Crumpet's Nail Tarts: 26 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge: Red & Pink

It's that time again!  It's Crumpet's Nail Tarts 26 Great Nail Art Ideas Challenge.  That is seriously a mouthful to say.  Today's theme is red and pink.  I had a couple of ideas for this theme but the one that stood out the most was hearts, especially seems Valentine's Day is just around the corner.  I know, it's crazy to think about right?  I'm already feeling like this year is going to fast already.  It could be because I have some jam packed days that it seems to be going faster.  

For my base I used OPI Alpine Snow, I then used Bundle Monster's Rave Babe and Quasar.  Yes these are stamping polishes but they are awesome polishes for a gradient, particularly over vinyls as you don't need to do multiple coats.  Vinyls are from Xroma Polish & Vinyls.

Here are the themes that are coming up.

And of course, don't forget to check out the hashtags and the bloggers below.  I am guessing there will be a lot of Valentine's manis popping up for this theme.

An InLinkz Link-up

Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons - Winter 01 Stamping Plate - Swatches & Review

I originally had a completely different post planned for today but it occurred to me yesterday that I have done a couple of manis already using Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Seasons - Winter 01 Stamping Plate.  I figured now was the best time to share my thoughts on this plate.

Image from Lina Nail Art Supplies

This is the first mani that I did using this plate.  I really love that this image has various styles of snowflakes and they are different sizes.  For this mani I used OPI's Ogre-the-Top Blue, No Room For The Blues, I Believe In Manicures and It's Frosty Outside.  Stamping polish is Powder Perfect's Silver Stamping Polish.

You probably would have seen this mani yesterday but I thought I would include it again so that all the manis I have done with this plate are all together in one post.  Polishes used for this mani are piCture pOlish's Peaches n' Cream, Candy, Wisteria, Instict and Chillax and is stamped with Powder Perfect's White Stamping Polish.

I couldn't resist this last image.  It's so pretty and unique.  I originally had planned to double stamp it but I fell in love after the first stamp.  For my base I used Essie's Virgin Snow and then stamped using Powder Perfect's Silver Stamping Polish.

One of the things that I love about Lina Nail Art Supplies plates is that they are predominately full sized images.  I know that there are a lot of people out there who like the individual images, but I'm all about the full sized images.  This plate has a bit of both which is great.  I like that this plate doesn't feel overly Christmassy too.  I have a few winter plates that seem like Christmas to me, which isn't helpful for me because Christmas is in Summer and Winter is in the middle of the year.  It also goes without saying that the images on this plate pick up and transfer beautifully.

The 4 Seasons - Winter 01 Stamping Plate is apparently sold out at the moment (good work Tracy on reviewing all the sold out plates this week) but I am sure it will be available again soon from Lina Nail Art Supplies.

The Nail Challenge Collaborative Does Winter: Bright Snowflakes

I'm back with another Winter-y mani for The Nail Challenge Collaborative.  Now I say Winter-y because this mani really isn't your standard winter mani.  Because we are currently in the middle of Summer I'm really not feeling the Winter themed nails at the moment.  So what does one do?  Combine the bright Summery colours with snowflakes of course.

It feels like forever since I have used a piCture pOlish polish so I thought that today was a great time to dive into that drawer.  I'm so glad I did.  I am loving these colours.  Definitely great for this warm weather we are having.  For my base I randomly sponged on Peaches n' Cream, Candy, Wisteria, Instict and Chillax.  I then stamped this image from Lina Nail Art Supplies 4 Season - Winter 01 stamping plate using Powder Perfect's White Stamping Polish.

This mani isn't as washed out as it looks in my pictures.  It is actually quite bright in person.  I really like that these snowflakes are subtle and aren't in your face.  It makes me look like I have a Summer-y mani on instead of Winter.  

An InLinkz Link-up

Lina Nail Art Supplies Dress Your Nails 01 Stamping Plate - Swatches & Review

It's no secret that I feel in love with Lina Nail Art Supplies stamping plates from the moment I saw them.  I was lucky enough to be sent five of their plates to try and fell even more in love.  The designs are amazing and the quality is fantastic.  Each image stamps so beautifully.   I am nothing but impressed.  Naturally, I have been growing my Lina collection at quite a rapid pace so I will be slowly making my way through them all with my swatches and reviews.  I currently have thirteen plates sitting next to me, and then there is another pre-sale happening very soon on new release plates (and yes I need those too).  So my question for you guys, would you prefer to see a blog post for each individual plate or would you like to see plates from the same collection in a post?  For example I have quite a few from the Feeling Shapely Collection.  Let me know in the comments.  Right, now onto the Dress Your Nails 01 plate.

