Sweet Baby Octopolish!

The last 2 nail art prompts for this month in my stamping group were "birds" and "trees" and since those two go together into a harmonious theme, I did one version on each hand. First, I started out with a grand old tree, branches spreading across my whole hand.  The tree trunk design is from Powder Perfect's Woodland Creatures plate, while the finer branches are from Kads Nature 07, all done in brown crème.  The irregular blotches of leaves are actually the background of a rose from CJS-05, as is the little accent leaf on the edge of the tree trunk. On the other side, I've again used the same branches, tree trunk, and leaves, but now added the cute woodpecker from Woodland Creatures in black & red on its branch, and also a crow from Creative Shop 38. ~Michelle

I'm still having a lot of fun participating in some nail art prompts with fb groups, and when one of those prompts needed a clear summer sky for the base, I knew exactly what to reach for. indoor, bright CF lighting Femme Fatale has released three different series of her "Enchanted Fables" polishes inspired by fairy tales and Disney movies; Alice was from the original 2016 set. outdoor, direct sunlight Alice is a soft sky blue filled with a metallic gold shimmer and microflake.  The formula is smooth and easy to work with, which is good because it needs all 3 of the coats I'm showing here. indoor, bright CF lighting There's a very pretty gold flash that's easily visible in bright light - no hidden shimmers here at all.  To make the shimmer really show through the pastel base, though, this is rather sheer, and in just the right lighting I could still see a few imperfections in opacity here and there. outdoor, bright direct sunlight At ar...

Femme Fatale recently announced that their next release would be a version 2.0 of a handful of older international stockist exclusives that had been previously challenging to get.  Checking out the list of returning shades, I of course spotted a few still in my untried pile... indoor, bright CF lighting Prim & Copper was a 2016 store exclusive for Rainbow Connection UK that was described as a warm, plummy purple base filled with copper shimmer and spangled with small holo glitters. outdoor, bright sunlight I have this filed as a purple, but in most lighting this definitely read more like a deep mauve or wine rather than purple.  The swatch stick matches what's on the nail, so I'm not at all sure if it faded a bit, but the color is lovely and very feminine. indoor, bright CF lighting The shimmer is not at all shy, and I really do love a good contrast shimmer.  The warm metallic overlay - somewhere between old gold and true copper - was readily visible...

New month, new nail art prompts from one of my FB groups, and what was going to be a quick cute something for a couple of days ended up being my look for most of a week.  The prompt was "baby" and while I just don't particularly care for people babies, I have been spending a whole lot of quality time with my sweet baby dog, who happens to be fawn & white, so voila! indoor, bright CF lighting I've started here with 4 very thin, super smooth coats of Girly Bits Eggnogoholic - I said the first time that I wore it that I wasn't sure it would come to opacity even by 4, and whaddyaknow, it does indeed!  Over this off-white creamy speckly base, I've added paw prints & an "I heart/paw my dog" image from Marianne Pro No 20, and the A++ sighthound image from MoYou London Animal 01 in Super Chic Rum Billie. Hope you're finding zen with your pupper kiddos as well, ~Michelle

Like he does every so often, the man picked "red" when I needed some color assistance, and a real beauty had just recently arrived... indoor, bright CF lighting Ethereal Lacquer Blood Orange is the sort of red that just might look fantastic on almost everyone.  The base is a cooler, berry-toned red jelly, but the shimmer it's loaded with is a warm-toned subtle duochrome that goes from gold to red.  The resultant look is simultaneously berry and fire engine, and that's a nifty trick. outdoor, shady & overcast daylight In low light, you get a satiny smooth subly metallic red, but in bright light the shimmer comes out as glowy sparks. indoor, bright CF lighting This is a jelly, so goes on somewhat sheer.  The first coat leans much more cool-toned with the wash of the base color, then a little warmer as the shimmer builds up on the second, and finally that unusual balance between cold and warm comes with opacity at the third coat. outdoor, bright...