Halloween Manicure

Please note I have not intended to copy any one else's idea, if my idea looks similar to yours it is entirely coincidental. I actually sat down and drew out a plan for my Halloween manicure and what I ended up doing wasn't what I planned. This is what I did:

Base for all nails:

3 coats of Sally Hansen HD - Blu.

Then I sponged on Sinful Colours - Fiji halfway up the nail. (Not 100% sure this was the name of the colour I'll have to check when I get home.)

I sponged e - Black ($2 shop brand) nail polish on the tips.

Thumb:

I used the Christmas ornament on Bundle Monster plate BM-225 (Second Set) for the moon. I stamped with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Whirlwind White. I only applied polish to the round part of the ornament. I also used one of my new nail art brushes and more white nail polish to fill in the circle.

Next I stamped the house from Bundle Monster plate BM-224 (Second Set) with e - Black. I stamped the smaller bat from Bundle Monster plate BM13 (First Set) twice with e - Black.

Pointer:

I used one of the vines from the pumpkin stamp on Bundle Monster plate BM-224 (Second Set) as the tree, stamped with e - Black. Then I stamped half of the spider web stamp from Bundle Monster plate BM13 (First Set) with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Silver Sweep.

Middle:

I used one of the vines from the pumpkin stamp on Bundle Monster plate BM-224 (Second Set) as the tree, stamped with e - Black. Then the smaller bat from Bundle Monster plate BM13 (First Set).

Ring:

Same as pointer, I reversed the side the tree and spider web were on.

Pinky:

I used the vines from the pumpkin stamp on Bundle Monster plate BM-224 (Second Set) as the tree, stamped with e - Black.

I then put 2 coats of BYS - Glow in the Dark and 1 coat of Revlon top coat. This is what it looks like in the dark after being held in front of a light, Sorry about the graininess and blur, it was hard to keep still:

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Sephora by O.P.I Manhattan Mini's Collection

This arrived in my inbox on Saturday:

These must-have shades were created specifically for New Yorkers and are only available in this exclusive set.

This set contains:

Stand by Your Man-hattan

I'm on the List

What's Brooklyn Good Lookin'?

Never Know 'Til You Tribeca

Say It Ain't So-ho

The Sparkle That Never Sleeps

Click on the picture for a link to the website.

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China Glaze - For Audrey

China Glaze - For Audrey

2 Coats

For Audrey is a turquoise creme colour and is well known in the nail polish world. It is a dupe for O.P.I - Mermaids Tears but I don't have that to compare the two. This picture was taken in overcast light.

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Color Club - Jewel of a Girl

Color Club - Jewel of a Girl

2 Coats

Jewel of a Girl is from the Untamed Luxury Collection - Fall 2010, it is a really pretty mahogany colour. This is one of those colours that is lit from within - lighter in the center. This picture was taken in overcast light.

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Trans Design Order

I decided to take advantage of the Essie sale on Trans Design before it ended and got 2 of the Essie Matte About You top coats. It was basically 2 for 1 with the half price sale. I also got other top coats and base coats, this was my order:

2 x ESSIE - Matte About You 15ml

1 x SECHE-Vite Top Coat 15ml
1 x SECHE-Restore Thinner 15ml

1 x POSHE - Super Fast Drying Top Coat 15ml

1 x POSHE - Nail Strengthening Base Coat 15ml

1 x Amour - Top Coat 237ml

1 x 3-Way Bottle Holder

I don't know if I've mentioned this in an earlier post but I bought a cheap matte top coat from BYS and was disappointed with the results (I took pictures and I will post them soon!), I know ESSIE works so I got stocked up on 2.

I'm going to compare SECHE-Vite and POSHE top coats, I know they are good to put over stamping as they don't make the stamp run.

I'm going to use the Amour top coat as a base for Franken polishes. Now I just have to get some bottles!

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Bundle Monster Plates - First Set

I bought the first set of bundle monster plates on Amazon for $21.73 with postage. They took 7 days to be delivered. The first set has 21 plates, they now come with paper backing and blue plastic on the front. They used to come without the paper backing and clear plastic on the front. The edges used to be sharp not everyone realised there was plastic over the front of the plates. It's good to see they have updated the old set to match the latest one.

Some of the images aren't as detailed as the new set and the full nail designs are smaller. They squeeze 6 full nail designs onto the plates instead of 4. I think they will be alright for my nails except for my thumb but I can always stamp twice.

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Sephora by O.P.I Holiday Glitters

I got this in my inbox this morning:

This set contains:

0.5 oz (15ml) Nail Lacquer in Only Gold For Me

0.5 oz (15ml) Nail Lacquer in Be-Claus I Said So

0.5 oz (15ml) Nail Lacquer in Are You Glistenin'?

0.5 oz (15ml) Nail Lacquer in Sparktacular

From the swatches on the website they look like sheer glitters.

