Split Personality

It's been a very busy few weeks, but our big Halloween bash went off without a hitch. Last week was a whirlwind of activity around here, cleaning, new carpet, new entertainment center, and much less decorating than I would have liked (but still quite a lot). The theme this year was Heaven & Hell, and naturally, the two sides of my personality were allowed out for an evening - including my nails, of course. My only regret is that I broke several nails moving furniture, and didn't have enough length left to do stilettos for my right hand. *sigh*

Above on my right hand, China Glaze "Ruby Slippers" tipped with CG "Liquid Leather" and a fine line of a matte cement color by Nubar (I forget the exact name, and am too lazy to go look at the moment - sorry!). Obviously, this was my "devil" side, so I didn't mind the tip pull or chipping on my thumb. Just added character to the costume, I think.

Below, my "angel" hand on the left. I used one coat of my favorite pearl white from Finger Paints (also forgot the name), topped with two coats of The Painted Nail by Nubar's "Silver Screened". More pearl on the tip, with CG "Tinsel" along the smile line.

I have to say, it's kind of fun wearing two completely different manicures...and I actually got a few compliments, believe it or not. Perhaps I should try this more often? More nail art opportunities...

Next week, a webby manicure I've been waiting *all month* to do. Got Halloween art of your own? Post a link in the comments so we can all have a gander! :-)

Catchin' Up

Apologies for disappearing in December - the holidays sort of got away from me. So today I have a couple finished manicures from Christmas and the first week in January to show you, and then next week I'll have a new tutorial to post.

For Christmas this year, I used these cute decals from Born Pretty. Speaking of which, Born Pretty has offered Nail Art Tuesday shoppers 10% off your order when you use code: SQUOVAL15 at checkout.

The fun part about the Christmas mani (aside from those lovely water decals) was that my silver polish was way too thick. It was hard to work with, but it also made a 3-D, almost "fuzzy" line at the tips.

Last week I got some fun new Finger Paints polishes that I can't recall the names of just now (don't worry, you'll see them again). I decided to do a gradient with China Glaze "Tinsel" between the white and purple. I love how it turned out, very "winter whimsical", I think.

So that's what I've been up to polish-wise - next week, China Glaze "Dorthy Who?" and full nail stickers.

Until then - happy polishing!

Flowery Denim

Last week I wanted something easy, quick, and subtle. Yes, even I get tired of bold and bright sometimes. so I got some decals and a couple bottles of polish to create this simple, casual look.

I started with two coats of Avon's "Blue Flare":

Then I added wide tips with one of my favorite holos - China Glaze "OMG".

Added some white flower decals, and two coats of Seche Vite to seal. I cleaned it up the next morning, and voila, simple, casual, but still fun.

Yes, I know my smile line isn't close to straight - I was tired and working quickly. It's okay, I actually don't mind it this way. Seems more authentic to me sometimes when the artwork isn't "perfect".

What are you wearing on your tips this week?

Next week, I hope to have a video tutorial for you...until then, happy polishing!

Big Bang Hearts

I was in the mood for something "hot" last week - and the tiny bottle of Urban Decay's "Big Bang" jumped right out at me from my polish stash. Feeling lazy and not wanting to cover up much of this delicious color, I decided to go with simple glittery tips and heart decals - easy as it gets.

 

I started with two coats of "Big Bang" - which applied very smoothly. I love how much this shimmers, but it does make it hard to capture in a photo. The flash bounces back, and it looks dull without. But I used the flash for the demo photos so you could see how bright it is. Yes, it really is that bright in person. 

 

I used China Glaze "Tinsel" for the tips - just one coat, enough to give it a good shimmery effect, but not enough to completely hide the color underneath. 

 

These decals are self-stick, and made by "Fingers" if I recall correctly. I have to say, they're some of the best decals I've ever used - they don't sink down into the polish after application, and they lay perfectly flat on the nail. I definitely need to order more of these if I can find them online (picked these up at a drugstore as a rare find). 

 
 

Two coats of top coat and some cleanup - voila! These last two photos are without the flash, so you can get the "lower light" scoop. I'm really quite enamored of these - simple, but eye catching. Sometimes I just feel like bright nails. 

 

 

Until next week...Happy polishing!

