Day 19: Galaxy Nails (A very poor attempt with pigments)

Allo polish Pals,

How are you today? I hope your having a sparkly week so far? This is just going to be a quick post for me tonight since I am feeling a little worse for wear and I am utterly ashamed at this manicure! Day 19 of the 31DNAC means galaxy nails and I love creating pigment nails so I assumed I could combine the two however the end result has me just...horrified...

On my thumb, index and pinkie I applied two coats of Barry M's 'Plum' gelly polish. My other two fingers began with two coats of Barry M's 'Blackberry'. While applying my second coats I added my pigments (From Pureluxe and Meow cosmetics) I finished this with a top coat and added some 'stars' with my white acrylic paint from Oumaxi (Via SammyDress)

There's no two ways about it. I hate it. I don't know what happened, I've created some really striking pigment manicures before and while this looks so nice in natural light my pictures just look... bleh. The colours just look murky in my opinion..I guess you can't win always.

What do you think of this attempt at a galaxy? Do you think pigment shadows are a good way to create the look?

Enjoy the rest of your evening.

Love

Ithi

Day 17: Glitter!

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Are you excited for the weekend? I've had a pretty odd week; There have been some amazing points and some less so good but yesterday I went to get my 'fro fixed at the hair dressers. My hair is... 'Difficult' at the best of times. Since my dad originally came from the small island of St Helena I have some pretty crazy big hair which I've never much been able to manage in its curly frizzy natural form but now I am quite proud of my lions mane! Maybe it only took me 26 years to figure my hair out without relying on hair straighteners! Here's day 17 of the 31DNAC which is a call for glitter nails.

Its a pretty simple manicure. I was all “Oh, glitter? Wow this one will be easy to pick out some polish for!”.... Nope. In the end I decided to settle on this really simple white gold style glitter even though I had more unusual ones to show you.

So on all my nails excluding my index and middle finger I applied two coats Black Onyx's '118' and added Hema's #23 glitter to the tips. On my remaining nails I used two coats of Color Clubs 'Antiqued Gold' and applied Sally Hansen's 'Resurrection' to the center. I finished by adding a little bit of glitter to these too.

What do you think of this manicure? Blinging brilliant or glitter over dose?

Have a beautiful Friday!

Love

Ithi

Day 16: Tribal Nails

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope your all well and had a good week so far? I can't believe we're already half way through the week and I apologise immensely for the lack of posts. It was one thing after the other this week, I created a manicure I was so proud of only for my batteries to completely die. And so did the next four batteries. And the next four. They were really not intended for my power hungry camera! Finally I have my post for you and its day 16 of the 31 day nail art challenge which calls for... Tribal Nail Art!

Opps.. Please excuse the slightly purple hue to my ring finger... durrp!

As you can see I decided to go down a different route for this tribal nail art; Since I had already done a few tribal manicures in the past I wanted to try something else.

For this manicure I started by applying two coats of Yes Love's white polish for my base and created an alternating gradient of pink and blue on each nail using Model's Own 'Bubble Gum' and Gabrini's 'no4' neon blue. I then used a mixed of white and purple from my Oumaxi paints (Via Sammy Dress) and Kiss nail art stripe pens in 'Soft Blue' and 'Pink'.

I'd also just like to remind you that you can follow my blog on twitter and instagram, come follow along if you are not already.

What do you ladies think of my tribal manicure? Do you think gradients and tribal can work together?

Hope you have a fabulous day!

Love

Ithi

Day 15: Delicate Print & MoYouNails Review

* This product(s) was sent to me to review but as always will contain my full and honest opinion :)

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope your having a better weekend than I am; Sometimes its like when something goes wrong then every decides to go wrong. Ah well. By the way, I hope you enjoy the new look to my blog. If you have any troubles with anything please let me know! Today I have day 15 of the 31 day nail art challenge which calls for delicate print. I am also sharing my review of MoYouNails.com which I was fortunate enough to receive some items to review. This might be a long post so please please please click the 'read more' link below.

Day 14: Flowers

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you are all well :) Today I did some more power walking and all the usual boring house chores; However it is quite nice to get things done early in the day! For today's post I have day 14 of the 31 day nail art challenge which calls for flower nail art. I am not a fan of what I have created... I love the colours but I hate everything else about this manicure due to my own skills...Or lack of.

