It's All on the Table


Two syllables. DEX-TER. Yep. Last season's cliffhanger was absolutely torture, and the 2 minute sneak peek at the season premiere that was released a month or so ago did very little to alleviate the OMG feeling. The funny thing to me about Deb finding him over his prey is that in the books, she is aware of his hobby, and even solicits his insight into the mind of possible murderers on her cases. Nevertheless, the books and show are VERY different, and this is one of those rare instances where the show is loads better than the books.

I actually had it in my mind that the Dexter premiere was next Sunday, but Judy (of Beautyjudy.com) posted her Dexter nails on her Instagram, and I had a panic moment. After all, it was 1:30 am when I saw it (it's 2:45 now), and my Sunday is now Monday, because India is in the future. ;D This manicure was a bit of a rush, but I'm actually fairly proud of how my Dexter turned out.

Sidenote: I had to mix two colors to get an acceptable BLOOD color. When is someone going to come out with a true blood red? This means that it won't have pink undertones to it!

So what do you think? Would Dexter be proud?



I used:

White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Flesh: Zoya Avery
Flesh Shading: Zoya Flowie, Zoya Codie
Flesh Highlighting: Zoya Avery + Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Burgundy: CND Bloodline
Blood: American Apparel Downtown LA + Barielle Unravelled Rust
Basecoat: Cult Nails Get it On
Topcoat: Cult Nails Wicked Fast + Seche Vite

OK, you guys have fun watching Dexter, I'm goin' to bed.


Bring that Bling!


Every once in a while, I feel like doing something that doesn't involve a nail art brush and several colors, and today/tonight was one of those times. In a twist of perfect fate, the bronze nail art jewels that Maria of Cult Nails sent in that fantabulous care package a while back inspired me to do a black and bronze gem-encrusted manicure. Figuring that all 10 nails might be a tad over the top, I decided to paint my fingertips with black polish, and do ring finger and thumb accent nails. Just enough bling to satisfy my need for sparkle at the end of two very mentally taxing days. I know I'm not generally one to wear glued on nail accessories/gems/whatnot, but this idea got in my head and I just couldn't shake it, so I went for it. I had tiny black Swarovski crystals left over from my Vegas showgirl Halloween costume a few years ago, and luckily I kept them- who knew that instead of ending up on my boobs, they'd end up on my nails?

The black I used for this manicure was also a Cult Nails product- Nevermore. I know I rave about American Apparel Hassid, and while I'll still keep that one around for my nail art, this Cult Nails polish will replace it for full nail coverage. :D This manicure was ONE. COAT, and it dried glossy as all hell. Now I have to figure out what to do with my 10 remaining bottles of Hassid. :-D More nail art?

I should mention that the bronze gems are far brighter in person, I just could NOT get a good picture of them!

Bring that Bling!

Bring that Bling! (2)

Bring that Bling! (3)

Bring that Bling! (4)

I used:

Black: Cult Nails Nevermore
Multi-sized Bronze rhinestones from Cult Nails
Jet 7s Swarovski crystals

Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat


Quoth the raven, bling some more!


Tick...Tick...Tick...Tick...BOOM!


Happy Monday, and welcome to my NEW weekly feature—Moonicure Monday!

Every Monday, I am going to do a half-moon manicure, but with my spin on it. This could mean funky colors, shapes, treatments–anything goes! I have so many ideas already! I have done half-moon manicures in the past (obviously), but I was never really stoked on them until I changed my nail shape. My epiphany? Half-moon manicures are awesome when mixed with oval nails! (My apologies if you disagree, you MAAAAY want to skip Mondays for the unforeseeable future.)

This inaugural Moonicure Monday design takes the half-moon shape, but adds a little twist... a little spark of something extra, if you will. I hope you (to borrow a phrase from the 90's? 00s?) think they're da bomb. (dot com?)




