Thursday, April 28, 2011

by Kitties26 on Thursday, April 28, 2011 10 comments

Kitty Kreations - Lufee Nails

This is Lufee

AKA: Foof, foofy, foofy pants, purry pants.

No idea what sort of breed she is, but I would guess at Himalayan-ish. She is pale cream/white all over, with cream points and bright blue eyes. She is also TINY, the smallest full grown adult cat I have ever seen. She easily sits on just one knee, and can pretty much sit in my husbands hand!!

The story as to how we ended up with Foof is an interesting one. An acquaintance of my mum was down at the local lake and found her. There is no residential area near the lake and she didn't know what to do with her. She had dogs at home, but knew my mum had cats, so she put her in the car and bought her over.

We all thought she was a gorgeous kitten, and then I noticed the tattoo on the inside of her ear, a mark that shows shes been desexed. We took her to the vet and had her scanned for a microchip. They found one, and looked up the owner. We were so happy to know that we were about to return this kitty to its home. I know how upset we would be if we were missing a kitty.

Anyway, the vet called the owner and told them we found their cat. Their reply was "oh, that cat, she ran away about a year ago. We've got another cat now and don't really want her." We couldn't believe it, first that this tiny kitty was a couple of years old and second, that they didn't want her back. So we scooped her up and took her home and never let her out again (except into our awesome cat runs).

So here are my Lufee nails.

I started with a white base, and sponged on OPI Samoan Sands to the tips. I then added a franken blue fleck shimmer which represented her bright blue eyes.

Because the white was kinda thick and then I had to sponge a lot of Samoan Sands on to get a good colour, the tips ended up chunky and had massive shrinkage. The blue shimmer also ended up looking really frosty.

The top photo was outside in the sun, and the below indoors. You can see the shimmer/frostiness of it clearly belown. It certainly was a different mani, and definitely represented my little Foofy, but I don't think I would wear it again.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

by Kitties26 on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 7 comments

Christening nails

Today I have my nails from my baby girls Christening on the weekend. I couldn't go last Ulta3's baby pink for this mani. I added some flower embellishments that I bought from a kisok in our local Westfield last year. They work really well, but I was lazy and didn't find the tweezers to apply them and that's why they aren't lined up nicely.

Here is the cake I made for her.

And the inside. White Chocolate mud cake, aarrgggghhhhh (wipes drool from side of mouth)

And my dolly dressed up ready to go.

Happy Wednesday everyone.

by Kitties26 on Wednesday, April 27, 2011 7 comments

Drum roll please...

How I spent three hours last night:

It started with 399 entries.
Duplicate entries were removed.
I individually determined how many entries each entrant received, they ranged from two all the way up to eleven.
My spreadsheet had follower names listed from line 1 to line 2914.
I got random.org to picked a unique number, 2727, which belonged to...

Lisa Mc

Congratulations, you are the winner of my holographic polish giveaway.

I've sent you an email.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

by Kitties26 on Tuesday, April 26, 2011 2 comments

ANZAC nails

Today, here in Australia we are celebrating an additional public holiday for ANZAC day, which was actually yesterday. You've gotta love Aussies for getting another holiday just because two holiday's coincide.

Here are my ANZAC tribute nails. In case your wondering, the middle finger is the rising sun badge.

ANZAC (which stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War.

Monday, April 25, 2011

by Kitties26 on Monday, April 25, 2011 11 comments

Birthday Nails

The weekend really got away from me. I did hope to post sooner than this, but the crazy Easter weekend just took over.

Here are the nails that I wore for Bayden's birthday. He thought they were so wonderful and kept wanting to look at them. Yes, he turned three, and yes he loves Elmo.

I used Orly's Lunar Eclipse as the base, then did a white splodge on the elmo nails, so that the red would show through nicely. I used Ulta 3 Fire Truck for the red and Carrot top for the nose. I then used a black nail art brush for the dots and smile. For the '3's' I first did them in white, then I painted over them in Ulta3 Citrus Putting the white underneath really made the yellow pop. Apologies for the tip wear, this was at the end of the day at Monkey Mania.

