Movie Date!

Hello, Fireflies!

I love movies, but I'm old.  And when I say that I'm old, I mean I am the stereotypical old person who gets mad at children running in the aisles, I get grumpy when people are using their cell phones in any capacity, and I don't like to share my space with a lot of noisy people.

So, when the new X-men movie opened, and hubby and I went to an early matinee and had very little company, I was *thrilled*.  But it also meant that I had to get ready in a hurry!

But I HAD to do X-men nails! Totally quick and dirty.  Even the one Wolverine face didn't stamp fully, but it kinda looks like he's cackling evilly, so it's okay.  I used Zoya Pippa, OPI Over and Over A-Gwen, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism with Fab Ur Nails Fun 11 plate for the stamping.

Hubby wore a Marvel-themed t-shirt, which earned him knowing nods from the other geeks in the audience.  I showed my nails to the girl selling tickets.  She acted impressed, but I don't think she really got it, ya know?  

Bottle shot:  Zoya Pippa, OPI Over and Over A-Gwen, and Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

 I thought I'd also show you the makeup look I did for our date.  I've been sporting the Cover FX SPF 30 primer and BB Gel, of course.  Still loving the light coverage and satin finish.  I think I have on my Jordana Color Tint Blush Stick in Coral Touch, and my Hourglass Ambient Dim Light finishing powder, too.

Boy, howdy, am I having trouble taking good pictures of my makeup.  It's harder than it looks! I'm either too yellow or too washed out.  

I did my eyes with the Stila 10-pan eyeshadow palette with 14k (bright gold shimmer) on my inner lid, copper (copper shimmer) on the outer lid, and jade (shimmery jade green) in the crease.  I've been practicing with my ELF brow kit, and I also tried a little cat eye with my new fave liquid liner - Physicians Formula. 

Hubby got me into the X-Men franchise, oh, 20 years ago? and Wolverine has always been my fave, so I was glad to wear him on my nails!  Did you ever do a theme mani, makeup, or fashion for a movie?

Also shared on The Nail Files and the Nail Files Pinterest Board. Click through for more nail art!

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

Shades of Grey

This Fall, I'm obsessed with grey.  And, I'm not the only one - there are so many gorgeous greys out there to choose from!  I want to show you some of the polishes and glitters I've tried this season so far...

For these first few polishes, I layered them all over Color Club Wild Orchid.  It's a light grey that leans a little purple and has a tiny bit of blue and purple shimmer in the bottle that doesn't really translate much to the nail - not what I was expecting from the name!

Revlon Sparkle Aplenty is a LE Runway polish for this Fall.  What I think sets it apart from the others is the black base - but a black base that you can actually see the silver glitter in.  It's not just a textured black blob.  It's a dramatic look!

Jordana is really putting out some great glitters lately, and at about $2 each, they're really affordable and great alternatives to some of the high-end glitters.  Galaxy is a silver base, with different sizes of silver glitter.

Perception Nail Lacquer Grumpy is a milky grey, almost iridescent base with square black glitters!  It's pretty unique in my stash of glitters.  I was surprised by this one! I have to say, though, I have liked all of her polishes so far.  She's recently changed her bottle and started selling through a store from her Facebook page instead of Etsy.

Dollish Polish Many Shades of Mr. Grey is jam-packed with glitter.  I think the base is clear, but it doesn't matter, you can't see it.  So many different sizes and shapes of grey, silver, gunmetal, and black glitter.  Dollish doesn't disappoint!

Different Dimension takes a similar approach, but includes larger silver hexes and some holo glitter, too.  Gorgeous!

All together in one mani, they look completely different!  From Pinky to Thumb - Grumpy, Galaxy, Sparkle Aplenty, Many Shades of Mr. Grey, and  50 Shades.

I did another grey mani I want to share with you.  This one started with Orly Decoded.  I love Orly polishes, they're one of my top mainstream brands.  Their formula is almost always perfect.

After applying one coat of Orly Goth over Decoded, I realized I didn't need undies for this one!  It's very black.  Unfortunately, so much of that silver shimmer you see in the bottle is just hidden in the polish on the nail.

