Music Challenge 6: Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) – take 2

Music Challenge 6: Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple) – take 2

This is my second take on the challenge of letting myself being inspired by the song “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple. You can see yesterday’s take by clicking here!

 

Today I’m going to do the exact same mani, just with different polishes than yesterday. I started out with two coats of Gosh “Holographic Hero”, which is a strong linear holographic silver. It’s the first time I’ve tried it on, and I’m well impressed.

Here it is, without topcoat:

It was nice’n easy to apply. I used Gosh’ Fix base coat as underwear, and the two coats I used glided on easily without problems at all. This polish dries really fast. When I had done the last nail, the first one was already dry and ready for coat number two. I like that!

I love the rainbows on my nails. I’m not crazy about it in low light, where it just looks like a silver polish, but I can live with it because of all the rainbows I get to see in a good light :)

And now for the “smoke”. I used Magnetic’s “Shimmering Titanium”, which isn’t a magnetic polish, but a shattered black holo. I got it in a swatch with my sweet friend Kvacka from Rainbows and Blues.

I used the same technique as yesterday. I dabbed the black polish on the tips of my nails and dragged the polish upwards with a needle.

Here’s the result. Smoke on the water:

These pictures are all taken in artificial lights, as I haven’t seen any sights of the sun recently. *pouts* There’s no topcoat involved either.

What do you think? Is this an OK take on the challenge? Is it better than yesterday's take, or do you like that one better?

Music Challenge 6: Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple)

Music Challenge 6: Smoke on the Water (Deep Purple)

This is one of the songs, I’ve been looking forward to. I love Deep Purple, and I love the song! I didn’t have anything particular in mind when I chose it for the challenge, but I knew it had to be one of the songs.

I let me inspire by this picture:

I used a new Isadora polish as my base. It’s called Silk Road and it’s absolutely gorgeous. It’s a dusty very dark blue with green and golden shimmer, and a little bit of purple shimmer. The formula is great, like the other Isadora polishes I’ve got. It takes two easy coats to reach full opacity.

Here’s what it looks like with a layer of Poshe top coat.

You need to see it from another angle too:

I think this is perfect as my “water”. I couldn’t find a suitable purple for my “smoke”, so I went with turquoise instead, namely Orly’s “It’s up to Blue”.

I dabbed the turquoise polish onto one tip at a time and pulled the polish upwards on the nail to create a swirly effect. I used the thinnest dotting tool for the job! When I was done I applied another layer of Poshé top coat, and here’s what that looked like:

I haven’t tried this technique before, so it’s definitely something I need to practice to get better than I am right now. But I’m pleased with how this turned out – I just wanted to add a little extra: Glittah!

I chose Risque’s “Star”, which is a clear base with holographic glitter. It’s not my favourite glitter, mainly because the drying time is relatively slow, but hey, glitter is glitter, so this is definitely a keeper!! I applied one coat of Star, and my mani was done:

Nobody would ever guess that this should be Smoke on the Water, but I don’t mind, I like it nonetheless! Do you?
I will re-do this mani tonight and post my second take on this particular challenge tomorrow, so please stay tuned! 

Next challenge up is in three days, and we’re going to meet “I’m a Barbie Girl”! I predict there either be pink or glitter, or possibly both!!

Check out the other girls’ blogs to see how they interpreted “Smoke on the Water":

Aylin: http://poshnailart.blogspot.com

Mette and Lisa: http://neglerier.blogspot.dk

Anne Mette: http://amnegle.blogspot.dk/

Brianna: http://welcometobriannasworld.blogspot.com

Celia: http://neglegejl.blogspot.dk/

Astrid: http://polish-life.blogspot.com

Bonus link to Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water:

The Rest of the Year Challenge 2: Breast Cancer Awareness

The Rest of the Year Challenge 2: Breast Cancer Awareness

1 out of 9 Danish women are diagnosed with breast cancer. More than 4,000 Danish women are annually diagnosed with breast cancer, and it is thus the most common type of cancer among women.

Breast Cancer Awareness is symbolized by a pink ribbon. I decided to go “the easy way” with this challenge, and try and paint a pink ribbon on my nails. Beware and behold – we’re taking freehand painting here!

I started out with two coats of Dare to Wear’s “Social Butterfly”, which is pale pink with holographic glitters and bars. It’s easy to apply, it covers well, and even though it’s a bit too pale to be “my colour”, I quite like it.

