Mrsluckyboy85 says NO to violence against women

May is white ribbon month, Domestic and Family Violence Prevention month, and I managed to squeeze in this mani right at the very end!

Mitty Burns, maker of premium nail art brushes, are sharing this campaign on their IG page, and have asked for white ribbon manicures to support the cause and raise awareness. Please check out their page to see what you can do.
It's a subject in which I have a personal story, that is why it was important for me to contribute.

Being in a marriage with someone from a completely different cultural upbringing and values, can be challenging at times. Exposed to violence on a daily basis as a child, does influence later decisions in adulthood, and my husband has been through some very difficult situations in his life in Africa. In turn, I've gone through ups and downs, and sadly faced a very dark period for a number of years. Thankfully I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones, because after a brief separation, and much soul searching, we managed to get our marriage back on track. We are now in a place of respect and I truly believe that people can change for the better.

I fell in love with this mani as soon as I saw it. It is inspired by Framboiselottin on IG. I just adore the  vintage lace with the butterflies, and thought it would be perfect for this mani.

I started out with a sponged gradient of dark grey, light grey to white. I then stamped a lace image from UC Love & Marriage - 02, using MDU Black. Next I took a cosmetic sponge and randomly dabbed on OPI Black Onyx, leaving a small section of the lace exposed.
I used the butterfly images from BM -XL14, and placed the randomly on the nail. The white ribbon is from BM-XL20, which I stamped with Konad White.

Please take a moment to read the below, and thank you for stopping by.

#Repost @mitty_burns
Recent global figures indicate that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have violence in their lifetime. Globally, as many as 38% of murders of women are committed by violence against women. 😡😡😡 〰〰〰〰
Join us to say NO to violence against women. We can all play an important role to keep women safe. We are women after all!

May is Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month. Say NO to violence against women. To violence against men. To violence against children.
✖
Mitty (@mitty_burns) will donate 20% of all sales in May to @whiteribbonaust foundation to help this fight. If you have been thinking of getting a good quality nail art brushes, do it now so we can donate and help. ✖
Tell someone. If it's happening to you, or if you witness something. Tell someone. ✖
Love should never hurt.

Memorial Day tribute mani

First of all, Happy Memorial Day 🇺🇸 and thank you to all those who fought for us,  so we can enjoy the freedom we celebrate every day.

A quick and simple one, and I really like how this came out. However there was no sun to really get a nice picture, which was a pitty because there was holo underneath and it would have made the whole thing sparkle. I had to get my nails done yesterday, which meant removing this beauty, so there was no option on waiting for the weather to clear up to get a better photo,  don't you just hate that 🙄 I recently went to the lighting shop in my neighborhood, to buy a new globe for my lightbox set up. I currently have an Ottlite, but it makes my hands look too corpse like. The globe the guy sold me is the complete opposite, I look like an ompaloompa, it's that yellow! Needless to say I'm going to return it. I need a globe that is just slightly warmer that an Ottlite, but still gives a true natural color in pictures. If anyone has any recommendations, that would be much appreciated.  

On to the how now! I started off with two thin coats of ILNP Mega. Couldn't get the cap off EDK Andromeda, my go to silver holo. But I really should buy a back up, because this baby stamps and I have already gone through 1/4 of the bottle 😁 Next I randomly swiped on Colores de Carol Blue Christmas and Candy Marshmallow Apple, both jellies with various sized glitters. I went for a patch work stripes looking pattern, and concentrated polish more in some areas to give a darker red and blue in some sections. Then I used Konad White to stamp the stars, they are from UberChic plate 6-01. Love love love this image. I've done an awesome mani with this image before, you can check it out on my Instagram. And that's it. Simple really, took about 20 minutes.

Enjoy your long weekend, and hope you will join me tomorrow. I have a white ribbon mani coming up next with a bit of a personal story.

Geometric lines over VIP Peach

A quick and simple one today, or is that yesterday because I normally do my mani's during the day and then photograph and post them the next day! I had a busy day, and didn't end up starting my nails until 8pm. That's late for me, I normally aim to have them done mid afternoon.

