NOTW: Newspaper roses

Hello my dears!

Today I bring you a post I've been thinking about for a looooooooong time, but was too scared to try. Newspaper roses :D Lookie: 

Right hand

Left hand

Isn't it awesome? :-) I have a slight obsession with the idea of background colours being present, but the main focus being monochrome; sort of like an inverted Schindler's List. I love how my idea translated onto the nail :-) I've been wanting to try it for months and months, but always found rose manis extremely intimidating; they look so involved! It turns out that they're the easiest thing in the world. Do a rough blob on the nail with one colour (Rimmel Grey Matter, in this case), then draw little Vs and Cs in and around the blob to create the suggestion of a rose. Unbelievably fool-proof -- everyone should try it! Of course, the entire job was made much easier by my Barry M nail art pen, without which I would have totally failed at this mani. Funnily enough, I actually liked my right hand better; the roses look more open and alive because I couldn't be as precise :-)

I also experimented with some pinstripes (though the photo isn't so great...):

The base colour for this mani is one you've seen before here -- Barry M Pomegranate. I'm still in love with this colour, and I think it contrasts fantastically with my newspaper roses. 

All in all I think this mani was super successful, and I'll definitely be attempting another rose/flower mani sometime in the future. What sorta colours do you think I should try next? Have you ever tried a monochrome mani like this? Lemme know in the comments!

Silly attempt at 'proper blog' pose :P

'Til next time, curlettes!

- Skye x

NOTW: Razzle Dazzle Black Cherries

Hello dearies! I hope you're all well this week :-)

I have yet another lovely mani for you today! It had been a while since I'd done a reverse gradient, so I reached for a nice jelly glitter and set to work: 

Black cherries dazzle my digits *.* - oh the alliteration!

This was such an amazing mani in real life; the photo just doesn't do it justice! Unfortunately, I had a bad case of the shakes that day, so the pic is a bit out of focus... but isn't it pretty!? I wasn't sure if the hot pink KBShimmer It's Razz-ical would 'pop' over the dark base, but it really did; it's surprisingly pigmented for a jelly! I didn't use a sponge for this mani; I simply applied the jelly carefully with the polish bottle brush. This is a great technique for when you're pushed for time; it will look horrendous before you tc your digits because of the multiple layers of polish, but you'll end up with a lovely fade. I managed this better on some fingers than others (cf. ring finger), but I still adored this mani; I was truly sad to take it off!

What, then, is the base colour for this lovely mani? You're looking at Rimmel Black Cherries, and you've already seen it on this post here. Let's take another look: 

Expand to check out that beautiful, beautiful shimmer ;-)

First of all, let's take a moment to appreciate that GOSH haven't my photos improved over the past year?! It's hard to believe I've almost hit my one-year anniversary! This is a gorgeous, rich polish true to its name, a vampy deep purple with a hidden red/brown shimmer. I once declared Black Cherries to be my favourite polish ever. I'm not sure if this is still the case, but it remains a firm favourite which I reach for time and time again, especially when I do nail art. The formula isn't perfect but the colour just makes me smile.

What do you think of today's mani? Isn't it fun when an idea really comes together! For the past year, I've been trying to track down dupes for Black Cherries, since I love the colour but I'm not so keen on the formula. Unfortunately, I've not come up trumps. If you know of any polishes that might fit the bill, please do let me know in the comments!

Otherwise, 'til next time, curlettes ;-)

- Skye x

NOTW: Accessorize Those Scales!

Hello my lovelies! How are you? :-)

I have something short and sweet for you today; another play around with my Barry M nail art pens! Let's take a look:

This is my dragon scales/chainmail nail art! I really just had an image in my head of this looking like an abstract pattern, but close up I guess it kinda looks like weird flowers, or like I let a child scribble on my nails! I did actually really like it though; from a distance (head to hand) it looked pretty cool, and the black over multichrome polish was a fun look I hadn't tried before! :-)

I promised you a short post, and I wasn't joking. It's already time to show you the beautiful base colour for this mani - Accessorize Bronze!

