Holo Harvest

I love the fall.  I love sparkles.  I love Northern California.  I love pumpkins.  I love RLR Creations decals.  Hence, this mani :)

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener
*2 coats OPI Embarca-Dare Ya!
*2 coats OPI DS Classic
*1 coat Out the Door

I chose this second photo because, if you enlarge it, you can see the purple shimmer that adds depth to Embarca-Dare Ya!.  It is a gorgeous magenta foil finish, shimmering and so easy to apply.  I absolutely love it!  I knew that I wanted to use DS Classic, an unbelievable nude/pale beige polish packed with scattered micro holo glitter, but could not for the life of me figure out what to pair it with.  I didn't really want to go full-on orange to match the pumpkin decal that I fell in love with, and was just looking for a good fall color.  I loved how these looked together and now can't wait to wear Embarca-Dare Ya! again.

If you haven't tried water decals, I highly recommend hopping over to Etsy and checking out this shop!  She has tons of designs, changes them regularly with the seasons, does not charge shipping, ships FAST, and has a great product. 
Not convinced yet? 
These babies are SO easy to use!  You cut the little decal off of the sheet it comes on (about 2 dozen decals to a sheet) put it in water for 15 seconds, then take it out.  I use tweezers to pick it up, my finger to slide the paper back off, and place it with the tweezers.  If you dip the nail you are applying to in the water first, it lets you slide the decal around really easily for perfect placement.  Dab it dry, then add a layer of top coat and done!  I love these ones because the decals are on a clear sheet that does not really show on the nail when applied. I've worn these on bare nails, solid colors, and now a holo and, aside from how intricate and perfect the pictures are, you really can't tell it's a decal on the nail.  LOVE them!
I liked this Thanksgiving/fall look because it was kind of subtle and clean.  Have you found any color combos you were pleasantly surprised with?  Share 'em below!

Halloween left-overs

I know, I know, you're thinking about Thanksgiving left-overs and I'm sounding a little out of it.  Well, I am a little out of it.  Between interning, class, and work, my time has dwindled.  With it, my li'l blog has been neglected.  Actually, my nails have too.  I haven't done too many interesting looks and often simply polish one simple color to keep them covered and neat.
But, here are 2 Halloween looks that I did enjoy, but did not get up.

 *1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener

*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Green With Envy

*Zoya Storm

*Zoya Aurora 

*1 coat Out the Door

Polka dots--easy!  I wanted witchy colors, and loved the holo sparkle contrast of the Zoyas on the cream finish of Green With Envy.

 

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener

*3 coats China Glaze Some Like it Haute

*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out

*Cover Girl Boundless Color Candy Corn

*3 coats Spoiled Vitamin C

*3 coats China Glaze I Herd That

*1 coat Out the Door

I tried to somewhat recreate a Christmas mani that I loved from last year, pattern-wise.  This didn't turn out as I really envisioned, but I love the glittery polishes, so I can't really complain.  As you an see, the orange Vitamin C is incredibly sheer (I really only did 3 coats of the others because I did one coat for each every time I added one), so if you love that orange shimmer, consider a base coat.

So, here's my out of season Halloween looks!

Here's lookin' at you!

I love this simple little Halloween look!
I wore nails like this last year and, with so little time, it was impossible to resist this quick nail art again.  I originally saw this inspiration on Pinterest last year.  I love simple nail art like this that really anyone can pull off!

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Essence Jacob's Protection
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*1 coat Out the Door

Jacob's Protection is from the Essence Twilight line that came out earlier this year.  I haven't read or watch the series, but the colors were really great.  This is a black base with dense, medium blue shimmer throughout.  The first photo is a little out of focus and really shows off the shimmer on my index finger.  It's a really pretty polish!  I just used a dotting tool to dab on white and then black over the dark base.  Easy!

Candy Corny?

This was the first Halloween mani I did this Halloween.  I am a sucker for Candy Corn.  I love it.  I was crushed to hear that it is the most hated Halloween treat (and I totally don't think that's true).  I wanted to do a Candy Corn mani without going overboard or taking too much time.  The result was...well, it was.

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow
*Cover Girl Boundless Color Candy Corn
*Wet 'n' Wild French White Creme
*Zoya Myrta
*1 coat Out the Door Northern Lights
*1 coat Out the Door

Ignore the tip wear--it took me a couple of days to snap some photos and it's the lease noticeable here.  I wanted to use the candy corn accent with a French.  My oranges are rather thin, so I used Myrta for the tips over my natural nails.  This is a gorgeous, burnt orange with a sparkling foil finish.  Unfortunately, it kind of clashes with the candy corn.  I was disappointed in the color coordination here.  I liked my accent and I liked my French, but together they didn't quite work liked I had hoped.
Have you ever had that happen--colors just not quite working that you had high hopes for?

