It's the final tri-polish Tuesday of February and after several uninspired weeks I've finally got some nail art I'm actually pleased with! I used the same grey and pink as for the other tri-polish manis this month and added a bit of glitter, which unfortunately doesn't show quite as well on the pictures as it did in person (and even then it was subtle). Huh, who knew subtle glitter was a thing?

I made this a while ago for my niece's birthday - she loves elephants (and balloons!) and enjoyed looking at my nails. I really liked this mani and was sad when I had to take it off again for an appointment where it wouldn't have been appropriate. (It is a sad day when elephants are inappropriate.)

I'm not sure what it is about them that makes them so endearing, but elephants are the best! Don't you agree?
Check out the linky below for more grey, pink and brown! Next month's colours are green, blue and purple. Want to play?

Captain Elephantnails

READ MORE

It's Tuesday, and that means it's time for the Tri-polish challenge. The colours are pink, grey and brown, and this time I used all three plus white and glitter. The colours screamed cupcakes to me, so here's some delicious chocolate cupcakes with white and pink toppings, sprinkles and a cherry on top (glitter from Life is Short and You are Hot).

LynBDesigns Eloquent Dust, Boulevard de Beauté 16, MaxFactor Coffee Brown (22), Essie Marshmallow, LOOK white, Lucky 13 Life is Short and You are Hot and Essence Nail Art More Than Silver (10).

 

This was going to be a post about how I don't actually like cupcakes, because the cream cheese frosting is weird and they're always way too sweet for my taste, but today I met a couple of friends for coffee at a tiny cupcake bakery and I'm willing to admit that I may have judged prematurely. 

I had a tiramisu cupcake, which was a perfectly soft and moist chocolate muffin with a just not too sweet tiramisu cream topping. It was divine. I even bought a chocolate-orange cupcake home as a treat for tomorrow (because you really can't eat more than one of those a day, and that was a bit of a struggle). So I change my opinion (because I'm mature enough to admit when I'm wrong): I don't like most cupcakes, but when they are just right, they are divine.

How do you feel about cupcakes? And have you checked out the other contributions yet? 
Captain Spacenails

READ MORE

Dear readers,
It's been a long time since I last participated in the Crumpet's Nail Tarts tri-polish challenge, and there's been a a rule change, along with the new name "Tri-Polish Tuesdays", so here's a quick reminder of the rules: Each month, there are three colours that you can use in your manis (but you can now use different polishes every week instead of using the same ones all month). All manis must contain at least two of these colours and one must use all three. White, black, silver, gold and glitter are also allowed. Manis are posted on Tuesdays and that's pretty much it!

This month's colours are grey, brown and pink, which makes for some very pretty combinations. I'm joining in for week two with a Valentine's day mani (I don't actually do Valentine's day, but hearts can be pretty cute).

The polishes I'm using this month (because I did this and another mani before learning about the rule change) are LynBDesigns Eloquent Dust, Boulevard de Beauté 16 and MaxFactor Coffee Brown (22).

Peace out,
Captain Spacenails

READ MORE

Hi guys!

Have you missed me? I'm not sure what's going on - is this the post-summer slump already or is it because I said I'd post several times a week, but I haven't really felt like blogging lately. I've been rather busy but I think it's more than that. I had to cut my nails really short and now I'm trying to slowly grow healthy nails and lay off the polish for a while, but even my little nubbins keep breaking. 

I've got enough photos in store to last me a while, but at the moment selecting and editing photos is what seems to annoy me most. I love the nail art bit and I like the writing, it's the in between that seems tedious to me. Which is annoying, because I've got an FFFF post all written up but lacking pictures... Well, we'll see how things go, I hope you'll bear with me while I figure that out.

But enough of that! Here's some nail art I made two weeks ago for the Tri-Polish Challenge so I figured I could at least post in on the last day. The colours for August are green, red and yellow, and the ones I picked reminded me of rasta colours, so here's a tribute to Bob Marley.

The colours I picked were my super cheapo b.pretty yellow and "lime" green and the red Boulevard de Beauté. I sponged them onto the nails, then used LynBDesigns Quoth the Raven for the king of reggae.

I hope you like it - and go check out everyone else's pics in the linky below!

Capt. Lazypants out

READ MORE

Dear readers,

it's the final day of this month's TPC and all I can think of is a cool ocean breeze on my face. I'm not going sailing this summer, alas, but I will go to the sea shore (this is a big deal when you live in a landlocked country) and I cannot wait!

For this mani I used the light blue p2 up in the air, the darker Catrice it's all I can blue, and my usual black and white.

Easy breezy summer thoughts,

the nail newbie

See the other contributions here:

READ MORE

Dear readers,

It's TPC day so double post day again and I've finally got a picture of the three polishes I'm using this month.