I went on a quick trip to Target to pick up a few things, and couldn't bypass the cosmetics section 🙄 I have been slowly buying the Sinful Colors Kylie range, and today I picked up VIP Peach. I love peachy shades, even though they don't really compliment my skin tone, because I have strong pink\red undertones in my hands. It's probably from all the hand washing I do during the day!
Anyway, I thought this one was really pretty, because it has a lot of gold shimmer. The formula was mediocre, I ended up using 3 coats to get good even coverage. I probably could have gotten away with 2, that's the beauty of stamping, it hides the flaws in the base coat!

I've been eyeing the random lines stamp from UberChic plate 9-03 for some time. I wanted to use it in a rainbow gradient over a black base, but just thought it would look good in gold and silver over the peachy base. I first stamped with a silver franken, and then again with CG Passion, the gold. I like how it mixes the lines, and it's hard to tell which is the first and second stamp.  It's a simple one, but I do like the outcome.

Tomorrow I have a Memorial Day inspired mani on the blog, I hope you are enjoying your long weekend!

Coffee addict mani using UberChic mini

Todays prompt for #clairestelle8may is a great one, a mani you have never posted!
After looking through the camera roll on my phone, I found a heap, I didn't post them because basically they sucked! Sometimes you have a great idea, but it just doesn't turn out. That's what nail polish remover is for 😂

It seems I didn't post this one, not because I didn't like it, I think I just forgot!
I used the UberChic Coffee Addict mini, a must for every coffee lover ☕️😄

Have a great long weekend!

Pahlish Charm

Whilst I was digging around in one of my Melmers, I came across 4 Pahlish nail polishes which I've never used. I think I may have purchased these about a year ago 😳

This one called Charm, is the perfect spring color. Pale purple with aqua hex glitter of various sizes. I was pleasantly surprised by the formula, it was thin enough to spread easily, but not runny or patchy. Two easy coats, which dried nice and flat.

Of course I had to stamp over it, and I chose this intricate floral pattern from UberChic plate 3-03. I used MDU Aqua and one coat of HK Girl.

Enjoy your weekend, TGI Friday!

Rainbow gradient butterflies

Hope your week is going well so far. I'm a bit under the weather, my oldest son has managed to pass on his cold to me 🙄 Oh the joys of school germs!

I was having trouble sleeping a few days ago, and somehow my mind went to my polish collection, and specifically to my OPI Color Paints. I haven't used them in a while, since my CG Lite Brites have taken over, so I thought I'd give them some love.

I picked these up at my local beauty shop last year, they used to sell all polishes for $5, Zoya, Essie and OPI. Sadly, the ownership has changed hands recently, so that discounted price no longer applies 😥 It was nice while it lasted. I now rarely buy Essie or Zoya, because of this and because I find so many of their collections similar to colors I already have. They just don't seem worth it for full price, unless there is something super special color wise, I will probably just buy one here or there, not the whole collection like I used to. The joys of being a stay at home mom 😐

Anyway, back to business. I stated out with one coat of My Signature is DC, a silver base to make the colors pop. I prefer this over white, because it just gives that hint of sparkle. I sponged the colors on in a rainbow pattern, which is pretty easy, because they give good coverage in two coats.
Next I stamped the butterfly image from UberChic plate 9-02  I love negative images like these, so many possibilities for bases. I did originally have them shiny, but found them impossible to photograph. There was just way too much shine for a decent picture. So I ended up adding a matte top coat. I like how it turned out matte, it makes the silver base shine through the colors.

Hope you like them too. Tomorrow I have a mani using Snow White from the Femme Fatale Enchnated Fables collection, so pretty and soft 😍

Holographic feathers

Dont you just hate it when you've just finished a mani, you sit down to go through 3 days of your I and you come across a mani so similar to the one you've just done it's scary 😳

 Since I've been hooked on watching The Doctor Blake Mysteries, I've neglected my IG for a few days, only stopping in long enough to upload a few pics and replying to some comments left. Damn you TV!

