Yellow and Black on Point

Hello, Fireflies!

This month the NCC celebrates it's 3rd anniversary! What better way to kick it off than to celebrate the members that make up the NCC - so this month, we are all recreating other members' challenge manis from the past three years.  My first one is a bold tape mani that I probably wouldn't have come up with on my own, but I love how it turned out!

Carpe Noctem Purple Patchwork

Hello, Fireflies!

Can every month be geometric manis month?  I love all the different interpretations of this theme.  I found this nail art on Chickettes that I thought was so much fun, and decided to do my own version with some Carpe Noctem Cosmetics polishes.

Carpe Noctem Sapphire Abyss made my camera cry.  I know it looks like I covered my camera lens in Vaseline, a la Cybill Shepherd's Moonlighting days (Google it, young'uns!) but I didn't.  It's just so soft and shiny; it's so beautiful.

I applied some tape strips and did some freehand to make this patchwork of purples.  The light, orchid color is Carpe Noctem I'm A BIG F*cking Deal and the eggplant is Carpe Noctem Interstellar Towel.

I love how the white dots just make the whole mani look sharper and more defined. Except for that whole Vaseline thing.  Maybe it's time for a new camera?

I love how they're all purple, but so different!

Bottle shot: Carpe Noctem Sapphire Abyss, I'm A BIG F*cking Deal, and Interstellar Towel, and Sally Hansen White Tip.

Kinda makes me want to do an eyeshadow look with colors like these.  Would you?

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Red Keyhole

Hello, Fireflies!

Welcome to another TRI-Polish Tuesday, where I can't follow rules and only use two colors.  If it helps, I did use rhinestones, though.

I was inspired by a nail art from Sloteazzy, though hers is more structured.  I started with Sally Hansen Barracuda, a lovely baby blue creme.

I really like the uniqueness of Orly FX Milky Way.  I love milky glitters anyway, but the blue with the pops of red and accents of white is just so different.

Using tape, I made the 'keyhole' with OPI Over and Over A-Gwen, and then topped it with a red pearl rhinestone.

To make this more wearable, you could always just use a dotting tool for the red pearl.  I can't keep those things on very long, myself, but they're fun for a look.

Bottle shot:  Sally Hansen Barracuda, Orly FX Milky Way, OPI Over And Over A-Gwen.

Without the glitter, I doubt I would have thought to put that baby blue together with that tomato red.  What's your favorite unexpected color combination?

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Updating a Tape Mani With an Old Holo

Hello, Fireflies!

I'm updating one of my first recorded nail art looks, but using a Golden Oldie holo to do it!  This original is A England Avalon.. and maybe Camelot. A England polishes are what sucked me into the online world of polish!

I didn't get into polish when it was still easy to get the OPI DS holos, but I have managed to collect a few in the after market.  I lusted after OPI DS Original for a while, and was so happy when I got it.
 

Ah, OPI DS Original.  You are so pretty.  But you stink to high heaven.  That old formula is probably why OPI hasn't redone these amazing holos.  Pee-ew!

I discovered this tape in the clearance scrapbooking stuff at Target.  I don't think it's Washi tape.  It's got a rubbery feel to it, and is thicker than clear tape.  I find it works really well for tape manis.

I took cuticle scissors and cut a few different spiky patterns in the tape, applied it to one nail at a time, and painted over the nail with black.

Don't wait too long to remove the tape, or all of the polish will come off.  Also, it's helpful to stick the tape to your hand first to remove some of the stickiness.  You don't want the tape to pull off the base color.

I love that you can create any kind of spiky look with tape and scissors!

Bottle shot:   OPI DS Original, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

What do you think about the update?

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Girly Purple Sparkly and Studs #NailArtForNubs

Did you see I had another post today?  If you'd like to see my review of April's Birchbox, click HERE.

Hello (again!) Fireflies!

Wow, huh? Feast your eyes on the holo multichrome blurple goodness that is Girly Bits Go And Shake A Tower.  I don't know what the reference is, but it always makes me think of Tina Turner's Shake a Tail Feather.

So, I'll go shake a tail feather! Because this polish is gorgeous, and I'm taking it dancing.

Normally, if I'm doing a tape mani, I'll paint the base color, tape off the top, and then paint the tips.  But, after wearing the holo alone, I wanted to add a creme to the top.  Because I can't do anything the easy way, it seems.  I did pick an easy blurple creme, though.  The gorgeous China Glaze Queen B.

In addition to using clear tape, I've discovered Washi (scrapbooking) tape and a rubbery tape from Scotch that both work really well - even better than clear tape - for doing tape manis.  The Washi tape was in the $1 section at Target (on clearance for a quarter!) and the rubbery tape was also on clearance there for about $1.  I got it in purple (hubby's fave color) so I could give it to him in case it didn't work for me.  Multitasker!

Aren't these metallic blue diamond studs the coolest?  I've lost track of where I bought them, but I think they're from +Winstonia Store.

Bottle shot:  Girly Bits Go And Shake A Tower, and China Glaze Queen B.

I'm digging how the polish cuts the nail diagonally, and the stud cuts it vertically, but neither with a straight line.  Kinda gives the illusion of length, doesn't it?