I used:

Dark Grey: Nubar Stronghold
Black: American Apparel Hassid
Light Grey: Nubar Marble Tower
Red: China Glaze Hey Sailor
Orange: CND Electric Orange
Yellow: Cult Nails Feel Me Up
Orange Sparkle: China Glaze Riveting
Orange crystal in the center of each spark
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

Bright Meets Blah


Sometimes I just start a manicure with a color scheme in mind, and let things develop as I paint. Sure, manicures like this generally take way more time than even some of the more complicated ones (surprising, right?), but I like to do them every so often because it's fun to see what happens. I hope you guys don't mind! :D I actually really like how this turned out- and I think I might do a full manicure of just mix-and-match half moons.

Chris and I went to Mahabalipuram this weekend to grab some gifts for him to take home when he visits, and on the way, we stopped to talk to his surfing buddies in Kovallam. I'm pretty excited, when my sister comes, we're both going to take surfing lessons! (I'm also slightly terrified because neither of us can swim) How cool is it that we're going to surf for the first time in the Indian Ocean?! I'm pretty stoked, its going to be an amazing experience! I'm also pretty excited for all the other things that we have been planning to do when she gets here- we're going to visit the Taj Mahal in Agra, stay at an elephant preserve in Jaipur, and tons of other stuff we haven't decided yet! I'm excited to finally see the country I've been living in for almost the past year. I'm totally going to pick up one of those curly toed pairs of leather shoes (and probably a million other things!).

Anyway, the nails. Yes, the nails. I have an array of half-moons, stripes, and dottiness in a bright-meets-blah color scheme for you today!




I used:

Dark Grey: Nubar Stronghold
Light Grey: Nubar Marble Tower
Yellow: CND Bicycle Yellow
Turquoise: Zoya Robyn
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

Have I Crossed the Line? Tutorial!


You asked for it!

I'm overwhelmed by the amount of you that wanted a tutorial for this design (in the best way!), and knew I had to let it jump queue to the top of the list!

With no further ado...



So how do you plan to cross the line?


What's YOUR Gilty Pleasure?


Who doesn't love a way to make a manicure look a little more rich in a little amount of time? Love the look of nail art, but want something a little easier? Sounds like Zoya has you covered with their new Gilty Pleasures velvet gift box set, which features Zoya Gilty, a limited-edition 18K Real Gold Flake topcoat, Zoya Raven, a great jet black, and Zoya Purity, a lovely white. 

Zoya Gilty Pleasures Velvet Box set

Due to the scarcity and extreme demand of the gold used in the topcoat, they're asking everyone to pre-order the trio in advance. This means that after the pre-order is sold out, there will be no more available.  If you're a polish hoarder collector like I am, you definitely won't want to miss out on this!

The PRE-ORDER is open today HERE!

Gilty Pleasures Trio promo

Official ship date for the Gilty Pleasures Trio is October 15, 2012, and you will not be charged until it actually ships.

Zoya Gilty


ZOYA IS THE NEW COLOR OF FASHION!

Ultra long-wearing, glossy nail lacquers by Zoya are BIG5FREE - all formulas are completely free of harmful industrial chemicals such as toluene, camphor, formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) that are known to cause cancer and birth defects.

Find over 300 other Zoya shades at www.zoya.com. Each and every name has a color as unique as the women who inspired it.

$30.00 US. Shipping October 15, 2012.
Order Zoya Gilty Pleasure at  Zoya.com today!


Have I Crossed the Line?


So this design MAAAAAAAY look a little familiar. Just a little. It may have been one-fifth of yesterday's design. Ok, it was. It totally was. I seriously loved how the thumb turned out, and thought it'd look totally rad as a full manicure in that style. The main difference this time around it that I didn't stick to red, I decided to totally taste the rainbow- but only when I eat with my hands.

Someone mentioned they'd like a tutorial for the thumb (or in this case, the full manicure). Anyone else interested? Let me know, and I'll try to work it in to the tutorial schedule. :) I have some fun ones that I'm planning to film soon (if the ideas work out other than in my brain). Anyway, I won't babble on too much more, here's the nail arty-ness.

