Aussie Christmas Challenge Day 1: Red

Aussie Xmas Challenge Day 1: Red. 

I love challenges...I respond well to pressure and having a theme guides my decision making process and the nail art evolves from finger to finger. That's my favourite way of putting things together vs. going in with a set plan for a design.

• OPI Danke-shiny Red from the OPI Germany Collection is a shimmering medium red polish.
• OPI Gettin Miss Piggy With It from The Muppets Collection, a clear base glitter with tiny red glitter pieces mixed with red and silver hexagon glitter. Layered over DL Fashion.
• Deborah Lippman Fashion is the nude base colour, a mushroom brown with pink undertones.

Many wins here; I got to use some of my new studs, 2 new polishes and have ended up with another awesome nude to add to my collection that suits my skin tone.

I think these are super fab! Pity they have to die tomorrow to make way for six white boomers! Dang the song is back in my head now. 

Battle of the Mannequin Hands!

My fascination with nail art and polish started in January of 2012. After starting a Facebook page, Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest account I figured it was time to get serious and attempt a real blog. So please enjoy the often high pitched, squealing accounts of my adventures in the world of nail art.

For my first ever blog post I decided to go back to basics. Don't get me wrong I love bright colours and will often mix and match a tonne of colours in one mani. However sometimes its nice to strip back and wear a classic chic nude shade. After almost a year of collecting nudes from every brand, I have finally found 2 that are remarkably close to my skin tone and apply well.

First up we have OPI Don't Pretzel My Buttons.  A creme polish from the Germany Collection released in 2012. Opaque in two coats with an excellent formula that is forgiving on application. Its mainly a sandy brown base with mushroom and pink undertones

Secondly we have Deborah Lippman Naked. A sheer nude polish, a sandy brown base with peach undertones. Another excellent formula that applied without streaking. It dried quickly with a high shine finish  My only grumble with this polish is that its a 3 coater. This is 2 coats and there is VNL *gasp* which I am not a massive fan of. However because the polish is quite thin I can't see 3 coats being an issue in terms of drying time and thickness on the nail.

I tend to gravitate towards the OPI for nail art due to its opacity. I used it with multi coloured stamping and its lightness complimented the 3 pink and purple shades, allowing them to stay true to form vs. adding a brown tinge to their original colour. I am sure that both of these polishes will be in high rotation, with the Deborah Lippman being a nice colour for when I have more of a tan in the summer months.