Mottled Darks

I'm sort of getting into "fall" mode...is it too early? I hope not, because even though this manicure didn't turn out exactly as I'd envisioned, I actually really like it for a dark fall look. It's all about layering, right?

 I chose three colors to use - Sinful "All About You", China Glaze "Riveter Rouge" and Misa "When U Say My Name". Good, strong fall colors - AAY is clear polish with gold/green glitter, which I thought would be perfect for blending. I couldn't decide which darker color to use as a base, so I ended up switching colors every other finger. Two coats over Seche Vite base coat.

 My original plan was to do a gradient. So after the base colors were down, I started at the top with the gold. It wasn't really visible enough to make a difference, but it did add a little shine. Then I sponged alternate colors over their counterparts (brown on red, and vice versa.

 That looked...interesting, but it wasn't what I had in mind. So I decided to go ahead and just sponge all three colors on every nail, for a sort of mottled, glittery look. That worked much better. I covered them with two coats of Seche Vite topcoat and did some cleanup.

 My "final" photos were taken nearly a week after the manicure (oops!), but they really don't look too bad considering that's six full days of wear. A little damage/shrinkage at the cuticle is all...very nice, IMO.

Next week, I go back to summer temporarily...or spring, more like it, with a green & flower manicure. Until then, happy polishing!

Waning Summer

Summer seems to be on it's way out...or I kind of hope it is, anyway. I'm tired of the hot, dry weather, and all the wildfires that have been ripping through our state this year. So I decided to do a simple gradient with bright colors one more time before heading toward the darker end of the spectrum for fall.

Always cheerful, Zoya's "Bekka" and "Tansy" are my go-to colors for summer. I started with three coats of Bekka - I don't know what it is about yellows, but it always seems to take three coats to get them smooth.

Then I sponged a couple coats of Tansy on the tips. They came out a bit darker than I'd have liked, but I was happy with the way it turned out, overall.

Well, except for that spludge on my middle finger there...but it was less visible after top coat.

I decided it needed...something more, so I got out some butterfly & flower decals, and added a few to my thumbs, ring and pinky fingers. Much better!

A couple coats of top coat and some clean up, and voila! The last bright manicure of summer: 

I liked it. And someone admiring them at a restaurant said they looked like candy corn, which they very well could with a white later underneath. Hmm...

Next week, a slightly botched but still sparkly fall sponge job. Until then, happy polishing!

Sheer Beaches

The folks at American Apparel were kind enough to send me free samples of three of their new "Sheer" nail polish line to try out and review here on the blog. I love these - even though they're sheer, they're highly pigmented, so they're very versatile. Especially for things like...say...sponge gradients...

 

The three colors they sent me were "Summerland Beach" - light pale peach/nude, "Manhattan Beach" - snappy dark peach,  and "Moonlight Beach" - a lovely dark purple.

The formula is really nice - not too thick, not too thin, and really nice to work with whether brushing on or sponging. I started with two coats of Summerland for the base:

 

Then I sponged on a layer of Manhattan, staying away from the tips. In retrospect, I wish I'd alternated gradient patterns on each nail just to see how they layer differently in different order. But I'll play with that later.

Next, I sponged on a first layer of Moonlight. You can really see the sheer quality here, as the peach layers come up through the blue/purple. I thought about leaving it like this, but decided I wanted a bit more pop for the top layer.

One more layer of Moonlight made me happier. I just love how these work together - the colors really compliment each other.

A couple coats of Seche Vite top coat, and voila! A simple summer gradient that actually would work quite well on the beach, methinks. 

The only thing I wish I'd done differently is to not brush the base layer so close to the cuticle. I have Summerland sticking out under my Moonlight...and it's bugging me. Ah well. Practice makes...closer to perfect, eh?

Until next time, happy polishing!

Independence Day Grunge

I was kind of bored with the same ol' stars 'n stripes theme I normally do for holidays like this, so I decided to try something different. I think it turned out more as a tribute to the early 90's grunge period, but interesting, nonetheless. It looks completely different matte vs. shiny - I think the matte is what really gives it the grunge-like look...

Obviously I needed a red, white & blue color scheme, so I went with China Glaze "White Out" and "Red Pearl" for white and red, and Zoya's "Indigo" for the blue. I really like these three together - they blend rather well. I started off with two coats of White Out:

 And then sponged on Red Pearl at the base of my nails. It took two coats before it looked more red than bright reddish pink:

 Then I sponged Indigo on the tips - again, two coats. One just wasn't quite enough...two made a nice "dark denim" look:

 I think I should have sponged another layer of white over the center, just to blend the colors better. Next time, eh? Then I added two coats of China Glaze "Matte Magic" over the top, just to see what it would do. the red ran together, so I lost that spongy look - if I were doing it over, I think I'd put a coat of normal Seche Vite top coat on first, and *then* matte it down, to keep the sponged look better:

 A little clean up, and voila! Grunge nails for the 4th of July. :-)

For those in the US, I hope you all have a very safe and happy holiday. For everyone else, happy Wednesday...

Until next week, happy polishing... 

Spring Sponge Gradient

 

Egads - what a day!  I was hoping to get the video tutorial for this manicure edited and posted by tonight, but extenuating circumstances (we bought a new-to-us truck last night) kind of got in the way. So as soon as I can get the video edited, I'll post it - later this week, I think.

