Sunday Stamping - Holo Purple Gradient Chains

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's stamping challenge was to use three purples.  Well, if 3 are good, more are better, right?  I saw this striped-gradient mani from A Little Polish that I really liked, and thought it might be fun to try.

Word to the wise, though.  If you want a true ombre effect, plan out your colors and paint them on something first.  I went by bottle color, and.. well, as we all know, sometimes what's in the bottle doesn't transfer that way exactly to the nail!

I started in the middle of the nail with Colors by Llarowe Tank Tops and Flip Flops, a really pretty bright purple holo.

Ouch, you can see where my middle nail tore off.  I did that playing with my dog, Banjo.

Next color -  Lacquer Lust Tanzanite.  It looked more purple in the bottle, but next to a red-purple, it turned more blue.  See what I mean about planning ahead?  Not my strong suit.

While Tanzanite dried, I went above middle and used Enchanted Polish Mercy.  This one definitely came out darker on the nail than in the bottle. 

Colors by Llarowe Woman From Tokyo is a blackened purple.  Wow, is it pretty.  It's super holo, too.

I could have painted my nails with a base coat of Lacquer Lust Amethyst and spared y'all the horror of my nearly naked nails.  But what's the fun in that?  Amethyst was the lightest of the bunch, and went at the top.

I wasn't really sure I wanted to stamp over this, I liked it so much! But, I was committed to the challenge.  So, I tried to find a stamp that would allow the gradient to play a part of the stamp.  I chose this chain pattern from DRK-C, and stamped with Essie Nothing Else Metals.

 I couldn't bear to stamp over all of it.  This is definitely a technique I will use again. 

Bottle shot:  Lacquer Lust Amethyst, Enchanted Polish Mercy, Colors by Llarowe Tank Tops and Flip Flops,  Lacquer Lust Tanzanite, Colors by Llarowe Woman From Tokyo.

So, are six purples better than three?  I think so!

NYE Pretty Peach Party Nails!

Hello, Fireflies!

It's here, the last day of 2013!

I'm wrapping this year up with a soft, pretty, glittery mani that should work for all occasions.

I started with Lacquer Lust Sweet Georgia Peach.  Unlike my other Lacquer Lusts, this one isn't a holo! Color me surprised.  Peach surprise.  Yum!

Not absolutely in love with the formula, actually.  You can see that I had a little trouble getting a smooth, opaque nail.

I love this new color from Mariah Carey's OPI Holiday collection.  Ski Slope Sweetie is sheer, but with a heavy gold shimmer.  You can be looking at it one way, and not see much at all, and then when the light hits it from a different direction, the shimmer is so opaque, the polish just looks gold!

Darling Diva Polish The Big "O" is chock full of iridescent glitter.  They're not flakies, per se, but they're not mylar shards, either.  They are closer to the awesomeness of flakies, but in a glitter.  I love them, and they look spectacular when they catch the light.

There is something about the iridescent glitter over the gold shimmer over the delicate peach.  It's like I'm riding a unicorn out of 2013! Onward and upward!

Bottle shot:  Lacquer Lust Sweet Georgia Peach, OPI Ski Slope Sweetie, and Darling Diva Polish The Big "O".

How are you bringing in the New Year?  I love to watch the holiday special Rudolph's Shiny New Year every NYE! 

I wish all my Fireflies a wonderful and happy New Year! Thanks for being with me this year on my journey!

#NailArtForNubs - Butt Bootie Gradient Stripes

Hello, Fireflies!

How could I resist a polish called, "Butt Bootie Naked"?  It's genius, I tell ya.  Add that to my love of nudes (of all kinds, natch) and I had to get this holo polish from Lacquer Lust.

Apparently, there are several incarnations of this polish, the most coveted being the first edition, which is apparently more nude.  I got this secondhand, so I'm not sure which version it is.  On me, this version looks like a light grey... so I was a little disappointed.  I mean, I like grey, but I was not expecting it. 