And here is there little man's birthday cake. He really loved it!!

Finally, for shits and giggles, here is my right hand. OMG I really suck trying to do neat nail art with my left hand. But from a distance they still matched, and when people asked to see my nails I just showed my left hand.

I still have my mani on from Saturday at the moment. So no Easter nails, however I'm still planing to do ANZAC nails today.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

by Kitties26 on Thursday, April 21, 2011 6 comments

Artform 752 - Mauve Opal

So today, my crazy weekend begins. Today's is Bayden's 3rd Birthday. We are off into the city to ride the carousel then out to Monkey Mania, an indoor play centre with super slides, ball pits and various climbing and tunneling areas. I have done a very cute birthday mani for him, which he loves, but you will have to wait until Monday to see the pictures, as I want to team it all up with the birthday cake from Sunday.

Tomorrow we have the in-laws arriving, then Saturday we have Skyla's Christening, then Sunday its Easter lunch with all the family and a birthday party for Bayden. Now, Mum just told me I have to do Christening nails for Saturday, Easter Nails on Sunday and I was hoping to ANZAC day nails on Tuesday too.

So while Bay and my husband are out hanging the washing on the line (I know isn't he just the best husband), I'm quickly doing this post, and cheating with some of the last swatches I did of the Artform Duochromes.

This is #752 Mauve Opal, two coats applied over black.

The base is a very pretty shimmery mauve, and the shift colour is a silvery mint greenish shimmer.

Nice cool tones and a great colour combination.

Oh - and although it's already the 21st here, there are still a couple of hours left to enter my holographics giveaway, as its still the 20th over in the Americas.

Finally, thank you to all the lovey girls that comment on my blog. I do read them all, and love receiving them, even if I don't personally reply!

Happy Thursday everyone.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

by Kitties26 on Tuesday, April 19, 2011 9 comments

Artform 731 - Pink gold

Yep, you got it, another Artform polish. #731 Pink Gold. Rather similar to the last colour, except this is a lighter rose pink and the gold on this is more yellow than orange.

Still a fantastic duochrome shift.

This was two coats over a black base.

Also, only one more day to get your entries in for the holographic polish give away. There have been a stack of entries, so it will take a bit of time to sort it all out, but I will get done ASAP.

I've got my thinking hat on at the moment to do a birthday mani for my boys 3rd birthday. Then I have to get cracking on an Easter mani.

Monday, April 18, 2011

by Kitties26 on Monday, April 18, 2011 6 comments

Artform 730 - Purple Gold

Wow, almost a week between posts. Whoops.

I've been busy this week painting, not my nails this time, but the hallway walls. In fact not just painting, but plastering and sanding as well. As a result my fingies are all cracked and dry. I've also had a minor breakage so I have trimmed all my nails down. So while they grow out a bit, here are some swatches I did a few weeks back when I was swatching the Artform 3D Revolutionary range.

This is another Artform polish, #730 Purple Gold from the Duo Chrome range.

Its a shimmery rose pink (rather than purple) which shifts to a strong orangy gold.

This was two coats layered over black.

On the tip of my right most finger you can see more purple tones to the base colour.

In the bottle it looks much more red and gold.

So I have finished painting today (in readiness for all the family coming over for Easter, my boys 3rd birthday and my little girls christening. Its going to be a very busy long weekend.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

by Kitties26 on Tuesday, April 12, 2011 21 comments

Nfu Oh #62

For some reason, Nfu Oh #62 just doesn't seem to get the same love that the other Nfu Oh holos get. Especially #61 and #65.

I only just received #62 in my latest haul from Vivid Nails, and I think this might just be my favourite Nfu Oh holo colour. It's slightly pink, but also a tan fleshy colour, but it still has the amazing linear holo effect that Nfu Oh holos are famous for.

Up close of the linear rainbow holo.

