Windy Blue

So sorry I've been neglectful...work's been busy, we have a million house projects going on and I'm expanding my publishing company with new authors/anthologies. All that to say...I barely had time to *do* my nails this week, and last week my manicure...well, it sucked. A word to the wise - those Sally Hansen strips? You can't leave them open and use them later. Seal them up in something airtight.

Anyways, this week's manicure is inspired by the cover art for a book my publishing company just released today. Here's the cover (details here):

That hair blowing everywhere just struck me as so lovely and ephemeral...I didn't do it justice at all, but it inspired just a few black wisps on my favorite blue polish, and I'm quite happy with the simple results. 

This week I'm also trying out Sally Hansen's Triple Strong nail strengthening formula. I went to buy some wraps a few weeks ago, because my nails tend to crack below the quick and I end up having to be really careful that I don't rip them off. Like this: 

So I was looking for some sort of patch or wrap to put over it under my polish, and couldn't find a thing. But I did find this Triple Strong formula with titanium and gel, so I decided to see if it would keep my nail intact until it grows out long enough to cut. I used two coats as a base coat, and I have to say, several days later the cracked portion is still holding up and not ripping farther. So...I'm happy with it so far. 

On top of that, I put two coats of China Glaze "Blue Island Iced Tea" - my all time favorite blue polish. I adore this color, and could look at it for hours. :-)  

Then I just used Avon's "Denim", a dark navy blue and one of my skinny dotting tools to make a few wavy lines on each nail. I added a coat of Nubar's "2010" to the top, but it's not terribly visible, and I'm okay with that since it looks kind of "red" against the navy. I may try those two together again at some point....

Then I just sealed it all with a couple coats of Seche Vite top coat, and cleaned it up the next day. Very simple and easy. 

So...Halloween is right around the corner...got any fabulous holiday manicures to share? I'll have one to post next week for sure...

Until then, happy polishing! :-)