Maybe a zombie's naked bootie is grey, but mine isn't.

So, I took my lemons and added vodka and sugar.  Striping tape over everything, in whatever pattern I chose, and then I took Gothic Gala Lacquers in Vallis Sanguine and Vallis Te'nebris and did a rudimentary gradient over the tape.

Vallis Sanguine is more holo than Te'nebris, but they are both really pretty.  Unfortunately, I think the holo was a little lost in this mani.

I like grey with purple and wine colors, so this mani was a winner for me. 

What I used:  Lacquer Lust Butt Bootie Naked, Gothic Gala Lacquers Vallis Sanguine and Vallis Te'nebris, and some striping tape.

No matter how short your nubs are, I think this would look good.  You can alter the tape pattern however you like, and make the gradient more subtle - or even just have a hint of one color at the top. Plus, having nubs saves tape.  There's your lemonade!

Garnet Gradient

Hello, Fireflies!

For me, the color of the season has been the wine/berry holo.  Every since Enchanted Polish's Mr. Burgundy hit the scene, I've been trying to get my sweaty hands on every wine holo I can find.

When Lacquer Lust put out their birthstone collection, I had to have Garnet.  It's perfection.

It really does look like a garnet - it's not too purple, not too red.  Just that balance that a garnet has.

When I saw this nail art by Nails by Regina, I thought it was so pretty, and thought maybe I could do something similar with all the wine/berry holos I've been collecting.

I just started layering holos with a Ruffian-type curve at the top.  Over Garnet, I used Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana, and then CbL Unorthodox Annie over that.  I finished the tip with A-England Sleeping Palace.

Bottle shot:  Lacquer Lust Garnet, Colors by Llarowe Dirty Diana, CbL Unorthodox Annie, and A-England Sleeping Palace.

I love how they're all slightly different, but all are beautiful.  And I really like them all together in this gradient.  Have you also been lusting after wine holos lately?  What's your fave?

Sunday Stamping - Inspired by Water

Hello, Fireflies!

Today's stamping is inspired by water.  I did a very subtle stamp over a very blurry base.

I started with Lacquer Lust Sapphire, a gorgeous deep blue from Lacquer Lust's Birthstone collex.  Love!

I then took Lacquer Lust Cotton Candy Clouds and Emerald and dabbed them over Sapphire.

Twice.  With a little Sapphire dabbed in there again for good measure.  I was going for a murky green-blue oceanic vibe.

I used Ga-De Green Sapphire and Pueen 03 to stamp a rippled look over it all.

The metallic green makes a very subtle stamp over all the holo.  I love the way it is reminiscent of waves, though.

Do you ever do subtle stamping that just imparts a 'feel' to the mani, rather than a distinct stamp? 

There be Ghosts in the Other Realm #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

It's getting spooky all up in here.  Today's mani is pretty much a copy of a mani done by Nearly Natural Nails.  I was looking at Pinterest, and my hubby spotted this one and just loved it.  Well, how can I not at least try it then?

I started with a new-to-me polish with a well-known name.  This year, Seche - the maker of the beloved Seche Vite topcoat - came out with colors!  This deep, dark, metallic eggplant is called Aristocrat.  Which, of course, only makes me think of the joke.

For my ghosts, I had to use a white holo.  I thought Lacquer Lust Eternal Bliss would fit the bill.  At one/1.5 coats, it's still translucent in some parts over the dark purple, giving it an ethereal look.

For the ghostly facial features, I went with Cult Nails Fetish, that gorgeous waxy black.  I like the play in textures between the metallic purple, the translucent holo white, and the matte black. Makes me feel all artsy-fartsy.

Scary?  I might be.

Bottle shot:  Seche Aristocrat, Lacquer Lust Eternal Bliss, and Cult Nails Fetish.

I'm loving all the ghostly manis this season!  If you have one you'd like to share, please post on my wall! I'd love to see it.