And the shiny is a distraction!  Oooh, shiny....

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Spring Renewal Nail Art Challenge - Good Egg!

Is it really spring?  I know some folks got snow this week! It's so weird - usually we have the A/C on 24/7 by this time here in Florida, but I'm loving that today is breezy, and I have the house open.  I'm feeling totally renewed, and excited for this, ahem, Spring Renewal Challenge!

First, let's pretend that I have a pix of my white nails, painted perfectly (we're imagining, so why not!) with Revlon Spirit.

I picked up some Washi tape that had chevrons printed on it, so I used them as a template and cut out chevrons for my nails.  Soon after, I got a small set of Nail Vinyls of chevrons, but it was too late for this mani.  Something you could get, though, if you want easy chevrons!

I tried to alternate between the yellow (Julep Nadia), pink (Julep Ellie) and blue (Joe Fresh Wave) but apparently, I can't do random patterns.  Also, Ellie fooled me with her pinkness in the bottle, but not so much on the nail.  April Fools!... a little late?

I took a dotting tool and some black to make some - and pardon me for getting a little technical here - dots.  In a chevron pattern.  Try to wrap your minds around that without hurting yourselves.

I think Orly Etoile may be the most subtle glitter I own.  Just a pinch of light purple sparkle.

Bottle shot:  Revlon Spirit, Joe Fresh Wave, Julep Nadia and Ellie, Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, and Orly Etoile.

This is probably as close to Easter Eggs as I'll get this year, except for candy ones.  My fave are the malted milk Robins' Eggs, but I have to have at least one Cadbury egg, and one Reese's Peanut Butter Egg, too.  What's your favorite egg?

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Two posts today!  Click HERE if you want to see my Hot. Pink. Cabana Boy.

TRI-Polish Tuesday - Roses

Hello, Fireflies!

Did I just show you a Northern Star Polish yesterday? It was good, wasn't it.  Yeah, I know.  Real good.

*ahem*

So, this is another Northern Star Polish, Printemps, a barbie-pink with a subtle holo.

I recently picked up some Washi tape in the dollar bin at Target (for 75% off! booyah!) and I'd heard that some have used it for tape manicures.  It's pretty good! It's really sticky at first, so I still needed to put it on my hand to remove some of the stickiness, but it stuck well, and made pretty clean lines with Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Can you tell I am just loving these water decals from Born Pretty Store?  Even though these were sent to me for review, I've already purchased another set of these, and some others.  They have a nice selection on sale right now - some as low as $0.88!

I thought this might give a sort of flowerbox or trellis effect over the French tips.  I'm not sure I'm loving the red roses over the pink, but I do love it over the black.

I know, I didn't manage to get any yellow in to this week's challenge.  Who knew that yellow would be my Achilles heel?

Maybe I should have done yellow dots or something like that?  Yellow roses are my fave, wish these decals came in yellow!  I'll keep looking.

If you'd like to go shopping at the Born Pretty Store, feel free to use my coupon (GVX31) for 10% off! Born Pretty Store can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and their blog.

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The Beauty Blog Coalition giveaway goes live at midnight, Central time! There are three CASH prizes - first is $500 dollars!

Brights'll Poke Your Eye Out

Hello, Fireflies! 

Did you think I was going to show you some cool nail art today? April Fools! Just some regular stuff, like I always show you!

Is this not a bright, sexy pink?  What else would you expect from a collex named for Gwen Stefani?  OPI Hey Baby is a pink I like wearing, and that's saying something.

I love a little glitter on the tips, so I picked out LynBDesigns Darwin, from the way-back of my untrieds stash.  She hasn't used these bottles in a while, but it's actually one of the things that got me to try her brand.  I think they are cool.  

I actually 'finished' the mani here, and went out to run some errands.  I try to wear the same mani on both hands if I'm going out.  People think I'm weird enough as it is, ya know?

But this is a tri-polish challenge, right?  So, I put on some tape and painted yellow spiky triangles with Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow.  The bright colors! They burns! I'm not ready for summer yet, lol. 

The problem with doing a tape mani with a light color is that you have to put a lot of polish on.  And the more polish there is, the more chance some of it is going to bleed under the tape.  So, some of my spikies are actually more sort of wobblies.

Bottle shot:  OPI Hey Baby,  LynBDesigns Darwin, and Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow.

Do you have strong feelings about polish bottles?  I've heard some say they only buy uniform bottles, some like unique shapes.. do you have a preference?

GOT Purple Triangles

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Golden Oldie Thursday challenge is Purple.  I remember going on a hunt for this purple - once I saw swatches, it had to be mine! This is Orly Cashmere Cardigan in a sponge gradient with Sally Hansen White Tip.

Then, I took tape and made a triangle shape.  I tried to do a reverse gradient, but it came out mostly purple.  It would have looked cool, though.  Trust.

Topcoat makes it pretty.  I love topcoat.  It smooths out everything and makes it look like I meant it to look that way; like all my decisions were on purpose.  It's magical.

How cute are these triangle studs?

Bottle shot:  Sally Hansen White Tip and Orly Cashmere Cardigan.

Have you done a successful reverse gradient?  Any tips?

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