Coffee Swirl Watermarble with OPI & Zoya

Hi everyone! Today I have a fun mani to share with you! You might know (particularly if you follow me on Instagram) that I LOVE coffee! So much so that today's mani is inspired by it! 

Coffee-inspired Swirl Watermarble with OPI & Zoya

I really wanted to do a swirl watermarble and thought it would be a bit like latte art if I did it in colours like this! So that's what I did! I started out with a coat of OPI Alpine Snow as my base, which is a must to make the thin marbled layers of polish really pop. 

Coffee-inspired Swirl Watermarble with OPI & Zoya

I then used Alpine Snow, OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh? and Zoya Desiree to marble, making a swirl design on the water rather than the typical 'flower' type marble. Each of these colours spread out really well on the water and worked really well! I then finished off with a coat of topcoat as always. 

Coffee-inspired Swirl Watermarble with OPI & Zoya

I'm really happy with how this turned out! The polishes were great to work with for this and I love the colour combination. What do you think of it? 

Where to Buy:
Zoya
OPI - Various retailers 

Zoya on Social Media:  
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OPI on Social Media:
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Twitter  

Essie Butler Please & Good as Gold Seashell Stamping

Hi everyone! Today I have a simple mani to share with you that I wore on holiday recently, specifically with a visit to the aquarium in mind. It is not quite fish, but close enough and it was great for our trip. 

I started out my mani with 2 coats of Essie Butler Please. I really love this blue and never get tired of it. I feel like it is super flattering and I always feel good wearing it. The formula is good as well. 

Essie Butler Please & Good as Gold Moyou Seashell Stamping

This blue did freak out my camera a little so it does appear a little lighter than in real life. Please do feel free to check out my phone photos on Instagram also which are a little more colour accurate. 

I then used Essie Good as Gold to stamp with the seashell design from the Moyou Sailor 07 plate. The Essie Mirror Metallics are some of my favourites for stamping, they just work so perfectly. 

Essie Butler Please & Good as Gold Moyou Seashell Stamping

I love how the gold really pops against the blue here! What do you think of it? Do you do specific manis for certain occasions? 

Where to Buy:
Essie - Various retailers and Essie website

Essie on Social Media:  
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Instagram  
Twitter
Pinterest

MoYou on Social Media:
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Twitter

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 5 - Glitter Gradient & Sharpies!

Hi everyone! I'm back with my final mani for Digit-al Dozen Gradient+ week today, thankfully only one day late so I hope you don't mind! :) 

I recently snapped up Cirque Sencha from new Speckled and Sparkled collection (this shade is from the Sparkled part). Sencha is described by Cirque as 'A seafoam green sterling foil holographic (made with superfine sterling silver pigment)'. Similar to my beloved Lacquistry Amazeballs in finish, it is super sparkly! I started out with 2 coats of Sencha. The formula thickened a little as I worked but it wasn't problematic and I got perfectly smooth results. 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 5 - Cirque Sencha, XX & Sharpie Art

For the gradient I used Cirque XX, a clear-based multicoloured glitter topper and just used the brush to create the gradient. I added a coat of topcoat at this point to have a smooth base for my sharpie art. For the sharpie 'design', I scribbled in bright pink, aqua and yellow onto a palette and then used a brush dipped in rubbing alcohol to pick up the ink and apply to my nails one colour at a time at random. I then sealed everything with a final coat of topcoat! 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 5 - Cirque Sencha, XX & Sharpie Art

I love how the metallic base peeks through where I didnt put any Sharpie ink and how everything stays super sparkly! These feel kind of like unicorn nails and I'm rocking them as a full mani for a few days for sure! What do you think of them? I hope you've enjoyed my designs for this DD week and that you have checked out some of the gorgeous manis by the other girls! 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 5 - Cirque Sencha, XX & Sharpie Art

Where to Buy:
Cirque and various stockists
I purchased from the Pshiiit Boutique

Cirque on Social Media:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+

 

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The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 4 - Girly Bits Ho-Ho-Hope & Bachelor's Button

Hi everyone! I'm a bit late for Day 4 of Digit-al Dozen so I apologise for that and hope you will enjoy the post anyway! 

Today I have a vertical gradient as a bit of a change from the others I've done so far this week! 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 4 - Girly Bits Bachelor's Button & Ho-Ho-Hope

I started out my mani with 2 thin coats of Girly Bits Bachelor's Button, a gorgeous periwinkle blue holo with a touch of shimmer! I love this colour and it is so pretty for spring and summer. I then used Bachelor's Button along with Ho-Ho-Hope, a magenta linear holo also by Girly Bits, to create the gradient. 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 4 - Girly Bits Bachelor's Button & Ho-Ho-Hope

For my accent nail, I used a fine detail brush and white acrylic paint to freehand a floral stained-glass type design and frame the nail. I used the same technique on my middle finger nail but only covering the base of the nail, as a continuation of my design. I then sealed everything with topcoat as always! 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 4 - Girly Bits Bachelor's Button & Ho-Ho-Hope

I'm really loving this type of accent nail recently after doing this manicure and it is a type of design I can see myself coming back to a lot with variations! What do you think of it? 

