Ikat Style Single Chevrons

Hello Lovelies!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far!  I know I am, the weather has been better than forecasted, I got to bring my daughter to the circus yesterday, and I got this week's Freehand Challenge nail art done.  This week's Freehand Challenge prompt was Ikat.  For those of you that are unfamiliar with Ikat, it is a type of fabric printing that I believe is Indonesian.  It is often represented as a triangular or diamond shape pattern but can be many other patterns too.  I have done an Ikat nail art design once before so I wanted to try something a little different.  This time I went with an Ikat style single chevron print that was actually inspired by a cake I saw on Instagram created by @malihacreations, a custom cakery in Charlottesville, VA.  I inserted a picture of the cake into the picture with my nails below.

Materials I used in this design:
Base coat - INM Ridge Free
Base color - Lacquered Polish 'Irish Crème'
Stripe colors - Color Club 'Antiquated' (gold), China Glaze 'Petal to the Metal' (Pink), and 'Capacity to See Beyond' (blue)
Small detail brush
Small dotting tool
Top coat - Rica 'Glossy Glam'

For my base color I used a neutral shade of polish that actually has some gold shimmer to it, that is difficult to see in the pictures, but I promise it's there.  This was a polish created by Lacquered Polish as part of a collaboration set I purchased back in March.

I created the Ikat chevrons by placing three small dots in the shape of a V as guides for my stripes.  Then using a small detail brush, I created my first stripe (about two striping tapes width wide), using a hashing motion.  Essentially moving the brush up and down while creating the V-shaped stripe.  I created a second stripe with a secondary color about the same width using the same motion.  I then outlined both stripes with my third color.  Trying to make the outline stripes as thin as possible, I used a stippling or dotting technique with the same detail brushed used for the previous stripes.

As almost always, I performed a bit of clean up with acetone and a brush and then topped it all off with a glossy top coat.

As you can see I changed up the accent colors and the order of the color stripes a little bit.  I did keep the gold somewhere in the middle only because it just seemed right that way.  I did intend to flip the V's (points up near the cuticle) but I forgot I wanted to do this once I got started, *forehead slap*.

I really love how the bright pink and blue compliment the neutral background color.  The addition of the metallic gold also gives it a little pop, which is nice too.

I enjoy creating Ikat style nail art because you really can't do it wrong.  Ikat prints are a little messy, a bit uneven, and irregular.  That makes it a great design for beginners or someone with an unsteady hand.  I highly recommend you give this pattern a try if you haven't already.

I hope you enjoyed this nail art design and found the tutorial useful.  By the way, if you ever have any questions on this post or any other post please feel free to ask in the comments down below.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



Mundo de Unas Stamping Polishes Swatches and Review

Hello Lovelies!  As many of you know I have been on a quest to improve my stamping game.  Earlier this week I tried my new XL squishy stamper from Fab Ur Nails, which easily solved half of my stamping problems.  The other half of my problems was having adequate polishes to stamp with.  After asking around a bit, I decided to go with Mundo de Unas because they have good reviews and from what I've seen, their polishes produce vibrant colored stamped images.

Please bare with me because I have never done a swatch review of stamping polishes.  You'll notice that I swatched these on swatch sticks that I painted half black and half white.  I used Konad plate m63, houndstooth pattern to stamp all these polishes.  Also, I photographed these under daylight lamps. I did break this review into three categories: metallic, neons, and pastels.

Metallics

When I placed my purchase I knew I had to purchase these two, because gold and silver are staple colors for stamping.  I was very impressed with who well these transfer and they are incredibly opaque showing up very clearly over both black and white.

Neons

I had to try out as many of the neons that I could, because neons are just so eye-catching and they are really great for the summer season.  So I got, 'Neon Pink,' 'Neon Orange,' 'Neon Yellow,' 'Neon Green,' & 'Neon Blue.'  All transferred very easily but like most neons they are brighter and visible over the white.  As you can see though most of the colors have some presence over the black too.

Pastels

I only order a few pastels, 'Pastel Pink,' 'Pastel Blue,' & 'Aqua,' because I didn't have much hope that these would be that great.  However, they surprised me more than any of the other colors.  It is rare to find a really opaque pastel, but these pastel stamping polishes are phenomenal.  They transferred so well and are so opaque that they are easily visible over both black and white.  Wow!

