80's brights!

Hello, Fireflies!

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.

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?

Jack O'Lanterns

Hello, Fireflies!

I got a little ambitious with my nail art today.  Every now and again, I think I can do something... well, let's just say that I need a little more practice with this one!

I was inspired by these awesome Jack O'Lanterns from Kayla Shevonne.  I started with a sparkly black background.  I love KB Shimmer Stark Raven Mad.  It's the blackest black holo ever.

I started painting the faces in with white, and then used yellow, yellow-orange, and then pumpkin orange to fill in the white.

They look like Clown O'Lanterns. LOL.

Bottle shot:  KB Shimmer Stark Raven Mad, Orly Hook Up, China Glaze Metro Pollen-tin, Urban Decay Bang, and a white striper.

Ok, maybe next year, I'll go as a Clown O'Lantern.  Start a trend!

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I see you, kitteh

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's nail art came about because someone asked in a nail group if anyone could do this cat tutorial.  I tried.  It was hard.  I think a lot of the cats kinda look like the rabbit mask from Donny Darko.

I found this cat eye nail art from Kayla Shevonne, and I thought it would go well with the cats, and make this more Halloween-y!  I think they're my fave part of the mani. I like how the dot of Joss Desert Sunset glitter makes the eyes shine!

 Bottle shot:  Orly Hook Up, Joss Desert Sunset, and Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.

Ever go as a cat for Halloween?  My husband and I went as Rottweilers once.  Someone asked if we were aliens. 

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

Stamping a Sad Poem

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's Adventures in Stamping challenge is to stamp over a yellow.  I found this yellow jelly, L'Oreal Tweet Me, in my stash.  I'm showing it to you here in two coats over white.

I did originally have it by itself, but I was going on 5 coats and still had VNL, and it didn't dry before it got all messed up.  I never would have been able to stamp on it.  Unfortunately, the beautiful orange shimmer doesn't show up as much over the white as it did on its own.  It pops more over the white, though.

I finally got to try some of MoYou London's stamping plates.  They are pretty cool, with even the sleeve having nice artwork on it.  I love that they have a sturdy and safe plastic backing, too.

I chose four different stamps from the Pro Collection 04 plate, and stamped with Cult Nails Nevermore.

Even though this yellow is bright and happy, to me, this stamped manicure reads like a sad poem.  The flowers blowing away, the lone bird, the writing smeared by tears..

I didn't intend for it to be sad, but I probably was affected by the sad news of the passing of Robin Williams, whose comedy I grew up on.  RIP.

Bottle shot:  L'Oreal Tweet Me, Revlon Spirit, and Cult Nails Nevermore.

I was a little surprised to see my mood so reflected in my nail art.  Have you ever done realized after the fact that your mood affected whatever project you had been working on?

TRI Tropical Flowers

Hello, Fireflies!

It's time for another installment of the TRI-polish challenge, and today, I'm going tropical.  I started with a polish I received in my Memebox Blue, so it's a Korean-style brand named Dearberry that I've not heard of before.  Dearberry 33 is beautiful, though, and it didn't stain.  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The inspiration for this nail art came from one of those collections where the originator wasn't named.  I've linked it in my Pinterest, and, per usual, if you know the creator, I'd love to credit and link them here.  I stamped the outline of the flower with Revlon Spirit, using Red Angel plate 119.

I wanted the flowers to have a juicy, shiny quality, so I outlined with a red striper, and then filled in with the flakie goodness of Models Own Red Sea.

The nice thing about striper polish, is that it's usually pretty opaque, so even yellow pops.  I also used a white striper to make more dots and redefine the outline of the flower.  Can't even tell it was stamped now, can ya.  I just look like a painting *genius*. Geeeeenius.

Off we go, to a tropical paradise... with a polish that came from Korea, and stripers probably made in China, and Models Own is from the UK. Hmm.

Bottle shot:  Dearberry 33, Revlon Spirit, Models Own Red Sea, and stripers in red, yellow, and white.

If you could go on a tropical vacation, where would you go?

An InLinkz Link-up

TRI - Teardrops

Hello, Fireflies!

It's a new month, and a new set of colors for the Tri-polish Tuesdays challenge.  Which, of course, usually means three colors I wouldn't have chosen to put together on my own, so I spent some time scratching my head and wondering how to do this.

