Tuesday 22 May 2012

Diablo 3 Inspired Nail Art

As I said in my last entry, I decided to attempt Diablo III nail art! I liked this manicure! It has a lot of the elements of nail art that I enjoy to create and to look at: gradient, yellow, sparkles, glass flecks <3 with the added interest of crackle (yes it CAN still look good despite being out of fashion).
Here's the mani:
And here's how I did it!
Step 1: Paint the entire nail yellow! YAY! I used Pineapple Fizz by Revlon, it's sheer so I used a couple of coats, has glass flecks and smells of pineapple when dry. I actually can't think of anything better.
Step 2: Get a sponge (I used a cheap makeup sponge, any will do. You only need a little bit. Some people even use eye shadow applicators! But I don't have any of those..) and dab on an orange polish (I used Revlon Orange Fizz) to the end of the nail stopping about 2/3 of the way down and dabbing to create a seamless, melty-coloured join.
Step 3: Once that's dry get your sponge again and dab a red polish (I used Revlon Watermelon Fizz.. are you sensing a pattern here?) onto the very tip of the nail stopping 1/3 of the way down and blending with the orange to a seamless finish. 
Step 4: Add more red right at the tips if you feel it needs it
You should have something that looks like this:

This looks pretty cool on it's own, I wore this for a few days before adding the final stages lol so I feel like I got 2 very different looks out of the same idea! The Revlon polishes dried very quickly when sponged so the gradient isn't as smooth as I'd have liked.. also this reminded me of candy corn, and I've never even seen candy corn except for google images lol
Step 4: I felt that for Diablo this needed a bit more red so I dabbed a bit more on the tip and around the edges of the nail bringing it down further to look like this:
(Sorry this pic is a bit rubbish, had to use the flash because my light makes everything look yellow)

Step 5: This last thing to do was to add black crackle! (I used Barry M) This make it look like crusting lava and was reminiscent of the games cover which is mostly black with yellow, orange and red peeking through! It makes me think of fire and brimstone!

Here's one more look at the finished manicure!
I'm pleased with this design, I think it captures diablo 3 as well as being wearable! I had a fair few comments on them too! The gradient really works well under the crackle and brings new life to this well-used look! I think that crackle is a fun and easy way to jazz up any nail look. It takes hardly any time, is very easy and looks really effective! It did feel a bit like cheating as I'm used to freehand but it was a nice break and gave me the effect I wanted =) In case you were wondering, I picked up two of the Revlon polishes at boots using a couple of £3 off Revlon vouchers that I printed from the advantage card machine (I love those things!) I got the last polish in the 3 for 2 at Superdrug along with Grape Fizz (a purple) and a GOSH lipstick in Exotic =) The polishes are usually £6.49 each! 

I hope you liked this mani and that you have a go at putting crackle over a gradient to give it a new lease of life!

-Leishasaurus

Thursday 17 May 2012

Diablo III

Looooook!

 After scouring the entirety of Ipswich after work on Tuesday (release day) to no avail, I managed to find two copies in the Asda in Stowmarket where I work.So I promptly bought both! One's for my brother, I don't need two copies just for me hehe =) I'm superly excited about this game! Everyone's saying that it lives up to expectations, and my expectations are pretty high! I got it for £34.97, Game and Gamestation (owned by the same company) were trying to sell it for £45! Er, see this is why they're going out of business. Why would anyone pay £10 more for the same game? So what if they offer reward points on purchases, £10 is a huge discrepancy! 
It's installing now and the background music is amazing. It's a reworked version of the old Tristram (a town in the game) theme. There are so many layers to it! I can pick out guitars and cellos, there are also vocals in there but no lyrics, just ambient choral music. It reminds me of Opeth. Which won't help you at all because you'll have no idea who they are >.<





Just have a listen. It's Opeth mixed with the music from Firefly. Trust me on this! It's ambient, mysterious, dark and incredible. 


Ooo, I got another thing off my list too! On Tuesday during the search for D3 I came across some tart tins in Sainsbury's, a pack of 2 for £3.50. I figured I'd get a couple of packs, the quality can't be that much different to Lakeland and they had the loose bottoms so I can get the tarts out easily =) I look forward to making them next week! I'll post a recipe when I make them, I'm probably just going to make it up as I go along though!

