Freaky Friday The 13th! Black Cat Stamping And Dry Brush

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today, are you looking forward to the weekend?

So today is Friday the 13^th which means absolutely nothing to me, I'm not a very superstitious person (except on the journey to Mr Bravo's Nan's house where I have to see two specific things on route – I know, I'm quirky. If I don't see them I feel like its going to impact the day, lol.)

As you guys also probably know by now..I am a crazy cat lady without an actual cat. I do however have a beautiful boy in England called Mars, short for Marshall who is a black, shiny and so sweet. He lives with my parents and I know he is spoiled, pampered and cared for well, so while I miss him I know I don't have to worry too much.

I read recently that black cats can be chosen from pounds/rescue centers last simply because of the superstition surrounding black cats... I think this is so sad, Mars is just as lovable and loving as any cat could be, so I wanted to celebrate the 13^th by doing black cat nails, because they are just as awesome.. Down with cat discrimination!

Mars as a kitten, d'aww!

For this manicure I began with my usual base coat of OPI's 'Nail Envy' and once dry (the blink of an
eye) I applied two coats of Catrice's 'The Sky So Fly'. On my ring finger and middle finger I decided to do some black cat stamping using Born Pretty Store's Black stamping polish (Click this to see my review) and the awesome BPL-025 stamping plate also from the Born Pretty Store.

On my remaining nails I did some dry brushing with Claire's 'Splash', Mary Kay's 'Blue Lotus' and the purple shades from the Essence 'Wake Up, Spring! Tie Die set.

To complete the manicure I added a black border using acrylic paint and topped it all off with a coat of my Pro-FX top coat.

What do you think of my stamped nails? Do you have any superstitions?

Have a wonderful weekend, come visit again on Sunday for a new nail art adventure! :)

Love

Ithi

Freehand Rolling Country Side

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you are doing well! Have you had a good weekend so far? This time next week I'll be back in England, wahoo! I love going to see my fam-mah-leh.

Today I have another manicure, yep, once again inspired by this Pin on Pinterest. This beautiful picture really caught my eye as it reminded me of the English countryside! I did make a little alteration, less trees and a decidedly bluer sky for a happy look.

For this manicure I began with two coats of Barry M's 'Coconut'. I then created a gradient with Mary Kay's 'Blue Lotus', NYC's 'Staten Island Blues' and 'Coconut' for the tips. I then used my acrylic paints to create the scenery. I finished it all off with a lick of Catrice's gel effect top coat.

I've been using my Oumaxi paints but also from a brand called 'DoCrafts' – they are really reasonably priced and so so much easier to blend with. I only have 3 colours so I hope to add to that one day. Since I've been using them my Oumaxi paints seem considerably harder to blend.

What do you think of my countryside nail art? Have you done scenery nail art before?

Have a beautiful day!

Love

Ithi

Mary Kay: Blue Lotus Swatch & Review ★★★★★/5

Allo polish Pals!

How are you doing today? I hope you are having a great week so far? This week was my 4year old Niece's first week of school, god, they grow up so fast! While I was sad not to be there and see her in her uniform my sister vvery kindly put a picture on facebook for me. I am so proud of 'Sunshine-lolli-pop' (I called her that once while we were travelling in the car and played a silly game - she still remembers it now.)

 Today I have a polish from a brand called Mary Kay – its not a brand I had tried before having received this polish. My sister in law sometimes orders these random boxes, you can get nail boxes or cosmetic boxes and the items come totally random. So far she's given me Nails Inc and Essie polishes from these boxes. So today I am showing you a new brand I have no real knowledge of – Fun, I like trying new things! This is Blue Lotus from Mary Kay.

Colour ~ 'Blue Lotus' is a gorgeous solid baby blue shade that has the most creamy and smoothest appearance. I am wearing two coats here and am very happy with the colour coverage. Naturally it dries to a semi matte shade and looks very flawless. I like shades like this that make me think of blue tack and cake icing!

