Needle Marble Imagination

Hello, Fireflies!

It's the last travel nail art for this month!  I decided to ask to you ... Come with me, and you'll be in a place of pure imagination...

Double Stamped Circles

Hello, Fireflies!

I rarely wear any mani for very long, but one thing I like to do is take a nail art and take it up a notch. For today's theme, Circles, I take a nail art and add stamping to it!

Colour Pop Tie Dye - To Die For?

Hello, Fireflies!

When I'm on the hunt for fun, innovative colors and formulas, whether in nail polish, or makeup, the first place I look is to the small, independent brands - or Indies, as they are affectionately known.  I've written before about some of Colour Pop's crazy pigmented (and some crazy colored lippies, like GREEN!) and some of their funky, bouncy, not-quite-a-cream, but not-quite-a-powder eyeshadows.  I recently picked up their LE Tie-Dye eyeshadows, and wanted to show you!

Swirly Stamped Red Roses

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Sunday Stamping challenge was flowers and birds. Floral nail art is probably my fave, second only to geometric nail art.  I've never been able to paint a good rose, though, so I'm happy to break out the stamps!

Ghosts In The Mist

Hello, Fireflies! 

Today, I have a boo-tiful no-water-marble-turned swirly ghosts mani to show you!  This is straight up a Robin Moses design.  I just did it in polish instead of acrylic, and with much less talent than she has.

Still, this is the first even remotely successful needle drag marble I've ever done, so let's celebrate!

I painted the nail with OPI Glints of Glinda, and then, while the second coat was still wet, dropped little bits of Revlon Sequin (silver), Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar (metallic pink), and Finger Paints Black Expressionism (black) and Paper Mache (white) on one nail at a time.  I ran a small nail art brush through the drops of polish to create the swirls, then pulled the excess polish off my finger the way Robin Moses taught me to.

Using a little more Paper Mache, thinned a little with polish thinner, I added the ghosties and outlined them with the black striper and added the faces.  Then, I added in some of the pink glitter.

Bottle shot:  OPI Glints of Glinda, Sally Hansen Raisin The Bar, Revlon Sequin, Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Paper Mache, and nail art stripers in pink glitter and black.

I think these may be the prettiest ghost nails I've ever done! Brava to Robin Moses for their conception and great tutorial.  Are you more of a fan of the gory Halloween, or the pretty costumes?

I TRI-ed to Do Another Needle Marble...

Hello, Fireflies!

The end of another month, the end of another set of Tri-Polish challenges.  Let's finish this month with an awesome, awesome blue - Lilypad Lacquer Sherbet, said to be a dupe for Enchanted Water For Unicorns.  I don't know for sure, because that's one I could never get my hands on.  I'm happy with this, though, it's so beautiful, pigmented, and bright.

I keep trying to do those darn marbled nail arts.  Neither with nor without water seems to work for me.  I was going for a look inspired by a needle drag mani by I Can Do That.  Mine is called, I Tried To Do That, but No.  *sigh*

What do you do with a mess? Slap on some more polish! I added dots with Butter London Old Blighty, a creamy brick red, and my trusty white and black stripers.

I think it looks kinda aquatic, with bubbles or something.

Like I say, when it doubt, add dots.  If it looks abstract enough, no one can tell you screwed up.

Bottle shot:  Lilypad Lacquer Sherbet, Butter London Old Blighty, and nail art stripers in yellow, white, and black.

Any helpful hints for doing marbled nails?  I seem to be perpetually blocked with that technique! Is there some makeup or nail art technique you are just hopelessly fumbling with?

An InLinkz Link-up

Cult Nails no-water marble

I know I based this off of someone else's marble, but for the life of me, I can't find it.  It was probably a design of Robin Moses, though.  I used different colors than the original.

All of the colors I used in this design are from Cult Nails.  Love their colors, the formulas, even the bottles!  I'm a fan.  These worked really well for needle marbling, too.  I've only done this technique a few times, but I'm sure I'll do it again.  Regular water marbling is so messy, and though I've only tried it a few times, I've never been successful.

 The base color for all the fingers except the ring is Vicious, an eggplant creme.  Cult Nails collections have a lot of purples, so I waited for a sale to pick up this one.  I shouldn't have waited!  It's gorgeous, and I know I'll be wearing it this fall.

The ring finger base coat is Tulum, a tan with a golden shimmer throughout. It's a great neutral.

The other colors in the marble are Bad D.N. (Devious Nature) and Awakening.  Bad DN is a pink that leans purple, but is apparently a different batch from the regular Devious Nature.  Awakening is a gorgeous dark teal that I am in love with.

After adding a few drops of color to the nail, I swirled it around with a small paintbrush.  I pulled the extra polish off the sides and bottom of the nail by pressing my thumb against the nail and then releasing. Before the ring finger dried, I placed three small square rhinestones (also from Cult Nails) into the polish, and sealed it with Wicked Fast topcoat.

A little glam, a little fun, a little messy.  I hope you like it, and try a needle marble!