Now I don't know if I perhaps did see the 'other' mani whilst quickly peeking at my feed occasionally,  and without consciously realizing it, did one similar, thinking what I brilliant idea I just had, or what the story was. But anyway I like how it turned out so I'm still posting it ☺️ 

I tried a technique I've never done before, the fan brush. I decided it might be easier to do it on my Ubermat, which is what I ended up doing. I used the ColorClub pastel neon collection, dripped a bit of polish onto a sandwich bag, and fanned it on. I changed sides for every color, so they overlapped. I went darkest to lightest. Easy really. 

Next I stamped the feathers straight onto the fanned polish, using UC Fantastic Feathers plate and ColorClub Beyond for the stamping polish. I peeled it off, cut off the excess and put it over a white base. Done. 

I should have taken a picture of how it was developing on my mat, after the fanning and then the stamping, but I didn't want to interrupt my Doctor Blake watching 🙄  I found I can watch it on my phone whilst I do my nails! That's why my nails are taking twice as long to complete and are probably sloppier than usual 😂

Neon flowers over glittah 😎

I felt it was time for some bling! I rarely wear glitter polish, because it's a pain in the a*^% to remove from my silk wraps, but today I'm making an exception! Sometimes a girl needs bling, even when she's just staying home on a Saturday night to watch the boxing!

I've seen a few mani's lately with flowers over a glitter background, so I thought I'd do my own version.

I don't actually own too many silver glitters, but decided to go with something which I don't often use, Vintage Lights by Colores de Carol. Such a beauty, I think I purchased this shortly before Christmas, and have only used it a handful of times. I really adore this because in addition to the usual holo glitter, it also has some slightly larger glitter, which just makes it that much different to anything in my stash. And gotta support the indies!
Because I just wanted a sheer glittery look, I put one thin coat over ILNP Mega. That gives it a holo base, that compliments the glitter.

The stamping image is from My Online Shop MJ XXXI. Yes I'm using something other than UberChic! Shock horror. I just found this image to be exactly what I was looking for; flowers that I could reverse stamp, that are not too dense, so that pretty glitter can still show through.
Of course I had to use my China Glaze Lite Brites, because I have still not taken them from my desk, and I swear those polishes give me life 😂 I mixed up the colors a bit, but went mostly with the pinks. I stamped using MDU Black, top coat is HK Girl.

I want to do another mani like this soon, maybe with a different colored base. So keep an eye out 😊

Dark and mysterious 💚

Dark and mysterious, with a little bit of sparkles for good measure!

I was inspired by a recent mani I saw Urban Nail Art do, with  a beautiful green gradient. I don't know what it is though, I've noticed a trend with green nail polish and issues with sponging them on 😳
When doing a gradient, I normally start with a base coat of the lightest color. In this case, it was For Audrey by China Glaze. I really had to let this dry, because I've found that when sponging colors over it, it wants to lift off. I then applied OPI Amazon _Amazoff, Orly Hip&Outlandish, Sinful Colors Kylie Jenner Kold Kash and finally For Audrey on damp cosmetic sponge. I sponge on 3 coats, for full coverage.  Because it still needed a bit of sparkle, I topped it with Northern Lights holo top coat, by Out the Door. Let it all dry and then put one coat of HK Girl over it.

Ready for stamping. Again I made decals, using MDU Black and UberChic plate 8-02. It was too late at night and dark to see clearly, even with my C Thru stamper. My latex barrier is black, and when working late at night I find it hard to find my cuticles!
I used the UC image upside down for this design, because I just liked it better!

Sadly my camera has an issue with picking up true colors, this mani is actually a dark deep teal at the cuticles. I noticed the same issue recently when trying to take a pic with Orly Hip & Outlandish. Anyway, I hope you like it, and stay tuned for what I have coming tomorrow. So far I have no clue what that is going to be 😄

Mother of pearl sea shells

Time to break out all those shimmery shiny polishes I never use! I went for mother of pearl on this one, and I love how it turned out 🐚

I don't know why I don't use shimmery polishes more often, I must put that on my list! I seem to have a tonne of them! I think maybe because they are a pain to clean up, and that sheen seems to hang around forever 😬
This was another opportunity to test my UberChic Nautical mini plate, full of such lovely images. It's available for purchase here Www.uberchicbeauty.com

Lets move on to the how to. I started with a white base, and then dry brushed approx 10 colors in a random pattern. I went with pale green, purple, pink, blue, gold, silver and some neutrals. Because it looked a bit too colorful for the mother of pearl effect I was looking for, I ended up putting one coat of KleanColor pearl white over the top of the dry brush. You can still see the colors underneath, because it's quite a sheer polish.