When I heard the colours for July were green and two blues, I started thinking about water and oceans, so my last two manis have an ocean theme. Today we've got silver fish weaving through the seaweed on the ocean floor - wish I were there, it's hot today...

For this mani I used p2 up in the air (the lighter blue), b.pretty lime green and boulevard de beauté 12 for the silver fish. And of course a matte top coat :)

catrice 875 it's all i can blue, p2 up in the air, b.pretty lime

See everyone else's manis in the linky below!

Thinking cool, refreshing thoughts

the nail newbie

READ MORE

 

Wait, what? A second nail art post in one day? That's crazy!

Yup, crazy it is, but here I am, with the first Tri-Polish Challenge mani of the month. You didn't think I'd forgotten that, did you?

I prepared this in advance but apparently I forgot to take a picture of the polishes so I'll post that in one of the next ones. The colours for July are green, blue and another blue, and I chose p2 up in the air, a Catrice polish I picked up at the beauty blogger flea market and the awfully misnamed b.pretty lime green that I've used before. With my personal challenge to use only new and/or indie polishes for the OMD challenge, it was quite refreshing to pick some older colours (though technically the Catrice counts as newish and I haven't used it yet). The colours are a bit off in most of the pictures because it was getting dark and a few are with flash, but if you are wondering, the blues are both on the light side, but the Catrice is definitely darker, a slightly dusky blue.

matte top coat

shiny top coat

My first mani is inspired by Mina's guest post at Lackaffen. I had less colours to use than she, so I changed the colour scheme around a bit, and I quite like the result, though it's not quite as neat and tidy as I'd like it to be.

Have a look at the other TPC girls' manis by clicking on the linky below!

The stripey nail newbie

in progress

 

READ MORE

Today is day four of the June tri-polish challenge. June is LGBTQ Pride month, and as this month’s colours – red, pink and purple – are present in some of the many symbols that represent parts of our very diverse community, I’ve made a very special and very personal mani. There is not enough space for all symbols, but I do mean them all, just like I mean all the other letters you can add to LGBTQ and the people they represent.

44 years ago tomorrow, following a police raid at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York City, gay men, lesbians and transgender persons began a protest that was to become one of the key events of gay liberation in the US. It is commemorated with Pride parades every June across the world. In places like Vienna and Berlin, they are colourful celebrations with wide support from the authorities and many non-LGBTQ participants joining in. In places like Budapest, Moscow and Kampala they are acts of defiance where the participants risk being attacked or arrested. In yet other places, it is too dangerous to hold Pride parades because you could be murdered just for being who you are.

This is for all those people who live in fear of imprisonment or death because of who they love. It is for those who have to hide who they are, sometimes even from themselves, out of fear of persecution or social disgrace. It is for those who live in countries where being gay is not illegal but may still cost you your job or home. 

This is for those who, in many of our so-called civilised Western countries, are denied the same rights as the rest of the population – the right to live with who they love and be recognised as next of kin in hospital, to marry if they wish, to adopt or to have a child together without the fear that if something happens to the biological parent, the other parent will not have the right to raise the child. 

This is for those who were born in the wrong body and have to go through complicated procedures – legal and medical - to get it rectified. It is for those who have to explain that gender is not always what you see on the outside. It is for those who do not conform to society’s expectations of gender roles. It is for those who are treated with distrust or distaste, with fear or even hate, because of who they are. It is for those who may be overtly accepted but still have to live with constant stereotyping. It is for those who get beaten up or bullied at school, or lose their friends, or do not have their parents’ support. It is for those who constantly have to explain that it’s not just a phase. 

Many of us are fortunate not to be facing direct danger to life and limb, but that doesn’t mean the problems aren’t real, or that people aren't driven to suicide by them, or that we shouldn’t try to change things.

This is for those who fought and those who died so we could have the freedoms we have today. It is for those who were killed for being different through the ages. It is for those who stood up and declared proudly who they were. It is for those who stand up today to struggle for equal rights, or even basic human rights. It is for those who are fighting to preserve the rights that others would take away from them. It is for those who are working tirelessly to achieve equality in countless seemingly mundane matters others take for granted. It is for all allies and friends of the LGBTQ community. 

This is for everyone hovering at the closet door, unsure whether to take the step into that terrifying, exhilarating freedom of a world where you can be who you are and say it loud and proud. This is for my family.

Nail polish cannot change the world, but symbols can. Visibility can. Courage can. Solidarity can. Today I wear our symbols with pride and gratitude and change my own little corner of the world.

Yours, with love,

the nail newbie

If you are curious about the symbols, you can find out more here, here and here.

