Sunday Color Pick!

So I let Era pick the color to day! He chose NYC's Prince Street from the In A New York Minute line.

It's a lovely violet color, only needs 2 coats. It SAYS it's quick dry, but I don't believe it. It's faster than NYC's regular polishes, but it still bubbled.

So I've been wanting to try this for a while.. Basically do the water spotted method, with a couple of opaque colors.

I chose to use Sinful Colors' Let me go and Bali Mist for this... and I love the effect! The camera doesn't, though. :(

This is the best pic that shows the texture.

I used the Sally Hansen's Instant Strength again for the base, and for top coats, I covered it in matte and then waterspotted a shiny top coat.

Seriously, this is a really cute mani!

Blue India

I couldn't figure out a name for this, but it makes me think of Henna tattoos that are very popular and traditional in India, so...

Blue India.

To differentiate from the nameless salmon version I did a couple weeks ago.

I REALLY like the design. Which is why I did it again. I figure, practice makes perfect, so I'll keep plugging at it until I get it right. (I didn't, btw. I missed a finger.)

Yeah I missed that ring finger. Gorram it!

I used Sally Hansen's Extreme Wear's Blue Me Away, Pure Ice's French Kiss, and Pure Ice's Superstar! for the India, and for the gradient, I used LA Colors' Flurry. 

I used NY Color's Matte Me Crazy topcoat.

I used a new (to me) strengthener by Sally Hanson, called Instant Strength. I wasn't thrilled at first, it was extremely thin and I was kinda wary that I'd just dropped $6 on a waste. Well to make a long story short, I am impressed.
Beyond a couple of TINY chips, I haven't had any problems with it. My nails still are kinda bendy, but they have a nice strong curve. According to GoodGuide, it's the #3 nail strengthener, and the #1 isn't even sold anymore, apparently. I'm going to keep working with it for now.

What are your feelings about the India print?

LA Colors' Pink Sizzle Swatch and the Quilting Technique

 So while I was at Dollar General grabbing Spring, I also had to grab Pink Sizzle. I mean, how amazing is this?? It's a purplish-rose that is just GORGEOUS.

It's another 3-coater, but the results are well worth the wait.

On the accent nails, I did the "quilting" technique. Basically,  you wait until the surface of the nail polish is wet, and then use flossers to press the criss-crosses into the tacky polish. Voila! Quilted!

I have a lot of other things I'd like to try with this technique!

L.A. Colors' Bloom swatch!

So here I was, minding my own business, walking about Dollar General, when I spotted Bloom. I normally don't go for pinks, but OMG I'm in love!

It's such a soft, elegant pink, and a beautiful creme.

So this is definitely a three-coater, if not wanting for four coats. Like most of L.A. Colors' formulas, it's very streaky and thin. It ends in a beautiful satin finish.

I Might Be Addicted to Pinterest.

It's pretty bad. I'm getting some GREAT mani ideas, though!

Anyways, using pinterest, I found this amazing look, and I HAD to try my hand at it! (hahah get it! So punny!) Turns out PAA had ALSO gotten this look from this Pin! So it's kinda a full-circle, right?

Anyways, here's my version!

 I decided to do a black underneath just for fun. Louboutin-ish! 

How the crap do you pronounce Louboutin?

For these nails, I used Sinful Colors' Timbleberry, Pure Ice's Black Rage, and Pure Ice's Superstar!.
 They look WAY better from a distance, but isn't that always how it goes with heavy-detailed things? lol

On my thumbs and right hand, I was impatient and the topcoat smeared the details a little (on my right thumb it's HORRIBLE). In my defense, it was time for bed and I just wanted to go to sleep...

Have you fallen in love with a website other than Facebook?

Good News, Good Nails

GOOD NEWS! I found the phone with the good camera! We're back in business, baby!

GREAT NAILS! I was looking through my Pinterest nail art pins for some inspiration. I had decided that I was going to do some stamping (haven't done that in a while!) and came across this pin. It made me think of mermaids, so I went with it!

Unable to locate the BM-209 I needed, I used my Mash-39, which has a clearer print than that of my RA-111, and a smaller print than that of my GA14, (I have FOUR plates with fish scales. FOUR. Almost as many as zebra prints...) but honestly, I'm very pleased with the results!

I couldn't figure out what to do for the accent nail, so I decided to go for something that strikes of sea monster, and I think I did fairly well. I'm not completely satisfied with the result (am I, ever?) but I didn't hate it so much that I redid it several times, so there's a plus.

At about 3 hours, this was one of my longer manis, because I had to wait for the MANY layers to dry. SO WORTH IT!

I'm thinking Scary Monsters and Nice Nymphs for this!

Main nails:
Layer one: NYC's Water Street Blue and L.A. Colors' BCC 590, gradient.
Layer two: Pure Ice Strapless, Pure Ice Look My Way, and Petites Craze.
Layer three: Pure Ice Silver Mercedes, stamped with Mash-39.
Layer four: Pure Ice Oh Baby

Accent nail:
Layer one: Wet'N'Wild Fergie Glowstick 
Layer two: Wet'N'Wild Fastdry SaGreena the Teenage Witch, stamped with Mash-39.
Layer three: Wet'N'Wild Fastdry SaGreena the Teenage Witch, gradient from top.
Layer four: Sinful Colors Queen of Beauty
NYC's Matte Me Crazy for top coat.

I based with my usual Sally Hansen's, and topped my main nails with the Rue 22 topcoat.

I am in absolute LOVE with this mani!!!! What say you?

Elegantly Wasted

So back in, um, July 2012, my friend C. Vescio friggin' published a book, and I immediately fell in love with it and once I fell in love with it I decided to do my nails for it!

And then promptly procrastinated!

And now her second book has gone to the editors! ZOMG!

So I decided I REALLY needed to do my nails! So I did my nails while watching the Game of Thrones season 3 premiere.

In hindsight, I probably should've done Game of Thrones nails, because, y'know, Game of Thrones season premiere.

BUT NAILS FOR A FRIEND'S BOOK! YAAAY!

Description from the Amazon page: "“Just because I kill people, doesn't mean I’m a bad person...”

On the eve of her high school graduation, proper socialite Francesca “Frankie” Fairholm rebelled against her elitist and controlling family to pursue the dark lifestyle of a contract killer for the enigmatic Osiris Corporation. Years later, with her training complete, she believes she's doomed to the life of a sociopathic lone gun until a botched hit brings two unlikely allies, her cousins Addison and Katharine.

Using Katharine’s etiquette school, Elegance, Inc., as a front, the trio weave through Frankie’s dark underworld, carrying out contracts, drinking too much wine, and trying not to get each other killed.

Trouble follows the team home when the death of the cruel Fairholm matriarch reveals more than they ever wanted to know about their family. As the funeral preparations play out, the trio begin to realize there is much more to their employer than meets the eye and their family connections run deeper than they ever imagined."

If you're interested in the book, it's very reasonably priced.

Kindle

Nook

Facebook page

ON TO THE NAILS!

E for Elegantly

W for Wasted

Wine and a gun

Gold, wine, gun, silver all on grey

I guess I forgot to mention... I don't have a decent camera anymore. The cellphone I was previously using to take pics has disappeared, and the camera I've used in the past is currently with my mother in Las Vegas.

So now I'm using my phone's potato, and it has some seriously shitty focus and almost no megapixels. It's like a cheap disposable camera.  Hopefully soon I'll be able to take decent pics again.

So PLEASE read my friend's book, and fall in love with it as much as I have :)