I made decals out of the shell images, because I wanted to take my time with the placement. Because my nails are short at the moment, I knew there was no way to fit the whole image on. Plus I don't like just using the same image on every nail. So I placed them in different positions, and also decided to go with a small shell on my ring finger.
I used MDU Dark grey to stamp with, it's a great alternative to black. Dark enough to see clearly, but a bit softer. Top coat and your done!

Summer daisies 😎

Feeling girly so I decided to go for this simple and fun daisy design 😎
Also this was a chance to try out my UberChic Little Bitty Icons stamping plate. It had the perfect little flower image.

The base is China Glaze Lip Smackin' Good, a pretty neon pink with subtle gold shimmer. The formula was a little sheer and streaky, so I ended up with 3 coats to get a nice even coverage. No white undies this time, which may have helped had I used white as a base.
Stamping polish is Konad White, the centers of the flowers are MDU yellow. I just dotted these on with a dotting tool.
My firm C Thru stamper worked best with this plate, and I used firm pressure. I found this was the best method to pick up the image well. My softer stampers just weren't working.

Hope you like it, tomorrow I'm planning another nautical mani 🐚

These tentacles are coming for you!

Can we start by taking a minute for this uber cute tentacle image, from the new UberChic Nautical mini plate! I knew the second I saw this plate that was going to be my first mani. I think I have nothing like it in my collection

I debated whether I wanted to reverse stamp this and make it colorful, but after my last two frustrating mani's, I decided to keep it simple!
I went with one of my favorite unusual color combos. Firstly though, I had to google what color an octopus actually is! My octopus knowledge is clearly lacking, I only know of the blue ringed octopus, coming from OZ.

I ended up making decals for two of my nails, because I don't like to repeat the same image on every nail. I find it boring. So on my pinky and pointer I cut the decals into different positions, to what they were on the image plate.

The base color is China Glaze At Vase Value, a beautiful pale blue green. The stamping polish I love to pair with this base is, M Polish Fresh Perspective. It's a raspberry red metallic, really pretty but a bit sheer.

I really need to widen my stamping polish collection. I read an article recently on how to turn any polish into a stamping polish, by adding arrowroot powder to thicken it. I have it on my to buy list next time I go to the grocery store. I want to give it a try. I'm a bit skeptical, but it's worth a try.

Hope you like and will check out what I have coming up next. I feel a daisy mani coming on!

The UberChic Nautical mini plate is available for purchase here: www.uberchicbeauty.com

Antique tea set

The prompt for #clairestelle8may nail art challenge, calls for Antique.

Since I've done a few aged look mani's lately, I decided to go for a china pattern tea set. 

This was another one that seemed frustrating and to take forever 🙄 Two in a row 😩 I'm going to do a super simple one tomorrow! 

I really wanted to stamp the teapot & cup with the china pattern, and leave the rest of the nail white. But it just wasn't working. So in the end I went with stamping the same pattern in a lighter blue, and placing the set over it. Because the image was so large, I had to split it. 

Because I wasn't really loving it, I tried another option. Sadly I don't really love this one either 😕 

The tea set is too hard to see, and after shrinking it down, it's kind of hard to tell what it is. Anyway, you get the idea. 

The floral pattern is from MJ XXXI and the tea service from Moyra 14 Moments. The white base is Orly White Tips, stamping polish is MDU Iris and Pastel Blue. 

Peacock Feathers

As soon as I saw the new UC Fabulous Feathers mini, I knew that my first mani was going to be the peacock feathers! How pretty, and the whole peacock color palette just appeals to me.

