Fairy Love

My love-hate-mostly-love relationship with Valentine's day is in full swing.  Bring on the pink!  Bring on the sparkles!  Bring on the hearts!  Bring on the love!  (Pretend to ignore my lonely singleness!)
Here's my first mani for the season.  I wanted to have some sparkling red on my nails, and went from there once I got some new decals in the mail that I ordered from RLR Creations.

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Zoya America
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*3 coats Butter London Fairy Cakes
*1 coat China Glaze Fairy Dust
*1 coat Out the Door

America is 2 easy coats for perfect red coverage.  Adding Fairy Cakes as a second accent was a last minute decision, but I'm glad I did it.  Sometimes too much red makes me feel...old.  I like breaking it up like this.
I used Snow Me white as a base for my red heart decal.  This comes in a really cute Valentine's set.  I was kind of off as I was finishing up this mani and left the first decal in the water WAY too long and it got folded as I slid it off.  This one lost a little bit of the red as I patted it on, which is really only noticeable up close.  I've never had this happen with these decals, so I'm assuming it was a fluke--we'll see with some of the others from this set that I can't wait to use!
 

I was having a rough day when I I painted this, so I figured a little more sparkle was in order.  I added a coat of Fairy Dust, the perfect micro holo glitter, and then shined it all up with a top coat. 
I've been doing a lot of cleaning/decorating/crafting lately, so I've gotten some chips on my right hand.  At first I was bummed because this was such a fun look, but now I'm a little happy because it gives me an excuse to move onto the next festive look!

Do you have any "love" looks you love?  Let me know!

Crumpet's 31DC: Rainbow

I'll keep it short and sweet tonight since it's later than I had planned.  I've been dying to try a mani like this one by Bregje at Oooh, Shinies! and decided to do a variation on it for my rainbow mani.

*1 coat Gelous base
*3 coats NYC Skyline Blue
*Zoya America
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green With Envy
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Blue Me Away!
*China Glaze Gothic Lolita
*1 coat Out the Door

I picked up Skyline Blue at Target on clearance (under $1!) and thought it would make a nice sky for my rainbow.  It's a slightly shimmery pale blue.  I had some dragging patches, so I went with 3 coats for evenness, but you could do 2 careful thick ones too.
I dotted on my colors, overlapping between nails a bit.  My only regret is that my base is darker than I thought, so Green With Envy doesn't have enough contrast to really pop.  Other than that, I'm liking this one!

One last Christmas look...

Oh man, life can really get in the way of plans sometimes, you know?
I had this mani, which I LOVED, and another one that I had been waiting a long time to do, to show for Christmas.  But then I had to pack and fly home and a week had gone by before it started chipping and I hadn't snapped a picture. 
Then I was SO ready to start the new 31 day challenge.  But it had to wait until I got back from vacation.  Which was when I promptly came down with the flu.  Ugh.
So, there have been a couple of manis that didn't make it to my camera, but I'm fever-free and ready to start postin'!
So, this is a Christmas mani I originally saw on The Swatching Sprite (I'm so sad she's stopped posting--I loved this blog!) and had been dying to try.  Except for some pesky topcoat smearage, I LOVED how these turned out!

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Cover Girl White Night
*1 coat Zoya Ginessa
*Revlon Posh
*Zoya America
*1 coat Out the Door

I loved these polka dots!  Ginessa is a gorgeous white shimmer that, for opacity, is best layered over a white cream, and it's such a pretty base!  I fought every instinct and let the red, green, and white cream dots stand alone.  I like the lighter tone of America and Posh together.  I even liked the design of the dots (which I am so excited to do again and again for different holidays/color combos!).  I even waited a full 15 minutes but it still dragged the red :(  In real life, it was totally not as noticeable. 

Any tips for keeping a topcoat from dragging colors below?  Please share!

New 31DC: Geometric

I was very unsure about what to do for today's challenge.  I looked for ideas on Pinterest (sense a theme here?) and tried to think of something that suited me.  Geometric really isn't something I'm drawn to, when it comes to designs.  Then, it hit me--a flash of genius.  The ultimate in geometric shapes:

TETRIS!

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats China Glaze Fast Track
*Color Club Almost Famous (pinkie)
*China Glaze Gothic Lolita (ring)
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed (middle)
*China Glaze Aquadellic (index)
*Zoya America (thumb)
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out The Door

I LOVE Tetris!  My favorite was Tetrisphere for the N64.  In my current retail hell, people are always amazed at how well I pack bags and carts.  Tetris!  I could not decide on the right base for these and was going to use my go-to nude by Julep, but it's a little bottle and takes 3 coats and I don't know that I want to spend the bucks to get a new one if I run out, so...I went with another gorgeous neutral.  I love Fast Track for so many reasons, not the least of which is that amazing shimmer!

