Ends September 17, 2011
Ends September 9, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Great Giveaways
Since I am still a little sick and behind on posting, I'll give you a round up of a couple of giveaways from blogs I enjoy.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
First Half Moon Mani
I'm behind on blogging right now because I'm on day three of a miserable cold. Something just feels wrong about having a cold in the summer. Bleh. I'm feeling a little better today, so I'll show you some nails from earlier in the week before I was stricken.
I've wanted to try a half moon manicure for a while, but kept forgetting to pick up hole protectors to use as guides. I finally remembered, and behold.
I started with a base of OPI Bling Dynasty, which is a dark, brownish gold shimmer. This polish applied very smoothly with no running. It was mostly opaque after two coats, but if I were going to wear it on it's own, I'd want a third to make sure it was completely even. Once Bling Dynasty was dry, I placed the hole protectors over the lower portion of my nail, then applied one coat of Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme over the rest of my nail. Black Creme is exactly what is says it is. It applies smoothly, is opaque in one coat, and dries quickly. I finished with one coat of Out the Door.
I'll definitely need more practice placing the hole protectors and making this neat, but I really like the look. In this color combination, it looks sort of art deco. It's very striking in person; I think it would look great with formal wear.
After some research, I found out that in the 1920's and 30's it was considered "correct" to leave the half moon portion of the nail unpainted. At times the tip was left bare as well. I'm not really into recreating vintage looks, but I do like reinterpreting them and even subverting them. I also found it interesting to learn that there were bolder polish colors like green, silver, gold, and blue available back then, even if they weren't widely used.
I've wanted to try a half moon manicure for a while, but kept forgetting to pick up hole protectors to use as guides. I finally remembered, and behold.
I started with a base of OPI Bling Dynasty, which is a dark, brownish gold shimmer. This polish applied very smoothly with no running. It was mostly opaque after two coats, but if I were going to wear it on it's own, I'd want a third to make sure it was completely even. Once Bling Dynasty was dry, I placed the hole protectors over the lower portion of my nail, then applied one coat of Wet 'n' Wild Black Creme over the rest of my nail. Black Creme is exactly what is says it is. It applies smoothly, is opaque in one coat, and dries quickly. I finished with one coat of Out the Door.
I'll definitely need more practice placing the hole protectors and making this neat, but I really like the look. In this color combination, it looks sort of art deco. It's very striking in person; I think it would look great with formal wear.
After some research, I found out that in the 1920's and 30's it was considered "correct" to leave the half moon portion of the nail unpainted. At times the tip was left bare as well. I'm not really into recreating vintage looks, but I do like reinterpreting them and even subverting them. I also found it interesting to learn that there were bolder polish colors like green, silver, gold, and blue available back then, even if they weren't widely used.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Citrus Mani
Despite the heat (today's high was around 95), it's starting to look like fall. I'm starting to look forward to fall colors and clothes, but for the moment, I have to face the fact that summer is going to be with us a while longer. At least that means more colorful, summer nails. Not that cooler weather will hold me back from wearing bright colors when I feel like it! Today, I have a juicy, summery mani to show off.
I started this one with a base of Color Club I Always Get My Mandarin from their Wicked Sweet collection of scented polishes. It's a slightly yellow medium orange with green and blue shimmer sufficient to give it a slight duochrome effect. The formula of this polish was quite thin in both consistency and pigmentation. It tended to want to run and pool around my cuticles, and after three coats, you can still see a bit of nail line. That said, it looks good sheer, so I was really fine with that aspect. It also has a nice, light orange scent, which I could still smell even after stamping and top coat.
On top, I stamped the citrus shapes from Bundle Monster plate BM04 with Revlon Top Speed Emerald. I originally wanted to do the stamping in a darker orange, but I couldn't get any of the oranges I have to work. So, I went to my go to green stamping polish and made them limes instead.
The shimmer in this polish was very hard to photograph, and I really didn't get a good picture of it. However, this shade picture shows how it can look greener in some lights.
When I got this polish, I found it in the kids section of TJ Maxx. Apparently, they thought only kids would want scented polish. Silly TJ Maxx.
I started this one with a base of Color Club I Always Get My Mandarin from their Wicked Sweet collection of scented polishes. It's a slightly yellow medium orange with green and blue shimmer sufficient to give it a slight duochrome effect. The formula of this polish was quite thin in both consistency and pigmentation. It tended to want to run and pool around my cuticles, and after three coats, you can still see a bit of nail line. That said, it looks good sheer, so I was really fine with that aspect. It also has a nice, light orange scent, which I could still smell even after stamping and top coat.
