Follow The Milkyway

A product in this post was purchased using an affiliate discount and nail polish was previously sent for swatching purposes.

Kids can be naughty from time to time. It's a fact. They bend rules, and push limits.

I remember the first time I disobeyed the rules regarding bedtime; it was the night of the Leonid Meteor Shower in November of 1998 (kinda makes me feel old...). It was around 3 am, and I had  managed to sneak out of the house and out to a large field of dirt, the potatoes all gone, not far from where I lived. 

I had asked to be allowed to see it, but was told it was not for young girls, and it was far to late at night. That, and there was wolves in the area, having killed our sheep and goat just the year before...

I was prepared with blankets and layers of woollen clothes to fight off the Norwegian Chill. 

There, alone in the dark I got to see the most spectacular view in my life. It has to be the longest I have ever sat completely still, and I didn't return back inside until it was well after 5 am. No one had notice, and I never told them about it. 

I wanted to start with this story, because it was that night that I started to truly be fascinated by the night-sky, and whenever there is a meteor shower, lunar/solar eclipse I try to get to see them. 

Earlier this year I sat on the roof to one of my dear friends in Norway, both wrapped in blankets on a sun chair looking at a meteor shower. It was magical.

It was reminiscing over these moments in my life, that inspired me to create this look.  

Opulent Essences - Gravity over black with waterdecals and some simple dotticure.

Opulent Essences - Gravity 

A product in this post was purchased using an affiliate discount and nail polish was previously sent for swatching purposes.

Opulent Essences - Gravity

Polish was sent for swatching purposes, but the opinions expressed are solely mine, nothing else to disclaim.

If you are a regular to my blog you know that my current obsession is with Opulent Essences polishes. They have so many gorgeous polishes, and keeps coming out with new ones. Recently they launched a Game Of Thrones inspired one, and since I live "just around the corner" from where the series is being filmed, I am a fan.

Since I have to move very soon I have put myself on a No-Buy until the living-situation is sorted, and I know that I have an address where I will be able to receive my parcels.

Opulent Essences is a Vegan Friendly Nail Polish Maker from the UK. Behind the brand is the duo Sharon and Zoe, if you ever have any questions, the girls are lovely to chat with.

Etsy Store
Instagram

Gravity 10 ml - 6 £
Gravity  5 ml - 3 £

Opulent Essences - Gravity is s semi-sheer smooth glassfleck polish that shifts between blue and a rich jeweltoned purple. 

Opulent Essences - Gravity

In the swatch above you can see it applied in two coats over Wet n Wild - Black Creme on the index , ring and little finger and on the long finger it is applied over Barry M - Gelly - Blue Grape. 

It also looks good over grey and purple. 

Opulent Essences - Gravity with Bundlemonster Waterdecals.

I decided to use some waterdecals that I have received in a Surprise Bundle from Bundlemonster, and added some dotticures using my dotting tool to complete the look. I am not sure if it is possible to buy these waterdecals separately, but they are called GID-033.  

Polish was sent for swatching purposes, but the opinions expressed are solely mine, nothing else to disclaim.

Let It Snow

Products in this post has previously been sent for reviewing purposes, to view the original post, follow this link.


So the part of me trying to only post about one and one of the Advent Calendar polishes, to avoid spoilers for others is going out the window. I got a bit eager on trying them out, so I will just post them as I see fit.

Creating backgrounds for mail art

I started out with Ciate - Ferris Wheel, and Ciate - Boom Box, both polishes turned out to be quite sheer so I decided to build them up over each other to create a sort of marbleized background for my nail art today.

First I prepared the Uber Chic Stamping Mat with some base coat, just to note to you there that the base coat from Ciate that you get in the Advent Calendar is not good for this purpose.
Once prepared, I dropped two drops of each polish on to the mat close to each other and squished the stamper head down over them and did a little twist before transferring the polish from the stamper head to the prepared surface on the mat. This process was repeated 5 times in order to build a suitable opacity.

Once the decals where dry, I peeled them of and stuck them on my nails and cleaned away the excess polish.

Ciate - Ferris Wheel, and Ciate - Boom Box marbleized together

When it was all done, I added two quick coats of Ciate - Snow Globe over all my nails, and topped that off with 2 coats of topcoat, preparing it for the next step.

...

adding snowflakes, stars, a reindeer, and some extra dots using a dotting tool and Sinful Color - Snow Me White.

I am using the BornPrettyStore D264 Water Decals again.

This look took many steps to complete, but I am so happy with the final result. The extra coats over the flakies from Ciate - Snow Globe really helped creating a smooth surface to put the decals on.

