Z – Zoya Ziv

To end the year of polishing and the ABC challenge, I've got the most beautiful golden polish for you: Zoya Ziv.

This manicure also sports OPI Red Shatter. I was soooo over and done with crackles, until I tried out this one (my first OPI shatter). Now I'm in love again! It looks so fab over white on my swatchsicles, too! I want to try it on every colour. How about a bright blue next?

On the thumb and the ring finger I sponged Lacquistry Devil's Dandruff, some red glitter from Essence Applause Applause (from the Circus Circus collection) and some Wet'n'Wild Fergie collection No Place Like Home. I also added a tear shaped rhinestone (probably from eBay).

The manicure turned out quite Christmass-y - appropriate for the season, although a bit late :)

This is it, then, my dearest readers! The ABC challenge finally over, I've got new awesome nail challenges and projects in store for the next year. Happy New Year to all of You!!

Y - You're a Cracker

And here comes the second to last post in the ABC challenge!! As you might have noticed, I had to skip the letter X, as I didn't own a polish beginning with that letter. I could have cheated a bit and take any X by Sephora polish, but I take pride in sticking to my principles. If I decide it's the name of the polish that counts, the name it is then!

In this manicure I used Rimmel You're a Cracker* (three coats) and  L'Oreal Fluo Azur* (four coats).

*These polishes were acquired as presents /sponsorship at the reunion of bloggers of Pirkanmaa region*

I was not completely happy with these polishes: They required a coat too many, and I thought the namesake polish would turn out more orange and not so red versus the blue - it was truly completely orange in the bottle. (You didn't think that I or other bloggers would write we love a polish just because we got it for "free"?) The application was good, though, especially with the Rimmel one.

After I added simple stamping from BM312 using Konad white special polish I was happy again. The pics turned out great (according to my own low standards, that is...) and I wore this mani for days.

All is well that ends well! Let's hope for that for the whole challenge :)

Merry Christmas Manicure

This purple and blue manicure was supposed to be only a dress rehearsal, but it turned to my official Christmas manicure. The time I could have decorated my nails I spent decorating cookies. Well, it was fun and a bit artsy anyways - just the things I love in my nail hobby.

 The base colours here are OPI Into the Night and Revlon Parfumerie wild violets.
I have to say I was disappointed with the OPI opacity - it needed four coats. I loved the result, though, and it didn't stain.

I used Mavala white and Nicole by OPI Celebration in Red for the candy cane accent nail.
The inspiration for the mistletoe nail came from the awesome Canadian Nail Fanatic – one of the first blogs I started to follow and which I'll never let go. I used Pueen 15 image plate and Konad stamping polish in white, and then added tiny dots with CiR.

 This manicure is also the first one for a project I decided to start from the beginning of 2014. Want to hear more? Stay tuned!

Happy Holidays to You, my dearest readers!

Thanksgiving Marble

I hope you've all had a fantastic start for the holiday season, whether it's national, religious or all holidays you're celebrating!

This is a mani I wore for thanksgiving. We don't really celebrate that here where I live. But, personally, I have adopted it as the day to be conscious and thankful of all my loved ones, family and friends – and to say aloud how much I love and appreciate them. And I don't need turkey for that, although I tend to show love with cooking :)

The base in this manicure is three coats of Orly Revere. It's pretty, but I'm still looking for the perfect orange shimmer with opacity in max. two coats... Suggestions, anyone?

I added some simple dry needle marbling with autumn shades:
Revlon parfumerie Autumn Spice (the dark brown one)

Orly Reflection (the golden one)

Orly Radiant (the red one)

Don't know if I should say this, but this was one of the manicures that didn't look this good in person. Well, for once it was that way round...