Please have a look at the nail art the others have for us today!

READ MORE

Well. Apparently it's Tuesday, who knew? And I have no post prepared but at least I've got pictures: a gradient with gold glitter for day 3 of the June Tri-Polish challenge. Enjoy and check out the others' nails below :)

The busy little nail new-bee

READ MORE

 

Day 2 of the tri-polish challenge sees me tackling another "classic", the fishtail braid. 

I tried this back in May for the tri-polish challenge but the colours didn't play well together - the red wasn't opaque enough to cover the blue and the white so I tried fixing it with extra layers and not making full stripes and it was a right mess, so I did the Dr. Seuss nails instead. 

Never one to admit defeat, however, I tried the fishtail braid again this month (after making sure the polishes played well together) and it came out a bit better.

 

Tag 2 der Tri-Polish Challenge: heute gibt's Fisch, genaugenommen einen Fishtail Braid. Hat das Design eigentlich auch einen deutschen Namen? Ich hab dafür nur den Englischen Ausdruck gefunden.

Diesen "Klassiker" hatte ich schon im Mai probiert und er hat so richtig überhaupt nicht geklappt. Das Rot war zu dünn um das Blau oder Rot zu decken, ich hab versucht mit ein paar Extraschichten und Tricks nachzuhelfen und am Ende sah's aus wie von einem Kindergartenkind gemacht. Aber so schnell geb ich nicht auf, also hab ich diesen Monat Lacke ausgewählt, die gut zusammen funktionieren und es nochmal probiert.

 

In addition to the purple and pink polishes of the month, I used Boulevard de Beauté in silver.

Ich hab den rosa und violetten Lack des Monats verwendet und noch einen silbernen Boulevard de Beauté dazugenommen.  

I think the stripes could be more even in width and a bit straighter, but overall I think this turned out quite alright. Definitely a lot better than my first try! 

I have to admit, though, that this isn't my favourite kind of mani and I don't know if I'll be attempting it again soon. For some reason I don't mind messing around for hours with tiny freehand details but I lack the patience and skill to draw even, straight lines.

 

Die Streifen könnten etwas gerader sein und es würde auch nicht schaden, wenn sie alle gleich breit wären, aber im Großen und Ganzen find ich das Design ok. Auf jeden Fall besser als mein erster Versuch!

Ich muss aber zugeben, dass das nicht gerade meine Lieblingsmani war und ich weiß nicht, ob ich mir das in näherer Zukunft noch einmal antue. Es macht mir überhaupt nichts aus, bei meinen Freihanddesigns stundenlang pitzelige Details zu malen, aber gerade, gleichmäßige Linien krieg ich einfach nicht hin - und da fehlt mir auch die Geduld.

 

Have you done a fishtail braid before? Do you find it easy or hard?

Click on the thumbnails below to see what everyone else is up to today!

The nail newbie, all fishtailed out

Habt ihr schon mal so ein Design gemacht? Fällt es euch leicht oder findet ihr es auch mühsam?

Klickt auf die Thumbnails unten um zu sehen, was die anderen Mädls heute machen!

Euer gar nicht geradliniges Nagelnewbie

READ MORE

It’s that time again – Crumpet’s tri-polish challenge for June is here!  You can go here to read all about it, but essentially the challenge is to create four manis using the same three polishes in three predetermined colours, plus you can use black, white, gold, silver and glitter toppers as freebies.

Es ist wieder so weit – die Crumpet Tri-Polish Challenge geht in die nächste Runde! Hier könnt ihr die Regeln nachlesen, aber kurz zusammengefasst geht es darum, dass für jeden Monat drei Farben bestimmt werden und jede Teilnehmerin für jede Farbe genau einen Lack wählt. Mit diesen drei Lacken (plus Schwarz, Weiß, Gold, Silber und Glitzertopper) macht man dann vier Nageldesigns und postet sie in der 3. und 4. Woche jeden Monats jeweils am Dienstag und Donnerstag.

Boulevard de Beauté 16, OPI Purple with a Purpose, LOOK

June’s colours are pink, purple and red, which suits me just fine because I have tons of purple and a few red and pink ones too. Not too many pinks so far though, so I went and bought a pretty intense, almost neon pink, but that didn’t work with my reds and purples at all, so in the end I settled on the following colours for the month (I don't know what the LOOK nail quickie is called because the name has rubbed off the label so I can’t tell you what it is except that it’s very red - and that it's stupid to put the name on the wand if it's gonna come off):

Colours used for this mani

Die Farben für Juni sind Rosa, Violett und Rot – Jackpot, alles Lieblingsfarben! Vor allem violette Nagellacke hab ich in Massen. Rote hab ich auch einige, in Rosa habe ich aber vergleichsweise wenig, also hab ich mir einen ziemlich intensiven, fast neonfarbenen pinken Lack von iQ gekauft (siehe Mai-Haul), der dann aber gar nicht mit meinen roten und violetten Lacken harmonieren wollte. Die endgültige Auswahl seht ihr oben (beim roten LOOK ist das Label schon so ausgebleicht, dass ich den Namen nicht mehr lesen kann – ist aber auch bescheuert, den Namen an den Griff zu kleben).

