31DC2013: Day 18 Half Moons

I know I'm playing catch up but things have been pretty busy around here, so now I'm doing the challenge when I can. Hope you're sticking with me!

I did a couple different tries with half moons but when I came across this design, it was too cute not to do! My half moons are off center, but I think it still qualifies.

I did the background in a light blue for the sky and the balloons are all in textured polish for a bit of a 3-D effect.

Products Used
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Essie Bikini So Teeny
Wet N Wild Femme Trouper
Wet N Wild ATTEN Hut!
Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour
Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops
Black Acrylic Paint

31DC2013: Day 16 Tribal Print

I've been getting so many prompts that I've never done out of fear or time, so it's exciting to get to try them now! No excuses!

This is based on The Nailasaurus Tribal from a previous 31 Day Challenge.

I used a base coat with a lilac tint. The metallic polishes I added with a nail art brush and the black is acrylic paint.

Below is a matte version. I added Hard Candy Matte-ly in Love. I really like the matte effect although the metallic polishes make it hard to be fully matte. I think it gives it a softer look though.

Products Used:

Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein

Sally Hansen Lavender Cloud

Essie Nothing Else Metals

Essie Blue Rhapsody

Black Acrylic Paint

Seche Vite

Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love

Hope you liked it. Thanks for looking!

31DC2013: Day 15 Delicate Print

Delicate print ... Oh the trouble I had with this one. I kept trying to think of something soft and delicate and fragile and I kept thinking lace. Beh. I have been wanting to do the butterfly wing nail art for awhile, so here it is! Butterfly wings are definitely delicate right?

I started with a gradient of holo of purple to blue and couldn't tell there was a change in color. Then it was purple to silver. Then pink to silver. Pink to solver had enough of a color change to be noticeable, but only up close. Which is fine, it's beautiful either way. Of course there was no sun when I did this, but the sponging took away the linear holo aspect anyway.

Below is my holo gradient.

Products Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein Base Coat
Color Club Harp On It
Color Club Halographic
Milani Black Sketch
OPI Alpine Snow
Seche Vite

31DC2013: Day 14 Flowers

I remember seeing a design similar to this recently on Instagram and I can't for the life of me find the picture I took. Does anyone else take screen shots or take pictures of the nails for future reference? I've got a whole folder full of pictures. If anyone knows the original manicure, let me know so I can give credit!

I love the holo flowers against the leather background. I think it creates a nice juxtaposition of colors and textures.

Products Used
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Sinful Colors My Turn
Color Club Angel Kiss
Color Club Cloud Nine
Milani Black Sketch

Thanks for looking!

31DC2013: Day 13 Animal Print

I had tons of ideas for today, and they all kinda fell flat, which is really disappointing. The most fun one that I wanted to do is below. I hope the idea came across.

It's Nemo! Clownfish are animals, right? Kinda? Maybe?

Products Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Revlon Haunted Heart
Whie and Black Acrylic Paint
Seche Vite

Thanks for looking!

31DC2013: Day 12 Stripes

I don't know what it is about stripes but I had a really hard time with this prompt. It took me awhile to do something, and even then, it wasn't that impressive. 

I really tried.  Promise.

It's a little more fun on textured polish right?

Le sigh.

Products Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Wet N Wild Love Is A Battlefield
Milani Black Sketch

31DC2013: Day 11 Polka Dots

I can't seem to get my act together to post these on time. I promise I've been doing them and wearing them to work. These dots got a LOT of compliments. =)

Products Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Models Own Orange Sorbet
Orly Purple Crush
Sally Hansen Good To Grape
Barielle Blue Capri
Sinful Colors Irish Green
Seche Vite

Thanks for looking!

31DC2013: Day 10 Gradient Nails

Hello lovelies! Today's post is late today and that's because I've been super busy recently with my garden. If you'd rather just look at nails, scroll down a bit! So I've been super busy with harvesting from my garden which has taken over my life recently. We've gotten corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, eggplant, jalapenos, green/red/orange/yellow bell peppers, cayenne peppers, and beans. I've got watermelon and canteloupe getting ready to be harvested soon. We also have a huge mature pear tree that is crazy heavy with fruit so we're picking pounds and pounds every day! Yesterday was my (and my mother's) first try at pear butter (yum!) and canning. It's been super busy, but a lot more fun than I was expecting. I'm already planning an even bigger garden for next year!

On to the nails!

My gradient is an orange and coral gradient with overlying black and white glitter to help hide the uneven polish gradient! I chose to do the technique by Rebecca Likes Nails and this mani is a la Chalkboard Nails. It's a really easy way to do a gradient using jelly polishes. Much cleaner but sometimes the gradient isn't quite as perfect, which is where the overlying glitter helps to mask it!

