Just a quickie: Doctor Who Nail Art

Thumb/Doctor Who Logo: Pure Ice Private Show, acrylic paint
Index/11th Doctor: NYC French White Tip, Julep Olivia, OPI Danke Shiny Red
Middle/Dalek: OPI Moonraker, Art Club Black, Art Club Fine Silver, holographic hex glitter
Ring/10th Doctor: Wet n Wild Private Viewing, Julep Olivia, Art Club White, OPI Danke Shiny Red, OPI Blue My Mind
Pinky: Pure Ice Private Show

Just a Quickie: Marbling and Glitter

Cling wrap marble done in Pure Ice Pretty in Pink and OPI Purple With a Purpose.

Accent nail is Pretty in Pink topped with Pure Ice Darkside.

Monochrome

I was looking through my stash and came across a polish that I haven't used in forever and, quite frankly, I forgot I had. OPI Metallic 4 Life! It inspired me to do a black and white mani!

The white is NYC French White Tip and the stamping is done in Art Club Black in a design from BM-205. I used Metallic 4 Life for the accent nails. Here's the thing about M4L. It has a ton of glitter but it is SOOO thick. Yet, because of the jelly base, you need 3+ coats for full opacity. A problem easily solved, though. I started with a single coat of Sally Hansen Black out and then topped it with just one coat of M4L. The beautiful thing about it is that, with even one coat, you get a dense, evenly distributed layer of glitter!

Texture, Stamping, and Glitter, Oh My!

I wanted to play around with some textures today, but I also wanted to do some stamping. Simple solution; stamp on a textured polish. Oh, and why not throw a kick-ass glitter in there, too?

For my textured color, I used OPI Vesper. On my pinky, ring finger, and thumb nails, I stamped a zigzag design from BM-201 in Art Club Venice. For an accent of some glitter, and to vary up the texure a bit, I topped my middle and index nails with one coat of Pure Ice Spitfire. That's one coat, folks! Look at that coverage! You could probably get close to full coverage with two coats if you didn't feel like using it as a topper. Also, I can't get over that holographic shine! It's just so blingy!



Look at all of those colors! You know, for less than $2 a bottle, you just can't beat Pure Ice glitters.

Pretty pretty patchwork

So, I actually got the inspiration for this manicure from one of the colors. Pure Ice Watch Me Go is LOADED with teal and green micro glitters and when I saw it, I instantly knew which colors to pair it with.

I used a base of Essie Mojito Madness. The teal is Julep Marion. I think those two colors look fantastic with Watch Me Go!

Glitter, glitter, everywhere.

I had been planning this manicure for Trisha for a couple of weeks now. We just didn't get a chance to make it happen until today. 

I started with a base coat of Butter London The Full Monty on all nails. On her pinky, middle, and index finger, I did two coats of Julep Vivien. On her ring finger and thumb, I made a cross with striping tape and then painted over it with Essie Bikini So Teeny and removed the tape. Lastly, I topped the cross nails with Wet n Wild The Gold and the Beautiful. The colors look fantastic together and there is sooo much sparkle! Also, it looks great on Trisha and she likes it. Win-win!

For me, I just wanted to use some of the polishes in my collection that I haven't tried out. I got the Julep May Mystery Box the other day and it contained SIX POLISHES! One of which is Charlotte.

Charlotte is just the loveliest lavender creme. I paired it with Pure Ice Sheer Luck. I had to use four or five coats of Sheer Luck for full opacity but I used a couple coats of glue first for hassle free removal later.

Just a Quickie: Pastel French

Base color - Julep Rebel
Tip colors - Julep Carrie & Funky Fingers Cyclone Sky

I love skittles!

I wanted to do something with rainbow colors and decided to water marble. Instead of marbling all of the colors together, though, I chose to skittle them.