Application ~ I was pleasantly surprised with the formula, I have no issues with bubbles. The first coat was a little streaky but the second coat completely took care of that and even self levelled – Thankoo, Blue Lotus!

Texture ~ I guess I would have to describe the texture as medium thick, it applies like a crème.

Recommend it to a friend? Certainly if she is struggling to find a light blue that dries to a flawless finish and isn't prone to streaking.

★★★★★/5 I love this shade especially the finish. To me, its one of those polishes that looks like bubblegum wrapped over the nail... Maybe that doesn't make much sense but it just looks like it is so smooth over the nail. I've had problematic light blues before so for me this one really comes up aces!

Do you have a favorite go to blue? Have you tried Mary Kay polishes before?

Have a wonderful day!

Love

Ithi

Festival Of Colour

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope you have had a good week so far.
Do you know what one of my favorite nail art style is? Gradients of course! I don't think you can beat a good gradient. THIS is not a good example of 'good' gradients. This manicure was created in my 'eh, meh, bleh' period. None the less, its here! I love this glitter polish from Essence, Mr Bravo and I went to the opening of our local drug store that opened up a few weeks back - it was two small drug stores that got knocked down into one rather fine, fairly large 'kruidvat' which is a big chain here in Holland. When I saw this glitter and I 'oohed and ahhed' he very kindly insisted it was to live in my collection.

Today I have a very bright and 'interesting' manicure to share with you, probably not for those who prefer subtle nail art!

For this manicure I began with two coats of Catrice's 'Honey Blossom' on all my nails. Once dry I began using striping tape to section off triangles on the upper part of my nail and filled it in with Barry M's 'White'. I then used a mixture of rainbow polishes to create gradients on top – using regular tape to stop my colours from going onto the nude polish. I then used Essence's 'Festival Of Colours' on top of the nude polish and finally added a white line to separate the two with white acrylic paint. I finished it all off with Catrice's top coat.

Cherry Blossom Water Decals - Born Pretty Store

*This post contains item(s) that were sent for review but as always I will provide my full and honest opinion.

Allo polish Pals!

How are you all doing? Happy Daddy day to all the proud fathers out there! :) I hope you are all feeling fabulous! Today I have some more water decals from The Born Pretty Store – And there is still one more to come from this sheet! I am showing you some beautiful blossom decals from the same water decal sheet the last two decals came with – this is C165.

Don't forget you can get a 10% discount off your order at The Born Pretty Store when you use the code: DRX31

Triangle Design Fashion Studs - Born Pretty Store Review

*This item was sent for a review but as always will contain my full and unbiased opinion.

Allo polish Pals!

How are you today? I hope your having a beautiful day so far. Yesterday me and Mr Bravo went to help out at his Nan's house, which probably means that I am still so full of yummy food, haha. She always feeds us up! Today I have a review for you of these adorable 'triangle design fashion studs' from The Born Pretty Store.

Don't forget you can get 10% off your next order when you use the coupon code DRX31

These cute little cut out triangle studs come in a little plastic baggie containing around 15 pieces. They measure 3mm in size – perfect for some really cute and dainty nail art. They sit nice and flatly on the nail bed and have survived a trip to the store and house work just by using a top coat to apply them. You can be really creative with them, pair two together for a diamond or even create a star shape but I chose to show them simply here. They are also really cute when paired with classic colours like Essie's 'Bobbin' For Baubles' to add a really simple but sophisticated look. I am really fond of these studs because it is just a simple way to elegantize (Yes I'm making words up..) your manicure in a fast and easy way.

For this manicure I used three polishes, Mary Kay's 'Pink Bamboo', Barry M's 'Coconut' and Maybelline's 'Gilded Rose' from the brocade collection. I created alternating chevron patterns using these colours and added my triangles to the point of my triangles. I found using my pointed tweezers allowed me to apply these studs with ease.

What do you think of these golden triangle studs? Would you wear studs like these?

Have a great day!

Love

Ithi