...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?

Dotty holidays!

Today I wanted to recreate two looks I found this year.  One was pinned by my momma and the other I spotted when browsing through the blogs I follow, by the one and only Melissa of Pinked Polish.  I got new dotting tools with my Amazon order and, because they are my most effective nail art, dove in.  My mom didn't really like the blue background of the candy canes she found, so I tried to find something else for a base.  I was going to go back to The Ten Man or Golden-I when I remembered my new (and kind of damaged :( ) bottle of Champagne Kisses from China Glaze.  Perfection!

*1 coat Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats China Glaze Champagne Kisses
*OPI Danke-shiny Red
*Sinful Colors Skip the Gift Wrap
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green With Envy
*2 coats Hoof Lacquer
*1 coat Out the Door

 

I wanted to try the candy canes my mom found, but also the adorable tree Melissa did, so I used it as an accent.  I had intended to place it on my ring finger (my accent of choice) but was not very...alert.  After I dotted red on, I decided to accent my thumb instead!  I used two different sized dotting tools and Skip the Gift Wrap and Green With Envy, in that order.  I added a little red topper, like she did, and really like these little trees!

 

I used Danke-Shiny Red and Snow Me White for my candy canes.  Now, I was grading papers and working in very poor light (because I have not been motivated enough to change a blown out bulb...) so a couple are a little...unique.  But I love the idea of dotted candy canes!  Overall they are super cute and a great take on the design that I never would have thought of--my mind automatically goes to stripes.  Brilliant!

And the star of the show: Champagne Kisses!  Look at that shimmer and those little holo pieces!  Ahh!  This golden beauty leans rosy, very warm and sweet.  I almost left this alone and it was a tough choice to add art on top.  The ONLY downside to this glitter is that it dries really gritty.  I used 2 thick coats of Hoof Lacquer, one before and one after the dots, and then Out the Door to dry, and they are still a little bumpy.  The top coats make the gorgeous color even better, though.  This dries so fast that I probably should have done 3 coats, but really I can't complain because it is such an awesome color.  It's really interesting how the light can make it look more golden or rosy.  If you didn't grab this one, I highly recommend it!
So clearly I've gotten a little obsessed with dots.  Have you seen any cool holiday dot manis I need to try when I get home? Any other amazing uses for Champagne Kisses?

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!

Oh Christmas tree!

Let me just say that I wore these little guys today and was SO sad tonight to take them off for a new mani for tomorrow.  I didn't give myself enough time to get through all the Christmas designs I wanted to wear this year (I'll do more "winter" ones I passed on in January) and have to move quickly.  That being said, I couldn't take my eyes off my hands today and think that I'll do these again for Christmas day.  Here are some cute little Christmas trees:

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats China Glaze The Ten Man
*1 coat China Glaze Fairy Dust
*Color Club Holiday Splendor
*China Glaze Angel Wings
*Milani Gems
*1 coat Out The Door

I have become pretty obsessed with The Ten Man.  I used 2 coats of the shimmery, glittery silver goodness for a base.  It is not quite opaque, which made for such a pretty, ethereal background.  It was like glowing lights and sparkling snow behind the tree with a thin coat of silver-holo Fairy Dust.  Gorgeous! 
I was going to just use Skip the Gift Wrap because it was on my desk when I thought about pretty little Holiday Splendor in the drawer.  I taped off triangles and used this squishy, holo green glitter for the trees.  I know I've said it before, but if you ever get your hands on this one, don't let it go!  The bright, minty greed has an amazing holo glitter to it with a jelly consistency.  A-mazing!

I was going to leave the little trees alone, with a dot of Angel Wings on top.  I saw some manis earlier this month (edit: Amber Did It was the one that sparked my interest) with with multi glitter as ornaments on the tree, and I knew I only had a couple of chances to do tree designs, so I dabbed on Milani Gems, a typical though really pretty multi glitter.  The big and small hexex in so many colors looked so cool on the trees!

When I sealed and smoothed it all up in a shiny top coat, it was so pretty!  This is just a huge glitter fest, but it's really cool because of all the different kinds of sparkle, from subtle shimmer to holo and chunky.  My pictures really don't do these justice--there is a real, pretty depth in person, especially with The Ten Man base.  Like I said, I think I'm going to do these again for Christmas day because I love them SO much!  Have you found a cool Christmas tree design that I need to try?  A new way to "decorate" your tree?  Let me know!