Fimo Flowers

Hey everyone! I've been wanting to buy fimo canes for nail art purposes but never did because I thought slicing these up would be kind of an impossible task for a clumsy person like myself. Luckily for me, and everyone else that doesn't trust themselves with a razor blade, there are plenty of shops around selling pre sliced fimo pieces. One of the shops that does so and where I placed an order not too long ago is Mardy MakeUpShop, a Dutch web shop. The fimo slices variate in prices but these flowers were €1.25 for a bag of about 100 pieces. Not bad ey! I also want to say that they were fast with my order, I received it the next day. Like they personally stuffed it in my mailbox!

I first applied a base colour, I picked Color Club Who Are You Wearing? from Color Club's Rebel Debutante collection. It's really nice, wearable whitish creme that's leaning towards a very light type of lavender. It's very subtle and I picked it because I thought the flowers would really jump out with a base colour like this. After that I placed some random vine-like stripes and added the flowers - sticking them to my nails with a little bit of top coat.

The striper was sent to me by Mardy MakeUpShop for a review and I was excited to try this one because I've never tried something from Ados. I've actually never heard of the brand before, don't know if I have been living under a rock but from first sight it looked good. I got number 27, it's a somewhat murky kind of green glitter in a transparent base. The brush is long and thin, just a normal striper brush, and the cap is long and pointed which makes it very easy to handle. The glitters are pretty dense so it doesn't leave you with spaces that don't have any glitter, I like that.

It costs €2.50 and it contains 5ml of polish. Now I know there are a lot of stripers available on eBay that can be bought for less and that's also a great buy but I have to say that I like the Ados striper more. Some of my eBay stripers smell really bad (like paint thinner?!) and the design isn't as nice. Also this one is B3F and I'm not sure if the eBay stripers are. I would buy more of these if I needed more stripers but to tell you the truth I can't stash some more in my Helmer - I got too much.

I'm very much in love with the fimo slices I got, they are adorable and I have ordered a lot more of these pretties. I just saw they also had Christmas themed fimo slices and I'm such a sucker for those kind of themed things so guess what you'll be seeing soon..?

Mardy MakeUpShop ships internationally. I'm very happy with a web shop like this because they offer nail art products for small prices and they also carry a lot more products so be sure to check it out.

What's your thought of fimo? Like it or not? And do you trust yourself with a razor blade?

The product in this post is provided for consideration.
For more information please read my disclaimer.

Nail Art Tutorial: DIY Leopard

Hey guys! According to my question on the Eyeko Giveaway form you wanted to see more nail art tutorials, especially videos. I'm sorry if I am disappointing anyone but there will never ever be any video material of me around, I just hate camera's haha. I did find the time to do a short nail art tutorial for you all and it's an easy one: a DIY leopard. You don't need a lot for this simple manicure: two different shades of polish, a striper brush and a dotting tool or something else to create your dots with.


First you're going to start applying your base colour. I really like my leopard manicure freakishly coloured so I choose Color Club Mrs. Robinson as my base colour. Mrs. Robinson is a purple neon and I love it. Must be the only neon I find myself using a lot. After applying the base colour you let it dry for a few minutes and then it's time for the next step: adding dots.


There are many ways to create dots. The best thing that's ever invented for this purpose is a dotting tool: a stick with a dot on the end that will create the most perfect dots for you. These are available on eBay and at some etailers. If you don't have a dotting tool you can use a tooth pick or a bobby pin. I used Ciaté Ditch The Heels for my dots, I love the way it stands out against the neon purple.

When that is done grab the striper brush because we're going to do the outlines!


This is how it will look when you're done using the striper. You just use the striper to work on the outline of the dots. Make sure you do this gentle and relaxed because you can slip up easily. If you're having troubles with these, f.e. your hand isn't steady at all then you should also pay attention at supporting your arm and wrist while working. Last but not least, sometimes you just need to practice, practice, practice. Don't worry if the spots aren't similar: leopard spots aren't exactly the same in real life! After doing the outlines I also placed a few random black dots here and there.

