Floral nail stamping over Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling?

Today's nail art was brought you by the Stamp One, Stamp All Ten nail art prompt of the week: Florals! And for the occasion, I thought I thought I would try the leadlight technique for the very first time (it's also a challenge later in the month, so practice makes perfect).

To start out this look, I broke out one of my newest polishes Indigo Bananas Taffeta, Darling? Which I won from a giveaway on The Mercurial Magpie!




I wore this polish for the weekend I was visiting my in laws. The weekend consisted of a mix of outdoor time and inside time, so I wanted a polish that would shine inside and out. Taffeta, Darling? was it! This is a purple glass fleck holo, which in the sun shines bright with holo and in the shade has a lovely silver shine to it. This polish is truly a gem and individual in my collection.



When I got back from my in laws, I knew that this was the perfect base for the floral stamping. And since I knew I needed to practice the leadlight technique, I thought that this might be a good base to practice on.


Since I don't have a lot of experience in this technique, and I was short on time, I thought I'd just stamp an accent to start with. Using Rica Squish the Rainbow jelly polishes, which I got specifically to try leadlighting, I colored in this flower I stamped using my MoYou London Pro 06 XL Plate. I used Essie No More Film to stamp the image (a very opaque darkend purple creme polish).



I really think this is a fun technique and I look forward to trying it again with a different look! It's not at hard as I thought it would be. I just broke out a fine nail art brush and with a gentle hand, colored in various parts of the flower!



Clearly you'll be seeing this technique again in the future! Have you ever tried the leadlight technique? Do you have tips for me, or plate suggestions? I'd love to hear them, because I expect I'll be trying this out again and again in the future!

And don't forget to check out the other ladies who are partaking in the challenge this week!


   

    An InLinkz Link-up

   

Floral nail art for a summer wedding

So as I am getting older, I attend less and less weddings! It's somewhat of a relief, as I remember summers where I was going to one every other weekend.

Earlier this summer my husband and I had the pleasure of attending a wedding, and I feel like it just might have been the first wedding we attended where neither one of us were actually in the wedding – which is bliss. No need for a fancy bridesmaid dress or tux or a fuss about your appearance. No showing up early, making sure things are on schedule – just attend, enjoy your meal and have some fun.

My husband and I at the festivities!

Us with the lovely newlyweds!

Anyway, so today I am sharing with you the nails I sported for said wedding!

Since this was an outdoor wedding, I decided to go for a floral theme. I went to my recently purchased pile and pulled out Different Dimension Garden Goddess and then picked out a floral stamp to go on top.



Garden Goddess' formula was a little on the thick side, but it wasn't so much so that it was difficult to work with. The holo finish in it is a little weaker than some holo bombs I sport, but it is subtle and I think it's beautiful. 



I stamped using MoYou London Pro Plate 06. I used Essie Hip-Anema, which is an orange-leaning red creme polish to stamp with. Was hoping it would go well with my coral dress.

Where to purchase: You can purchase Different Dimension polishes at their shop on Etsy. I believe I purchased this polish at Llarowe for $13.

So I hoped you liked my wedding nails today guys! What nails and designs do you typically sport for weddings? Do you do different designs for outdoor weddings or indoor weddings? Share with me you wedding nail tales!

Dance Legend Holy Diver

Holy Diver is another of the Spring Wow Prisms from the Russian nail polish maker Dance Legend. Holy Diver is an aqua-leaning teal that is made of glass fleck holo pieces – the holo effect is a unique one too, which is why I love the Wow Prisms so much!



The glass flecks, while they look like they are texture, definitely give the polish some depth and that holo effect is just great. It was hard to capture on camera, but in real life it is just wow!



And because, too often, I can't just leave a nail polish alone, I decided to stamp over this color with a tribal like design over my nails using MoYou Pro Plate 06.



Overall I did like this look, but felt like the stamping might have taken away from the beauty of this polish a bit.



Application: This applied well with two thin coats and though it looks textured, it is not. It has an easy removal process and is easier to clean up when applying because holo particles are larger. I topped this with HK Girl Top Coat.

Where to Purchase: I purchased this polish from Llarowe for $13 and it is currently in stock so go check it out!

MoYou London Stamping Plate Giveaway

So you guys, today marks my sixth straight month of consistently blogging! Yay! And yesterday, I received a shipping error courtesy of MoYou London, my absolute favorite nail stamping plate company! Basically, when I ordered nail plates from them recently, my original order from them went through instead of the new plates I actually ordered – two emails later the problem was fixed and I had the right plates on their way to me, but I was shipped my original plates so I thought I would do a giveaway to share the love.



Let me start off by saying these are by far the absolute best plates to stamp with ever. They are etched so deep there is never a problem trying to pick up the image when stamping with these plates. They are practically fool proof.

Anyway, the giveaway gives you an option to win one of three different MoYou London stamping plates! First off I will show you the plates and at least one stamping manicure I did with each plate.

First off my favorite the Sailor 04 Plate.



These are smaller images, which are perfect for my size nail, but might be a little small for others. Just keep that in mind if you win and I ask you what plate you would like to win.



And one more from this plate because I love it SO much!



The next plate is the Pro Plate 06 with XL images, I found these images to be a bit large for my nails, but would be perfect for someone with longer or wider nails than mine.



And here is a lovely floral manicure I did using this plate. 



And finally, here is the Scholar 02 Plate. I found the images on this one to be a bit large for my nails as well too, but I'm a writer so I just had to have this one.



And a quick morning stamping job I did using this plate, please forgive the early morning bad photography on this one.



Before I get to the Rafflecopter I want to say just how wonderful MoYou London plates are. Seriously, if you haven't stamped with a MoYou Plate yet, once you will you will be totally hooked to the prospect of it I promise! MoYou London is based in the UK, but currently they have free shipping to the U.S. so what are you waiting for? Get your butt over there and order some plates!

The prizes one more time and then the Rafflecopter entry info! NOTE: This giveaway is for U.S. residents only (sorry to my international buddies, this is my first giveaway and I don't have the $$ for international shipping).



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indigo Bananas Maui Wowee with floral nail stamping

This polish was a stunner from the moment I put it on my nails – Indigo Banana Maui Wowee.



The polish itself is a periwinkle blue color which boasts a duochrome shift to a beautiful lavender purple. Oh and did I mention this is also a holographic polish?!?!



And not just a little holographic, this polish shines in the sun!



Because this was such a gentle blue-purple polish, I thought this polish would be great topped with a floral stamp, increasing the delicate spring-like feel this polish possesses! I used MoYou Pro Plate 06.



Thankfully, this manicure post falls right in line with The Lacquer Legion's monthly mani theme: garden!

It's May, and this month we're growing a Lacquer Legion garden! We want to see your garden inspired manicures, whether that means flowers, fruits, vegetables, insects, critters or anything in between. Feel free to get creative!



Application: This polish wore beautifully and went on perfectly with two thin coats. The formula on this was really amazing, I wore it for a day or two without the stamping first and then for another day or two with the stamping. I did not want to take it off! This seriously is one of my favorite manicures I've done in quite awhile! I used HK Girl top coat, no dulling effect to the amazing holo!!!

Where to purchase: You can purchase Indigo Bananas polishes from their website, I bought this mini bottle (8ml) for $7.25. I really like their shop because you can purchase mini polishes or large polishes, which is a great way to sample a new-to-you indie polish maker. So far I have loved all of their polishes!

So did you all participate in The Lacquer Legion this month? It was my first time doing so, and honestly it was because of happenstance. I'll do more to prepare next month!!!