Thursday, September 13, 2012

31 Day Challenge Day 9 - Rainbow

Hey all! Week's almost over, thank goodness. It's been light on schoolwork this week so I may have some time to do some extra manis! Woot!

I have a confession to make...I don't love rainbows... I know, I know I'm sorry! I definitely enjoy seeing a real life rainbow but the rainbow colors itself just don't really inspire me. Maybe its because I never think I have adequate rainbow colored polishes but, a lot of the time, I find rainbows too... loud? Don't know if that's the right description...moving on.

I still managed to come up with something I liked at least! Had to use Illamasqua Load as a base again due to a lack of white polishes. Waited till that dried, added striping tape and went to town. On my pointer I kept it simple with a rhinestone design I had seen previously on Kayla Shevonne (who was inspired by another blog, you can check out both here)



I really kind of liked this! Except for the fact that, thanks to the stripes, I couldn't help but notice it looks like I have a crooked nail? Now I can't file it right and it's driving me crazy GRAEWARWE.

To get the crispest line I worked two nails at a time (I was originally going to have two accent nails) and only two colors at a time. Once both sides of the tape were painted with the corresponding color, I removed that piece. I really hope that makes sense, I'm sleepy. 

Anyway, I hope you like this and if anyone wants further tips on how I did this, let me know in the comments! Remember there's many rainbows to see today so get with the clicking:

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Monday, September 10, 2012

31 Day Challenge Day 8 - Metallic

Hey all!

Continuing on with our 31 day challenge, today's nails were metallic! Originally, I did a mani with metallic polishes (which you may see in a separate post) but then I saw that Sarah at Chalkboard Nails used magnetic polishes for her metallic challenge, and I remembered something from my 'manis to do' list and decided to use that instead.

It's a magnetic gradient! As Sarah said, magnetic polishes use metallic particles for the effect so it kinda counts :P. I know I've seen this somewhere before, but I didn't save the bookmark apparently so if you know who I should credit, let me know in the comments!

EDIT: Big thanks to Lani who knew it was at Esmaltes da Kelly that I saw this originally! (Clicky) 




I started with one coat of Nails Inc. Houses of Parliament (purple) and then sponged Nails Inc. Whitehall (teal/green) on top. When I was happy with the gradient, I applied top coat one by one and applied the magnet immediately for the effect. I used a slow drying top coat just in case so the polish wouldn't dry without producing a strong effect.

The gradient was a bit too subtle for my liking but the other contrasting magnetic polish I have has glitter and it's a huge pain to clean up, so I decided against it. Otherwise, I really love the effect! Magnetic polishes are still cool in my eyes, especially since it looks 3D a lot of the time :D.

What do you think? Something you would try?

Remember to visit the other ladies participating for their metallic manis!

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Friday, September 7, 2012

31 Day Challenge Day 7 - Black and White

Hi there!

Sorry for the super late post, this is the mani I completely forgot I had to do and had no ideas on what to do in the first place. To do this I had to remove one of the most awesome things I've done in a while and it made me sad. Also, this mani gave me all kinds of trouble. First, I discovered all my white polishes are clumpy almost empty messes and I'm out of thinner. Then I remembered I had Illamasqua Load (teehee) which was white enough.


Load is really interesting color, like an off white yellow... let's not think of the inspiration for the name. The formula is a bit streaky and watery, needing 3 coats but they dry very fast so it's not bad at all. It's not a color I would reach for if I was in a hurry but I'm definitely glad to have it, love how it makes my nails look.

Once I had Load (teehee) on, I decided to go ahead with some fishnet nails. Stamped with RA-109 (I'm sure you're all sick of seeing this image) and then BM-209 with Wet 'N Wild black creme.




I'm extremely meh about these. It doesn't help that I was doing these in a hurry in an absolutely ridiculous heat. Isn't it supposed to start cooling down now? Blegh. Mostly, I think I'm just sad I had to take off what I had on. No, nevermind, I think it's the heat getting to me.

Sorry for the erratic post, I have about a zillion things on my mind. Hope you've had a better day and thanks for looking!

To see better black and white manis, do the clicky on the linkys!
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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

31 Day Challenge Day 6 - Violet

'Ello!

Today is day 6 of the 31 day challenge! 6 is my favorite number for some reason. Anyway, violet is purple right? I used purple.

This polish is a recent purchase and OMGS I love it. It's from the newest collaboration between Sephora and Pantone called Purple Parachute. It's also supposed to be a very close cousin to RBL Scrangie which was all sorts of purple duochrome deliciousness created by the legendary blogger, Scrangie. I've only seen one comparison and it said Scrangie was a bit sheerer but that sheerness also allows the duochrome to shine through and it was also more red based. This has a purple base with green shimmer that was being a pain to photograph. Please imagine this more prettyful, kinda like the bottle shot.




I just love the base color of this, so unique (in my stash at least) and it just shines on my nails! I might layer something over it or spice it up later but, for now, I just wanted to enjoy the color on its own.

In unrelated news, school and procrastination have already begun to kick my ass so that's why you might see less of me and shorter posts. Like I said, I'll keep posting the challenge manis but the posts in between might be a little thin. Also, I'm sick which sucks.

Have a good day and I hope you enjoyed your long weekend!

Visit the other blogs to see more purple prettyness!

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Saturday, September 1, 2012

31 Day Challenge Day 5 - BLUE!!!

Hi ladies!

If you read my blog with any sort of regularity or even if you've just seen my haul posts, you'll know of my love affair with blue polish. It's just so pretty and there's so many different blues and I need them all. So imagine my surprise when I realize I've never posted the bluest blue that ever blued.

I used two creamy delicious blue coats of (one of) the most perfect blues - Nails Inc. Baker St!



The only problem I have with this polish is that I never know what to combine with it. I've tried stamping in gold, silver, black, white and another blue and it just never looks *right*. Like the color is so electric it just doesn't play well with another polish. This is the only combo I liked - Sally Hansen White Veil (Bonus: it's an untried). 



It's difficult to describe the glitters in this polish, they're pale white but matte-y and the golden hexes. Very pretty. I almost bought this once but left it in the end, then I saw this post at Imperfectly Painted and needed it. Of course, then it was nowhere to be found. I finally found an intact display at a random K-Mart.

In reality, Baker St. is a bit deeper in color, think more of a Superman blue. I took this cellphone pic to try and show the color a bit better.


The color is still a little darker but photoshop was NOT cooperating in altering the color either. If you even admire any blue polishes - you need this one.

Also, YAY for a long weekend! Do yo have any plans? I'm going to a beach house in the south of the island. Just learned about this last night, but still pretty cool :D

Now go check the other ladies and their blues!
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