Thanksgivinukkah #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

Today is the last challenge for Falling For Nail Art! Whew, I made it!

And, what a unique day to be ending on.  I don't remember Hanukkah and Thanksgiving falling on the same day!  I'm not Jewish, but, here's a shout-out to those of you celebrating.  Mazel Tov!

So.  How to commemorate this with a mani?  I did something simple, and incorporated the two colors I associate most with these two holidays - brown and blue.

I started off with a brown holo - Cameo Colors Lacquer Cocoa Rainbow. It's so pretty! It has just a smidge of that reddish quality that I love in a brown.

It reminds me of Mexican Hot Chocolate, with that hint of spice.

I added a diagonal French tip with Sation Let's Mingle and Jingle, a beautiful blue with holo microglitters.

I also added some iridescent glitter in bluish-green along the dividing line between the brown holo and the blue glitter.  Sparkly!

Bottle shot:  Cameo Colors Lacquer Cocoa Rainbow, Sation Let's Mingle and Jingle. and a little bottle of glitter.

If you hung with me throughout this whole Falling For Nail Art challenge, I thank you!  It was a lot of fun, and many times made me think outside the box for inspiration.  Thanks again to Ashley of Plump and Polished for allowing me to be a part of the fun.

Enjoy whatever holiday (or both!) that you are celebrating today!

Glowing Jewels #FallingForNailArt

Hi, Fireflies!

I love jewel tones.  They are some of the most flattering colors for me to wear.  This glowing red from Estee Lauder is perfect for me.  And the name, Dressed To Kill, is perfect for it.

Blackened red with orange shimmer! So pretty.

I got these little rectangular rhinestones from Cult Nails.  They compliment Dressed to Kill perfectly.

What is your fave jewel tone?

Frosted Spice Cake #FallingForNailArt

Hi, Fireflies!

There's a chill in the air - even here in Florida today!  There's a nice cool breeze, dropping the temps into ... the 70s... still, you'll see people walking around in parkas and boots like it's 40-below!  Ah, wacky Floridians.

It's nice to take the chill off with a hot tea or cider and a warm piece of spice cake.  And that's what Liquid Sky Lacquer Spice Cake reminds me of.  It's not so brown to be chocolatey, not so light to be like tea.  It's just like spice cake.

What's cake without a little frosting?  These MatteFX flakies from Orly are different!  Matte, soft pink iridescent flakies are like a sweet glaze.

Such a subtle detail, but so cool.  I love flakies!

Matte flakies for you, or only the glossy ones?

Fireside Glow #FallingForNailArt

Hi, Fireflies!

Welcome to today's second installment of the Falling For Nail Art challenge.  If you missed it, there is another post today!  I'm trying to catch up after, uh, forgetting about, building up the tension for the big push at the end! yeah!

Today's mani starts with some gorgeous polishes:  OPI I Knead Sourdough is ... well, it's hard to describe.  Sorta brown - sorta red, with a pinkish shimmer.  That's the technical description.  On the accent nails, I used Dior Blue Label, a navy creme.

The glowing glitter polish I used on top is Lynderella Glass Houses.

I never thought I would own a Lynn, really.  Too much drama in the past.  But when I saw one in a blog sale for a really reasonable price, I thought it was time to try one and see what the polish is about.

All the people drama aside, it's a nice polish.  I am a huge, HUGE fan of polishes that have that 'lit-from-within' glow, and Glass Houses does have that.  It applied nicely, and the glitters distributed evenly. 

I like the way the glitter blends in with the OPI, but I really like how it stands out over the Dior.  I do think it looks like a crackling fire!

Bottle shot:  OPI I Knead Sourdough, Dior Blue Label, and Lynderella Glass Houses

So.  Popped that cherry on Lynns.  It wasn't as big of a deal as I'd made it out to be.  I'm not a convert to the cult of Lynn, but it's a nice glitter, and I wouldn't mind trying others for a reasonable price.

Is there a polish you've been hesitating to try?

Spiced Up Spice Drops #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

For this 'spiced up' challenge, I actually took inspiration from my husband!  When I showed him these textured polishes, he thought they looked like the spicy gumdrops that he really enjoys.  And so, the Spice drop mani was born.

Only the polish on the thumb is a traditional glitter, from Liquid Sky Lacquer, Hot Rod Red.  The rest are textured polishes from either the NOPI Gumdrops collex, or the Zoya Pixie Dust collex.

I can't pick a favorite! Cinna-man of my dreams is pretty unique, and I love the color.  Arabella is so vibrant! All the textures applied wonderfully, and they all had a sparkle to them.

Bottle shot:  Liquid Sky Lacquer Hot Rod Red, NOPI Cinna-man of my Dreams, NOPI My Cherry Amour, Zoya Miranda, and Zoya Arabella.

I am still loving the texture trend - with or without topcoat! Are you?

Harvest Time #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

It's harvest time! So, it got me thinking about food.  Which got me thinking about pie.  Pumpkin Pie.  Liquid Sky Lacquer Pumpkin Pie, to be precise.  It's that perfect 'cooked pumpkin' shade of orange holo.