Two coats of Social Butterfly, one coat of Poshe top coat:

 And from another angle:

Even though it sounds pretty easy to draw a ribbon, it’s really not. Not when you’re not gifted with great freehand skills. I decided to dot the ribbons on. First with Models Own’s “Snow White”, which is a plain white crème. And then with Dare to Wear’s “Hey Girl”, which is a magenta shimmer. I dotted a white ribbon first, and then a magenta ribbon on top of it. I did that to make a white line around my ribbon.

After a bit of struggling with the dotting, I added another coat of Poshe top coat, and my Breast Cancer Awareness mani was done:

 And another pic:

I know that this is nowhere near perfect, but I’m pleased with it anyway. Both because I like when I get challenged, but also because it’s for a good cause.

Check out these other Danish girls’ blogs to see what they came up with for Breast Cancer Awareness:

http://sundaymanicures.blogspot.dk

www.passion4polishdotcom.blogspot.com

http://nailant.blogspot.com

http://amnegle.blogspot.dk/

The Rest of the Year Challenge 1: Suit Up Day

Hi girls, 

I’ve teamed up in another challenge with a bunch of other Danish girls. Sweet Sonja from Sunday Manicures made up this new challenge, and all credits and kudos for this collage go to her:

Click on the pic for a bigger size pic

So that’s what this new challenge is about. I’m sure it’ll be lots of fun.

So here’s the first challenge coming up already:

The Rest of the Year Challenge 1: Suit Up Day

Today is Suit Up Day. It’s a phenomenon that has taken the Internet by storm.  We all have the TV series “How I Met Your Mother” to thank for this latest holiday. Fans of How I met your mother have borrowed Barney Stinson’s catchphrase “Suit Up!” and declared 13th of October International Suit Up Day. It’s really easy to celebrate the new holiday: All you need to do is wear a suit anywhere you’re going today. I’m wearing my suit on my nails!

I started out with one coat of H&M’s metallic red, “Look at me”. Perfect formula, perfect coverage, perfect price.

Then I applied a single coat of OPI’s “In a Flirtationship”, which I just realized is an early version of “Excuse Moi” from the Muppets collection. Fortunately I didn’t buy that one, but seriously OPI, you should stop (re)producing old nail polishes and passing them off under new names.

Anyway, here’s that step. There’s no top coat involved just yet:

And from another angle:

I quite like that glitter. It’s definitely too opaque for me to wear on its own, but as a layering polish it’s perfect!

Now for the tux. I used a striping polish from Claire’s and freehanded my little suits. I also made a little bow tie on each nail, to make it look more classy. It is Suit Up Day after all! ;)

And here’s another shot of the final mani. There’s one coat of Miss Sporty top coat on.

And here are the polishes I used: 

So there you have it. If it hadn’t been for this challenge, I wouldn’t have known anything about Suit Up Day. I’ve never watched “How I met your Mother”, you see. So – are you wearing a suit today? ;)

 

Check out these other Danish girls’ blogs to see what they came up with for Suit Up Day:

http://sundaymanicures.blogspot.dk

www.passion4polishdotcom.blogspot.com

http://nailant.blogspot.com

http://amnegle.blogspot.dk/

Music Challenge 5: Firework (Katy Perry)

Music Challenge 5: Firework (Katy Perry)

I’ve been looking forward to this particular challenge, because I almost just bought the perfect two polishes for it. Just wait and see if you don’t agree with me :)

I used Borghese “Stellare Notte” for my background. It’s a dusty dark purple with a slight black duochrome effect in it.

It took two relatively easy coats to reach the desired opacity. Drying time was on the slow side, but still manageable. I didn’t apply a top coat yet, because there is of course more to come.

And from another angle.

I don’t think I’d wear this alone, but it’s a pretty good base for something else.

Now for the two polishes I bought. They’re both from Nails Inc. and are called "Connaught Square" and "Bloomsbury Square". They’re both gorgeous glitters! Connaught Square is a blue glitter with sparse purple glitters in, and Bloomsbury Square is purple with pink glitters in.

I used a dotting tool to create my fireworks. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, but it’s often like that for me. Things looks so easy, but they aren’t always :D

Here’s what it looks like with one coat of Seche Vite top coat:

Here’s another pic where you can see the fireworks a bit better:

 

I looked at this for an hour, and decided that it wasn’t good enough – it wasn’t quite what I wanted. I grabbed a new glitter I bought in a blog sale recently, namely Orly’s “Shine on Crazy Diamond”. It’s a holographic glitter that can spice up pretty much every mani.