May the treats be ever in your favor!

I've been swamped with studying, class, internship work and work-work lately, so prepare yourself for a little avalanche of posts here!
This is my most recent one, a Halloween mani that chipped so it had to go.  To be honest, I wanted to do a few, so I wasn't TOO sad to take it off...

*1 coat Yello=Out
*3 coats China Glaze Harvest Moon
*3 coats China Glaze Riveting
*3 coats Sonoma Nail Art Sincerest Pumpkin Patch
*Zoya Yara
*1 coat Out the Door

The China Glaze Capitol Colors were/are phenomenal.  Plain and simple.  Tons of them lend themselves to fall art, and I used two of them for this main.  Harvest Moon is a gorgeous, warm coppery-brown with a sparkling foil finish.  I used this on my thumb, index, and pinkie fingers.

I used Riveting for my pumpkin accent with Harvest Moon for the lines and a little bit of Yara for the grass and stem.  I adore Riveting.  I won't waste your time here, but you can click on the tag to see me sing its praises again and again.  This orange just glows!
Finally, I used Sincerest Pumpkin Patch for a second accent.  I love Sonoma Nail Art polish!  Not only do the polishes come from very near to my hometown, but they are amazing!  They combos are so rad and the polish is wonderful quality.  I haven't used this one in a year and didn't need any thinner like I usually do with indies.  I like it a little better with a base, like Yara, but I didn't think that through before I started painting, so I just layered the beauty on!  I love this polish and the Peanuts--it just makes me smile every time I look at it!

33DC: Chevrons

Last week I really wasn't very inspired by the challenges, nor did I have time to do more than a simple polish.  Last night, as I read and tried to do ANYTHING but homework, I gave chevrons a try.  I've been dying to try this mani that I found on Pinterest and traced back to Selena at Pink U Rock.  I, like many of you, debated whether or not zig-zags were considered chevrons.  I took the technical road and decided not, so I tweaked the mani a bit, but love it!

*1 coat Sally Hansen Hard As Nails Hardener
*2 coats Sinful Colors Cream Pink
*2 coats Butter London Fairy Cake
*2 coats Sinful Colors Snow Me White
*Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out
*1 coat Out the Door

I love Cream Pink and couldn't find it for a while last night.  I know Sinful Colors are cheap, so it wasn't a big deal, but I had had my heart set on it.  I'm glad it surfaced (which is sort of a miracle in my room right now).  I used 2 coats for coverage, though long nails probably need 3.  I love that, even though it has "cream" in its name, it has a really subtle golden shimmer to it that you can see in the first picture.
Fairy Cake is an awesome gold-ish holo glitter that I used for my ring finger accent.  I love how this looks with the pink!  I used Snow Me White as a base for my chevrons and used striping tape to make the v's.  Then I used Black out over the top and peeled off the tape.
This color combo is so stunning that I am sad to see it go tomorrow!  I have to meet with my internship contact for school and don't really feel like this is appropriate, but I'm sure I'll give it another go or try a variation very soon because I can't take my eyes off of it!  Do you have any color combos that just steal the show like this?  Share!  Share!

33 DC: tape

So I'm a little late on this one, but I felt better when I saw that none other than Ms. Debbie Crumpet was late too :)
I had this mani done last night but was just too wiped out to photograph, upload and post.  Learning takes a lot more energy than I remembered!
Tape is quickly becoming as comfortable for me as dots.  I received my first roll of striping tape in a giveaway and it has lasted forever!  I think I'm going to order some more, though, because I love using it and want to try using it on its own as well, instead of just for clean lines.  I used to always use Scotch tape for lines, and it works okay, but striping tape never lets any polish seep under and is just so crisp!  Using it for this look has become a bit of a favorite of mine:

*1 coat Yello-Out
*2 coats Zoya Aurora
*Zoya Storm
*1 coat Out the Door

Really, these can just speak for themselves!  Gratuitous  holo shots are always welcome, right?  I used Aurora as my base and taped off the tips and then left a little gap before taping off the bottom of the area I polished, and then used Storm as the tip.  LOVE it!

I don't want to get too cocky here, but I'm feeling pretty comfortable with striping tape at this point.  Do you have any cool tips or techniques for me to try?  Do tell!