15 October 2013

Tag: You're it! Spooktacular


Hi everyone!

I got tagged by Mishka from Lacquer or Leave Her! Thank you so much for thinking of me when you got this tag. It was some very interesting questions. Really Spooktacular.




Here are the questions:

1) Do you still Trick or Treat?

It's not a tradition in Norway to Trick or Treat on Halloween. It happens that some kids do it now a-days, but not when I was a child.

2) Do you like going to haunted attractions?

I get scared easily, so I tend to shy away from haunted attractions, even mirror houses scares me. Silly isn't it?

3) Favorite Halloween treat you look forward to getting?

I have never had a candy corn, and intend to have one every year, but forgets all about it. What I do love however is being able to buy loads and loads of candy without having the cashier raise an eyebrow.

4) Favorite Halloween movie?

I had to twist my head for this one, and I came to lay my eyes on my shelf that stores movies, and it seems I have quite a few Halloween movies. Tim Burton is a huge favorite of mine, as classics like Frankenwienie (is that how it's spelled?), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride (does that one count?) and Dracula, Let The Right One In, (any vampire movie, really), and Hocus Pocus.

5) Favorite scary movie?

I suppose both Hocus Pocus. Frankenwienie and Let The Right One In, would classify as "scary movies". Scarier than that I can not take.

6) Favorite costume you wore as a child?

I love dressing up, as a child I did not get to dress up a lot, but as I grew older, I have had, and attended to  several costume parties. I love the most to dress up in 50's dresses.



7) A costume you would like to dress up as if you could go back to your childhood?

I would love to be able to dress up as a mermaid when I was a child. You can get those H2O-tails in the US (never seen them available around here), and I know I would just love to be able to wear something like that as a child. 


8) Do you decorate your house for Halloween?

Yes I do. I have this 7 feet tall Jack The Skeleton (The Nightmare Before Christmas) teddy. Complete in his PJ's. I love it dearly, and every year he gets a special seat in the windows, looking out.
One year, I placed him in my ex car, holding the steering wheel , the neighbors kept taking pictures of him, and he even made a note in the local newspaper, sadly I only heard of this, and never actually got a copy of this.  It makes a good story non the less. I might add some carved pumpkins with candlelight now and then, but Jack is my main decoration.

9) Do you have a festive background on your phone or computer?

The only festivities I have a special background for it Christmas. I love Christmas so so much. 


10) What are your plans for this Halloween night?

I do not have any plans yet, I have heard talk of a party, but not seen any invitations yet. 

11) If you have a pet what would you like to dress it up as (if you don't have a pet, you can say your sister or brother)?



I do not have any pets, but my last landlord had a cat, his name was Chance. A cute little thing, white as snow, and deaf like a bat. I have always pictured my landlord dressed up as Blofeld from the James Bond movies. Chance is a bit skinny for the role, but I think one can look past that.

Picture borrowed from Codajoy
I got 3 brothers and 1 sister, so to answer the question correctly...
I would dress one of my brothers up as Edward Scissorhands. He got the same skinny body and rugged hair, I am sure he would to an excellent Edward Scissorhands.

12) What is your least favorite sweets you would never want to receive when you go trick or treating?

I love candies, but there are a few things i just can not stand.Orange Chocolate, and rum filled chocolates topping the list. I just can not stand the thing. It's a violation against all things chocolate.

13) Favorite Halloween decoration?

Candles, candles and more candles. I love candles. Pumpkins are cool as well. 

14) Favorite Halloween song?

Danny Elfmann makes amazing music, he was the one that did the music for Corpse Bride, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, and the list goes on. If Tim Burton did it, Danny Elfmann made the music. That relationship just speaks Halloween to me. Perfect combination.

15) Favorite Halloween makeup look? (insert picture if you can)

Usually I will dress up like something out of a Cartoon (once did Team Rocket from Pokemon), or I dress up as some kind of witch. Resulting in not so much makeup, but every year I look at youtube videos about halloween makeup.  This year I am loving the looks from Kandee Johnson. 




I am going to give a general tag to all you lovely girls out there, if you choose to do this tag, feel free to add your link below. I hope to see some of you pick this up and run it. 



Have an epic Halloween. 


The Secretary. 


Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

7 October 2013

Innisfree - 83


In 10 hours I am out travelling again. I got a box with nail polishes packed, so that I get to do some swatches, and nail art. I am planning on experimenting more with acrylic paint and nail art.
It's getting colder outside and my nails and cuticles are suffering under the conditions.
With today's post I have added some girly hearts and white dots, using Sinful Color - Snow Me White.

