Inspired by a Green Dress

Hello, Fireflies!

I guess I've always been a matchy-matchy kinda gal.  I remember in high school, I was chastised by a friend for matching my socks to my shirt while wearing my Chuck Taylor sneakers - because no rebel would match their socks to their shirt, right?  Well, this rebel does what she wants - and this dress called for some green and blue eyes and nails!

Glitter Gal Green (Radial) Gradient

Hello, Fireflies!

It's time again for Sunday Stamping!  I'm so excited about today's theme, because I've been obsessed with this technique for the last few weeks - stamping over a radial gradient!

Bicycle Race

Hello, Fireflies!

We're still traveling with the NCC this month!  I had so much fun with my silly airplane charm mani, I decided to try my luck with some more charms.

Softly Scented Citrus Body Lotion #blackcanyon

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

Maybe we're all doomed to become our parents, because I find myself inadvertently mimicking certain things my mom did when I was growing up!  One of the things I remember is that my mom kept bottles of hand lotion all over the house.  There was some in the bathroom to use after hand-washing, and some on each nightstand, and in the den, and always a nice bottle in the guest room.  Black Canyon Citrus Basil lotion is one I would definitely put in any room in my house, even the guest room!

The Day I Wore Green Lipstick

On a whim, I bought a green lipstick. It's green, really, really green.  Wicked-Witch-Of-The-West-Green.  Here's what happened on the day I wore it.

Sunday Stamping Shamrocks!

Hello, Fireflies!

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and today's challenge is to put on a little o' the green!

Dress Dotticure

Hello, Fireflies!

Two posts today! I needed a little nail art in my life, so I wanted to show you this dotticure I did to match a dress.  I've used this dress as an inspiration for a stamped nail look before, too.  It's one of my fave dresses.

Ageless Derma Oil Free Purifying Facial Cleanser Gel #agelessderma

Product provided for review.  All opinions are my own.

Hello, Fireflies!

How do you clean your face?  I never knew there were so many choices, but I'm having fun picking textures, scents, and systems that work for me - and may work for you. 

Leftover Halloween Candy? Or Fall Pumpkins?

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you recovered from the festivities of yesterday?  Whether you indulged in black cocktails, or chocolate candies, there's always a Halloween Hangover.

The best part? Bags of candy go on sale!

One of my fave Halloween candies is the mallowcreme pumpkin.  This mani is an homage to that pumpkin, but it's also a sign of fall in general. The mani I was inspired by was a Fall Pumpkin mani by Plump & Polished.

I used OPI Glints of Glinda for the whole nail, then painted the pumpkin with Urban Decay Bang, and made the stripes with China Glaze Metro Pollin-tin.  The stems are painted with a metallic green striper.

I remember, as a kid, sitting with my brother and emptying out our bags of candy and trading.  Mom would always come in and take the candy she wanted.  Mostly, I didn't mind, because she liked all the coconut ones I didn't like as a kid.  But, she never traded for anything!

Hey, mitts off my candy!

Are you going to buy discounted Halloween candy favorites, or are you happy to put all the sugar aside until Christmastime?

Monsters In Love - Frankenstein's Monster and Bride

Hello, Fireflies!

If you saw yesterday's patchwork mani, and with today's Frankenstein's Monster and Bride mani, you might sense a theme - that Halloween monsters are known for being stitched badly!  Was no one proud of their craftsmanship?

Today's mani is inspired by this Pinterest roundup post - they couldn't identify the original artist, and neither can I, but if you can point me in the right direction, I'll be happy to give credit!

I decided to add the hearts because they are monsters in lurve.  Look how they have goo-goo eyes for each other... You could break out this design for an alternative Valentines' Day mani!

Bottle shot:  Sally Hansen White Tip mixed with Revlon Spirit, Finger Paints Go Van Gogh!, Revlon Cherries In The Snow, Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, and stripers in black and white.

Is there a romantic side to your Halloween?  My husband and I like to do couples' costumes!  One year, we were stereotypical tourists, another year we were 'Old and Retired' Han Solo and Princess Leia..

The Nightmare Before Christmas - Jack and Sally

Hello, Fireflies!

For my last NCC Stripes challenge of the month, I wanted to incorporate stripes and one of the most popular Halloween traditions - watching The Nightmare Before Christmas.

This mani was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest, but I cheated and used a 3-D charm for Jack's face.

I painted all but my middle finger with Revlon Spirit, and then used a black striper to freehand the black stripes.  The middle finger was painted with Milani Black Swift, and then the charm was applied.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Spirit, Milani Black Swift, and a black striper.

What's Jack without his girl?

 This was inspired by a mani done by The Nailasaurus, but it reminded me of Sally.

I started off with a white base to make sure that the colors were bright.  Then, I used striping tape to mark off the different sections.  Even thought it would be nice to paint one color at a time, it dries too quickly for that - and dry polish gets pulled off with the striping tape.  So, do one nail at a time.  I painted over the white lines with black polish and made the stitches, too.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Spirit, Nails Inc Bond St., Wet 'n Wild Pleasure Pier, Urban Decay Bang, Finger Paints Go Van Gogh!, and a black striper.

Wouldn't it be neat to have one hand done like Jack, and the other like Sally?

Stripey Socks Stamping Succ... Fail

 Hello, Fireflies!

