The Digit-al Dozen does My Home - Floral Details

Hi lovelies!

I'm back for this month's Digit-al Dozen challenge, yay! This month's theme is My Home. Well my home contains a lot of floral details. It also has some remnant metallic details from my first student home, which I'm slowly getting rid of. I combined them in this manicure!

Incidental Twin "Off NZT"

Hi lovelies!

Remember me posting "On NZT" last year? It was based on this awesome series - Limitless - which unfortunately was cancelled after just one season.. When Brian in on NZT, this is the effect. But when he's off it, he's still pretty awesome! Keep reading to find out more about this polish and the amazing Sale Incidental Twin is having right now!

Potion Polish "Mirage"

Hello lovelies!

I have a new-to-me indie brand for you today: Potion Polish! When the maker, Courtney, came out with The Dunes Collection, I fell in love. The first polish of the collection I'll show you is "Mirage":

Try or Die: Double Stamping over Black

Hello lovelies!

Recently I tried something I had never attempted before: double stamping over black. 

Once in a blue half moon

Hello lovelies!

I've been MIA for a while and I apologise! I was super busy, then I got sick and then I was busy again, so I just didn't feel like blogging. It happens sometimes. But I am back with a cool mani!

Born Pretty Store Stamping Plate 04

Hello lovelies!

I hereby present you the last stamping plate from BornPrettyStore.com for a while: This is number 4!

OPI Push and Shove nail art attempt

Hello lovelies,

I'm here again for a little. I had a party, so I required party nails. I decided to get my OPI "Push and Shove" from the Gwen Stefani collection finally out of the box and paint my nails with it. You probably read all kinds of reviews on this one, and know by now that you have to (HAVE TO) use the complimentary base coat "Lay Down That Base" first. So there I went:

Celestial Cosmetics "Opie"

Hello lovelies!

Today the second of the prizes I won in Ladybird Lacquer's Celestial Cosmetics giveaway! Yesterday I showed you an in-your-face green holo. Today we have a silver holo called Opie, magnificent in its simplicity:

This is three coats plus top coat. At the end of the day the Sun finally shone, so I got to take some quick pics! It's so pretty <3

This is what it looks like in plain daylight, it is like a super white silver. But then with sunlight, or certain artificial light...

Glorious!

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Swatch-It Sunday: Maybelline Color Show Brocades

Hello lovelies!

Today I have all of the Maybelline Brocades for you! That is, all of those that are available in Holland, and that's only 4. In the US there are 10 (TEN!) colours and they're much more exciting than most of these.. But oh well... Let's start! First up is Foil Flash (Silver Swank in the US [w.t.freck?! why change the names?!]):

It is a mixture of silver and gold micro glitter and big silver hexes. The official website says that it is opaque in only one coat. NOT! This is two and it's still not fully covered! However, that is not visible from a distance so you can easily get away with it. The polish dries fast, but to a chunky finish. This is with one thick layer of top coat. I love how it sometimes seems silver and sometimes gold. The colour combi is positively angelic!

Next up is Rosy Rosettes (US: Ruby Refined):

It is a beautiful mixture of red micro glittter, larger pink glitters and a golden shimmer. This one is opaque in 2 coats. Here I topped it off with NPB Glitter Food and Seche Vite. I like it. It's good for an unorthodox sorta Christmas polish :) 

Now for a mermaid looking one that I'm not quite sure of (probably because it's not Christmassy enough), Beaming Blue (hey! same name as in US!):

Looking at the pictures, it is really pretty. Just not for Christmas, more for summer, it so reminds me of the ocean! It contains gold and blue glitter, giving it a teal glow. This is two coats with Glitter Food and SV. Application was a bit hard, it is so gloopy! But it dries really fast, so that's good :)

Last but not least, my favourite of the bunch Knitted Gold (Gilded Rose, much more appropriately named in the US): 

Even though it has the same opacity problems as Silver Swank/Foil Flash, the combination of gold micro glitter and pale pink bigger hexes, is just mesmerizing. In the right light it is so super classy, glamourous and fantabulous! My spell check actually gave up on me by now ;-) Anywho, I recommend doing one more layer for this one (I did two), and feed it and then finish it with Seche. I think then you'd be golden :P

Overall, I'm satisfied with these polishes, but application and finish wise, it could use some work. The colour combis are definitely spot on.

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SiS - Rimmel Space Dust "Shooting Star"

Hello lovelies!

