Cold Swirls

Hello, Gorgeous! I hope you're doing well! Or, at least, better than I am... Nails first, then news!

It may be the season for turkeys and orange and brown and other fall-inspired colors, but I'm simply uninspired by it. So I looked for inspiration elsewhere, and found the snow, and the wind, and the ice that I had to battle for windshield territory this morning. Inspired by this tutorial, I decided to try a somewhat-skittle with different colors and a different "charm". 

On my left hand, I used three colors (not including the nude or the glitter)

On my right, I used five colors. What a difference, eh?

Also, my camera hates the nude color I used. Grrr.

I used a nude, unnamed Color Workshop from a few years ago as my nude. Over it, I sponged Kleancolor's Metallic White. Using tip guides, I created french manis using the unnamed Rue Beaute, Sinful Colors' Snow Me White, Zoya's Robyn, Finger Paint's Inkblot Blue, and Kleancolors' Metallic Blue. Then, using my medium striping brush, I created the swirls, using a small dotting tool, I created the dots, and then using Winstonia W120 stamping plate and Snow Me White, I created the snowflakes. Lovely!

So on to the news! I'm moving back to Vegas to go to school to do nails professionally! I. am. terrified! December and January are going to be suuuuper hectic, and I may or may not be able to make regular posts during that time. So just a heads-up, you may not hear from me for awhile. I'll be okay, though. I'm thinking I'm going to do what Nailed It, NZ did, and blog about school. We'll just have to see. Please bear with me during this transitional time!

It's a Girl!!!

I'm getting a niece! My sister Jacq and her husband recently found out they're having a little girl, and I'm soooo excited for them! Congrats, mi famiglia!
So I used this opportunity to use a lot of pink, and to use some stamps I've had that I've wanted to use for a while :)

There was black crap coming from weird places. A couple of my nails have black smudges,
and IDK where it's coming from...
Stamping plate by GALS, GA36

Pinkie: Single bow, Stamp. Ring: Saran wrap with three shades of pink, with a rhinestone. Middle: Stamp of many bows. Pointer: Half-moon with dots. Thumb (not pictured): Gradient of three pinks.

Stamp plate by GALS, GA7

Saran Wrap, three layers, pink rhinestone.

I used five different colors for these nails.
Base for all five: L'Oreal Penthouse Pink.
Pointer: Sinful Colors Glass Pink, Daredevil, and Rue Beaute (Glow In The Dark) Pink
Middle and Pinkie: Sinful Colors Fusion Neon
Ring: Sinful Colors Fusion Neon, Rue Beaute (Glow In The Dark) Pink
Thumb: Rue Beaute (Glow In The Dark) Pink, Sinful Colors Fusion Neon.

All are topped with Seche Vite.

Congrats again to my sister and brother-in-law! I love you guys, and can't wait to meet my niece, Makenna Jr.!

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?

I'M BACK, BABY!!!

I have finally, after too long a time, gotten internet!

Took me long enough!

After soul-searching for what I wanted for my birthday, I finally decided on internet. So I decided on a budget and went shopping and here I am!

I know. Less me, more nails!

Unfortunately, being without internet leaves me without all the inspiration I'm used to, so my manis have been few and far-between. But I do have a few to show you!

I'm not sure what to call these, beyond pretty!

I normally would not put these colors together. I do not like gold, and for the most part, and coral and seafoam aren't my favorite colors. But put them together and holy cow! These are GORGEOUS!

I can't figure out how the other blogs get their cuticles so clean... :/

To get this look, I used Sally Hansen's Extreme Wear in Mint Sorbet, L. A. Colors' Dizzy, Sinful Colors' Timbleberry, and Maybelline Color Show Bold Gold. 

To get the pattern on the pinkie, I painted the nail gold and let it dry completely, put a topcoat over that, and let it dry completely, and then painted the Timbleberry and the Mint Sorbet. Before that dried, I took a stamp that I got at a scrapbooking sale and pressed it, removing the Mint and the Timbleberry and exposing the gold underneath.

I'm not happy with the way the thumbs turned out. I'm thinking I should have just done a gold tip instead of attempting (and failing) at a gradient.

What say you?

Mani Marathon

I have done 8 manicures this weekend, and it isn't even Sunday yet! I am unable to post them at the moment, due to a total lack of internet. I'm updating you from my phone, and the app isn't great at formatting pics. I COULD just lump them here... Ah hell, here's a picture dump. Enjoy!

(Two manis are not pictured, one was crap and the other hadn't been photographed yet.)

Dotting, Watermarbling, and Stamping

Day 8 without my nail polish and care kit. I'm cracking, my nails are chipping, and my cuticles are peeling :( Only three more days...

Here's a mix of watermarbling, dotting, and stamping! I loved this mani!  I have a problem with my white covering the other colors, though. I'm not sure why it happens, maybe it's because I'm waiting too long between drips? IDK.

No clue why I forgot to clean that pinkie... 

You can see on the ring finger what I mean by the white covering the blue. See how the blue's off-color?

This was my favorite nail of the bunch. It turned out great :)

The tutorial for this mani is here. Indigonova1 has some great designs, and I'm sure I'll be doing a lot of my own takes from her. In this one, instead of using a dotting tool for the flowers, I used a stamp. I'm still working on my precision, which has improved since this mani.

I used Sinful Colors for the white and a Pure Ice for the blue.