It's time for another Monkey See Monkey Do Monday!! But before I get onto the art work I want to introduce you to one of my most favorite polishes!  It's Catrice In The Bronx.  In the Bronx is a bronze-y, coppery, shimmery delicious polish which is an absolute dream to work with.  It's a metallic, which is great but it's not flat like some other metallics I have (Barry M Foils, I'm looking at you).  Instead it's laced with endless amounts of shimmer and it's just gorgeous in the sun AND in the shade.  This is two coats of it and you'll notice that there's no streaks, no balding and a wonderful shiny finish.  It's just amazing and it ranks in my top ten polishes in my collection.  Yeah. I love it THAT. much.  So what better a choice for my Monday mani?  For this Monday I wanted to do something subtle (I know, never!) and I wanted to try out a new technique I've seen floating around the blogger world.  Cling wrap manis...you heard that right.  Cling wrap.  This is actually REALLY easy and it looks great but it's a bit tricky the first go round.  Here's my mani:

I used Catrice In the Bronx for my base and then I topped it with Seche Vite (cause I'm super impatient!) and let it dry for roughly 30 minutes (just to be sure!).  Then I added a single coat of Orly Green With Envy.  Then I used a wadded up plasic bag (I didn't have any cling wrap) to press lightly into the polish, thus lifting off parts of the green.  I did one nail at a time and wiped the plastic in between with a paper towel so I could reuse it.  I also only pressed once per nail although I've seen people use smaller pieces to press numerous times.  The only advice I really have is to press gently and to realize that the polish will spread as it dries so even though gaps look pretty big when you initially press, they'll close up some.  My pinkie was the first nail I did and I used a lighter touch with the others but you can see the difference in effect.  It's something I'd definitely like to do more with in the future!!!  Here's the original inspiration:

I had the pleasure of choosing the subject for this week's Purple Crumpet Fairy Challenge and I chose: 

It didn't take me any time at all to figure out what I would wear this week.  

I picked up this color a few months back at an Ulta for around $2.  At the time I was stoked about finding it because I had every other polish from the Vintage Vixen collection and I thought the nude color looked gorgeous in the bottle.  Well...guess what? It looks hideous on my nails.  If you need reminding how bad it looked, you can check out my original post here.  Almost three hundred polishes later and it's still my least favorite. Why do I keep it you ask? Well, I guess I just can't bear to break up the collection!  I recently picked up some Essence Rock You top coat from a friend in Spain and I was excited by the prospect that it might make this polish more wearable for me.  The results?

I actually like it.  It's still not my favorite color and I could use some practice working with the Rock You topcoat because you can see some visible streaks.  But otherwise, I think it made the polish a much nicer color!  It remains to be seen if I'll wear it again!! But I'm excited to see what other results I can get from the smoky finish topcoat!! I put some Catrice In The Bronx on the tips for a little added twist! :)

What's your least favorite color of polish in your collection?

Has anyone else seen the play, Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey?  I had a chance to read it recently, and it ran at the Abbey Theatre from September 21 up until yesterday evening.  It's not a happy play by any stretch as it's about the impact of the Irish Civil war, but it's informative and definitely worth seeing or reading if you're able.  Having read the play (and after seeing a lot of peacock nail art!) I thought why not do some peacock nails myself?  Of course I didn't do such a literal interpretation of them!! But I think you can see the influence. :)  Have you ever done nail art after being inspired by a book or play?

Enjoy and thanks for following!

Base is: Catrice I SeaYou

Circles are: Orly Luxe

Dots are: Models Own Prussian Blue

About a month ago I did my first BIG international swap. And by big, I mean more than two or three polishes. This particular trade was for 6 I believe and these two were among them.  I'm really excited about this swap because it earned me my very first GOSH polish.  :)  Metallic Green.  I follow a lot of blogs and there is one girl in particular, Sam, who always posts the most AMAZING stamped nails.  Stamping is an art let me tell you and while you can create really awesome things with minimal effort if you're good at it, it can also be a real pain.  She uses GOSH metallics frequently for stamping so when I got a chance to snag one I wasn't passing it up.  This is over Catrice Dirty Berry, a gorgeous dusty purple with tiny holographic shimmer that lights up in the sun.  It didn't pick up on film well but it's sort of a purple versin of butterLONDON All Hail The Queen which is one of my favorites! 

Enjoy and thanks for following! :)

Catrice: Dirty Berry

GOSH: Metallic Green

This Monday's challenge in my Facebook group was pink for Breast Cancer Awareness.  This month being Breast Cancer Awareness month, I thought it would be a good one to participate in.  Don't forget this month (and every month) to get regularly screened by your doctor and to remind the men and women in your life to do so as well.  You can find information on how to do a self check, what to do if you find something, and even how to get support if someone you know is suffering at The National Breast Cancer Awareness website. This is a serious disease that I've personally lost someone to.  If found and treated early, the chance for survival is very good. The check is very easy, doesn't take much time, and can really save your life. If you have a minute, visit the website to see what you can do to help promote awareness in your area.  If you even tell one person you love you can make a difference.  Don't forget there are also TONS of cool products this month that are going Pink for the Cure so just by doing some regular shopping you can contribute to the cause! I hope you enjoy the nails and thanks again for following.  :)

Base: Catrice Miss Piggy Reloaded

Glitter coat: Deborah Lippmann Bring on the Bling

Bow: Konad White

Bow center: Barry M Shocking Pink

My most recent...and tiny...polish haul.  Most of these were a result of the buy one get one free butterLONDON sale at Ulta today and then some are also the product of a swap I did recently. :)  The top row left to right is Catrice Dirty Berry and Hip Queens Wear Blue Jeans, GOSH Metallic Green, Catrice Sold Out Forever and Hard Candy Black.  Bottom row left to right is Catrice Absolutely Chinchilly, butterLONDON Cheeky Chops and Chuffed, Nicole by OPI Justin Beiber mini set, butterLONDON Teddy Girl, Toff, and Queen Vic.  And just for fun...I'm showing off my entire butterLONDON collection today becuase I LOVE LOVE LOVE butterLONDON!!

Rainbow-y, no?  Starting at the top and working left to right I have: Cheeky Chops, Jaffa, Chuffed, Saucy Jack, Primrose Hill Picnic, Queen Vic, Toff, (second row) Blagger, Henley Regatta, Teddy Girl, Rosie Lee, Scoundrel, No More Waity Katie, Muggins, (third row) Lady Muck, Victoriana, Bluey, Dosh, British Racing Green, Wallis, West End Wonderland, (bottom row) The Old Bill, All Hail the Queen, and Tea With The Queen!  

Thanks for following! (you can read more about my love of butterLONDON here!)