This gorgeous multichrome is an oldie but SUCH a goodie; just check out that shift! Yellow gold, bronze, copper and dusty pink-brown tones make this the perfect autumnal polish for those who want a subtle polish with a bit of punch. Oxymoronic? Perhaps. A problem? Absolutely not. This polish has so many different facets that it was really difficult to photograph, but the photo up there is a good attempt at revealing its personality. In some lights it looks a deep, dusky pink-brown and in others you get the full shift. This polish is a real stunner and I'm never disappointed when I wear it. The formula and brush are also fantastic.

I actually adore multichromes, but own very few of them. I think I can count three at the most in my collection. That said, I have already taken steps to rectify this; I pre-ordered the entire ILVP Ultra Chrome collection :D I've never pre-ordered anything before, but I'm really glad I did. Not only have I added to my multichrome stash, I also didn't have to be involved in the mad run on the store on the official release date! I wish more of my favourite brands would do this. Needless to say, I'll be swatching those AS SOON AS THEY ARRIVE. I'll then possibly not post for several weeks while I just stare at my fingers in awe ;-)


What are your favourite duochromes and multichromes? Do you have any swatches you'd like to share? Share a link in the comments so we can all check them out!

'Til next time, curlettes :-)

- Skye x

NOTW: Not-so-showy summer gradient

Hello lovelies!

So this week, I decided to get on the summer bandwagon and try out my new makeup sponges again in a bright gradient:

Indirect light... *meh*

In the sunlight... still not orange :-/

*ahem* Yeah. Not so bright. My usually-very-bright orange (Rimmel Pop!) doesn't really pop over the pink base, so it basically looks like a big red stripe, making me a sad panda :-( I'm not really sure I like it too much... I had been planning to do some silly drawings over the top of the gradient, however, the polish started chipping on the day I sat down to do it, and so I ended up taking it off and creating a whole new mani! Tune in next week to see that one ;-)

Finally, the base colour for this mani was, yet again, Rimmel Show Off:

You've heard all about this one already here, so I won't go on. All I'm-a say is that the formula and brush were, as always, impeccable. I can always rely on a tidy mani when I reach for this polish.


So: WOW well wasn't that short and sweet! I guess it just goes to show that I do eventually run out of things to say!

Are you still doing summer manis or have you moved onto Autumn styles? Link me to your pics in the comments!

'Til next time, curlettes :-)

- Skye x

NOTW: Playful polkadots

Hello lovelies! How goes?

Today I have yet another polkadot mani for you... but this time, I tried something a little more fun! Sadly, due to my injured wrist, my photos of this mani were a bit naff, because I was quite shakey (weird nerve damage issues), but I wanted to show you my work anyway, so here goes :-)

Yes, that's my splint - ouchie :-(

As you can see, the lighting and picture quality is really quite poor compared to normal, but at least you can see my artwork. This mani totally makes me think of Minnie Mouse, although I'm not sure why. I really like the design, even in spite of the fact that it wasn't the most original one ever; it was fun to get my nail art pen out again :-)

Last but not least, here's the base colour used for this mani - Rimmel Show Off:

You've seen this colour before in this post here, but my swatch was quite poor. Now you have a decent one :-) As you can see, it's a raspberry pink creme which looks quite dusky in some lights, but rich in others (as above). The formula was perfect and so was the brush - this is definitely one of Rimmel's winners! I actually really like the polish, but I don't often wear it, since pink isn't my favourite nail colour; it was perfect for my polkadots though!


What else would you like to see me try with my new nail art pens? Let me know in the comments!

'Til next time :-)

- Skye x

NOTW: Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Pomegranate

Hello my dears and welcome to all my new followers! I can't believe I've hit 82 on FB and 70 on GFC - exciting stuff!

I only have a short-ish post for you today (and over the coming weeks), since I've been ridiculously busy and haven't had the chance to do any art at all :-( What I DO have for you is some beautiful (if I do say so myself) swatches of my first every Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine polish: Pomegranate! Let's take a look:

Check out how perfectly I filed my nails! ^^

Shiny, shiny - no topcoat! :D

This polish is quite special, because I got it for free! When I rushed into Superdrug to get my Silver and Gold Foil polishes for stamping, I got to the till and was told that Barry M had an offer on and I could choose another polish for nothing ^^ I'd had my eye on this particular one for some time now - especially since I worked out how to stamp - and so I jumped at the chance to give it a whirl.

