Is Zit Ok?


Ok, so I KNOW these are gross, and some people are going to cringe and whatnot, but I KNEW I had to do them. :-D  I thought of the idea last night just as I was falling asleep, so that must mean it's a good one, right?!  lol  That's what I'm telling' myself.

What better use of those nail pearl things, but to make PIMPLES?!  (Granted, this is only a better use if you want zits on your nails, which obviously I do.)


I used Deborah Lippmann Naked as a base (I'm sure this is what she had in mind when she created it), and then variations of a mixture containing Deborah Lippmann Naked, Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love, and American Apparel Port. I used Born Pretty Pearl nail gems to create the 'pimples', then painted over them. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat.

Go ahead and say it: Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Fair and Square


I'm not totally sure where this design came from in my brain, but here it is. I originally set out to do a very different design, but I'll definitely need more practice before I can pull that one off, it's a tad too intricate.

Despite not knowing what inspired this design, I really like how it turned out, like extreme closeup pixellated lines of color.  Sorry this post is a bit on the short side, I spent much of my night composing a post on my other blog, Just Another Day in India.


I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in White On as a base, with:

Thumb: MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious for the darker brown, and MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious mixed with American Apparel Cotton for the lighter brown.

Index: RBL No More War for the darker green, and RBL No More War mixed with American Apparel Cotton for the lighter green.

Middle: American Apparel Peacock for the darker teal, and American Apparel Peacock mixed with American Apparel Cotton for the lighter teal.

Ring: American Apparel Port for the darker red, and American Apparel Port mixed with American Apparel Cotton for the pink.

Pinky: Finger Paints Cordur-Orange for the darker orange, and Finger Paints Cordur-Orange mixed with American Apparel Cotton for the lighter orange. 

Topped all nails off with 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat.

Which Way?


I love tessellations. (an area covered by repeated use of a single shape, without gaps or overlapping) They're awesome. They're a pain in the ass to paint on a nail though. :-D These took a couple of redos. I think they turned out pretty awesome though, if I do say so myself. (at least I am happy with how they turned out!) I used one of the China Glaze Tronica collection holos, but it wasn't nearly as holo as I had hoped.. :-/  I bought them all when they came out, but I'm just trying 'em out now, I'm a little behind.

So which arrows do you see first? The blue ones? The black ones? For me, it depends on which nail I look at.

Tonight I made the best dinner, Chicken Tacos!  I made the tortillas from scratch, made my own sour cream (it's impossible to find in India), steamed rice with fresh corn, added seasoned chicken and cheddar.   SOOOO good.


I used China Glaze High Def as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat.

Ever see the arrow in the FedEx logo?  No? Look between the E and the x.  Now you'll never be able to NOT see it. 



Naked Neon!


So this design was weird for me. I kept having to do a nail, then step away from it, then go back and redo it. I'm still not in love with the final result, and the camera definitely didn't pick up the neon of the orange, which is really disappointing, since it looks way brighter in person! The inspiration for this design actually came from my coworker Cyril's shirt. The shirt was striped, but the stripes on the button up part (would it still be called a placket if it is the entire front?) went on a diagonal, and I thought it looked cool, so I wanted to interpret it into a nail design.


I used Deborah Lippmann Naked as a base, with a neon orange Urban Outfitters polish that doesn't have a name label on my bottle. Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat. :)

It Was a Massacre


OK, now for the non-lovey dovey Valentine's manicure...

I'm a bit of a history dork, and I remember Valentine's Days past watching the St. Valentine's Day Massacre documentaries and specials on the History Channel. Pretty romantic, right?  If you're not familiar, the St. Valentine's Day massacre occurred the morning of February 14, 1929, in Chicago as part of a conflict between the Italian gang, led by Al Capone, and the Irish gang, led by Bugs Moran. The 7 victims were all Moran's men (not all gang members, but affiliated with Moran), though the believed target, Bugs Moran himself, was not harmed.

Anyway, a somewhat grisly Valentine's Day manicure. Enjoy! :)


I used Essie Barefoot & Topless as a base for the flesh colored nails, and American Apparel Hassid for the pinstriped nails. For the stripes, I used Nubar Stronghold, and for the bullet holes, I used American Apparel Port, and then American Apparel Port and Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love for the blog drips. I also used American Apparel Port and Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love for the blood splatter on the 'suit' nails. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat.