This is one of four "Yoghurt" inspired nail polishes from the Innisfree line. Innisfree is a vegan polish, has a pleasant scent, nothing to overpowering. It comes in a milky base with glitters and have a lasting hold. Easy to use, the glitters glides on well. Only reason why I haven't used them since I bought them (almost a year ago), is because of the removal of glitters, it's just not worth it having to soak my nails in acetone and kill my already dry cuticles. So when I got my PVA glue and started using that as a base for glitters, well, needless say, I felt the urge of using these gorgeous polishes again.

Innisfree - 83.
Milky mint green base with blue and pink hex glitters.




Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

27 September 2013

Innisfree - 82


Sometimes you just want to go vegan. I have been drawn towards some more vegan friendly brands lately, and felt that I should get some proper pictures of the vegan polishes I already got.

I have also been shopping for polishes, a haul post will follow later this month. Can't wait to try them all out, they look gorgeous. One of them is an orange flaky polish, perfect for Halloween is my thoughts.

This is one of four "Yoghurt" inspired nail polishes from the Innisfree line. Innisfree is a vegan polish, has a pleasant scent, nothing to overpowering. It comes in a milky base with glitters and have a lasting hold. Easy to use, the glitters glides on well. Only reason why I haven't used them since I bought them (almost a year ago), is because of the removal of glitters, it's just not worth it having to soak my nails in acetone and kill my already dry cuticles. So when I got my PVA glue and started using that as a base for glitters, well, needless say, I felt the urge of using these gorgeous polishes as well.

Innisfree - 82
Milky green base with mossgreen microglitter and green and copper orange hex glitters. 3 coats.


Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

25 September 2013

Innisfree - 81


I never intended to take such a long break from blogging. I moved back to Norway, or I tried at least. Now, almost 2 months later I am still crashing at my friends couch. I had great plans about getting my own flat, and everything, and got majorly distracted by my health and all sorts of other things.

I feel as if I have let you down, by not keeping my blog updated.
That I am missing out on all the fun.

The next four posts will be slightly light coloured polishes. I wanted to start light even if its all outside and I am freezing here as I still with blankets around me and a cup of tea. Herbal tea, cause I managed to get influenza as well. Lucky me. Time to update this blog.

Again, sorry for totally going MIA on you all.


This is one of four "Yoghurt" inspired nail polishes from the Innisfree line. Innisfree is a vegan polish, has a pleasant scent, nothing to overpowering. It comes in a milky base with glitters and have a lasting hold. Easy to use, the glitters glides on well. Only reason why I haven't used them since I bought them (almost a year ago), is because of the removal of glitters, it's just not worth it having to soak my nails in acetone and kill my already dry cuticles. So when I got my PVA glue and started using that as a base for glitters, well, needless say, I felt the urge of using these gorgeous polishes as well.

First out is Innisfree - 81.
Milky pink base with hot pink micro-glitters and blue and pink hex glitters. 2 coats.


Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

30 July 2013

Pink Speckles Pink


I have the last W7  Suede collection swatched for you girls today. It's Pink Suede!
This is a hot pink color with a suede effect. As the others in the line it has a silver undertone to it. Gorgeous shade.

I am going on a guild-meetup this week, and I'm really excited about it all. Some of them I have never met, and some I have met once or twice before. We all play World of Warcraft together, so it's going to be a lot of fun putting some faces to the voice we keep hearing on Ventrilo. I am working on scheduling some posts for you all, so you won't even notice I'm gone for the weekend. I'm just an hour away from home, so no flying this time. Luckily. It means I can bring all my makeup (I actually have a makeup trolley), and plan less on "what to wear".
I often wear no makeup, but when I'm out meeting new people I like to have my makeup done to feel comfortable. I'm usually the one getting ready in 15 -20 min in the morning, but when you are going clubbing getting ready is half the fun.

Back to the hot pink madness.



Gorgeous!!

Then I added Maybelline - Polka Dots - Speckled Pink. It ruins the suede effect, but darn is it pretty. 

One coat of Speckled Pink.

Two coats of Speckled Pink.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.
I'm still looking for the rest of the Polka Dots collection; the light blue, and brown i have not seen, so if you have seen them online let me know.
Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

29 July 2013

Stars in the Sky


It's been incredible sunny in England lately. I already had a tan when I came back from Scotland ( who would have thought you could get a tan there?!), and its been building a stronger tan ever since then. I can't resist the urge of soaking up some sun, when its here. Besides, I think tanned legs looks more sexy anyway. 

