More Giveaways!

I think it may be a sign that I'm following too many polish blogs that by the time I get to the bottom of my list in Google Reader, there are already new posts on the blogs at the top! Here are two more lovely giveaways from blogs on that list.

Canadian Nail Fanatic's Birthday Giveaway

Canadian Nail Fanatic features some really beautiful nail stamping art. Her birthday giveaway has several nice prizes.

Ends October 1, 2011

Polishology's 1st Blog-o-versary Giveaway

Polishology aslo does some really great stamping nail art and has bonus super cute cat pictures!

Ends September 23, 2011

Ancient Glamour Mani

One of my earliest serious career ambitions (after I finished the phase where I was going to be a policewoman/ballerina by day and Wonder Woman by night) was to be an archeologist. In particular, I have always been fascinated by ancient Egypt. I periodically go on an archeological documentary spree, which has been made infinitely easier since Netflix has quite a few that can be watched online. This mani was inspired by my most recent spree.

I started with a base of China Glaze Sexy in the City, a bright teal shimmer that tends more toward blue than green. This is a very vibrant color on it's own, and it reminds me of a greener version of Frostbite, one of my favorite China Glaze colors. The formula was unremarkable. I had no application problems, and it was opaque in two coats. You might want three to realize it's full color potential. The only downside to this polish was that is stained my nails something awful!  Be sure to wear a base coat to keep your nails from becoming a splotchy blue horror show.

Over Sexy in the City, I added a coat of China Glaze Cracked Medallion, which is a light bronze with metallic shimmer. I was expecting it to be very thick based on my experience with the other CG crackles, but in fact, it was pretty thin. I actually had to work pretty hard to get it on as thick as I wanted. Since I decided to apply it horizontally, instead of cuticle-to-tip, this was a little challenging. In the end it didn't really matter since part of the point of crackles is being a little random and messy.

As I'd hoped, this combination put me in mind of the colors and textures of tomb paintings and inlaid jewelry. So, I'll leave you with a related reading recommendation. His Majesty Queen Hatshepsut by Dorothy Carter is a fictionalized account of the life of Hatshepsut, possibly Egypt's only female pharaoh,* written for a young adult audience. It was one of my favorite books when I first read it in the fifth grade, and I enjoyed it very much when I read it again as an adult. It's quite historically accurate, and Hatshepsut is a very interesting historical figure.

*There were a number of other women who ruled Egypt as regents or queens, but Hatshepsut is the only one who is known for sure to have claimed the status of Pharaoh and taken on all of the titles and traditions that went with it.

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.

Short 'n Chic's A Grand Giveaway

Ends September 17, 2011

Imperfectly Painted's Back to the Grind Giveaway

 

Ends September 9, 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.

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.

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.

Digit Decor Fall Wishes by sckesler featuring black pants

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!

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.