Have I Crossed the Line - Left Hand

Have I Crossed the Line - Fingers

Have I Crossed the Line - Thumb closeup

I used:


Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

Eyes hurt yet?


Come and Meet This Spectacular Coterie


Ladies and Gentleman, May I present to you....


 Coterie is the latest and greatest in beauty sites for deal-savvy beauty enthusiasts like you and me! (Let's be honest, who doesn't like nail polish AND a good deal? A polish that's a good deal lasts longer, looks brighter, and applies easier! Right? lol) Coterie will offer a variety of great cosmetics with exclusive introductory offers sure to make you drool. Members will be able to create a 'Virtual Vanity' where you can customize your profile with skin type, concerns, skintone, and beauty type, ensuring you won't miss out on products you love, as well as purchase and replenish your products easily! Coterie won't just be offering great cosmetics at great prices, no siree! They'll be showing us behind-the-scenes beauty looks, tricks, and advice from the best of the best in hair, makeup, skin, and nails!

I'm pretty damn excited about this site- it seems like it'll be like Hautelook, but with ONLY BEAUTY!! *swoon*  I won't have to root through rugs and children's clothes to get to deals on my beloved cosmetics now.... :D

UPDATE: The early sign-up offer has since expired. However, if you still wish to sign up for this website, you can do so through my affiliate site (I get credit to spend on the site) at The Daily Nail link for Coterie, or if you'd rather not use my affiliate link, you're more than welcome to sign up at www.coterie.com :).   Enjoy, and if you use my link, thank you! :-D

I'm a little late on this, but I'm inviting YOU to get EARLY access!! If you use this offer before NOON EST today (9/17), you'll get $25 off the preview offer price of butter LONDON or any other future offer sold on Coterie.  (Rumor has it, if you like Butter, you're going to L-O-V-E what's comin' up soon!)

Sign up! (All the cool kids are doing it!)

GO. GO NOW. 

Yes, I did throw an Aladdin reference into the post title. :D

Earning My Stripes


Totally lazy weekend. LA-ZY! We watched 2/3 of the Back to the Future trilogy, I read a book, and I swatched the Deceptive collection. (have to re-swatch, my photos were crap) While in the backyard with the hound today, Chris and I caught a peek of a lizard in our rubber tree. Super cool lookin' dude, even saw him poop. In fact, it barely missed me. lol Exciting stuff, right? It must've been wildlife day in our yard, because there were also a couple rad looking red and black millipedes. Photos of both Izzy the Lizard and Milly Pede at the end of the post. :)

Homer has been a bit of a pill tonight, someone nearby keeps shooting off fireworks. Each time one explodes, he jumps, then runs from my lap to Chris' (or vice versa). It's like an exploding game of musical chairs. He's a nut. He hates thunder too. Poor thing can't climb far enough into my lap, and he trembles so much! I feel bad for the little man. :-P However, his scaredy-cat-ness has caused this post to take about 4 times the time it normally does. He keeps sitting on the trackpad.

Anyway. Let's talk nails.

Prepare for Totally 80s. At least that's what it reminds me of. I could totally see one of Robert Palmer's girls rockin' it, you know? Don't get me wrong- Totally 80s is totally cool by me. :D I'm completely in love with striping tape masking these days! So much easier!




I used:

Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

Creature Feature:




Under My Umbrella-ella-ella


Imagine lounging comfortably on your couch innocently watching reruns of Season 1 of Grey's Anatomy, when all of the sudden—the cable goes out!? CRASH! BOOM! CRACK! FLASH! What? Where did that come from?! Five minutes ago there wasn't a cloud in the sky! Yeah well, welcome to monsoon season in India. I swear to god there is a switch somewhere 'upstairs' that someone flicks to change the weather here. It goes from pleasant weather to booming thunder that you can feel in your guts and lightning that looks like strobe lights–shall we call it strobe lightning?!

I know, I know. Another weather-related nail design, but Reader Rita said I HAD to do it since I mentioned it, and who am I to be a tease?! This design makes me smile when I see it, and I'm glad that I did it!