I have already shown you 3 pretties from the Rimmel Space Dust collection last week, namely Luna Love, Aurora and  Moon Walking. Today I will show you the fourth in the series "Shooting Star":

Metal Rush

Hello lovelies!

This is the mani I did on myself, using the gifts from my friends from Paris:

Flash:

Daylight:

Direct Sunlight:

These were the gifts (as I had posted earlier on instagram):

I used the Magnetic nail polish form C'est Tout Moi! by Europe Cosmetics in blue, and the silver glitter from Bling It On Rocks by Nails Inc. London. Love it!!!! Both were really nice when it comes to application. I've never been so successful in applying the magnets, but this one was easy to use!

Thank you my dear friends! 

xoxoxo

Captain

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Swatch and nail art with the new Rimmel

Hello beauties!

Got a swatch of a  new Rimmel polish for you, together with a little simple nail art, that of course could not be omitted. This is Rimmel "Hot Chick" form their Fire Cracker Collection. In artificial light (below), it photographs very red, but in reality it has a pink undertone. Pomegranate coloured, I would say. It is a jelly polish and below there are 2 coats over a base coat:

It is a nice bright and catchy colour, that is very good for the upcoming summer. Below is a photo taken in daylight:

One can see that even though I used 2 coats here, one can still see some VNL (visible nail line), but that is not a big deal for me right now, since I want to do something to the tips anyway. If one were to wear it on itself, one would need 3 layers. The colour on its own does make me feel like fruit and sweets and it makes me hungry ;) . The polish applies really easily and it dries relatively fast. 

Here's the 'art' part:

I needed the blue. I thought it would enhance the brightness of the colour and it did. I just sort of freehanded this, since I didn't feel like taping. I used Miss Sporty nr. 320, and W7 silver to do this. The last picture shows the colour of "Hot Chick" best, I think.

This mani was nice and colourful an I enjoyed it a lot. What do you think?

xoxoxo

Captain

Hygieia

Dear followers,

Sorry for not posting yesterday, I didn't get to finish my mani yesterday! It's done now, and I hope you like it! 

This mani is inspired by Hygieia, Goddess of Health, Cleanliness and Sanitation. As you probably see, this is where we got the word 'hygiene'. She was one of the daughters of Asclepius, god of medicine. She is often depicted with a snake, symbol of health (which is still visible in many signs of pharmacies, health care institutions and so on..). 

When I think 'clean', I think 'white' and 'silver'. So I started off this mani with a white base, using white long lasting polish of Etos, which is like white-out on your nails, it's awful. Then I saran marbled with W7 silver polish. I finished the design with some W7 caviar, arranging it in a snake form. I used some gold glitter from my Essence Nail Art Kit.

It ended up like this!

Comments and suggestions are very welcome!

xoxoxo 
Captain Lothwen

Athena

Whoohoo! Athena's here!

Athena, or Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and art and law and war strategy. The wise owl accompanies her on her many journeys.

With wisdom, my mind springs to blue. And being just and strategic screams silver to me :P So here it is!

I first started with a layer of Essence "Midnight Date". It is opaque in just one layer :D Well done Essence! And it's such a gorgeous colour... Bright blue, with a greenish shimmer (that sadly wouldn't be captured on camera). 

Then I saran marbled (for a video tutorial, check out Kat's most recent video!) with W7 "Silver".

It came out all gorgeous and shimmery :D Of course her favourite animal cannot be left out, so I used my pink striper of Janet to draw it on, and I used two little rhinestones from Essence for the eyes.

What do you think?

xoxoxo

Captain

The Carnival Blues

Hi hi!

One of our trusty hand models, has recently gotten a festive pair of hands! After all, Carnival is on our doorstep, and it's time to celebrate! Personally, we just watch the parades and dress up a bit, but half of the country will be very hung over on Monday! To enjoy the festivities even more, an appropriate mani is of course in order, so here goes The Carnival Blues!

The base colour is W7 "Mosaic", and then I did a cloud mani with Rimmel "Blue Vogue" and W7 Silver. I added some glequins from Essence's LE Vintage District nail decoration kit 02: "Designer for a Day".

And look! The colours match her gloves :) 

Tomorrow we will show you Lieutenant Akira's Carnival nails, this time not Carnival themed, but in style with her outfit for the day! 

Also, we are now on instagram! Follow us @manisandmakeovers :)

See you tomorrow!

xoxoxo
Captain