So what did I think of this polish? Firstly, I love the colour; it's definitely a berry pink, but leans incredibly red in most lights, making it a really striking colour which still retains a softness that you don't get with a stark red. I loved it against my skin tone :-) This said, I have to admit that I found application a little tricky, although this may have been my fault; I've never had a one-coater before, and I wasn't used to the formula, so I ended up doing (multiple!) coats that were a bit too thick, and then the polish chipped easier afterwards, too. Next time I'll know to apply thinner coats and trust in the formula!

In case you're wondering where you've seen this polish before on my blog, I actually used it to stamp over A England Iseult in this post, and I can report that it stamps rather beautifully! No problems at all :-)

As a parting shot, I'll show you a rather bad photo which I took in artificial light, which really brings out the pink tones in this polish:

Pink tones... (pardon my lobster fingers)

Isn't it just lovely? I can't wait to use this polish again - it's such a strong yet feminine colour <3


I'm sorry that this post is a bit boring and all, but like I said, I've been swamped - and I still am now, so you're gonna see a fair few of these posts over the next couple weeks... I can't wait to eventually have time to do some decent art again!

'Til next time and stick with me! :-)

- Skye x

NOTW: A England Iseult

Hello lovelies and hello new followers! Welcome aboard :) :)

Today I get to show you a new favourite polish of mine - A England Iseult! This polish will always be very special to me, because it was sent to me along with A England Tristam (a gorgeous blue holo) completely by surprise by Anne Catherine Vold Archer! After my initial confusion at seeing an A England bubble envelope in my postbox, I realised that Anne had bought me these polishes out of the kindness of her heart because I don't own any pretty nudes that are 'interview-appropriate'. Anne told me that she wanted to prove to me that work wear doesn't have to be boring - and I now totally believe her! Thank you SO much Anne. I will never cease to be totally in awe of how much kindness is demonstrated in the polish community, and it's really very humbling. Kindness breeds kindness and I can only hope that I get the chance to pay forward all of the kindnesses I've been shown since I was welcomed into our little community :-)

Firstly, let me show you what I did to the mani after I got back from my interview - I got my stamp on again!

Stampy, stampy!

This is an image from GALS plate #29 and it fitted on my shorter-than-usual nails perfectly. At first I thought I'd maybe got the colour combination wrong again, but the mani eventually really grew on me and I'd definitely do it again. I think my main issue was that the silver image didn't really pop so my accent nail looked a bit much at first, but that's what I get for choosing to stamp with polishes with little or no colour contrast! This was a v. feminine mani and one I'm sure I'll reproduce in the future.


Here's the polishes I used:

• A England Iseult (pink-nude base)
• Barry M Silver Foil
• Barry M Gelly Hi-Shine Pomegranate

Finally, here's a couple swatches of the beautiful base colour, A England Iseult:

Iseult #1

Iseult #2

This is a very sheer and delicate, almost-white pink polish with a subtle silver shimmer running through it. At first I thought it wouldn't suit me, because I'm definitely a warm-toned gal, but having worn it for a week I can honestly tell you that this polish will suit anyone and everyone! I'm thrilled, because it's really pretty! This was about three coats, but I think that four would eliminate the VNL. In fact, in most lights this wasn't noticeable anyway. As is fairly typical for these sheer polishes, application was a bit tricky, but not as tricky as it could have been. I think the main challenge was being patient enough to cope with the slower-than-average drying time, but as you can see, I mostly succeeded :-)

I realise that my photos of this polish are not great (weird colours, lobster hands, no jumper etc.!), but this is because I did the mani really late the night before I went to my interview and so I didn't really get a chance to take my time and get good ones. As a result, my nail art pic is ironically the most colour-accurate for the polish! I will definitely be wearing it again, though, so I will get you better pics then! For those curious, I wasn't offered the job in the end, but I think this was a blessing in disguise because the salary turned out to be very poor; I can buy more polish and travel more often if I continue freelancing, and that suits me just fine!


All I can say to sum up is thank you once again to Anne for buying me my beautiful (and first ever) A Englands, and that I can't wait to wear them both time and time again :-) I just hope that the weather plays along soon so that I can finally appreciate Tristam in all his noble and romantic holo-glory :-)

See you later this week for the second installment of my WAUF blog series!