Indoors without strong light this polish is a very pretty pale pink, flesh colour.

I also applied this using Nfu Oh Aqua Base, which let me just say is AMAZING. Had I realised how awesome it was I would have got it ages ago. It is so shiny and wet looking that its really hard to tell if its dry. The shininess of the base also makes the holo have a much shinier finish.

Which is your favourite Nfu Oh holo colour?

Monday, April 11, 2011

by Kitties26 on Monday, April 11, 2011 5 comments

Go Cavs!

I have mentioned in the past that my husband plays baseball. For US readers that may not sound unusual, but here in Australia, baseball isn't really a very popular sport.

Over the recent summer, the Australian Baseball League, backed by MLB, started up again. There are six teams in the national comp, and despite his age (not that I'm calling you old honey) my husband managed to get quite a few games in with the Canberra Cavalry.

I recently found an e-tailer that could create custom nail art water decals. I was really excited to see the baseball ones, so ordered a whole stack with the team and player name.

With water decals, they really only work on very light coloured nails. This is because the water decals are clear and they can't print in white ink. Because orange baseballs would look stupid, I wanted to get neat white circles on my nails.

So what I did was paint my nails orange (team colour), using Ulta 3 Crazy. I then used a hole punch to punch a circle in some scotch tape. I put the scotch tape on my nail and painted the hole with white polish. Then very carefully, I applied the water decal.

I found the decals really hard to work with compared to other ones I have used. If the decal came off the backing paper, it would all crumple up and couldn't be used, I had to carefully slide them off the paper onto the nail. They also were really hard to move around on the nail. Once placed down they were stuck there. Other water decals I've used you have a bit of time while your nail is still wet to position it better.

I also discovered that top coat would smudge the ink (as can be seen on the ring finger). So while not great, the positioning is off and the ink is smudged, I did learn a heap applying these for the first time.

Come next season I will be the supporter with the fanciest nails! I'm sure that will make all the difference!!
And now, just to embarrass him on my polish blog, here is a pick of him playing.

GO CAVS!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

by Kitties26 on Sunday, April 10, 2011 10 comments

Kitty Kreations - Yushi Nails

This is dear little Yushi.

Nicknames: Yush, Oozie, Uzi 9mm, Nines, Stupid.

Yushi was my husbands and my first kitty together. My mum found her as an abandonded kitten at the local shops the same week I met my future husband. Sadly we no longer have Yushi, but we had 13 very happy years with her.

We believe she was a Russian Blue breed. Grey with silver tipped fur. But she clearly wasn't the best in the litter as she had short, stumpy legs. How anyone could loose or dump her and not look for her is beyond me.

And my mani inspired by Yush. Base was a franked metallic silver that I added black polish to get a dark grey metallic. I then sponged Sally Hansen Celeb City on the tips. I decided that the colour difference between the two polishes wasn't enough, so I sponged a little black onto the back of the nail.

This mani represents her grey, silver tipped fur. Miss you oozie.

Friday, April 8, 2011

by Kitties26 on Friday, April 08, 2011 4 comments

Kitty Kreations - Nahla Nails

Welcome to a new series of posts I'm calling Kitty Kreations. They will all be nail art inspired by our beautiful little kitties. Once I've done our kitties, I'll probably do some for my mum kitties too - and trust me, that is quite a number of kitties (past and present).

To start off I have Nahla nails. This is dear little Nahla.

Nicknames: Noodles, Nudie, Nudie pants, Narly Nu.

Isn't she just the prettiest little girl. She has the most gentle nature and is the softest and snuggliest kitty I've even known. Mum found Nahla down at the local shops, looking all lost and worried many, many years ago. No one reported her missing so she became ours.

And my mani inspired by Nahla. The base was wobbly lines and squiggles using OPI DS Desire, OPI Opening Night Gold and Nubar Jewel. Then stamped with Konad Black with Zebra stripes. Yeah, I know Nahla is not a zebra...

But here is her furry little leg next to my polished nail. See where I was going with this.

