...And Presents Under the Tree

My striping tape skills failed me again on this one, which I saw on Pinterest and traced back to the ever-amazing Manicurator, Victoria. I was SO meticulous in my taping, too, trying to make sure I could get the strips off quickly when I was done polishing so that I'd get clean lines.  Apparently I was not as fast as I thought...so, plan B:

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*2 coats China Glaze Angel Wings
*2 coats China Glaze Ruby Pumps
*Zoya Logan
*Wet 'n' Wild Kaliedoscope
*2 coats Out the Door

I loved the gold on this one--Golden-I has such a gorgeous shimmer to it and the holo sparkle of Angel Wings were perfect together.  Angel Wings glows behind the tree!  I painted over my failed stripes with the perfect green foil of Logan.  I like that you can still see the edges (total accident) so it looks more like a tree than a triangle.  I dabbed on some Kaleidoscope for decoration and added a rhinestone topper. 
What's a tree without presents?  I love the "wrapped present" nails and used the ever-awesome Ruby Pumps.  While nothing ever looks as good in a macro photo, my "ribbons" weren't too bad on these accents.  I added a bow sticker, some glossy topper, and called it a festive day!

There are still a few polishing days left before Christmas--what's your favorite tree design?  What should I try before the season's over?

33DC: most used color polish

If I were going by the numbers, today would be Black Out and Snow Me White.  Those two make their way into almost every mani I do!
I looked over my tags and, while there are plenty of polishes I love and would wear every day, Danke-shiny Red and Golden-I both had 7 tags, so I made a mani with the two of them.  It's a lot more Christmas-y than I'd like, but the numbers don't lie!

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*OPI Danke-shiny Red
*1 coat Out the Door

Okay, ignore the mess that I made of my fingers :) Today I had a midterm and very little time, so I was rushing to get this posted.  I used 2 coats of Golden-I as my base.  This is my go-to gold and a gorgeous foil/metallic finish.  

I love this design from Pshiiit.  She has amazing nails and art and I've been wanting to try this for a while because it's one of the few I think I can manage!  Actually, this was easier than I thought and turned out pretty cool. I simply used striping tape and overlapped it differently on each nail, which meant that I didn't need a lot of precision, and then painted over with Danke-shiny.  Both of these colors just glow on the nail--I'm so excited for the sun to come out tomorrow!

It's My Year

I've been on a cleaning kick recently.  This is partly due to my new found free time after losing one of my jobs.  It's partly due to my parents doing a major clean and purge of our home 600 miles away from me.  It's also largely due to a marathon of "Hoarding: Buried Alive" on Netflix.  I was going through my polish and trying to organize and log it all.  I have actually not bough much polish since March or so, but I had a ton of polishes that I never tried (sort of like my bookcase full of books I haven't opened.  Yet!).  I keep my polish in drawers and cute photo boxes, but that means that I am really only seeing the caps when I look for a color.  I was a little hesitant to mark my bottles, but I used sticky labels to paint swatches of colors and punch a little dot for each lid.  Some (I'm looking at you OPI) were a little hard to neatly apply, but overall this has helped me so much when it comes to finding colors.  It also opened my eyes to some untrieds that I was truly missing out on!

 *1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*3 coats OPI It's My Year
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*1 coat Finger Paints Elves Bells
*1 coat Out the Door

 

 Forgive the tip wear--I have a habit of painting my nails at night, as I relax, and then going to bed.  In the morning, I often forget to snap pictures before work, so this was after I got off.  In real life, it was not nearly this noticeable!
It's My Year is one that I picked up on clearance at Ulta and never got around to trying on.  What a mistake!  That second picture is blurred to show how much sparkle is packed into this beauty.  The color is like a dark lavender, soft, and packed with golden sparkle.  I guess you might call this a foil finish, and it is radiant in the sun!

I added a gold accent to work with the warm shimmer in It's My Year. You can see how Golden-I, the gold base, is also loaded with shimmer for a foil finish.  I love Elves Bells, micro gold glitter with holo particles, and hadn't used it since Christmas, so I added a coat on top. 
Did you ever find a polish that you kicked yourself for leaving in the untrieds too long?

