Showing posts with label NYC. Show all posts

Nail-Art-A-Go-Go - Day 4 - Monochrome

 Hi guys, and welcome to Day 4 of the NAGG challenge.  The prompt for today is Monochrome.  I chose to go with shades of blue and some funky 80's stamping.  You'll probably find that a lot of my challenge mani's include stamping, but I have made an effort to chuck in some freehand stuff too for all the non-stampers out there.

The base for this mani is just 1 coat of Kleancolor - Metallic Sapphire, and the stamping was done with NYC Foil Explosion - Aqua Mystic, and MoYou London - Back to the 80's 03. I actually had to do this mani twice in the end, the first time around, my stamping came out great, but when I added my top coat, the base bled into the stamp really heavily, making it almost invisible.  I was going to just go with it, until I noticed that some nails had bled much more than others, so they were all different shades of blue, and a couple had just literally disappeared!  So, I took it all off, and tried again - this time, I used 2 layers of top coat over the base before stamping, and didn't top coat over the stamping.  I wouldn't normally do this, but since it was coming off the next day, I wasn't too fussed.
I was lucky with this one, I hadn't done anything fancy under the stamp, and my base only needed 1 coat, so all in all, it could have been so much worse.  I really liked this mani too, so I'm glad I was able to find a way around the bleeding issue.
I am serisouly loving this MoYou plate - the images are so random and funky, they're the sort of designs that just make me smile with their madness.  I didn't get a perfect transfer with this, but I think that was mostly to do with the way I was scraping.  I don't think it matters as much with an image like this though anyway, it doesn't follow any sort of set pattern, so it's not very noticeable if there are bits missing.  What do you think, could you live with it, or would it drive you barmy?

pekal

2true Glitterati & NYC stamping

Hi guys, sorry about the brief hiatus, I have the flu at the moment and really didn't feel like posting anything yesterday.  I hope you didn't miss me too much, as my posting may be a little sporadic over the next week or so while I get better.  Today, I have some nail art I did a few weeks back with 2 very cheap polishes.



The base for this mani is 2true Glitterati in Shade 3, which I picked up from Superdrug for £1.99.  It's a dark blue jelly polish with blue iridescent and silver hexes.  This was 3 not-so-easy coats.  The formula on this seemed to thicken quite quickly, and it wasn't the easiest to apply, but by the 3rd coat it all looked pretty good.
Then I stamped with NYC Foil Explosion - Aqua Mystic, which I also got from Superdrug for £1.99.  I only picked up 2 of these polishes, but wish I'd bought them all now I see how well they stamp.  No doubt I will buy them eventually, you know I can't turn down a bargain
The image was stamped from MoYou - Back to the 80's 03.
Anyway, I'm going to make like my nose and run, but as always, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on this mani, and on the polishes themselves.


While you're here, why not take a look at what the other British Nail Bloggers have been up to this week.

pekal

Spotted: New NYC In A New York Color Minute Nail Polish shades for 2014

There's yet another new NYC display now hitting Rite Aid, and there's a fun little surprise in this one! Thanks to several readers for sharing pics of this display--I happened to spot it myself a while back, and took some pics (below) but I'm very behind on my new product posts so it's taken me a while to get this one up. Hopefully many of you have been able to find this one since it first landed

pekal

Spotted: New NYC City Proof Twistable Intense Lip Colors and Expert Last Lipsticks

A entirely new line of lipsticks and new chubby lip pencils from NYC! This would explain why the entire line of NYC Ultra Last lipsticks is now on clearance at CVS, right? Looks the Ultra Last line is going bye-bye, but I could not be more excited about these new additions to the permanent NYC lineup! Huge thanks to reader Yamile for this one. Yamile spotted the new NYC lip colors at her local

pekal

Spotted: New NYC mascaras, eyeliners and eyeshadow palettes

It's that time of year, folks! The products that are on clearance at the drugstores right now are moving out, and the NEW products that are taking their places are now starting to make their debut in stores. Here are some new things that you can expect to find soon from NYC! Thanks to reader Yamile, who spotted this display at Kmart this week, for these pics. Take a look!




image credit: Yamile

pekal

#33DC - Day 16 - South America


Hi guys and girls.  I'm back today for Day 16 of the #33DC and the prompt for today is South America.  I was totally stumped on this prompt for ages, and I ended up asking the rest of the Crumpets Nail Tarts on facebook to help me out with inspiration.  I had so many great suggestions from loads of ladies which I'm truly grateful for, they were all amazing.  However, as is usually the way for me, I promptly had my own idea after asking for help!  I know you may all be wondering exactly how this mani is related to South America, and I promise I'll explain after the jump!




This mani is a tribute to some of my favourite Latin Metal bands.  It's a sub-genre of heavy metal with Latin origins, influences, and instrumentation.  They sometimes use Spanish lyrics, Latin percussion and salsa rhythms. I originally picked 5 bands, but I couldn't recreate all of their logos, so I had to narrow it down to 3.  The 3 I used are:
Cavalera Conspiracy
Soulfly

Ill Niño

The thumb and pinky are stamped with Cheeky plate CH31, and the logos I copied freehand with black acrylic paint.  This may not be as pretty as some of the other ideas, but I really like that this mani means something to me personally too.  Plus, I love the studded CC logo, and the Ill Nino symbol.  I wish my nails were a little longer, as my Soulfly logo is a bit squished at the bottom, but never mind!
If I've peaked you curiosity, never fear.  Here's a Spanish version of How Can I Live by Ill Nino.  Warning:  if you really hate heavy music, you may want to just pop down to the bottom and see what the other Nail Tarts have got for you today : D
ps. if you're wondering why he looks like he's miming badly, it's because the video was done mostly in English - the spanish version is from an album.  : )

pekal

Fragrance Direct Friday (on Saturday)

Hi peeps, welcome to the weekend!  I'm back today for yet another instalment of Fragrance Direct Friday, and I have 3 polishes to show you.  First up is this yummy chocolate colour above by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear, called Chocolate Nut - available here for just 99p (surprise surprise!))  This is a really nice brown with lots of golden shimmer.  I originally bought this polish just because I didn't own a single brown, but once I swatched this I really liked it.  It really does remind me of chocolate - I was hankering for some Galaxy while I painted these I can tell you!

