Digit-al Dozen DOES .... Art ..... Pop Art

Hi Goddesses

I pray for you I really do.  Art Week - argh, my worst nightmare!  I HATED art at school.  I have no spatial awareness and therefore no concept of real shapes, and just about the only thing I draw is .... well, a circle!  I really hoped some good Googling would gift me some cool ideas, but no.  So I'm sorry, really sorry - here is Art Week.

Today's post is pop art, as that seemed fairly simple lol.  This is stamping using the Born Pretty stamping polishes again, and using an MJ plate and Barry M for the bases.  If you squint, you can *just* see the yellow stamping on the index finger - lesson:  yellow does not stamp well on this shade of green!

I think this looks .... ok.  It's not fab, but it's not awful either ... it just ... is lol.

To be fair, the coming week isn't ALL bad - there are 3 manis that I like, and then I have 2 half-ok ones to choose from for my final one lol.

Art - gah!!

Love xx :)

Born Pretty Product Review - Stamping Polishes

Hi Goddesses

As I'm sure a lot of you know, Born Pretty are an amazing online store that's like a sweet shop for nail art products!  They sell stamping goodies, rhinestones, glequins, striping tape - you name it, they have it!  When they asked me to review something for them, I was a little stuck as I'd just splurged LOADS on nail art goodies, but then a little fairy guided me to the stamping section, and as my good old Konad White was running a bit low, I decided to put their stamping polishes to the test.

The polishes come in a set of 5 x 5ml bottles for $6.93.  Compare that to Konad where 1 11ml bottle will usually cost you £5 / $10.   The colours are pretty standard - white, black, red, blue and yellow - making them an excellent starter kit.   

Over the last few weeks, I've used them in quite a bit of stamping, and my overall thoughts are -

- excellent price point

- fabulous beginners kit

- more reliable than using "normal" polishes

- cheaper than Konad.  The consistency of the polish is also a little bit thinner.  In an out and out comparison between the 2, I really don't think there's much in it

- the red isn't bright red, it's got a slightly faded quality to it.  That was absolutely fine for me, but it might not look right if you're hoping to do nothing but Santa stamping!

- the blue doesn't stamp as dark as the bottle and comes out in a petrol-type shade.  Again, not an issue, but it would be easy to assume it would look navy

And then there was the yellow.  I really struggled to get it to stamp BUT that was only because I was layering it over dark colours.  If you squint carefully at this photo, you can definitely see it on the index finger!    However, on white paper, it stamped fine, so, no issues with the polish, but yellow is clearly a colour that needs a pale base.

(you can see this mani in full on Jan 9th)

Stay tuned next week for a mani involving all 5 polishes - you can catch it on Monday when the Digit-al Dozen start Art Week.

These products were sent to me for review.  To see them on Born Pretty, use this link http://www.bornprettystore.com/specialize-nail-polish-image-stamp-varnish-paint-p-1323.html or search for item ID: 4158.

Even better, you can use the coupon code on the left hand side of the page for 10% off your order!  That's a LOT of art you can buy for a very reasonable price.

Love xx

NEW31DC Day 3 - Gold .... ah!

Hi Goddesses

Sorry, I can't say Gold without singing the Spandau Ballet song lol.  Good morning, and today it's Day 3 of the challenge.

Firstly, the photos.  These were taken whilst Beth had found the urine-toned setting, but because the polish is gold, it didn't annoy me so much.  Hopefully you'll briefly dig the olde fashioned sepia-tinged vibe it's giving the polish!

Yesterday was silver and the amazing Jade Psicodelica, and today it's gold and its twin, Mystic Gold.  This is one of THE most sensational polishes of the last year.  I mean, yes it's indecently holographic, but just look how deep that colour is too!

I absolutely love this polish and I'll be needing a back up soon. You've seen it in quite a few posts already.  Even if you're not a gold fan it's worth owning - it's quite extraordinary.

I stamped over this with BM-205 and Born Pretty red stamping polish.  The pattern looks a little leafier on the plate, but on the nail I thought it really looked like Poinsettias.

The matte of the stamping really contrasts with the holographic dazzle of the polish.

A simple, but effective combo.

Tomorrow?  We go PINK !!!  

Love xx :)

New31DC - Day 1 - Black and White

Hi Goddesses

Wow, can you believe we're back here again?  New Year, New Month, New Challenge :)

The Crumpet's Nail Tarts have devised a new 31 Day Challenge for 2013 and we're starting it today.  It's not too late to get involved - just click HERE.  We'll be running it a couple of times this year - sometimes for 31 consecutive days (like this month) and sometimes over a longer period of time for those of you that like to enjoy your manis for a few days :)

I want to start today with a little bit of waffle.  One of my goals for 2013 is for my manis to look more professional, especially my nail art.  However, I am acutely aware that a lot of you love this blog because I am so open about my imperfections.   Don't worry though - I think today's post might show how we can have the best of both worlds :)  So, on with the show!

For Black and White Day I really wanted to do something that was the opposite of black and white, so I thought of the most colourful thing I could, and then decided to do it monotone.    

So here we have - flowers!  The polish bases were OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls and OPI Black Onyx and I used DRK-C and white and black stamping polish from Born Pretty Store (full review coming up sooooon).

So I did it, and I liked it, but it didn't look complete to me.  It was also nagging me that the stamping didn't go all the way to the nail edge.  So I thought about it all night, woke up, and did it !  Funky french!

Now, I don't know about you, but I prefer it with the edging, it just completes it in a way it wasn't complete before.  As you'll also notice, it hides the bits that didn't stamp well !! lol.  But on the other hand, they look like the smiles of the Black Minstrels.  Hhhmmmm.  Win / lose ?

We'll be back tomorrow for Day 2, which is Silver.

Enjoy xx :)