Mardi Gras!

One of my dearest friends has made New Orleans her home.  She graciously let me come visit a while back and I fell a little in love with the city.  I had decided to give myself a little rest and time when it came to my nails, and God decided it wasn't enough.  I had planned a couple of other Valentine manis for the past few days, but I got a nasty little cut right along my cuticle that I did not think would mix well with acetone...so, they'll come later (it's always the season for hearts and pink!) and today I'm showing a little Fat Tuesday love! 

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Cult Nails Flushed
*3 coats Julep Jennifer
*1 coat OPI Fresh Frog of Bel Air
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I and Purple Pizzazz
*Zoya Logan
*1 coat Out the Door Northern Lights

Last year I did something similar to this, but  with a ton more layers and pretty much the same effect.  I'm getting more efficient!  I used Flushed as my purple base.  This is really similar to the beloved Fantasy Fire, but not a dupe.  This is a lighter purple, not quite a lavender, that is packed with a magenta shimmer.  You can really see it in the first picture and on my pinkie in the last.  I love this color--it's just gorgeous when you see it in the sun.  If you don't have this one, it is well worth getting!

I added a thin coat of Fresh Frog of Bel Air over the top.  This is a small green glitter in a clear base with scattered silver hex pieces.  On my accent I used Jennifer, which is a pale peach that is a pretty good nude for me.  It is sheer and a cream, and I was sure I would hate it when I saw it in my box, but I've come to love it.  I used Logan, Golden-I and Purple Pizzazz to dot on some bead strands because Mardi Gras NEEDS beads!

I finished everything off with a coat of Northern Lights, a micro scattered holo glitter in an Out The Door top coat.  In real life, it shows up much more, but you can see it flashing in my pinkie.  I almost chose a clear top coat because these are busy nails, but there's no such thing as "too much" when it comes to Mardi Gras!  I'm excited to see these out in the sun tomorrow.  I need to decided on a Valentine mani or two, though, which is proving hard--there are way too many ideas I want to try out!  Anyway, enjoy a little indulgence today!

New 31 DC: Gold

I love glitter.

Like, a lot. 

On my nails, on cards, on art projects, anywhere.  For today's challenge I did something that I don't typically do--full coverage glitter.  I love to layer it over just about every single mani, but I don't really do multiple coats because they are a beast to remove, especially when the glitter is chunky.  I'm going to need to figure out PVA glue base coats, though, because full coverage glitter is A-mazing!  I used this pin as my inspiration (it leads to nowhere--if you know the original source, please let me know!)

*1 coat Hard As Nails Hardener

*1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I

*2 coats Maybelline Color Show Gold's Night Out

*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Bubble Gum Pink

*1 coat Hoof Lacquer

*1 coat Seche Vite

 

I used 1 thin coat of Golden-I as a base to make sure that any space between glitter wouldn't be too obvious.  I picked up Gold's Night Out at Walmart a while ago when there was a full display of Color Show.  I still have more of these pretties to try out.  The clear base is PACKED with micro gold glitter, small hex gold glitter and large hex gold holo glitter.  It could probably use some thinner for smoother application, but because of all of the glitter it will never be super smooth.  The great thing about this is that there is SO much glitter!  There is no fishing or pushing to get holo pieces.  I used 2 coats for the full effect, but 1 coat is still pretty opaque. 

I always think of glitter for an accent, but like the idea of a cream as an accent.  I even tried a new finger!  I used Bubblegum Pink instead of a coral, like the pin, and added a stripe of Golden-I.  My Seche Vite and Out The Door are both getting low and SUPER thick and messy.  My index finger was a bit of a victim...but I got a new bottle of OTD, so no more fighting with top coats!  I love how this one looks!  How do you feel about full coverage glitter?  Have you tried any of the Sequins collection? 

