OPI Liquid Sand - lots of glittery bang for your buck!

I'm loving the current liquid sand craze! It's really easy to apply (unlike lots of glitters that apply unevenly). The matte base colour combines with the grainy texture to really make the glitter Pop!

The finish is a bit weird: it does feel like fine sand: the kind that sticks to your ankles after you've been swimming at the beach. But it's robust (although some say it chips, I've not experienced this) and doesn't mind if you touch it all day long!

This is 'Tiffany Case' from OPI's
The Bond Girls Collection - such a lovely colour!

As with most glitters, it's tough to remove when you're ready for a change. But a few extra secs pressing a wet cotton pad over your nail will shift it cleanly. A good base coat helps, of course!!

Do you like the glittery finish? How do you think you'd find textured nails?

Brown and teal polka dots!

And the last one for today: this was my manicure for a recent work conference.  I wanted something fun, but subtle enough to not draw attention to itself if I was suddenly called upon to appear 'the consummate professional'!

I think this did the trick - what do you think?  I think that by alternating the base and dots on each finger I muted the effect somewhat - creating an illusion (from a distance) that I had a consistent treatment on every finger.  But up close - quite a different story!

Ombre nails - shades of green

This was fun.  Messy, but lots of fun.  Amazingly easy too!  I love the shading effect, and in real life it looks amazing!  I've had so many comments on how great it looks, I'm an ombre convert!

I painted my nails with the light green base colour, and then painted stripes of the light and dark greens onto a sponge, slightly overlapping to get the blurry effect.  Then it was as simple as sponging the polish onto my nails until I was happy with the colour fade effect.  

Needless to say, I got nail polish everywhere (on me that is, not on the furniture!) and I did go through a fair few cotton buds cleaning up!  I think next time I'd scotch tape my fingers first to reduce the mess (yes, scotch tape: a fantastic cheat for messy techniques!).  The photo is mid-clean up - as you can see I still had to work around my cuticles.  

What do you think?  Any other colour combos you'd like to see?

Nail polish stash - all the colours!

My mum tells me I have 'enough' nail polish.  By which, she means, far to much for one person.

So, with a view to sharing the joy, and starting to practice my nail art with others, here are shots intended to give you an idea of the colour range and effects I can offer!

Unfortunately, I am still relying on the camera on my phone, so the colours aren't entirely true to life - but they'll give you an idea!  And that's why I've shown some twice - to catch the light best.  Those at the bottom of the photo are the most true to life.

Crackles and glitters

Liquid sands

Greens, blues and teals

Greens, blues and teals

Pinks, neutrals and purples

Pink, neutrals and purples

Reds, pinks and browns

Magnetics and glitters

Tints, black, grey, silvers and gold

Skittle Mani, with a touch of Batman!

Well, this was fun!  I love a skittle mani (named for the lollies, not the game!).  Bright colours are my thing, they're so cheery, especially in these wintery days.

This time I was inspired by watching old Batman shows on TV: and I happen to have some appropriate  Cheeky nail stamps: Bam! Pow! Zap!  I thought they went nicely with the bright colours to really keep that comic book effect.

Excuse the fuzziness of the photos - it's the horrible digital zoom on my phone, and not blurring of the stamps!

The colours I used for this mani were:

• Yellow: China Glaze Happy Go Lucky
• Orange: OPI Nicole Alert!
• Blue: OPI Teal the Cows Come Home
• Green: OPI Green-wich Village
• Pink: China Glaze Sexy Lady
• Black: Butter London Union Jack Black
• Cheeky plates CH47, CH48

What do you think?  Would you wear different colours on each finger?