I was recently treated to my first ever Orly nail polishes so I couldn't wait to use them! On my ring finger I applied two coats of Orly's 'Moonlit Madness' and added a few gems to the top of my nail. On all my remaining fingers I used Orly's 'Chantilly Peach' (fabulous colour, I look forward to swatching this for you) and stamped (terribly) using Bundle Monster's 318 plate.

I would love this because of the flower design and the colours combined make my eyes happy but my stamping today but just left me a little deflated. I've always said stamping is something I could do with improving on but I think that the 31 day challenge will surely help as the next challenge is 'delicate print' which I'm not sure is a freehand kind of job?

What do you think of this manicure? Do you find it lack-lustre too?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Love

Ithi

Day 13: Animal Print

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Are you feeling fabulous about this week? I had a great weekend staying with mine and Mr Bravo's friends. Even though my stomach condition was a real nightmare I am glad that I went! This week I am embarking on being a little healthier; I even went power walking today (I got alot of really weird looks from strangers, maybe they don't power walk here in Holland!) so here's hoping I feel better for it! Today is day 13 of the 31 day nail art challenge for me which calls for animal print. I'm a real sucker for this colour combination, lets see what you guys think!

On all my nails I started with two coats of Color Club's 'Nomadic In Nude' and created my leopard print nails by using two dotting tools, Essie's 'The More The Merrier' and Yes Love's 'N030'. Simples! I then finished off this manicure by applying my Catrice Gel-like top coat.

While it is a really simple manicure I do really love the combination of the Yes Love blue and 'The More The Merrier'!

What do you think of this manicure? Do you like these colours together?

Hope you have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Day 12: Stripes

Allo polish Pals!

Happy weekend to you all! Do you have anything fabulous planned? Will you be watching the football? I'm not really in to football and last night when Holland won against Spain I was upstairs painting my nails but I knew we had won because suddenly everybody was letting off fireworks! Question: When England play Holland, who am I supposed to be cheering for?!

So I have just a short quick post to share with you today which is day 12 of the 31 day nail art challenge ~ Stripes!

I'm a little sorry about my pictures today, I don't think they are at their best :/

Anyway, I started with a coat of Catrice's 'Lilacally' and applied two coats of Model's Own's 'Southern Lights' which is a beautiful very fine but well packed holographic glitter. I smoothed this out with my topcoat and then used striping tapes to create my stripes. Finally I applied Yes Love's black polish on top and finished with my top coat.

I was hoping the glitter would really pop out of the stripes and I guess it did a little, while it may be simple it is at least stripes!

What do you think of this manicure; Do you have something like this glitter in your collection?

I hope you have a beautiful Saturday!

Love

Ithi

Day 11: Polka Dots

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I'm pleased to say I'm feeling pretty dandy today and managing to be quite productive ~ Go me! The next couple of days are going to be pretty hectic and a total shake up from my normal routine but I'm going to embrace it and have a lot of fun. I'm not going to let my syndrome hold me back or stop me having a social life! For today's post I have my 11^th day of the 31 day nail art challenge which asks for polka dots. How do you feel about polka dot nails/clothing?

On all my fingers except my index and ring finger I began with two coats of Yes Love's #070 which is a gorgeous blue with a fantastic soft looking finish. I then applied my spots using a dotting tool and Yes Love's white polish. On my remaining fingers I used two coats of DA's #043 and once dry marked off the areas using reinforcement rings; I then painted the rest of the nail with the Yes Love blue and added my spots.

What do you think about this manicure? Would it be too dotty for you to wear?

Have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Day 10: Gradient Nails (Pink Sparkle!)

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Is the start of your week going smoothly? I have to say I'm upside down and completely backwards in everything. Yesterday was a national holiday here and all my days are jumbled up, it doesn't feel like a Tuesday at all... What does a Tuesday feel like?

Do you ever feel like the days are mixed up? I'm rambling! Today I have day 10 of the 31 day nail art challenge which is gradient nails. I actually came up with a design I was so pleased with but decided to re-do as it wasn't quite as neat as I'd have liked. Then of course everything went wrong, the heat wasn't helping so I decided to just stick to a full gradient. I'll be re doing the idea I liked for my striped nails day :)

I'm not happy with this gradient at all but if I get nit-picky and fussy I'll never create a post good enough (in my standards) to show you, so here it is anyway. I started off with two coats of Catrice's 'Chromit and Miss Piggy' and used DA's #103 and Nicole by Opi's 'Pretty As Plum'. That's all.

I know its not particularly fancy or anything but a gradient it is.. I do love how the middle pink sparkles though.

What do you think of this gradient? Have you created a pink gradient before?