Strawberry Carnival

Moving on from the whole Suncoat debacle...

Have you ever noticed how nail clean-up always looks okay in person, but then when you take a photo, every little thing you missed shows up? Yeah...excuse my clean-up job there - missed some spots in the shower this morning.

I used Avon's Speed Dry formula last night, in the interest of time. I normally stay away from quick-drying nail polish because I tend to have very bad luck with bubbling on them. As you can see though - no bubbles here, and the formula was thick, opaque in one coat. The brush is too narrow, almost more of a nail art brush, but it still applied easily and smoothed itself out as it dried, so no streaks.

No, I know they don't look like strawberries - I named it after the polishes. The bright fuchsia base polish is named "Strawberry", and the light pink on the tips is "Carnival". The silver is a Nubar nail art pen, and unfortunately I forgot there's an art brush inside, or I would have used that for my swirly lines instead. Next time....

This gave me an idea for yin-yang nails...stay tuned next week for that!

So Not Groovy...Suncoat Polish Removal

First, let me just say that I love the Suncoat eco-friendly polish remover. It does a great job, gently, on almost every nail polish I use.

Except Suncoat polish.

Last night (Sundays are my manicure nights), I spent just over 2 hours - 2 hours - trying to remove the Suncoat water-based polish from my fingernails. This was the result when I finally gave up, and "medicated" my frustrated self with brownies and a romance novel:'Twas a work night, or I may well have gone for something stronger in a glass. Those scrapes/nicks you see on the tops of my nails are the result of my scraping the barely softened polish off after the first hour and a half, when it wouldn't come off with cotton balls.

I tried everything. I held soaked cotton balls on my nails for 5 minutes at a time, I actually soaked my nails in the polish remover, and still ended up using the blunt end of a plastic nail file to scrape away most of the polish after it was softened, but still wouldn't come off. As you can see, I still have several tips to get the polish off of tonight, and some buffing to smooth the tops again. Arg!

My three bottles of Suncoat polish are going in the garbage. With any luck, I'll finish the removal job tonight, and finish with a nice new pink french manicure that will come off when I want it to next week. I'm still in a pink mood, for some reason.

Tune in tomorrow for the results...

Suncoat Water-Based French

I’m not really having good luck with these water-based polishes. I want to like them, because they’re healthier to use, they don’t stink up the joint, and they’re easier on the environment. But honestly, I just have one more brand to try, and then I’m giving up. Nail polish should not be difficult…

I like the color of this polish – the pink is Suncoat #8, a cotton candy color. The white is, appropriately enough, #1, and the clear coat is #00. Last night I worked hard to make sure that all oils were off my nails, as water-based polish and oils do not mix. Unfortunately, it’s been rainy and somewhat humid here since late last night, and I think that probably added to my woes with this polish. That, and a hard brush that made it impossible to avoid streaks.

Water-based polish dries through evaporation, and basically “shrinks” onto your nail. The longer you wear it, the harder it gets to remove, which is why they recommend taking it off at least weekly. I think in my case, even though it felt hard and dry, it never actually dried all the way down.So when I got into the shower this morning, my polish started to soften. I’m pretty sure I lost the whole first layer (top coat) off my left hand, and ended up with weird texture issues on the tops of all my nails. I clean the excess nail polish off my fingers in the shower – as you can see, my left index finger released the polish even up onto my nail. Not groovy. On my right hand, my tips are chipped or peeled on at least three fingers, and I had to blow dry my nails before the remaining polish was hard enough again to do my hair.

It’s pretty polish, but far too complicated for someone like me (I shudder to think what might have happened had I tried to add rhinestones or other art items to it!). As it is, I’ll have to remove it tonight, and redo my nails…which I really don’t have time for, but I don’t trust this polish to wear well enough until next weekend.

So tonight I’ll try some Avon Speed Dry polish. I normally avoid speed dry at all costs, due to serious bubbling issues that normally plague me when polish dries too fast, but I can’t be waiting for polish to dry tonight – I have things to do! Stop by Thursday for my results (hopefully better)…

***Edited to say: I haven't had time for another manicure, so I'm still sporting this polish on my nails. It's wearing like a cheap drugstore polish, but doesn't look too bad if you don't look close. New manicure next week... ***