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Dotting Tools

I got 2 packages in the mail yesterday, the first one was 2-way dotting tools. I got these on ebay from the seller winddeal for $1.98 including postage. It took 19 days to be delivered (including weekends).

One end has different sizes. The largest one is just smaller then one of those pins with the balls on them (which is what I have been using previously). The pink and the white one are the same size on both ends.

The other ends are the same size as the pink and white ones. I haven't used these yet but I will post pictures when I do.

I'll post the other package tomorrow.

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Socceroos Nails

Sally Hansen - Lightening

Sally Hansen - Whirlwind White

Ulta3 - Frog Pince

This post is late because I did these nails for the Australia Vs Oman soccer game on the 11th October. We won 3-0! I used sticky tape to create the lines. I painted my nails yellow then put the tape at an angle covering the base of my nails. I painted the rest of the nails white and took the tape off the base of my nails. I put more tape on the base of my nail but this time covering the yellow and part of the white. I painted the rest of my nails green.

When you use sticky tape on your nails make sure the nail polish is completely dry otherwise you will pull some of it off when you remove the tape. It also helps to remove some of the stickiness from the tape before you use it, you can do this by sticking the tape to your hand and removing it a couple of times.

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China Glaze - Harmony

China Glaze - Harmony

2 Coats

Harmony is part of the Romantique collection. I think it came out not long after nail polishes went 3 free so the formula isn't that great. It is thick but runny at the same time and easily pooled in my cuticles. Scrangie refers to this as 3 free syndrome. I've heard the Romantique collection is good for stamping so I'll give this one a go soon.

BM-218

I stamped this with one of the french tip stamps on Bundle Monster plate BM-218. I used the french tip stamp sideways. I don't think my nails will ever be long enough to use them properly. I used a $2 shop black nail polish, the brand is e and it has no name but I think it's number 3.

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Birthday Haul

I have so much to swatch and the weather hasn't been good enough to get good pictures. I've swatched a few but didn't bother trying any purples because they are hard enough to photograph even when the sun is out.

This is what I've got since my last post:

L'oreal Paris - Titanuim

Chi Chi - Scene Queen

Sally Hanson Effects Real Nail Polish Strips - Bling It On

Ulta3 - Watermelon

Ulta3 - Frog Prince

Ulta3 - Clear

China Glaze - Harmony

China Glaze - Cowgirl Up

China Glaze - Ruby Pumps

China Glaze - For Audrey

China Glaze - Platinum Pieces

Orly - Here Comes Trouble

Orly - Bubbly Bombshell

Nubar - 2010

OPI Drip Dry

Specialist Paints Holographic Flakes

Look at the holographicness!! I bought 150 grams worth of silver holographic flakes from Specialist Paints for $43.79 including postage. They didn't list Australia on their list of countries that they deliver to and I didn't notice this until after I had ordered and paid. I sent them an email to apologise and to see if they can still send it to Australia. They never replied and then a few days later the flakes showed up.

I don't think these holographic flakes are as fine as Spectraflair holographic pigment but it's so much cheaper. I've seen 25 grams of Spectraflair for $275!

I'll be posting swatches of these colours soon!

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Color Club Wicked Sweet Collection

I now have the entire Color Club Wicked Sweet Collection. This is my first complete collection. This collection is scented!

Sorry about the different lighting in these pictures, they were taken on different days. There also hasn't been much sun, it was out for about 5 minutes when I was doing Yum Gum.

Get Your Lem-On

5 Coats

A highlighter yellow with dark green shimmer. This one is sheer so try wearing it over white. It smells like lemons.

The Lime Starts Here

5 Coats

Green Neon. This is quite sheer. If you put it over white you can probably use 3 coats. It looks like it's glowing in the picture because I tried to brighten the picture a little. Judging by the name I think this is supposed to smell like lime. To me it doesn't really, it's just a sweet smell.

I Always Get My Man-Darin

4 coats

This is a sheer neon orange with dark green shimmer. Smells citrusy (is that a word?), but it's not a definite mandarin smell.

Yum Gum

3 Coats

Light pink creme. Smells like bubble gum.

Raspberry Rush

4 Coats

Dark pink neon. This is also sheer. Again wearing it over white will help to reduce the number of coats needed. I originally thought this smelled like bubble gum rather than raspberry but now that I have Yum Gum I think it more a raspberry smell.

Gimme A Grape Big Kiss

3 Coats

Purple creme. You can still see the nail line in this photo. I could have tried more coats. Smells like grape.

Wicked Sweet

4 Coats

Neon blue with dark green shimmer. I didn't notice that the shimmer was dark green at first. When I got Get Your Lem-On and I Always Get My Man-Darin I could easily tell that they had dark green shimmer and when I looked at Wicked Sweet again I recognised the same green in it. This one smelled sweet so it matched it's name.

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