Ciate - Ferris Wheel, and Ciate - Boom Box marbleized together, with Ciate - Snow Globe over, and dots using a dotting tool and Sinful Color - Snow Me White and water decals from BornPrettyStore in D264

Ciate - Ferris Wheel, and Ciate - Boom Box marbleized together, with Ciate - Snow Globe over, and dots using a dotting tool and Sinful Color - Snow Me White and water decals from BornPrettyStore in D264

For more Christmas themed nails check out my other designs here.

Products in this post has previously been sent for reviewing purposes, to view the original post, follow this link.

BornPrettyStore D264 Water Decals

I received this product of my own choosing, free of charge for my honest, non-bias review from the Born Pretty Store.

As I have mentioned before I am aiming this year at giving you one new Christmas themed / festive look each day in December all the way until the 25th. It's like my own little Christmas Calendar for you guys.

For more Christmas themed nails check out my other designs here.

... and when we first are talking about Christmas Calendars I wanted to tell you quickly that some of these products that I will be showing you here on the blog will be coming from the Christmas Calendar from last years Ciate Advent Calendar. I will attach a tag to this post if you are interested in seeing all the different designs only using the Ciate Advent Calendar. This will give you an idea as to how it can be used. I picked mine up at a sale at Tk Maxx and heard of several others who have done the same, so I will do my best to not have any spoilers as to what it contains, but I can't promise anything. I might get carried away.

I think the Advent Calendar was highly overpriced at 50£ considering the quality of the content. It is more worth the 20£ that TK Maxx was asking for it.

Today I have polish that was behind door nr.3 and a glitter polish that was behind door nr.2. So no spoilers today.

The whole look took 2 coats of Ciate - Chincilla, which might be a dupe with China Glaze - Pelican Gray, and 1 coat of Ciate - Glitterball. While Ciate - Chincilla was a bit tricky, Ciate - Glitterball behaved like glitter polishes should act. Smooth application, in one easy stroke. Giving that little lift to an otherwise boring shade of grey.

Stick some water decals on it and you are good to go.

Ciate - Chincilla with Ciate - Glitterball over, and D264 Water Decals from BornPrettyStore

If you will be picking up the Xmas Nail Art Water Decals White Snowflake Snowman Transfer Stickers D264 from BornPrettyStore, they are at the time of writing this at sale for $0.99. Standard price being $2.36. BornPrettyStore gives free worldwideshipping, and if you are sending an order fell free to use my discount code RAMG10 for 10% of all full priced items.

For more Christmas themed nails check out my other designs here.

I received this product of my own choosing, free of charge for my honest, non-bias review from the Born Pretty Store.

Barry M - Silk - Orchid

Contains affiliate link. Purchased with my own money.

I wasn't feeling for a bold design today, and wanted to do something more subtle.
I ended up picking up some decals I haven't been using yet. The BornPretttyStore Colored Flower Patterns #1619 water decals. 

For base color I used, as the title might suggest, Barry M - Silk - Orchard. 

Barry M - Silk - Orchard

Barry M - Silk - Orchard

Here you can see it in two coats, and it just look gorgeous. Vampy.
As the decals I decided on using are very dark, I knew they wouldn't stand out too much over this base. A sort of tone-in-tone design.

So I went a bit creative on showing it all off, and grabbed a mirror. I also added a more traditional pose with it as well. What do you think?

Barry M - Silk - Orchard with accent BPS #1619 decals

Barry M - Silk - Orchard with accent BPS #1619 decals

If you want to get your hands on the Colored Floral Flower Patterns Nail Water Decals Transfer Stickers #1619 they're found at BornPrettyStore and sold for $ 2.86 normally, but on the time of writing on sale for $ 1.43.

BornPrettyStore also offers free shipping worldwide, and if you use my code (RAMG10) you get 10% off your order.

Barely China

This post contains an affiliate link.

Sometimes you just have to step out of your comfort zone and do something new. I was feeling the mood today, and wanted to give this Color Club - Barely There a try. I received it in my April - Glossy Box.
I have been subscribing for a while now, and it's great for trying out new makeup items.
I am the kind of person that has no idea in the makeup isle, I tend to stick to things I already know works for me, and I am terrified trying out new stuff. Be it new colours or just a new texture.
I even have a problem with them changing the design on my BB cream. That was not a good day.
So when I get these little boxes, and they come with instructions and all, in to my own home, I feel more at ease. I have had some hits and misses, but I have also found some really great things.

