Flower stamping - Nailz Craze 03 + Kiko Mango (nº 281)

Hello fellow polish devotees :)

I hope everything's okay: polish is on, cuticles are looking nice and no tipwear is showing yet. You know, all those essentials one can't simply live without...

I lusted and lusted over Nailz Craze plates 1 and 3, and guess what? I finally discovered Natalie's Etsy store (epic win, I'll make no further comments...) and bought myself the goodies ^^ I couldn't wait longer to use them, so here's the gorgeous flower pattern in Nailz Craze plate 03:

AND it is being my current NOTD, believe it or not! I think it's the first time I wear a stamped manicure at work and I am not regretting it one bit. I started with two coats of Kiko Mango (nº 281) which does not look at all like mango... But is a very in your face supposed-to-be-pink-but-appearing-red kind of color. Weird, really weird how hot hot pink it looks on the bottle and how red it looks 99,9% of the time!

After, I stamped the pattern with Kiko Nude (nº 372). The pattern seems to soften the base color, and the combination of nude and red is not as eye catching as it seems, which makes the combo quite wearable on a sunny day (week) of work.

Regarding the plates, what can I say? The design came out perfectly well on the stamp: the lines are crisp even if the stamping color is a neutral one. I can't wait to try the matrioshkas, the butterfly wings and the dandelion... in this order, please! 

Take care!

M.

Mrs. Doctor's manicure :)!

Hello darlings!

I am quite chuffed to show you today's manicure. Yup, I haven't been painting my own nails this weekend, but my friend Iris' ones. Welcome Mrs. Doctor's nails :p 

She finished her medicine studies just last Thursday, graduated on Friday and partied the night away on Saturday. I wasn't able to make those nails for her graduation, but we managed to meet before Saturday's party, so that's what she wore while celebrating she is now a doctor:

I started with a translucent shimmer from Kiko to add some light sparkle to the base, did the tips and pretty much freehanded everything else! I am so glad I bought my basic acrylics set... I had all the colors I needed there: red, black and white! So I took my time and drew some pills, heartbeats, red crosses, hearts, syringes and stethoscopes :) It took me a while, but I was very happy with the result. So she was, and that's what matters ^^ 

What do you think?

M.

ABC Challenge: Letter W - Water Marble + Kiko Sugar Mat nº 644 Sea Blue

Hey there!

Now, letter W has forced me to get out of my comfort zone and... water marble a little! I have to confess I was completely stuck with this one; I kept looking for ideas starting with W and all I could picture in my head was "who". Yup. What was I gonna do with that? No fucking idea... UNTIL my brilliant Boyfriend suggested water marble as the most obvious idea ever. <<I. Am. Proud.>>  

So that's what I did. Although not to push the limits of my abilities too much, I kept it simple and... do-able, let's say. Because when I mess up my manicures, or when I try stuff that does not want to come out as I imagined or when I just suck with anything polish-related... When that happens, you don't want to be near. Lucky you, reading this from the other side of the screen. But my neighbors? They're all signing a petition to ban nail lacquer from our building - (they took the idea from the British postal service, which classified it as über-duper hazardous).

Whatever: here's my first try at water marble. WWIII can wait: I am pleased.

The base is Kiko Sugar Mat nº 644 in Sea Blue, and it completely "blued" my mind [ha.ha.], it's just gorgeous. Its glitter shines even in the shade, and the textured effect is subtle yet visible. What you see is two coats, although I could have done just one.

Bonus badass-hoarder picture:

I hope you enjoyed!

M.

Glequin Mix&Match over Amable Chartreuse (again)

Hello nailporn seekers!

I hope your weekend has been a nice one! I seem to be changing habits, for I've had a whole lot of time to relax and do what had been postponed for too long, plus a whole lotta nothing..! Feels good, I won't deny it.

I have taken my time to re-organize my stash since I found out the cleaning lady is so thorough with her cleaning duties that she cleans my polish shelves. It makes me happy that someone will take care of my babies as much as I do. It really does. What she's not that thorough about is how she organizes the polish after cleaning... And that's just how you find Chanel's Péridot right next to China Glaze First Mate. I challenge any of you (and her), my beloved readers, to find a realistic criteria that could bring those two polishes together in a non-randomly organized stash.

I hope you're not sick of looking at Kiko's Amable Chartreuse. I am conscious it's the third time I am starring it here, and I do promise it's the last. I just couldn't keep this glequin nail art to myself ;) It was such a mood-booster..! That colour does really have something special! And the glequins just popped up, take a look:

This was done last week, and I had a party in mind. But the party turned out to be on an intimate flat roof [in short, that means no light. Karma?], so only one person was able to notice it ;) 

Here's for more exciting news: my giveaway is over, and the winner is...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sofia B.! Congratulations, Sofia! I have just sent an email to you, and you have 24h to respond before I pick another winner.

That's all for now!

M.

ABC Challenge: Letter V - V tips over Kiko's Sun Pearl Amable Chartreuse

Howdy!

Well, letter V was an easy one for me... I just love V tips! So on that girly afternoon I talked to you about, my cousin Laure chose a bold yet soft manicure with V tips I am honored to show you today!

I started with two thin coats of Kiko's Sun Pearl lacquer in Amable Chartreuse, then added striping tape and did the tips with a regular black. On the ring finger I freehanded a rose, which helps soften the look and gives a contrastring manicure. Lovely, IMHO.

On a side note, I went to prison yesterday to teach some inmates about fundamental/constritutional rights, and apart from it being a blast... One of the female inmates told me she couldn't stop staring at my nails while I was there, for my polish was amazing. I can't tell you which polish it was (yet), but I promise you'll see in no time. Gee, it made me feel super proud of myself ^^

Have a nice time!

M.

Kiko Sun Pearl collection - Amable Chartreuse (nº 427)

Hello hello ^^

This one has been a sunny weekend here in Barcelona, it seems the summer is finally settling in :) I decided to celebrate that with a gorgeous (and unusual on me) shrek green: Kiko's Amable Chartreuse, from the Sun Pearl Collection.

The color just didn't appeal to me at first, but as the whole collection has such a great coverage I figured I could always use it for nail art. Don't you see this color dripping over a pink or a blue?

I nail arted over it, but I will keep you in the dark with that a little more ;) Amable Chartreuse behaved beautifully: this is two coats + top coat, but one would have been enough on shorter nails, I am sure. As you can see, it has some beautiful golden shimmer in it, which is a little shy if not in contact with direct sunlight. Nothing major, for it adds a lot of depth to the color :) 

What do you think?

If you want it, don't forget to enter my GIVEAWAY!

M.