I went with a white base, even though I was debating using silver. I felt the colors would pop more over white, so white it was. I desperately need to get a new bottle of my go to, Orly White Tips, my bottle is thick and goopy, even though I've thinned it down considerable. Out of all the colors in my collection, I tend to go through white the most. I guess because I use it as a base under many of my neons, and you all know how much I'm loving my neons at the moment 🙄

This one seemed to take forever, mostly because I tried a whole bunch of combinations before I found the one I wanted. I debated using black as a base and stamping different parts of the image with holo colors, but canned the idea because stamping over and over just made it look messy. I tried it out with different base colors, and just wasn't loving it. That's the great thing about the UC mini mat, you can try it all and then just wipe it clean!

So in the end I place different colors directly on the plate and scraped them together.  I used MDU Fiji, spring green, Aqua, taupe and bronze. Some of the colors were lost in the blending, so I ended up making decals and going over it with a bit of MDU Bronze on a liner brush, to bring it together. Next I flipped them over and filled in the bronze and the blue centers.

Overall I like how it came out, looks hand painted rather than stamped 😀

You can purchase the stamping plate here: www.uberchicbeauty.com

Double stamped romantic roses

I was in a girly mood yesterday, and I received a cute new plate in the mail recently, which I thought would be perfect for this floral mani. Sorry I'm killing you with the floral mani's lately 😳

I was inspired by Kristen from Lacquerstyle, I have had her amazing mani in my "inspiration" folder for about a year. I keep a folder with pictures that I look at from time to time, to get ideas, patterns and color combo's. I always try to credit owners of original ideas, but I'm sure I'm guilty for stealing an idea here or there, and not knowing it! What do they say "there is no such thing as an original idea."

I was immediately drawn to the color combo on this one. A grey base, purple and red flowers, with pale blue shadowing. I couldn't find a grey that was the color I wanted, in my stash, so ended up making my own. I think I should have gone slightly darker, because the blue shadow is a bit hard to see. Especially once I added Seche Vite, it took away the shadowing even more. 

The purple is MDU, the red is MDU Reddish. 

I started off with the grey base, and then randomly stamped the pale blue. I reverse stamped the flowers, and then placed the decal over the pale blue. Easy. Top coat and your done. I always top coat  with HK Girl or Seche Vite, before matte top coating. I find the design tends to smudge when going over the stamping straight away with matte. 

I purchased this plate from Ali Express, TU 006, and was pleasantly surprised with how quickly I got it. It only took about 2 weeks. I have had many purchases take months, or not turn up at all. I'm going check out what else this seller has to offer, and fingers crossed it will be another positive experience! 

Vintage Paris mani with rainbow sponging

The prompt for the next #WNAC2016 is Vintage sponging. 

I recently received the Paris in Love plate from UberChic Beauty, which you can purchase here www.uberchicbeauty.com and thought this would be the perfect combo for this theme. What is more vintage and romantic than Paris! 

Yes I'm at it again with those China Glaze Lite Brites 🙄 I just can't put them down 😬 

I have done a similar mani to this before, but instead of pink sponging, I decided to go with a rainbow this time. And I love how it turned out. I feel like I'm back on my nail game, after a recent wave of mediocreness😕 

The sponging was done with my Lite Brites, paired with one darker color from my stash. I'm too lazy to list the names! The base is my go to neutral, OPI My Vampire is Buff. 

I stamped first with MDU Light Grey, and double stamped with Dark Grey. I didn't want to use black in this mani, because I wanted it to have a softer more vintagey romantic feel to it. Of course I had to matte all the things, because nothing vintage can be shiny and new 😆 

Hope you enjoyed, and will check out my next one. 

Dead Thangs!

Killing two Zombies with one mani! 🔫⛏ These Dead Thangs are for #nailswithigfriends, for which the prompt is favorite movie, and #clairestelle8may Halloween in May. 

Well my favorite movie is not really Fear the Walking Dead, it was just convenient! I did really enjoy season 1, I have yet to see season 2. I don't really have a favorite movie, but probably What's Eating Gilbert Grape is one I did really enjoy, and have on DVD. Also, Friday After Next, since I live in LA, and just found this slap stick comedy funny. 