Final Thoughts

These stamping polishes are absolutely unbelievable.  The only downside is that they do have a very strong smell, and the shipping did take several weeks.  However, these stamping polishes were entirely worth the wait and the smell is something you can overlook because the colors are so awesome.  The hardest part of making this purchase was they there was so many colors to choose from that it took me a while to narrow down which ones I was going to get.  I purchased mini bottles to get myself started but I have a feeling that I will be placing another order for full size bottles soon.  Their prices are very reasonable too, full size bottles are $3.50 and minis are $1.65.  A small amount of this polish goes a very long way, so I know these will last me a while.

I decided to do a quick practice double stamping manicure.  I used China Glaze 'Release' and with my new Fab Ur Nails stamper, stamped an image from Pueen plate 07, in 'Neon Green,' & 'Neon Blue.'

This is not a color combo I would usually pick, but I am so excited about how well the images showed up and how bright the stamping polish is.  I have a feeling you are going to be seeing many more stamped nail art designs from me in the future.  Having the right stamping supplies makes me feel like I have mastered this technique, even though I have had little practice.

I hope you enjoyed these swatches, quick mani, and found the review useful.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,



Gothic Gala Lacquers Science is Beautiful Swatches and Review

Hello Lovelies!  The sun was shining yesterday so I took the opportunity to swatch the gorgeously glitteriffic polishes from Gothic Gala Lacquers.  I discovered Gothic Gala when I purchased the Indie Mani Bunny Box a couple of months ago, and recently she had a promotion I couldn't refuse.  I had been drooling over these lovelies, and know they are mine.

First and foremost, how awesome are these bottles?!  I love the square shape, the long handles, and the minimalist style labels.  There incredibly sleek, I want to just keep them out on display because they are so interesting.

This collection is a micro glitter collection full of holo sparkles that I just had to photograph outside.  All of the hand shots are photographed outdoors, but the macros are all done under daylight lamps.  I swatched all of these with two brushed on applications (not sponged) with a glossy top coat.

Science is Real

This is an incredible burgundy fuchsia micro glitter full of bright blue holo glitters.  This is really eye-catching an elegant.  The rich color is very warm an inviting while the holo glitter is bright and exciting.

Sounds of Science



This is a gorgeous emerald green which has two shades of green.  There are also bright blue holo glitters in this as well.  This reminds me of a mermaid, and may end up in a mermaid scale nail art design in the future.

Blinded Me With Science

This is probably the hardest of the collection to describe.  It appears to be mostly silver which makes it light and bright, but there is also a dark element to it too.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed there is purple and blue along with the silver, which makes it look just like a rainbow.  This is a truly unique glitter polish.  I'm currently wearing this on my toes and I have been getting many compliments about this.  Even my husband, who has zero interest in polish compliment on how interesting this is.

Theory of Everything

This of course, is my absolute favorite mostly because it is blue but this is just so gorgeous!  Icy blue micro glitter with silver holo.  My two year old daughter, loves this one too!  She was calling it Princess Elsa polish.

Weird Science



This is another drool worthy glitter.  This gorgeous gold has wonderful warm copper tones.  The copper almost appears to be a pale primrose color.  I am always on the look out for a good gold polish, and I think my search is finally over because this is just too pretty.  I decided after swatching this that I had to wear it for a while, so I've had this on my fingers for a bit now.  It has been very distracting.

Final Thoughts

This collection is so incredibly gorgeous, with beautiful holo rainbow glitters.  Each color is vibrant and bright making them absolutely irresistible.  Initially I had a bit of a problem with the polishes being thick and a bit sticky during application, but after a good shake to mix up the suspension base and the glitters the application was much smoother.  In addition, to the beautiful polishes, the shipping was phenomenally quick too.  All in all, I was very pleased with this purchase.

There is news that the collaborators of the Indie Mani Bunny Box will be doing a Christmas in July Box and Gothic Gala Lacquers will be one of the contributors again.  So, you know I'm going to have to get my hands on one of these new collaboration boxes.  I hope you enjoyed these lovely swatches and found the review useful.  Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

Your Fellow Plebe,