Shamrocks in Untried Greens

Hello, Fireflies!

Time to get out some untried green polishes, because it's almost St. Paddy's Day! And, because:

I saw this cute shamrock nail art from QTPlace and decided to do a little twist on it for today.  I started with alternating greens in Finger Paints Go Van Gogh! and Pop Jade Metal.

Shamrocks galore!

I probably could have used some judicious editing here.  All kinds of greens, topped with glitter and holo?  Well, it's not like this holiday is known for subtlety, y'all.

Bottle shot:  Finger Paints Go Van Gogh!, Pop Jade Metal, SpaRitual Introspective, Julep Adrianna, LynBDesigns The Credible Hulk, and China Glaze This is Tree-Mendous.

Ever have a moment where you couldn't decide which shade to use, so you just used them all? Yeah.

An InLinkz Link-up

An InLinkz Link-up

Tri-Tie

Hello, Fireflies!

Today, I tried the tri, but ended up doing the duo.  No green in this mani, just blue and purple.  Here's my inspiration:

One of my husband's ties! He chose a handful of his ties that he wants to see me use as inspiration, and I thought that was a grand idea!

Here's the hot mess I started with:

I used striping tape and hole reinforcers that I trimmed, over a layer of Wet 'n Wild Black Creme.  Looks like spiders. Ewww.

After putting the tape down over the VERY DRY black, then I quickly painted in different sections with colors inspired by the tie.  One nail at a time, please.  If it dries before you get the tape off, your polish will pull off with the tape!

All done, before topcoat.  I love the colors! Purple, grey, blue, silver, and black.

Like a stained glass window!

A nail art like this one really needs topcoat to bring all the layers into one, visually. Notice how all the brushstrokes are minimized, too.

Do you think it looks like the tie?

Bottle shot:  Wet 'n Wild Black Creme, Sonia Kashuk Dime a Dozen and Russian Roulette, Jordana De'ja' Vu Blue, and a silver nail art striper.

I couldn't be more thrilled that my husband has taken an interest in my nail art, and even found his own ways to participate! It was so sweet, and he loved the nail art I did, too.  Have you had a partner or friend help you find inspiration for your craft?

An InLinkz Link-up

Jerseyliciously Orange #NailArtForNubs

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's #NailArtForNubs is a design I saw on Finger Food (who was, in turn, inspired by Robin Moses Jerseylicious tutorial)

Both designs were done on long nails, so I'm taking a little leap of faith and trying it on my nubbins.

I started with Aly's Dream Polish Persimmon, a hot, hot, hot orange holo.  This is one spicy persimmon!

I used Revlon Spirit, and it's own brush, to create the outline for the graffiti-like shapes.  I just did what I thought would fit, making sure to make some blobs higher than other blobs.

I'm pretty sure this nail art would have been easier with acrylic paints! Trying to make tiny lines with a black striper is a little challenging, and you can see where I just ran out of room! Like Robin does in her tutorial, I also went over some of the white again to make it pop and clean up some of the lines.

I've never seen 'Jerseylicious' but I have seen The Maxx, and for some reason, this art just reminds me of that style of drawing.  I have just not only dated myself, but also aligned myself as a bit of a geek with that reference, I think.

I really like the contrast between the bright pop of orange, and the stark black and white.

Bottle shot:  Aly's Dream Polish Persimmon, Revlon Spirit, black nail art striper.

So, does this nail art need long nails, do you think?  I'm pretty happy with it!

An InLinkz Link-up

Impulse Cosmetics

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you heard of Impulse Cosmetics?  I don't remember how I heard about this little Indie cosmetics company, but they have some really cool, wild makeup.

I decided to try some of their lippies and eyeshadows.

Impulse Cosmetics' 'claim to fame' as it were is their opaque, matte lipstick. Dahlia, on the end, is one of those.  The rest are from their new line of Metallics.  In order, from left to right: Thrill, Tough Love, Forget Me Not, Boggart, and Dahlia.

