September Tri-Polish Challenge Day 4

Today is the last day of the September Tri-Polish Challenge and I was tempted to skip this post. I did some sugar spinnning for the first day of this challenge last week  but managed to smudge it badly before it was completely dry. I thought I could try it for the last day of the September challenge and there wouldn't be much problem. I went to work on some sugar spun nails again this morning but they were terrible!!! 

I'm not one to give up easily so I had to come up with a new design quickly. I remembered we could used black, white, silver and gold as well as our three chosen colours. I figured I could use a nail art pen I've had laying around for a while but hadn't used. To be completely honest, I have never tried free hand nail art. Today seemed like a good day to start. 

Here's what I came up with. I used two coats of Essence in Absolutely Blue on my index finger and pinky, two coats of China Glaze in Sweet Hook on my ring finger and one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Sonic Bloom on my middle finger and thumb. I then used one coat of OPI Matte Top Coat on all my fingers. This was mostly done for the black nail art pen to grab onto the base as I have found that it slides right of anything slightly smooth. I taped my ring finger off to create the diamond shape using Layla in Metal Chrome. I used the same polish to create two dots on  my index finger and pinky. Then, my masterpiece (Haha! I wish) came to life. I created two diamond outlines using Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen in Black but managed to push it a little to far into the base polishes, which created uneven lines. 

I couldn't quite figure how to take photos of my hands upside down and make them look good so I just flipped my normal pose photos on Picasa. I guess that's a skill I'm gonna have to acquire.

If you've ever used a nail art pen from Sally Hansen, you may know they are basically acrylic paint in a handy package.  If you've used it without a top coat, you'll know they can smudge easily or wash away with some soap and water. I had to bring out my clear top coat to seal it as I wanted to wear this for a few days. I also know the black can smudge quite easily if the top coat is not applied correctly so I dabbed on some Sally Hansen Insta-Drip topcoat finish the mani. Unfortunately, I ended up with bubbles from the thickness of the last coat but it's hardly noticeable in real life.

Putting my rough lines aside and top coats bubbles, I quite like this mani. I'll just have to keep practicing this free handing business.

Check out the other entries to this challenge.

Till next time, 

Laura

September Tri-Polish Challenge Day 3 AKA Nail Fail

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here!

Day three of the September Tri-Polish is upon us a lot quicker than I realised. For some reason I thought I had a post ready for today but turns out I didn't. I had to come up with a quick and simple mani that would use all three colours. I haven't done a lot of gradients in my polishing life but I knew they were easy enough to me to tackle in no time and the pink I've been using was perfect for stamping. So a stamped gradient it was.

I started with two coats of Essence in Absolutely Blue as a base and let it dry. I then painted three coats of Absolutely Blue and China Glaze in Sweet Hook with a sponge to create the gradient. This is where it started to turn into a fail. The sponge I used was too rough and left little holes on the wet polish, which after three coats of coloured polish and two of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri topcoat, turned into BIG, chunky bubbles. 

I soldiered on and stamped over the gradient with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Sonic Bloom, which dried a little too quick on the stamper. Lack of foresight from my part there. :( I redid three of my fingers but they still didn't turn out great. Sealed it all off with two coats of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri. 

Not only are they B-A-D, they are also chunky. All those layers of polish and topcoat aren't making this mani look any better.

I thought of doing a different mani altogether but then remembered I have a life to attend to. Here are other good manis that you can look at after my fail. :)

Till next time, 

Laura

September Tri-Polish Challenge Day 2

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here!

I'm trying to keep this challenge simple so I don't end up frustrated and quit before I even begin. For Day 2 of the September Tri-Polish Challenge I decided to go with some easy chevrons after my base got smudged. Yes, I have a problem with smudging my polish because of impatience and lack quick drying topcoat!!! 

For this attempt, I used two thin coats of China Glaze in Sweet Hook, let it dry and then used striping tape to create the chevrons with Essence in Absolutely Blue. I finished it all off with a coat of Ulta3's Clear polish.

I've noticed that pastel colours can look my hands look a bit lobster-ish in photos and in real life but I'm still loving the softness of mani. 

Hold on. Aren't I supposed to use three colours for this challenge?  Well, I am but the third one is hidden. I've been wanting to do Louboutin nails for a while but my nails never reached a workable length. I know I won't be able to grow them much longer than these as I will be going back to work and when I go back to work, they tend to break. I also figured the pink I was using was close enough to red, right?

They required a bit of preparation, patience and clean up but I love the way they look. I only wish I could have taken better photos but they were so tricky to capture correctly!

So that's my entry for today but don't forget to check others below.


Till next time, 

Laura

September Tri-Polish Challenge Day 1

Don't forget to enter our giveaway here!

My attempt at this challenge didn't work out quite as good as I was hoping as it was done in a rush after my first attempt got majorly smudged. I had thought of doing a saran wrap with the blue, pink and lilac colours for the first day of the September Tri-Polish Challenge so I stayed with the idea as it would be quick and easy. 

I used Essence's Absolutely Blue as a base and then added Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Sonic Bloom and China Glaze in Sweet Hook with some cling wrap. It didn't quite have the oomph! factor I was looking for so I added a coat of OPI's I Juggle... Men. Still didn't look great so as a last resort I added a coat of Ulta3's Stop The Press. 

This is what this mani looks like. The pink looks redder than it is and the lilac is too sheer to stand out against the blue. They kinda remind me of zombie nails with the wrong colours.

This is pre-Stop The Press and it looks plain as anything.

Check out the entries from the other ladies participating in the challenge.

Till next time, 

Laura

Sideways Ruffian

Here I was again itching to paint my nails after spending the whole weekend without nail polish on. That was almost 72 hrs!!! How did I survive? I had to think of something simple and choose fast drying polish, since I'm lacking quick-drying topcoat and I want to go to bed.

This is where Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Night Flight and Sonic Bloom came out to play. This mani took me about ten minutes from using basecoat to the taking photos. I started with a PVC basecoat, then applied one coat of Sonic Bloom, let it dry and applied one coat of Night Flight using its flat brush to create the sideways ruffian. Finished it all off with a high shine topcoat and voila! Extra quick mani.

I picked up these two bottles from Kmart on clearance for $4 each a little while ago. Every so often, Kmart discounts the Insta-Dri polishes, even though they remain in the core line in every other shop. I find it a bit strange but I've taken advantage of it a few times. I won't stop buying them as I can't wrong their creamy formula, super quick drying time and one coat application.

I found these polishes to be a perfect way to try the ruffian trend that's been around for ages. I wasn't originally planning on creating this but as I applied the black polish to my middle finger, I decided halfway through the stroke I wanted a sideways ruffian. I don't think it turned out too bad but I'll let you guys be the judges of that.

What do you think? Would you consider this nail art or is it too simple?

Till next time, 

Laura