I've been slacking a bit on the NCC Challenges, I'm afraid. I'm half-assing it a little bit today, too, by pulling a mani from the vault that fits this month's challenge. I'm calling it a win, though, because I do like this mani, and I rarely wear yellow on its own.
April Showers are bringing May Flowers all month long on the NCC. Today's mani was inspired by a Spring pastel floral mani by Mandy's Polish. I wish mine had turned out as crisp as hers did. Still, this is a bright, fun, very pink mani!
Today's Sunday Stamping challenge was to pair a pastel with a neon. A true neon purple is hard to come by, but I like the violet purple from the Saved By The Bell Wet 'n Wild collection, and I paired it with a pastel pink stamping polish.
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?
Ready for today's stamping challenge? It's full of eye-searing neon goodness, with a dash of 'hey, that wasn't supposed to happen' and a smidge of 'black stamping for the win!'
I didn't know that China Glaze Thistle Do Nicely was a neon when I got it out. I like neons okay. They dry quickly, so you have to work quickly. And, they make me look like I got a tan.
Today's challenge is to do a 'Funky French' so I rifled through my tips plates.
I *rarely* use these. I don't have enough 'tip' for these to make much sense, usually. But I thought this tip from Mash 27 would look good even if it wasn't a whole stamp. I used China Glaze Cosmic Dust for the stamping.
In my mind, this was going to look like shattered pieces of glass, twinkling on the pink background. Instead, it's a lot of squinting to see if the stamp transferred.
So, I got out my Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and stamped it again, and then did a little more Cosmic Dust over that. Gone is the shattered glass effect; now there's an 80's vibe.
Bottle shot: China Glaze Thistle Do Nicely, China Glaze Cosmic Dust, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.
A lot of my nail art is made up of 'oops' and then, 'I totally meant to do that!'. No one can tell you that your art isn't right. Own it. And then, if you're still not happy, slap some glitter on it!
I, uh, didn't take any pictures of the build up for today's GOT. I started off on the wrong polish, as it were. Not that Orly Point Blanche is a bad polish, no. But do you see there, on the front of the bottle where it says it's for French Manicures?
I think Orly took that a little too literally, and they made the brush small. Which is a good thing, if you're doing a French Manicure. Not a good thing if you're just trying to use opaque white polish to cover a nail.
It wasn't small like a nail art brush, though, so I didn't know what was wrong at first. Definitely a 'derp!' moment.
For the neon challenge, I took some of the Kleancolor neon minis I had in Mango, Neon Purple, Funky Yellow, and Neon Green, and dotted them on, along with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.
Bottle shot: Orly Point Blanche, Kleancolor Neon Purple and Green, Funky Yellow, and Mango, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.
So, if the technique is about stamping over black, I guess I'll put on my fave black, Cult Nails Nevermore. One-coat shiny black goodness.
Ever search for the just the right words, but only symbols will do? They you need this image from the DRK-C plate!
In the tutorial, you put the white and the color on the image side-by-side, and then use the scraper to quickly blend the two colors before using the stamper. I probably used a little too much white, but you can see how thin this neon yellow is. I'm sure with a little practice, I'll get the mix to look right.
Bottle shot: Wet 'n Wild Pin 'Em Slater, Milani White On The Spot, and Cult Nails Nevermore.
I'm excited about the stamping possibilities! Maybe I can make a red that stamps over black, too! Have you tried this technique? Is there a technique you've discovered that made you more excited to use a polish, or any beauty stuffs?
Welcome to the first day of the Get Lucky Nail Art Challenge! Today's mani is simply... mahvelous. I wanted this polish, thought I'd missed my chance, and then got it in a blog sale. This is Jindie Nails Don't Get It Citrus Twisted.
I did layer down a base coat of white because I wanted that lime green to really POP. And, oh, is it LIME. That is neon green realness! Love all the different citrusy colors of glitters in this mix. Makes me want a big ol' margarita.
Of course, I'm always up for a margarita, so that's not saying much. But isn't it green and springy and citrusy?
Bottle shot: Jindie Nails Don't Get It Citrus Twisted, and Revlon Spirit.
Are ya feeling lucky yet? Get ready for 3 more days of Irish Love!
Well, we made it. Today is the last 'summer' challenge entry for this month's NCC challenge! Whew! And, we're going out with a bang - of neon!
