IndieAna- In Search of the HolyGrail

So it's now 2016 folks, yeah, I can't really believe it, either.... I finished the last month of the year with a nice amount of products used up. Thursday Plantation Macadamia Oil - I was able to use this product, thanks to a giveaway on beauty website, Beauty Heaven. It wasn't too heavy for my face, being quite nice as a replacement night moisturiser. About half-way through the bottle, I had purchased a facial oil, so instead used this as an overnight hair treatment, which the oil was great for my dry, damaged hair. Repurchase? I would consider another bottle. Dermalogica SkinPerfect Primer - I really enjoyed using this makeup primer. It had a silicone feel, so was like silk when applying to the face. Filling in pores and fine lines, whilst helping my foundation of choice to last longer. Repurchase? I have some other primers that I would like to try before committing to the price of the SkinPerfect Primer. Orly Bonder - I have been using the Orly...

I've created a leopard print mani in the past and wanted to re-visit this fun and fairly easy to do pattern on my nails. OPI "Taupe-less Showgirls", Orly "Liquid Vinyl" and Sinful Colors "Boom Boom".  I love pink leopard print, I think it's so cute. I also wanted to change things up a bit, and try a pink and gold base, and then alternate the same polishes for the spots. I went for a golden champagne colour and a nice bright pink cream polish. My trusty Orly "Liquid Vinyl" was used to finish the leopard print. I adore the colour combo, I think they work well to compliment each other. Do you like the popular leopard print also?

To double stamp simply means to stamp a design onto your nails, you guessed it, twice. I neglected to photograph what I used, but LA Girl 3D Effects in "Dazzling Pink" was my base coat. This is a pink holo polish. I then stamped with Sally Hansen "White On" and once dry, Orly "Black Vinyl" These are my go-to black and white polishes when stamping, as they are both opaque enough to stamp with. I need to work on my stamping placement, but I think it worked out ok for my first attempt. Kind of looks like Aztec inspired nail art. 

What do you do with unused makeup brushes? Well, use them for nail art, of course! One of these said brushes is a fan brush. This was a brush in a set that was not of the best quality, so instead of throwing it away, I thought I would create a mani with it instead. Orly "Liquid Vinyl", Femme Fatale "Shadowsong" and "Amber Jewel". With a black base colour, I used the fan brush to paint on the Femme Fatale nail polishes, with horizontal strokes. Waiting for one nail colour to dry before painting on the next. I'm really happy with the result, the added bonus of having a use for a brush that was nearly thrown out!

Do you know how hard it is to try and come up with a nail look, with no theme. Unlike the Creative challenge, this time I had too many ideas. I mean, this was a challenge, so I wanted to provide a good entry.  Foils provide such an eye catching effect on nails. I didn't want just the one colour, so chose 3 different foils. Although the foils are what make the look, I wanted a dark, but not black base colour. Using Sally Hansen "Save the Date" meant that any gaps in the foil would reveal the gorgeous bordeaux shade.  To add another dimension (I know, as if foils wasn't enough) With Orly "Liquid Vinyl" I stamped on a criss-cross checker plate design.  Inside with flash  In natural sunlight I really loved how this mani turned out. Well that completes the Doll Challenge ! 

Now that I have tried a "dotticure"  and found applying dots to be achievable for me, I wanted to take it one step further and try my hand at a little art using a dotting tool. I wanted black for a base colour, so chose to use my trusty Orly "Liquid Vinyl". Then using a dotting tool, I created semi flower patterns using Femme Fatale "Amberjewel" and "Shadowsong", which truly come alive over a black nail polish. I actually really like how this mani turned out. Easy, yet effective.

I wasn't sure that I was going to get a nail look done in time for today, but I did manage a simple Halloween look. I wanted to go for some fun colours, so used Kleancolour Neon Green, with Ulta3 Burnt Orange sponged lightly over the top. Ghoulish green and pumpkin orange seemed like a good combination. My favourite black, Orly Liquid Vinyl was the polish choice I made to stamp on the spider web design to finish my nail look. Have you created any looks for Halloween? If so, please link your post in the comments, I'd love to check it out! :)

So many ideas came to mind when Beauty Heaven chose the theme black and metallic for their nail comp. It conjures up so many wonderful combinations and designs. I knew I wanted to incorporate silver, gold and black. Water marbling did come to mind, these colours would look amazing done well, hmmmm, the done well part is the bit I struggle with, so I soon forgot that idea.  I began the mani with LA Colors Color Craze "Live". Such a beautiful chrome silver. I used french manicure stickers to create the silver stripe that I wanted. On my tips I painted Orly "Liquid Vinyl". Then used Milani 3D Holographic shade "510". Whilst the polish was still wet, I quickly removed the stickers. As you can see, I added some black dots to finish off the mani :)