On top, I stamped the citrus shapes from Bundle Monster plate BM04 with Revlon Top Speed Emerald. I originally wanted to do the stamping in a darker orange, but I couldn't get any of the oranges I have to work. So, I went to my go to green stamping polish and made them limes instead.
The shimmer in this polish was very hard to photograph, and I really didn't get a good picture of it. However, this shade picture shows how it can look greener in some lights.
When I got this polish, I found it in the kids section of TJ Maxx. Apparently, they thought only kids would want scented polish. Silly TJ Maxx.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
What Goes with Digit Decor?
I've run across Polyvore once or twice before, but I read about it again on Power Femme, and decided to give it a try. Like Krystal of Power Femme, I'm not sure I get the point of it, but it's fun looking at all the pretty pictures. I spent more time than is really reasonable putting this together.
For this collection, I just picked out things that appeal to me. A few of them I already own, a couple I'll probably never get, some I hope to pick up sometime, and a picture of Adele, who I'm loving a lot right now.
On a more serious note, I make an effort to support brands and retailers that carry plus sizes and avoid those that don't. I just don't like spending my money with vendors that don't acknowledge me as part of their customer base, even if it's only for accessories. All of the brands and sellers included in this collection meet my basic criteria of carrying at least portions of their clothing lines in plus sizes. That's another reason I love nail polish - one size truly fits all!
For this collection, I just picked out things that appeal to me. A few of them I already own, a couple I'll probably never get, some I hope to pick up sometime, and a picture of Adele, who I'm loving a lot right now.
On a more serious note, I make an effort to support brands and retailers that carry plus sizes and avoid those that don't. I just don't like spending my money with vendors that don't acknowledge me as part of their customer base, even if it's only for accessories. All of the brands and sellers included in this collection meet my basic criteria of carrying at least portions of their clothing lines in plus sizes. That's another reason I love nail polish - one size truly fits all!
Friday, August 19, 2011
Purple Haze Mani
For this manicure, I decided to try a new technique: gradient color. I've seen many versions of this on a lot of blogs, and I love how it looks. For some reason, I'd gotten it in my head that this was going to be really hard, but I think it turned out well, particularly for a first effort.
I started with a base of Essie Nice is Nice, which is a pale lavender creme. The texture of this formula was nearly perfect. It applied very smoothly, with no tendency to run or pool. On the other hand, the pigmentation was very light. It took three coats (thin ones) to get rid of some bare patches and be opaque.
Next, I used a small piece of makeup sponge to dab an uneven layer of OPI Planks a Lot on top of Nice is Nice. After a little experimentation, I found that it worked best to start from the tip and work my way toward the cuticle. This helped ensure that the darkest color was near the tip. I also added some additional dabs of Nice is Nice to blur the edges. Finally, I repeated the sponging process near the tips with Finger Paints Purple Palette. I finished with two coats of Out the Door to eliminate the slight texture that came from the sponge.
I have gotten more compliments on this mani than any I've done in a while. It's fairly subtle (comparatively), with just the right amount of sparkle from Purple Palette. I could use some more practice to avoid making strips instead of having the color fade smoothly, but I can definitely tell you to expect to see more of this technique.
I started with a base of Essie Nice is Nice, which is a pale lavender creme. The texture of this formula was nearly perfect. It applied very smoothly, with no tendency to run or pool. On the other hand, the pigmentation was very light. It took three coats (thin ones) to get rid of some bare patches and be opaque.
Next, I used a small piece of makeup sponge to dab an uneven layer of OPI Planks a Lot on top of Nice is Nice. After a little experimentation, I found that it worked best to start from the tip and work my way toward the cuticle. This helped ensure that the darkest color was near the tip. I also added some additional dabs of Nice is Nice to blur the edges. Finally, I repeated the sponging process near the tips with Finger Paints Purple Palette. I finished with two coats of Out the Door to eliminate the slight texture that came from the sponge.
I have gotten more compliments on this mani than any I've done in a while. It's fairly subtle (comparatively), with just the right amount of sparkle from Purple Palette. I could use some more practice to avoid making strips instead of having the color fade smoothly, but I can definitely tell you to expect to see more of this technique.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Geek Nails: Swamp Thing Edition
Ever since Sammy of The Nailasaurus did her Week of Geek featuring nail art tributes to various topics of geeky fandom, I've been brainstorming ways to do some theme nails of my own. Since I'm not at all handy at freehanding nail art, I have to think of ways to use color and stamping to reflect my favorite characters.