Polishes Used:

Barielle Nail Strengthening Protein

Zoya Coraline

Zoya Kate

Maybelline Clearly Spotted

Seche Vite

Maybelline Clearly Spotted was ok, but I wasn't thrilled with it. I was so happy to see a drugstore version of a black and white glitter that has taken the nail polish world by storm. I have Cover Bands Lacquers Sticks 'N Stones, which I ultimately prefer, but here is a quick comparison below.

Cover Bands Lacquers Sticks 'N Stones is a supposed dupe for Lynderella Connect the Dots, but you can see a great comparison and reference done by Chalkboard Nails here that compares 36 different black and white glitters (I think that count is correct). Maybelline Clearly Spotted has more glitter, which you'd think would be nice, but it takes over the nail and makes it hard to see anything underneath. I also feel it looks a bit dirty, for lack of a better word, with all the fine glitter present.

Which black and white glitter do you prefer?

31DC2013: Day 9 Rainbow Nails

I'm sure you've seen this manicure done a 100 times, but I've yet to do it and it's always been on my to do list. 

I LOVED how it turned out. The matte black is a great background for these sparkling rhinestones. Very simple but elegant and eye catching. What more could a girl want?

It was more simple to do than I had realized, so I'm very glad I tried it. I should try to incorporate more rhinestones into my nail works.

I hope you can tell how bright these stones are next to that black. When out in the sun (which I was for all these pictures) they sparkled and shined. In the photo below, that flare on the purple stone isn't photoshopped, that's how much they sparkled when the sun hit them just right. Fabulous!

Products Used:

Elmer's Glue (base coat)

Petites Night

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Butter London Matte Finish Top Coat

Rhinestones

Hope you enjoyed. Thanks for looking!

31DC2013: Day 8 Metallic Nails

I was trying to think of a design that would make the metallic polish pop, and the few I tried all failed miserably. I then tried to do some designs I wanted to recreate, but the metallic finish really detracted from the original designs. 

I figured a design where the metallic finish would help the design would be ideal. Hence, fireworks! Or artistic flowers. Whichever.

Products Used:
Elmer's Glue (base coat)
Petites Night
Kleancolor Metallic Orange
Kleancolor Metallic Pink
Kleancolor Metallic Sapphire
Maybelline Blue Blowout
Revlon Gold Coin
Wet N Wild Hog-Quartz School
Seche Vite

On a side note, I really like Elmer's Glue for a base coat not only in glitters but in manicures that require a black base coat. Blacks, at least for me, tend to run and stain when being removed (much like dark blues and greens) making them a mess to take off. With the help of a peel off base coat, it makes removal MUCH easier and nicer to your cuticles.

Road Trip Haul

I recently went back to Texas for a few days to spend time with friends and colleagues down there and of course I had to drop by all the available stores and drug stores to check out makeup and nail polish!

Here's my haul!

Specifics:
Essie For The Twill Of It
Essie The Lace Is On
Maybelline Clearly Spotted (Color Show Polka Dots)
Maybelline Lasting Lilac (Limited Edition Color Show Vintage Leather)
Maybelline Mod Moss (Limited Edition Color Show Vintage Leather)
Maybelline Vintage Violet (Limited Edition Color Show Vintage Leather)
Nicole by OPI I Lilac Gumdrops (Gumdrop collections)
Nicole by OPI My Cherry Amour (Gumdrop collections)
OPI Avoplex Cuticle Oil To Go
Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Ravish (057)
Rimmel Exaggerate Full Colour Lip Liner in Red Diva (024)
Rimmel Lash Accelerator Serum with Grow Lash Complex
Rimmel Lasting Finish by Kate Moss in Kiss of Life (111)
Rimmel SandalEYES Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude (005)
Sinful Colors Cold Leather (Leather)
Sinful Colors Daddy's Girl
Sinful Colors Get It On (leather)
Sinful Colors Laced Up (Leather)
Sinful Colors Leather Loose (Leather)
Sinful Colors My Turn (Leather)
Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby
Sinful Colors Super Star
Wet N Wild ATTEN Hut! (Textured)
Wet N Wild Beauty Is A Battlefield (Textured)
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eye Shadow Trio in Hard Being the It Girl
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eye Shadow Trio in I'm Seeing Triples!
Wet N Wild ColorIcon Eye Shadow Trio in To Muse and Carouse
Wet N Wild Fatigue Glam  (Textured)
Wet N Wild Femme Trouper (Textured)
Wet N Wild Left, Left, Left, Right, Left (Textured)
Wet N Wild Tough Girl (Textured)

Rimmel Serum I've seen good reviews online and it's no available in my town and OPI Avoplex I've heard is awesome but I've never tried it. I have such issues with dry cuticles if I find something that really helps, I don't mind spending some extra cash.

