Crumpet's 31DC: Topper - Non-glitter

This prompt really only left me with one option: matte top coat.
I have a lot of flakies and shimmers, but I felt like those were still in the realm of "glitter," so matte it is.
All of my ideas for a matte mani also included glitter, though.  If you haven't noticed, I kind of don't feel like a mani is finished without it.
As I scrolled through my Pinterest board, I rediscovered this awesome mani by none other than the Nailasaurus herself, Sammy.  Decision made.

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*2 coats Zoya Storm
*Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love
*Out the Door

This was nicely straightforward.  Black base, matte topper, then shiny top coat on the tips.
Done!

Crumpet's 31DC: Holo

Too many options again!
If you look at my tags over yonder ==> you'll see that "holo" is one of my most used.  I thought about holo glitter toppers, linear holos, scattered holos, holo accents...there are too many options and I really struggled to narrow things down!
So, I went relatively simple.  I stopped myself from going overboard and am enjoying the end result!

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Color Club Halo-Graphic?  Miss Bliss?
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

Due to a tragic disaster in shipping, a broken polish bottle in the Halo Hues collection ruined my other bottles and most are missing their bottom labels, so I'm not entirely sure which of the pinks this is, but I think it's Halo-Graphic.  It could be Miss Bliss.  It is gorgeous!  My photo skills are basic, at best, and even I can't take a bad picture of this one! 
I went simple and dotted the Halo Hue over Black Out for an accent.  It looked a little plain, so I added a second accent reversing the polishes.  I almost continued and dotted all the nails, and it probably would have been cute, but I'm really loving this as is! 

What's your favorite way to rock a holo look?

Funky Halloween French

For today's look, I revived a look that I LOVED when I did it here and here.  It's pretty easy to do when you use striping tape because it gives a good, even stripe of color between the French tip layers. 

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Zoya Myrta
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

The one thing I see I always forget is to be careful on the tips with this look.  It seems, no matter how great they look in real life, on camera the base color always peeks out!
I underestimate how much I love my Zoya colors!  I mentioned recently that I loved their Ornate collection scattered holos and I also swoon over the foils in their Surf collection.  Myrta is a gorgeous, rusty orange with the strong shimmer that gives it a metallic look in the shade and a glow in the sun.  I went with this more muted orange and my trusty Black Out on the tips, guided by striping tape.  I forgot how simple but striking this look is and love it!

Do you have any good advice to learning (and remembering!) to wrap your tips when you polish?  Please share!

Dotty Halloween and Zoya create-a-polish!

I was SO close to getting a third post in for the week!

The problems was that I was overly-ambitious about the mani I planned and had to find a quick, dark plan B to cover up a disaster (which you will still see remnants of on the tips if you look closely).  I was ready to do a sponged candy corn "gradient" that needed better planning...and cutting of my sponge.  The yellow tips started fine but the orange overtook my nails (it had a mind of its own, I swear!) and I had a white base with some nails sponged to cover.  So, I used this mani from hellomissniki.com as my jumping off point.

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White (NOT necessary)
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*2 coats China Glaze Some Like It Haute (middle)
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed
*1 coat Out the Door

I promise, though my nails have been stained in the past, that yellow at the tips is NOT my natural nail, but the tip of my candy corns!
I love Some Like It Haute and couldn't resist pulling it out.  It's such a gorgeous mix of micro gunmetal glitter and larger hex holo glitter!  I resisted every urge to add glitter to the black and left it alone with a cream finish.  I dotted Black Out and Snow Me White over Sun Kissed--a gorgeous, easy orange cream--on my ring finger and called it a day.
I love the polka dots!  If I didn't have the botched base poking out, I'd be more in love with this look, but so it goes!  I'm going to switch it out tonight because it's really driving me nuts, but I'm sad to lose my dots and sparkles!

What do you think about manis-gone-wrong?  Do you want to see the botched attempts to know you're not alone, or is it better to pretend they just didn't happen?

If you haven't heard, Zoya (a brand that I LOVE) is running a really fun contest through Friday.  Log on to their site to play in the color lab and create your own polish.  You can play with colors and finishes and see all the others that have been created.  AND, if you feel so inclined, you can give my li'l bottle a vote by following the tweeted link below!

Vote for my creation, Melissa: "A sparkling bright pink for an extra-girly touch" http://t.co/hbktZLcFIc via @ZoyaNailPolish
— Melissa Andersen (@melissandersen) October 28, 2014

Matte Halloween

For-ev-er.  You're right, that's how long it's been since I last posted. 

