BAM: FLORALS

   Welcome to the second instalment of my "then and now, and all the manis in between" series! And today's theme is florals! :D

   Just before we start, y'all know how the first picture in the post is what's used as the blog post thumbnail? (Unless I'm just a noob that doesn't know how to pick a thumbnail??) Well, I didn't really want my first ever floral nails to show as the thumbnail, so I'll show you a sneak peak of my most recent floral design first :P

   And here is where I started with floral nails:

We all gotta start somewhere right? I took pretty horrible photos too, 

and thought a border would make it look better! :p

   From there I just tried different representations of flower:

 

From roses to rose bushes and trees...

To more abstract floral designs.

I tried realistic looking flowers...

As well as floral patterns based off of clothes.

   More recently, I remembered one of my earlier floral designs and decided to recreate it.

Another horrible photo, but GOSH do I love this design!

   And my recreation:

Mini red roses over a blue to teal gradient, with Femme Fatale 

Cosmetics Winter Hyacinth on the index and pinky nails.

   I used Australis Aqua and Essence BBC Splash Refresh for the gradient; Butter London Pillar Box Red, Sally Hansen I Pink I Can, Sinful Colors Snow Me White, Ulta3 Tahitian Lime and Frog Prince for the roses and leaves; and 2 coats of Rubi Call Me Maybe as undies  for the glitter.

   I am absolutely in love with Femme Fatale Cosmetics Winter Hyacinth, it matches the roses so well! You can purchase this from their website Femme Fatale Cosmetics or from one of their international stockists. 

   Do any of you purchase indie polishes, and if so do you have a favourite? I'm all up for finding new indies to look at and try :P

And one final photo in the sun!

   And one more thing before you go. Ever wondered where I get the studs and glitter I use in my manis? I purchase them all online (along with my brushes, thinner and other nail art knick knacks) at www.bornprettystore.com and they've now given me a discount code to share with my readers! 

   Just type in XFSQ10 at check out for 10% off your entire purchase! And that's all for now, stay tuned for the next theme: GRADIENTS!

xx Christine

BAM: IKATS

   Hey y'all! It's been a while eh? I've been real slack on updating the blog in the past month, and in all honesty, I haven't had any motivation to post anything. I've found it easier to just post my Nails of the day (NOTD) on Instagram everyday instead, I've even slacked on my tumblr posts. (My laziness never ceases to amaze me haha)

   I was going to start up again by just posting the usual NOTD pics, BUT (with a little extra kick from Kirstie at Nail Cake) I thought it'd be fun to restart by starting at the start.. if that makes any sense!? 

   I was thinking maybe a couple of posts based on the very first nail designs I ever posted, and how I've sort of evolved and made it my own.. like a then and now progress sort of thing. 

   So today's theme is IKATS. When I first did this technique, I knew that it'd be one of my favourites!

Ikat Pattern

First ever attempt at IKAT nails 

   I LOVED the messy look of IKAT nails; I also loved chevrons.. and one day I thought to combine the two. 

Chevron IKAT nails

   Then I really went IKAT crazy and created some IKAT hearts. (I have a soft spot for the pink IKAT hearts! :P)

   More recently, I've gone back to the simple IKAT design, but experimented with much brighter and eye searing colours :D

Green and Pink IKATS on nubbins

   And now, for today's NOTD, a hot pink IKAT on a neon yellow base. 

Yellow is Ulta3 Citrus, Pink is China Glaze Pool Party

   So what do you all think? Y'all love IKATS as much as I do?! :P Any feedback is welcome, just drop a line in the comments.

   Stay tuned for the next instalment in the next couple of days :D 

xx Christine 

White Tribal Over A Sponged Gradient

   Hey y'all :D Today's NOTD is a white tribal print hand painted over a sponged gradient. Fun fact: This took me about an episode of Charmed, JAG, Judging Amy, Power Rangers and Ben 10 (random tv shows that I kind of enjoyed actually :P I hardly ever watch tv). 

   The colours I used for this were recent BYS purchases from Kmart: Glowing Around, Anyone For Tennis and Baby Let's Cruise. They caught my eye because they were pastels, but screamed "bright"! So question: what do you call a polish that's obviously a pastel, but is bright like a neon, but not quite a neon...? Am I making any sense? 

   ANYWHOS, this is the gradient that's under the white tribal pattern. My mum asked me as I was painting the tribal on why I bother to do such a nice gradient only to "cover it up" and "hide" it underneath. *facepalm moment, oh how my mother makes me laugh* hahaha I agree with her to a degree, but I try to think of it as the background that shines through the tribal, making it more interesting (:

 

Vibrant Green and Pink Ikat Nails

   WELCOME BACK SUN! 

   And HELLO green and pink ikats!! Eye-searing-ly bright but oh-so-fun! I haven't done an ikat in while, nor have I used any of my neons (they've been feeling quite neglected lately), so why not celebrate the return of the sun with these?! (Sounds like some ancient cult ritual haha)

   For the blinding green base colour I used Tony Moly P004, and Australis #totesamaze for the pink ikat. My mum saw these on my instagram and asked me "Why do so many people like it? It's ugly and hurts my eyes." Well, gee! thanks mum! hahahaha 

   As for me, I utterly love neons, especially when they hurt my eyes :P that just means I bought a pretty damn good neon!!

