Dorothy For The Land Of Oz

Back when I was about 9 or 10 years old, I went to my dad's place where he had a computer game about Leonardo da Vinci, this was back on 1995/96 so it was super exciting. It was basically a game that run you through all of his career paths and all the inventions that came out of that, think the very early stages of helicopters, forts, painting, discoveries in anatomy, scuba diving. He was an painter, sculptor, architect, musician, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist, planner (source), and who else knows what would run through his head that he didn't put down in paper. Since then, I found the man utterly fascinating and have been jaw-droppingly amazed at what the human mind can do and create. 

Now you may think, why is she talking about Leonardo when I came here for nails? Well, I'm just having a bit of a rant. Skip the next couple of paragraphs if you only came here to see Dorothy. I don't want to put you off. Anyway, I'm finding a tad difficult to think that I have to sit exams and take a lot of pressure for four years to do ONE thing for the rest of my life.  I know I will get bored, I know I will need  a big change every decade or so. I wanna have twenty odd careers in my life, like Leonardo (not saying I'm a genius but it would be nice). I'm really over the fact that I have to pay $40,000 for uni to work for when I could be learning through experience and inquisitiveness. I guess I won't beat the system on this one.

I think I'm just having a shitty time trying to get my assignments done and pushing myself past a mental barrier that's stopping me from thinking freely and getting them done. I can also be a perfectionist with what I do and if it's not great, I'd rather not do it.

In the meantime, I'll keep going with this colourful hobby of painting my nails to cheer me up a little and stop that mental block. 

I present to you Dorothy from Picture Polish, a raspberry red jelly with tiny silver glitter.  the formula was pretty good, if a little thick like Peacock, but still manageable and expected from such dense glitter. Photos done below with two coats and no top coat.

I've checked out other blogs to make sure there's only silver glitter but I swear it looks like there is pink glitter. I had to take some macro photos of the bottle and nail to convince myself that there's only silver. The polish on the nail looks a lot pinker and the glitter may even look golden in some lights.

To be completely sure, I applied some Rimmel Matte Top Coat, which made Dorothy even lighter. I'm still in doubt.

Hmm... Either way it is a beautiful polish that shines and sparkles like you would expect a piCture pOlish glitter to do. I added a tape accent nail with Layla's Mirror Effect in Metal Chrome and dotted Dorothy on top. 

Funny how that perfectionist streak hasn't translated to this blog because I can tell by the above photo, that's not my best work. 

It is still fun and very sparkly, though. Hope you guys can take some enjoyment from the swatches and my tiny rants.

Till next time, 

Laura

Doticure and a New Born Baby

Yesterday was a day of waiting and as we all know, painting one's nail is a very good pastime, especially when you consider drying time. I'm still trying to keep my nail art simple to avoid frustration and, while trying to think what I could paint on my nails, the thought that I hadn't done a dot manicure ever jumped at me.

I started with four coats of Mirenesse's Forever pearl, a pinky nude that has a good formula  but it can be a tad streaky. 

I used a toothpick to apply the dots with China Glaze's Sweet Hook. So far so good, but there wasn't a lot of contrast between the two colours.

Lastly, I added some dots with with American Apparel's Office, trying to fill in the spaces between the purple dots.

So here it is, my first ever doticure.

As soon as I finished putting the last dot on my pinky (see the giant blob of green?), my family got a call from my brother-in-law saying my sister had gone into labour and that they were at the hospital. I didn't really bother to fix my nails and quickly snapped up one picture of the mani, as I would be needing the camera and memory card for new baby photos. 

This is my sister's first born, which in turn makes me a first time aunt. I've never wanted kids and babies made me uncomfortable, but this little one is the most adorable thing in the world. No, I'm not getting clucky. It's just really good to see my sister and her husband have a baby that was very much wanted and, it seems, will be very loved.

Till next time, 

Laura