Big day ahead..

Well, tomorrow is my first day of nail tech school! I'm super nervous but kind of excited. I really hope I do well and don't screw of too badly. I always had issues when it came to schooling(I'm lazy and I have a super short attention span), but I'm hoping I've gotten over it by now. Especially since I'm going for a subject matter I enjoy and am curious about.

Anyway.. my posting will probably be sporadic and not as often, at least until I get used to my school schedule.    I'm sure it'll suck up a lot of my creative time. Just thought I'd give everyone a heads up in case people start thinking I've abandoned my blog or I've disappeared or something. Wish me luck! :)

Christmas sweater mani

Hey guys! Kinda sloppy mani for tonight.. I really need to invest in some new brushes and practice more. Though I'm sure I'll get all the practice I'll need when I start school next week.. eek.


Anyway, I've been seeing some christmas sweater/nordic inspired manis floating around, so I decided to give it a shot. The only thing I like are the little deer, honestly. Let's just chalk this up to a learning experience about how much I suck at and hate patterns, haha.


Colors:
Sinful Colors, Black on Black, Snow Me White
Pure Ice, French Kiss
China Glaze, Phat Santa
Zoya, Trixie, Ivanka
Nicole by OPI, My Lifesaver
Sally Hansen, Blue Me Away, Going Green
Barielle, Elle's Spell
Orly, little mini bottle of champagne foil that I can't recall the name of


I picked my first Nails Inc polishes at Sephora the other day.. Fitzroy and Connaught Square. They're both super sparkly! They eat topcoat like crazy, though. I also picked up SOPI's Don't Be Eggnogious(omg that name, jesus OPI), which is super pretty. It's nice to have a layering glitter in such a cool coppery color. Looks great over teal and turquoise.


I also just discovered that I somehow got nail polish in my hair.. does this happen to anyone else? It's not even long!

Off off off with your head!

Another mani inspired by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.. like this a lot better than the last one! Isn't the skull cute? I snagged him from our jewelry making supplies, he was the only one in there that didn't have a matching bead. These will either be used in a photoshoot or made available for sale if anyone's interested.

Polish:
Zoya, Trixie
China Glaze, Phat Santa
Loose red glitter, rhinestones, beads

Candy cane tips

Hey guys! Hope those who celebrate it had a nice thanksgiving. I had a pretty exhausting weekend so I didn't do much with my nails, but I decided to give something simple a shot tonight. I've been really into bare nails with a designed tip for some reason.. go figure.  Anyway, this is a little sloppy because I kept coughing and making my lines wobbly, but it's not too bad I guess. Definitely something I'm considering for Christmastime!

Polish:
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
Sally Hansen, Polar Bare / Gilty Pleasure
China Glaze, Phat Santa
Red loose glitter

I start school pretty soon.. December 12th.. eek! I'm super nervous, but I hope it all goes well.

Until next time.. thanks for reading, guys! :)

Nail polish rings!

Hi guys! No nails this time, though they're currently looking lovely with Zoya's Trixie.

I got bored the other night and rooted around my mom's jewelery and crafting supplies, where I found some glass cabochons. I remember seeing nail polish jewelry on etsy before, and I thought hey, I could do that. It was so easy! I just picked a color, painted the back, sealed it, and attached it to a ring base with a super strong epoxy. These are test rings to see how well they wear, but I might make some more when I order different settings.. I just had these lying around so it's what I used(I love huge rings lol). The red is Barielle's Elle's Spell, which I think looks stunning.. it's so deep and catches the light wonderfully. The aqua is the new version of Sinful's Nail Junkie, which also catches the light beautifully.

What do you think.. keep experimenting with different settings and colors?

Snowflake half-moons

Hello everyone! I'm still suffering from a miserable cold.. ugh. It just won't go away no matter what I do. Super annoying. Anyone else been sick lately? Tis the season.

Anyway.. I decided to get some practice in for the wintery season ahead, and decided on some bare half-moons with a snowflake design. I had to freehand the moons since I'm out of stickers, so they look a little off..  circles have never been my friend.

Colors:
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
Pure Ice, French Kiss
Orly, Halley's Comet
Sally Hansen, Gilty Pleasure

I snagged Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia and Sinful's newer version of Nail Junkie last week, too.. I'm in love with both! I need to think of something fun to do with them.

Ming vase design, take two..

I've done a ming dynasty vase mani before, and I think that one turned out better than this one. To be fair, I have a pretty nasty cold right now so being a perfectionist was not on my mind tonight, lol. Anyway.. just the combo of the bright blue with the white is appealing enough for me, so I'm not too upset with how it turned out. I could've done a better job not coughing every five seconds, though.. ugh.

Colors:
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
Pure Ice, French Kiss
Sally Hansen, Polar Bare

Nyquil time for me.. see ya next time!

