#31dc2013 - Day 21: Inspired by a colour

As the end of the challenge draws nearer its safe to say the real challenge still lies ahead. These next 10 days require out of the box thinking with manis inspired by songs, colours, art and books. Thank goodness I'm on holidays so that I can really put my thinking cap on. Although when it comes to picking a colour I'm inspired by, that was a  no brainer...purple!

Today's design features:

• Barry M Gelly - Prickly Pear (Lavender)
• OPI - Funky Dunky (purple)
• Zoya - Miley (sheer lilac)
• OPI - My boyfriend scales walls (off white)
• To create the ombre colours I mixed Funky Dunky and Boyfriend in different ratios.

 You dont need to have a tonne of different purples to create an ombre, just mix your own colours from what you have in your polish stash. That way you keep the same tone to the colours and can achieve that gradual change in saturation. I started with a base of Miley, then added the striping tape. I then used a small brush to fill in each colour. I worked from the tips down. I did the tips of all my nails with Funky Dunky, then moved to the next colour. I didn't do each finger one at a time because I needed to work fast with the colours that I had mixed. The ring finger was created by blobbing a few different purples on my nail then swirling them around with a small brush to create a watercolour effect. Until tomorrow.....

Gloss 'n Sparkle - Fruit Tingle

If you look back through my past manis you"ll be able to quickly determine that I seem to gravitate towards pinks, purples and blues as a popular colour combo. I have a whole draw devoted to those colours in my Ikea Helmer and its bursting at the seams. So this indie glitter from Gloss ' n Sparkle was meant for me as it combines all those colours, and the icing on the cake, black sparkles. Read on for a review of Fruit Tingle.

The base of this polish is a creme with a range of glitter shapes and sizes. There is pink and light blue micro dots, blue and black hexagons and then a scattering of bigger black hexagons. The glitter applied pretty evenly through normal brush strokes, no dabbing required. But it did clump together leaving some areas with more glitter than others. You know I love, love, love my G'nS polishes but the formula of this particular one could do with some refining. The creme base is a little thick and the finish is pretty lumpy. It did smooth down with top coat but it just wasn't as perfect as Topsy Turvy or Unicorn Droppings. Still, the finished colour is a rich pink purple with a devine sparkle. 

At the time of this post Fruit Tingle appeared to be sold out so check back for a re-stock soon.

Picture Polish Attitude for IWD

So today is International Women's Day. A day to celebrate all things girly, including our past successes in fighting for equality to our future hopes and dreams. So put on your bright pink lipstick, pour yourself into your favourite LBD, buckle up those gorgeous, strappy sandals and most importantly rock something fabulous on your nails....show a little attitude, now work!

Picture Polish - Attitude is a midnight purple, scattered holographic glitter creme polish. This is two coats with topcoat in direct sunlight. Its magical, and so so chic, perfect for Autumn with its muted blue undertones. The formula was perfection, seamless in two coats with no bald spots. It dried quickly and smoothly as the glitter is embedded in the base, rather than floating on top.

OPI - Lincoln Park After Dark

OPI describes this polish as "where midnight meets purple". Spot on! In normal light it appears as black however in sunlight you can see the purple undertones. It looks more purple in the bottle then it does on your nails. This is 2 coats with top coat. Its a crème formula that applied very well and dried to a glossy finish. This polish is from the Chicago collection.

Clean up for this polish is tricky due to its opacity and dark colour so try really hard not to flood your cuticles.