What's the weather look like where you live?




I used:

White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Red: China Glaze Hey Sailor
Red Shadow: CND Bloodline
Red Highlight: China Glaze Hey Sailor + Zoya Arizona
Yellow: American Apparel Manila
Yellow Shadow: Zoya Arizona
Yellow Highlight: American Apparel Manila + Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Blue: MAC Breezy
Blue Shadow: Cult Nails Time Traveler
Blue Highlight: American Apparel American Denim + Cult Nails Time Traveler
Green: CND Green Scene
Green Shadow: CND Green Scene + Cult Nails Time Traveler
Green Highlight: CND Green Scene + Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Dark Brown: China Glaze Mahogany Magic
Tan: Essie Brooch the Subject + American Apparel Manila
Light Blue: American Apparel American Denim
Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

Who else finds it ironic that I took a picture of these nails on a sunny day? (I swear it was a crazy storm last night!)

Sun and Moons


Well it seems to be Weather Week here at TDN, not sure how that happened, but I keep thinking of weather related nail art ideas! I have one more in my head, I'm debating whether to post it, or hold on to the idea for a bit. What do you guys think? Wait? Don't wait? Eh, maybe I'll see if the weather event that inspired it actually happens. Sound like a deal? Well OK then!

Today's nail art is (obviously) suns. Get this though- they're also, what for it—MOONS. Get it? Nerdtastical.




I used:

Blue: American Apparel American Denim
Yellow: American Apparel Manila
Light Orange: Zoya Arizona
Medium Orange: Jesse's Girl Beauty Guru

Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat

It's Electrifyin'!


This weekend we had a MONSTER thunderstorm. I'm talkin' purple lightning that lights up dark rooms and thunderclaps that make you jump they're so loud. Oddly enough though, I managed to sleep through the majority of it, showcasing a talent of mine. (I can sleep pretty much anywhere, blaring sound, burning lights, name it---> except squeaking squirrel, and really, that just wakes me up, I'm sure I could fall asleep to it.) The storm was SO bad, the house next door to ours suffered to MAJOR tree casualties, one in the front yard and one in the back. The tree in the front actually fell across the road, blocking traffic through the neighborhood and there were guys with handsaws cutting the thing apart. In the back yard, the guy was using a MACHETE to cut down a tree not much smaller than the one in the pictures at the end of the post. Poor little Homer was trembling all night (or so Chris tells me, I was asleep- I'd be a shitty mom lol)

A while back, I saw a photo Fleury Rose Nails  posted on tumblr of some lightning nails. After banging myself on the head for not thinking of it first, I had to add it to my 'to do' list. I figured what better time than now, with it being scary lightning and thunder monsoon season here in India. :-P



I used:

Dark Blue: Cult Nails Time Traveler
Dark Purple: Cult Nails Vicious
Medium Purple: China Glaze Grape Pop
Light Purple: Jesse's Girl Spring Break
Even Lighter Purple :) : American Apparel Esprit
Pinky Purple: American Apparel Neon Violet
Medium Blue: China Glaze First Mate
Light Blue: Zoya Robyn
White: acrylic paint

Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat


The tree pics!




I've Got the Whole Package!


I think. I hope?! Take one look at this picture and you'll understand what I mean. :D


This is how every package that has been sent from the US here to India has arrived. I'm 90% sure that on the boat ride over (plane?), the employees use them as trampolines. I can't find any other explanation of how a sturdy box could end up in THIS condition. Sure, it DID travel about 10,000 miles, so I guess I won't bitch too much about it, because, like many things in this world: It's what's on the inside that counts.