Oddly, enough, I'd been using a lot of yellow and red together lately for superhero challenges, another odd combo... that you see in a lot of comics.

This nail art was inspired by a stamped mani by alygatrrr.. that I foolishly though I could do freehand.  Um. yeah. Not so much.

I started with a gorgeous blue from Above The Curve, called Suspense, and China Glaze Lemon Fizz, a surprisingly nice pale butter yellow.

"Just paint the teardrops," they said.  "It'll be easy," they said.

They lied.  Getting them the right size, with the right shape, and with the right space between them felt like the equivalent of painting the Sistine Chapel.  Way outta my league.

There was much swearing and gnashing of teeth.

I used OPI Over and Over A-Gwen to dot the middle of the teardrops.  Which, then, of course, I neglected to let dry all the way and smeared my first nail with topcoat.

More swearing and gnashing of teeth ensued.

Thank goodness for topcoat, which hides a multitude of evils. If the road the hell is paved with good intentions, I think the road to heaven is paved with Seche Vite. Or Ice Cream.

Bottle shot: China Glaze Lemon Fizz, Above The Curve Suspense, and OPI Over and Over A-Gwen.

Have you ever tried to imitate someone's look or nail art, and just struggled every step of the way?

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GOT Some Ruffly Yellows

Hello, Fireflies!

You know you're a polish hoarder when...

...there is a yellow challenge, and, even though you rarely wear yellow polish, you still have to narrow down what you want, and even so, still have 4 to use for the challenge.  Sigh.

The first yellow is your typical horrible yellow formula - streaky, patchy, sheer.  I suppose I keep Ulta Cream Of The Crop because it does remind me of fresh white corn.

I hear that this next yellow's formula is changing or that it's being discontinued? Too bad, because Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow is actually a great little sunshine yellow.  I applied it here with a dotting tool to get that ruffly effect.

I am making a real mess with this mani!

Bondi Brick Road is a goldenrod yellow.  I don't know if you can get Bondi anymore.  There was some drama about this subscription service, and I know the money I had invested into the subscription for future boxes was returned to me.  Plenty of other yellows to be found.

This ruffled mani is rounded out with Nails inc Hampstead Road, a 'trend shade'.  I suspect that 'trend' here means 'so ugly it's kinda cute' in the way that 'cozy' means 'small' in Real Estate ads.  I can't imagine ever wanting to paint my nails mustard yellow, but I kinda like it as the finishing color in this ruffle.

For someone who isn't that big into yellow polishes (except for Superhero nail art, lol) I actually really liked this!

Bottle shot:  Ulta Cream Of The Crop, Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow, Bondi Brick Road, and Nails inc Hampstead Road.

Have you tried a color of makeup or polish that you thought you'd hate, but ended up liking it on you?

An InLinkz Link-up

Embracing My Geekness - Super Fast Flash

Hello, Fireflies!

You'll have to look quickly at today's nail art, because it'll move fast.. like in a Flash...

I started with my new fave tomato-red, OPI Over And Over A-Gwen.  I just picked up a backup bottle at Ulta's clearance sale for under $3!

I tried creating decals again, with my FUN 11 plate from Fab Ur Nails, but then I had to go and try and outline the Flash logo, and messed it up a little.  There just wasn't enough contrast between the yellow and white.

I knew I had to try Flash nail art today, though, because he's my husbands FAVORITE superhero of all time.  He has t-shirts, and action figures, and comics...

Zoya Pippa has become my go-to nail art yellow.  It's the perfect primary-color yellow.  I need another bottle!  I also used Revlon Spirit, Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, and a little Maybelline Bold Gold for the nail Art.

Did you see it? One more look! I free-hand drew the Flash lettering by painting them first with Black Creme, and then again with white and yellow.  Kinda wish I'd found a yellow glitter to wear on my ring finger!

Bottle shot:  OPI Over And Over A-Gwen, Revlon Spirit, Zoya Pippa, and Maybelline Bold Gold.  (Not pictured: Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.)

My favorite superhero is Wolverine.  I did a quick nail art for Wolverine's Movie (using the same colors! ha!) already.  Do you have a favorite superhero?

An InLinkz Link-up