Labradorite inspired nails

So. Long time no writing, eh?
I know, I know, busy life and stuff, but mostly lack of inspiration to write something. And of course Instagram. Boy, what is that easy!

But from the moment I blew the dust off of my Canon camera and started playing around with it again I knew I had to update my blog because, well, the latest actual blog post is about 6 months old.

I played around with my Little Northies from the OPI Nordic Collection and some saran wrap. When I showed them to my mom she said they looked like a crystal called Labradorite. She showed me her Labradorite necklace and I could only agree with her!

The polishes I used are OPI My Dogsled is a Hybrid, OPI How Great is Your Dane? (both Little Norties) and OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby. (from Rock Starlets). I used a ball of plastic wrap to create the marble with these three colors. Then I outlined my nails with OPI Love.Angel.Music.Baby.

Labradorite is an unusual mineral. It can display a beautiful iridescent play of colors, caused by internal fractures in the mineral that reflect light back and forth, dispersing it into different colors. This effect, known as labradorescence, gives Labradorite its appeal and fame.

Labradorite is considered by mystics to be a stone of transformation and magic. It is said to clear, balance and protect the aura. It is purported to help provide clarity and insight into your destiny, as well as attract success. Mystically, energies of stress and anxiety are said to be reduced by labradorite, possibly due to is energy of self-confidence. 

#31DC2013 Day 13: Animal Print

I have for you; Snakeskin Print Nails! For the 13th challenge I didn't want to do cheetah or zebra nails, because I think those are too mainstream. I wanted to do some snakeskin print nails, but I wanted them to look as realistic as possible. So I got onto the web and searched some snakeskin images. I found some white/beige/gray prints that I really liked. So, here are the nails!

These nails took some serious painting! I used a few different techniques, which I'll show below.

These are the equipment I used for this manicure. From left to right, top to bottom: China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier Base Coat, Essie Blanc, OPI My Vampire Is Buff, Catrice ASHley, Only You Mirror, Mirror, OPI Nein, Nein, Nein! Ok, Fine!, ball of plastic wrap, image stamping plate MLS-09, Essence stamper, old gift card, kitchen towels.

First, I painted my nails with two coats of Essie Blanc, let it dry and used the saran wrap method to dab on the colours OPI MVIB, Catrice ASHley and Only You Mirror, Mirror.

Then I stamped on a snakeskin print using image stamping plate MLS-09 and OPI Nein, Nein, Nein! Ok, Fine!. Topped it with Seche Vite and voilà! Snakeskin Print Nails!

I like how the colours come together in this manicure. These are quite realistic looking, as I say so myself!

Snowflake Jelly Sandwich

Hey my lovely readers! Today I took a little break from the challenge - which I still didn't finish - to paint my nails more 'wintery'. So here's my Snowflake Jelly Sandwich!

Isn't this cute? It is so subtle and sweet yet so wintery! I didn't want it to be much of a Christmas manicure, we celebrate Sinterklaas before Christmas, so I think that's a little early. But the Xmas nails are definitely coming!

For this manicure I sandwiched OPI - Pirouette My Whistle between Catrice - Cotton Candy At Eiffel Tower. I stamped the snowflakes with Essence - Stamp Me! White and used plates BM-323 & BM-H02.

I had fun doing these, but from now on I only do manis for the challenge till it ends.

Do you like these as much as I do? Please leave a comment below!

#31DC2013 Day 08: Metallic

First I'd like you to know that I will try to post approximately once per week, instead of trying to post more than once. I do that because I don't want to disappoint you if I do not fulfill my promises.

For the eighth challenge I wanted to try out one of my new OPI shatter polishes that I got on sale for €1,99.

I chose China Glaze Call Of The Wild for the base colour and picked OPI Gold Shatter to paint the diagonally half of my nail.

I thought that the warm colours would fit in today’s autumn weather.

 

It’s simple but chic! The next challenge will be: Rainbow!  I can assure you that you will like that post, at least I do!

If you want to let me know what you think about this manicure, please leave a comment below.

#31DC2013 Day 06: Violet

Today's theme is violet. I'm not a huge fan of purples, but I do really like how this manicure turned out! It kinda looks like ikat, an abstract, knitted... something? Actually I don't know what it looks like... Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

For this mani I used three shades of purple (or should I say; 'violet'?). For the main colour I used Yves Rocher Améthyste. For me that is THE purple colour. For the darker violet I used Essence Passion For Fashion and the lighter shade is OPI You're Such A Budapest from the Euro Centrale collection.

Above is shown Essence Passion For Fashion.

This mini version of OPI You're Such A Budapest came in a set of four polishes included Suzi's Hungary - Again!, Can't Find My Czechbook, You're Such A Budapest and OY- Another Polish Joke!

Because it sorta looks like a knitting, its a perfect fall/winter look!

The next challenge is Black & White and I cannot wait to post that one, as I got a great idea for that challenge. But it is also a pity that I have to take these off already :(

Please let me know what you think of today's manicure by commenting below. See ya!