Crumpet's 31DC: Tranquility

I'm a bit behind with this prompt, ironically, because I was relaxing.  On Friday I just didn't feel like doing anything after work, so polishing waited.
I thought through so many calming and soft colors, but pretty quickly realized what I wanted to do for this prompt.
I'm from a small town in wine and redwood country.  I now live in a big city on the beautiful Pacific.  There are a lot of things I love about San Diego, but a lot of things that I've grown tired of.  When I go home, there is quiet.  There is stillness.  There are old, towering redwoods. 
There are stars.
I miss dark skies full of stars.  They make me feel calm.

*1 coat Gelous base
*2 coats Zoya Song
*2 coats Zoya Dream (accent)
*1 coat Wet 'n' Wild Kaleidoscope
*Cover Girl Boundless Color White Knight
*1 coat Out the Door

I did a simple "starry" sky with Song on most nails, a pretty, shimmery navy blue that is much darker in person than my photos.  I did a thick coat of Kaleidoscope, a favorite silver holo glitter, on top for "stars."  Then, on my accent, I used Dream, an almost perfect match to Song except that it's full of scatter micro holo glitter.  On top, I dotted on the big dipper, which I always look for when I'm home.  I sealed it all with a shiny top and fell in love.
As Switchfoot says, "When I look at the stars, I feel like myself..."

What do you find calming to see on your nails?

The emblem of the land I love

This is another 4th of July manicure inspired by a pin I found.  Now, I don't want to really brag, but I find some awesome stuff on Pinterest (which is made by people much more talented than I am.  It may be the many hours that get lost once I log on that lead to these finds...) and you are more than welcome to check out my boards here: http://pinterest.com/missyjean415.  I always want to attribute the manis I find and the pin linked to an Olympic compilation and the photo linked to this instagram: ohtammm.  I really liked the look, even though it moved me outside of my accent comfort zone!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Loreal Queen of Hearts (thumb & pinkie)
*2 coats Zoya Song (ring and middle)
*1 coat Spoiled Daddy's Credit Card (index)
*3 coats Revlon Splendor (index)
*Cover Girl White Night
*1 coat Out the Door

I am really comfortable with an accent on my ring finger, but this changed everything up!  It's not really a skittle because not every nail is different, but I'm not really used to this kind of design.  My thumb and pinkie are red and white stripes.  I'm going to have to order some striping tape because I have no clue where my roll went and scotch tape is not ideal for small stripes like this.  I tried a different red, a brighter one than my last, that I've had forever and really don't use.  It's a nice one, though, with a subtle gold-leaning shimmer to it. 

Song was out still, so I used it for my blue base.  I knew I didn't have any silver glitter that I could build to full-coverage, so I used a sheer base of shimmery silver and added holo glitter on top.  I'm really annoyed with my impatience and forgetfulness.  These looked cleaner before I put on my top coat and used too many strokes, causing streaks all over the place.  In real life it's really hard to tell, but these pictures are a good reminder to be patient!  These stripes are a bit funky, but I'm loving the dots and silver!  Luckily, I still have at least one more mani I want to try for the 4th, so I'll change these stripes out soon. 
Do you have any great tips to keep top coats from streaking art?  Do tell!

My Country 'tis of Thee

So, I have been away from blogging for quite a while.  In that time, I really didn't do many manicures, leaving most of them on until they were chipped beyond recognition.
I've lost a job and a big chunk of my family and I need for life to start looking up.  After being laid off from my "night" job, I started looking at my options and am pretty set on going back to school.  Some changes need to be made because I just can't continue this way.  Hopefully this is a really good turning point!
That being said, I've not got a lot more free time for the summer and want to get back to things that make me happy--reading, movies, talking with my friends and getting a little sparkle on my nails!  So, this is the first of my patriotic/4th of July manis that I did. 

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats China Glaze Ruby Pumps
*2 coats Zoya Song (accent)
*1 coat Pure Ice Dazzle Me (accent)
*1 coat Out The Door

It's rare that I let my polish stand alone, so it was different for me to see Ruby Pumps all on its own.  These are darker and bolder colors than I've been wearing lately and I loved them!  (Forgive the tip wear--I didn't get these photographed until after a full day at work.)

Maybe it's patriotismc or simply complimentary colors, but I could not get enough of the dark blue and red together!  They both have a shimmer/sparkle to them and I loved the bold colors.  I used a little bit of Dazzle Me for stars on Song.  This is one of the only polishes I've bought in the past few months (maybe the only one?) and when I saw the mix of micro silver glitter and the medium holo pieces I really fell in love with it. 
Have you pulled out any good reds and blues for the holiday?

New 31DC: Inspired by me

I had a lot of different ideas for this challenge, and they'll make an appearance sooner or later.  Right now, though, life is a little overwhelming.  I fell off a bit at the end of the challenge, and am just kind of exhausted right now.  It's only been a month since I was home-home, but I'm missing it a lot right now.  There are a lot of things that I miss when I get homesick, but a bit one is the stars.  I miss dark skies at night and millions of stars coming out.  The big city has its benefits, but sometimes you just can't beat a small town...

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Zoya Song
*1 coat Savvy Touch of Glitter
*1 coat Wet 'n Wild Kaleidoscope
*1 coat Out The Door

I could have done a full-blown galaxy nail, because I kind of love them, but that defeats the purpose of this.  I want simple, easy, perfect night sky.  I just got Song in my Zoya promo mail today.  This is a gorgeous dark blue with a shimmery/foil finish to it.  I was worried that this would be a dupe for Co-Bolt Blue, which I have and love, but this a brighter blue (I'll compare them soon).  It is more of a deep blue than a dark one.  It was 2 easy, smooth coats to get this color, but 1 careful one would still be pretty--a little lighter.  It is actually quite a bit darker than these pictures show.

I added Touch of Glitter, a micro silver holo in a clear base that is pretty sparse, then Kaleidoscope.  These actually ended up more dense than I had imagined, but that's okay.  Every time I get home and see the stars, they are always more beautiful and numerous than I remember. 

31DC: Inspired by a song

You have to bear with me today.  I knew that I wanted to do a Wizard of Oz design, but the question was which day to do it.  After I filled in my other "inspirations," I ended up with an empty song day.  This is going to be a picture-heavy post with a lot of designs (10) and polishes (20--4 untrieds!).  I'll try to be brief, but my life-long love for this movie really makes that hard!  I was going to do 5 different images/concepts, but couldn't narrow it down, so here is a full 10 mani:

"Oh, we're off to see the Wizard--the wonderful Wizard of Oz!"

 (The polishes for the first 5)