Sunday Stamping - Birthstone color

This Sunday's challenge was all about the birthstone color.  As a February baby, my stone is the Amethyst, which is purple.  I love purple.  LOVE. My camera, however, does not.  So, the one thing (You had ONE job, camera!) I'm supposed to showcase, I screw up.  Does this look like purple?

Above The Curve Lemming Have It!

In Real Life, it is a stunning royal purple with a blue shift.  The purple in the bottle is actually pretty close to the real color.  At any rate, this is a beautiful polish, and purple shows off the holo really nicely.  

I have this stamping plate I bought from a blog sale that has no name or identifier.  It's a large, rectangular plate and that's where I got both of the stamps for today's design.

I'm so clever, I put a stamp of Aquarius, the Water Bearer, on my birthstone mani.  See what I did there?

The stamping was done with two of my favorite stamping polishes - Essie Nothing Else Metals, and Maybeline Bold Gold.  Here's the bottle shot:

I love my birthstone.  Do you like yours?

If you'd like more information about Above The Curve, you can find them on Facebook, and on their BigCartel shop.

Tape Mani Tutorial with a Rainbow of Julep!

Hello, Fireflies!

Now that we're in the thick of summer, maybe you're thinking of playing around with nail polish?  I know I am!  It's time to take some time to do something fun for you!

This tape mani starts off with a palate-cleansing neutral, Julep Debra.  Not loving this formula, but the color is an interesting neutral.

Once your base coat is *completely* dry, you're ready to work with the tape!

I always start by putting the tape on my skin.  It pulls up the oils and makes the tape not quite as sticky.  Really sticky tape will more likely pull off your base color.

Place the tape where you want on the nail.  Make sure it's tucked into the sides of the nail, and laying flat against the nail.

Paint over the nail.  My tape wasn't secured well enough, and I'll have to do a little cleanup with a liner brush.  Having a striper is always a good idea.  You can use it either with acetone to clean up little mistakes, or you can use it with the color to clean up the lines between the colors.

Ok, I'm not advocating you wear all these colors together! I just wanted to show you how different it could look, depending on what color combinations you choose.  Something like the Ochre or Lilac might be more work-appropriate, while the navy is strong and classic, and the pink is an attention getter!

Adding a subtle glitter - here I used Julep Vanessa - changes the whole look.  Adding a black stripe makes the mani look almost cartoonish and youthful.

Ready for a more advanced move?  Two levels!  I got my inspiration for this look from a Pin by The Nail Polish Challenge.  You can either freehand or tape the tip - here in Julep Alice, a lavender creme.  Then I did the diagonal with Julep Eloise.  I think this is a sophisticated look. I love these colors together.

And the bottle shot of all the colors I used, all Julep:  Debra (grey nude), Otte (ochre), Sienna (gold glitter), Alice (lavender), Lauren (hot pink), Eloise (navy blue), and Vanessa (iridescent glitter)

Ready to try a tape mani?  What colors will you use?  If you try it, I'd love for you to post your mani on my Facebook page!

July's Nail Challenge Collaborative - Flowers

I was happy to see that July's challenges were all about flowers!  They are some of my favorite nail art to do.

SpaRitual Mind.  This is such a unique but subtle polish.  It's a shimmer, but it's a matte.  It reminds me a bit of the suedes that were so popular a few months back.  Next time, I'll make sure to wear a good ridge-filling basecoat underneath, though, because as beautiful as it is, it shows every bump and divot in my nails.

I didn't take any pix of the intermediate steps (what?!) but I did a black French tip with OPI Black Onyx first, then made the flowers with Maybelline Bold Gold.

I dotted the centers with more Black Onyx and then added highlights with Revlon Sequin.  I was going for an antiqued look, and all the colors look a little washed out to me.

Everything brightens up a bit, though, with some topcoat.  I still like that it's fairly monochromatic, though.

Bottle shot:  SpaRitual Mind, OPI Black Onyx, Maybelline Bold Gold, and Revlon Sequin.

Are flowers best when they are colorful, or would you wear a monochromatic floral nail art?

Happy Independence Day!