Rockin' around the Christmas tree

This is a post where I wish my photography skills were better.  I am learning little by little, but still not so great with the pictures.  These nails were so much better in person, mainly because I killed them with my auto flash.  As soon as I saw Nailslide's Abstract Trees, I knew I wanted to try them (and apparently everyone else does too because they are awesome and popping up all over!).  I'm glad that I went back and looked at them again before I painted.  I had planned to do a gold base and green top, which would have worked out just fine, but I really liked the little gold trees!

*1 coat Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats OPI Skip the Gift Wrap
*1 coat China Glaze Winter Holly
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*1 coat Out the Door

 I was going to just layer Winter Holly up, but decided to use it over a base.  I used 2 coats of Skip the Gift Wrap (a dark, shimmery green that dries to a foil finish) for opacity and then 1 coat of Winter Holly for all of its glittery goodness.  I don't know if I will ever get tired of this green, gold, holo beauty!

I taped off triangles like she suggests and then tried out striping tape for the first time, which I won in a giveaway.  I was really surprised by how thin it is, laying very close to the nail, and how much comes in one little roll.  I made the strips long enough to stick to the Scotch tape, which made removal so easy--one careful pull and they were done!
Golden-I was a good cover, one thick coat over the tape and it was set.  I was a little unsure of myself, so I didn't get too creative with the garland/tape, but I really liked how they looked today.  I added a little rhinestone for the tree topper and, despite everything that screamed "add some more glitter on top!" (I know, I have a problem), I let them be with a good, thick top coat. 
In person, the definition of color is much stronger and sharper, but overall I really liked how these turned out!  Now I not only have rhinestones and new dotting tools to play with, but a whole lot of striping tape to try new designs with!

Deck the halls

I am loving my Christmas nails this week!  I know I've said it before, but my biggest regret has been that I didn't start them sooner so that I can wear them longer.  So it goes...
Today I wore holly nails.  I got an order from Amazon last night with some Christmas presents.  When I ordered I wasn't quite to $25 (and who doesn't go for free shipping?!) so I added on some rhinestones!  I found this awesome mani on Pinterest (sense a trend here?) by More Nail Polish and was dying to try it out.  Here are my holly nails!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I
*1 coat Finger Paints Elves Bells
*2 coats Zoya Logan
*1 coat Milani Jewel FX Red
*1 coat Out The Door

I loved the look of Golden-I and Elves Bells when I used them before, so I decided to use a gold base like my inspiration.  As I tend to do, I went to use a green I had handy when I remembered that I had some Zoyas that I had not tried yet.  I decided to use Logan for this mani, part of their most recent Ornate collection.  It is a really pretty deep green with shimmer that gives it a foil finish and great coverage.

I was going to use Ruby Pumps for my accent nail, like the one I found, but went with Logan instead.  To make it look a bit more like holly, I added Milani Jewel FX in red.  I used red rhinestones from my little wheel and some top coat to make berry clusters (except for my pinkies, which looked better with just one).  Once those were in place, I used a paint brush and Logan for the leaves.  I alternated where I placed the holly to make things a little more interesting (and forgiving!).

These are a bit classier than I usually go, a little more refined, and I love them!  I'm so excited to play with stones more and am sad to see these pretties go.  That's the beauty of a blog, though, right?  I can come back to them whenever I want!  As usual, these are so much cooler in the sun in real life, but they're not too shabby on screen either!

"I am one with the Yuletide"

"Know what I mean?"
Ernest Saves Christmas truly is one of the greats.  Watch it.  You will NOT be disappointed!
It was so sad to see my little snowmen go!  I got a lot of compliments from them, including my little cousin, and loved how they turned out.  BUT, then I made a list of the Christmas manicures I wanted to try, and realized that I'll need to change almost every day to squeeze them all in, so I had to say goodbye.  It was sad, but then I fell a little in love with this simple combo, so I might be over it.  Plus, you can rock snowmen again in January, right?  Right.
I initially wanted to do these nails(the pin doesn't lead to anything, but when I searched the watermark I found Linda165 on Youtube with a ton of tutorials!) for Thanksgiving, but I was really busy and didn't have quite the perfect colors, so it didn't happen.  Enter Christmas!