I know Essie For The Twill Of It is gorgeous, my mom got it on her toes on a recent pedi and it's fantastic so I've been hoping to get it. Looks like it's a dupe for OPI Peace, Love, & OPI.

Image Credit: www.thedailyvarnish.com

I have a few I've worn and even used in nail art so far for the 31DC2013 challenge, but if you see any you'd like to see first, let me know!

31DC2013: Day 7 B&W Nails

Because who doesn't like pandas?

Products Used:
Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein
Sinful Colors Snow Me White
Petites Night
Seche Vite

31DC2013: Day 5 Blue Nails

I had this post all ready to go and then I forgot to post it. Please excuse me, I've been feeling under the weather recently and I'm a little scatter-brained.

I really wanted to do blue plaid nails and I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. I got lots of compliments at work, from friends, waitresses at restaurants... =) Always nice to hear good things about what you've done. 

Products Used:

Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein

OPI Alpine Snow

Essie Bikini So Teeny

Barielle Blue Capri

Milani Art of Silver

Seche Vite

31DC2013: Day 6 Violet Nails

Trying to do something different with single colors is harder than it seems. Violet glitter french tips seemed up to the challenge, no pun intended.

Shimmer Polish Gerry is a fantastic dark purple with tons of accents.

Kleancolor Metallic Purple (1 coat)

Shimmer Polish Gerry (4 coats)

Seche Vite top coat

I leave you with the most awkward hand hold polish pose. Ever. 

31DC2013: Day 4 Green Nails

Finally I'm on track! I had such a long day yesterday trying to come up with interesting designs. I feel like this one fell flat and the pictures don't do it justice. I had initially wanted to do a puzzle piece one, but that one didn't go well at all.

Anyone else having trouble with thinking of mani's that don't overlap with future prompts? Flower, gradient, etc? Le sigh. 

Products Used:
Elmer's Glue (base coat)
Barielle Green Apple
Color Club Glitter Envy
Essie Mojito Madness
Revlon Bonsai
Revlon Wicked Heart
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

Black Light Party

Awhile back I found some new Wet N Wild polishes that I scooped right up because they looked so freaking fabulous! 

Wet N Wild Black Light Party is a fabulous dark violet jelly with duochrome flakies. You really want to use at least three coats of this polish to really get the depth of those fabulous pink and gold flakies. They shine from deep inside the purple - it truly makes think of the night sky with stars.

Here is the polish itself with three coats plus base and top coat (Gelous + Seche Vite). At three coats, the purple is pretty opaque for a jelly but you still get that squishy depth and those flakies are gorgeous!

It's so hard to photograph this polish because, just like glitter, you catch glimpses at different angles, so in movement it's divine. In a snapshot, it falls a little flat. You can see the beauty in the bottle though.



Here I layered it over a dark grey/purple polish for added depth and 2 coats of Wet N Wild Black Light Party.

Base Color: Revlon Naughty

Fabulous polish. I really love Wet N Wild, their quality has improved dramatically in the past few years and these polishes rival expensive counterparts. PLUS, Wet N Wild is cruelty free!

31DC2013: 3 Day Catchup!

I know I'm late with these and I'm so sorry! I was out of town and didn't have my polishes with me. I kept thinking of fun things to try and I would have bought polish to do them, but I didn't have any brushes or acetone or dotting tools and everything I tried came out ridiculous. I hope you forgive me!

Day 1 Red Nails 

Polishes Used:

Elmer's School Glue (base coat)

Sinful Colors Ruby Ruby

Milani Ruby Jewels

Milani Nail Art in Black Sketch

Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat

I wanted to get this up quickly so I haven't finished with the swatch pictures yet so I'll update soon with swatches of these colors!

Day 2 Orange Nails

Polishes Used:

Elmer's School Glue (base coat)

Sinful Colors Leather Loose

Essie Meet Me At Sunset

Sally Hansen Hard To Get

Day 3: Yellow Nails

Polishes Used:

Barielle Nail Rebuilding Protein

Barielle Banana Drop (base color)

Revlon Gold Coin

Milani Art of Silver

Milani Yellow Design

Essence Wanna Be Your Sunshine

Sinful Colors Snow Me White

Whew! That was a lot! I've literally sat at my desk all day doing nail art. Doing a color is hard - I never know if I should do all one color or incorporate other colors. I guess it's all in your interpretation which makes it fun!

Linna

I haven't shown ya'll a Shimmer Polish in awhile. So here we go!

Shimmer Polish Linna is a fabulous glitter with the main color being a green-leaning turquoise with silver, gold, red, and blue small glitter. I get a headache trying to see what all was used, but I've included a fun macro for you to decide for yourself!

A macro for those of you who would like to guess all the glitters that this polish contains!

Base Color: Wet N Wild Blue Visionary

Shimmer Polish is available through the main website or Etsy.