Happy Valentine's Day! :)

I've Got a Heart On


Another Valentine's Day themed manicure! It was originally planned to be all 5 nails with a masked splatter design, but it just didn't look right, so I decided to change it up a bit. I loved how the thumbnail turned out, so I kept that splatter pattern, and changed the other nails. I had an idea a while back to do heart shaped leopard spots for Valentine's day, so I did that on the index finger, a varying thickness line-based heart for the middle finger, stitched hearts over glitter for the ring finger, and the way I draw hearts when I write them on paper. :)

I have to say, this manicure just reminded me how much I truly love the Milani one-coat glitters. I hear there are new ones coming out, and I WISH WISH WISH that they were sold in India. I need to get my hands on them! :)  I hope you like these hearty nails, there is one more Valentine's Day themed design tomorrow! :)


I used:

Thumb:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On for the base, with Color Club Yum Gum, Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love, American Apparel Port, and Milani one-coat glitter in Red Sparkle splattered over it. I masked off a heart before I splattered.

Index:

Color Club Yum Gum as a base, with Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love for the hearts, outlined with American Apparel Hassid.

Middle:

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On for the base, with Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love for the lines.

Ring:

Milani one-coat glitter in Red Sparkle for the base, with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On and Color Club Yum Gum for the dotted heart lines.

Pinky:

American Apparel Port for the base, with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On for the design.

Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite topcoat.



Masala Valentine


Well, I've been in India for 2 and a half months, and honestly, it's about time I did a more Indian inspired nail design... this one actually came from the pattern of a sari that my friend Sheba wore the other day. I liked it so much, I knew that it'd be a fun Indian-themed Valentine's Day nail design! I kinda don't want to remove it, but I have a few more Valentine's nail designs in store for you in the next few days, so I'll have to!  Maybe tomorrow.... or the next day. Orrrrrr, maybe the day ofter that. We'll see.


So how are y'all doing? I think now that I finished watching all five seasons of Six Feet Under, I'll feel a little more motivated to do more designs and blog again. Truth be told though, in this country of color and patterns, I feel anything BUT inspired. I worry that I may have lost my mojo!  I kinda got burnt out with all the moving and working two jobs thing, and then took a break from blogging after I moved here. I worry that my skill level has gone down, but I suppose that's all the more reason to start kickin' these posts' asses, right?!

Anyway, on to the nails! :)


I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with American Apparel Hassid for the black and Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love for the red accent nail. Topped it all off with coats of Seche Vite top coat, as usual. :)  (can't get enough of that stuff!  I love it so much that I brought 4 bottles, as well as 2 professional size bottles, which equal 8 bottles each. :-D  I think I may have a problem.

I'll Take You to the Candy Shop...


Every once in a while, I get an idea in my head that I am SO excited to do. This design totally hit me yesterday at work, and I couldn't wait to get home to try it. I know that candy button nails have been done before, but the buttons are usually just two-dimensional dots, at least in the versions I've seen. I had the idea (from my The Real Dill pickle nails) to take those plastic half-pearl nail art gems and paint them. For this design, I painted them before I placed them on the nail—I wanted them to look like actual candy buttons, and not like they were part of the base color/design. I painted them in the blue, yellow, and pink, then used matte to give them that crunchy candy button look. :) I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of them, seems like you get more paper than sugar. I know some people love them- I mean, Katy Perry even wore a dress and shoes inspired by them! (I LOVE those shoes, I think I need to try my hand at making a pair!)

Now, I'll admit, I'm generally not one to affix things to my nails, the texture drives me so nuts that I end up picking it off. That said, I did manage to muster the willpower to make these last an entire day before I started in on them. :-D

Finally, candy buttons that don't make my teeth hurt. :-P



The gems after they had been painted.
I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On as a base, with Zoya Lolly for the pink, Lakmé Fast & Fabulous Aqua Blast (an Indian brand) for the blue, and China Glaze Happy Go Lucky for the yellow. To mattify the blue and yellow, I used Essie Matte About You.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch...