Tape Challenge #2 - Quilted Zoya

Fireflies, I am beyond excited about today's mani - I can't wait to show you!

I started with Zoya Hunter, this creamy hunter green.  Shiny!

I have been working with striping tape more, and this quilted/Faberge egg mani from The Nailasaurus was so beautiful and complex, I felt the need to tackle it. 

I almost stopped at this step - painting over the tape with Zoya Tomoko, and having the quilted look when the tape is removed. But, you may notice that the mani I took the inspiration from has something else...

Studs!  I took little microbeads and stuck them individually on little dots of base coat.  Because Tomoko is a textured Pixie Dust, I didn't want to have topcoat all over the mani in case that spoiled the effect.  So, it was putting a little dot of base coat, then putting one microbead on the end of a dotting tool and placing that on the nail, and repeat.  and repeat.  And repeat!

I knew the beads would fall off quickly, so I decided to experiment with some topcoat.  It really didn't affect the look of Tomoko at all!  Can you tell which nail doesn't have topcoat?  My husband couldn't, even with his face inches from my fingers.  (it's the thumb, btw)

The beads stuck like glue when topcoated... until I peeled all the polish off, because I couldn't take the feel of the studs! 

Here's everything I used to make this cool mani:  Zoya Hunter, Zoya Tomoko, Sally Hansen base/top coat, striping tape, and a dotting tool and microbeads.

I'm proud of this - it's outside my normal comfort zone for details. I know it's not perfect, but it was way cool.  Would you try it?

These bold stripes are Too Cute-icle!

Hello, Fireflies!

These polishes from Too Cute-icle are ...too cute!  I love bright colors with holo added for texture.  Of course, for me, the more holo the better!  These are a little more subtle with the holo, but POW on the color.

This is Too Cute-icle Gorgeous, an orange holo jelly.  Even with three coats, I had some VNL, though of course it's less noticeable in Real Life.  I am so attracted to orange polish lately, I love it.

Sexy is just that - Sexy.  I love blue, and a bright cobalt blue is perfection, especially when you add a little holo. 

This purple holo should be called Amazing, but it's called Beautiful, which is close enough.  I love purple holos so much, and this is a great bright purple.

For my nail art, I was inspired by this La paillette frondeuse mani.  She has a cool gif tutorial if you're interested in the steps.  I started with a base of the orange.  I found it easier to do the center stripe first, so I could take as much room as I needed with the polish brush.

Then, I added the side stripes in the alternating colors.  I used a black striper to outline, and a little orange if I needed to.

I think this is bold and fun and summery!

It also reminds me of Finding Nemo...

The bottle shot:  Too Cute-icle Gorgeous, Beautiful, and Sexy.

Would this mani make you feel gorgeous, beautiful, and sexy?  Maybe a little fun and exciting?

For more information, you can find Too-Cuticle on Facebook, and her BigCartel shop.

Challenge - Bald and Beautiful Tape Technique

Hello, Fireflies!

This month's NCC Challenge is to rock out different nail art techniques.  So this week, I decided to do a tape manicure inspired by this mani from dulcelove07.

I was also inspired by this set of polishes by Colors by Llarowe called The Bald and The Beautiful, in memory of Talia Joy.

Isn't this a beautiful blue?  Love the fuchsia shimmer!

I put two pieces of striping tape on each finger and then covered the nail with glitter!  It's a little thick, but has great opacity. 

I loved how the shimmer in the blue compliments the pink glitter.  And studs are badass, just like I think Talia Joy was.  Just keep swimming, mother@#$%s, yeah, just keep on swimming.

Here's the bottle shot.  Both polishes are called The Bald and The Beautiful, by Colors by Llarowe, and are only available on Llarowe.

What do you put on your nails when you want to feel like a badass?

Guest Nails - Anchors and Dragons!

Hello, Fireflies!

You may recognize these guest hands by now!  My friend Jill and her daughter Toni are becoming regulars here on the blog!  I love having our girly visits and helping Toni get ready for a new week at school.

Jill still isn't smoking anything other than the e-cigarette, and her nails are looking better!  She wanted a French mani with Essie Shop Till I Drop as the base, and Ninja Polish Basilisk on the chevron tip.

I love the way it looks, but I put the glitter on a little thick (over a thin layer of OPI Black Onyx) and some of her nails smudged before they could fully dry.  Always a lesson to be learned!

Toni asked for a replica of a sailor mani she had seen on Instagram.  I couldn't find the owner of the original, sadly.  It looked like they had used pieces of red tape over a white base, but I did the tape over a white base (Cult Nails Tempest), then painted the red (Sally Hansen Sacred Scarlet) over the tape.  The white stripes appear when you pull the tape off!  Like magic!

It was a lot of tape, and some of my lines weren't perfect, so she wanted to see what it looked like if I just painted red stripes.  You may notice I only did *one* nail like that, because she preferred it the original way.  I did clean up a little using a striping brush, though. 

The blue is OPI I Saw..Warsaw, and I used a dotting tool and a striper to draw the anchor. 

She loved it, and I got to do a mani I never would have attempted on my own.  I can't wait to see what she wants me to try next time!

Matchy Monday - Inspired by my Nude/Grey/Black circle dress

Hello, Fireflies!

Ok, I admit that I screwed up the stamping yesterday, so hopefully this will make up for it.

Isn't this a gorgeous base?  It's a nude holo, but it has a chrome base.  This is Vulnerable from Different Dimensions.

I used the rainbow-ish pattern on Winstonia W111.  Yes, just like yesterday, only now you actually get to *see* it.

Look, I stamped *all* the nails!  Even on my right hand.  I used my go-to stamping black, Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

Then I took a grey striper and filled in a few of the half-moon areas.  It's delicate, but gives a very subtle highlight.

A right hand appears! Always nice when a nail art can be done on both hands.  Even better when it looks good on the nubbins.

Here's a look at the pattern on my dress that I was matching.  No one noticed that they matched, but I still felt HOT.  Kinda like wearing matching lingerie - no one else really has to know in order for me to feel sexy.

Bottle shot:  Different Dimension Vulnerable, Finger Paints Black Expressionism, So Easy Stripe Right grey striper.

Do you like to match your nails to your outfit?

Something Different Sunday - Hydroxatone #AntiWrinkleSPF

Have you ever wondered how some bloggers get "free stuff"?  Sometimes we do get things to review, but, in truth, very little of it is free, because of the work it takes to review and write about a product.  It is nice to try new things I wouldn't necessarily have found on my own, though, especially when I actually like the product!

Today, I have one of those things from my relationship with iFabbo  - Hydroxatone AM/PM Anti-Wrinkle Complex.

Sunday Stamping - Really elusive unicorn

I am kinda embarrassed about today's post, Fireflies.

At least it starts off well - this beauty is Liquid Lacquer All Lilaced Out.

It's a beautiful delicate lilac with a subtle linear holo and a purple shimmer.

I used the alternating rainbows stamps and the starburst stamps on Winstonia W111, and the unicorn on W117.  But, here's the embarrasing part.

Apparently, the unicorn is even more elusive than I thought, because I forgot, apparently, to take pix of anything other than my thumb.

*hangs head in shame*

I was really inspired by this guy:

So, hopefully he'll make you feel better about missing the actual mani.  And, if I can't laugh at myself for that dumb mistake, I can laugh at that guy.

Here's the bottle shot:  Liquid Lacquer All Lilaced Out, Maybelline Amethyst Ablaze, and Essie Nothing Else Metals.

Better luck next week, I hope!!