Heads will roll..

Hello guys.. got some glitter bombing for you today, haha.

I kinda based this mani around the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video for "Heads Will Roll", which is awesome. I got a box of nail art supplies today and wanted to try them out. I used Zoya Luna as a base, then did the blood with China Glaze Phat Santa. While it was still wet, I dusted red micro glitter over it. It's super sparkly in real life, the pictures do it no justice. This was my first time using loose glitter to do anything, it was kind of a pain, but it looks cool. I got the studs in my order and threw some on too. It's hard to tell, but I made Luna matte, so the red really pops against it. All in all, I'm kinda.. eh about this mani. I don't really like it, honestly. However, I'm way too tired to redo it, so I'm stuck with it for a while, lol.

Now, to attempt and get all this loose glitter off everything I own..

Swirly-tipped gradient!

Hey guys! Another simple mani today.. just a gradient with some black and white tips. Another halloween-ish option, I suppose. I don't love it, but I don't totally hate it.. it's just one of those days where I'm not happy with anything I do, y'know? Ah well.

Colors: Sinful Colors, Black on Black
Sinful Colors, Cloud 9
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
China Glaze, Peachy Keen
China Glaze, Phat Santa
Sally Hansen, Lightening

I wanted to do something more intricate, but I've been a mess of nerves lately. This weekend I have a meeting with the director of a cosmetology school I'd like to attend for their nail tech course.. I'm pretty nervous. Fingers crossed that I get the info I need and can hopefully afford to attend!

Beware the kraken!

I love tentacled creatures.. octopi, squid, sea monsters, they're all so neat. I've been wanting to do a tentacle mani and finally got around to it. I used Deborah Lippmann's Across the Universe as my base and I'm so happy I did.. it looks very seawater-y, doesn't it? I like it. And since I'm on a glow kick, the tentacles glow in the dark too! I wish I could get a picture of it, but it never turns out when I try.

I really, really want to try doing a 3d version of this someday.. I think it'd look so cool. Anyway, that's all for me tonight! :)

Colors:
Sinful Colors, Cloud 9
China Glaze, Peachy Keen
Sally Hansen, Yellow Kitty
Sally Hansen, Cherry Red
Pure Ice, Wild Thing
Sally Hansen, Going Green
Pure Ice, glow polish
Deborah Lippmann, Across the Universe

Halloween practice

Just a practice run I did for a possible halloween design for my nails this year. :) The little ghosts and pumpkins glow in the dark, it's pretty cute.

Colors:
Sinful Colors, Black on Black
Sally Hansen, Cherry Red
China Glaze, Peachy Keen
Sinful Colors, Cloud 9
White and yellow acrylic paint
Pure Ice glow polish

Lace nails

Based on this lovely design. I know I've done lace before, but they're kind of my fallback for when I need something nice. I'm going to some fancy party this weekend and thought they'd go well with my dress since I'm wearing all black. I used Sinful Colors Black on Black, and Nicole by OPI's My Lifesaver. Nothing much else to say about these!

Sugar skull nails

Hello again. I wasn't planning on doing my nails, but I was bored and in a rather bad, depressed mood tonight, so I needed to focus on something else for a while. I decided to practice some sugar skulls, because my mother has been making a lot of sugar skull related jewelery lately. Much improved based on my last design, in my opinion. I'm sorry the pictures aren't so wonderful.. my camera just doesn't seem to take close-up shots well anymore. It's pretty old, actually. Oh well.

Anyway.. not totally happy with them, but I suppose I'm glad to be doing nail art again. Gotta practice more!

I'll edit the colors I used in tomorrow.. it's late and I'm a sleepy nail artist.

Red half-moons

Nothing too exciting this time, sadly.. just another half-moon mani! I liked the last one a lot so I wanted to try another color. I used Barielle's Elle's Spell this time, and added Essie's Matte About You to make a little different. Not sure if I'll keep it matte or just go back to glossy. Anyway.. I don't use red a lot, but the outfit I'm wearing tomorrow is all black/ivory, so I wanted a pop of color to go with my red lipstick. I feel like this style of mani is going to be my go-to when I'm not feeling inspired, since it's so simple to do.

Embellished half-moons

Hey guys! I was bored so I tried something simple to attempt and get back in the nail art swing. Just some half-moons with a little rhinestone/pearl accent bling. I used Nicole by OPI's My Lifesaver and Sinful Colors Black on Black. It was really easy.. I just laid down My Lifesaver, waited for it to dry, then used those hole reinforcer sticker thingies to block out the moons and laid the black over that.

I'm not entirely sure if I like 'em, since I was never crazy about the half-moon trend, but I figured I might as well give a shot, y'know?