Here you can see each one matched up with its name.  The colors are vibrant! I wish they were in a real lipstick bullet and not a tube, because I had a little trouble with application.  I am going to have to invest in a good lip brush, I think.  I've only tried Boggart, the emerald green, on my lips so far, and it was pretty patchy when applied straight from the tube.

In addition to the lippies, I bought their signature eyeshadow primer, Glam Glue, and three mineral shadows.  I love their packaging!

I haven't tried this on my eyes yet, but I found it pleasant on the skin.  It feels light and a little bit sticky, and you can't really see it on its own.

I swatched the three shadows over the Glam Glue.  Wow!  Left to right: Poseidon, Macabre Moon, and Hocus Pocus.

I've never seen colors like these.  If you'd like to see more from Impulse Cosmetics, you can find them on HERE on Facebook and their Etsy shop. (not affiliate links)

Sunday Stamping - Undah Da Sea

Hello, Fireflies!

It's time again for Sunday, Sunday, Sunday Stamping! Today, we'll be *blub* *blub* under water!  My version of water starts with Nina Ultra Pro Twinkle, Twinkle.  I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a textured polish or a rough glitter.  I was actually glad to have it a little textured, because I felt that would add to the 'under water' effect. 

You believed that, right? Good.

I found this cute image on my stamping plate DRK-C, and used Finger Paints Silver Sculpture (a lilac-leaning silver) for the stamping.  Totally adorable, right? I only wish my nails were big enough for the whole stamp.  

I used different parts of the stamp on different fingers, and then I decided to create a backwards 'decal' look by painting in some of the fish 'n things. 

I love how colorful it turned out, like a kids' toy aquarium!

I used a lot of different polishes while painting this scene.  Bottle shot:  Nina Ultra Pro Twinkle Twinkle, Finger Paints Silver Sculpture, Revlon Spirit, Nabi Gold, Liquid Sky Lacquer Marisa Lander's Dancing Flames, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer 2014, Cover Girl Silver Lining, and Born Pretty Holo #3.

What would you like to see under the sea?

Silver Sparkly Slick

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's mani just happened when I was playing around.  I started with Nailtini Caviar Cocktail.  This might be just one coat, I can't remember.  This came in one of my Ipsy bags, I believe, and before I got to try it, everyone who had was complaining about getting *another* silver. 

Well, I have a lot of silver polishes, and yet, I have nothing like this one.  There's something very rich about this one.  It's not fully silver, more gunmetal, I think.  I plan on using it for stamping, too, because it's so thick. 

I played around making different shapes with my white striper, and then filled in the gaps with Paris Sparkles Oil Slick, a purple-tinted holographic glitter.

I do have a soft spot for scattered holographic glitters.  I really like how they add just a little sparkle to the grey.

Bottle shot:  Nailtini Caviar Cocktail, Paris Sparkles Oil Slick, and white striper.

Are you over silver/gunmetal polish?  What's your favorite one? 

Spring Stamped Sheswai

Hello, Fireflies!

Spring must be on its way - one day I'll have the house open for a cool breeze, the next day, I have the A/C on, and then the day after that, I need a blanket! I'm sure the flowers have no idea what's going on.  Mother Nature is a bit bipolar these days.

Yet, I'm feeling the need today for a light, spring nail art.  I started with this very sheer nude from Sheswai Lacquer called So Pretty. 

Then, I used my Dashica Plate Big SdP-B and Sheswai Lacquer Babe, a bold bright pink, to stamp the flowers and some of the lines on an angle across the top of the nail. 

When you have nubs, sometimes you have to get creative with the stamps to have them show anything! Some nails only have parts of flowers, and no lines.

I thought these cute flower rhinestones would go nicely, and I also placed some iridescent glitter in the stamped flowers, just for a little flash when they'd catch the light.

Does this say SPRING or what?  Hopefully, the weather is listening!

Bottle shot:  Sheswai Lacquer So Pretty and Babe

What are you most looking forward to with the Spring?