NYE Glammed up nails!

Have you heard of NailNation 3000 yet?  She's a new addition to Llarowe, but before that, I fell in love with her holos.  I did this nail look for a holiday party, but thought it would be perfect for a NYE bash, too!

It starts with NailNation 3000 Loverz Lane, a copper/nude holo.  This pix was taken indoors, and you can still see the rainbow.  So far, all of her polishes that I've tried have had a really great formula.  I'm not as much a fan of the stubby brush, but it works well, and isn't wonky, at least.

Using paper hole reinforcements, I did a half-moon with another NailNation 3000 polish called No Rest For the Wicked.  It's a midnight black holo.  In Real Life, it was cool to see the linear rainbow start up in the nude and finish down in the black.  It looks more scattered in pix, but it is linear.

For a little extra bling, I painted the line between the colors with China Glaze Snow Globe.  Glequins would also make a nice border for those so inclined to do that, but I didn't think I'd have the patience to do all 10 fingers that way!  I love the flash of blue from Snow Globe, too.  

Is there such thing as too much bling for the holidays?  Not on my nails!

Red and glitter, glitter and red!

Over the holiday season, I've worn different combos of red and glitter, and I thought I'd compile some of them together to show you at once.  So many different shades of red now, and different ways to wear it, I hope one of them suits your tastes!

Candy Cane Striping

For fun and simple nail art, you can't beat dots or stripes.  For a festive look, I used a tutorial from Sassy Paints to make candy cane nails! 

Milani White On The Spot is the best white polish I've found for doing a whole nail.  It dries opaque and glossy.

I found this set of holiday mini scented polishes at Claire's and decided to use some of them for candy canes. What better way then to start out with a sweet mint polish?  I love a sparkle over white.

The red glitter from Claire's was cranberry scented, and it actually went well with the sweet mint.  Who knew.

The green glitter in the Claire's set wasn't thick enough to use with a striper, so I substituted Kleancolor metallic green instead.   If you're one who is sensitive to the smell of Kleancolors, try pairing it with a scented polish! mmm.

I used the Milani silver art striper to add a little glitter.  

They almost smelled good enough to eat!

Do you like using scented polish?  I wasn't interested in buying a polish just for the scent, but I have to admit, it's a nice addition.

Painted Polish Poinsettias

I love to see the Poinsettias around the holidays.  We used to get one every year at the university holiday party, and I even got to plant it and have it grow for a while, though I didn't go through the rigamarole you need to do to have it bloom again.  I have a fake white one that I always forget to get out of the garage, though.  

Mani poinsettias are much easier, and you don't have to water them.  I saw this nail art on Dressed Up Nails, and decided to do my version of them.

I started with Rainbow Honey Annual Emotion.

I was totally suckered into buying this one by a blog post.  They played up all the other colors in the silver, and how wonderful it was.  Ok, I will say that in the photo (and even in mine) you can see tinges of other colors.  It is NOT holo, like I thought it was going to be.  In Real Life, you couldn't even see those colors.  It applies like a silver glitter, and it takes two coats to be opaque, because the glitter needs to 'fill in' the spaces, not because it's thin like a polish.  It actually applies like a microglitter, not as a polish, if you can understand my gibberish.

I used Misa Bourbon on the Rocks for the first layer of petals.  It was more brown than I thought it would be, but I loved this color.  The more coats you use, the more red it becomes.

I had received Dazzle Dry Rapid Red in a grab bag.  It's okay - it wouldn't be my goto red polish.  It's a little thin and required 2-3 coats to be opaque, even over the silver.  It also leans a little too cherry-pink for me. 

The leaves are China Glaze Running in Circles from their Cirque du Soleil collection.  Love this bright green, with a nice shimmer.  I added a little bit more of Misa Bourbon on the Rocks for details., and finished off each flower with a rhinestone in the center, topped off with lots of Seche Vite to lock it in.

Are you decorating the house or your nails with poinsettias this holiday? 

Aurora Snowmen!

