Halloween Nail Art 2011 - With OPI Spookettes Collection

An Alternative Glow In The Dark French Manicure for Halloween:

First up I applied Nail Tek Foundation as base coat, then 2 coats of Mummy Knows Best. Once dry I applied 3 coats of Zom-Body To Love, followed by the spider nail decal once dry (See bottom of post for tips on decal application).

I applied black tips freehand using I Only Date Werewolves, (mini bottle brushes are brilliant for french tips) followed by Seche Vite Top coat:

On the back of the box, they have several nail art suggestions to create using the polishes and decals from this set, I went with welcome To Spider's Corner (See photo below) but I opted for standard french tips over the chevrons.

Water Nail Decals:

You Also get a set of water nail decals with the Spookettes Collection, there are two of each design so ten in total, the bat spider web and spider are all black and the jack o lantern and trick or treat are white. They are pretty easy to apply, you peel off the see through sheet, cut out the decal you wish to use and place it in warm water for 10 seconds. Then you dampen the (fully dry) nail you wish to apply the decal to, peel off the decal (it slides off easily) and apply it to the nail. Once you've got it positioned where you want it you just dab it dry and apply top coat. I used tweezers to make it easier to apply the decals.

OPI Spookettes set consists of 4 mini polishes, (1 is a glow in the dark colour) and a sheet of Halloween themed water nail decals. To see more swatches of all the colours from this range click here or the photo

Halloween Week - OPI Spookettes Swatches Part 4 Zom-Body To Love

Last but certainly not least from OPI Spookettes is Zom-Body To Love, the glow in the dark polish :)

This was three coats of Zom-Body To Love over Mummy Knows Best. This is the first glow in the dark polish I've ever tried so I'm pretty excited about it :) Zom-Body To Love is an extremely sheer "minty" green, it definitely works best layered over another colour. The glow effect is really strong if you hold your hands up to a light for a few seconds before turning out the lights :) This is definitely the star of the Spookettes Collection, and is a great polish to use for some Halloween themed manicures! I'll be posting mine shortly

OPI Spookettes set consists of 4 mini polishes, (1 is a glow in the dark colour) and a sheet of Halloween themed water nail decals. To see more swatches of all the colours from this range click here or the photo

Next Up: A Halloween themed mani, using one of the nail decals! 

Halloween Week - OPI Spookettes Swatches Part 3 He's My Boo

Next up from OPI Spookettes is He's My Boo:

He's My Boo is a typical Halloween pumpkin orange creme shade, the colour looks a lot more saturated in the first photo than it does in real life, nice formula and opaque in 2 coats, I have to admit so far I'm definitely preferring OPI's last year offering for Halloween, but I'm looking forward to testing out the Glow in the dark shade next :D 

OPI Spookettes set consists of 4 mini polishes, (1 is a glow in the dark colour) and a sheet of Halloween themed water nail decals. To see more swatches of all the colours from this range click here or the photo

Halloween Week - OPI Spookettes Swatches Part 2 I Only Date Werewolves

Next up from OPI Spookettes is I Only Date Werewolves:

I Only Date Werewolves is a standard Black Creme, nothing overly unique about this shade, the formula is great though, and it reached full opacity at 2 coats with a lovely high gloss finish. 

OPI Spookettes set consists of 4 mini polishes, (1 is a glow in the dark colour) and a sheet of Halloween themed water nail decals. To see more swatches of all the colours from this range click here or the photo

Halloween Week - OPI Spookettes Swatches Part 1 Mummy Knows Best

With Halloween a few days away its time to have a peek at some Halloween themed polishes, first up will be OPI's mini set for Halloween 2011: Spookettes. First up is Mummy Knows Best

I'm pretty sure this is just OPI Alpine Snow renamed for Halloween. Mummy Knows Best is a white creme polish, it's nice to have a new bottle actually I forgot how nicely this one applies when its new, unfortunately my Alpine Snow is a little on the gloopy side these days, must add some Seche Restore. Nothing overwhelmingly unique about this shade, it was opaque in 2 coats. This will always remind me of the days of applying tip ex to the nails (ahhh youth hehe). I have a feeling this shade will work well as a base for the glow in the dark colour from this collection! It's probably good to have for french tips as well, as the mini brush makes the tips slightly easier to apply! 

OPI Spookettes set consists of 4 mini polishes, (1 is a glow in the dark colour) and a sheet of Halloween themed water nail decals. To see more swatches of all the colours from this range click here or the photo

Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish Swatches Part 3 Houses Of Parliament

Last up from Nails Inc. Magnetic Collection is Houses Of Parliament, a gorgeous metallic purple:

Before Magnet Swatches

All three of these polishes look so great on their own, but I can't get over how cool this magnetic effect is! Unfortunately the photos just don't capture the 3d rippling effect, its too gorgeous! Check out part 1 for tips on how to use the magnet.

