Blue Reeds - #NailArtForNubs

Did you see I have TWO posts today?  Click Here to see my review of Kevyn Aucoin The Creamy Glow.

Hello, Fireflies!

I know, all my nail art is technically #NailArtForNubs, but it's fun to do a series that is focused on art that I think looks great on short nails, or that surprised me by looking as good as it did on shorties.

I got my inspiration for this mani from a Pin from Pet Nails.  It didn't link to anything, though.. and I have to tell you - doing a Google search for 'pet nails' brings up alllllll kinds of weird.  I couldn't find her.

I started with OPI Sheer Your Toys.  It's almost like not wearing anything at all.  Hmm.  It's a very light grey.  I didn't build it up, though, because I knew I'd be adding more polishes on top.

I used Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Don't Worry I Don't Bite, a silvery-blue holo, to make a deep French tip.  Deeply curved or V-shaped French tips give the illusion of longer nails.

Morgan Taylor is a brand that is apparently available only to Professionals, but I scored this one in a blog sale.  They get mixed reviews, as far as I can tell, but I liked this one.    I used it to create the reeds in the foreground.

I like how bright and cheerful the blue is over the greys.

I used Aly's Dream Polish Bayouberry to highlight the reeds.  Just a little pop of light makes me pretend I'm a real painter.  It's important to use the lingo.

Look, ma, both hands!

Bottle shot:  OPI Sheer Your Toys, Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Don't Worry I Don't Bite, Morgan Taylor Gotta Have Hue, and Aly's Dream Polish Bayouberry.

I love blue and grey together, and this makes me think about our grey, rainy days we're having right now in Florida - but winter is short-lived here, and soon we'll be bursting with color.  Are you ready for the end of winter?

Don't forget, if you'd like to see my review of Kevyn Aucoin The Creamy Glow, click here.

Sunday Stamping - Everything's Coming Up Roses..

 Hello, Fireflies!

Today's stamping challenge was our favorite flower.  My fave flower is the yellow rose, preferably with a bit of orange in it.  I even got a tattoo of one for my 40th birthday.

This mani is nowhere near as permanent.. and nowhere near as good, either.  I tried something new, and uh, well.. I had some technical difficulties.

It started off well enough, with Aly's Dream Polish Prussian Purple.  I love this holo.  It's light purple, but not lavender.  It's not pastel, exactly, just lighter.

I used this DRK-A plate, and OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls for the stamp.

On my last trip to Walgreens, they had all the Sally Hansen Nail Art pens marked down on clearance, so I picked up a bunch of colors.  I thought it might be fun to color in the stamp with them.

Yeah, not as easy as it sounds.  So, squint your eyes and use your imagination, and they might look like yellow roses with green leaves.  It's, um, impressionistic, right?  I'm the next Monet.

Bottle shot:  Aly's Dream Polish Prussian Purple, OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Sally Hansen nail art pens in coral, green, and yellow.

I think I need some more practice with these pens! They don't work like polish - it's more runny, almost like a watercolor.  I like being able to be more precise with the placement, I just need to work on technique.  Have you used these pens for nail art?  What do you think?

Lilypad Beautiful Blues

Hello, Fireflies!

Have you seen the newest Indie to storm the holo scene?  All the way from Australia, I bring you some of the wonders of Lilypad Lacquers.

The first polish I want to show you is called Periwinkle Twinkle.

I love a nice periwinkle.  I have also recently fallen in love with OPI Alcatraz Rocks! and I wanted to pair these together.  I used a very dry brush and just put a little bit on the top.  It was an interesting effect, even if it isn't a true glitter gradient.

This one blew me away.  This is Bluebell.

This is what I had imagined the very sought-after Enchanted Polish Water for Unicorns to be like.  Having seen comparison swatches, they're not dupes, but they're close.  Bluebell is perhaps a bit richer, and has more holo than the EP.

I wanted to celebrate this gorgeous color with some floral work.  These are inspired by a Robin Moses mani.

I used nail art stripers in white, black, silver, and a dark blue jelly to make this look.

The last blue I want to show you isn't a true blue - it has an amazing violet shimmer that my camera just failed to capture.  This is Lilypad Lacquer Violet Moon.

I made random swirls with a white striper, and just followed a similar pattern with all the other stripers to achieve this look.

Here's the stripers I used - purple, white, dark blue, and an aqua glitter.

They look pretty similar in the bottle!

But, they are different on the nail. 

What's your blue Lilypad pleasure? I'm glad I don't have to choose just one. :)

Stamping Sunday - Favorite Color Combo

This week's stamping challenge was our favorite color combination.  I cheated a little.  I couldn't think of just ONE.  So, I picked something that is high on my faves - a high contrast stamping.