Know that I feel bad, but make no apologies.  I moved, started a new job, quit an old job, injured a knee twice leaving me pretty immobile, traveled across the country, and just found a desire to polish again.  It's been a very different, crazy year for me, but good in the long run.  I just needed some "me" time to stop my head from spinning!

Hopefully I'll spend much more time here now!

I really wanted to start off right with the Crumpet's 52-week Challenge, but really didn't get myself in gear to make the deadlines for them.  I've been sporting nekkid nails for a while now, out of exhaustion, and was ready to dive in.  I got super excited about jumping in for week 3, but apparently the InLinkz is already closed. 
So, I may not be feeling this Challenge...I was excited to have some inspiration to start trying new things again, but I don't really like that it's closed off to anyone who hasn't been accepted into the Facebook group (I think they're pretty open to adding members, though!) and I didn't realize they were going to be such sticklers with the timing of posts.  Please understand that this is NOT a judgement on anyone who is on board (I fully intended to be until about 10 minutes ago when I went to post!), Crumpet's Nail Tarts, or the Challenge itself.  I actually think it's a great idea and may use some prompts, but it looks like I just decided I'm not "officially" participating.

One of this week's prompt options was matte.  I'm not a huge fan of matte finishes (I LOVE the feel of a shiny top coat when I touch my nails), but a challenge should be just that--stretching out of a comfort zone!

So, here's my first Halloween mani of the season:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Orly R.I.P.
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out (accent)
*1 coat Sinful Colors Pearl Harbor (accent)
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*1 coat Hard Candy Matte-ly In Love

R.I.P. by Orly is a black, relatively sheer/jelly base with orange large hex and micro square glitters.  The glitter settled at the bottom of my bottle, but some shaking and resting it upside down while I started fixed that easily.  I used 2 coats, and may opt for 3 in the future due to how sheer the base is, but 2 careful coats are not bad at all!  With a shiny top coat, it gets the depth of a jelly sandwich.
I wanted a little something extra, so I used my black creme and dotted on eyes.  I used Pearl Harbor for just a little extra sparkle on the black.  I like this look a lot with a top coat and will have to do the combo again!
I used Matte-ly In Love on all the nails for the prompt.  While I don't really like the feel of it, I must admit that glitter looks so cool with the matte finish on it!  I'm not converted from a high-shine topper, but I'm not disappointed either!

So, what's your favorite way to rock matte?  Is there something I should try that will convert me?  Do tell!

"Say something, I'm giving up on you!"

I'm alive, I swear!
Between the holidays, travel, school, finals, work, attempting to sleep, and the little things, like taking a shower or breathing, the end of the year was insane for me!
I painted my nails a few times, but they were basic, uninspired, and left on for far too long.  January was a nekkid nail month, so there was nothing to see.
Then it was Valentine's day!  I really wanted to do a bunch of different things, but then it was the 13th, so I had to just go with something.  I promise that I'll be around a lot more now, because I was reminded how much I miss this little "me" time.
So, here's the look I loved:

*1 coat Gelous base
*3 coast China Glaze Good Witch?
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*2 coats Butter London Fairy Cake
*Savina Hearts
*2 coats Out the Door

I used this pin of a mani by @yesnails.http://www.iphoneogram.com/u/278152314 as my inspiration.  I went with black instead of white on my accent because, well, it is Valentine's day, after all.  I used my striping tape that came in from Born Pretty instead of my shaky hand and a heart glitter from the Savina polish. 
I went with Good Witch? to match the pink heart from the glitter.  This polish is so odd.  It's a pretty metallic rose with matching micro glitter throughout it.  It's stunning in the sun.  The mini glitter gives it a bumpy look, though.  It sort of kills me because it looks funky, but the color and sparkle are great!
I never get tired of the beauty of Fairy Cake's holo goodness, so that was my second accent.
I am LOVING these and do not want to take it off, but they were quick and look awesome, so it's a good motivation to get back into things.
Thank you for your loyalty through my silence.  Today I passed 10,000 views, which is not much for some bloggers but really blows my mind!  Than YOU for stopping by and making me smile!

Halloween left-overs

I know, I know, you're thinking about Thanksgiving left-overs and I'm sounding a little out of it.  Well, I am a little out of it.  Between interning, class, and work, my time has dwindled.  With it, my li'l blog has been neglected.  Actually, my nails have too.  I haven't done too many interesting looks and often simply polish one simple color to keep them covered and neat.
But, here are 2 Halloween looks that I did enjoy, but did not get up.

