Autumn Dotticure

Hello lovelies!

Wow, is it really Sunday already? Feels like just yesterday I was sitting here writing last week's post. I can't believe how quickly it has gone, but I'm glad to be doing another post.

We're finally getting some of that awesome autumn weather, so this is probably the best time to do my first Autumn nail art of the season - a cute little dotticure with rich, dark colours. I don't have many autumn colours as the only dark polish I really like is black. However, I do have a tendency to pick up discounted ones when they're a good brand or just super cheap. The colours I used in this nail art design are both Essie, which I picked up for about $8 each - a great bargain as they they usually go for $15 here in Australia. Keep reading for the details on these nails.

Autumn Dotticure

Polishes used for this mani:
In The Lobby by Essie
Frock 'n Roll by Essie
Ready To Take Off by UNT Cosmetics
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

Tools I used were:
Small Dotting Tool
Medium Dotting Tool
Plastic Sandwich Bag. 

Autumn Dotticure with In The Lobby

To create this design I started with one coat of Ready To Take Off. I used the peel off base coat to avoid any staining to the nail and my fingers when removing the dark polish. After allowing ample time to dry, I applied two coats of In The Lobby. Whilst drying, I collected my dotting tools and a plastic sandwich bag. Once I was sure the base polish was dry, I applied a drop of Frock 'n Roll on the sandwich bag. Taking the medium dotting tool, I dipped it in the polish on the bag and then began placing dots in various places on the top half of the nail. I did the same with the small dotting tool until I was satisfied with the coverage. I continued this on all nails, placing some dots further down the nail and leaving varying spaces between to try and create an uneven design. Giving the dots time to dry, I finished with Kwik Dry Top Coat. 

Autumn Dotticure with Frock 'n Roll

This was a nice easy one (dotticures always are). They're so simple to modify as well, you can basically use any colours to suit you or your situation. I thought this nail art would be perfect for work; as the colours are so similar, indoor lighting made them look like one colour. In the sunlight, however, the difference really came through. 

I also really liked having dark colours on my nails again, it was fun to mix it up a little bit. Maybe I'll continue with the dark colours through the rest of the season.

Do you like this design?
What's your favorite autumn nail polish?

Thanks for stopping by!

Marble & Stamping Nail Art Design

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to start by saying sorry for my extended absence recently. I have had a lot going on in my personal life, some good and some not so good things which have kept me occupied. Unfortunately, I have been a little too busy to do my usual weekly posting or even nail art in general!

It appears that the dust is finally settling and things are returning to some form of normal. In my time away, I have made a few changes. I'm currently playing with the idea to change the day I put out new posts, although I'm undecided on when/if that will happen. I am still very interested in doing this blog, because I do enjoy it and it's a little bit of a routine I'd like to keep. So, all I can ask is that you bare with me over the next few weeks until everything comes together. With that, let's get onto the nail art!

I have mentioned in other posts that I want to start doing more involved nail art, so I decided to throw a few things into one design and created a marble background with stamping over top. I have these seriously beautiful stamping polishes from Hit The Bottle and they're just sitting there looking pretty, so I'm breaking them out and giving them some time to shine. If you'd like to know how I created this mani, keep reading.

I used these polishes:
Big Primer Base Coat by Sally Hansen
Sparkling Cyan-ide by Hit The Bottle
Paint The Town Violet by Hit the Bottle
Lady In Black by OPI
Blanc by Essie
Cocktail Bling by Essie
Kwik Dry Top Coat by Sally Hansen

Side note, these nails were done about three weeks ago, and I forgot to take note of which grey I used so there's a possibility it could also be Sunny London by Essence.

The products used are:
Stamping Plate 181 by Born Pretty
Plastic Scraper
Large Clear Stamper
Liquid Latex by Lulaa
Thin Striping Brush

I started with one coat of Big Primer base coat, allowed to dry then applied two coats of Blanc for the base. Whilst drying I applied liquid latex around each nail. Using Blanc, Lady in Black and Cocktail Bling, I applied a few drops of each polish to my stamper. I tried to use as little black as possible as it tends to overpower the other colours. I then pressed the stamper onto the nail, rolling and dabbing to get a good blend of colours. Once I was satisfied with the marble, I used an orangewood stick to remove excess polish around the nail and removed the latex. I repeated this for all nails. Once I had finished stamping the marble design, I decided to add just a little more black. Using my thin striping brush and Lady in Black, I created some thin wavy lines. I then used a little bit of acetone to blend it out. For the stamping, I reapplied liquid latex to each nail. After drying, I grabbed my stamping plate, stamper, scraper and Paint The Town Violet. I painted the polish over the portion of design I wanted, then scraped off the excess. Picking it up with the stamper, I quickly pressed the image onto the nail, then removed the latex. I did the same for all nails, except switching to Sparkling Cyan-ide for my middle and pinky nails. To finish off the nail art, I applied a Kwik dry top coat.

I thoroughly enjoyed this design. It was so fun to create and even more fun to wear! I'm sure everyone went through that marble stone obsession that took over the internet in the last year or so, but I'm still stuck on it. 
I love the way these stamping polishes look over the marble. Especially this enchanting blue! It's such a beautiful colour. I wanted it on all of them, but I thought the purple would look just as good. I think I was right, ha ha.

What do you think?
Are you still obsessed with marble too?


Thanks for stopping by!