31DC: Recreate your favorite

I've made it to the end! I really did not think that I would make it much past the first week, but now I can say that I have completed the 31 Day Challenge! The final challenge is to recreate your favorite from the month. There are a ton that I loved and am excited to try again or work on. This was a bit tricky because today is Halloween, so I really wanted to choose one that was Halloween-themed. Then I couldn't decide. So, here's my Halloween skittle!

That's the lineup!  I changed up a few polishes from the original designs, but most are the same.

 

 

 

Day 12: Stripes.  My candy corn is a Color Club Almost Famous base, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Sun Kissed and Julep Kate, topped with Out The Door Northern Lights.  It's getting late and I know that this will be coming off tomorrow night, so instead of waiting for the base to dry an use tape, I freehanded the stripes.

 

Day 2: Orange.  For my orange nail, I used Zoya Myrta instead for this nail, which is a bit darker than the previous 2.  It is still shimmery with a great "foil" finish.  This Surf collection is gorgeous and they need no more than 2 coats.  I used Black Cat Lacquer Static Age again over the top.

 

Day 23: Inspired by a movie.  I decided to give Mr. Skellington another try. I couldn't decide between him and spider webs from my black and white mani, but I'm going to see my aunt tomorrow, and I'd love for her to see him!  This is 2 coats of Julep Kate with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out for accents.

Day 29: Inspired by the supernatural.  It's not Halloween without the Great Pumpkin!  I wanted to do the pumpkin that I painted again, but because I was doing this on both hands, I worried I wouldn't be able to pain straight lines.  So, I had to settle for this polish that I love!  Bummer!  This is 2 coats of Zoya Yara under the awesome Sonoma Nail Art Sincerest Pumpkin Patch.

 

Day 11: Polka dots.  Before I began this challenge I really wanted these little spooky eyes to be my Halloween mani.  I used 2 coats of Fantasy Makers Rest In Pieces with Kate and Black Out for the eyes.  I love these little eyes!

So there it is!  This is my Halloween look and a decent round-up of different themes and techniques from this month.  Thank you so much for sticking with me through some of the rougher challenges and letting me get excited about the ones I felt successful about!  I'm a little sad that it's over because it forced me to try new things and to post all the time.  I do have a lot to revisit, though, and try with new insight.  Plus it's fall now, so it's a whole new color palette to play with (not that I really stick to "seasonal" colors).  Have you completed the challenge?  What are your favorite days to do?  What are you wearing for Halloween?  I'd love to hear!

On a side note, on 10/20 I mentioned that it was my 4 month anniversary of starting this blog and I was so excited to have reached 450 page views.  In the past 10 days I have reached over 700!  I am so amazed that there are people out there who are interested in what I am doing and I want to THANK YOU so much for stopping by!  Please feel free to leave me comments and start up a conversation--I can talk about nail polish for days!

31DC: Orange

We're on a roll: here's day two!  There are 3 untrieds today!

I know that there are a million Halloween ideas for orange polish.  I decided to try two new colors that are much closer than I realized when I bought them...this may be an embarrassing and costly trend.  When I painted a quick swatch on a piece of white paper, there are some distinct differences in color, but on the nail, well, you'll see!  I thought about an orange base for these because the are really sheer when you paint your first coat, but I did not really need one in the end. 

*1 coat Yellow-Out base
*3 coats Spoiled Vitamin C on all but thumb
*3 coats Wet n Wild 9.0.2.1.Orange on thumb
*1 coat Black Cat Lacquer Static age on ring finger
*1 coat Seche Vite

Both oranges built up really well.  I guess that you still might be able to see a slight nail line with 3 sheer coats, but 3 is not bad at all--even I can live with it!  These oranges are so gorgeous, packed with golden shimmer that is blinding in the sun!  I considered putting Static Age on each nail, but because I just have a mini and this was going to be short-lived, I conserved my precious resource! 
Static Age is a really cool glitter: black, white and silver holo in a clear base.  There are a couple of sizes of hex glitter for the black and white, bars, and square holos.  I couldn't get the holos to come out and play, but this is just one coat that I only had to coax a little onto the nail--not a ton of dabbing, but a bit.

You can see a tiny bit of the difference between the two in this photo, if you are looking for it.  9.0.2.1.Orange (thumb) is a bit pinker than Vitamin C, which is a very yellow orange.  As you layer, the differences are very hard to see and if you have one, you don't really need the other, though they're both less than two dollars and gorgeous!

I'm a little disappointed in myself for not using these sooner!  They are so pretty and the shimmer is amazing.  They will definitely be making a comeback this month!  Static age is also so cool that I am kicking myself for not grabbing a full-sized bottle instead. 
Have you tried these before?  Do you love them as much as I do?  They're like fire in a bottle!