I used Herôme Brooklyn, a black striper but you can use every colour you like. If you don't have a striper or striper brush I suggest you get one because they are sooooo handy, I can't tell you this enough. You can also use a nail art pen if you prefer that more. Striper brushes are available on eBay (you can get nice nail art brush sets there) and some etailers will sell them too.

When that is done your DIY leopard is done and you can top it off with a top coat. I've added a CND effect for that extra glitter.


The finished result, my leopard manicure with CDN Jade Sparkle on top. Hopefully this tutorial was helpful and if there's something you need to know you can always tell me in the comments. :-)

Thanks for visiting!
Michelle

Mrs. Robinson meets Sapphire Sparkle

Good morning everyone! How is your weekend so far? I went to an aerobatics show yesterday and it was very fun, I really want to do that myself again. Other than that I'm relaxing a LOT, I hope you will do too today - it's Sunday so it's okay to be lazy.

When we were on our vacation in August sweet Natasja dropped by and she brought a few polishes including CND Sapphire Sparkle. We were all amazed how pretty it looked and I ordered it myself.


Mrs. Robinson is from the Color Club Poptastic collection and it sure 'pops'! It's a super bright magenta creme. I needed two coats for it to be opaque but I added a third one because you could see my nail line in the pictures (macro is still a bitch).

I topped Mrs. Robinson with CND Sapphire Sparkle. Sapphire Sparkle is from their Colour & Effects line. The line exists out of 50 colours and 15 effects which is really awesome because you can keep combining with these pretties. Sapphire Sparkle is a glittery clear based polish that also is duochrome. It changes blue and purple and it's awesome. I had issues with photographing the purple but I'll definitely show you a bit more of CND layering so I'll try next time! :-)


Enjoy the last day of the weekend and thanks for visiting!
Michelle

Roses really smell like boo-boo

Hi guys! Last day of the weekend and hopefully the last day of that much rain! It has been raining almost non stop here and it's not only a mood killer, it's also kind of a swatch killer. So sun, please come back. I miss you dearly! Today's post is with a swatch that isn't the best evahhh but I want to show you anyway. I did another version of the roses manicure.


I used Color Club Uptown Girl as my base colour and Ciaté Main Stage and H&M Love at First Sight for the roses. The roses are swirled so if you want to do this practice on a paper first because you don't want to mix the two colours together into one. The leafs are swirled too, I used OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow and OPI Green-wich Village for them.

I see these designs coming up more and more lately and I really like them. Have you tried this once? If so, show me! I like seeing other versions of this kind of manicure. :-)

Thanks for stopping by!
Michelle

Pink & Grey Holo

Hey everyone! It's Monday and that means the week is starting all over again but it also means that I'm coming home from vacation today! I always like coming home after a while and be able to sleep in your own bed, have your own stuff around you and all of those small things. I guess you understand what I mean. :-)

The last scheduled post is, how surprising, a holo post.

I first painted my nails with Color Club Fashion Addict, a really light pink holo. After that I stamped with Bundle Monster plate 19 and Color Club Revvvolution. These polishes also work very well for stamping - maybe I should create my own database of good stamping polishes on the blog haha. In the shade, as you can see in the picture above, it is nice but not special.

Much better when the sun is out, don't you agree? :-)
Thanks for stopping by and I'll be talking to you soon!

Wild Purple Flowers

Hi guys! After stamping with China Glaze OMG a whooooole new world opened up for me. Really, I never imagined it to be that funky looking! I've been stamping with a lot of holo polishes from that day on and I like every single design with it. It brings that extra kick!

In the picture I'm wearing three coats of Orly Mirror Mirror, a fabulous light grey creme. I stamped over it with Colour Club Wild at Heart and the sweet flower design from Bundle Monster plate 16. Wild at Heart isn't a true holo, it has a more scattered effect that brings a little more depth in the polish.

