The race that stops a nation - Melbourne Cup.

Today was the day of the big race. When I started work at my new location I was told that it was a must to get all dressed up for Melbourne Cup Day. It is tradition to wear clothing like you were going to the races with fascinators. They also tend to go to a luncheon.

I did frock up in a black halter neck dress with red roses. I would have liked to match my dress to my nails but I did not have time to polish my nails. The time factor was what made me choose Avon Red Velvet for the matte polish dries super fast factor. I had hoped to get some stamping in before I stuck things to my nails but I did not have time for that either.

For decoration I went with the black butterflies and the black and white roses. There were some fimo slice butterflies in red that I decided to put on too. Unfortunately my skill in handling the nail glue was dismal. I got it all over my fingers. There is a spot of it on the floor. Yes, I even spilled a large part of the bottle onto my coffee table. Lint will be seen in the pictures too as I tried to get some of the glue off with acetone. Not my luckiest of days.

I also did not win anything in the work sweeps. :P I did win a compliment from a male customer when I gave him his change. He reassured me that I did not stab him with my butterflies.

If I had done my nails after the race I could have done them in honour of the winning horse, Green Moon.

Inspiration: Purple Animal Print Jacket

Recently I was trying to pack for a little weekend away. What do I pack to wear? I am not usually one for animal prints but I liked a jacket in a purple and cream animal print. It inspired me to have a manicure to match.

To start with I used Sephora by OPI Don't Feed the Hand Models so that I would not need so many coats of Avon Vanilla Shake. Two coats of Vanilla Shake was applied and then I let it dry. A gradient was sponged on with a make up sponge with both Vanilla Shake and China Glaze Cowgirl Up. I alternated the direction of the gradient to match the jacket better.

There seem to be a few different styles of animal print on the jacket. I decided to use the cheetah image from Bundle Monster plate BM-221 and I stamped with Konad Black.

This manicure was effective and I think it matched my inspiration well. Cowgirl Up's shimmer also mimicked the sheen from the material. I am very pleased with my first animal print manicure. Maybe I should try another?