Image from Lina Nail Art Supplies

I went to see the movie 'Sing' last week with my daughter and I couldn't help but be inspired by a gown that one of the characters was wearing.  I probably could do an exact copy of it, but I was more just loving the purple and rose gold together.  For this mani I used Essie's Shades On and Penny Talk.

I'm really loving simple manis at the moment (that and I need to go and buy some more make up sponges).  They are just so pretty.  For this mani I used OPI Alpine Snow for my base and stamped using Bundle Monster's Psychedelic Stereo.

This plate is definitely one of my favorites from Lina Nail Art Supplies.  There are so many great images and they stamp beautifully.

The Dress Your Nails 01 Stamping Plate is currently sold out but hopefully will be available again soon from Lina Nail Art Supplies.

I'm not 100% if my discount code is still available or not but I thought I would include if for just in case.

Xroma Polish & Vinyls Mixed Nail Vinyls (Part Two) - Swatches & Review

PRESS SAMPLE

Well this post has been a long time in the making.  You may recall that I was sent a heap of new nail vinyls from Xroma Polish & Vinyls in November last year.  I have done one post so far (you can see that here if you missed it) and am slowly making my way through the other designs.  I think I still have another ten or eleven to do so you will have to keep a look out for those posts in the next few weeks.  Anyway, today I have another five designs to share with you.

If you have seen my previous post on these vinyls (or any of my posts on social media then) you will know that I am a big fan of Xroma's vinyls.  They are one of the brands vinyls that actually stick to my curved nails.  I did have trouble with the psychedelic vinyls not sticking but the day that I used these vinyls was incredibly hot and humid and I think the stickiness melted off them.

Fishnet

Polishes used are Emily de Molly Crystal Cavern and OPI I Manicure For Beads.

Fleur de Lis

For my base I used OPI Rich & Brazilian and then did a gradient with Essie's No Place Like Chrome and Good As Gold.

Lotus

Polishes used are Pretty Serious Cosmetics Can't Take The Sky and Use The Quartz, Lonestar!

Psychedelic 

Polishes used are China Glaze's Sand In My Mistletoes (base colour), Happy Go Lucky, Feel The Breeze, Don't Messa With My Heart, and I'll Pink To That.

Turtle Shell 

For my base I used OPI Alpine Snow and then sponged on Essie's In It To Wyn It, Mark On Miami, Off The Wall, Stencil Me In and The Fuchsia Of Art.

There really is such a great selection of vinyls available from Xroma Polish & Vinyls.

Bundle Monster Mystic Woods Set Two Stamping Plate Collection - Swatches & Review

PRESS SAMPLE

I am super excited for today's post for a couple of reasons, but first I guess there are a couple of things I probably should explain for this to make sense.  One of the big things for me about being sent things to swatch and review is that I like them done in a timely manner.  I hate having people waiting for me (even if things are out of my control) but I also don't like to rush things too much.  Obviously the more things I am sent the longer things take for me to get through etc.  Now if you remember, I was sent a HUGE package from Bundle Monster late last year.  I was lucky enough to be sent the Electric Glo, Weekend Warrior, Star Slinger and Mythos Stamping Polish Collections as well as both of the Mystic Woods Stamping Plate Collections.  I swatched and review Set One last week and today I have Set Two to share with you.  So why am I excited for this post?  Well, not only does this mean that I am up to date with my swatching for Bundle Monster but I also have had a good chance to swatch this collection, which is definitely my favorite of the two sets.  Let's take a look shall we?

Image from Bundle Monster

BM-S181 Leafy Feathers

I really like the looks of this plate.  I did attempt a mani using the top feather image but I wasn't happy with the result.  I'm not sure if it was the colours I had chosen or how I placed it on my nails, but either way it wasn't a great mani.  I will definitely have to come back to it at some point.  I also like the two leafy images on the right of the plate.

Image from Bundle Monster

BM-S182 Mucho Mushrooms

This plate isn't really one that I would grab for unless there was a challenge that needed a mushroom design.  I do like the image that divides the plate.

Image from Bundle Monster

BM-S183 Jerry's Forest

This is quite a cute little plate.  I think it would be fun to colour it in either with sheer tints or to make decals.

