Baroque 'n' Roll | Nail Art

Bahahaha. Yes, that excruciating pun did just happen. I'm not even going to apologise for it.

Hello and Happy New Year! How I've missed my wee blog. November and December were really rather busy months for me and I ended up being away from home quite a bit, so sadly nail art had to take a back seat. I'd say it was a pretty productive time, though, and I'm looking forward to what 2014 will bring... I hope it will be a joyful, prosperous year for you all. :)

Nail art!

I have to start by talking about the base colour for this manicure: it's A England's Rose Bower (which I picked up in Adina's Holiday Grotto) and it is simply mesmerising. The polish itself is what sparked the idea for this nail art: the rich pinky red colour (it varies depending on the light) with that signature A England holographic sparkle looked so sumptuous and velvety and glowy that it made me think of luxurious damask/baroque fabrics... lightbulb! (Lightbulb!) I basically wore Rose Bower twice in a row, which testament to how beautiful it is! The formula is amazing, too - it's quite thick, but I'd recommend thin coats. I found it to be opaque in one thin coat, but you might want an extra for added depth and shimmer. I should also say that although this design hides the holographic twinkle a little, there is a good amount in there and it's pretty prominent, at least under good light, in person. The bottle pictures should give you some idea!

I added the baroque/damask pattern(s) using a little brush and Orly Liquid Vinyl. It's been such a long time since I've done a design that requires any kind of precision like this does and I'm so, so pleased it worked! It's even more or less symmetrical! I can't even tell you how long I spent painting test patterns on paper and thinking it was all rubbish before I even attempted a nail, haha. There was also a lot of Googling/Shutterstocking. I was in two minds about whether to do a full design on every finger and whether to repeat one pattern or vary them, but I'm delighted with the end result! 

My accent nail (which I guess is the 'Roll' in my punny title. haha) is Seventeen's Diamond in the Rough, which is a black textured polish with holographic hex glitter. I really just bought it because it was kind of weird and I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first...but now I really like it. I appreciate that it won't be for everyone, though! The formula might take a little getting used to but isn't really too difficult - err on the side of thin coats for starters, I'd say (I used two coats here). It's rougher than other textures I'd tried but seems to get a little less so after a couple of days. My only - small - complaint is that the glitter tends to get a bit buried in the base. So, what do you think of it? Would you give this kind of polish a go?!

[I think Diamond in the Rough is pretty much the same as Essie's Belugaria, from the Encrusted Treasures collection, though I don't have both to compare. For those interested, that collection is due out in the UK in February, though you can find it online already.]

Well, I've blabbed on quite enough. The essence of this post is: I (still) adore A England and I love these nails and I hope you like them too! As always, please do let me know what you think in the comments. Are you besotted with A England yet? How do you feel about unusual/textured polishes? Do you have a favourite nail from this design? I love hearing your feedback!

P.S. Thanks for sticking around despite my absence! :)