Rosy Ruffian

Hello, Fireflies!

I really liked the inspirational mani I found to inspire today and tomorrow's mani, but I'm kinda bummed that I can't attribute it to a particular person.  The trend of collecting manis from all over and putting them on one blog page by theme is nice, in theory, but only when the credit goes along with it. 

And, for some reason, these 'collectors' don't like to get permission to use other people's pix.  Hmm.  I don't know if the pix was ever watermarked, or if all the pix are from one nail artist, but lots of different clients.. I just don't know.  But, I don't want you guys to think that it's my own creation, so I'm going to give credit to the page where I found it, and let karma sort out the rest.

I started out with NOPI Girl Talk, a reddish-brown jelly.  Great shine, but it took 3 to 3.5 coats for opacity.

I do love colors like this, though.  I think vampy reds are tres chic! (I said it in French, so it would have extra chic.)

Have you seen the new Ballerina collection from A-England? This one, Her Rose Adagio, I knew I wanted right away.  I love how the slight rose tint marries with Girl Talk.  I love the formulas on A-England polishes.  Always smooth as butter, and often one-coaters, if you're careful with application.

For today's dose of crazy, I decided to take tiny glitters and place them, one-by-one, around the edge of the Ruffian.

I love this.  For me, it's when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts - the holo, the glitter, the rose tint with the reddish brown.. yeah, it made me happy.

I prob'ly stared at my mani for a while.  I may have also made moony faces and kissy noises, but I ain't tellin.

Bottle shot:  NOPI Girl Talk, and A-England Her Rose Adagio.

As much of a pain placing all that glitter was, I did it again! Stay tuned for tomorrow's twist on this Ruffian!

Art Challenge - The Green House

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's Nail Challenge Collaborative challenge is Inspired By Art.  Well, I'm no arteest, ya know?  But, a challenge is a challenge, and I learn more from failure than success, right?

I learned a LOT.

I found this pix by gingado on Deviant Art, and thought it would make a nice, festive inspiration for today.  It's called, "The Green House."

I really had no idea what I was doing, so I didn't take any step-by-step pictures.

It's, uh, green... and there are some red doors.  You see the resemblance, right?

I decided that a wax topcoat would give it a closer resemblance to the photo.

I was just hoping that something - anything - would make it look better.

Here's alllllll the colors I used:  SOPI I Come In Peas, NOPI Green Up Your Act, China Glaze Keep Calm, Paint On, SOPI Absinthe Makes the Heart, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Sally Hansen Red Zin, China Glaze Hawaiian Punch, Cult Nails Wax That, Maybelline Bold Gold, Milani White On The Spot, and Zoya Cassedy.  *whew*

You'd think something called, 'The Green House' would be easy!  Maybe next time I'll try some Michaelangelo.

Spiced Up Spice Drops #FallingForNailArt

Hello, Fireflies!

For this 'spiced up' challenge, I actually took inspiration from my husband!  When I showed him these textured polishes, he thought they looked like the spicy gumdrops that he really enjoys.  And so, the Spice drop mani was born.

Only the polish on the thumb is a traditional glitter, from Liquid Sky Lacquer, Hot Rod Red.  The rest are textured polishes from either the NOPI Gumdrops collex, or the Zoya Pixie Dust collex.

I can't pick a favorite! Cinna-man of my dreams is pretty unique, and I love the color.  Arabella is so vibrant! All the textures applied wonderfully, and they all had a sparkle to them.

Bottle shot:  Liquid Sky Lacquer Hot Rod Red, NOPI Cinna-man of my Dreams, NOPI My Cherry Amour, Zoya Miranda, and Zoya Arabella.

I am still loving the texture trend - with or without topcoat! Are you?

NOPI and Models Own

I was at Walmart the other day, and saw the new Nicole by OPI Modern Family collection.  I love Modern Family, and I like OPI, so hey, I picked up a couple.

Stand By Your Manny.  Pale pastel blue with a white shimmer.  This polish doesn't remind me of Manny at all.  Mostly because this polish was a streaky mess, and Manny is dependable!  Even after 3 coats, I was having balding patches, VNL, and it didn't dry evenly.

So, what is a girl to do?  Cover that mess with a beautiful glitter!  I picked up a few from the Wonderland collex by Models Own, and they are pretty awesome.  This is Southern Lights, one, maybe one and half coats.  I wanted to be able to see the blue underneath, but with 2 good layers, this would probably be opaque.