Image from Bundle Monster

BM-S184 Unicorn's Home

If you are looking for tree images of different kinds then this is definitely the plate to have.  And it has a bonus unicorn.  Seriously, who doesn't love unicorns?

Image from Bundle Monster

BM-S185 Earthly Medallions

Now this plate is right up my alley.  It's along the floral lines and there are so many options with what to do.  Keep it basic on all nails, use it as an accent nail, gradients, decals etc.  I can see me getting a lot of use out of this plate.

Image from Bundle Monster

You guys may have already seen this mani as I used it for a challenge mani yesterday, but in case you missed that post I thought I would include it in here so you can see the size of the images on my nails.  For my base I used OPI Mod About You and then stamped using Bundle Monster's Kandi Spirit.

BM-S186 Nature's Kaleidoscope

This is another plate that I really like.  It is along the same lines as the above plate and just has so many different options with what you can do with it.

Image from Bundle Monster

This is a mani that started out as something completely different, and failed miserably.   It was then too late for me to do anything else so I went with another quick and simple option.  For this mani I used OPI It's In The Clouds and Bundle Monster's Mercury Baseline.

BM-S187 Sky & Sea

Have I mentioned that I really like these scene type of images?  They really take all the thinking out of nail art and make it really easy.

Image from Bundle Monster

I had a tough time deciding which of these images I was going to do until I decided that I wanted to break away from using pinks, purples and blues (I feel like I have been using them a lot lately).  I decided that something red, orange and yellow was the way to go which made perfect sense for the dragon image at the top of the plate.  For my gradient I used Bundle Monster's Rose Garden, Teepee Tipping and E-tronica.  Yes these are stamping polishes, but OMG they are perfect polishes for gradients!  I'm not sure why I haven't done this sooner.

BM-S188 Butterfly Wings
This plate is hands down my favorite from this collection.  I love butterfly nails, and honestly skip over them a lot of the time because free handing them can be a bit of a pain.  Now I have the perfect solution and my manis won't all look the same.

Image from Bundle Monster

For this mani I did a diagonal gradient using China Glaze's Flip Flop Fantasy, Purple Panic and That's Shore Bright and stamped using Powder Perfect's Black Stamping Polish.  I seriously love this mani!

BM-S189 Life's Boutique

I am a huge fan of the image in the top left corner.  I have used it a couple of times now.  The first time was when I was swatching Bundle Monster's Weekend Warrior Stamping Polish Collection and then for the mani below.  I have also reached for it a few other times but have stopped myself so that I can use some other images.

Image from Bundle Monster

For my base I used OPI Five-and-Ten and then stamped using Bundle Monster's Lunar Lines, Psychedelic Stereo and Kandi Spirit.

BM-S190 Mashup Of Nature

I think you can make some really great manis with this plate.  I haven't thought exactly how I want to use it yet but I will have to come back to it.

Image from Bundle Monster

Overall I really like this stamping plate collection.  If I had to pick between this set and Set One of the Mystic Woods Collection then I would definitely pick this set.  There are more images that I would use - and I really love the butterfly wing plate.  All of the plates I used picked up and transferred the images well.  I had no issues what so ever (well unless you include my nail fail - but that was completely my fault and not the plates lol).

The Mystic Woods Set Two Stamping Plate Collection is available now (both as a set or as individual plates) from Bundle Monster.

*edit:  I am now a Maniology Ambassador!  You can save 10% off your order at Maniology with the code OLIVIA10.  Please note that I do make a small commission when you use my code (which I plan on then putting back into my blog - ie buying new products to swatch and review).

30 Days Of Colour Challenge: Pink

It's funny to think that not so long ago my blog was all about swatches and reviews.  This year has definitely taken quite a turn and is more nail art focused.  Well it is as the moment anyway, and to be honest I am really enjoying it.  Hopefully you guys are too.  Never fear though I will have my usual swatches and reviews etc coming.  I'm just waiting for some orders to come in and waiting for some more polish releases.  Anyway, today I have my second 30 Days Of Colour post for you.  Today's theme is pink.  

We all know that I am a pink fan (including the musician P!nk - but really that is a whole other thing) so today's prompt is right up my alley.  I decided to go with something simple and girly.  For my base I used one of my go to pink's - OPI Mod About You and then stamped Bundle Monster's Kandi Spirit using their BM-S185 plate.

I really love this mani and these polishes really work so well together.  Pretty sure you will be seeing these two together again.

In case you are wondering what else is coming up for this challenge, here are the prompts.

An InLinkz Link-up