanted to stamp and use my dotting tool!  And I found a perfect set of polka dots on my new drk designer plate!  I stamped these first, then used the dots as guides for a gradient dotticure <3

Base colour:  Sinful Colors, 101 Snow me White
Stamp colour:  Mundo de Uñas Stamping Polish, 16. Lilac
Stamping plate: Konad m71 and Born Pretty  QA 61
Dotting colours from palest:

• Home-mixed: Konad White mixed with 1/4 bottle of Loreal Color Riche, 403 Femme Fatale
• Rimmel Lasting Finish, 300 Pop your Pink
• Mundo de Uñas Stamping Polish, 20. Fiusha
• Primark Nail Polish, Unnamed (maroon)

Polka Dot gradient

Close-up

Bottle shot

Giant finger!!!!!

Tools of the Trade

Base stamping

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Big fingers

Halogen lighting

Another bottle shot!!!

Muscles or maybe Mussels?

Here is a questionable stamping plate,  I really have no idea what this image is!  What do you think?  

Muscles or Mussels?  These ideas both came to mind when I first saw this plate.  I've chosen to stamp the latter, just because Halloween is approaching and I don't need any more gory manicures than necessary this month!  And I'm sure Konad didn't intend this image to look like muscle fibers from a biology text book.

The questionable image

Muscle...

...or Mussel?

Bottle Shot

Base colour: Essie Mirror Metallics, 944 Blue Rhapsody

Tip gradient:  George (Asda) Molten Metals, No. 5 Party Animal

Stamp colour: Konad White

Stamping plate: Konad M89

Giant finger

Autumn sun

Halogen lighting

Metallic gradient

I do apologise for the following image - it came up when I searched the net for "muscle fibre diagram"  and it made me laugh out loud so I couldn't resist adding it to this post.

Google has everything!