I used a total of six colors. My pinky is Julep Claudette and OPI A Roll in the Hague. My ring finger is A Roll in the Hague and Julep Charlie. My middle finger is Charlie and Essie Mojito Madness. My index finger is Mojito Madness and Sally Hansen Blue Me Away. Finally, my thumg is Blue Me Away and Julep Charlotte.

Accidental Ocean

I needed something quick to do with my nails and I had settled on a gradient. I picked some colors that I thought would contrast nicely, NYC High Line Green and ORLY High on Hope. Then, I glanced over and Butter London Knackered was just staring at me. I had to do it. I did a thin coat of knackered over top which worked nicely because it's so very sheer and you just get a hint of that purple/turquoise duochrome.

Everything just works together so well! I think it looks like the deep sea all shimmery and sparkling. What I love the most is the holographic shimmer in Knackered.

The blurred photo really shows the colors of the shimmer. I really really love this manicure especially considering how simple it is!

Go Huskers!

Now, I am by no means a football fan. Don't think I ever will be. My sister-in-law and her husband, on the other hand, love it. Specifically, Huskers football. They both live in Nebraska and are here for a visit for the next week. I thought I would do a Nebraska Cornhuskers inspired manicure in their honor.

I used Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book and NYC French White Tip for my base colors. The glitter gradient is done with loose white glitter. I used a nail art brush and Art Club White to paint on the Huskers logo. I love the way this turned out!

Bright and Fizzy

Yesterday I picked up a new polish. Sally Hansen Man-go Team! I love it. It's so bright and pretty; perfect for this fabulous weather we've been having. I've used it once already in an unphotographed manicure so I had to use it again so everyone could see it in all its glory!

Isn't it fantastic. Over Man-go Team! I used a dotting tool and ORLY Fancy Fuchsia to make some fizzy polka dots. These colors look so happy and pretty together, I love it!

Just a Quickie: Mixed Metals

Quickie post today, sorry.

Butter London Shag (bronze), Sally Hansen Celeb City (silver), and Butter London The Full Monty (gold).

Camo Water Marble

I was asking hubby what he thought I should do with my nails the other day. He had a lot of suggestions and every single one was related to fishing, video games, hunting, or some other "manly" thing. So, I took inspiration from him.

So, no literal inspiration but I got my color scheme from one of the most manly patterns out there. Camouflage! The three colors I used are Essie Armed and Ready (how appropriate!), OPI Berlin There Done That, and Sally Hansen Black Out. Afterwards, I threw on a coat of China Glaze Matte Magic to make it extra manly.

I have to say that this is probably my most successful water marble ever! I didn't have any of the mishaps that I usually do and every nail came out better than the last! Other than a few air bubbles here and there, I'd say this water marble is perfect!

Subtle Gradient

So, my boss has been jokingly nagging me a little bit about my nails. According to the company dress code, nail polish can be worn but it has to be in subtle or muted colors. This is a rule I have always stretched. I mean, I've never heard a customer complain about anyone's nails. I actually get a lot of compliments on my nails from our customers. I think people appreciate it, really. It shows that I care about my appearance and most people think that's pretty important. Anyway, every once in a while, I do a soft, subtle manicure just to make my boss happy. Today, I thought a soft gradient would be nice.

The colors I used are OPI It's Totally Fort Worth It and Julep Simone. I thought these colors would work well because ITFWI is a silvery gray with a light pinkish shimmer and Simone is a pinkish-lavender with a subtle blue-gray shimmer. I think this gradient turned out fantastic. Maybe, after work tomorrow, I'll add something to it. We will see.

Spring Florals

I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my nails yesterday so I started browsing through my Bundle Monster stamping plates. I came across a pretty floral stamp on BM-221 that I haven't used yet. I knew instantly what I wanted to do. I love simple stamping manicures.

The base color is Essie Mojito Madness. I did the stamping in Sally Hansen Silver Sweep.

Just a quickie - Matte

I was in the mood to play with my matte top coat today so that's exactly what I did.