Time to do some nail art, and test if the NYC Foil Explosions stamp well. 
As a base I used NYC - Power Of Elements. 1 coat.

I stamped using NYC - Enchanting Fire, and Cheeky plate CH52. 
What I really like about this stamp, is that it's not a cluster or separate stars, but rather a cluster of over-lapping stars, and they got space between each star. It does however mean that its more or less impossible to separate out a full star, so you have to use the whole image. Which suits me just fine. 

Enchanting Fire stamped perfectly, I had no problems with it, and it came on very clear and crisp. 





Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

28 July 2013

E.L.F - Golden Goddess


I'm going full out glitter today. I have this E.L.F polish sitting in my stash for ages. I bought this before I started going nail art, so it must have been there for a good 2-3 years. Maybe used it twice since then ... (??) Can't remember exactly, but something like that.

Golden Goddess is a clear base packed with gold micro glitter and larger holographic (?) hex glitters.
It's a bit gloppy, but by using the dabbing technique I achieved a decent looking manicure. I should perhaps use this as a gradient with another gold polish, I think that would look cool.



Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

27 July 2013

Candy Love


 Now that I have discovered the wonders of PVA glue, I have got another glitter manicure for you girls. This is L.A Colors - Candysprinkles. I recently picked it up at my local pharmacy, they had a stack of L.A. Colors in for a pound. This was the only glitter polish they had, so I picked it up.

I stamped using Barry M - Fuchsia, and Cheeky Jumbo Plate 8 - Princess Charming.

L.A. Colors - Candysprinkles is a sheer bubblegum pink base with red microglitter, small round sky blue, silver, and green glitter with larger white, green, purple and copper orange hex glitters
(from what I can see in there).

One coat.

Two coats.

Three coats.


The stamping didn't turn out quite as I have expected it to, it went on sheered that I thought, but I am quite pleased with the overall look. Definitely girly.
Let me know what you think in the comment box below.
Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

26 July 2013

Holy Motherboard



I have to admit I am a bit late with this post, I'm playing catch-up on these challenges. The girls over at Llama Nails on FB have this Nerd Challenge going, and it looks really cool.
Previously on this challenge we have had "Inspired by Math", "Inspired by Space", "Inspired by Science Fiction" and "Inspired by Litterature", now its time for "Inspired by Technology".

I love computers, that's just how it is. So when this challenge arrived I knew what I wanted to do. A post I did last year was a programmers -manicure with HTML codes, and this time I'm going deeper, and taking a look at the Motherboard. Interesting enough, I'm holding my first motherboard in the HTML -code manicure.

For this manicure I used black and white acrylic paint, a liner brush, a script liner brush and a dotting tool. I used China Glaze - Unpredictable as my base color. At the end I added a metal circle and a nail art sticker ( for the serial number)



Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

Ripples in the Water


It's Friday, and that means another Cheeky Girl Challenge! I love these challenges. Choose one plate each week, one image off the plate and do a manicure. As always you will be able to see The Secretary and Mishka from Lacquer or Leave Her! do each their manicure using the same stamp. I'm so excited!


I recently did a haul with some Chine Glaze polishes, so I felt the urge of using them for this manicure. It was sitting on my desk (as all new polishes do, until they have been swatched) begging to be used. And so I did. 

China Glaze - Want My Bawdy
Barry M - Denim
Cheeky plate CH52

It's been so warm here in England lately and was running a fan while I did this manicure, and I got bubbles. Google images was kind enough to make an "Auto-Awesome" with my swatces. For those of you that are not familiare with the term, that is when you upload 4 or more similar pictures to Google Pictures and Goggle makes a GIF out of it. I will add that to this post as well, so you can see the shift of color in the beautiful polish.



That will teach me to be comfortable while doing my nails. Tsk tsk. Bubbles on such a beautiful polish. How could I?! Then I stamped using Barry M - Denim. This was a tricky one, so I will add some additional pictures to fully show the wonders of this design. I'm playing with the trick of mind, and light again. A personal favorite of mine. I am the Jedi.


Blackened blurple.

The base looks black, with a vibrant blue circle print.

Barely there print, on aqua.

Let me know what you think about this kind of manicures in the comment section below.
Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

25 July 2013

Review: Bundlemonster Plate Storage Organizer






Hi everyone. I have for you a review for you today. The Bundlemonster Plate Storage Organizer.

I bought it from Bundlemonster.com, you can find the product here. It costs $ 15.99,-
I got the Mardi Gras Purple one, they also have it in Bubblegum pink and black snakeskin leather.

