Essie - Repstyle Collection 2013

From left to right: 1. Sssssexy, 2. Snake It Up, 3. Lil' Boa Peep, 

4. Snake Rattle And Roll, 5. Repstyle, 6. Crocadilly

For today I have the complete Essie Repstyle Collection for you, sent to me by Essie Switzerland. This collection includes six shades inspired by reptiles and each comes with a nail art magnet, that will create the matching snakeskin pattern on your nails. To keep this long post as clear as possible, I will sum up the important stuff first and then just leave you with the pictures.

To start with, I wouldn't have bought a bottle of this collection myself because it combines two things I dislike (most) in nail polish: metallics and magnets. I tried magnetic nail polish once, it didn't work and I put it away. So the swatches here are made by a complete beginner! But I have to say that Essie did a good job convincing me of this collection. 

I used two coats for each shade and while the second coat was still wet I held the magnet over each nail. This was pretty easy because of the small plastic edge around the magnet that I placed on my finger. What I didn't like is that the pattern only covered the middle of my nail, because I wasn't able to move the magnet to the sides without destroying the previous pattern. And my thumb and index finger nails are not as flat as my other nails, which is why the pattern didn't completely transfer onto the nail. 

Apart from that I love the colors and you could also wear them without the pattern. I didn't use a top coat in any of the pictures, but if you wait long enough you can add a top coat to extend the durability of your design. My favorite shades from this collection are Sssssexy, because it is an unusual color for a reptile (and I love the name!) and contrary to my expectations the weird muddy bronze color Repstyle, which turned out to have the most realistic looking snakeskin effect. If you're not sure which color to pick, I would definitely recommend Repstyle because the effect is awesome! Now, enough with the babble, here are the swatches!

Essie - Sssssexy

a striking, scintillating sanguine

Essie - Snake It Up

a pewter pavé python

Essie - Lil' Boa Peep

copperhead titanium

Essie - Snake, Rattle And Roll

a venomous oxidized silver

Essie - Repstyle

a hypnotic desert bronze

Essie - Crocadilly

a croc hunter green

Brown - Copper Ruffian Nails feat. Penny Talk

Time for some more Ruffian! I love those two colors together, they're perfect for fall. So I decided to combine them in an easy and fast way with some Ruffian Nails. 

I started with two coats of Essie - Penny Talk which was apparently not enough. I have to admit I'm not wearing a base coat this time, that's probably why you can see the ridges of my nails beneath Penny Talk. It was not really visible from afar though.

Then I added the bow with Catrice - Lost In Mud, long lost friend! ;) That was one of my first nail polishes in my collection. I used two coats for the bow to make it completely opaque. On top of it is one coat of Essie - Good To Go. 

Today I got a lot of nail mail! I ordered a bunch of China Glaze bottles the other day and they finally arrived. I chose Snow Globe, Sea Spray, Holly Day, Foie Gras and Dress Me Up. You might see some of these involved in some nail art soon! In addition I got some awesome 1$ glow in the dark polishes and I can't wait to show these off! 

Galaxy Splatter Nails + DIY Decals Tutorial

I love Splatter Nails! But the average technique to get Splatter Nails - blowing the paint with a straw directly onto the nails - is really annoying in regard to cleaning up the cuticles. That's why I always do Splatter Nails with the plastic bag method. I call it DIY Decals because you basically create decals and then stick it onto the nails. You can find my tutorial on how to do those at the end of today's post.

Today's color choice reminds me of Galaxy Nails. I used p2 - Night Out as my base color and then added Essie - Mint Candy Apple and Essie - Penny Talk with my straw. On top of everything is one coat of Revlon Quick Dry Topcoat. 

What I love about the selfmade decals is the fact that you can chose the spot with the best pattern. When I did my first Splatter Nails without the plastic bag, I had some nails flooded in polish and others with no splatter at all. 

So the process of creating your own decals is very easy but you will need some time to let it dry. You will need a plastic bag, a straw and your colors of choice. Then paint your base color onto the plastic bag. I always paint a rectangle about 10cm wide and a little bit more than two times my nail length. If you do this for the first time I'd recommend painting a bigger area so you have some spare decals to practice the technique. Take care not to paint the polish too thick because the thicker the decal the more difficult it will be to place it onto the nails evenly. Then you dip the straw in the bottle of nail polish and blow in the other end, so that the polish will splash onto the painted area. I always let my decals dry over night so they can be removed from the plastic easily. The next day you can cut the decal with your scissors and create small pieces in the size of your nails. Paint your first nail with one coat of the chosen base color, remove the decal from the plastic with tweezers and add it onto the wet polish. Press it down gently and wait for a little while. I  can remove most of the overlapping parts with my other finger nails. After that I apply a first coat of clear nail polish to "melt" the decal and the base color together. Then I can clean it up like I would with my usual manicure and add a top coat.

And this is how you shouldn't be doing it. Hard to remove ;) 

I had so much fun making this tutorial and I plan on doing more of them if you like it!