I've decided to do a post with Diablo nail art, so look out for that very soon (possibly tonight if I can!). 
Finally, I wanted to say thank-you to you all, I now have 30 followers and it feels great! =D

-Leishasaurus

Tuesday 15 May 2012

May Wishlist

There are so many things that I'm lusting over right now! I'm such a consumer >.< here are a few of them:



3. Barry M 53 £4.49

4. Diablo 3 £32.99

5. Helmer Draws £24.99

6. Skruvsta Tub Chair £99.99
7. Kitty Dress £35

10. Tarlet Tins £9.99

1. Doesn't Luxe and Lush look fab? So much glitter! I also want Snow Globe, but this one is just crying out to me.. I should probably snap it up before it sells out.. le sigh
2. Ok yes, you're right, I mostly want this one because of it's name..
<3 Harvest Moon
3. As I was perusing the Barry M display in superdrug I thought I'd have a look at the Lip Paints. I already have a fair few and I thought there weren't any more that I wanted.. but I have grown a love for all things coral/orange lately and this shiny Lip Paint couldn't be more perfect! I even went to buy this at the weekend but to my dismay the one remaining lippy had been opened! I HATE that! I'll have to try again. Hopefully the 3 for 2 will still be on.
4. I'm such a gamer lol but lately I haven't had time to play anything. Except The Sims. There's ALWAYS time for The Sims. But OMG how I want Diablo 3! I remember when we were younger my bro and I would spend HOURS on D2 after school haha so many memories! I was actually rubbish at it. I have improved since then though! I so want to play this >.<
5. I've seen these drawers on so many blogs so I googled them expecting a massive price tag.. £24.99? I think I need these. My room is just such a mess, there's stuff everywhere! (That's what happens when you cram a whole house full of stuff into one room. But that's another story.) I think I'll ask the bf's parents to take me to Lakeside, since it's v close to where they live! No doubt I'll come away with much more than a Helmer though..
6. I've wanted one of these chairs for ages! I don't care if there isn't much back support (though I will after a few hours of gaming) I just love how cute it is! Like a tub chair on wheels <3
7. I saw this dress on Forever The Ugly Duckling and *had* to ask her where it was from! From there it was a simple case of asking google lol (google knows everything) I love it but not sure it'd suit me which is why I haven't ordered yet.. They don't stock this dress in store =( 
8. Having filled my original chamilia bracelet (yup, I got addicted to buying beads) I've been looking at the different styles and I love this one! it's super cute! I'd be worried it'd slip off my (very skinny) wrists but I'm sure they're designed to be secure. I long to buy more beads lol
9. Like this horse one! CUTE!
10. These tins are the perfect size for individual tartlets, I've had an idea in mind for ages and need the tins to do it.. £9.99 for 4 isn't too bad, and they're buy one get one half price! £14.98 for 8 is even better! (Not that I need 8 >.<)


Yeah so it's fair to say that I want a few things >.> I could even fill another post with things I want haha (might do that later...) but I think the things I'll get in the near(ish) future are the Tartlet Tins (I've been DYING to make little mini roast veg pastry tarts!), Barry M 53 (if my superdrug ever stocks ones that haven't been ripped open! I mean, why, the tester is RIGHT there! Grrrrrrrr), possibly the Helmer Drawers in a vain attempt to become more organised.. urgh.. and finally I might splurge on Diablo 3.. I mean, I've only been waiting since 2008..
Does anyone want to take me shopping? With their money? =P

-Leishasaurus

Monday 7 May 2012

Safari Nail Art

So my giraffes chipped and I had to remove them.. it was very sad, their faces looked like they were melting. Today I have replaced them, but instead of one critter (I couldn't decide) my brother suggested doing a whole safari of animals, a different one for each nail! So, without further ado, here it is!


On my left (dominant) hand:
Lion, Zebra, Leopard, Flamingo, Hippo

On my right hand:
Elephant, Giraffe, Crocodile, Monkey, Rhino

I'm not going to lie, these were tricky and they took ages but I'm really pleased with how they've turned out! I used so many colours doing these, my bed was covered in bottles haha but the main brands were Models Own, Barry M and Rimmel. I don't buy Rimmel any more though, as it's not cruelty free. Also, weirdly, I think I did better at painting my left hand than my right! 

Anyway, I feel a lot more myself now that my fingers are covered in critters =) just don't ask me to pick a favourite >.<

-Leisha