 

I used Sally Hansen Snappy Sorbet and Slick Slate. I topped them both with China Glaze Matte Magic. Then I used two different sized dotting tools to make random dots. The end. I've always loved this type of manicure. Quick, simple, and pretty!

Needle Marbling and an Experiment

I wanted to do a needle marble and thought it would be fun if hubby picked out the colors for me. I told him to pick out a good Spring color combination. He really likes all of the colors in my Julep collection so that's what he headed for. 

The three colors he chose are Niecy (pink), Robin (blue), and Rebel (silver holographic). I mixed up the color combo just to add a little more fun to the manicure. I really like the way this turned out.

This manicure inspired me to do a little experiment. I wondered how needle marbling would work with a textured polish. So I tried it out.

This is OPI Vesper (from the Bond Girl line of Liquid Sands) and I swirled in Butter London Trustafarian. I love the way the colors contrast. I don't consider this experiment a success. The thickness of Vesper kept Trustafarian from swirling as easily and smoothly as it should have. Hubby thinks it looks cool but I don't care for it. I am known for being overly critical of myself, though. Ha ha. Oh well. I'll wear it anyway.

The Girls' Nails

Friday night was movies and manicures night so, as tradition dictates, I did the girls' nails. Trisha had a pretty clear idea of what she wanted. Today, she is taking part in a walk-a-thon to help stop world hunger. She wanted something stop sign related and something like footprints in the dirt. Easy! 
 

The thumb is Wet n Wild I Red a Good Book and I used Art Club White to make the stop sign. Durring this process, I realized how awful I am at drawing octagons, haha! The rest of her nails are Julep Jill. I used Sally Hansen Black Out for the footprints and the post on the stop sign. The footprints are done with a dotting tool. 

For Heather, we played around with several different ideas. At one point she said, "Ha ha, that kinda looks like tie-dye." I instantly knew what I wanted to do. A tie-dye needle marble! We used ORLY Fancy Fuchsia, Sinful Colors Endless Blue, and Sinful Colors Innocent.

Yesterday, I went to my mother-in-law's house to do her nails. As purple is her favorite color, I am almost completely restricted to purple manicures for her. I don't mind though. Purple is gorgeous and it looks fantastic on her. Plus, it makes her happy. I did a simple glitter gradient with her. The base is OPI Planks a lot and I sponged on Sally Hansen Bejeweled from the Gem Crush line. Let me just say, if you are a hard core fan of glitter, this line is for you. These aren't glitter toppers. They are full-coverage glitters. The colors are lovely and the mixtures of glitters are beautiful. I do suggest, however, using the glue trick if you plan on wearing these because removal is a bit of a nightmare.

Chevron French

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I opened the drawer with my Butter London polishes in it and was struck with instant inspiration. There sat The Full Monty and Trout Pout and I loved the way they looked next to each other. I knew instantly what I was doing with them, too.

 

The base is Wet n Wild Private Viewing. I free-handed the chevron tip in The Full Monty first and then Trout Pout over that. They're a little messy (it was late and I was hurrying) and you'll have to forgive how absurdly off-center the chevron is on my pinky. :/ Other than that, I LOVE this!!!

Fancy a drink, anyone?

I wanted to get a few new Essie nail polishes today so I went to Ulta. I was looking through the Essies and immediately one color caught my eye. Mojito Madness! This is one of the most gorgeous shades of green I've ever seen! It's the perfect compromise between a pastel and a neon. The other color I picked up is Splash of Grenadine. It's a pretty dusty pinkish/purplish shade.I love that they both have names related to drinks. Both of these colors are unlike any other in my collection so I wanted to use them both immediately!

Other than Mojito Madness and Splash of Grenadine, I used NYC French White Tip. I love the polka dot nails, even though they look like Easter eggs. My favorite, though, is the color blocking on my thumb. I did that last and now I wish I had done a whole color blocking manicure. Another time, maybe.