 *1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener

*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green With Envy

*Zoya Storm

*Zoya Aurora 

*1 coat Out the Door

Polka dots--easy!  I wanted witchy colors, and loved the holo sparkle contrast of the Zoyas on the cream finish of Green With Envy.

 

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener

*3 coats China Glaze Some Like it Haute

*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out

*Cover Girl Boundless Color Candy Corn

*3 coats Spoiled Vitamin C

*3 coats China Glaze I Herd That

*1 coat Out the Door

I tried to somewhat recreate a Christmas mani that I loved from last year, pattern-wise.  This didn't turn out as I really envisioned, but I love the glittery polishes, so I can't really complain.  As you an see, the orange Vitamin C is incredibly sheer (I really only did 3 coats of the others because I did one coat for each every time I added one), so if you love that orange shimmer, consider a base coat.

So, here's my out of season Halloween looks!

Here's lookin' at you!

I love this simple little Halloween look!
I wore nails like this last year and, with so little time, it was impossible to resist this quick nail art again.  I originally saw this inspiration on Pinterest last year.  I love simple nail art like this that really anyone can pull off!

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Essence Jacob's Protection
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*1 coat Out the Door

Jacob's Protection is from the Essence Twilight line that came out earlier this year.  I haven't read or watch the series, but the colors were really great.  This is a black base with dense, medium blue shimmer throughout.  The first photo is a little out of focus and really shows off the shimmer on my index finger.  It's a really pretty polish!  I just used a dotting tool to dab on white and then black over the dark base.  Easy!

33DC: Chevrons

Last week I really wasn't very inspired by the challenges, nor did I have time to do more than a simple polish.  Last night, as I read and tried to do ANYTHING but homework, I gave chevrons a try.  I've been dying to try this mani that I found on Pinterest and traced back to Selena at Pink U Rock.  I, like many of you, debated whether or not zig-zags were considered chevrons.  I took the technical road and decided not, so I tweaked the mani a bit, but love it!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sinful Colors Cream Pink
*2 coats Butter London Fairy Cake
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

I love Cream Pink and couldn't find it for a while last night.  I know Sinful Colors are cheap, so it wasn't a big deal, but I had had my heart set on it.  I'm glad it surfaced (which is sort of a miracle in my room right now).  I used 2 coats for coverage, though long nails probably need 3.  I love that, even though it has "cream" in its name, it has a really subtle golden shimmer to it that you can see in the first picture.
Fairy Cake is an awesome gold-ish holo glitter that I used for my ring finger accent.  I love how this looks with the pink!  I used Snow Me White as a base for my chevrons and used striping tape to make the v's.  Then I used Black out over the top and peeled off the tape.
This color combo is so stunning that I am sad to see it go tomorrow!  I have to meet with my internship contact for school and don't really feel like this is appropriate, but I'm sure I'll give it another go or try a variation very soon because I can't take my eyes off of it!  Do you have any color combos that just steal the show like this?  Share!  Share!

State love

This mani is a little late--things are getting a bit crazy getting ready to go back to school!  But I'm trying to make it an excited crazy, not a scared-that-it's-been-too-long-since-I-graduated crazy.  The only time of year I can tolerate my current retail job is really back to school.  I love the new college freshmen moving in and getting excited for their new lives.  I like talking with the parents and answering questions.  I like being excited for them.
So, with two major residential colleges moving in, we are busy!  But I did decide to show a little excitement with some school nails.  San Diego State moved in first, last weekend, and these were my Aztec nails.

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats OPI Danke-shiny Red
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Northern Lights
*1 coat Maybelline Color Show Polka Dots
*1 coat Out the Door

I used Danke-shiny and Black Out for the SDSU colors.  I have fallen a little in love with Polka Dots, so I added that black and white glitter as my accent.  After taping off the tips and adding the black, I used a coat of Northern Lights to soften the lines just a bit.  I maybe should have stopped with just the black cream and the shimmery red, but when it comes to glitter, I really don't know when enough is enough!
These actually held up pretty well and got some compliments from customers happy to see a little school spirit.  My parents are both proud Aztecs and, while I may have chosen the college on the hill instead, I love getting to tell all the new freshman that I have State blood in me!