Although these nails are of Nahla, I'm dedicating the post to my mums kitty 'Tomus' who died yesterday. He was so like Nahla in temperment, such a gentle and cuddly big boy. I'll eventually do a specific nail design for Tomus, but for now, kisses to you and Mum. xxx.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

by Kitties26 on Thursday, April 07, 2011 7 comments

Artform dark blue holographic 515

This is the last polish swatch to show you from the holographics that are up for grabs in my giveaway.

This one is called dark blue, and really, its not dark blue. Glitter Gal Dark Blue or OPI DS Glamour are dark blue. But it is a darker blue than the other blue holo from their collection.

No other babble today, the sun is shining and I'm in the middle of doing my mani right now. Just typing carefully so as not do bump or dent my polish.

Have fun polishing, and I'll be back with something more interesting tomorrow.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

by Kitties26 on Wednesday, April 06, 2011 8 comments

Artform hot pink holographic 511

After all those multichromes, I'm back to you show you one of the last two of the Artform holographic polishes that you could win in my giveaway.

Ohh, hot pink holo. I really like this one (who am I kidding, I like them all!!) And I'm generally not a pink polish wearer.

Just like all the recent multichromes, I have a sneaking suspicion that these may be the same as some of the Ozotic Pro holographics. Either way, all these holos are just beautiful and I'm sure whomever wins them will be super happy with the colours, formula and holoiness.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

by Kitties26 on Tuesday, April 05, 2011 6 comments

Artform Revolutionary Range #508 Purple Orange

My Nfu Oh haul from Vivid Nails arrived yesterday, YAY. They weren't able to get #51 because the supplier is out of stock, but I did get a whole range of other flakies, #62 which is the remaining holo I didn't have, plus a number of polishes for $2 from their clearance sale. They also kindly sent me a free bottle of Aqua base, which is just awesome cause I haven't tried it yet, and I hear it makes quite a difference for the holos. So thanks Vivid Nails.

Today is the last multichrome I got in my haul from Artform. Artform Revolutionary Range #508 Purple Orange. As per all my previous posts, I believe this is a dupe for the now discontinued Ozotic Pro #508, but they may have another shade that similar to this one now (#521??) - Anyone with Ozotic #521, does this look the same?

#508 has a purple shimmer base, that shifts through burgundy red tones and flashes a strong orange.

To answer some questions about where to get these, I bought these from an Australian supplier called Artform Nails. But they only ship to Australia (and shipping is expensive if you only buy a few polishes - $20) The Ozotic Pro polishes are dupes and are easier to buy online, both Picture Polish and Australian Beauty Supplies have them and I think they ship internationally too.

Finally, just to sum up the dupiness of these against other polishes

Artform #502 = Ozotic Pro #502 = Sally Hansen Ruby Opal (almost, at least close enough).

Artform #503 = Ozotic Pro #503 (discontinued). Only option is Artform version - and it is sensational.

Artform #504 = Ozotic Pro #504

Artform #505 = Ozotic Pro #505 = Sally Hansen Turquoise Opal Prism.

Artform #506 = Ozotic Pro #506 = Sally Hansen Garnet Lapis Prism.

Artform #508 = Ozotic Pro #508 (discontinued) and maybe #521, but I need someone to confirm that!

Thanks for sharing the fun of multichromes with me for the last week!

Which one was your favourite?

Mine was #503, the green one that shifted to bronze.

Monday, April 4, 2011

by Kitties26 on Monday, April 04, 2011 5 comments

Artform Revolutionary Range #506 Cyan Purple

Two more multichromes to go. This is Artform Revolutionary Range #506 Cyan Purple, which is a dupe for Ozotic Pro #506, which is also a dupe of Sally Hansen Garnet Lapis Prism. This polish is very similar to #505, the difference being that the base is more blue turquoise on this, and more green turquoise on #505.

Again the colour shift on this is great. Cyan, turquoise through to purple, with pink and red tones in between.

Yay - I got a full bottle this time.