I started with OPI Black Tie Optional.  This is a duochrome, but a very weak one.  I understand there may be different versions of this polish floating about, like OPI My Private Jet, but I can't confirm it.

Even if it's a weak shift, it's still a very pretty and vampy purple.  I love purple!

A dark purple base, and a light, metallic purple stamp?  Sounds like a fave to me. 

I used Pueen 15 and Essie Nothing Else Metals to do a floral pattern.  It might be mistletoe? If it is, call it Christmas in July, I had no idea when I did it.

The more I look at it, though, the more it starts to look like a bedspread....

In this pix, you can see a little of the shift or shimmer in the bottle, but it was really hard to see on the nail.  I'd love to hear from any of you that have a version of this polish that has a really strong shift.

So, I guess I hit on several favorites today - purple, high contrast, and duochrome polishes.  What is your fave stamping combo?

Nail Challege Collaborative - Blue Skies and Dandelions

I am having great fun this month having a reason to do more flower manis.  I never need an excuse!

This one starts with a polish I saw and just could not walk away from:  Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Guess Blue?. 

It's appropriate that it is part of a wedding-inspired collection, because I am definitely in love, and this is a long-term commitment.

I picked this up at the same time, and I believe it's from the same collex:  Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Gold Setting.  I think I picked this one up and put it down several times, but the pink shimmer just sucked me in.  It's a beautiful topper.

Can you see that pink shimmer?  It's love. 

I was inspired by the image of a dandelion on Pueen 08, and remembered a nail art idea I did before, but not with stamps.

I stamped using both black and white (Finger Paints Black Expressionism and Paper Mache, respectively) and used my nail to scrape part of the dandelion away, to give the impression of just parts of the puff floating by. You totally see that, right?

I could be totally wrong about this stamp, though.  It could actually be one of those giant, multi-colored, swirled lollipops you get at the carnival.  In which case, this nail art would make NO sense whatsoever.

Are you in love with this pink and gold shimmer, too? I can share the love, but you'll have to get your own bottle.

Challenge - Flowers II: The Red Stamp

Yep, back with another flower challenge!  I've never done so many challenges before, and I gotta tell ya, it's a little...uh, well.. challenging.

*rimshot*

Liquid Lacquer Twinkle Toes.  Let's pick up the pace with this little dance-y number.  What a gorgeous blue, with red..red? glitter.  It's a different combination. 

I love that the glitters are so small.  Such a different look from really chunky glitter bombs.  This one is almost delicate, except that the colors are jarring. 

Playing off the red, I decided to do a red tip and stamp with Sally Hansen Sacred Scarlet and Pueen 19.

I picked up Sacred Scarlet in a two-pack at TJMaxx and it's become one of my go-to bright reds.  I was delighted to see that it even stamps pretty well. 

This was really a stretch for me.  Even the hubby look confused at this combo.  We both decided that we liked it, but we weren't sure why!
 

If you'd like more information about Liquid Lacquer, you can find her on Facebook and she also has a Big Cartel store. 

What do you think of this combo of colors? 

Contrary Polish - Love Lyrics

This collection really put Contrary Polish on the map.  It was the first collex from them that I had to attend several restocks and hustle to get the ones I wanted into my cart without getting cartjacked!  I only wanted two from the collection, and I'm really happy with the ones I got.

Feels Like Home.  This is a taupe color with a pink shimmer.  Contrary Polish's claim to fame is their shimmer.  I was considering not getting any of these because the shimmer from Creeping Moss, the first polish I bought from her, was .... meh.  This collection turned it around!

I love (and have) quite a selection of taupe polishes, and this one has a unique shimmer and is really quite demure and lovely.

Ain't no Sunshine.

If you can ignore the part about how he cheats on his girl because she's not around, it's a beautiful, melancholy song by Bill Withers.  And I feel the same way about this polish.  Grey/blue, but with a white flakie shimmer.

The color is reminiscent of Illamasqua Raindrops, but it's not a dupe, IMO.  I saw some nail art by Raggio di Luna that I thought would look nice with this color, so I did my version here. 

Are you loving the Love Lyrics collection?  Ain't No Sunshine is a clear winner for me, and the reason I stalked this collection, but there are some beautiful polishes here.  If you'd like to find out more about Contrary Polish, you can find them on Facebook.  She sells minis via e-mail through her blog, but you can buy full-size polishes through Llarowe, and some other e-tailers (she has a list on her blog.)

I'll have a couple more Contrary Polishes for you tomorrow, with some more nail art.  Stay tuned!