First and Last 'Watercolor' Nail Art

Hello, Fireflies!

Still working on this month's challenge to recreate the first 4 nail arts that I recorded.  The second one I found was this 'watercolor' acetone-wash blue and gold mani.  I was so proud. *sniff* That pose is so awkward, though, it's almost painful.

I think it's harder to post these old manis than it's been to post my makeup-free face!

To start the re-creation, I used two coats of Nina Ultra Pro Blue La La, a dusty medium blue.  Love the color, but the brush was wonky, so my application was less than stellar.

The build up of blue wasn't all that exciting, so I'll spare you that and go to the final blue look, where I dabbed on Hope Girl BL03, Bettina Gems Sapphire, and Different Dimension Dewing It Right, and patted on acetone in between colors.

Then, the gold - my fave Maybelline Bold Gold.  I will admit that I tried the DIY Spotted technique on top of this, where you water marble a black with an alcohol spray, and failed utterly miserably.  It just looked matte black and lumpy on my nails.

Bottle shot:  Nina Ultra Pro Blue La La, Hope Girl BL03, Bettina Gems Sapphire, Different Dimension Dewing It Right, and Maybelline Bold Gold.

I don't know if the nail art looks much better, but I used two additional polishes, so I should get points for complexity.  In my mind, I am sooo much better than I used to be, but maybe I've not come as far as I'd thought! I'll admit, this exercise is a bit humbling!

Are you better at a skill you've been practicing for the last two years?

An InLinkz Link-up

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?

#WeekOfLoveChallenge - Sent With A Kiss

Hello, Fireflies!

Welcome to day 2 of the Week of Loooove Challenge. 

Or, as Celine Dion would say, 'Lurve'.

Today's challenge is kisses, and I made letters..sealed with a kiss.

There are two whites in my arsenal that I think are great as bases.  One, Cult Nails Tempest, is an *almost* one coat white, glossy.  I love it.  The other, Milani White On The Spot is really glossy, but takes two coats, at least. 

I was inspired by Nailstorming's letter design.  This is where having a different shaped nail can be interesting.  Her nails looked like envelopes.  Mine look like weird M's.

I made little hearts using a dotting tool and Nina Ultra Pro in Acai Berry. Love letters!

I wanted my kisses to have a little sparkle, so I used Sally Hansen Sugar Coat in Pink Sprinkles.  It's a texture, too, but topcoat covers that.

Muah! Sealed with a kiss.

Bottle shot:  Milani White On The Spot, black striper, Nina Ultra Pro Acai Berry, and Sally Hansen Sugar Coat Pink Sprinkle.

When my husband and I were first dating, we didn't have e-mail, so we sent a lot of letters.  Real paper-and-pen letters. Have you ever sent a love letter or a secret admirer letter?

An InLinkz Link-up

Peachy-Blue Triangles

Hello, Fireflies!

This mani today was *such* a PITA.  I like the final look of it, but I couldn't have picked a more persnickety color to work with!

Here it is.  SOPI Give Peach a Chance.  I gave it a chance.  It's lovely - the kind of color I gravitate to - that peachy/orange family.  But the formula, oh, how it streaked and glooped, and was thick, and took forever to dry... which is not good for nail art because I am impatient!

I was inspired by a mani on Mari's Nail Polish Blog that used striping tape to achieve a similar look.  I'm almost ashamed to link to her post as my inspiration because hers is *gorgeous* and mine is a hot mess.

I used Nina Ultra Pro in Blue La La for the details.  This is a great color, and I loved the formula.  Nina Ultra Pro is sold at Sally's, and it's usually fairly inexpensive.  I like the ones I've tried, but I don't think they get a lot of press because they're not constantly coming out with hip and trendy colors. 

Blue La La was a little thin. unfortunately, so it took more coats than I would like to use for nail art. I used a Milani gold glitter nail striper instead of the tape.  A good thick glitter can hide a lot of mistakes!

 Bottle shot:  Sephora for OPI Give Peach A Chance, Nina Ultra Pro Blue La La, and Milani Art of Gold.

I kinda want to try this again because the original mani was soooo cool.  Maybe using the striping tape would be better.  Definitely using a better formula polish would be key. 

Have you ever just fought and fought with a polish because you just wanted it to WORK?

Silky dotticure

Oh, I love dots!  I know I've seen this type of dotticure before, but I can't think where.  If someone knows, please let me know, and I'll give credit where it's due.  Lord knows, I'm not creative enough to come up with this stuff on my own.  

I knew the moment I saw Orly Sapphire Silk (on sale!) I had to have it.  It is a teal blue, but without much green in it.  Like most Orlys, the formula was impeccable, and this blue is now one of my favorites.

I added dots, dripping down the nail, in China Glaze Aquadelic.  This polish is perfect for dotting - spreads nicely, doesn't get gunky on the dotting tool too quickly, and is nice and opaque. 

Hmm.  It kinda looks brown in this pix, but the next layer of dots is actually grey - China Glaze Concrete Catwalk. I wasn't sure it was going to show up well against the teal, but with a little help from the Aquadelic, I think it did okay.

To add a little interest, I then used Nina Ultra Pro Molten Copper, a lovely duochrome, over everything.  It looks a little different depending on what was under it.  This made the mani for me!

Seche Vite, and done.  Right hand:

I love dots - anyone got some links to new and different ways to wear them?