Hot Pink

So, instead of cleaning or any of the other things I probably should have been doing today, I decided to give my blog a little makeover!  I was reading through a blogging FAQ post that was posted on Tes Did It Nails today.  She has some interesting things to think about as you start or work on expanding your blog, but the best little nugget was her link to The Cutest Blog On The Block. 
Oh.  My.  Goodness! 
Their templates are so adorable and I while I really like my new look, I am so excited to try out a new one!  These ladies have so many amazing free templates for all different looks and seasons--I'm excited to keep playing around with them!

I had been waiting to do this mani that I found on Pinterest for a while and was so excited to get around to it!  I tried really hard to find the original post, mostly because I wanted to know what the glitter was, but couldn't.  I really hate when pins lead to collections of manis with no sources!  If this is yours, let me know so I can give you credit!  The funny thing is, the more that I looked at the photo trying to figure out the polish, I realized I already owned it!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme wear Black Out
*1 coat Milani Hot Pink
*1 coat Out the Door

 This is such a simple combo of a black cream base and glitter top, but I love how it looks!  Hot Pink is a clear base with medium sized silver holo glitter and magenta glitter.  I realized, once I started putting it on, there is also a really sparse micro silver glitter in it.  I added a thick layer of Out the Door over the top.  The polish is a little tricky to maneuver because it's one with a thick clear base, which means you dab the glitter more than brush, but that is in no way a deal breaker!

The top coat and thick base make the glitter look almost suspended in real life, which was the coolest part of this.  So cool, in fact, that a customer asked to see it and then she kept touching my nails and asking how I "did that." 
I'm super flattered when my customers like my nails and let me know or ask about them.  I also notice their nails and will comment on the manis I like.  I know you look at nails too, otherwise you would not be spending time looking at this.  So, here's my question: do you ever feel like it's okay to grab someone's hand to check out their nails?  Is it super weird, or is it just me (which is ALWAYS a possibility)?

Coming back

Well hello and my apologies!  I have kind of dropped off the face of the earth, both here and in other areas of my life.  I know that no one expects anything of me, but you have been such wonderful readers and so supportive that I feel like at least a small explanation is in order.
Since the end of January I have really been battling depression.  There is not a whole lot that inspires or excites me lately.  On top of that, we lost my grandmother to a sad, difficult end.  Life has just been overwhelming and I haven't felt compelled to polish much, let alone post about it.  What I tell myself has just been "me" time is really retreating, though, and not all that healthy, so I'm trying to come back.  Fake it 'til you make it, right?  Right.  I'm hoping this will help me feel more like me.
That being said, I'm starting off super unoriginal and recreating an awesome mani that Amber posted over at the highly-addictive and awesome Amber did it!  My coloring is slightly different, but I couldn't resist the perfect summer mani she rocked!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails
*China Glaze Pool Party
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*Cover Girl White Night
*1 coat Hoof Lacquer
*1 coat Out the Door

 

I buffed my nails (now that the staining has grown out!) and opted to go nude for the French.  I was tempted to use a nude colored polish, but let my natural nails be the base instead.  I taped off the tips with Scotch tape and used Pool Party for the tips.  On my left hand I freehanded a second coat after removing the tape, but wasn't as confident for my right.  This is a little sheer and needs a couple of coats for the whole nail.  As a neon, it dries to a semi-matte finish, which I like to shine up with a top coat.  With that shiny top coat, though, they looked about the same.

On my accent, I used a dotting tool for the black and white dots, and then the opposite on top.  The one thing that Amber did and I wish I had more successfully copied was the size difference in the dots.  I was worried about making the larger ones too big, but they came out a little too close in size to tell a difference.  Either way, I love the neon pink with the black/white contrast!

I don't often end up doing a French, but I really like how this looks!  I have tons of funky French mains pinned, so I'll have to keep them coming.  This was a fun, easy, cute mani for me and I'm hoping to dive back into this little hobby.  Thank you, for coming back and for having patience with me. 

Love-Hate

I love and hate Valentine's day.  This year was a pretty crappy one, due mostly to an insane amount of work between two jobs.  I felt, to be honest, like I should reflect this attitude in my mani:

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Color Club Ruby Pumps
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

This was a really simple one.  I used Ruby Pumps and Black Out for my accent.  I freehanded a heart on my thumb (which was...interesting...on my right hand).  I would say that I love this red, but I've learned that I am not allowed to fall in love with a red polish.  It's been more than a year and my bottle of Color Club Ruby Slippers still won't open (I can't bring myself to toss it) and I opened my box of indies this weekend to find that Annalicious had been killed!  I have no idea how, but the bottle broke right at the neck.  The top was laying next to the rest of the dry bottle.  I was going to buy a replacement this weekend with the promo, but just couldn't justify it.  I was so bummed!