Zoya Aurora isn't necessarily only a holiday color in my eyes, but it is a gorgeous, bling-ed out red-violet, and it's perfect this holiday.  Love that scattered holo - all the flash of glitter, with a perfect formula, and no-hassle removal.

I decided that it would make a great base for some snowmen.  I like the snowmen that A Love Tart did on her blog, and decided to use them for my inspiration.  

Milani White on the Spot makes a nice, smooth, opaque snowman.  I used a black striper for the hat and details, China Glaze Roguish Red for the nose, Revlon Silver Screen for the hat stripe, and Zoya Logan for the scarf.

I decided to wear this to a get together with friends, so I did both hands with snowmen!  It was so hard to paint these guys with my left hand, but I loved the effect.

Even though there's no snow in Florida, I can still take a White Christmas with me!  Are you making any snowmen this holiday?

Green Season with holos

I have a lot of green holos now, and it seems that no two are exactly the same! 

Urban Outfitters Green Holo, a stunning rainbow over pale sage green:

Piper Polish Lime Green Dream, a subtle scattered holo over an icy jade green:

Enkelini, The Grass is Greener, a bright grass green with linear holo:

Above The Curve It's Because I'm Green, Isn't it, a forest green with a subtle linear holo:

Piper Polish Peace, Love & Rainbows, a darker forest, mossy green with a stronger linear rainbow.

 All together now, in the same order as above, from thumb to pinkie.  (UO, Piper LGD, Enkelini TGIG, ATC, and Piper PL&R)

Even indoors, you can see some strong linear rainbows, and some deep colors.

I decided to do some reverse art by leaving the holo and painting a shape around it in black.  I used China Glaze Angel Wings as a gold holo detail.  I like the ornament the best.

I also did a little striping nail art.  This is all 5 colors striped next to each other on each nail.  I really liked this, and it just took a striping brush, and a somewhat steady hand.

Are you celebrating the season with holos?  

Sweet Silver Bells seem to say, "Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas!"

To all my readers who celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a Merry one. 

I tried making some silver bells nail art.. not my best, but what better day to ask for Nail Fail Forgiveness than on Christmas?

My base color was a gorgeous deep blue - not quite navy, but close - Revlon Colorstay Midnight.  Look at that shine - no topcoat!  I love Revlon Colorstay polishes.

I took an LA Colors striper in silver and outlined bell shapes and filled them in, and then went over them with a Milani Nail Art Striper Art of Silver, for the glitter.

I tried to add some black to define the bells a bit..

And added some larger glitters from BornPrettyStore to make the handle and clapper of the bells.  I liked that little touch, and they were easy to apply with a little topcoat and the end of a dotting tool.

This is my favorite Christmas Carol, and this a capella version is my fave of all time.  Carol of the Bells by Pentatonix:

Have a peaceful season!

Waiting for Santa?

Well, Santa's here!  I have two different Santa manis for you today.

The first one was inspired by a pix a friend left on my FaceBook wall.  I don't know who the original artist is, I'm sorry to say.  If you know it, please leave me their info in the comments! 

I started with a base color of Milani White on The Spot, with an accent of American Apparel Dance.  I am seriously impressed with White on the Spot - it's a great, glossy white, opaque in two coats, and not chalky.  It's not only great for nail art, but also as a full-coverage polish.

Next, I used China Glaze Adventure Red-y to paint the hats, and make some reference dots for Santa's face.

A dotting tool finishes up the rest - China Glaze Glistening Snow for the trim, LVX Livid for the eyes, and a little AA Dance mixed with the Adventure Red-y for the jolly elf's nose.

I liked the Santa, but the straight French-style tip doesn't look that good on my nails - I have small nail beds, and they have a slight triangular shape to them.  This type of tip emphasizes their stubbiness.

This next Santa mani is inspired by Sincerely Stephanie's 'Cutest Santas Ever!' tutorial.  