Hope you have a lovely day!

Love

Ithi

Day 9: Rainbows featuring Kawaii Stickers (Born Pretty Store)

*This item was sent to me to review but as always will contain my full and honest opinion :)

Allo polish Pals!

How is your weekend going? Have you done anything exciting? This weekend has been kinda hectic, last night we went to a friends BBQ and I had a lot of fun, it was good to see everyone again since I hadn't been to visit in a while since my syndrome has been a disaster lately. Not to mention I got to hold 4 week old kittens, awwh! Sadly my handbag was not big enough for me to bring them all home in; But I get to see more tiny kittens again tomorrow when visiting my brother in law! Today I have day 9 of the 31 day nail art challenge : Rainbow Nails! I have also included a review of the featured nail stickers, which are are Charming 3D Nail Art Stickers from the Born Pretty Store, read on to see my review.

{Don't forget you can get a 10% discount on all items from The Born Pretty Store when you use the coupon code 'DRX31' }

These cute stickers come in a single sheet packet with approximately 34 different stickers. I actually love these stickers, I'm not the biggest fan of stickers in general but I couldn't help falling in love with the cute kawaii faces on the coffee cup and ice cream. I also really like how they seem to actually look 3d as opposed to just claiming to be, I think it looks like they really 'pop' from the manicure. They where easy to peel off and simple to apply, you guessed it. You just stick 'em on.

You'll also see they are suitably sized so if your nails are shorter than mine you'll still have plenty of room to apply them. The stickers include stars, hearts, diamonds and super cute edibles such as ice cream's and cake.

For this manicure I used Yes Love's white polish in three coats for my base. I then added Barry M's 'Diamond Glitter' ~ Quite possibly one of my all time favorite glitters. For the coloured stripes I used Rimmel's - Red (I need to check the name) Rimmel's 'Reggae Splash', Model's Own 'Banana Split' and 'Apple Pie', Essie's 'Bikini So Teeny' and 'Cascade Cool' and finally Barry M's 'Prickly Pear'.

What do you think of this manicure? Would you wear kawaii (super cute) nail stickers like this?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Love

Ithi

Day 8: Metallic & N.Nail 6mm Circular Flat Laser Stud Review

This item was sent for me to review but as always will contain my full and honest opinion!  :)

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Have you been treated to some nice weather? It's been pretty gloomy here in Holland with the promising threats of a storm coming soon. I actually really love lightening but it's not so fun for the poor dog. Last night my parents-in-law surprised me with a professional light studio so today's pictures look a little different. I am still getting the hang of using my new light set up so I hope you will think the pictures are ok. I was so surprised by them that I nearly cried and gave them a big hug each. I'm so very grateful!

Today I have Day 8 of the 31 day nail art challenge which calls for metallic nails... I sure hope these nails are metallic enough! I also included these cute Circular flat laser 6mm studs by N.Nail from KKCENTERHK Let me know what you think.

I love these beautiful round studs, they shine beautifully through the spectrum and in my opinion, who doesn't love a rainbow? I applied these by adding them on top of my top coat. My only concern with them is the size, as you see on my little finger they look pretty large but they sat perfectly flat on my thumb. I think they are great for special occasions and for a extra dash of fancy-pants to your manicure :) Don't forget you can get a 10% discount on all products from kkcenterhk when you use the discount code 'ithinitybeauty' – yay!

I began this manicure by applying two coats of Essie's 'For The Twill Of It'. I then used bubble wrap to dab on Fogan's #18 (a strong copper shade) Barry M's 'Silver Foil' and Color Clubs 'Harp On it.

I finished this off with my top coat and added the studs on top.

What do you think of this metallic manicure; Is it metallic enough? Would you wear nail studs like this?

Enjoy your evening!

Love

Ithi

31 Day Nail Art Challenge: Day 7 - Black & White With Irregular Triangle Stickers (Born Pretty Store)

This item was sent to me to review but as always will contain my full and honest opinion :)

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you had an amazing weekend. I'm still recovering from mine, unluckily for me I'm feeling a little sick and I'm running quite behind on sleep somehow. Anyway, that said I had a really lovely day shopping with my sister in law yesterday who very kindly treated me to some new t-shirt. I'm wearing Bambi!