'Til next time, curlettes :-)

- Skye x

NOTW: Sonnetarium Peppermint Kiss

Hello my lovelies and thank you to my new followers - welcome, welcome, welcome :-)

Today I have another Sonnetarium polish to show you: Peppermint Kiss. First off, let's take a look at the polish:

Shrinkage alert!

Prettiness ^^

This was a surprise mini that I found in my Sonnetarium Snowfall package from Sharla-Elyn, and at first I wasn't sure whether it was my colour or not. Green AND red AND white in a milky pink base? Odd, for sure. However, after I had this on for an hour or two I was loving it! Application is a bit tricky because the base is sort of a crelly, and so it looks streaky at first - but don't panic! It evens out beautifully :-) I wore Peppermint Kiss over a pink creme base coat (swatched below), which makes it look mid-pink, but I think it would look lovely alone and would probably need 3-4 coats to reach its full, milky opacity. I think that the polish will suit me better on its own in the summer when I'm looking a bit toastier :-) This a totally unique polish and I can think of several holidays for which it could be worn, including one that is fast approaching and shall not be named.

One more point worth mentioning: in the pictures above I wore this polish with my new HK Girl topcoat. I'll save the post about that for another day, but I'm not overly enthused about this so-called "wonder-coat". Needless to say, I got MASSIVE shrinkage with this mani within an hour or so of application (and I wrapped my tips with each colour!). Not good. It's a shame because I loved this mani but ended up having to remove it the next morning because the shrinkage was bugging me so much. Urgh.

Finally, here's a swatch of the base colour I chose:

Pardon my cuticles!

As you can probably tell, this is an OLD swatch from the vault that I did several months ago, but never posted. I did try to get a better one this time around, but the pva under the creme looked nasty :P As such, please ignore my odd nail shape, poor picture quality and iffy cuticles. Probably the best bit about this swatch is the cuticle line which looks damn near perfect! Still, at least you can see the colour :-)

Funnily enough, I never have staining problems with this colour on its own, but with the glue basecoat it turned my nails a sort of mango-pink orange. Very odd! It sorta looks like I have oxygen poisoning (nerdy scuba joke), but luckily I'll be covering my talons with polish most of the time so no one will see :P


What do you think of my second Sonnetarium polish? When would you wear it? Let me know in the comments!

'Til next time, curlettes :-D

- Skye x

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You can buy Sonnetarium polishes from the (incredibly kind and sweet) Michelle at http://www.sonnetarium.net/all-products. Sonnetarium are just about to release a new spring collection inspired by fruit yoghurts, some swatches of which you can find on their FB page here :-)

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NOTW: Funky French half moons!

Hello and welcome to my blog ^^ I'd like to thank all of my new followers - it's nice to know people like what I'm doing :-)

Today I would like to show you yet another tape mani - my first ever attempt at a half-moon mani!!!! Here goes:

Hmmm my half moons look straight... but they aren't!

See! Proof they are curved :-)

I'm SO proud of this! I've been jealously eyeing half-moon manis for several months now and they have always intimidated me somehow... but since I'm on a tape-mani roll, I decided to take the plunge this week :-) I think I mostly did a really good job, although I initially tried to tape off my half moons with French tip stickers rather than hole reinforcers, which was a mistake (that's why my pointer looks a bit less awesome than the rest).

I can imagine this same mani in a ton of different colours, so choosing was hard... however, we ended up having lots of snow this week, so I decided to go for colours that would be really warm and bright against the rare Southern white-out :-)

Whilst we're on the subject of colours, I'd just like to draw your attention to the AMAZING shimmer in the purple polish:

Check out that gorgeous rainbow-blue shimmer! *.*

Polishes used:

• Rimmel #270 Shocker (hot pink half moon)
• Collection 2000 #6 Purple Rain (purple - complete with a gorgeous multicoloured shimmer)

To round out this post, I'd finally like to show you the base colour for this mani:

Sorry about pic quality: the polish is really glossy :S

This has previously been a surprise fav of mine, but it has now fallen out of favour because the formula on application this time was sucky. I'm beginning to realise this is perhaps a problem with Rimmel - the formula starts out as perfection, but eventually gets gloopier and hard work. My cuticle line is a bit messy because of this. I'm sure I'll be wearing it again, but maybe I'll invest in some thinner first! :-P


What's your favourite colour combo for funky half-moons??? Let me know in the comments!

'Til next time! 

- Skye x