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?

...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?

A Thankful Movember

This is the first year since 2006 that I will get to go home and spend Thanksgiving with my family and I canNOT wait!  That being said, November will be over before I know it and I really wanted to get another Movember mani in.  I was struggling for some inspiration.  (It struck and I must warn you, I'm feeling full of some thoughts, so this post is a little long-ish.  I make no apologies.)

*1 coat Gelous base
*4 coats China Glaze 108 Degrees
*4 coats Zoya Harper (accent)
*1 coat Wet 'n' Wild Kaleidoscope
*1 coat Out the Door

Mani deets: I had to use FOUR coats of each of these polishes and still have some noticeable visible nail lines.  They are sheer!  But, they are also super pretty, so I'll remember to layer them in the future.  I wanted a dark pink and realized that, despite my bigger-than-I-like-to-admit collection, I really don't have one!  108 Degrees is my darkest and a pretty shimmering berry pink.  Harper is a light pink PACKED with iridescent shimmer and glitter.  I added an RLR Creations decal mustache, obviously because they are awesome :)  I am loving this one!

I was trying so hard to think of something inspired by men's health or my dad.  I was coming up blank.  I couldn't think of anything except that this cause has become dear to me because I am an all-out daddy's girl. 
I went with sparkly, bright, over the top pink because that's what I love.  I am thoroughly a stereotypically girly girl.  I am my dad's firstborn.  I know men have a special dream of having a son, someone just like them, but if he was ever disappointed that his first was a daughter, it was his little secret.
My dad has supported and embraced all that it is to raise a girl.  He loves my brothers, too, and did more than his share of coaching and camping and rough and tumble play with them.  He also, however, buys me nail polish (awesome story: when the OPI San Francisco line came out, he went to a salon and bought almost the whole collection to send me.  He stopped short, worried he'd gone overboard.  He knew I liked OPI and also wanted to send me something to remind me of home.  Dad of the year, am I right?).  He watches terrible TV with me (cough*Grey's Anatomy*cough).  He learned to get excited about Mock Trial and dolls and Broadway musicals and let me be me. 

Especially at this time of year, I am SO thankful for the support and love he has shown me in every aspect of my life.  I am thankful that he made a decision to be healthy for his family and himself, faithfully going in for checkups and not-particularly-enjoyable tests.  He kept a brave face and positive attitude when he was diagnosed with cancer and worked with amazing doctors to make the best decisions for him. 
He didn't let cancer win.  He got ahead of it because he has bigger, more important things to do in life.  He was open about the hard parts and strong through the scary parts.  I am thankful that his experience was not worse, that he and his doctors let early detection ease his fight. 

I am thankful for my dad.

So, I figured it was fitting to celebrate a man that I love, a father who embraces all of the girly-ness of his daughter, for this last Movember mani.  Men's health affects women too.  That's why we need to care.  That's why we DO care.  It's not necessarily the most comfortable thing to talk about, because it's personal and private and scary.  I think that's why this movement is so awesome--it makes it easy to talk about in a casual way. 

A final Movember thought: I found some pins while creating my Movember Pinterest board that I thought were brilliant.  (Word of warning: these are probably the least suitable for work)  The Checkum Testicular Cancer Awareness Campaign is a UK photo series of famous men, many athletes, strategically posed in their birthday suits.  The ads read "Embarrassed?  The only person embarrassed by this is you."  This, I think, is the essence of Movember.  And breast cancer awareness.  And mental health awareness.  And SO many other issues we face.  Your doctor has heard and seen it ALL.  Like, more insane and weird than you could ever imagine ALL.  The have learned not to bat an eye at weird question or concerns.  I am just as guilty as most when it comes to this, but it is a striking, effective reminder that this is not the time to feel embarrassed because it's your health, or the health of someone you love.  Take a deep breath, embrace the awkward, and remember that it will pass and then life can move on.  

Thanks for sticking through this long post with me!  If you didn't, well, that's okay too.  I understand.

If you've been rocking some Movember looks, let me know!  Feel free to leave a comment below with a link to your manis--I'd love to see them! 

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. 

New 31DC: Splatter

Holy moley!  I don't know what I really expected when it came to a splatter mani, but not...this.  One thing that I am committed to, and love that many other bloggers are too, is being real about our nail adventures.  That includes the less than stellar.  Which 75% of this challenge is. 
First and foremost, Chalkboard Nails' tutorial really had the single best piece of advice: put down a big piece of wax paper.  If you think it's too big, it's not!

 

When I hear "splatter paint" I think of my childhood and homemade shirts.  Then, I think of Lisa Frank.  Thus, my color choices:
*1 coat Yello-Out
*1 thick coat Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*China Glaze Sun Worshipper, Four Leaf Clover, Gothic Lolita and Pool Party
*1 coat Wet 'n Wild Kaleidoscope

I wanted a neon blitz on my nails.  I got...something like that.  By the way, this was way messier and tougher clean up than my water marble disaster learning experience, even with some solid taping.  I realized that I was holding my hand like I do in pictures and splattering my palm too.  This is not for the sleepy!

I used a regular soda straw (probably from Wendy's because you NEVER use it when you have a Frosty...that's all plastic spoon!) that I cut into quarters.  I bet you can tell which finger I started with and where I ended up :)  Actually, my ring finger was first, then my pinkie (I got cocky).  I learned that some colors were blobbier (totally a word) than others.  Four Leaf Clover, a pretty bright teal cream, tended to be my worst enemy.  It overtook each nail and was hard to get to splatter instead of spill down.