Nails Inc. Magnetic polishes are available for £13 (£11.70 if you're a reward member) and can be purchased from: http://www.nailsinc.com/magnetic, I do hope we see more of these awesome polishes cropping up over the next year :)

Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish Swatches Part 2 Big Ben

Next up from Nails Inc's magnetic polish range is Big Ben (metallic gold):

Before Magnet swatches

The magnetic effect is a little more subtle on Big Ben than Trafalgar square, but it still looks amazing, like burnished gold! Here's a few more pics :)

Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish Swatches Part 1 Trafalgar Square

I've seen a few swatches of Magnetic Nail polishes before, but I've never managed to find them over here in the UK, so when I saw that Nails Inc. were releasing 3 brand new magnetic shades, I was extremely excited! First up is Trafalgar Square - Silver/Grey

Photos will never do this polish justice, the magnetic effect is absolutely awesome in real life! as you move the nails the lines seem to move, kind of like water ripples, its such a gorgeous effect! Here's two photos of how the polish looks without adding the magnet:

Trafulagar Square is a medium toned metallic silver/grey polish, the magnet will create black ripples giving this polish an gorgeous 3d effect. It's like having two polishes in one! The polish is a little on thick side, but this is key to achieving the magnetic effect as you need a thick coat of polish which is completely wet. Here are a few tips on how to get the best effect with the magnet:

1. make sure you remove the lid (which has the magnet on top) and keep it nearby.

2. apply one coat of the nail polish to all fingers as a base or to wear alone if you fancy.

3. apply one thick coat of polish to one nail, then immediately place the magnet over the nail as close as possible without actually touching the nail (if you place the magnet length ways you will get horizontal lines, if you place the magnet tilted sideways you will get vertical lines).

4. repeat on each nail and finish with top coat.

This has to be one of the most exciting special effect polishes I've ever tried, they are pretty long wearing (4 days wear without chips) and opaque in 2 coats (with or without the magnet). More to come! :D

One Year Blogaversary :D

Can't believe this blog is already one year old :) and on the same day I hit 400 followers, what a lovely way to celebrate! Thanks to all my wonderful readers out there, I don't think I'd have ever made it to a year without your lovely comments and support!

(photo source:http://www.flickr.com/photos/hfb/2052055757/)

I'm hoping to celebrate by having a giveaway, will post details within the next couple of weeks so stay tuned for that, in the mean time, I'm going to be posting some very exciting magnetic nail polishes from Nails Inc. Thanks again peeps!!! :)

French Tips with China Glaze Street Chic and OPI You Don't Know Jacques Suede

I really enjoyed wearing China Glaze Street Chic, while reviewing the Metro collection. I wanted to try out an "alternative" french manicure, and instantly OPI You Don't Know Jacques Suede, popped in my head as a good colour to compliment the mocha taupe tones of Street Chic, here is the mani:

quite happy with how this one turned out, I'll definitely be using the OPI Suedes for tips more often :D

China Glaze Metro Collection Swatches and Overview

You can click on any of the photos to go the full review of the polish with more swatches and information.

China Glaze Metro Collection - Uptown

                        CG In The City                                        Traffic Jam

                           City Siren                                             Brownstone

                           Street Chic                                           Urban Night

China Glaze Metro Collection - Downtown

                          Skyscraper                                       Loft-y Ambitions

                         Trendsetter                                       Westside Warrior

                      Midtown Magic                                  Concrete Catwalk

I'm not usually too excited about autumn polishes, but China Glaze Metro has completely blown me away! This has to be hands down my favourite autumn collection this year, the colours are absolutely perfect for the season, and I really love the city chic theme! 

All 7 cremes are completely opaque in 2 coats, with one of the best formulas I've ever worked with, and a gorgeous glossy finish. the only 2 polishes which took more coats were the two glitters (Skyscraper and CG In The City) Skyscraper reaching opacity at 3/4 coats while CG In The City remains a sheer glitter polish, great for layering, or on its own! 

Trendsetter is the star colour for me, I'm a big fan of murky shades, and this is a very wearable one! Other must haves from this collection would be Midtown Magic, a gorgeous blackened Gold/Bronze which I absolutely love, and Skyscraper, a pale blue shimmering glitter both very unique! You can click on any of the photos to travel to more swatches and info about the particular polish.

Have you tried out China Glaze Metro yet? What are your favourite shades from this collection?