My Christmas Nails

Hey everyone!
Finally, I managed to come here and post what I wore on my nails during Christmas. I said I wanted something simple and easy to do, and even though this doesn't look very simple, I can guarantee it was really easy and quick!
I started with 2 coats of Nubar Vino and 2 coats of Marylins #19 on my accent nail. After it dried completely, I stamped in gold some poinsettia flowers on my index with the DRK-B plate, did a very fast gradient on my middle and thumb nails (tutorial here),  a christmas tree on my ring nail (tutorial here), and added some stripes to my pinky using striping tape to get my lines to look as perfect as possible. 

Olá minha gente!
Finalmente consegui vir cá para vos mostrar as minhas unhas deste natal. Já vos tinha dito que queria fazer algo simples e rápido, e apesar da manicure parecer algo complexa, posso assegurar-vos que foi muito fácil e rápido de se fazer!
Comecei com 2 camadas de Nubar Vino e 2 camadas do Marylins #19 no meu anelar. Depois de tudo bem sequinho, carimbei no indicador, a dourado, umas poinsétias da placa DRK-B, nos dedos médio e polegar fiz um gradiente rápido (tutorial aqui), no anelar desenhei uma árvore de natal (tutorial aqui), e no mindinho fiz umas risquinhas com ajuda de fitinhas de nail art, de forma a que as minhas linhas ficassem o mais perfeitas possivel.

Marylins #19
Nubar Verde
Nubar Vino

I didn't get any nail polishes for christmas, all I got was the camera that I've been using since november, a new cell phone and some pyjamas. Can't really complain, those were all great gifts, but I would have loved if someone had remembered what I love to get the most... What about you guys? Did you get any nail polish under your christmas tree?

Não recebi nem um vernizinho este natal, só recebi a máquina fotográfica que tenho usado desde novembro, um telemóvel novo e um pijama. Não me posso queixar, foram óptimos presentes, mas gostava que alguém se tivesse lembrado do que mais gosto de receber... E vocês? Tiveram algum verniz debaixo da vossa árvore de natal? 

Autumn Tribal Mix & Match

Finally, here I am to show you a bit more of the tribal nails I used for my header!
I've been wanting to do these for so long now, but I knew it would take me quite a bit of time to get these done, and like I said before...I'm really lazy sometimes! xD Anyway, I was bored and watching Doctor Who the other night (just started watching it), when I decided it was time to try it. I had no idea of what I wanted to do, or how, all I knew was that I wanted to use these exact colours, so I just picked them up, and went with the flow...

Finalmente, cá estou eu para vos mostrar mais um pouco das unhas tribais que coloquei no cabeçalho do blog! Era algo que queria fazer já há algum tempo, mas sabia que era coisa para demorar, e como já disse antes...às vezes sou mesmo preguiçosa! xD De qualquer maneira, no outro dia à noite, estava eu aborrecida e a ver Doctor Who (estou mesmo a começar a ver), quando decidi que era este o momento para experimentar. Não fazia a mínima ideia do que queria fazer, nem como, só sabia que queria usar estas cores, então peguei nelas e deixei-me levar pela imaginação.

Kiko 346 - Kinectic Dawn Tea - Marylins 109 - Kiss Black Striper

I started by doing the tribal pattern on my ring and index finger, I felt like I should stop there and do something different on my other fingers, or I'd risk thinking it was too much and not liking it in the end...I added some random dots on my pinky (not too happy with those, they could look better) and a gradient on my middle finger and thumb. I didn't follow any tutorial for the tribal, but Lucy, from Lucy's Stash, has a great one for this kind of gradient here.

Comecei por fazer o padrão tribal no meu anelar e indicador e achei por bem parar por ai e fazer algo diferente nos restantes dedos, ou correria o risco de achar que tinha sido demais e não gostar no final...Adicionei umas bolinhas  à sorte no mindinho (não estou muito satisfeita com estas, acho que poderiam estar melhores) e um gradiente no médio e polegar. Não segui nenhum tutorial para o tribal, mas a Lucy, do blog Lucy's Stash, tem um óptimo tutorial para este tipo de gradiente aqui. 

It's not perfect, I can see some flaws, but all this was done with a simple striping brush and a dotting tool, and I'm not too great with either of those...Also, my top coat (I used Better Than Gel Nails by Essence here) decided that my mani was missing some bubbles here and there, not good... -.-'

Não está perfeito, consigo ver umas falhinhas mas isto foi tudo feito com um pequeno pincel de nail art (daqueles de fazer riscas, por incrivel que pareça, não sei o nome em português) e um boleador, e eu não sou muito boa com nenhum destes instrumentos. No final, o meu top coat (usei o BTGN) decidiu que faltava, na minha manicure, umas bolhinhas aqui e ali... -.-'

Here's a bonus photo of my right hand, I only did the gradient there, as that was simple enough for me to do with my left hand. By the way, this and the header image (photo of the left hand, but mirrored) where taken in a Blanco fitting room, with a gorgeous top I found there! And no, I didn't buy it...

Aqui têm uma foto de bonús da minha mão direita. Só fiz o gradiente nesta, já que era simples o suficiente para ser feito com a mão esquerda. Já agora, esta e a foto do cabeçalho (que é da mão esquerda, mas está espelhada) foram tiradas num provador da Blanco, com um top lindo que encontrei por lá! E não, não o comprei... 

Who knew...