I started with Milani White on the Spot over all nails except the ring finger.  That, and the edges of the others are painted with a lovely glowy red, Pure Ice All Nighter.  The faces are using the American Apparel Dance again, just like in the previous Santa.

Oy, what a mess! I clean up using an ELF concealer brush and DIY Zoya remove (acetone + water + glycerine).  A dotting tool and LVX Livid for the eyes, more All nighter for the noses, and a mix of the red and Dance for the rosy cheeks.

A little white over the eyes and a dot on the black makes his eyes sparkle and look like he has eyebrows.  A little more white and China Glaze Glistening Snow gives us a little hat for Santa, and a stripe of Livid with some Glistening Snow, and Santa has a belt for his suit!

Now, he's a jolly ol' elf with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.  I think that the curved French tip is more flattering to my nail shape, too, so I'm a lot jollier as well!

Will you be decorating your nails for the season?  If you try either of these Santas, please leave me a pix on my FaceBook!

Adventures in Stamping - Stamping around the Christmas Tree

How many black polishes with sparkle does one girl need?  I don't know, but I'm attracted to them like magpies to shiny.  I was a little disappointed that Sally Hansen Midnight in NY wasn't as sparkly on the nail as it was in the bottle, though.  The glitters are much more subtle, and it took some finagling to get them to photograph.

I wasn't too worried, though, because I knew I'd just be using it as a backdrop for LynBDesigns Trimmed Out Tree.  I received this polish in a grab bag, and although it isn't one I'd gravitate to, I actually really liked it.  Very festive with the stars, and the glitters that look like ornaments.

I have a few polishes from LynBDesigns, and they are consistently of good quality.  I didn't have to go fishing for glitter, the formula isn't thick or gloopy like some Indies, either.  The stars came out on the brush on their own, though I did put them on the nail where I wanted them to go.  All chunky glitter can use a little dabbing.

This week's challenge was to use colors of Christmas Ornaments, so I went with silver bells in Essie No Place Like Chrome.  I wanted it to look like the bells were hanging on the tree, but they kinda look like the Griswold's Family Tree got eaten by the bells.  This is one of those stamps that would look better on those with longer nails.

No stamping Sunday next week, but there should be some kinda post, per usual.  I hope you're enjoying all the different nail art out there on the blogs this week - so many really fun designs to try! 

All the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names..

Are you ready for Santa?  He'll be making his rounds tomorrow!  Before we see Santa, let's see who is pulling the sleigh!

In hindsight, I should have used a nude polish first instead of painting the reindeer on my bare nails.  I didn't have much free edge showing, though, so it wasn't too bad.  The body of the deer is done with Revlon Colorstay Fall Mood, a sparkly golden-brown polish.  It's actually maybe a *little* too light for this, but it is photographing lighter than it was in Real Life.

China Glaze Call of the Wild with a small nail art brush for the antlers, and I smudged a little to make the inside of their ears, too.

Milani White on the Spot and LVX Livid for the eyes... what are they looking at?!

Oh, it's Rudolph!  His nose is China Glaze Adventure Red-y.  The other reindeer have noses painted with Call of the Wild.

Even Rudolph is looking at his own nose, and he is proud of it!  Embrace differences - life would be boring if we were all the same!

Deck the Halls, and the nails!

Right-hand realness today!

Look at that shine!  Mentality Euphoria, from their Brilliant collection.  I love their holos.  I wanted to use this as a base for a wreath design inspired by Flaunt Me.

I knew I'd need a little help getting that half-moon shape of the wreath, so I used hole reinforcements over the DRY polish.  I also like to stick the reinforcements to my skin first to take some of the stickiness out.

I painted on a dark green holo called Peace, Love, and Polish by Piper Polish, and then dotted in Enkelini The Grass is Greener, a bright green holo.

Using the same dotting tool, I used China Glaze Adventure Red-Y for the holly berries in the wreath.

For a finishing touch, I mixed Adventure Red-Y with China Glaze Call of the Wild to make a maroon-ish color for the bow.

Are you decking your nails this holiday season?