 

I have a tendency to use the same colors again and again, which means that I have a lot of pretties that go untried.  Meet Cult Nails' Annalicious!  I was about to use Danke-Shiny again, which is amazing, but saw this in my drawer and decided to give her a try.  This is a vibrant, bright red and gives a whole new look to this mani.  It's an orange/tomato red with tons of gorgeous red shimmer packed in.  The polished looked really thin with the first coat, but a second was all it needed.  I'm so glad I went with this bright, cheery red!

 

 

For my gold, I started with two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golden-I.  This is a really pretty, shimmery foil gold with decent coverage.  I added a coat of Finger Paints Elves Bells over the top.  This pretty golden glitter is quite dense.  It has micro gold glitter and scattered, larger holo hex pieces.  It blends perfectly over Golden-I and adds just a little extra special.

I used some coupons and promos today and went on a little spree at Ulta and Sally's. This Finger Paints was the only one from Sally's, but I ended up with 4 free polishes from Ulta and a $5 off $10 coupon, ending up at less than half my original total. Score! One of my freebies was OPI Skip the Gift Wrap, a shimmery dark green with a foil finish.  I used 2 coats as the base for my pinkie and then added 1 coat of China Glaze Winter Holly, another Ulta find.  This green glitter is really dense, packed with micro dark green and gold glitter that flashes holo.  It's really pretty--don't take my pictures' word for it1

 

Because my nails are kind of stained (I'm sure you wouldn't understand that) I needed a nude base, so I used 3 coats of Julep Jennifer.  Then, with Annalicious, Skip the Gift Wrap and Golden-I, I dotted around the nail.  I used a thick coat of Seche Vite to seal it all up (I don't really have a choice there--my bottle's only about half full and now is SUPER gloopy.  Any recommendations?  Will thinner ruin the fast dry?).

I had a revelation tonight as I looked at these.  I am not very good at nail art.  I rush to take pictures and don't clean up well.  I neglect my cuticles (but I'm trying there!).  I am not perfect and envy the skills of almost every blogger I come across.  That being said, I'm not going to apologize or put down my work anymore.  I really like how this looks!  I loved my little snowmen!  I could critique their noses or cringe at the odd placement of dots here, but the reality is that I look down at my hands and it makes me happy.  This isn't a response to anyone but myself.  I could go on about how dots are all I can do and I wish I could successfully stamp, but I really want to stop that doubting, criticizing part of me and be a little gentler with myself.  I figure saying it publicly will hold me to it.  I love how sparkly and festive these are!  What are you loving about your nails?  How are you being good to you today? 

31DC: Metallic

Here goes week 2 of the challenge!  Today I have one untried (except for swatches) and one tried-once.

I saw this really cute manicure one night and knew that I needed to pin it for later.  I was excited to see that I already had the colors she used and it looked easy enough to pull off.

 

*1 coat Yellow-Out base coat
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Coral Reef
*1 coat Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Golen-I
*1 coat Seche Vite

This actually turned out quite pretty.  My camera really is not catching the Coral Reef well.  It does have a stronger orange tone to it, in real life.  I love my Sally Hansens!  They apply perfectly every time and most are two coat polishes, 1 if you are going to add glitter or something on top.  These two were no exception.

Coral Reef is pretty new to me.  I used it once this summer as a pedi with some pink flakies on top and fell in love with it.  It is definitely a more pink than orange coral, and I had been looking for one I liked.  I tend towards shimmer finishes (if you hadn't noticed) but this cream is gorgeous.  It really hasn't streaked and smooths itself out well as it settles.

Golden-I is a really interesting gold polish.  It's pretty thin in consistency, but very dense.  It looks, to me, like it is just shimmer that results in a foil finish.  You can spread it pretty thin, if you want, and this was the first time I really used it.  It has pretty good coverage--I only used one somewhat thick coat for these tips. 

 

If I were to do wear this one again, and I'm positive I will, I would follow the advice of Christina and use two coats.  She has a really great post about this polish and metallics and she is right--a lot of the look is about the light you catch the polish in.  I would add a second sweep, though, to make sure no coral peeked through.

 

What do you think?  Are you in love with this combo like I am?  Have you done other cool manis with either of these?