New 31DC: Inspired by a blogger

This was a really tough challenge.  I have been reading nail blogs for a little more than a year now and there are so many wonderful, fun, talented ladies out there who inspire me.  Most of my posts are in someway inspired by what people like you do.  This was hard to narrow down, so I went to my Pinterest board.  Then, it became pretty easy.
Though she hasn't posted in a long time, Erika from Chloe's Nails is the first person I read regularly.  She has an amazing eye for patterns and colors.  She taked gorgeous photos.  She is unbelievably honest and open when it comes to her writing.  She is amazing and missed right now!  One look that she has a stellar eye for is the Funky French, and there is one of hers that I have been dying to wear.

*1 coat Yello-Out

*2 coats OPI DS Extravagance
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out The Door

I loved how these looked, both in her photos and on my hands!  Extravagance is gorgeous, as always!  It was 2 easy, perfect coats to match the bottle.  This dark berry is packed with scattered micro holo pieces and just stunning.

I like the idea of mixing finishes, like a shimmer/glitter and cream.  The black tips are so crisp and smooth, a good contrast to the holo.  I just used some tape to make my lines and 1 coat of Black Out.

New 31DC: Inspired by a Game

This is a challenge that has SO many possibilities!  I may just make a little challenge for myself later on with "game" manis...
I wasn't quite ready to say farewell to Annalicious, so that helped me narrow down my choices.  Today I went with a video game (here comes my no-so-inner nerd):

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Cult Nails Annalicious
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out The Door

I'm actually really pleased with how these little Pokeballs turned out!  I made Annalicious my base because Snow Me White is really opaque.  After painting the nails red I freehanded the bottom half white because I didn't need a perfectly crisp line.  I used a small paint brush and Black Out to draw on the stripe.  Then, with the largest dotting tool I have, I added a black and white dot in the center.  Pretty easy!

I wish I were less embarrassed of my love of these little digital guys so I could wear these longer.  They really did turn out much better than I imagined them, which is not typically the case when I try out some nail art.  Alas, I need to at least pretend I'm a grown up!  Do you still have some secret kid loves?  Things you'll just never outgrow?

New 31DC: Inspired by Nature

Tonight I really just wanted to go to sleep.  At, like, 8 pm.  I had big plans for some pretty nature nails.  Then, I thought about going simpler.  I thought about another galaxy nail, which I loved the first time.  Then I tried to think of something even simpler.  Awful, I know.  Well, so are the results.  Sort of--they're not horrible, but I second-guessed myself, which was the biggest mistake.

 

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Cult Nails Annalicious
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out The Door

This is the first time I've done ladybug nails since high school--maybe junior high!  I had my tape ready to put their little heads as a black tip, like a French, but then decided I'd use hole reinforcements and do a half-moon-ish look.  Not good.  I wish I had gone with a French type tip instead because these don't really have the "head" look I wanted. 
I really just couldn't get over the idea of using Annalicious, which is a gorgeous, shimmery, bright red, so I had to do ladybugs!  It was so hard to paint over that beautiful base! 
I used my trusty Black Out to paint on all the details, which is striking as a cream against the shimmer.  I used a new art brush from a Bundle Monster kit my mom got me for Christmas.  It was a little rough with the striper brush at first, which is why you aren't really seeing my ring finger in this one...so it goes.  While it is messier than I had hoped, using my new brush makes me excited to play around with the others in the kit. 
So, I'm not wild (no pun intended) about how these little buggies came out, but you can certainly bet that you'll be seeing some Annalicious and Black Out returning next month for a Valentine's Day look!

New 31DC: Favorite Polish

This is just as hard as my "cheer up" mani! There are so many polishes that I love, and they all make me happy at different times and in different ways. But, right now, I am so tired after 4 long days of work (with 2 more to come) and finishing up a course, so I'm going to take an easy but honest way out on this one.

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats China Glaze Strawberry Fields
*2 coats Sally Hansen Black Out (ring)
*1 coat Out The Door

So, first and foremost, Strawberry Fields is a beautiful dream!  I love the color pink, and that carries over into my nails.  This is a gorgeous medium pink.  I used 2 coats and probably could have added a third to eliminate any nail line, but 2 are really great coverage and go on so easily. 
And then there is the shimmer (just look at the bottle in that previous shot!).  A-mazing!  This polish glows.  Unlike many others, this amazing golden shimmer blazes in the sun, but it doesn't hide in the shade or indoors.  It gives this pink such a warmth without in-your-face glitter (NOT that I am opposed to that!). 