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter was really wanting to go to the Essendon DFO. She is on her Ls, and wanted to experience some city driving. Although I would have LOVED to go with her, we both knew that hubby would be the better choice. I am such the stress pot! Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with some nail polish goodies that hubby bought for me! Orly "Purple Poodle" is a gorgeous grape jelly base with pretty mauve shimmer throughout. My camera does not do this polish justice at all!  Hubby has great taste in polish, it seems! :)

Ever since I'd created a "step" mani, I'd had many ideas for different colour combinations. I figured enough time had lapsed to create another one :) As explained in my previous "step mani" post , I used Blush-Amour pearl with a silver glitter topper from Funky Fingers  for the base. Then the steps were created with Orly "Liquid Vinyl", Essie's "Fair Game"and "Da Bush". I just love the ease of this mani design, yet it looks like a lot of effort has been made to create it :)

For the longest time I had been content to apply nail polish without a base coat. A nail polish wearers sin, I know. Wanting the best wear for nail polish, especially so for nail art, I purchased Orly Rubberised Bonder. A product that I'd heard great things about, so thought I might as well start with a product that appeared to be a firm favourite. The bottle contains 18 ml of product. The base coat has been developed to grip the polish to the nail's surface with its unique resin technology. As instructed, I applied one coat to my nails. Drying to a slightly tacky finish, I was then able to apply my desired nail polish. Would I repurchase? Yes, and have! I really don't feel the need to try anything else, I think I have found my holy grail base coat. Although my nails still chip, they don't do it as quickly as they used to. I now see the importance in using a base coat, it has become a non-negotiable product for me! Do you use a base coat? What's your pick...

I purchased Sally Hansen "Big Matte Top Coat" during my last visit to Priceline. Matte isn't a finish that I crave all that often, but its nice to have the option of using it. Of course I had to use it for a nail look. The 2 base colours that I used were Orly "Liquid Vinyl" and Maybelline Express Finish "Tasseled Taupe" Once dry after 2 coats, I applied the matte top coat. Using a stamping plate design, I began using the same polishes, but on the other colour. So Liquid Vinyl on Tasseled Taupe, and vice versa. Tasseled Taupe turned out to not have the opaque finish needed to show up as a stamp colour, so I used MUD "Tease Me". Although, I was content with the matte finish, I went ahead and applied Seche Vite top coat to change to a glossy look. What a difference the glossy finish makes. I prefer this one to the matte finish. I find that the design appears more defined.  Which one do you prefer?

I just love Leopard print nails. I can think of so many combinations and ways of showcasing this design. I've stamped the design on before, but I like the look of the design done freehand. What was holding me back was not feeling that I could create an acceptable leopard print design. Finally, I took the plunge, what could I lose? Polish remover has erased many a bad nail look. After applying OPI Passion for my base colour (which I neglected to include in the pic, oops!), I then added a coat of Essie Pure Pearlfection for a touch of shimmer. Once the coats were dry, I dabbed Essie Your Hut Or Mine in desired edges of my nails, apart from my accent nail, where Your Hut Or Mine is the base colour and Models Prefer Flushed used for the Leopard spots. To finish off the spots, I used a brush to define with Orly Liquid Vinyl. A coat of Seche Vite top coat finished my mani. Now that I've discovered that I can create a passable leopard print, I now want to try other idea...

A couple of nail looks that I had never tried before was attempting a reverse stamping design and water colour nail design. Reverse stamping is a technique where to complete, I used a ziplock bag to paint a nail sized square of clear polish. Once dry, you stamp the nail design you wish to use, then place on the nail like a decal, I placed it on a wet coat of clear top coat. Sounds easy enough, right? Yes, well as you'll be able to see, I didn't quite get the finish that I wanted. The water colour design, however, I was content with. Once a base colour is dry, you dot on various nail colours, working quickly on one nail at a time. I used the ziplock bag again to flatten the dots of colour. Simple, and so many variations can be experimented with. Because I wanted to use bright polishes, I used a white base, Maybelline Color Show Porcelain Party. The dots of colour  came from Models Inc Fluro Pink, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blizzard Blue and Ulta3 Mojito. For the stamping, I...