The images are all from the UberChic Zombie Love plate. This is actually my third mani using this plate, so I decided to go for a different color combo this time. Neon acid green and grey. 

I dry brushed various bright greens, and for the accent nails I went with grey. 

Stamping polishes are MDU Black, Grey and Neon Green. Matte top coat is by Wet n Wild. 

Hope you enjoyed my Dead Thangs! 

Hydrangea nails of the day

Good morning y'all. I have a busy next couple of days, so I'm pulling one out of the vault today.

Now, call me a liar, but are these not Hydrangeas? 😂 I'm laughing, because I have absolutely no clue what kind of flowers these are, I totally suck at anything flora related. Give me a rose image and I can tell you what they are! So let's call them hydrangeas shall we, humor me.

These Hydrangeas are from UberChic plate 9-02, which you can purchase here: www.uberchicbeauty.com I did this mani a while back, before I was able to release it.

I used a franken base, which I made with white polish, magenta and holo silver glitter. I then stamped the images using MDU Tutti, and my C Thru Stamper. Not sure what the deal with the slight smudging was, I waited my usual 5 minutes or so before top coating. Also the color changed to more of a hot pink, rather than the deep magenta it really is. Top coat is HK Girl.

Coral and neon yellow illusion

Coral is the prompt for today, for #clairesterle8may.

I ended up with this, because my earlier plan didn't work out 😩 Don't you just hate that? And on top of that I don't really like this one either! 🙄

My base is Essie Sunset Sneaks a beautiful deep oral color. Formula is great, two coats that self leveled well.

I wanted to use the sun illusion image from UberChic plate 9-02, because I thought it would great in neon yellow, against the bright coral. Sadly it didn't turn out how I wanted it to.

Firstly, my MDU neon yellow is a bit old and almost empty. So it wasn't picking up on my C Thru stamper. I ended up making decals on my mini Uber mat. Sadly, the stamping didn't come out as crisp and even as I was going for, but anyway. And when I top coated, the neon yellow lost all its neon-ness and now just looks yellow. That also took away from the base, because it just looks orange-ish now. You win some, you lose some.

Next!

Summer hibiscus flowers using UC plate 9-01

This was the first mani I created when I received my fantastic UC collection 9 plates. I was immediately drawn to these beauties, so summery and pretty 🌺

My base is a dry brush of Orly White Tips and a heap of neutral colors, to add dimension.

I reverse stamped the images onto my mini Uber mat, and filled them in with my China Glaze Lite Brites. I layered the images just to mix it up a bit, and that's it!

Neon roses for Mothers Day

Sorry this ones a bit late, I had the day off on Sunday😂 Hope all the wonderful moms out there had an amazing Mothers Day.

I'm at it again with those China Glaze Lite Brights 😁 My husband threatened an intervention if I don't stop using them!

I started with the rose images from UberChic plate 9-03, stamped with MDU Black. I made decals and filled them in with the Lite Brites. I put them over a white base of Orly White Tips, this helps to brighten the neons to all their eye searing goodness 😎

Because I wanted to "momerize" them, I added the lettering from UberChic SE Alphabet plate. I stamped with MDU Black and White, filled in with Esmaltes de Kelly.

Love how they turned out 🌹

Side ruffian with intricate stamping

I was going for something different with this mani, I wanted to do something out of my comfort zone.

I hardly ever use the color red in any of my nail designs. I'm just not a huge fan of red, not sure why. Maybe because I have a lot of redness in my skin tone, so want to avoid bringing it out more with red polish, and creating lobster hands 😂

I wanted to use my new UberChic plates some more, so decided on a sideways ruffian. First time, I kind of like it, and it was pretty easy to do.

I started off with a white base, my go to Orly White Tips. Next I stamped on this intricate design from UC plate 9-03, using MDU Reddish. Top coat, and let it dry completely.
I used French tip guides and turned them sideways, then painted on two coats of OPI Black Onyx. Final top coat and your done!