See you guys next time, have a nice weekend! :)

Dot dot dot..

Well, these were my nails for this weekend.. I was feeling super lazy, and dots are always a good plan when you don't wanna do anything, haha.

Polishes:
Sally Hansen, Lightening
Sally Hansen, Yellow Kitty
China Glaze, For Audrey
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White

I layered Yellow Kitty over Lightening since Kitty isn't very opaque.. it's such a pretty, light buttery yellow color, that picture does it no justice. It's one of my favorite yellows.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I'll be undergoing a baking adventure tomorrow since my bf's birthday is on Tuesday.. if it turns out, i'll be sure to post it.

Blue paisley

Hey guys!

Nothing too exciting for the weekend, just some blue paisley stuff. I kinda rushed it so it looks a little sloppy, especially my right hand, which is hard to do anyway, haha. Still.. looks nice and bright for the 4th of July weekend!

Colors:
Sinful Colors, Snow Me White
Pure Ice, French Kiss
Sally Hansen, Blue Me Away
China Glaze, For Audrey

Feelin' blue

Hey guys.. these were my weekend nails. I did them on Thursday, but just took pics today, so forgive any wear and tear on them after a few days of cooking, cleaning, and going to the lake!

I was pretty tired, so I decided to rehash something simple.. I just took the Piet Mondrian design I did previously, and used shades of blue instead of blue/yellow/red to do the color blocking this time. I am all about easy these days, haha. I might do this design again for a party next month since it matches the dress I'm planning to wear.. when in doubt, color block. Seriously.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend! :)

I love lace!

I've been sooo into black lace lately.. I blame the sexy new black lace tights I got. I've always loved lace nails, and I've done them before(they didn't turn out that great), so I decided to give them another shot! I used Nicole by OPI's My Lifesaver as a base, and black acrylic paint for the lace details. I took the lace pattern on my left hand from a japanese nail magazine and just kinda winged the right hand. I really like how these turned out.. now I just gotta put together a cute outfit to go with them! I wish it wasn't so cold out lately, it's totally limiting my options, ugh.

Have a nice weekend, everyone! :)

Gold glitter fun and tribal

Hey guys! Just a small update today since I don't feel well. This is just a really simple mani I did last night.. my nails were already black, but they looked boring so I added some sparkle to 'em. I sponged some gold polish onto the tips, added some fine gold glitter polish, then topped that with two coats of the lovely Milani Gold FX! I love the way it looks.



And I like it even better mattified! This is with one coat of Essie's Matte About You. I love how soft it looks. Here's one with flash, too.



Also, here's a bonus shot of a really lazy tribal mani I did a while ago and never posted.. I didn't like it that much, but you can't win 'em all, right?



I used Nicole by OPI'S One Less Lonely Glitter as a base, then went at it with acrylic paints.

That's it for now.. hopefully I'll have something fun on my nails this weekend since I'm going to see my favorite band, Empires! :)

Lazy sunflowers

Sorry for the long absence, guys! I haven't been feeling very creative lately, plus I had other things to worry about in my life.. plus I kept breaking nails, ugh!

Anyway.. with the weather getting a little nicer, I've been feeling spring-y, and wanted something bright and simple. I love sunflowers, so I figured hey, why not! They didn't really turn out too great, but I'm giving myself a pass this time since I haven't done any nail art in a while. Besides, I like the color combo. I used For Audrey as the base, then acrylics for the art, since my yellow polishes weren't opaque enough.

Anyway.. I also wanted to say hi to my new followers, and thanks for following! You guys are awesome. :)

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of My Chemical Romance.. Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge is my favorite album, so I've wanted to do nails based on it for a while. I gave it a practice run on some fakes and here's the result! I'm actually pretty happy with it. :) I used Essie Licorice as the base, the rest is all acrylic paint.

Here's the cover, for reference:

Monarch mani

Self-explanatory once again.. ha. Everyone and their mum does monarch manis, but I still like them. Wanted something nice and bright to offset the icky weather we've been having. I'm not totally satisfied, as usual, but it does satisfy my craving for bright spring nails.

Polishes:
Sally Hansen, Lightening
China Glaze, Peachy Keen
Sinful Colors, Cloud 9
White and black acrylic paint

Lazy day mani

Not much to say about this. I was feel particularly lazy and didn't want to do anything super fancy, so I just grabbed some colors I liked and went to town. I love the combo of blues/turquoise with browns, it's one of my favorites.

Polishes:
China Glaze, Classic Camel
Sally Hansen, Blue Me Away
Nicole by OPI, My Lifesaver
White acrylic paint

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Let's play some tetris motherfucker!

