31DC2015 - Day 3; yellow - NCC presents: Cute kitty funky french

Today I have a two for one post, both the first Nail Challenge Collaborative post with the theme Pets and the 3rd day for the 31 day challenge which is yellow. So it will be long..

I asked a friend about this nail art, about what animal she saw. She responded "cat! ..or tiger, but definitely more cat ". So with that I'll stick with that and let's see this as cats. It reminds me of a stuffed animal cat, with the eyes like that.What do you think?

About cats as pets, I've never had one of my own, my parents don't like them and when I grew up kids in school which had cats had scratch marks all over their arms. When I asked why, they said that it was like that having a cat. If you play with it, it might scratch you. So I got skeptical towards cats, it was first after I met my boyfriend who laughed at me when I told him why I was so distant from his fathers cat. Then he explained that a cat would only scratch you if you treat them wrong and oh how much I've cuddled with his fathers cat since then. :) I'm also open towards getting a cat, me and my boyfriend have a dog, which I adore, but we both would like a cat some day too. <3

Anyhow, not much to say about the nail art itself. Just freehand and some dots and stripes. Not my fav animal nail art, but still okay.

Polishes used:
Jordana Pop Art - Contemporary White
Jordana Pop Art - Black Mark
Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip
Ztiz (black)
Nordic Cap - NP13
Essence - Love Is In The Air, swatch here

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

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White disappearing leopard pattern nail art

A late post with today's nails. I'm not sure what to call it but White disappearing leopard pattern nail art will have to do. I guess it could be called negative space nail art in some ways too. This was quite simple to do, first I did a gradient using a nude jelly and a jelly white and an opaque white. Then I freehanded the leo spots on top and embellished with clear white rhinestones. Sadly the photos are after 2-3 days of wear so they aren't as fresh as I usually want then to be but I liked them and wanted to show you. :)

Polishes used:
Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip
R de L Young - Coconut Milk
Essence - Wild White ways
2 MM clear rhinestones

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Nude and Mauve Ombre with Lacy Glitter

I recently received a package of some current Color Club shades. As I pulled the bottles out of the box, fate took control and lined up four of the shades from lightest to darkest. They looked gorgeous in an ombre together, and I had to oblige the universe's wishes.

Of course, I was still missing a fifth shade, and while I was searching for the perfect polish, I figured it couldn't hurt to add some glitter, either.

So, the four fated Color Clubs that I was destined to use are:
Color Club Blank Canvas (white)
Color Club Barely There (light tan)
Color Club Get a Mauve On It (mauve)
Color Club Midnight Mulberry (plum)

Then, I grabbed A England Elaine for the thumb, and added a layer of Sally Hansen Eyelet from the Luxe Lace line on all the nails. The glitter density was good, but I ended up with a lot of bubbles on the nails. Not sure what happened there.

I haven't done an ombre in a while, but I totally should wear them more often. They're really gorgeous and chic, especially in shades of nudes/neutrals like this. Big thanks to the universe and to Color Club for setting me up to hit one out of the ombre park (IMO)!

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NCC presents: Wood Anemone nail art in green

Hi, long time no seen. I've been busy and I've also neglected the NCC the whole month (even though I've done mani's during the month). The theme for the Nail Challenge Collaborative this month is Spring Flowers. My first spring flower nail art is inspired by Wood Anemone or "Vitsippa" as we say in Sweden. Also, this is my contribution to Green Wednesday.

I started off with a green to nude gradient. Then matte green glitter on top and then freehanded Wood Anemone inspired flowers placed random. At the end I have a photo I took just the other week with actual Wood Anemones, all for you to compare.. haha :)  Hope you like it!

Polishes used:
R de L Young - White
Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip
Golden Rose - No 05
Essence - Have Fun
KIKO - 851

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NCC presents; recreating member designs; Black and white nail art inspired by Traces Of Polish

My third manicure for the theme "recreating member designs" in the Nail Challenge Collaborative is a recreation of Traces of Polish's Black and White manicure. With the help of striping tape she created a beautiful look. But before I had read how she did it, I though she had used a different technique. Which is the one I've used here and which I'll explain below.