Where to Buy:
Girly Bits Cosmetics

Girly Bits on Social Media:
Facebook 
Instagram
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+  

 

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The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 3 - Paint Box Polish Mermaid Nails

Hey everyone! It is Day 3 of Gradient+ week and today I couldn't let this week pass without doing some mermaid nails! It seemed such an obvious choice for the theme and I've been meaning to do one with some of my Paint Box Polish microglitters for ages! 

To create this look, I started out with 2 coats of Polar Bear Club, a gorgeous blue microglitter. This polish was an exclusive colour for the Christmas in July box put together by Ellagee last year so it is unfortunately not available to buy. I then used Polar Bear Club and Fight the Fairies (a custom created for my friend Kim from The Ides of Polish which you might have already seen here) to create my gradient. 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 3 - Paint Box Polish Mermaid Nails

I then used China Glaze Cherish and Moyou Sailor 05 plate for the mermaid scale design. I wanted something quite understated and in 'mermaidy' colours. I think the stamping might have turned out more discreet than I had planned but I kind of like it anyway. I definitely need to get myself some more mermaidy stamping plates or vinyls to have a few more options. This Moyou design is cute but I'd like a finer, more detailed option too (if you have any suggestions for me, please do leave me a comment)! 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 3 - Paint Box Polish Mermaid Nails

I hope you like the design! Be sure to check out the other lovely manis from the DD ladies! 
I'm sorry these polishes are not available to purchase but Pam has made some other colours with a similar finish that you might like if you like these ones!

Where to Buy:
Paint Box Polish Big Cartel Store
(Enter the code THEMANICAFE for 15% off your order!)

Paint Box Polish on Social Media:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

 

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The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ Day 2 - Ozotic 502 & 504 + Dots!

Hi everyone! It's Day 2 of Gradient+ week with The Digit-al Dozen and I have a fun multichrome mani to share with you today! 

I started out with 2 thin coats of Zoya Raven, a great black polish with a hint of shimmer (useless here I know lol) and then did a gradient of Ozotic 502 and 504. 502 is a gorgeous magenta/red to gold shifting polish and 504 is a royal blue/purple shifter that can go towards the red spectrum in certain lights. These polishes are so complex and hard to describe so I hope you will enjoy my photos and be able to get an accurate idea of them for yourself. 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ - Day 2 - Ozotic 502 & 504 + Dots

After the gradient, I used A England Camelot to add dots in two sizes and then sealed everything with a coat of topcoat as always.

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ - Day 2 - Ozotic 502 & 504 + Dots

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ - Day 2 - Ozotic 502 & 504 + Dots

I like the end result and it makes me think of some sort of beetle or funky ladybird! What do you think of it? 

Ozotic polishes are no longer available but certain shades (not the 500 series as far as I'm aware) have been reincarnated by Picture Polish. 

Where to Buy:
Zoya 
A England (UK shipping only)
Various retailers (see list here)

A England on Social Media:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter 

Zoya on Social Media:  
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter 

 

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The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ - Day 1 - Zoya & Mandala

Hi everyone! It is Digit-al Dozen week again! Yay! This month's theme is 'Gradient+' meaning that we will be using gradients as a base with other nail art elements! As usual, I'm really looking forward to seeing what everyone will come up with! 

I'm starting out the week with a couple of gorgeous Zoya polishes with their lovely scattered holographic finish, Payton and Blaze. Payton is a dark purple scattered holo and Blaze is a deep, rich red with the same finish. I started out with a coat of Blaze and then used a triangular cosmetic sponge to gradient using the two colours on each nail. 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ - Day 1 - Zoya Gradient & Moyou Mandala

I then used my clear stamper and my Moyou Mandala 03 plate with Barry M Gold Foil Effect polish. I love the gold against the rich jewel tones! I was a bit disappointed that the design covered up the gradient so much but that was my fault with the choice of image. I still love how these turned out and can't wait to use more designs from this plate. They are so pretty and detailed! 

The Digit-al Dozen does Gradient+ - Day 1 - Zoya Gradient & Moyou Mandala

What do you think of this mani? Don't forget to check out the manis from the other DD ladies today!

Where to Buy: 
Zoya

MoYou 

Barry M - Various retailers
Girly Bits Cosmetics (clear stamper)

MoYou on Social Media:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter 

Zoya on Social Media:

Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Barry M on Social Media:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

 

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