I liked the color combination of the neon creams.  I wish that I had not used Sun Worshipper, though, because it is not truly opaque.  As you can see on my pinkie, it kind of layered into new colors.  Awesome neon marigold color, but not really what I had envisioned.  Gothic Lolita (always gorgeous in its bright purple-ness) and Pool Party (neon pink wonder) were pretty cooperative.  When I was less than satisfied with this outcome, I asked myself what Lisa Frank would do in this situation.  Add glitter!  So, I layered a coat of Kaleidoscope holo silver perfection over it all.  (In case you were wondering, adding glitter is ALWAYS the answer)

 

I actually really like how my thumb turned out!  That's a Lisa Frank dream!  This is what I pictured for all of my nails.  Index and parts of Middle aren't too shabby, but Thumb is really '90s rad.  I think that next time I'll get (and by that I mean swipe from a coffee shop) some smaller straws that don't hold as much polish inside and have a little more control in their splatter.  The improvement I saw as I moved from finger to finger was encouraging and means that you and I have not seen the last of some splatter fun.  Have you splattered before?  Any tips for avoiding Pinkie?  Any Lisa Frank love you just need to get out?  I totally understand.

Even stop lights...

Tonight I had to give Christmas light nails a try!  I was not loving my Santa bellies, mostly because I was lazy.  When I decided to scrap the original candy cane mani after I painted my left hand, I left my right hand white and just layered Ruby Pumps over it.  The effect was not nearly as deep and awesome as it is on its own, and I just got tired of looking at it with regret.  So, here is a little string of lights!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*1 coat Wet 'n Wild Kaleidoscope
*OPI Skip the Gift Wrap
*Zoya Myrta, Zuza, Kimber and Rory
*1 coat Out the Door top coat

 

I knew I wanted to give this look a try and agonized over what color base to use.  I wanted to do green, for the tree, but I also wanted to use green for the cord.  I finally went with white, but added Kaleidoscope to soften it a bit and to add some sparkle.  I love this glitter so much!  It is a silver holo with micro particles and scattered larger hex pieces.  It is sparse enough to not overtake a mani but can easily build.

I used OPI Skip the Gift Wrap for my green cord.  It is a shimmery deep green that dries to a foil finish, almost frosty.  It's really pretty and pretty perfect for Christmas.  Again, I debated colors for the dotted lights for a while and chose to go with the 4 from the Zoya Surf collection.  I NEVER get tired of using these beauties.  They shimmer like no other and have proven perfect for dotting.  The shimmer makes them glow in the sun, which is why I chose them for the bulbs.

I didn't get too particular about the shape of the lights or where they were placed.  I think that I like some shapes better than others, like my index finger and thumb.  Overall these aren't necessarily my best art, but they are so fun!  It's late, so I'm excited to see them in some good sunlight tomorrow!  Have you done lights this year?  Did you find some really good color combos?  Do tell!

31DC: Galaxy Nails

I LOVE today's challenge! I am SO excited to keep working at the galaxy mani! This is such an easy way to do nail art because it is imprecise. I didn't muck it up too bad for my first attempt, which make me think you really can't botch this one. The effect is so amazing and looks so complex, but this went really quickly for me. I looked at a lot of tutorials and photos to get color and technique ideas because this looked so intimidating. I mainly used Adventures in Acetone's colors ideas (especially Nubar 2010) and Polish and Pearls' technique.

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Fantasy Makers Nail in the Coffin
*Aengland Tristam
*China Glaze Elephant Walk
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green With Envy
*Color Club Wild At Heart
*Nubar 2010
*1 coat Wet n Wild Kaleidoscope
*1 coat Seche Vite

Nail in the Coffin was my only untried for this mani. It is rather thin, so I used 2 coats which built well. I strayed from my beloved Black Out cream because this one has some micro shimmer that I thought would add dimension. I used a small wedge-shaped makeup sponge that I ripped up for each color to add the layers. I started with Tristam because it is a gorgeous, holo-filled dark blue, which I almost used as my base. I realized afterwards that you really can't see this one, in photos or real life. Oh well!

After that, I sponged Elephant Walk around the edges of Tristam. I tried to focus on different areas of each nail, which I will probably work a bit more on in the future. After the gray, I used Green With Envy to further define the "arc" of my galaxy, if there really is one.

I used Wild At Heart because it is a gorgeous deep purple filled with holo glitter. This looked amazing! It was a little sheer in places, so I sponged layers until I was happy with how it showed up. After that, I sponged 2010 over the top, mainly though the purple areas. This flakey really doesn't show up well in the photos, but was a-mazing in real life! The red of the glitter really added a different aspect to this. I'm glad that I sponged it because it let me be more particular about where it went and it actually was pretty dense.

Over the top of everything I did one coat of Kaleidoscope. This glitter is so pretty and I don't use it nearly often enough! It is sparse enough to really let your base show through and has a good mix of micro and medium silver holo glitter. I know a lot of people use white or silver polish to dot on stars. The larger pieces of glitter in this really served that purpose for me. It made the look really come alive and reminded me so much of the night sky! I used a thick coat of Seche Vite not to really dry this, because the thin sponging dries really fast, but to amp up the shine. I also helps sort of blend everything together, giving a smooth finish to it all.

This was my very first attempt at a galaxy mani (I guess, in hindsight, I probably should have practiced before the challenge day!) and I love how it turned out! I know that there is plenty of room for improvement and technique tweaks, but I could not stop looking at my hands! I will fess up to the fact that I really haven't been able to do a mani each day with my work schedule. On Sundays I try to get my challenge posts for the week painted and photographed, and then post and write each night. This means I'm painting a lot of themes in a row and don't leave the polish on long. I also do the blogger-cheat and only paint my left hand. When I saw how this worked out, I couldn't resist painting my right hand too and wearing it until I changed for a pink mani. I cannot wait to do this again!
Have you played around with galaxy manis yet? Did you fall in love like I did? What colors did you find worked well? Any other cool tricks or techniques you discovered? I'd love to hear about them!