What's more freeing than finding a new Indie?  Ok, lots of things, but this was pretty cool.  Shirley Ann Nails 'n Such was having a sale, and when I bought a full size polish, she sent a free mini.  I never would have picked this, but I'm glad she did!

America, F*** Yeah!  Yep, that's the name of the polish.  And there were several things about it to be excited about!

I didn't think it was going to be opaque, so I put a silver holo underneath it.  Not that you could tell.  This polish is opaque in 2 coats.

I admit, I didn't think I was going to like it, well, because... bar glitter.  It's not bad, though.  There's less of it, so it blends in better.  And the metallic blue and red are just so much fun.

What's an Independence Day mani without stars?  These star glitters are cute, and they're small, so I can fit them on my nubbins.  

Here's the bottle shot:  America, F*** Yeah!

If you were anti-bar glitter like me, would this polish help change your mind?  If you'd like more information about Shirley Ann Nail Lacquer, she has a Facebook page and an Etsy shop.

Have a safe time if you're celebrating! 

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?

Blue Pistachio Chevrons

Hello, Fireflies!  I have a bright and fun nail art today that just made me all summery and happy.

Liquid Lacquer Blue Pistachio.  A year ago, I never would have thought I'd like a lime green polish with turquoise glitters.  Now, I think this is pretty and fun.  It's the kind of polish that just made me happy!  The green is creamy, not neon, and the blue is almost metallic.

I love a chevron tip.  It magically elongates my nail and covers any VNL.  OPI Fly was the perfect match for Blue Pistachio.

Sure, I could have stopped there, but I was on a roll.  I took a nail art striper from Sinful Colors in a bright green called 'Worn Before' and made another chevron inside of Fly.

And then, to add a little contrast, did another chevron with a navy blue striper.  These stripers are usually pretty cheap at Big Lots and can add a lot of detail to a mani.  They are also easy to use.

I like how the navy blue makes the green stripe pop.

Bottle shot:  Liquid Lacquer Blue Pistachio, OPI Fly, and stripers in navy blue and electric green.

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

Are you adventurous enough for a blue and green mani?  What colors would you do instead?

Predominantly Peach 'Parison

I have four peach-leaning Indie polishes for you today. 

Gloss 'n Sparkle Dazzling Dusk.  Yes, it looks pink.  But when I put it with pink polishes, it looked peach.  So, apparently, it's somewhere in between the two. 

Regardless, it's a beaut.  Great application, nice distribution of glitters, and it's preeeeety.  Whatever color it is.

Literary Lacquer Carrots, Carrots.  This is from the Green Gables collection, and it's what Gilbert said to Anne when he pulled on her ginger braids... and she broke a slate over his head.  And, so their courtship began.

This is peach, leaning orange, especially with the glitters.  But that base is especially gorgeous.  I love the crelly peachy-orange juiciness of it.  One of my faves!

Dandy Nails Sticky Sweet.  I love Dandy Nails polishes.  This one has a base that is unique - slightly metallic, kinda...wrinkly?  I don't know how to describe it, really.  This is a polish that would need topcoat for me, but I wanted you to see the texture of it.

I love the colors - orange, yellow and periwinkle glitters in a peach base.

Rainbow Polish Exotic Plumeria.  How can all these polishes be peachy glitters and be so very different?  I was blown away by this polish.  I love the metallic-looking glitters, the jelly squishy base, the tiny sparkly glitter. 

This glitter adds red to the mix and it's great.  Fresh, juicy plums and peaches.

Here's a bottle shot of the four with the corresponding swatches:  Gloss 'n Sparkle Dazzling Dusk, Literary Lacquer Carrots, Carrots, Dandy Nails Sticky Sweet, and Rainbow Polish Exotic Plumeria.

And, all together.  One thing I love about Indies is how many variations there are. 

Which is your fave?  more pink, more orange?  more texture or a jelly?  tiny glitters or bigger ones?

If you'd like more information about these Indies, you can find Gloss 'n Sparkle on Facebook. She has an Aussie-only Etsy shop, but her page lists some International retailers.  Literary Lacquer also has a Facebook page, and an Etsy shop.  Dandy Nails is on Facebook and Etsy as well.  Rainbow Polish has a Facebook page here, and both an Etsy and Big Cartel shop.