So, this challenge is "favorite polish," not favorite color, so I also added my favorite accent style.  I love how simple an accent nail is, but how striking it can be.  I love China Glaze and their polish and have quite a growing collection of them.  I have realized, though, that Black Out makes more appearances than any other color, so it was the perfect accent for a favorite polish challenge.
So, while there are so many polishes that I love that share my ever-growing "favorite" label, this style tends to be one I keep coming back to and Strawberry Fields is a polish I think I could wear forever and really not get tired of looking at--it's just a versatile beauty! 
What are you partial to?  Do you love a unique stunner, or a simple beauty?  Is there one polish you could rock every day and never get bored with?  Or are there just too many out there to settle down with one?

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!
 

New 31DC: Flakies

I didn't think too much about today's challenge because I like flakie glitter and have an amazing untried.  So, I wore a simple swatch of Cult Nails' Seductive today:

*1 coat Yello-Out
*1 coat Maybelline Plum Paradise
*1 coats Cult Nails Seduction
*1 coat Out The Door

 

I wish that I had planned better for Seduction. I used a thin base without realizing how sheer the tint of this is. In the future, I'll build my base much cleaner and better. This polish is packed with red to green duochrome flakes with scattered blue ones too. I did a horrible job of getting the color shift to show, but know that this is a-mazing! I bought it when it became pretty clear that Clairvoyant will never come back, and I think I'm okay with that. I'm dying to see this over something with more contrast, like black...

After I got home with chips in my nails, I reconsidered my flakies. Today is my best friend's birthday! She is amazing and, even though she is really not into nail polish, she stops by here to see what I'm up to. She's on the other side of the country and I miss her so much, so I wanted to do a special mani for her today. AND, I even worked in some flakies!

 

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau (pinkie and index)
*2 coats Julep Dendrie (middle and thumb(
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out (ring)
*2 coats Finger Paints Motley (all but ring)
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Cover Girl Candy Corn
*1 coat Out The Door

I decided to use Finger Paints Motley as my flakie.  I layered it over Take Me To Your Chateau and Dendrie to look icy.  I alternated those two because I just couldn't decide which look I liked better.  Both a clean, cream finishes.  Take Me is a pale sky blue, which has streaked a bit each time I used it, but definitely not enough to ditch it!  Dendrie is a pale, warm gray (is that possible?) that also covered really easily in 2 coats.  There were not really any streaking issues with this. 
I used 2 coats of Motley to amp up the flakes.  It's funny that, in these photos, the green really shows in the flakes because in real life, the blue is much more dominant.  My middle nail (gray base) is the easiest to see both colors on--blue down the center and green on the sides.

I used Black Out for my penguin (bestie's favorite animal!), with Snow Me White brushed on for the tummy.  I dotted on the eyes and used Candy Corn to dot on the feet and beak.  I'm pretty proud of how these little guys turned out!  I'm definitely going to use them again sometime--they were pretty easy and super cute! 
So those are my flakie nails--both the ones I wore and the ones I painted tonight to celebrate an amazing girl!  Do you like to paint your nails in honor of others?  I love looking down and seeing something that reminds me of people I love! 

Haute momma

So, what I actually wore today was China Glaze Some Like It Haute.  This is yet another gem that my mom gave me for Christmas.  I am a blessed girl!
I had been eying this polish for a long time and am in love with it!

*1 coat Hard As Nails Hardener
*1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat China Glaze Some Like It Haute
*2 coats Hoof Lacquer

In the bottle this looked black to me, so I layered it over Black Out.  When I did that, something interesting happened.  The contrast became very clear, showing Some Like It Haute to be a very dark charcoal gray micro glitter packed with silver shimmer and small silver holo hex pieces.  It. Is. Amazing!  I am kind of in love with this one.  Pictures can't do it justice!

 

Ignore those tips that took a beating when I went back to work today.  I could not keep my eyes off of my hands.  It is almost like a galaxy nail with one brush stroke.  Gorgeous in the sun!  I like dark colors like this best on shorty nails and am so sad to see it go for another challenge mani!  Not that something awesome isn't coming, but this beauty has me hooked right now!  Do you have any polishes, even ones you really wanted, that just blew you away on the nail?