The stamping challenge for this week was announced late, and it was a free-stamping day.  So, being that I've been getting into the Halloween spirit, I wanted to do something in that vein.

I started with Milani Enchanted Emerald, one of their new (I think LE) creams.  It was much darker than I thought it would be, but still a gorgeous color.

I saw these stripey socks stamp and it reminded me of the Wicked Witch of the West's socks - or any witch's socks, really... or Beaker's socks (Beaky! I didn't know you wore stripey socks!) if you're a Muppet fan.

Ok, what is with that 'Natural Milk Product' stamp?  First of all, I can't imagine it fitting on anyone's nails.  Secondly... why? Is it just me?

I used Face Stockholm Thea, a light green holo, to stamp on the socks.  The polish stamped fine, though I messed it up a little by double stamping.

What I don't get is why does it look like socks and feet on the plate, but look like tire tracks on my nails?  I even tried to do a long stamp over my ring and pinky fingers, but it just doesn't come together.
 

Thea sure is pretty on its own, though.  Really nice mirror finish and rainbow!

Tell me the secrets, o' Fireflies, of making the stamp look like it does on the plate! lol.

Feelin' Groovy Green

Hello, Fireflies!

This week's challenge was either a 60's theme, or using a matte/texture.  Mine has a little of both, but doesn't do either particularly well.

This is my fave part:  I picked up this sweet green polish at Ulta the other day on clearance - One In A Chameleon.  I don't know if it's a green/gold duochrome, or green with a gold shimmer.  It's a little thin, and needed 3 coats to cover VNL, but I love this effect.

I used this stamp from Dashica Big-B plate, and Cult Nails Nevermore for the pattern.

I thought this stamp looked all groovy and psychedelic.  But it actually read more 'wood-grain' on my nails.  Fail #1.

This bottle of SpaRitual Citrine Luminary Matte Top Effect looks like fireflies in a jar to me.  It just glows!

On this mani, though, it was neither terribly matte nor luminous, though.  Fail #2.

It actually reminded me a lot of the Orly matte flakie polishes.  I think this one would look better over a dark polish, though.

Bottle shot:  Ulta One In A Chameleon, SpaRitual Citrine Luminary Matte Top Effect, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

I was trying for 60's groovy and matte, and ended up with something that reminded me of my mom's 70's avocado green kitchen.  Hey, when's the 70's kitchen mani challenge?

Neon Racing Stripes

Hello, Fireflies!

Welcome to October! New month, new NCC challenge.  This month, we're doing stripes!

I love stripes. They are the masters of illusion in nail art.  For today's mani, I was inspired by a black and white design from Wondrously Polished. 

I just picked up some summer colors on clearance at Cherry Culture, and while I wasn't aware so many were neons, it's suprisingly okay with me.  I'm ready for Fall, but it's hard to let go of summer when you live in Florida and the temperature is still in the 90s, even if the leaves have fallen off of the trees.

So I'm happy to pair China Glaze Grass is Lime Greener, a neon lime green, with OPI Incognito In Sausalito, a deep, blackened navy blue.  It's like the best of Fall touched by the last lights of Summer.

Bottle shot:  China Glaze Grass is Lime Greener, and OPI Incognito In Sausalito.

Are you immersed in Fall colors yet, or is there still room for a glimpse of summer in your look?

What The Cartoon Cat Consumed..

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's challenge was to stamp a mani using only single images - no full nail stamps.  This is where having nubs comes in handy - a single image usually takes up my whole nail anyway!

When I put on this gorgeous glitter the other day, I had no idea it would become the base for this cute stamping challenge.  This is To The Edge Of Night from Fanchromatic Nails.  At first glance, it's an army green jelly with silver glitters - but look again, and you can see the tiny turquoise and red glitters in the background. 

I used two stamps for this challenge.  The single fishbone stamp from Red Angel 107, and the cat from Shany 08.  I used Essie No Place Like Chrome and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme for the stamping.

Now, my nails look like an ally cat's paradise.

I'm reminded of the cartoons I watched as a kid, where the cartoon cat would put a whole fish in his mouth, and then pull out the bones, all in one fell swoop!

Bottle shot: Fanchromatic Nails To The Edge Of Night,  Essie No Place Like Chrome, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Ah, to be surrounded by a feast of our favorite foods! In the aftermath, I would be surrounded by pizza crusts...

Geometric Angles And Dots

Hello, Fireflies!

I love this month's geometric theme - it's a little broad, but I love the general feel of geometric nail art.  Today, I have a simple interpretation for you.

I started off with Cult Nails Thrive, a mint green with shimmer.  It was pretty thick, and kinda difficult to work with, but the color was kinda worth it.  Soo pretty.

I made a chevron French tip with Cult Nails Midnight Mist, a gorgeous mushroom-y taupe with a copper shimmer.  I love complex shimmery colors like this.

I was trying to make these gold dots into a pattern I had seen on some water decals.  If you squint and turn your head, stand on one foot, and grunt three times, you might be able to see a shepherd's hook with the big dots, and then the little dots form a curve around it.

Can't see it?  Try grunting louder...

Bottle shot:  Cult Nails Thrive, Cult Nails Midnight Mist, and Maybelline Bold Gold.

Next time, I'll probably just use the water decals! Have you ever tried to freehand something, and thought - oh, I shoulda just used a stamp, or a decal? Oh, I coulda had a V-8!