I was watching a Robin Moses video where she demonstrated some 'old school' nail art - stuff she did back in the '80's.  I wore nail polish then, but I wasn't into nail art.  I was really only allowed to wear champagne and frosted pink, back then - maybe a red for a special day.  Black was for the 'bad kids.'  Oh, how times have changed.

I used Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics ISherwood and Above the Curve Let's Tan-GO for old-school stripes that reminded me of waves of grain.

All the oranges, yellows, and browns are perfect colors for fall.  These stripes also make me think of hay, maybe stuffing a scarecrow!

The magic that is topcoat smooths everything out.

Bottle shot:  Liquid Sky Lacquer Pumpkin Pie, Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics ISherwood, and Above the Curve Let's Tan-GO

Ready to rock some old-school nail art?

There be Ghosts in the Other Realm #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

It's getting spooky all up in here.  Today's mani is pretty much a copy of a mani done by Nearly Natural Nails.  I was looking at Pinterest, and my hubby spotted this one and just loved it.  Well, how can I not at least try it then?

I started with a new-to-me polish with a well-known name.  This year, Seche - the maker of the beloved Seche Vite topcoat - came out with colors!  This deep, dark, metallic eggplant is called Aristocrat.  Which, of course, only makes me think of the joke.

For my ghosts, I had to use a white holo.  I thought Lacquer Lust Eternal Bliss would fit the bill.  At one/1.5 coats, it's still translucent in some parts over the dark purple, giving it an ethereal look.

For the ghostly facial features, I went with Cult Nails Fetish, that gorgeous waxy black.  I like the play in textures between the metallic purple, the translucent holo white, and the matte black. Makes me feel all artsy-fartsy.

Scary?  I might be.

Bottle shot:  Seche Aristocrat, Lacquer Lust Eternal Bliss, and Cult Nails Fetish.

I'm loving all the ghostly manis this season!  If you have one you'd like to share, please post on my wall! I'd love to see it.

I See You...Go Bump In the Night,, #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

When I saw this nail art from MissJenFabulous, I knew I had to do my take on it for today's Halloween/Bump In The Night challenge. 

These are so simple and fun!  All you need is a dotting tool, and black and white polish.  I went with my fave 1-coat black, Cult Nails Nevermore, and nearly-1-coat white, Cult Nails Tempest.

It totally reminds me of the old Scooby-Doo cartoons, where everyone would be in the dark, then they'd show everyone's eyes, and then the villain would be in there with his red or yellow spooky eyes, too!

Boo-tle shot! Cult Nails Nevermore, and Cult Nails Tempest.

This may be the perfect, simple, no-muss no-fuss Halloween mani.  Do you know what you're wearing for Halloween?

Sweet Candy Corn #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

This month, I am again combining the Nail Challenge posts with another challenge.  The NCC theme this month is Halloween, and I have some cute Halloween manis to share with you over the next couple of weeks!

Well, I think they're cute.  Hopefully, I'll convince y'all.

Today's look was inspired by a Pinterest pin of IG@Selenadee_nails.  I had a hard time deciding how I was going to do Halloween candy, and this look just nailed it for me!

I started off with Butter London Pitter Patter, a metallic royal purple.  As with most Butters, it had a great application.  Almost a one-coater for me.

I took my white striper and outlined the triangle shape of the candy corn, and then filled them in.

Because of the white background, the orange and yellow are able to pop and show their true colors.

I personally find it difficult to dot with a striper, though it can be done if you are looking for a challenge.  I was already challenged by the teeny-tiny candies, so I just put some Cult Nails Tempest on my palette and dotted with that.  Sometimes, that extra step may waste time, but it saves sanity.  You choose what's right for you!

I loved the shiny candy-wrapper quality of the gold flakies in Cult Nails Feedback, so that went on my accents.  Candy and more, MOAR candy! Isn't that what Halloween is about? No? Oh.

Bottle shot:  Butter London Pitter Patter, Cult Nails Feedback and Tempest, and nail art stripers in white, orange, and yellow.

Candy Corn isn't my fave candy of the season, but they are winning me over as nail art!  What candy are you most looking forward to having at Halloween?

Killer Clouds #FallingFornailArt

This is the last of the Darling Diva Polish Queen collex that I picked up - Killer Queen. 

And, oh, Freddy was! And, I think this polish is, too.  The shifts are less dramatic than some of the others in this collex, but the pigmentation is divine.

I love a red-violet multichrome, though.  Gorgeous.

I saw this 'cut out' nail art technique on Lucy's Stash, and wanted to try it here.  Almost looks like strange clouds, doesn't it?

This is one of those cases where I think the look would have been easier to recreate and smoother, had I used acrylic paint instead of nail polish. 

Bottle shot: Darling Diva Polish Killer Queen and a white nail art striper.

There will never be another Queen like Freddy! I love that this collex has reminded me of some great music while giving me some of my favorite colors and finishes.