WOW!! Judging Nail Art is Tough!!

I was thinking that picking one winner of this challenge would be too difficult so I purposely set aside three prizes thinking I would cover my bases.  Clearly, I should have set aside quite a few more.  I decided that I would ask my fellow judges to pick their four top favorites and would tally up the votes.  Although we were able to decide after agonizing deliberation, it was really, really tough.  Finally, the decision came down to the stamping since that was the main purpose of the competition and I wanted it to be the major focus of the manicure since that was the only real criteria.  I am definitely going to do this again in the future.  I have found some great new blogs to follow with some really amazing talent.  So, without further ado, the winners are......

This amazing entry by The Nail Buff shows flawless stamping execution. 

 

 

From Karine's Vernis Club, she did a stamping skittle manicure.  Here is a pic from her post that shows both hands.  She submitted the one on the right to be judged.

 

 

And lastly, here is Mandy's Polish.  What I loved about this was the execution, and, the comparison she did to her first attempt in her blog post.  Amazing improvement.

 

 

 

I just want everyone to know that the quality of every entry was amazing and hopefully, you will all agree from seeing the entries that it was a tough call.

 

I also want to thank Stephanie from A Little Polish, Victoria from Manicurator and Katee from A Girl and Her Polish for helping my judge.  I am glad I didn't have to make the decision alone and grateful that you all put such serious thought into helping me select the winners. 



Only 9 hours left to enter.....

You only have 9 hours left to enter......

Great prizes and not a lot of competition.  Don't miss out on your chance to show your stamping skills.  Enter HERE.

Fall Into Autumn Challenge-Fall Flair

This item was up to the individual.  I decided to use one of my new Jade Diamond Polishes for this. Its called Galaxy.  Kind of reminds me a bit of Enchanted Austin Powers but some of the glitters are a bit larger.  I wanted to put some fall colored leaves on the tips to look almost like a french tip but unfortunately, the Jade Polish is bumpy and it made the leaves look a bit deformed.  From a distance though, it was quite a pretty color combination.

 

This was the last item on our Autumn Challenge list.  I have a week break and then next week, we will roll right into the next season.  Looking forward to winter.

 



Jade Diamond Twist

Before I post on the Jade polish, I wanted to remind everyone about my stamping contest.  You have another 10 days to enter.  Don't forget because there are some great prizes.  You can enter HERE.


When I first saw the pictures posted on Ninja Polish's facebook page for these new Jade polishes from Brazil, I immediately got on the e-mail list and anxiously awaited notification that they had arrived.  Of course, I bought the whole set.  And, there is no question that they are really pretty polishes.  The one I wanted the most was Twist because I loved the emerald color in the pictures.  I put on two coats and right away noticed something familiar about it.  Here is what it looked like...

 

Great application.  the first coat was very sheer.  It became opaque in two and had a nice shimmer.  But, I recognized it as I started painting the first coat.  I ran to get my Color Club Metamorphosis and re-painted one nail.  Then I posted it online in a group because the similarity was significant and I wanted to see if anyone could guess what the dupe was.  Everyone guessed Zoya Charla.  I hadn't even thought of that.  I then replaced another with Charla.  So here they are from the top, Zoya Charla, Jade Diamond Twist and Color Club Metamorphosis.....

 

And from a different angle, left to right, Zoya Charla, Jade Diamond Twist and Color Club Metamorphosis.....

Charla is a bit darker, as you can see.  the glass flecks in Charla are larger and it has more gold shimmer that is visible on the nail.  Metamorphosis is a tad bit more emerald and a little more iridescent but all three are very similar.  Oh, and here is a close up of what it looks like over black.  just one coat.

Learn a few interesting facts about me.....

Gwenn from Sweet Sugar does a great series where she posts interviews with bloggers.  I love the idea and I enjoy reading them because you learn a little bit more about the people you follow.  I am grateful for the opportunity to share a little bit about myself.  If you don't alredy follow her, you should.  I love her blog and she does a lot to support the community, especially new bloggers.  If you want to check out my interview, click here.