Plates I got that fits:
  • Bundlemonster
  • Konad
  • Mash
  • Essence 

Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

24 July 2013

Blog Haul



I have been shopping and today a huge parcel was dumped on my doorstep. Okay, maybe not that huge, just  7 polishes. Which is, if I may say it, quite a modest haul.
It took 2 days for the parcel to end up at my doorstep, I wasn't expecting it until end of this week, looks like Royal Mail is faster than I thought.

CG - No Plain Jane, CG - Want My Bawdy, CG - Unpredictable.

For manicures using:
China Glaze - No Plain Jane
China Glaze - Want My Bawdy
China Glaze - Unpredictable

China Glaze - Get Carried Away, China Glaze - Whirled Away.
For manicures using:
China Glaze - Get Carrier Away
China Glaze - Whirled Away
Barry M - Denim
For manicures using Barry M - Denim, follow this link.

OPI - Moonraker
For manicures using OPI - Moonraker, follow this link
Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

O'Keeffe's Freudian interpretations



Over at Llama Nails on FB we are doing the Inspired by an Artist Challenge, second artist out is the Mother of American Modernism. Georgia Totto O'Keeffe. 70's feminists celebrated her as the "originator" of "female iconography", and her art, specially from her New York -time has been of Freudian interpretations.
I have kept that in mind when doing my nail art for this challenge.

So without further ado, this is my interpretation of O'Keeffe's paintings.

Sinful Color - Pink Forever

From the outer edge to the middle. Savina - Dazzle, nailart striper in hot pink, Sinful Color - Pink Forever.

As you can see on my nails and hands this was taken a while ago, I actually did this manicure as soon as the challenge was posted, which is a while ago now. I hope you liked it. It did not stay long on my nails, I can tell you that, there is something about wearing vagina looking designs, that just don't appeal to me.

Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

23 July 2013

Michelangelo the Architect




Often when people talk about Michelangelo, the talk about the painter and the sculptor, but we often forget that he did not just paint and sculpt, he was also an architect. A pretty darn good one at it as well. So when the girls at Llama Nails FB -group said we where having a challenge "Inspired by artists", and the first artist was Michelangelo, my thoughts went to the architecture he designed. This manicure is inspired by some of the buildings he designed. I'm still very new with acrylic paint so it didn't turn out exactly how I imagined it to, but we all learn by doing.

I started out with W7 - Silver Suede, used a "fan" brush and added some white acrylic paint, and painted the architecture in black acrylic paint with a "script liner" brush, and a "spotter" brush.




Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe



I'm like two weeks or so late with this manicure. It just didn't spring at me right away, and thought of doing another transfer nail art just didn't appeal to me right now. So I waited for the inspiration to come to me. This morning it did. I woke up by the sunlight beaming into my bedroom, and instead of getting up and going to the computer like I usually do, I picked up my book that I started reading yesterday and started reading. 
It's such a good book. I know, it's chic-litt, it's not for everyone, but I happen to enjoy reading it. 
Few years ago, I would never even touch a chic-litt book, but something changed and 2 years ago I bought my first chic-litt book. I can't remember which book it was, but I'm guessing it was by Sophie Kinsella. If you don't know of S.Kinsella, I can tell you that she is the woman behind the Shopaholic -series, she also wrote (personal favorite of mine, when it comes to her books) Twenties Girl. I did not just love them, I devoured them, I read them in a day, and I keep looking for new books, so when I noticed that Kinsella had recommended "Meet Me At The Cupcake Cafe" by Jenny Colgan, I had to buy it. 
And that is how I ended up doing this manicure. 

For this manicure I used acrylic paint with a "script liner" brush, and NYX - Matte Baby Pink.




Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.

Damask


I have a love for damask wallpapers. I have, ever since I was a young little girl wanted to have damask wallpaper on my walls. Never been able to have it as a wallpaper, but I used to own a pair of damask curtains. When I received the Cheeky Jumbo plates, I noticed that Jumbo plate 8 - Princess Charming has loads of damask kind-of patterns, and thus I decided to make a damask manicure. 

I wanted it to be quite an intricate design, and opted for an accent background with purple and silver. I really like how it all ended up looking and what I thought was a fail accent, turned out to be so beautiful. 

W7 - Mauve Suede is such a complex color, it ranges from deep deep purple, to a vibrant mauve in different lighting, the first picture is taken with indirect sunlight and it almost looks blue. 

The accent was done using W7 - Silver Suede and some striping take. I stamped with ESSIE - Little Brown Dress. 








Let me know what you think in the comment box below.
Dina Ramse Training and Developement

Secretary, Hiking-entusiast, Gamer and Nail Art Addict.