Matchy Monday - Oops, wrong pink..

Hello, Fireflies!

So, I teach part-time at a local University, and I enjoy dressing up on the days that I teach.  I also enjoy matching my nails to my outfit, and have been showcasing these on my "Matchy Monday" posts.

Well, how about a not-so-matchy Monday?  I thought this polish would work, and it's absolutely beautiful - Reverie in Rubellite by Hare Polish.

That orange glow absolutely slays me.  It's so pretty.  And, as it sometimes goes, the biggest strength of this polish was also to be its weakness.

BM-211 had this flower pattern that I thought would compliment my dress, so I stamped using my trusty Finger Paints Black Expressionism.

I love how the orange glows through the pattern.

Got to have a full mani to wear to the job, right?  It's so pretty... and when I put it next to my dress, it was WAY too orange.  Complete clash.  I had a sneaking suspicion, but I was too lazy to go get the dress and compare before I did all the stamping and cleanup.

So, I had to take it all off.

By this time, it was late, and I was tired.  So Zoya Roxy got to go solo.  It doesn't need any embellishment, really, with that lovely subtle glitter.

See?  Perfect match with the dress color.  That flower stamp would have really looked nice, though.

Have you ever scrapped a mani because it was the wrong shade for your outfit?

Sunday Stamping - Ready for Autumn!

Who's ready for Autumn?

This girl is, for sure. Autumn in Florida is so nice - well, once hurricane season is over, anyway.  I look forward to turning off the A/C, opening the doors, burning some nice-smelling candles, and cuddling on the couch with my sweetie and a nice, soft blanket.

Hopefully, this mani will help get you in the mood for it, too!  I started with Urban Outfitters Girrl Like You, a nice pistachio green creme.

Oops, I forgot to take a pix of the plate.  It's Anna's Nail Art W228, a branch with 5 leaves on it.  I had some trouble getting all the leaves to pick up every time, so I did a scattered leaf effect.

I stamped first with Layla Softouch Effect 11, a tan with a little bit of pink shimmer to it, and then with Zoya Channing, a gorgeous orange metallic.

Here's the bottle shot:  Urban Outfitters Girrl Like You, Layla Softouch 11, and Zoya Channing.

What nail colors do you associate with Autumn?

Hungry, Hungry Hippos!

Hello, Fireflies!

Being that I am now an old fart, I do serious, adult things most of the time.

But sometimes, I just can't help being silly and fun.  This latest mood was inspired by a nail art by Beauty by Suzi, though I didn't find her tutorial until *after* I was done.  I just found a pix someone had Pinned of the final mani.

I started with this cute sheer glitter from Sally Hansen, Pink-Grape Fruit.  I really hoped it would be more pigmented, but it'll be a cute topper to add some pink shimmer to another color.

For the hippo's face, I used Sally Hansen Salon Please Sea Me.  Also a little more sheer than I thought, but otherwise the formula was great.  This line has some of my fave drugstore formulas.

The hippo's nose was more trouble than it should have been, because of the polish I chose.  LynBDesigns Sacre Blurple is a beautiful blurple jelly, but the formula was goopy and sticky.  I hope some thinner will help!

A dotting tool was helpful for making the ears and the nostrils.

A little white for the eyes and teeth, and black dots for the pupils, and there's the face!  Way too cute!

When polishes get goopy, details are hard to keep clean, so there were some mistakes.  I keep thinking I should start using acrylics for these things, but I've yet to make the jump.  These macro pix are hell on mistakes, but I couldn't see them in Real Life.

I played, "Hungry, Hungry Hippo" on my husband's arm.  I am a serious, mature adult.

Bottle shot: Sally Hansen Come Sea Me, LynBDesigns Sacre Blurple, and OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and Black Onyx.  Apparently, I forgot Sally Hansen Pink-Grape Fruit.  Oops.

It's fun to explore your silly side!  You are only as old as you feel.  What's the silliest mani you've done?

Tact-fully Out for a walk...

Hello, Fireflies!

Are you fans of the Buffy TV show?  I admit, I haven't seen it (though the movie was good!) but it didn't stop me from falling in love with the Buffy-inspired "Once More With Feeling" collection from Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer.  I have two to show you today, in a nail art inspired by Spektor's Nails.