For today's installment of the 31 day challenge I have day 7 which requires black and white nails. I used Nail art stickers in 'Irregular triangles' from the Born Pretty Store. Don't forget you can get a 10% discount on all their items when you use the code: DRX31 ~  To read my full review (And see a surprise from these stickers) please click 'Read More'

 

The 31 Day Challenge: Day 6 - Violet

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? Have you had a good weekend so far? Yesterday it was a little crazy here as my two Dutch Niece's came to visit again. I can now say that this house is pretty tired and having a good rest day! My oldest Niece really enjoys seeing my nail art so she was learning the English words for each finger and looking through my notebook of ideas/swatches, so cute!

Today I have my manicure for day 6 of the 31 nail art challenge. Violet Nails!

On all my nails I began with two coats of China Glaze's 'Something Sweet' and stamped a few stars (Not very well – I need to improve on stamping) using the Nail Craze plate 02 and Barry M's 'Silver Foil'. I then created a simple cloud design with Barry M's 'Plum' and Color Club's 'Eternal Beauty' on the tips. Overall its a very simple manicure but I just love cloud designs; Its easy to make something striking when you have little time.

I'm looking forward to showing you day 7 which is black and white nails, I've had the pleasure of trying something new for that post.

What do you think of this purple cloud design? Have you worn a cloud design before?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love

Ithi

The 31 Day Challenge: Day 3 - Yellow

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope your having a great weekend. I've been pretty busy today helping look after my Dutch Nieces. I've been really impressed that the two year old knows a lot of English words! Have you been up to much today? For day 3 of the 31 day nail art challenge I'm supposed to do yellow nails. I thought of Bee's, Lemons, Tweety Pie and all sorts before settling on the little yellow pokemon that everyone loves ~ Pikachu!

On my thumb and middle finger I began with two coats of DA's #103 (I think) and added my pika's using Oumaxi (Via SammyDress) acrylic paints. On my other nails I used Catrice's 'Glamazon' and added a little of the 103 to the tips.

I'm not very happy with how this turned out, I think it looks rough and bumpy and I was really desperate to finish these. If I did it again I would certainly try to make the two plain nails more interesting and perhaps more like lightening.   I'm not even sure I used top coat on my ring finger {Fail!}

What do you think of these very yellow nails? Did you like Pokemon when you were younger??For the next nail art challenge post I'll be using green!

Have a great weekend!

Love

Ithi

The 31 Day Challenge: Day 2 - Orange

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing? Have you been lucky enough to have beautiful weather so far this week? I can't believe how hot it is here in Holland and it's not even summer! While I love beautiful warm weather I've already had a few run-ins with mosquito's! Today I am showing you day 2 of the 31 day nail art challenge which requires orange nails! Get ready to be tango'ed.

Today's pictures are a little different from normal, since my camera absolutely hates photographing orange I decided to take my pictures outside. I'm glad I did!

The Manicure...On my thumb, index and pinky I began by applying two coats of Catrice's 'C(h)ome, Leon!' and created a gradient by adding Catrice's 'Orange Bloom' to the tips. I finished these nails off by adding a bright neon candy stud from The Born Pretty Store. On my remaining fingers I used two coats of Rimmel's 'Reggae Splash', applied 'Orange Bloom' in a wavy style using the brush and added some bright neon dots using Picture Polishes 'Fake Tan'. I again finished these by applying a couple of the light peach candy studs.

What do you guys think? Are you a fan of orange nails?

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Love

Ithi

The 31 Day Challenge: Day 1 - Red (With Subtle Roses)

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you had an amazing weekend! I have to apologize for my awful bloggitude this past week; If I wasn't spending the week in between being sick, housework and long days out then I was attempting nail art and failing big time. I'm behind on my commenting, don't think I've forgotten you :( I'll be back on track this week. In other news I am starting the 31 day challenge (Info here) I wont be posting this challenge every single day because I will pause for swatches and reviews here and there but expect to see a lot of the challenge day posts here :) For day one it is red nails... I'm glad I'm not scared of red any more!

                         Please excuse the excess mess, I was a little 'lax with my clean up today, ha! 

 

For this manicure I started with two coats of Fearne's 'Heartache' on my index and ring finger. Once dry I applied Fearne's 'Cherry On Top' in a ruffian style and covered that with W7's 'Red Dazzle'. I finally finished these two nails by applied the very thin, delicate rose water decals (I wanted them to be super subtle.) On my remaining fingers I applied two coats of Yes Love's '#12897' and used striping tape to create points. I repeated this step twice more using Fearne's 'Heartache' again and W7.

Well, that's day one down. Only 30 more to go! Have you taken part in a nail art challenge? What do you think of this manicure?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Love

Ithi