Halloween Challenge #3: Halloween Villains

Evening all!  Just a quick post tonight, because I've been to the pub for tea and I am sleepy (possibly wine-induced).  Also, I shall be honest...these nails were supposed to be for tomorrow, but I haven't done my nails for tonight, so I'll just have to make tomorrow's nails that would have been tonight's nails fit tomorrow's theme.  That makes sense right...?

Here's a reminder of the prompts:

So my Halloween villain of choice...mummies!

I'm aware that these are not remotely original, but it's something I've seen a lot and wanted to try :)  Believe it or not, I sponged three colours for my base.  And then, it would seem, the brightness of my lamp just washed it all out.  I had the same problem last night with getting the lines on my pumpkin to show up...think I need a rejig of my setup.  The three colours, not that you can see them, are OPI My Vampire is Buff, Don't Pretzel My Buttons and Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh.  I was aiming for a bit of an aged/yellowing look, which did work in person, but you'll just have to take my word for it :D Then I used a black striper pen for my lines - these probably could have been thinner!

Don't forget to have a look and see what villains everyone else chose!

An InLinkz Link-up

Halloween Challenge #2: Pumpkin Faces

It's 10:27pm here, and I should really be in bed, but instead I've just finished off my second challenge manicure for the Halloween Nail Art Challenge.  Too much good TV on a Wednesday night, that's the problem...

So, here's a reminder of the challenge prompts - today we're on pumpkin faces:

I actually attempted some pumpkin nails a couple of years back, which you can see here if you fancy a laugh.

To be honest, I didn't think I could do a much better job this time, so I decided to go down a slightly different route and attempt a pumpkin that spanned all my nails.  He's got a bit of a wonky nose...

I can only apologise for the atrocious clean up - I just could not get that stuff off my skin!

I used OPI A Roll in the Hague, Max Factor Bright Orange and Viva La Colour Creme Brulee for the pumpkin and then my Barry M Nail Art Pen in Black for all the detail.

Now I just need to carve my actual pumpkin...

Don't forget to check out all the other pumpkin manicures!

An InLinkz Link-up

Halloween Challenge #1: Classic Orange and Black

Hello!!!

So I decided a little while ago that I was going to join in with the Halloween Nail Art Challenge in the Challenge Your Nail Art group on Facebook.  Here are the prompts (and a very cute graphic!):

I saw this a little while in advance, giving me plenty of time to prepare.  And it's only 4 prompts, so there is some small chance that I may actually finish it.  So how many manicures did I prepare in advance?

None.

I am a fool.

I am DETERMINED to actually do this though, so I have just been furiously painting my nails, and here's my first challenge manicure!

Yes, I did indeed attempt a water marble.  Yes, I have lost my mind.  I think it's not my worst attempt though...?

I used Barry M Black and Max Factor Bright Orange.  Then I added W7 Orange Dazzle on my little finger nail, and painted the stem of my pumpkin with Barry M Spring Green.  I'm pretty happy with this actually :)  Although, I confess, it's only on the one hand...  Must remember to take it off before work tomorrow!

Have you done any Halloween nail art yet?  I'd love to see - leave your links in the comments or post a picture on my Facebook page!

And don't forget to take a look at all the other orange and black manicures!

An InLinkz Link-up

Honeymoon Nails: Dragonflies

Aloha!

As I mentioned a few months back, we went to Hawaii on our honeymoon.  It was literally the most amazing thing ever.  We stayed at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island, and oh my word, it was paradise.  I was all for just staying there (I think we'd have got away with it for a few months at least?) but my husband said we had to leave :(

So, these are not the nails I wore on my honeymoon.  My honeymoon nails were just my wedding nails, which after about two days of playing in the sea were frankly disgraceful.  So they came off, and I went naked for the rest of the honeymoon.  Oo-er.

Rather, these are nails inspired by our honeymoon :)  I have a few of these to show you, but I'm starting with dragonflies!

The resort had loads of these lovely koi ponds all around.  I thought Bridal Falls was the most appropriate to share!

While we were standing looking at the fish one day, we saw these lovely purple dragonflies flying over the pond.  So pretty! More creatures should be purple, definitely.  So I decided a purple dragonfly manicure was in order.

I used a base of Barry M Elderberry.  I drew my dragonflies using my trusty Barry M Nail Art Pen in Black (seriously, when are they going to make more colours...?) and filled them in using Barry M Vivid Purple and Star Gazer 232.  I then added a little Above the Curve Diva P onto the tips and wings for a bit of sparkle.

This was actually the first time I'd been outside of Europe.  I'm not really much of a holidayer, although I do enjoy city breaks and sightseeing.   I've now totally got the bug though, although I basically just want to keep going back to Hawaii lol. What's the best holiday you've ever been on?

I'm Married!

Okay so I've actually been married for two months, BUT I am now finally getting round to blogging!  I have been working away doing lots of manicures today to show you over the next few weeks, but I thought today I'd show you what nails I had for my wedding :)

I'm just not a french manicure kind of person (plus I'm absolutely flipping terrible at doing them).  I wanted something a little different, but also didn't want to go wild and do something that I'd look back on in a few years and say "what on earth was I thinking...?".  So, I decided to keep it simple and go for a plain colour.  Believe it or not, it genuinely took my like a year to decide on these nails, and I now own about 7 different nail polishes in this shade, but in the end it had to be the polish that inspired the whole colour scheme (don't tell my husband) - Barry M Peach Melba.

For my bridesmaids, I went with a glitter gradient of Barry M Gold Glitter over OPI My Vampire is Buff, to match their gold and pearl accessories.

What are your thoughts?  Would you go more traditional or more adventurous?

(Shout out to Amber Skye Photography for our wonderful photos :) )