So before I get to the box, let me explain the backstory. My pencil nails happened to make it into the September issue of Glamour magazine. That's right, the Fashion issue with Mrs. Gorgeous Soccer Player Beckham herself on the cover. Exciting stuff, right? Well, I don't really have access to Glamour here in India, so the fabulous Maria (of Cult Nails fame) offered to send me a copy! Little did I know that accompanying that magazine would be all THIS:



Seriously?! This is probably one of the most thoughtful, awesome, and PERFECT 'care packages' I've ever received! It's a whole lot of what I've been missing here in India–Maria must be psychic! There are Reese's peanut butter cups, which I've been craving like mad, but for some reason chocolate/peanut butter candy combinations haven't caught on here. There was all the makings for my beloved Starbucks Caramel Macchiatos (caramel!!): caramel sauce, Starbucks Espresso Roast, and Starbucks Vanilla Syrup- WITH THE PUMP!!!! Coco definitely chose wisely when she had Maria add Twinkies and Hostess Powdered donuts (which, due to the above picture are more like donut powder–still going to eat 'em :-P). Like Mary Poppin's carpetbag, each time I put my hand in, I pulled out something new: hairties and a set of three super cute stacking zig-zag rings, LA Fresh hand-sanitizing and nail polish removing wipes, Burt's Bee's tinted lip balm, nail gems, studs and metal leaf, and I haven't even begun to talk about the nail polish! OH, the polish! As soon as I got home from work tonight, I was polishing a nail wheel as fast as my paws would let me! :D (and let me tell you, I think I might be in love with them)  (pictured from top left: Enticing, Evil Queen, Princess, Vicious, Deal With It, Feel Me Up, Time Traveler, I Got Distracted, Let Me Fly, Nevermore, Wicked Fast topcoat X2, Get it On basecoat, Alter Ego, Two Timer, Deception, Doppelgänger, Charlatan)

Material items aside, the thought that Maria and Coco put into this package left me feeling truly touched, overwhelmed (in a good way), and over-the-top giddy. 'Thanks!" hardly begins to describe how grateful I am, but I offer it anyway. Thank you so much, Maria and Coco, you ladies made this nail blogger's day. (Ask my co-workers <--I was positively giddy this afternoon!)

A couple bonus donut bag pix :D lol




Talkin' About Blah, Blah, Blah


Ever have one of those days where you're super tired, and no ideas come to mind? Today was one of those days for me, but I turned it around– I found inspiration in NOT being inspired!

Here in India there are these little bastards called Indian Palm Squirrels. They squeak– incessantly. They also have little to no concept of time, because they squeak at night, during the day, and my personal favorite: at 6:00 in the morning. Now imagine that you have a dog that just LOVES his squeaky toy (I have one of those too-one who, much like the squirrel, also has little to no concept of time), and chooses to squeak the damn thing non-stop for hours on end. That's how it feels to endure the Indian Palm Squirrels, except there is no puppy-like cuteness to counteract the obnoxiousness of the squeaking. Never in my life have I ever wanted a slingshot more– I get precious little sleep, and if it's brutally stolen from me, I get mean. Damn squirrels.

Anyway, I digress. Today's nail art is literally kind of BLAH. (several kinds of blah, to be precise) I actually really like how this turned out, and I hope you do too!!




I used:

Light Grey: Nubar Marble Tower
Medium Grey: FingerPaints Stunning Stilettos
Dark Grey: Nubar Stronghold
Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat


Feeling Boxed In?


How was your Labor Day weekend? Mine was only 2 days, but I managed to get a lot done. I swatched a collection of polishes, watched all eight Harry Potter movies, crocheted about 2/3 of a sweater, and started a new book. Unfortunately, that stuff took up most of my weekend, so there has (obviously) been no post since Friday! But don't fret, my pets– there's a post today!! :D

I love optical illusions, tessellations, and all things nerd-arty. This simple optical illusion/tessellation was inspired by the fabric of a dress I saw on Pinterest. (Pinterest is the devil, but a great source of inspiration- nail art or otherwise!)

My apologies for the less-than-stellar photos, something is acting weird on my camera, and my in-house camera guru (Chris) can't look at it until after work. If I can, I'll post better pictures later. :)





I used:

Tan: Essie Brooch the Subject
Coral: Lotus Herbals Orange Alert (Indian brand)
Grey: Nubar Stronghold

Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat
Basecoat: Seche Vite basecoat