NOPI Alex By The Books.  Another color I really wanted to love - I'm a sucker for these minty greens.  Again, though, the formula was a nightmare.  It didn't level out, and was all lumpy and streaky.

So, I covered it with Models Own Juicy Jules, a scattered holo glitter.  I have quite a few similar polishes.  Nice formula, spreads evenly.  It makes the NOPI look pretty good, doesn't it?

The next two NOPIs I got at a Central Florida Beauty Blogger meeting.  I got to pick my own colors, and I absolutely love the ones I got.  Even though they were provided for review, my opinions are my own.

Back to Reality..TV.  I don't know much about the Kardashians, except that they're famous for being famous.  And Bruce Jenner, who, sadly, doesn't resemble his Olympic self anymore.  And I mean his face.

Anyway, I love polishes like these with a red shimmer.  You can even see it on the nail as well as the bottle.

Even though I liked it, I still have glitters to try, and I picked Northern Lights to go with this one.  I like the periwinkle and pink together.  Very soft and pretty!

Smile for the Glam-era.  This was, by far, my fave!  Deep eggplant purple, with sparkles.  I loved this one so much I actually wore it a few days later for Girls' Night Out, and paired it with a plum blouse. 

I suspected that Models Own Jack Frost would look best over a dark polish.  I am so drawn to these iridescent glitters and flakies.  This look is very *me*.

Bonus Models Own!  I couldn't resist picking up Hayley's Comet, a duochrome.  First, I applied (from index to pinky) Zoya Indigo, OPI Black Onyx, 2 coats of Hayley's Comet, and Wet 'n Wild Haze of Love.

Then, another layer of Hayley's Comet over everything.

I couldn't tell the difference between the blue and the black!  I actually liked it best over the reddish color, or by itself.  I liked the brown/nude tones, and not just all blue shimmer. 

Are you liking these glitters?  Would you rather go with the NOPI by themselves?  What would you recommend pairing with Hayley's Comet?

Taupe and Mauve

Today's taupe is a mushroomy-brown with a golden shimmer from L'oreal called Brit Invasion.  If you read the numerous reviews on the beauty blogs about this polish, there are the lovers and the 'meh's.  I'm a lover.  I dig brown, and I dig the golden shimmer.

Gorgeous as it is, I can't sometimes help myself and add a little more.  I thought that Mattese Elite Je' Taime would add to the golden glow, but it pert much took over!  I'm sure with another coat, it would be opaque. 

I love brown and gold together, and this brown-taupe provides such a lovely backdrop for the golden glittery holo goodness of Je' Taime.

Today's mauve starts out with a color I would expect to be a deep brown from the name.  Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Expresso is either the coffee spelled wrong, or just a cruel trick.  Exmauvo is dumb name, though, so I'll stick with Expresso.

Not that this glitter needed much of an undie.  NOPI Just Busta Mauve is pretty opaque.  I love how all the micro-glitters just mesh right together.  It's mostly mauve, with some glitters in pink and BLUE.  Blue?  Totally unexpected, and yet, it works. 

Are you team Taupe or team Mauve?  Me, I like them both... and I like saying taupe and mauve, too.  Taupe... Mauve...

Another stamping Sunday..

I'm informally joining the Stamping Sunday crowd again.  Yes, today, I'm a joiner.  But, since it's a secret, I'm also a rebel.  I am also an enigma wrapped in a riddle. 

Let us pause to regain our composure.

Today's color could be a camo color, it's Nicole for OPI Green Up Your Act.  I believe it's a Target Exclusive color.  I ordered it from their website after seeing on someone else's blog and having to have it.  These blogs are to me like the shady guy on the corner who whispers, 'c'mere, you gotta see this' and then opens his trenchcoat to reveal a lining full of shiny, pretty things.  See, it's socially acceptable to own a few bottles of nail polish.  Not so much when your collection is three digits and steadily heading towards 4.

 Don't you want this color now?  C'mere, you gotta see this!

I stamped over it with Pure Ice Black Rage and one of the Red Angel plates.  Those plates have such weirdness on them - their patterns are cool, but slightly whack at the same time.  Like the person who was designing them had a love affair with hallucinogenic drugs.

For some added shiny, I added Sally Hansen Glass Slipper, a clear polish full of clear, iridescent flakies.  Flakies are like glitter's helpful cousin.  Not as showy, but also not as hard to remove.  And they play nice with others.

Are you tempted? hmmmmm? :)