I did these super quick.. mainly because I won't have time to do them tomorrow since I'm getting my hair done and going over to the bf's and have a crapload of other stuff to do before that. They're pretty messy but my polish was chipping so I had to do something! Also, my thumbnail broke, damn it.. I'm not filing my other nails to match it yet, I'm hoping it'll grow out in time for this fancy party I have to go to. Whatever, I'm lazy, sue me.

Hopefully tomorrow my hair will be a glorious shade of magenta.. wish me luck!

Also, here are some delicious cupcakes I made for my guy. Red velvet with peppermint white chocolate cream cheese frosting(oh my god it was to die for). Check out my subpar piping skills.

Mani fail day..

I just have not been happy with my nails lately! I keep redoing them, or screwing them up.. gah! I usually get like this when I'm hormonal, but it's so annoying. Anyway, here's some random stuff I've done, just because I figured I need to post SOMETHING.





First, sorry my nails look kinda bad lately.. even with cuticle oil I'm getting dry skin and hangnails like crazy. Blech!

Anyway, this is two coats of Pure Ice French Kiss, with one coat of Pure Ice Once Again. I love French Kiss! It's probably my favorite blue that I own. So creamy and deep, but bright. Pretty easy, smooth application; first coat is streaky, but the second smooths it right out and makes it opaque. Once Again is a lovely mix of pink/blue/holo glitter in a sheer pale blue base. I wish the base was a little less sheer and more jelly, because I think it'd look gorgeous on it's own! It's great for layering, though.



One of my favorite albums is Almost Here by The Academy Is..., and I've always wanted to do nails based on the album cover. I gave it a shot, but as you can see, it def didn't turn out that great. I got way too frustrated because it wasn't working like I pictured it. I'll undoubtedly give it another shot some day when I feel like I can do it without screaming and stabbing something.. here's the cover for reference.



All I got for now.. I think I need a break before I go crazy and chop my nails down to the bone or something.

Practice practice practice..

Just thought I'd show everyone what I've been practicing lately.. Starry Night is one of my favorite paintings, so by default it's one of my favorite nail designs! One day I'll get it down to the point where I'm totally satisfied, hopefully. I'm a perfectionist.

I'm gonna do a full set of these and maybe sell them or give them away, I think. I'm gonna start practicing more designs now that I have a bunch of fakes to play with. :)

Is there anything at all you guys would like to see me attempt? I always welcome ideas!

Blue Roses

I'm not a huge floral fan, but I have been wanting to try rose nails, particularly in this color combo. I thought Valentine's Day would be a good excuse, especially since I have a date for once! I'm not totally pleased, but they look good enough.

Polish:
Sally Hansen, White On
Pure Ice, French Kiss
China Glaze, For Audrey
Essie, Mint Candy Apple

Mint Candy Apple and Hidden Treasure

Nothing too fancy today.. this is two coats of Essie's Mint Candy Apple with a layer of Sally Hansen's Hidden Treasure. Hidden Treasure gives pastel colors such a gorgeous opalescent look. I topped it off with Essie's Matte About You for something a little different. I'm sorry about the pics, but it's so hard to capture how pretty it looks! Such a soft velvety shimmer.. love it. I totally recommend using a matte topcoat to give glitters a flakies a fun velvety look if you get bored with the super sparkles!

Piet Mondrian inspired nails

Pretty self explanatory in the title, there. I didn't feel well today so I went for simple.. and even then, they didn't turn out as nice as I wanted. But still, not bad. I always liked the nice and abstract color block look on nails.

Polishes:
Sally Hansen, White On/Lightening/Cherry Red
Essie, Licorice
Pure Ice, French Kiss

Currently getting hammered by a blizzard.. snowdrifts are blocking everything. Crazy. Doubt anyone's going to work tomorrow!

Zoya Luna

I got my three free Zoya's today! They're beautiful. I ordered Ivanka, Adina, and Luna. I went with Luna first because it seemed to match the snowy weather.

Luna is a milky, dove grey base packed with silver glitter. This is two coats over a thin coat of silver polish. It went on very smooth, like all other Zoya's I've tried, and dries slightly matte. I topped it of with a coat of Essie's Matte About You, and I LOVE it! I think it looks amazing mattified, very.. robot-y. Like metal. I bought this because I thought it'd look great matte, and I was right! I hope it wears well.

I fight for the users.

I've always enjoyed TRON, and I finally got around to seeing TRON:Legacy tonight. What it lacked for in plot, it made up with insane graphics and quite possibly the best soundtrack EVER. Seriously, it was awesome. Screw what the critics say. I love mindless, pretty entertainment. That being said, I got inspired and threw these together pretty quick when I got home. They're pretty messy, but I need to invest in a new brush, mine's kinda beat.. anyway, I thought they were kinda neat. I went over the blue/orange with glow in the dark polish, so they glow too!

Yeah, I'm a geek. Y'all should know this by now.