After one coat of that I was very pleased. Now that’s more like it:

Here’s a pic from another angle.

 

I know the glitter takes over a bit, but I don’t mind. I think this is much prettier than without the glitter. But girls, you’re also judges. What do you think? Is it better with or without glitter?

Next challenge up is in three days, and we’re going to have “Smoke on the Water”! It’s not one of the easy challenges, but I can hardly wait!!

Check out the other girls’ blogs to see how they interpreted “Firework":

Aylin: http://poshnailart.blogspot.com

Mette and Lisa: http://neglerier.blogspot.dk

Anne Mette: http://amnegle.blogspot.dk/

Brianna: http://welcometobriannasworld.blogspot.com

Celia: http://neglegejl.blogspot.dk/

Astrid: http://polish-life.blogspot.com

Bonus link to Katy Perry’s Firework:

And as a little extra bonus, here's a picture I took of a caviar mani I had made in Sephora, with Ciatés "beads":

It lasted about 20 full minutes before the beads start falling off!  :/

Pastel ~ 42 ~ with glitter and stripes

Pastel ~ 42  

Deep shimmery magenta

Pastel is a brand that I got to know through sweet Aylin from Posh Nail Art. She was so sweet to send me this in a swap, and I love it. It is a deep, shimmery purplish magenta. The formula is great, the pigmentation is fine, and it covers in two easy layers.

Two layers and no top coat look like this:

And from another angle:

I love this. The colour is right up my alley, and shimmer is always a win in my book. I needed to add a little bling though.

I used a glitter from Ruby Kisses called “Crazy Night out”. The base is clear and the glitter is both magenta and silver and in a variety of sizes. I put glitter on the thumbnail and the pinky nail, and on half the ring finger and index finger.

And then I used a striper from Amuse called “Metal Pink”, and made stripes on the other halves of the ring finger and index finger, and stripes all across the middle finger.

One coat of Poshé top coat and the mani is done:

That’s it! I’m very pleased with this myself. I hope you like it too!

And here are the involved polishes:

Pastel is definitely a brand you should check out if you ever get the chance!

Opacity: 9/10
Colour, prettiness: 9/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Buy again: Yes

Golden Rose Matte ~ 105 and Alix Avien ~ 164

Golden Rose Matte ~ 105  

Medium dark green with shimmer and a silky finish

Alix Avien ~ 164  

Clear base with silver glitters

Here’s another post featuring polishes which I received in a swap with lovely Aylin from Posh Nail Art.

I am very positively surprised over Golden Rose’s Matte Velvet polishes. I think I’ve said before (and will probably say again) that I’m not a totally enthusiastic fan of the matte polishes, but this polish dries up to a pleasingly silky smooth and very beautiful finish. I’m totally in love, and I have now written “more Golden Rose Matte polishes” on my wish list. :)

This dark green was so easy to work with, it almost applied itself and the pigmentation was great. It was opaque in one coat. I gave it two anyway to see if it made a difference, which it didn’t. We like one coaters.

Note to self: Test to see if this works as stamping polish as well.

Here is a pic of two coats – no top coat.

Look at that finish, isn’t it just beautiful?!

Then I stamped on it, using Cheeky plate CH16 and a no name white stamping polish.

Here’s that step. There’s still no top coat involved:

I almost felt bad for covering up that beautiful nail polish. But a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

Now it’s time for some glittah!! I applied one layer of Alix Aviens silver glitter. It was very easy to get the glitter to spread evenly, and the drying time was OK; not extremely fast and not extremely slow either. I actually thought this was a holo glitter, but it’s not, it’s silver, and it’s very pretty!

And one last pic, because it's so pretty! :)

I didn’t apply top coat – it didn’t feel as if it was necessary.

Opacity: 10/10
Colour, prettiness: 9/10
Durability: 9/10
Value for money: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10
Buy again: Yes

Music Challenge 4: Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)

Music Challenge 4: Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)

Time sure flies when you’re having fun, don’t it? :D We’ve already reached day 4 in my music nail art challenge. I picked Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance for day four. I didn’t have anything particular in mind when I picked the song, so watch and see what I ended up with.

I let this picture inspire me:

It’s from the video she made for the song. I let the black lace over her face and the many diamonds inspire me to do this mani!