I used Wet 'n Wild Pin 'Em Slater over one coat of Revlon Spirit. This yellow is one of the best yellows, never mind neons, I've ever used. No streaking, clear color, great pigmentation. And it's BRIGHT, especially over a white, as most neons are intended to be worn.
From the same Wet 'n Wild collection, I sponged on Nerd-Alert: Screech as a gradient. I wasn't too thrilled with my gradient attempt. Aside from the watermarble, I think the straight-up gradient has me stymied the most. I keep practicing, though!
In an attempt to hide my gradient suckitude, I decided to pull out an old favorite - OPI Black Spotted. I had some application problems, though, which resulted in cracking as well as spotting. Of course, I could just pretend it was totally on purpose. I'm sneakily bringing crackles back. Don't be a hater.
I do love how the neons look from behind the black, though.
I also dig how the yellow shimmer in Nerd-Alert: Screech plays so nicely with Pin 'Em Slater.
Bottle shot: Revlon Spirit, Wet 'n Wild Pin 'Em Slater and Nerd-Alert: Screech, and OPI Black Spotted
Do you think neons will be big again this summer? Are you ready for whatever new trend this summer brings?
Can you believe this is the last few days of February? I have 2 more NCC posts to do - one more, after this one. It's a race to the finish line!
Still not quite feeling like summer, but I do have the A/C on in the house already. Florida heats up fast! I start this 'summer' mani with a very summery almost-neon coral - the coral side of the Sephora duo Grapefruit. If this wasn't one coat, it was close. Great formula on this polish!
I loved the coral, and I loved the gold shimmer, too! This is one coat - I'd bet it could be built to opaque-ness if you really wanted. The coverage is fantastic. I suspect that these polishes at one time might have smelled like grapefruit, but if there was any scent, I couldn't really tell.
I bought these neon studs from Winstonia. Well, I thought they were like flat, metal neon-colored studs. Boy, was I in for a surprise. They're practically balls! There's no way I could have worn these for any longer than it took to do the photographs.
These are utterly ridiculous! They're like tops. I'd probably like them better if they *were* tops, then at least they'd spin. Well, they're certainly good for a laugh, and for a summery neon vibe.
What do you think of these neon mushrooms? I should have stopped with the gold glitter... lol!
I have another of Darling Diva Polish's Queen collection for you today: We Will Rock You.
Is there anyone who hasn't heard at least some rendition of this song? As a member of the marching band in high school and college, I know I've played snippets innumerable times.
But you haven't seen too many polishes like this one!
Another stunning multichrome holo polish. Blue! Purple! Teal! Green!
Wow.
I saw this design on Pinterest that apparently was done by a nail artist for a client, but there was no identifying information. I liked it, though, and wanted to do my own version. I used a neon blue Color Club (when are they going to start putting labels on their bottles? Please?) to make an asymmetrical hill on my tips.
I used a black nail art striper to make some swirls, and then highlighted with a silver glitter nail art striper.
At some angles, We Will Rock You is more blue, but at others, a bright purple!
I love the color shift in this polish, especially how it plays off the neon blue.
I loved it so much, I did the other hand and went out on the town. It was harder to do the swirls with my left hand, but in Real Life, no one really notices that they're not exactly the same. As an added bonus, the swirling lines take attention away from the length of my nubs, and if there are any differences in length.
Bottle shot: Darling Diva Polish We Will Rock You, Color Club Neon Blue, Milani nail art striper in silver glitter, and black nail art striper.
Unfortunately, We Will Rock You was an LE, and it seems the store of pigment needed to make it has run out. At this time, I don't know if any more of this polish will be made. Some of the Queen collex are not LE, however, so check them out!
This month's challenge for the NCC is "Around the World" and this week's EcoPolo challenge is Neon, so I'm being oh-so-very-clever and combining the two.
I started off with a base coat of white, and then started laying on Candy Lacquer Granny Smith. I think it took 3-4 thick coats to get it this opaque, so I think I'll use a different undie next time.
It definitely reminds me of those Salon Perfect neons I used earlier in the summer. I'm pretty sure Granny Smith came out first, I just hadn't used it before now.
I was inspired by the 'around the world' challenge to do my first Tribal mani.
I'm guessing there are no neon tribes. That would be something, though. They're the radioactive people.
Bottle shot: Milani White on the Spot, Candy Lacquer Granny Smith, and stripers in dark blue, teal, and orange.