I'll warn you now - I have no idea what the meanings of these names are, but they are long.

I started off with Tact is Just Not Saying True Stuff.  I'll Pass. (aka Tact).  Beautiful soft taupe.

I then added random, soft, curved shapes on the tips, using one of the most gorgeous red holos ever: Out For A Walk. BITCH.

A black striper winding diagonally down the nail completed the look.

I didn't intend for it to look like coral, but it has been compared to that!

I think it looks a little like a fire.

Here's the bottle shot: Blue-Eyed Girl Lacquer Tact is Just Not Saying True Stuff.  I'll Pass, and Out For A Walk BITCH, with the black striper.

Whew, those titles are a mouthful! Luckily, the polishes are worth it. 

Tape Challenge #4 - Peek-a-holo!

Hello, Fireflies!

This is my last (scheduled) tape mani for the challenge!  I had so much fun doing them that I finished my four before the month was up!  We'll see if I decide to do any more.

I was inspired by this mani by IG@Pastel Polish that I found on Pinterest, and all my untried holos from Amy's Nail Boutique!  There are five altogether in this mani.  On my thumb, from top to bottom: Aquarius, Fire Dancer, Purple Prism, and Gabriel.  Biker Chick is the darker purple you can see on the tip of my pinkie, and is also somewhere on the other fingers. 

I put pieces of striping tape over each color.  I probably would have liked this better if I'd used larger pieces of regular tape so I could really see the holo at the end.

I painted over everything with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, and then peeled of the tape!

Peek-a-boo! I see that holo shining through!

Lots of bottles for this bottle shot!  OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Biker Chick, Fire Dancer, Purple Prism, Aquarius, and Gabriel. 

I have been on a white kick these last few days!  Yesterday's mani had me starting with OPI MBSW, and covering it up; today's started with lots of color, and ended up mostly white.  Which do you like better?

Sparkling Water Watercolor

Hello, Fireflies!

For today's mani, I wanted to try the watercolor technique I saw in a video posted by Chalkboard Nails, where you take small dots of polish and dab them with a brush dipped in acetone, and then spread the dots over the nail.

I started with OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, a lovely off-white that applies so smoothly!

I put 2 or 3 drops of Sinful Colors Jolt on each nail and then dabbed with the acetone.  I was lazy and did all the polish first and then the acetone.  I think it works better if you just do one nail at a time.

Then I added Sally Hansen Kiwi Bikini.

Same thing with Maybelline Plum Paradise.

The last color I added was Sinful Colors Shock and Awe.  And then I repeated all the colors one more time.

Topcoat is essential for smoothing out a look like this.  I love how all the colors blend together, but you can still see random dots of color.

I couldn't resist adding a little bling with Orly Sparkling Garbage!  This is my fave glitter, and it's always close at hand.

Bottle shot:  OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Maybelline Plum Paradise, Sally Hansen Kiwi Bikini, Sinful Colors Jolt, and Sinful Colors Shock and Awe.

What do you think of this acetone/watercolor technique? 

Tape Challenge #3 - Cashmere Colorblock

Hello, Fireflies!

Today I'm playing with tape - again!  I've decided to stick with tape for all the Nail Challenge Collaborative challenges this month.

I started with Essie Cashmere Bathrobe, a deep grey with silver shimmer and accent nails on my thumb and ring with OPI Peace, Love, and OPI, a grey/purple duochrome.

I didn't (I forgot to!) take pix of the step-by-step, but basically, I put tape down on my accent fingers and painted - oh, so carefully! - in between the tape strips.  I was inspired by this design by Universal-Doll.com that I found on Pinterest.

I used stripers in black, white, and purple glitter, which I hoped would bring out the color shift in Peace, Love, and OPI.

I love a high-contrast look, so I decided to add black where the tape had been.  It's a totally different look to me - much bolder and eye-catching.

Here's the bottle shot:  Essie Cashmere Bathrobe, OPI Peace Love & OPI, and stripers in Purple glitter (Milani), white, and black.

These tape designs can be so tedious, but I just can't get the sharpness when I do the lines freehand!  Which do you prefer?  Is tape too fussy, or is the result worth the effort?