The formula on this is lovely, the pictures show 2 easy coats.  There are still a few shades of this line left on Fragrance Direct, including a pink and 2 purples that look really interesting.  I would of picked them up by now if I thought for a second that I could limit myself to buying just those 3!  
 I also did some stamping on this colour, which I will be posting later today, as this is already a pretty long post : )
The second polish I have to show you is NYC Quick Dry - Big City Dazzle which is also available here for 99p.  This is a fine glitter topper made up of fine gold glitter, and slightly bigger red, fuchsia and blue glitter.  I love these sorts of toppers for adding a bit of sparkle to a base for nail art as they enhance the nail art rather than distracting from it.
The picture is 1 coat over Revlon - Royal.  This does look great over dark colours, as the colours in the glitter really pop, I like it especially over black.
 The last polish I have to show you was in stock when I planned this post a few days ago, but unfortunately, I have just checked, and they appear to all be gone.  Not sure if they'll be back in at all, but this is the NYC Quick Dry - Matte me Crazy matte top coat.  This was also only 99p, and I'm very glad I bought 3 bottles : D  It dries to a totally flat matte finish, and I haven't experienced any chipping with it; however I rarely go more than 2 days without changing my polish.  If you're on the lookout for a matte topcoat, and are gutted that they're out of stock, don't fear, there are about 20 of these on ebay for £2.65 with free postage here and here.  Here's the mani's I have mattified with this top coat so far:

pekal

My new Holy Grail top coat only costs $1.99


Purchased by Me
It's rare that I declare something a new Holy Grail product, and it's even more rare when that product has to do with nail polish. I've been meaning to post about this product for a while now, but since there are some killer deals on NYC this week at both CVS and Rite Aid, I thought it was the perfect time to tell you about it.




NYC In a New York Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish

pekal

#33DC - Day 12 - Pattern from your home.

 Hi lovely people!  Welcome to Friday.  I'm back for Day 12 of the #33DC and the prompt for today is a pattern from your home.  I don't really have patterns in my home, but I knew as soon as I saw this prompt that I wanted to base my mani on my bedding.

This is my pillow, and I have the matching duvet cover too (duh!)  As you can see, I have done a skittle mani with this as one of the nails.  When me and the Mr went to Download Festival 2011, the guys camping next to us had a monochrome union jack and pirate flags flying from their tent, and we both liked the union jack, so when I spotted this duvet cover set it was a no-brainer.  Probably the most boring story in the world (unlike the festival which is awesome!), but it's where the idea for the pirate themed nails came from.
I started with a base of Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Lavender Cloud, then freehanded the stripes on the pinky with black acrylic paint, and the flag with acrylic paint and NYC - Sidewalkers.  I've never painted a union jack before, and kind of expected to fail the first time at least, but that wasn't the case.  It's a bit wobbly here and there, but nonetheless I am pleased with how it came out.  The index and middle fingers were stamped with images from Cheeky plate CH49.
For the thumb nail, I painted the union jack as before, then when it was dry, I stamped an image from my new Born Pretty Store skulls stamping plate with Barry M Silver - Foil. I couldn't get it quite central, but I've only stamped once with something that wasn't a full nail image so that's something I need to practise.  When it was all dry, I had to go in with the NYC - Matte Me Crazy matte topcoat since it's based on fabrics.
As always, I'd love to know what you guys think of this....yay or nay?

pekal

Revlon and NYC Limited Edition Nail Color Lookalikes


So the other day when I was out doing my usual "research" at the drugstores, I noticed that, at one Rite Aid I visited, the NYC Limited Edition Disco Inferno Collection was placed right next to the Revlon Limited Edition The Evening Opulence Collection. When I saw the two displays side by side, I noticed a couple of polish lookalikes, so I thought it was worth mentioning!




 NYC Limited

pekal

Ice Blue Cream - Part 2

Here we have, as promised earlier, the stamping over Ice Blue Cream.  This is the final matte version, but I have included a glossy picture after the jump.




Polishes used in this mani:OPI - Nail Envy Matte, La Femme - Ice Blue Cream, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure - Lavender Envy, Seche Vite and NYC - Matte me Crazy.


I stamped from image plate PUEEN29 with Lavender Cloud.  I've never stamped with this polish before, and it does take 2 coats on the nail normally, but I don't have a white stamping polish yet.  As you can see, it isn't completely opaque, but I think that fits nicely with such a soft colour and subtle design.  Also, as the name would suggest this polish is not pure white.  It has a slight lavender tinge to it, just enough to stop it looking like Tipp-Ex. (We all did it, you know we did!)


Then once it was all dry I added a coat of NYC - Matte Me Crazy to give that flat chalky look, which I love over pastel colours.  No idea why, I'm not really a pastel kinda girl but there it is!

The more eagle-eyed of you may have noticed that I have not included a picture of the stamping plate I used.  This is because I am planning to post full reviews on the stamping plate sets I own quite soon, which will include photos of each individual plate.  I will be breaking each set down into multiple posts, as it's just too many images for one post!  I have 3 sets, The Cheeky 2012 set, Cheeky 2013 Summer set, and the Pueen Love Elements collection.  If there is one set you would like me to review first, please let me know in the comments : )

pekal

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)