I started off with painting two spots with white and black on regular baking paper. Then I let it dry completely and peeled it off. I then used a scissor and cut them in stripes, and then in squares. I then used a dotting tool to pick them up and attached them on wet polish. And top coat on top. Fairly quick and a quite dramatic look with the "perfect" squares. I'm very happy with this result. :)
I'll definitely use this technique more times too..already got plans... ^^

Polishes used:
Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip
Essence - Wild White Ways
Essence - Black Is Back

An InLinkz Link-up

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NCC presents: Versace fashion inspired needle dragging nail art

Time for my fourth manicure with the theme "inspired by fashion" for the Nail Challenge Collaborative. I got inspired of a dress from the Versace show at Paris Fashion Week earlier this year. The dress isn't something I would wear my self, but I figured it would look really cool for a needle dragging design combined with a negative space nail art idea.

Source

I decided to use a nude jelly in beige and a white creme for my needle dragging. (I could have used a clear polish, but a stupid KIKO polish stained my nails so I had to use something more neutralizing so a nude jelly seemed nice and basically the negative space nail art went haywire). I also decided to outline my nails with a white fine liner to create a frame, so the result would look more precise.  I'm quite happy with the result even though it could need some refinement. Let me know what you think! :)

Polishes used:
Sally Hansen - Sweet Tulip
Nordic Cap - NP13
R de L Young - White (nagel designer lack)

An InLinkz Link-up

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Wasabi and Caviar - An Exercise In Linework and Patience

Today is my birthday, and if you can believe it, my nails are actually naked right now! THE HORROR! I'm hoping to put something fun on them after I get home from work, but for now, I wanted to share a manicure I spent a lot of time on recently.

I am calling it wasabi and caviar for reasons that I hope are obvious! This entire design is handpainted with regular nail polish. It's some of my best linework to date, I think. Hooray for improvement there!

Nail polishes and products used:
LVX Midori
Formula X Dark Matter
Sally Hansen Stud Kit

If you want to attempt a design like this, I've got some tips!

1. Get a small brush. I can't tell you how long I used a thicker nail art brush, cursing my lack of talent rather than the tool I was using. Once I got a thinner brush, it helped me immensely. I still had to keep practicing, but my old brush was definitely part of the problem. Trim down an old brush with cuticle nippers if you don't have a super thin one.
2. Keep it clean. If you're using polish (instead of acrylic paint or gel), clean your brush frequently with 100% acetone and regularly put down more polish onto your palette. Polish dries quickly and can wreck your fine lines if it isn't the right consistency.
3. Small mistakes aren't the end of the world. You can use a clean nail art brush dipped in acetone to gently "erase" small mistakes from your work; just be careful not to go too crazy or it will eat through your base color. In this case, I put a layer of topcoat between the wasabi shade and my black linework for extra protection.
4. Be patient. This shit isn't fast. When you factor in my previous tips and the detail of the work, you just gotta know it's not going to be easy to bust it out in 45 minutes. I like to put on Netflix and take breaks every so often to stretch out.

I just love this kind of strange green color, and the thick blingy stud nail is just the right amount of "odd" to go with it.

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This One's For My Mom: Circus Animal Cookie Nail Art

My mom is unable to eat chocolate, so she's always had a few non-chocolatey sweet treats she favors. Peppermint ice cream, German raspberry candies, and Circus Animal cookies were some of her top picks when I was growing up. Personally, my pick out of those would be the Circus Animals! I've always loved the colors of the rainbow sprinkles against the pink or white frosting. Chocolate preferences aside, it's pretty hard to resist their sugary sweetness.

Mom, this one goes out to you!

Nail polishes used:
Salon Perfect Sugar Cube
Formula X Gemini
Formula X Pyrotechnic
China Glaze Sky High Top
OPI Do You Have This Color In Stock-holm?
OPI Suzi Has a Swede Tooth
OPI Good Grief!
Sally Hansen Sun Kissed
Sally Hansen Going Green

This look is simple and quick. All you need is a dotting tool and the right colors! Truthfully, choosing colors took the most time because I thought getting the right shades was imperative for recreating the Circus Animal sprinkles look.

This is also my manicure for The Lacquer Legion's Yummy prompt, because they are yummy in my tummy (duh).

Have you had these delicious cookies before? In working on this post, I just discovered a recipe for Circus Animal truffles, which I will have to make AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

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