piCture pOlish Blog Fest 2013: Year Of The Blogger

Hi ladies! It's been a while, I know. I'm actually taking a break from blogging right now mainly because my nails aren't in too good-a-shape at the moment after spending the last 5 months learning how to do acrylics & gels with countless applications to my nails, so they're feeling a little weak and unloved but for now I have a special one off post for you. A while back piCture pOlish advertised for new bloggers to take part in their blog fest for this year, having missed out on the opportunities in the past, I thought that now was as good a time as any to put myself forward. I'd actually forgotten about it until I got the e-mail saying I'd been chosen, needless to say I got a little excited.

However, unlike previous years, this year is a little different, instead of the chosen bloggers receiving a couple of the new collaboration shades to debut, we were given the task to 'create your most amazing nail art manicure ever' using the 3 unknown shades being provided to us by piCture pOlish. Since we didn't know the polishes we were to be using until they arrived, pre-planning a manicure was exceptionally hard, even more so because I am in no-way creatively inclined.

When my piCture pOlish arrived, I pondered over the possible nail art ideas for DAYS until I finally settled on my 'final piece' which was inspired by this negative space manicure I saw on Chelsea's Get Nailed. We were told when creating the manicure, that we could use any accessories/stamping/Black & White paint to help aid us, but the 3 piCture pOlish shades provided must shine through and not be overshadowed so baring all that in mind, I created this;

As you can see from the top photo, I was sent Hot Lips, Jade and Violet Femme which are all gorgeous on their own, but together? They just compliment each other so well. It wasn't until after I had finished the manicure, I realised I needed to make a tutorial, so I've quickly re-created the process of my ring finger using The Nail Trainer.

In hindsight, had I known the direction I wanted to go with this mani, I would have skipped step 6 and added the studs straight away, following the same pattern as they would have been enough to cover the connecting lines. I'm absolutely in LOVE with this mani, just the way the three colours all compliment each other perfectly and how vibrant they all are.

If you love this mani as much as I do, I need your help! piCture pOlish are going to be running a competition their Pinterest between all the bloggers participating in Blog Fest this year where all nail art creations go into the running to be chosen to create a collaboration shade with piCture pOlish launched in 2014! How exciting!!! VOTING IS NOW OPEN HERE FOR 24 HRS ONLY

However, there are only 3 awards that will be voted and chosen as follows via our special Pinterest Blog Fest 2013 board:

• 1 x Award - as voted by PP friends and fan - THAT'S YOU LADIES!
• 1 x Award - as voted by all participants of Blog Fest 2013
• 1 x Award - as voted by Jules & Megs of piCture pOlish

I'm super excited and anxious to see who else is participating in Blog Fest 2013 and find out what other amazing Nail Art creations have been entered!

To make sure you don't miss out on the announcement to vote, make sure you add all of piCture pOlish social media networks; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram & YouTube

Also, if you'd like a bottle of Jade, Hot Lips or Violet Femme of your own, piCture pOlish can be purchased directly from picturepolish.com.au, who ship Worldwide, or alternatively you can purchase through their international network. If you're making an order directly from piCture pOlish with 4 polishes or more, check out their Everyday Deals page for the opportunity to get 1 or 2 FREE shades with your order!

Swatch Spam: Sally Magpies

Hi ladies! I have a little swatch spam post for you today featuring a selection of polishes available from Sally Magpies. If you're from the UK and aren't aware of what Sally Magpies is, basically it's a brand new online retailer, like the Llarowe of Britain, which currently sells Ozotic, Jade, piCture pOlish, Layla, Cirque and Hits all for amazing prices. Although there aren't a lot of brands available at this time, partly due to Sally Magpies being relatively new and a also one woman show, Sally is constantly on the look out for more brands to bring into the fold. If you have any suggestions of brands you'd like to see on Sally Magpies, be sure to like her on Facebook.

Now onto the swatches!

Pshiiit was created by Camille of the down-right amazing blog, Pshiiit, as part of the 2012 Collaboration shades. It's a gorgeous Teal-y Turquoise-y jelly base packed with shimmers and Teal flakes. This polish has been on my wish list for a looong time and I practically screamed when I opened up the package to find it sitting there. This is 3 coats of Pshiiit without a top coat. piCture pOlish retail for £10/£11.50 here.

Scarlet is part of the Diamond collection and is a gorgeous Red duo chrome that flashes to Orange and Magenta in certain lights. Though not as apparent on the nail, you can see the colour shift inside the bottle. I applied 3 coats of Scarlet without a top coat for the photos above. You can purchase the Jade Diamond collection for £5.50 each as well as the Holographic collection for £6.00 each.

Roma is part of the Glitters World collection and is a clear base packed with small Pink glitter, medium Pink, White, Blue, Gold and Holographic glitter and large White glitter. I had a little trouble with this polish, it was so thick that it was difficult to get an even coverage on the nail, I did add a little thinner to the polish which seemed to make it a little better. I applied 2 coats of Rome over Killer Colours - Gunmetal with a top coat (which didn't seem to smooth the glitter out as much as I wanted it to). You can find various Hits collections from between £3.50/£6.50.

Veruska is part of the Guerra Dos Sexos (War/Battle of the Sexes) collection, all the polishes in this collection are double ended. Veruska is a Dusty Rose creme one side and a sheer Blue/Pink shimmer on the other. As you can see from the photos above, the polishes can be worn separately (I didn't think to photograph the blue worn alone), or layered upon each other to create a Rosy Lilac shimmery shade. The first photos are 3 coats of the Pink, and the others are 1 layer of the Blue on top. These particular polishes are available for purchase here and are currently 15% off at £5.10 each

So there you have a little introduction to Sally Magpies and a sneak peek of some polishes she offers! Be sure to give her a like on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest brand additions and special offers! Who is excited to finally be able to get these brands in our own backyard?! I know I am!