   And to take it a step further, I took a photo of these in direct sunlight... EVEN BETTER. RIGHT?!

Sweet Floral matched with Savvy "Razzle & Dazzle"

   Goodmorning y'all! Hope everyone's been well (: 

   Today's #NOTD are these soft pastel /floral /glitter nails. I used Revlon Lilac Pastelle for the base, Savvy Razzle & Dazzle for the glitter, and a handful of polishes for the roses and leaves (purples, pinks, blues and greens).

   I also have something to ask you all; if you've noticed, in the past few months, I've been taking pictures of my manis outdoors with just my regular phone camera. This is because I haven't had access to the DSLR or SLR or whatever special camera it is (it's not mine, it's my dad's haha), and therefore haven't been able to take shots of my mani in my light box. I was able to borrow it for my last post, but my dad's since taken it back. 

This is where y'all come in: I've tried taking shots in the light box using my Samsung galaxy S4, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know if you prefer the outdoor lighting, or don't mind the indoor shots under the lamps. 

[Edit: I forgot to mention that the two following photos are the ones taken under the lightboc]

   Thanks to everyone in advance. and I hope y'all enjoy the rest of your week! OH and I have exciting news to come.. so stay tuned for that :D

Flirty Floral Print

   SO PURRRRRTY *star struck eyes*

   Of course, these beauties are inspired by Candice from MrCandiipants. That square frame is absolutely genius! Check out her tumblr for the tutorial! :D

   So for my version, I used a deep purple base colour (A Max Factor polish that doesn't have a label.. since I may have ripped it off unknowingly :P). For the flowers I used Face of Australia Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy, BC Co Shade 13, Ulta3 Honolulu, Tangelo, Tahitian Lime and Frog Prince. The studs I used were 2mm silver square studs from the BornPrettyStore. 

   In other news, I'm currently using Duri Rejuvacote to help with the splitting and peeling of my nails in hopes that my nails will finally grow out like they used to. *fingers crossed*

Blog Lovin'

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4238861/?claim=y5z98mgbfxj">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

I've FINALLY decided to fix up this blog lovin' issue since the end for Google Reader is slowly approaching.

So, from what its telling me on Blog Lovin', to claim my blog I have to post that *points up* special string of code to verify its mine.

Hope it works.

[EDIT: YAY it worked. And I hope for you all to join me on there as well :D Just click on the "Follow This Blog with Blog Lovin" button up in the third column]

Let's Play ...catch up.

[ PICTURE HEAVY POST ]

   But on the plus side, lots to look at. AMIRIGHT? :D

   I got my Emily De Molly order last week and went on a swatching frenzy. 

EdM Cosmic Forces

EdM Flurocious

EdM Block Party

EdM Monet's Garden

EdM Dark Depths

Next are manis that didn't make the cut for tumblr, and were just posted on IG 

Rainbow gradient skittle (too many colours to name /lazy)

Topped with simple tribal pattern

Essence Passion for Fashion topped with Max Factor Fantasy Fire

Max Factor Desert Sand is the squishiest nude evarr! Topped with simple geometric design

Butter London The Black Knight and Jack The Lad gradient

Polka dots using Chi Chi Plastic Fantastic as the base - so minty green!

Simple stripes using Max Factor Opal and Lilac Lace and Essence Passion for Fashion

   Any favourites? Or any requests? (:

#totesamaze

   Hello my lovelies! How have you all been? *beaming smile*

   At the end of my last post, I promised you all sweet lookin' tasties on my fingertips ...and so here was the end result:

  Chocolate drips. These remind me of cupcakes. Or ice cream. And donuts. Oh and pop tarts. Damn. *stomach rumbles*

   Anyways... YAY for more nail art! 

   I'll let you guys in on a little secret ...I hate the colour pink with a passion. But at the moment, it's all I seem to want to have! It's driving me nuts!

   I saw this Australis shade #totesamaze (the polish bottle I'm holding in the picture above) at Kmart the other day and KNEW I had to have it, and that I HAD to do a mani based around it. 

   SO for the ring finger and pinky, I started with a sponge mani using Beauty Attitude pastels Mint Candy and Grape Smoothie and combined it with the Australis hot pink polish. Then I added the white tribal print on top with just regular white polish. To add a little sparkle, I topped it all off with Bloom Aspen before sealing it in with top coat.

   For the index and middle finger, I used 3 coats of Australis #totesamaze (what a name eh?), added a row of 2mm square studs and painted one half of the nail with Aspen to tie it all together.

   For anyone who's interested in a close up of what's on my thumbnail, it just so happened to creep into one of the photos :P Just a regular white to pink ombre topped with Aspen.

   In more news ...NAIL MAIL!

   My Emily De Molly's came in today! Guess which will be the first I dip my nails into :P