...that Barielle Elle's Spell could be layered over black? I surely didn't and I would have never thought of it if it wasn't for a post at PAA! Skye (hi, Skye!! xD), brought this to everyone's attention and I just had to try it!

I used 2 coats of my favourite black (Andreia 19, just because it's so easy to clean up), and dabbed Elle's Spell on my tips, with the exception of my ring finger that shows 2 coats of it over the black. Once again, I finished it all with Kiko's matte top coat. I just love me some matte flakies! :P

31 Days Challenge #17 - Glitter

Before I resume the challenge, I need to apologize to my readers and the girls I was doing this with, as I disappeared without saying a word. You see, I was trying to do my best not to fall behind, to always have a post up every day, but I just couldn't do it...

When I signed up for this, I thought I would have a nice, peaceful summer at my parents house, with lots of time to do my nails, post and, occasionally, have some fun with my friends. Boy...was I wrong! There was always stuff to do here at the house, my mom loves having her dinner parties and needs my help with getting everything ready and on time, friends always want to go out and do stuff and when I'm home with some time, there's always someone asking, "Raquel, can you do my nails?"...Other than that, I still had to find time to do other things I like (reading, playing, chating with my friend Leticia, who suffered with all this too, since I had so little computer time), and still spend some time with my boyfriend. It was all too much for me, something had to give, and that was my own nails and blog. I had every mani ready, up until day 24, but couldn't bring myself to just post it, and after that, I completely quit! Also, my nails got so weak from all the painting and removing that they started to break...So, I filled my nails down, as short as I could, and went nail polish free until yesterday.

I will be posting the challenge again, 1 mani a day, and hopefully, when I'm done with the photos I have ready, my nails will be back in good shape and lenght. Now, let's move on with the subject.

For day 17, I went with a sloppy glitter gradient, this mani suffered from my lack of time. xD Apart from the sloppy gradient, I did an awful clean up job, sorry about that.

The polishes used are China Glaze Make Some Noise and Essence Make It Golden.

PS - I haven't been saying much about the nail polishes I have been using, as these challenge post aren't meant to be reviews, but if I have some trouble with the formula or application I will say so in the post, if not, assume it all went well. xD

31 Days Challege #10 - Gradient

Hah, another easy one! I've told myself lots of times, that for my next gradient I would have to try and replicate the most beautiful gradient I've ever seen! This one...

I tried...it doesn't look exactly the same, I used different polishes, but it does look alike (to my eyes at least xD)!

I started this with 2 coats of O.P.I Fly, placed some striping tape on all of my nails, and then did the gradient using Fly and Essence Grumpy, from the Snow White LE. After that, I applied 1 coat of Hits Valsa and this is the final result:

None of my photos show how awesome this looks in real life and I'm really sad that I need to take this off tonight...but what can I do? The challenge must go on!

Tomorrow we have polka dots and I still have no idea of what to do... :S

Holographic gradient

HAH! 2 posts on the same day, bet you weren't expecting that! xD I just couldn't wait to show this gradient I did yesterday.

I broke a nail, on my left pointing finger, really short and I'm not used to having nails this short, so I had no idea of what to do with them...I painted them a light pink at first, but hated the washed out look and took it all off, then I think I spent quite an awful time trying to choose some colours that would look good together, I knew I wanted to do another gradient, but this time I wanted to do it with 2 completely different colours.

I started with 2 coats of Andreia #45 and sponged it with Up Colors Verde 360º, following this tutorial for a smooth transition both of them. Since Andreia #45 isn't holographic, I layered a coat of Hefesto over my gradient.

I really love how this turned out, so sweet and cute and probably one of my favourite manicures I have ever done. What do you all think? Better than my last one, no? xD

How to ruin a perfectly good gradient

With all the beautiful gradient manicures showing up everywhere lately, I wanted to try it again, using at least 3 different colors, this time. I went with purples.

 From left to right:

• Essence Twins Julia
• Claire's (no name...I hate how Claire's nail polishes have no name or number here)
• Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure #409 Good to Grape
• Kiko #334

This was my second attempt at a gradient manicure and I was quite pleased with it, I didn't have any rough visible lines between each colour and I thought it looked pretty cool! That is, until I put glitter on top of it, then I hated it...Another manicure that didn't last long...

Girly Pink Gradient!

I am not the kind of girl that wears pink, it's not that I don't like it, I just don't care for it, it's one of those colours that have no interest to me. Despite that, last monday I found myself staring at this matte pink I had since Christmas, but had never felt like using it, so I thought "why not?" and gave it a go. It turned out to be really cute, and pretty good for nail polish bought at the chinese store! Spanish brand though :P

So I started off with this:

but after a bit looking at my fingers  I felt like it needed something more, so I decided it was time to try a gradient with 2 colours for the first time (my first one only involved glitter, nothing else), and came to the conclusion that my new Orly would be a perfect match for it. And so the sponging began!
It was easier than what I thought it would be and the colours blended so well together. I finished it using my Gosh matte top coat, but in the pictures you can still see the reflection of the light, even though it didn't shine at all.

Here's the final result:

I was really proud of it, I think I did good for a first time, don't you agree? :P

Here's some pictures of the polishes I used to get this, Yesensy #36 Matte and Orly Rock It:

Unfortunately, it didn't last for long...not because it chipped or the tipwear was unbeareble, nope...I just got tired of the pink and by thursday night I couldn't stand to look at it anymore. I'm really not a pink girl...