I was really sad when I outlined these because those skills need some work.  I taped off the shapes and did such a great job that I almost left them alone (my tape skills are getting SO much better!), but I had to get those iconic boxes in. 

Really, away from the cruel macro setting of a camera, these don't look bad at all!  I wish I had the time, patience and skill to do these on my right hand too so I could wear them tomorrow, but that would just be disaster.  I can't wait to give these a go when I get some striping tape because I think those sharp lines will make these little pieces awesome!
 

31DC: Inspired by a flag

Eeek!  I'm a little late posting today's challenge.  For the record, this was finished and photographed by 11:56 pm.  Just in case you cared...
Today is inspired by a flag.  This is pretty random and doesn't really seem to fit with the other challenges, but so it goes.  I considered trying a pirate theme, but then I decided to try to redeem my abysmal Fourth of July nails.  I have 2 untrieds today (sorry, I've been forgetting to track them!)

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Julep Kate
*2 coats Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Co-Bolt Blue
*China Glaze Ruby Pumps
*1 coat Julep America
*1 coat Seche Vite

This is much closer to what I had actually planned to paint in July, until my red polish wouldn't open.  I tried a new white for this one--Julep Kate.  While very subtle, this has a soft shimmer to it that helps make the white less harsh and white-out-y.  I think I'll be using it more frequently now that I know how nice it is.  I used 2 coats, which cut down on streaks.  If it wore it alone, with a glitter, I think I might do 3.

 

 

 

Previews of America are really what prompted me to sign up for Julep.  It was so pretty in the swatches I saw that I signed up and got it in my first non-intro box.  I had not used it yet, and was a little disappointed.  The micro red glitter, blue and silver hexes show up well and and were easy to apply.  I did not see any stars, though, as I fished through :( 

 

It's funny how things show up so differently in photos and in real life.  In these pictures I like America a lot more--it lets Co-Bolt Blue show more.  In real life, it is actually pretty opaque for a layering glitter.  Ruby Pumps looks really thin in these photos, with Kate showing through, but is dark and glittery in person. 
I'm curious to know your thoughts on Julep.  I am getting this month's box, and it's the first I have chosen since the summer.  I have not been over-the-moon stoked with the polishes so far.  Do you subscribe?  Are there colors you love that I need to add on?  I can definitely say that their customer service is amazing, but I'm on the fence about the polish right now.
If you've never tried Julep and want to see what their polish and products are about, you are welcome to use my referral link (http://www.julep.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/47422/) and use "COLOR2012" at checkout to get your intro box for $0.01 (that's right, just a penny!).

31DC: Red

So here it begins!  It's the first of October, and I am going to do my best to get a new mani, on the right theme (or my cheat of it) each day.  I'm glad that we ease into things with colors.  I know that last month the ladies focused on their untried polishes.  I can't guarantee that each post will have untrieds, but I have a lot to choose from, so most should!  Today's red nails have 4!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black out on all but ring finger
*2 coats Spoiled Ants In My Pants on pinkie, middle and index finger
*2 coats Fantasy Makers Once Upon A Time on thumb
*3 coats Julep Jennifer on ring finger
*accent in Zoya Arizona (I forgot that one in my picture--sorry!)

I was just going to give these gorgeous glitters a try, but the point of this challenge is to, you know, challenge me.  I decided to go all in and give a little nail art a try, incorporating a touch of gore/Halloween with a Dexter homage.

When I nabbed the cute Fantasy Makers I forgot about Ants In My Pants.  When I got home and saw the sorta-dupes, I was disappointed in myself.  Luckily, they were each less than two dollars!  I decided to use both to see how they compared.  I started with a black base because the tinted bases of these looked pretty thin.  The strange thing about them, which you can see both in the photos and in real life, is that it actually looks blue or purple. 
You can see in the picture that Once Upon A Time on my thumb has glitter that is much denser than Ants In My Pants, but both were really easy to apply--no glitter maneuvering needed!  I personally (though I know no one agrees) kind of like the uber-wide Spoiled brush, but if you have one you don't really need the other unless you are completing a collection.

Jennifer was very sheer.  I used 3 coats and you can still see nail line in real life.  It is a creamy almost-perfect nude for me.  I used a small paint brush and America to attempt the signature slice from Dexter's work. It's not great, but for me it is a big deal because I almost NEVER attempt any art in my polishing.

You can get a better idea of the blue tint of the base in this one.  And, on a side note, how cute are the Fantasy Makers' bottles?  I know I'm late to the bandwagon, but they're pretty cool seasonal bottles!

So there it is: day 1!  I am a little worried I won't be able to follow through with the whole challenge, but I'm one day closer to completion!
Have you taken the challenge before?  Would you give it a try?  Again?