This week, I have a few things to post on.  First, I have a review of my experience with taking Biotin over the last several months. Second, I just got the whole Jade Diamond Collection in the mail and plan on swatching those for you to see.  Lastly, I have the last item on the Fall Into Autumn Nail Challenge.  Then I will have a few weeks off until our Winter Challenge starts.

A Nail Art Contest-Stamping

I have wanted to do this since the first blog post I wrote.  Entering contests have been beneficial for me in two ways.  Most importantly, it challenges me to think out of the box and hone my nail art skills but it also brought traffic to my blog and it helped me gain some followers that I have been grateful for. 

The one thing about contests is that, let's face it, some people are simply amazing with regard to their natural talent.  I can't do some of the free hand stuff that Sonoma Nail Art does.  Her skills are far beyond what I will ever be capable of. 

So, with that in mind, I decided to make a challenge that is manageable for those that don't have the tremendous free hand skill.  The Bundle Monster competition for Halloween amazed me.  The stuff people came up with was just outstanding and it made me wonder what else people could come up with if the theme was not just limited to Halloween. 

So, ignore the background for my poster because I am still in a fall frame of mind and loved the picture......

 

 

There will be three prizes.  First, a holiday trio from Butter London.  This includes, Rosie Lee, Fairy Cake and The Black Knight.

 

 

 

Second, the Zoya Ornate Collection.  This includes, Aurora, Ziv, Blaze, Electra, Storm and Logan.

Lastly, a mini set of Amy's Nail Boutique's Holiday Collection which includes. Festival of Lights, Frosty, Happy Holly-days, Gingerbread and Silent Night

 

 

 

Thankfully, I will not be making the decision alone.  I will have help from some talented bloggers that I have really grown to adore over the last year.  Katee from A Girl and Her Polish, Victoria from The Manicurator and Stephanie from A Little Polish.  The have all agreed to shoulder the burden of choosing a winner.  So here are the details.....

• There is only one entry per person.
• This is open to international participants.
• You must use polish only, no acrylics for this challenge.
• You must have your entry submitted by November 26th at 12:00 AM.
• Also entries must be submitted by using the Inlinkz tool that follows. You can link to your blog or any other social media site if you are not a blogger.  
• There is no set theme....anything goes.

 

 

Fall Into Autumn Challenge-Fall Harvest

I love sunflowers.  Especially when you see fields of them.  I also have really been enjoying fall colors.  I have done sunflowers before over Floam but decided to do something different with a more fall color background.  This is Zoya Tanzy and Daul sponged together for the base coat.  The sunflowers were done with acrylics.

 

 

 

Color Club Collection Winner

And the winner is Brittany D.  Congratulations!!  I am shipping it out this week.

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fall Into Autumn Challenge-Autumn Dots

Before I start on today's challenge, I wanted to remind everyone one last time about my giveaway.  It is for the whole set of Color Club Halo Hues.  This a gorgeous collection of holo polishes and I am just amazed at the quality for the price.  You can enter here.

I saw a photo online when I googled autumn dots and really fell in love with it.  It was such a pretty picture and gave the image of a gorgeous tree with it's leaves changing using only dots aside from the tree trunk and branches.  I had to use it as inspiration for this challenge.  This is over Milani White on the Spot as a base to make the colors pop. 

 

 

 



Fall Into Autumn Challenge-Favorite Fall Sweater

I really own very few sweaters.  I work in a nursing home and the residents like it 80 degrees all year long.  And, they are still wearing shawls and sweaters.  Meanwhile, the employees are usually sweating their hair out.  I wear the same short sleeve shirts all year long and wear a jacket of some sort if it gets chilly.  So I did a google search of sweaters and found one that I liked.  I don't think it would look good on me at all but I like the style.  Maybe a bit more Christmas or Winter-like than Fall but who cares.  I used Essie Bikini So Teeny and one of the colors from the China Glaze Prism Collection to sponge a reverse gradient on the top.  I liked it.  Very delicate look, just like the sweater.....

Here was the inspiration......