Today's geek nails are inspired by one of my favorite comic book characters: Swamp Thing, created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. In comics, Swamp Thing is both a human soul seeking to find a life in an inhuman body and an earth elemental with a deep connection to life of all kinds. I could wax on about the character for an entire post, but this is the wrong blog for that, so on with the nails!
I started with a base of OPI Stranger Tides, which is a murky, light olive green. The formula on this was a little tricky, as it was thin and runny. It badly wanted to pool around my cuticles (which is pretty obvious in some of these pictures). It took three coats to be opaque and even. That said, it is a great color and dried quickly despite the three coats.
On top of Stranger Tides, I used a makeup sponge to add random dabs of Revlon Hot for Chocolate to give the background some texture. Finally, I stamped a cluster of flowers from Bundle Monster plate BM15 three to four times to cover each nail using the slim brush dark green from KleanColor Nail Duo Bright. This polish comes in a two ended bottle that has a base color with a regular brush on one end and a nail art color with a thin brush on the other. The polish worked great for stamping, but the shape of the bottle was a pain, as there was no easy way to put the brush down between stamps.For my accent nail, I stamped a rose using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Ton of Bricks. It didn't really pop as much as I wanted, so I added a red rhinestone on top.
Finally, I used Essie Matte About You topcoat (over my normal Out the Door topcoat) to give my nails a matte finish, since neither swamps nor swamp monsters are well known for their glossiness. It also seemed to change the color a little, minimizing the yellow undertones.
The roses on my accent nails are a reference to one of my favorite Swamp Thing story lines. In issue 52, Swamp Thing's wife Abby has been arrested in an attempt to trap him. Using a rose that Abby has carried into the courtroom, Swamp Thing grows a new body covered in roses and puts Gotham City on notice that he's taking over until she's released. He then covers Gotham in impenetrable plant life until she is, in fact, released. This story was written by Alan Moore, who's run on Swamp Thing is the best in the series. If you want to give Swamp Thing a try, I highly recommend reading his take on the character, which ran from issue 20 through 64 and is available in trade paperback form.
Today's geek nails are inspired by one of my favorite comic book characters: Swamp Thing, created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson. In comics, Swamp Thing is both a human soul seeking to find a life in an inhuman body and an earth elemental with a deep connection to life of all kinds. I could wax on about the character for an entire post, but this is the wrong blog for that, so on with the nails!
On top of Stranger Tides, I used a makeup sponge to add random dabs of Revlon Hot for Chocolate to give the background some texture. Finally, I stamped a cluster of flowers from Bundle Monster plate BM15 three to four times to cover each nail using the slim brush dark green from KleanColor Nail Duo Bright. This polish comes in a two ended bottle that has a base color with a regular brush on one end and a nail art color with a thin brush on the other. The polish worked great for stamping, but the shape of the bottle was a pain, as there was no easy way to put the brush down between stamps.For my accent nail, I stamped a rose using Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Ton of Bricks. It didn't really pop as much as I wanted, so I added a red rhinestone on top.
Finally, I used Essie Matte About You topcoat (over my normal Out the Door topcoat) to give my nails a matte finish, since neither swamps nor swamp monsters are well known for their glossiness. It also seemed to change the color a little, minimizing the yellow undertones.
 |
| Pre-mattification |
The roses on my accent nails are a reference to one of my favorite Swamp Thing story lines. In issue 52, Swamp Thing's wife Abby has been arrested in an attempt to trap him. Using a rose that Abby has carried into the courtroom, Swamp Thing grows a new body covered in roses and puts Gotham City on notice that he's taking over until she's released. He then covers Gotham in impenetrable plant life until she is, in fact, released. This story was written by Alan Moore, who's run on Swamp Thing is the best in the series. If you want to give Swamp Thing a try, I highly recommend reading his take on the character, which ran from issue 20 through 64 and is available in trade paperback form.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Dusk Pearl
I'd originally written a whole review of this polish, then decided it wasn't really necessary. I picked up this polish at the Dollar Tree because I liked the bottle. The color doesn't appear to have a name. It says Dusk on the label, but there were several other colors with the same label. I decided to wear it now because I've been re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and she wears all these really light nail colors in seasons one and two.
Finally, here's the bottle that inspired the purchase. It was worth every bit of $1.
Finally, here's the bottle that inspired the purchase. It was worth every bit of $1.
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