Other than this manicure I have not much to share, only that I'm more and more looking forward to my vacation. Have a nice day!

Cheese gone bad.

Hi everyone! I'm back a little early because I won't have time tomorrow. The plan for tomorrow is to marble my nails and then help my friend Janina with setting up stuff for her birthday later that day. Since I'm a lazy person I need a lot of time getting ready so I really need the whole morning for that.

Showing you this manicure feels kind of weird. I wasn't aiming for a super cute or awesome design and I really don't know what it's supposed to be but I do like it. The yellow is Color Club Almost Famous, a bright yellow creme that reminds me of cabs and school buses. I love it and will wear this regularly in the summer. Application was fine, a bit streaky but manageable. After three coats it was opaque. For the black and silver stripes I used my Essence stripers. The dots are made with a dotting tool.

About the name: I wanted to call this one yellow but that didn't fit! I asked around and Michèle came with wonderful suggestions so I picked this one.

What do you think?

Thanks for visiting and have a great day tomorrow!

Color Club - Uptown Girl

Hi everyone! Another day of bizarre heat, I'm really hoping for a thunderstorm later today. Also this is post number 100, so yay! Hope to bring you more and more enjoyable posts.

A few weeks ago I've placed an order at Viva La Nails. You've probably heard about this company - they send out free promotion packages for bloggers. They were really fast with sending and amazingly generous: I've received a lot of different things such as rhinestones, decals, stickers, hex glitters and more!

In this mani I used stickers I've received from Viva La Nails. These are soooo cute! It's a black flower with a purple stone in it and smaller white stones on the side. They look like raindrops.

The polish used in my mani is Color Club's Uptown Girl from the 2010 Rebel Debutante collection. It's a soft dusty lilac creme that applied very well. The Color Club's I own all have a fantastic formula and I really want to own more of those babies!

Uptown Girl, three coats, daylight

Like I showed in my first nail art tutorial stickers are really easy to use and they can give that small extra to your manicure. I'm falling for it, are you?

Color Club - Revvvolution

Hi all! I really don't know what is up with me because every time the weather changes I start to get sick. I didn't sleep last night due to nothing, I just couldn't, and today the sore throat I've had since last Friday really starts to hurt like crazy. The weather is still great and sunny so time for more great holographic polish!

Revvvolution in the shade, two coats

Color Club's Revvvolution is a dark grey holo from the Spring 2009 collection called Femme Fatale. In the shade it doesn't look that special but wait till you see this pretty in sunlight!

Revvvolution in the sun, two coats

POW! In your face! It's gorgeous. My camera really has issues with holographic polishes, the pictures don't come out as good as I'd like to but this gives you an idea. Revvvolution applies good, the consistency of the polish is exactly spot on and it also dries fast. Mine was opaque and even with two coats.

Left: Diamond Cosmetics Chainmail Charm, Right: Color Club Revvvolution

Of course I had to compare this one with Chainmail Charm. I've heard people say that these two are completely the same but they aren't. Chainmail Charm has a brown base instead of a dark grey one. They do look very similar so I wouldn't say it's necessary to own them both but... they're both pretty and slightly different so come on. It isn't that bad owning them both, right? ;o)

Have a nice day!

Color Club - Wild at Heart

Hi lovely readers! Today the weather is really warm and the sun is scorching hot so the summer has hit the Netherlands! Unfortunately the summer has brought my hay fever back and today I really feel like a mess but there is no way that spoils the holo fun!

Wild at Heart in sunlight

Now, as you can see my camera didn't pick up the holo that well. Kind of sucked because this polish is one of my favourite holographic polishes: it's deep purple, it's subtle and it applies very good. This is a one coater though I applied two like I always do even when it isn't necessary.

Wild at Heart in the shade and sun

The reason for this ridiculously close close-up is to show you that it actually IS holographic. That's the best I could do but believe me: this is great and amazing and you should buy it. :o)

Have a great day!