Okay - here we are with the first nail art post of the year. It's a simple one, but nonetheless pretty I think.
And, I have found my new favorite black stamping polish!! That, in and of itself, makes this an exciting post.
My new year started out a bit rough in the nail department. Earlier this week, I suffered a nasty & painful nail break on my Cinderella hand. (Just a dumb & clumsy move on my part.) Although I don't often show her on the blog, I still try to keep those nails in good shape as a back-up plan.
And now...we're having a brutal cold snap. Frigid temps means dry indoor air -- not good for nails!! The pressure is on to prevent a nail catastrophe on my "good" hand. I filed the length down a bit and I'm frequently pouring (yes, pouring) cuticle oil on my finger tips. Actually, as I type this I'm getting the keys on my keyboard a bit greasy; but if it saves my nails I'm OK with that. LOL
Design Details
So, these nails...for me they represent a trio of distinction.First, the polish base is quite unique. It is called Plum Luck by Serum No5. You'll see I enjoyed capturing the varying looks under different lighting and camera settings (even outside in the cold!). This beauty is from their FW16 collection; one of six along with Let's Avocuddle that I showed in this post. Sadly, I don't have any glow shots to share in this post...my body required that I call it quits earlier than I planned, or wanted, to on that day. But, there's always next time, right?!
Second, the stamping image adds just the right amount of interest without covering up too much of that beautiful polish. You can never have too many of this type of stamp designs in your arsenal, especially from well made plates like all of them are from Fab Ur Nails; today's design is from plate FUN 20.
Also, I get a kick out of designs like this one that can be viewed as two different patterns. You know, the duck-bunny thing. (So technical today, huh?) Even though it is a floral motif, one of the patterns resembles a four leaf clover -- thought it was a fitting addition considering the name of the polish.
And, third is the perfect black stamping polish, namely As Black As Night by Hit the Bottle (purchased from US stockist, Beautometry.com).
This is the polish equivalent to the perfect black dress. Versatile, flattering, and reliable. It worked extremely well for me. Remember that dry indoor air I mentioned earlier? It can be very problematic for stamping. Yet, even though I'm slow as a turtle in lining up my stamper (including clear ones, pfft!), this polish didn't dry out on the stamper like many others do.
It's also very opaque and only stuck to the nail - the extra bits just peeled right off my skin. A big-time bonus for black! And if that's not enough, it didn't smudge when applying top coat!!! How awesome is that!
If I were to win a lottery, I would buy a bottle of this stamping polish and send it to all nail stamping enthusiasts around the world! I'd keep a case of two for me, obviously. *Grinning*
These nails were happily made as part of a surprise Birthday Nail-Gram hosted on Instagram by Iva @secretjewelgarden for Stefi @therapywithnailpolish who is a dark holo polish lover. It was such a hardship to participate!! Hee, hee.
Kimett Kolor in 2017
I'd like to blurt out a few thoughts I have regarding this next year in terms of my nail art and blogging. If you're not interested, you can just scroll down to the next picture...no hard feelings. I am mostly including it for my reference.- My over arching goal for this year is to Do It For Me. It is very easy to fall prey to the pressures of blogging and it's so-called success measures. Even though I want my blog to be popular (in the right way), I don't want to obsess over it. Instead, I'm going to just concentrate on the fun and therapeutic joys of doing nail art. (It's easier said than done, hence I'm writing it down!)
- If you read my previous year-in-review post, you know I have just a few polishes in my collection that haven't been seen on the blog yet. I plan to continue tracking these details. I thought I would update you of my progress in my periodic Swatching Spotlight posts throughout the year.
- And, if things are going well, I'd like to extend the idea to my stamp plates as well....
- During last year's giveaway fun, several requests for nail art designs were submitted. I love every one of them!! Hence, I will be drawing from this list for nail art designs until the next Blogiversary this Fall, and it can start all over again. ;)
- Keeping in mind my physical limitations, I hope to continue my pace this year -- and am going to be so bold as to set another soft goal of 60 posts this year.
- I think many New Year resolutions include repairing troubled relationships -- I plan to work on improving my relationship with tweezers. I'm keeping smooshes, watermarbles, and other messy techniques in my to-do list, so we're going to have to become friends. LOL
- Lastly, I feel like I have not yet developed my own recognizable style of nail art. This just might be the year. We'll see.
Of course, I have lots of other ideas floating around inside my goofy head...but if I can accomplish the lion-share of the above list this year, I'll be a very, very happy Kimett.
Don't be shy -- tell me something in the comments below! Did you like these nails? What's the weather like where you are are? Do you have a list for the New Year? Tell me, tell me....
Till Next Time,
Kimett