Favorite so far: Coconut/Argan oil for my hair. I have been growing my hair for a while, and I am just getting past my hips now, and when I had it measured it was 80 cm / 31 inches / 2.6 feet.

But ya'all didn't get here to hear about my hair. Let's talk nails.

Color Club - Barely There

This is shown with 3 coats, and was a bit tricky to use, and to be honest it didn't wow me over or anything. I am trying to find a go-to-nude polish, and I can say for sure, this will not be it.
I wanted to give it a proper go, and wear it for a couple of days, so I grabbed my BornPrettyStore water transfers in "Traditional Chinese Painting Beauty Aspara Flat Peach Pattern (# 6076) that I purchased a while (and by a while, I mean last year), ago, and slapped them on.

To Jazz it up a little, I went with my Moyou London - Scholar Plate - 02 and my trusted stamping polish Wet N Wild - Black Creme and a black stud from a nail art wheel from Claire's.

BornPrettyStore - Traditional Chinese Painting Beauty over Color Club - Barely There. Stamping in Wet N Wild - Black Creme from Moyou London - Scholar Plate 02, and a black stud.

The water transfer was really easy to use, and I could slide them on my nails to correct the positioning after I placed them on my nails, which was great.

If you are thinking about purchasing from BornPrettyStore they offer free shipping worldwide, and if you use my code (RAMG10) you get 10% off your order. Clicking on the image below will take you straight to their site.

Until next time girls! Happy polishing!

HPB Presents: Russian Flowers

I received this product of my own choosing, free of charge for my honest, non-bias review from the Born Pretty Store.

I wanted to join in on the Llama Nails Challenge this month which is: FLOWERS, and at the same time participate on the Hobby Polish Bloggers (HPB) Link-Up this month which is also Flowers. May Flowers. So Two Challenges in one go!
I have been terrible at keeping up with Challenges here and there, but every now and then I like to pick them up and join in.

For this manicure I used four coats of MISA - Russian Sage. I never quiet agreed with this polish. I thought it would be more opaque when I bought it, and I don't really care for VNL, so I wanted to find a way so that I would like to wear this polish. What better than to pull out a sponge and make a gradient(!).

I sponged the tips using Yes Love - 27 - Shiny Glitter. A polish I got while I lived in Spain. It is actually a brand from Portugal, but it was widely available in the shops around Madrid. I never came across this brand on my many trips to Alicante, so it might not be available all around Spain. Just so that is said.

Misa - Russian Sage gradient with Yes Love - 27 - Shiny Glitter. With BornPrettyStore flowers.

I wanted to add some flowers to this, and I received some lovely water decals from BornPrettyStore that I wanted to use for this Challenge.  Purple Floral Butterfly Pattern Sticker T112.

The instructions are pretty simple, take protective film of, soak in water, add decal to nail, remove backing paper, top coat to protect your design. Easy.

The decals comes with a protective film you have to remove. That was not a problem as it was not attached in any way to the paper with the actual decals on them. When I pulled the decals out of the pocket/pack the protective film stayed behind. This did not effect the design in any way.

Like with all water decals, you cut out the pattern you want, drop it in some water and let is sit for a little bit. I was expecting it to be kinda like water tattoos where you put the image on to the surface you want to it go, and then slide the backing paper off.

Notice how my manicure is sporting some white flowers with a purple outline, and some full on purple flowers?

If you used the T112 decals like I described above: that you place them onto your nail (backing paper up, image down), after it was done soaking in water, you would get the white flowers with the purple outline, but you could slide the decal of the backing paper before adding them to your nail.
I found it to be easiest by placing my thumb on the image and slide my index finger down over the backing paper, as the backing paper would follow the index finger and reveal the decal, you could choose which way you wanted them. Purple flowers, or white flowers with purple outline. Since they are different on each side.

On the BornPrettyStore shop you see them as purple flowers, little do you know, that they can actually be both. In my book, that my friends, that is a huge bonus.

T112 from BornPrettyStore.

By having them like this, you can create unique look by mixing and matching the decals on your nails. I really like this feature, and I love the finished result. As you can see from the picture above I was able to overlap two of the designs to make it look continuous, with the vines that goes off the flowers meeting together in a loop at the bottom of my nail.

If you want to get hold of the T112 - Purple Floral Butterfly Pattern it is sold for 2.86 $ but at the time of writing this post, on sale for 2.15 $ .BornPrettyStore offers free shipping worldwide, and if you use my code (RAMG10) you get 10% off your order.

Happy Polishing!

An InLinkz Link-up


I received this product of my own choosing, free of charge for my honest, non-bias review from the Born Pretty Store.