The Final ABC Challenge Mani-Z is for ZigZags

So this is it, this is the end of the ABC Challenge-boo! I've had a lot of fun doing them and have met some really lovely ladies through this challenge, who've done a lot of really fabulous manis along the way. I decided to go out with something ridiculously bright and colourful so did a zigzag mani using the new Barry M summer Gellies collection.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate how fab these colours are together?

Thumb to little finger that's Blue Grape, Guava, Key Lime, Mango and Passion Fruit, 2 coats of each. And that shine? Not a hint of topcoat in sight, they're just that glossy and lovely on their own! I think this is the first time I've ever wanted an entire collection-all of these colours are amazing on their own but together they're just totally delicious! After a layer of Seche Vite on top of them and a short wait to make sure they were completely dry, I stuck on some zig zag french mani guides (from the same set I used in the V mani which you can find on ebay here) and layered another colour on top before removing the sticker. To add a hint of subtle (read: impossible to capture on camera) shimmer I added a coat of OPI-I Juggle...Men which shifts from bright fuchsia to electric blue and looks fab when it catches the light.

I love these, they're so bright and fun! A fab way to end our challenge, don't you think?
But fear not, because there is a new nail art challenge starting at the end of July  and you can join in, if you so wish! I'm not 100% sure on the organisation right now (as I am scheduling this post) but drop me an email (nailartnovice@gmail.com) for now if you're interested and I will let you know more details as and when.

As always, don't forget to check out all the other fabulous 'Z' manis in the Inlinkz below.

~Nail Art Novice~

OMD! Challenge Day 4-Black and White

Today I've got another Oh Mon Dieu challenge mani for you. For more details/to take part go here.

Today is Day 4-Black and White. I don't think I've ever worn a full black and white mani before, so I found this one kinda fun. I used only two polishes-Barry M-Matt White and Black which also has to be some kind of record-I always use loads, haha!
I painted my left hand white and my right hand black and then did the same pattern on each but with reverse colors-striping tape accents and fan brush patterns.

I really enjoyed the opposite effect because they looked really cool next to each other. This will definitely be something I will do again, with different colours because it didn't take me long to do but I really like the end result!

~Nail Art Novice~

OMD! Challenge Day 3-Purple

~Wooo, this is my 100th post on this blog!~

Hello lovelies!
As I mentioned the other day, this month I will be participating in the Oh Mon Dieu! Challenge/Giveaway that's running throughout July. I already knew I wasn't going to be doing a mani for every day so here is my first one for you.
I used two absolutely gorgeous purple polishes-Loki's Lacquer-Buddy and Rimmel-Purple Addict. This was my first time using Buddy since I won it in a giveaway last month and WOW it's beautiful. It's a pale lilac shimmery creme with minute holo microglitter throughout it. It's also got this amazing pink-green duochrome shift that I could not persuade my camera to pick up at all! This is three coats, and I loved it so much I almost didn't do any nail art on top at all!

In the end I decided to go for accents and did a laser tape mani with Purple Addict on top.

I'm glad I did because Purple Addict is another lovely purple and I'm really enjoying this combination-although I wouldn't say I was an addict myself!  It's all about the greens and blues for me!

I won't be around too much this week as I have an Australian coming to visit and lots of fun stuff planned for us to do together. I've got a couple of posts scheduled so you won't miss me, I just won't be replying to comments as much. It's also my BIRTHDAY on Monday so I'm hoping to get some birthday manis up but we shall see. I'm like a little kid at this time of year-super excited =D

See you soon

~Nail Art Novice~

Rara's Goin' On A Summer Holiday...

Right now Rara is off sunning herself (hopefully) in Cornwall on her summer hols (lucky thing!) and she came over the other day and did some beach themed holiday nails for her trip. She took inspiration from these nails by The Crafty Ninja and these which she found on Google+ but are un-watermarked. (If anyone knows who did them originally, please let me know so I can credit them).
She used a myriad of polishes and I can't find the list where I wrote them all down so I'm just going to tell you the ones I remember for now. If anyone has a burning desire to know the colours specifically, just ask and I will try and be helpful! I know the sky is Revlon-Blue Lagoon and the 'beach' colour is Barry M-Lychee. The white of the beach ball was Barry M-Matt White and all the black and white details were done with nail art pens-both Barry M and Andrea Fulerton. She started by painting all her nails blue then sponging on the Lychee when that was dry. Then she just freehanded on the rest of the details using a dotting tool and a paintbrush.
Enough chatter, on to the pictures!

From thumb to little finger she's got a beach ball, some palm trees and hammock (possibly not in Cornwall!), a beach hut, a sandcastle and a starfish. Aren't they fab? I think my favourite is the sandcastle.

I hope she's having a lovely time away and I'm definitely not jealous at all! Haha. Are you going anywhere nice this summer?

~Rara & Nail Art Novice~

June Favourites

June has been a nail-art-tastic month for me-I've done quite a lot of it. Some stuff I loved and some stuff I wasn't so thrilled with but here's my absolute favourites:

-I only did one TST this month but I really rather liked it-it was inspired by the Barry M Limited Edition polishes:

Tribal Nail Art

-Rara did some super awesome cherry nails to celebrate being able to use both of her hands again which I just loved!

Cherry Pop 

-I really loved my Doctor Who Nail Art, I kept it on for days and just kept staring at my fingers. All my nerdy friends loved it too!

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey

-I attempted the ultimate skittle for Nailed It NZ's nail art competition-I didn't win but I still loved doing a mani that incorporated all the techniques I've tried since I started my blog

Ultimate Skittle Mani

 -But my ultimate faaaaaave mani this month has to be my Doc Marten nail art-I've been wanting to do them for months and months and finally did, and I think they turned out great!

DM Nail Art

What were your favourite manis this month?

~Nail Art Novice~