At first I painted my nails in white, black and red alternately. I used Models Own “Snow White”, Essence “Black is Back” and L. A. Splash “Fire Siren” as my base colours. I used two coats of each polish. The black is in fact a one coater, but since I was going to wait for the other nails to dry anyway, I gave that two coats as well. Here’s what that looks like – without top coat:

I like this already! :D
Then I added a little bit of shimmer to the white and the black. I used Astor’s “Nail artist glitter”. It’s most visible on the black, which is perfect, because that’s where I want to see it the most.

Here’s that step – still no top coat:

Now for the actual art. I used two stamping plates from Bundlemonster and I stamped with Essence “Black is Back”. I used BM316 and stamped a lace design over my pinkie and thumb, and BM305 to stamp a Devil’s tail on my middle finger. Bad romance, right? :)

For the diamonds I used OPI’s “Crown me Already”, and sponged that half way up on my ring and index fingers.

Then I topped it with Poshé top coat, and my interpretation of Bad Romance is complete:

I must say that I’m extremely impressed with that lace stamp. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a detailed and crisp stamping design before!

Here are the polishes I used: 

It’s time for the verdict, girls. Let me know your honest thoughts about this, please!

Next challenge up is in three days, and we’re going to have “Firework”! I can hardly wait!!

Check out the other girls’ blogs to see how they interpreted “Bad Romance”:

Aylin: http://poshnailart.blogspot.com

Mette and Lisa: http://neglerier.blogspot.dk

Anne Mette: http://amnegle.blogspot.dk/

Brianna: http://welcometobriannasworld.blogspot.com

Celia: http://neglegejl.blogspot.dk/

Astrid: http://polish-life.blogspot.com

Bonus link to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance:

Zoya ~ Julieanne

Zoya ~ Julieanne  

Deep purple packed with glass flecks

I have three Zoya polishes and this is the second I’ve tried on. The last one is a coral jelly that I got in a grab bag, so I’m not sure I’m keeping that one. However, Julieanne is a beautiful deep purple, so shiny and pretty. My heart sank a bit after having applied the first coat. It looks streaky and ugly and I thought it was going to need five coats to look nice. The second coat evened out every little flaw though, and it looked absolutely perfect. *Impressed*. Drying time for the second coat was on the slow side, but still manageable. Manageable in this context means that I was able to sit through the drying time without denting any of my nails! :D

Here’s the shimmery beauty in all its glory. There was no sun, so all you get in this post is indoor pics.

Two coats, no top coat:

Different angle:

 Then I sponged a little bit of pretty glitter on the tips. I used GoldenLady number 412, which I received in a swap with beautiful Aylin from Posh Nail Art. It’s a light purple glitter in a clear base, and it’s perfect for this purpose.

Here’s that step. There’s still no top coat involved:

I really like this, but I was still not finished. It’s stamping time!

I stamped with Essie’s “Blue Rhapsody” from their recent Mirror Metallics Collection. I only bought this polish with stamping in mind, and it’s perfect for it! I used stamping plate BM05 from Bundlemonster and stamped the star design randomly on each nail.

I sealed it all up with a generous coat of Seche Vite top coat, and was ready to rock:

So… does purple rock or what?

Opacity: 7/10
Colour, prettiness: 8/10
Durability: 7/10
Value for money: 6/10
Overall: 7/10
Buy again: Probably

WellNails ~ Drunken Nights at MacClaren’s

WellNails ~ Drunken Nights at MacClaren’s  

Clear base packed with multisized green glitter in various green shades, with darker green half moons

I’m very proud to present this polish to you, because WellNails is – as far as I know – the very first indie brand in Denmark. And I was so lucky to win a mini bottle of this great glitter in a giveaway.

But first I needed to put on some underwear for it. I went for a duochrome shimmer polish from Cosmetic Arts. It doesn’t seem to have a name or a number, which is a pain, but it’s purple, shifting discretely to green and golden. I thought it would be perfect underwear for a green and golden glitter. And for two of my nails I went for a plain black crème, namely Essence’s “Black is Back”, which is a perfect one coater.

One coat of black, two coats of Cosmetic Arts, and no top coat on either of them. Here’s how that looks:

Then I applied one layer of Drunken Nights at MacClaren’s. The polish is packed with glitter. One dip in the bottle and the brush is loaded with glitter. It was easy to spread, no problems in that department at all. And drying time was good!

I sealed it all up with a coat of Seche Vite top coat:

I really like this glitter, I love the colours and the quality, and I’ve already ordered some more of them.

The name refers to a TV series (still) I haven’t seen, “How I met your Mother”. I suppose I should to check it out at some point, because people are (still) talking really positively about it, even though it’s been around for quite a long time.