A layer of OPI Pirouette My Whistle lightened up the black and gave me some of the sparkle I was looking for.  Bling-tastic!

Are you into any shades of grey this season?

Bring me your poor, unloved polishes...

I am in serious polish hoarding mode.  I can't stop buying polishes, and I even couldn't stop myself from grabbing these lovely polishes at the last CFL Beauty Bloggers meeting (and I feel badly that I didn't get to posting them until now!)

I think the theme for these polishes was *weird finishes*

First up, a metallic blue - and my first Julep polish.  Fina was pretty good for a metallic.  I think I'll use it mostly for stamping, though.  I first used her as undies for a gorgeous matte glitter, though.

I loved this so much, I actually bought it (unknowingly) after I got it in the swap.  This is Borghese Mediterraneo Sea.  It actually dries matte!  I got my dupe copy at Ross, if you see it, and you like matte glitter and blue, this is awesome.

Another weird finish - kinda like rubber, but not enough.  This is Orly Purple Velvet.  It also dries matte, but shows off every bump in my nail and every mistake in application.  I was hoping for a rubber/pleather finish I've heard some Orlys have, but not this one.  Meh.

It did make good undies for another swap polish - China Glaze Black Diamond.  Black Diamond is really watery and sheer on its own, but did have a nice, subtle duochrome layered over a darker color.

My camera is valiantly trying to show you some of the sparkle in Black Diamond.

MOAR sparkles, you say?  This is a polish I bought - Jordana Glitters Sequins.  I love how subtle it looks against the black. 

I think my index finger has a glitter dingleberry.  How embarrassing.  *blush*

One woman's trash is another woman's treasure!  Have you ever scored a polish from someone that they were "meh" about, and you were 'YAY!" about?

I won 2nd place! and a prize! and I did a mani! And used many exclamation points!!

I won second place in **this** contest from Jilltastic Nail Designs with this submission.  "Speak up, I can't see you!"

And I got my prize in the mail!  Woot!  Jordana Rhinestones and a cool zebra nail file!

and cool color-changing nail stickers!  I used to use a lot of nail stickers, and I'd never seen these. 

 

So, I did a couple of manis to use my new, cool stuff!  I started with Jordana Boy Oh Boy, a beautiful turquoise blue that applied like a dream.  For an inexpensive brand, this stuff is great.  Look at that shine - no topcoat!

 

I was inspired by this dotticure on Lucy's Stash.. not that I have the nails or talent to do what she does.  Wow, her manis are awesome.

I used the Rhinestones by Jordana that I won as a prize!  They made cool dots, actually - most of the glitter is small, so it didn't clump up, and the occasional medium glitter looked pretty neat on the dot.

 Right hand:

Another day I used the stickers over Sally Hansen Loves Me Not, a gorgeous purple fleck that looks like it has a golden duochrome shimmer, but it was fairly shy on the nail.

It was too hot to stay outside for long, but I did see a very subtle pink color in the stickers before the heat forced me back into the A/C.

Thanks for the stash, Jillian!  :) :)

Jungle Love

Recently, the hubby and I went on an adventure to a roadside attraction in Christmas, Florida called Jungle Adventures.   It was very like an old-timey roadside attraction with Swampy, the world's largest alligator (he's actually a building that houses their gift shop, among other things) and other animals.  I knew I wanted to do a jungle-themed mani to match my excitement for the adventure!

I started off with 2 coats of Nubar Verde, a dark green that has a gold shimmer in it.  I don't see Nubar in any stores around here; I've bought all mine online.  They are a fantastic brand, though - one of the best, in my humble opinion.

Using a makeup sponge, I dabbed a little bit of Nubar Meadow Sparkle, a light green tiny glitter, on the lower 2/3 of the nail.  It got opaque very quickly, and I'm sure would be opaque on its own in one or two coats.

Then I added a layer of Jordana Funky Gold Town, a clear base packed with medium gold hex glitters.  For only $2, I thought it would be a sparse coat of a few glitters, but it surprised me. 

Right hand.  Later, I did apply Warpaint Matte topcoat over it because it was soooo shiny, but I, uh, forgot to take a pix.  Sorry!

This ball python coordinated with my polish beautifully.

What was the craziest thing you painted your mani to match?