June is my birthday month so I’m starting this tri-polish challenge off with party nails: Balloons!

I adore this mani, I think it turned out really cute. I used a wide dotting tool to apply the main part of the balloon and then rolled it around a bit to get the typical oval balloon shape, and then I refined it with a fine brush. I added the white “light reflections” and the strings in the end. As you can see, I used all three colours (you have to use all three in one mani at least once) plus white s-he polish for the background and light and black LOOK for the strings.

 

Im Juni hab ich Geburtstag, also mach ich gleich mal Partylaune mit Luftballons!

Dieses Design gefällt mir total gut, ich finde, es ist echt süß geworden! Für die Ballons habe ich ein großes Dotting Tool verwendet um Farbe aufzutragen und es dann ein bisschen hin- und hergedreht, um die typische Ballonform zu erhalten. Dann ging ich noch mal mit einem kleinen Pinsel drüber um die Unebenheiten in der Form auszubessern und das kleine Nubbelchen unten dranzumachen (hat das einen Namen?). Am Ende habe ich noch die Lichtspiegelung und die Schnüre gemalt. Wie ihr seht, hab ich hier gleich mal die Bedingung erfüllt, dass man in mindestens einem Design alle drei Farben verwenden muss, außerdem noch einen weißen s-he-Lack als Hintergrund und für’s Licht und einen schwarzen LOOK für die Schnüre.

This nail art made me very happy – it’s playful and fun and I think I want balloons at my birthday party this year :) 

Look at the linky below to see what everyone else has been getting up to!

The nail newbie,  who prefers 21 colourful balloons to 99 red balloons

Das ist so ein richtig fröhliches und verspieltes Design, machte Spaß zu malen und zu tragen – und ich glaub, ich will auf meiner Geburtstagsparty wirklich Luftballons haben :)

Unten in der Linksammlung könnt ihr euch die Beiträge der anderen Mädls ansehen!

Euer Nagelnewbie, dem 21 bunte Ballons lieber sind als 99 Luftballons

READ MORE

... red fish, blue fish. The fourth and last manicure for the May Tri-Polish Challenge is again inspired by a classic – a classic children’s book this time. Do you know Dr. Seuss of The Cat in the Hat, the Grinch, and Horton Hears a Who? I don’t think they’re that well known in languages other than English, but if you can get your hands on them, have a look – they’re funny, whimsical and utterly charming. Here's my inspiration picture.

Mein heutiges Nageldesign ist von einem amerikanischen Kinderbuchklassiker inspiriert: One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish von Dr. Seuss. Im deutschsprachigen Raum ist er am ehesten durch den Grinch und Horton hört ein Hu! bekannt, aber falls ihr mal ein Buch von ihm in die Hände kriegt, seht es euch an, sie sind sehr witzig und charmant illustriert. Hier ist das Cover, das mich inspiriert hat.

For this mani I used all three colours as well as white and black. You may see some sparkle in the two fish – that was an attempt at making them look a bit greener, like in the book, by adding gold. I didn’t like it though so I went over it once more with grey.

 

An diesem letzten Tag der Mai-Challenge habe ich noch einmal alle drei Challenge-Farben sowie Weiß und Schwarz verwendet. An den zwei Fischen seht ihr vielleicht noch ein bisschen Gold von meinem Versuch, sie etwas grünlicher wirken zu lassen, funkeln – das hatte ich dann eigentlich mit Grau übermalt, weil es mir nicht gefiel, man sieht’s aber noch ganz leicht.

 
I'll leave you with a few more pictures of the fish.

I enjoyed my first Tri-Polish challenge a lot and am looking forward to June’s. If you want to play too, go here for all you need to know about the challenge.

And now let’s see what everyone else has today!

The tri-polished Nail Newbie

So, und jetzt gibt's noch ein paar Bilder von den Fischlein.

Meine erste Tri-Polish Challenge hat super Spaß gemacht und ich freu mich schon auf Juni! Falls ihr auch mitmachen wollt, könnt ihr hier alle Regeln nachlesen.

Unten seht ihr die Beiträge der anderen Teilnehmerinnen!

Euer dreifärbiges Nagelnewbie

READ MORE