52WC: Week 1 - Taping (Autumnal Triangles)

Hey guys!  I've decided that I'm probably not going to finish the 31 day challenge, just because as a student, my schedule is sometimes unpredictable and I don't have time to do intricate nail art everyday.  However, I felt like doing something special today (it's my birthday!), and I've had the 52 week challenge (from RedditLaqueristas) on my mind.  One special mani a week seems way more achievable, and I know I'm a little late on week 1, but here it is (better late than never): taping!

This mani recreates my Tropical Triangles, which was inspired by Sophie at MyAwesomeBeauty.  I really liked the look of that manicure, but it's a little late in the season for all those bright colors.  So I decided to switch it up, using the dusty shades from Zoya's Designer collection (which I absolutely love, by the way).  I've got to say, these colors look gorgeous together!

As a base, I used Fergie's Grammy Gold.  I taped over that with striping tape and then painted Monica, Natty, and then Evvie in the appropriate region of my nail.  When I took the tape off, a funny thing happened: the red from the striping tape bled off onto the gold base.  I guess it was from the rubbing alcohol that drowned all my tape when I was moving (I had all my nail art supplies in one box).  Most of my tape was ruined from the rubbing alcohol, but I thought this one looked okay.  I guess the color wasn't completely set. Luckily, I think the red compliments this manicure and adds even more of a Fall look to this mani.

This manicure was much easier this time around, mostly due to the opacity of the polishes I used.  The ones from the tropical version were much more sheer.  I love how this mani looks, so I'm gonna be sad when I remove it later this week (I'm hoping to catch up on the 52 week challenge) to do the next challenge.  Keep your eyes peeled!

Polishes Used:
Fergie - Grammy Gold
Zoya - Natty
Zoya - Monica
Zoya - Evvie

Acetone Problems

Hey guys!   So last week, I accidentally dropped my cleanup brush (an eyeliner brush) in my bottle of acetone.  D'oh!  Since I just finished doing my nails, I didn't want to fish it out right away, so I told myself that I'd get it out later.  Me, being my typical forgetful self, forgot that the brush was in there and didn't remember until 3 days later.  I looked at the acetone bottle and saw this:

Look at that, pure black!  I shook the bottle, and I didn't hear anything solid inside.  This is what was supposed to be inside (I bought the same exact brush again, because I really like the control this one gives me over my clean-up):

(ew...pchem hw)

The acetone melted my brush!  Completely gone....  Ladies and gentlemen: presenting to you the destructive potency of acetone.  Yay chemicals!

94. Sinful - What's Your Name?

What's Your Name is a black creme with small duochrome glitter/shimmer.  The glitter shifts from a teal to a deep blue to a magenta-purple, such an amazing color shift...in the bottle.  On the nail, it's not so apparent and kind of falls a bit flat.  It pretty much looks like a black cream in most lights.  I believe that I might be able to get the same kind of effect (that was in the bottle) by layering OPI's I Juggle...Men over black, but we shall see.

Formula was decent on this polish; it was a two-coater.  However, I had application problems due to a wonky brush.  The brush just wouldn't glide over my nail, and as a result, it tended to drag the polish.  If I put on an extremely thick layer, it wouldn't drag, but then I would get cuticle flooding.

Mermaid Sparkles

This is a mani that my friend asked me to do for her one night when she came over.  I can't remember which polishes I used exactly, but this might be a base of OPI's What's With the Cattitude, and a gradient of China Glaze Atlantis.  MAYBE.  Not sure lol.

Inspired by a Sunset

As I was driving home from Ranch 99 a couple weeks ago, the sun was setting, and the sky was the most beautiful I've seen it in a while (either that, or I don't get out enough, which is completely true).  It was orange near the horizon, fading to a blue and then to an inky dark navy/purple, and there were wispy clouds scattered throughout the sky.  And that's how this manicure was born.

To achieve this look, I first painted on a coat of Arizona.  Then on top of that, I sponged Natty and Monica. I topcoated each nail immediately in order to smudge the gradient (making it smoother).  After all nails were dry, I took a small section of sponge and dabbed Marshmallow on top.  Poshe on top and ta-da!  Pretty nails.  (I do wish the transition between orange and blue was a little smoother, but hey, what can I do?)

Colors Used:
Zoya Arizona
Zoya Natty
Zoya Monica
Essie Marshmallow

93. China Glaze - Flirty Tankini

Whew!  I've waited a long time for this polish.  I can honestly say that this is my first neon polish.  Flirty Tankini looked like it was just a plain pink-coral cream, but in reality it has this nice, fine shimmer running throughout it.  Like most neons, this polish dries matte, which I don't really like in a shimmer, but it can be appealing in some circumstances.  Honestly, I can say that I'm a little disappointed by this polish.  I was expecting more of a coral color, but on my skin it looks more like a barbie pink.  Maybe Pink Plumeria would be a better fit...Also, the smell of this polish is really bad, rivaling that of KleanColor's.

This swatch is 2 coats, although it could probably have used a third.  Formula was a bit watery, and I could see that the polish's shimmer tends to settle; so I guess it could still be a cream if you wanted it to be.

PS:  I wonder if you guys noticed I changed my lightbox set up.  The background is now black, which I find makes my pictures a little more color-accurate.  That, and this looks pretty class, don't you think?

Regal Marble

Hey guys!  So today's post is my first attempt at the recently-popular saran wrap marble mani.  I think that this method is really awesome; it's such a creative, interesting mani, and yet it's so easy to do!  I used this method to spruce up a color I wasn't ready to take off.  I painted one coat of Sally Hansen's Infinity Band over my old mani, Zoya Monica.  Immediately after painting on the gold, I took some crumpled up saran wrap and blotted it over the wet nail polish.  If you wait a bit before blotting, the marbling effect will not look as nice...it'll just turn out to be a thin patchy layer of your second color (you can kind of see this on my thumb).

Hope you guys enjoyed this post!

Jawbreakers!

This monster of a beauty is the result of having too much time and being alone at home (no boyfriend to tell me to stop polish my nails, teehee!).  This was my first time trying a jelly sandwich, and I can honestly say that I'm very pleased with the results!  I really like how this looks; my nails look like something like those giant white jawbreakers that are speckled with color or like ice cream covered with sprinkles (thanks to all my friends for the creative descriptions).

To see how I accomplished this look, read after the jump!

92. Zoya - Charla

Hey guys!  For my first post back, I have Charla, a gorgeous, shimmery, eye-catching teal foil with golden shimmer.  It quite reminds me of mermaids.  I love this color on my nails; I can't stop staring at them!  I'm pretty sure I have a few dupes of this polish, but who cares??  This color is too pretty to purge! :D  I know we're entering fall, but it still feels quite like summer here in Davis, so I'm gonna keep wearing these brights until summer's completely gone (even though I love fall polish collections...but that's another story for another day).

Check out the gold tones in this polish!

This is 3 coats.  2 coats is acceptable if you don't mind VNL, but if you don't like VNL and you have a decent amount of free nail, you're going to need a third coat.  Also, a third coat does intensify the color quite a bit, so I would recommend it.  The formula was excellent: just the right consistency and very easy to control.

Sorry for the Waiting!

I can't believe it's been nearly a month since I last posted anything.  I hope someone's still reading this blog...heh =___=  If you've stuck with me this long, I'm really flattered!  Well anywhoo, life's caught up to me, and the move has taken much longer than anticipated due to some unforseen circumstances, but the move is almost complete now, and I've started doing my nails and swatching again.  I'll have lots for you guys soon!