  

I did my first sponge gradient since grade school, and it was pretty fun. I used a base of Avon's "Urban Grey" - I wanted a white that wasn't "in your face" bright, and this suited nicely. For the gradients, I used Essie's "Angora Cardi" and Revlon's "Spanish Moss" - gorgeous together, don't you think? 

I played around with a couple different sponging techniques you'll see in the video, and after I put the darker colors on, I went ahead and muted it down a bit with more Urban Grey sponged on top. I decided to add some little "Cardi dots" at the last minute with a dotting tool, but it's overkill. I do think a nice stamped design would look nice...maybe I'll try that next time. 

Base and top coats are Seche Vite, as usual.  I've gotten several compliments on these, so the dots must not be *too* distracting...

 

Sorry the tutorial itself isn't ready - hopefully soon! Until then, happy polishing! 

Spring Pink, Frugal Dad and the Great Camera Search

Okay...so blogger's new posting/editing layout sucks, but you probably already knew that, right? It kind of makes me want to move this blog to my other platform...but moving a blog is a ton of work, so I'll just deal with this, I suppose...

Anyways...hi. If you're still hanging around, thank you - I appreciate your continued support. :-)

I still don't have a new camera...which sucks, because there are several manicures I would have liked to show you recently. I am in the market, and I'd like a digital camera that takes decent video too, as I've had a *ton* of requests for video nail tutorials around here, and I'd like to see about doing some more of that. So, if you have a digital camera (*not* a phone) that you love, and that takes fairly decent video, please leave me a comment with the brand so I can check it out. I would love to get posting on this blog again...but a nail art blog is nothing without photos!

In other news, last month Nail Art Tuesday was listed on Frugal Dad as a Top Nail Polish Site...which is awesome! Thank you, Frugal Dad! I'm honored. :-)

And finally - these pictures suck (from my tablet...sorry - it takes good photos, but it's awkward getting *nail* photos with it), but I'm wearing pink this week...a tri-color gradient that didn't go exactly as planned, but I'm happy enough with 'em, since they sparkle nicely in the sunlight.You should be able to click on the photos for a slightly larger image.

The colors I used are China Glaze "Awakening" for the base, Nubar's "Iris Dust" for the longer top color, and Finger Paints "Hue Left a Message?" for the glitter.

That's all I have for today. I'm researching cameras this week, so hopefully I'll be back to regular posting soon.

Until next time, Happy Polishing!

Sparkly Green

This week's photos are a bit blurry - sorry! The Christmas tree is pretty, but it sucks more light out of my space and while I should have just moved...I was too lazy.

I'm all about the glitter this month...this is actually last week's manicure, and I've got something similar going on this week. It's a nice way to sparkle without spending a lot of time - handy since both of these last two manicures happened between 1am and 3am. Busy busy!

For this one, I started with a base coat of the Sally Hanson Triple Strong formula, because that middle nail is still not quite long enough to cut off. Once that was epoxied together, I put on two coats of my favorite white, Finger Paints "Well-Cultured Pearl".

Then I started at the tip, and brushed on a thin layer of Sinful's "Call You Later", a lovely green & gold glitter I got on sale at the drugstore awhile ago. 

Then one more layer of the glitter, just not quite as far down on the nail for a nice gradient.

Then a couple coats of Seche Vite to top it off, and clean up in the shower the next morning. Easy peasy.

You'll have to excuse my super-dry skin...I can't seem to get enough lotion this time of year. Dry, cold air will do that...

Next week, gift wrap. :-) Until then, happy polishing!

Catchin' Up

Apologies for disappearing in December - the holidays sort of got away from me. So today I have a couple finished manicures from Christmas and the first week in January to show you, and then next week I'll have a new tutorial to post.

For Christmas this year, I used these cute decals from Born Pretty. Speaking of which, Born Pretty has offered Nail Art Tuesday shoppers 10% off your order when you use code: SQUOVAL15 at checkout.

The fun part about the Christmas mani (aside from those lovely water decals) was that my silver polish was way too thick. It was hard to work with, but it also made a 3-D, almost "fuzzy" line at the tips.

Last week I got some fun new Finger Paints polishes that I can't recall the names of just now (don't worry, you'll see them again). I decided to do a gradient with China Glaze "Tinsel" between the white and purple. I love how it turned out, very "winter whimsical", I think.

So that's what I've been up to polish-wise - next week, China Glaze "Dorthy Who?" and full nail stickers.

Until then - happy polishing!

All About A Russian Party

I was trying to decide what to do this week, starting really late, and was super-tired. So I opted to try a gradient again, and had moderate results (mostly due to being really tired, I think). The colors I used are OPI's "Russian to a Party", a reddish maroon w/gold shimmer and Sinful Colors "All About You" - a sheer gold glitter.

To start, I layered two coats of RTAP over base coat.

Next I put a thin layer of glitter over 3/4 of each nail starting at the base.

Then another coat of glitter, stopping a half way up the nail:

And finally one more strip just up at the base of the nail.

Two coats of top coat and some clean-up finishes it off nicely. 

I got the glitter too thick in spots...next time I'll be more careful about that. It takes a light touch to get the gradient effect. I may actually try with one of the CND effects polishes next time. 

Born Pretty sent me some free stuff to review, including some fun black crackle polish. So next week, a tutorial on crackle polish - should be very cool, I think. Until then, happy polishing!