Dress to Impress


Hi, I'm Melissa, I'm 31 (in a week), and I'm a Glee-a-holic.

I'm not ashamed, I love Glee. :-P While watching the season finale the other day, I noticed a dress that Dianna Agron's character, Quinn, was wearing, and decided it'd be a fun nail design. I searched the internet, trying to find an image of the dress, and turned up nothing...until I found a website called Fashion of Glee. OMG, you mean I can fulfill my dreams of having Emma Pillsbury's wardrobe?! (which appears to be almost solely Kate Spade, and I'm totally ok with that)  Anyway, I digress. Because of this website, not only did I have my photo of the dress, I now know where to get it!!!  (I can't afford it, but that's a different story! lol)




I used American Apparel Cotton as a base, with....

Blue: China Glaze For Audrey
Purple: Zoya Kieko
Green: American Apparel MacArthur Park and American Apparel California Trooper mixed
Yellow: American Apparel Manila
Topcoat: 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat

Which Glee character's style is your favorite? 



Sweet Talkin'


Who doesn't like candy? I'll admit, while I'm a mostly salty/savory kinda gal, I love to indulge in my fair share of sweets. In fact, I have an entire desk drawer at work devoted to sweets, and I have at each job I've held for 7 or 8 years. :) What can I say, I like variety, one kind of sugar won't do the job– I need SEVERAL. So tonight, when I was sitting at my nail desk stumped after 3 failed nail designs for the evening, I finally resorted to...the list. The list is a list (really?!) of nail designs that I want to do at some point, and I tend to avoid using it unless I'm totally uninspired or stumped for a design idea. Otherwise, I tend to do whatever pops into my head when I sit down (Hence the 3 earlier failed designs). Sometimes this method works fantastically; other times, not so much. So in any event, I knew that I had been neglecting the blog for too long after the contest and that I wanted to get a new design posted today. Speaking of the contest, I forgot to mention the winner on the blog (not to worry, they've been contacted and got their prize already), so I'll mention that AND the answer in another (quickie) post, not that you guys needed the answer- almost everyone got it right!

On with the show (all that candy reference actually had a point), I decided to do nails inspired by the rainbow-colored sweetness that we all know and love, the rainbow lollipop. You know– the coiled rope of twisted, colored goodness that sits atop a stick. It's funny, I never intended to leave the white at the tips, but I ended up liking it as I was doing it, so I kept it. :) The amusing thing is, I never noticed that I inadvertently made a funky french manicure of sorts until I looked at the photos and the white blasted me in my rods and cones. :)



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

Orange: Zoya Arizona
Blue: China Glaze Flyin' High
Black: American Apparel Hassid (duh) :-P

Topped it all off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.

Do you guys like how I listed the polishes used better this way or my normal way? I want to make it easier for you to see what I used!

This manicure makes me want to go see a dentist.

Disclaimer: Zoya links in this post are Share the Love links, and all points accrued from these links will apply to giveaways, and are never for my personal use. By signing up and purchasing through these links, it means that I'm able to do more giveaways!

Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 5!


Ok, so this is the last design of the Pop Culture Giveaway here on The Daily Nail, but I've had so much fun doing these pop culture-inspired designs that I've decided to make it a series on the blog! Might be once a week or once every two, but I hope you guys like 'em!

I'm super-stoked that so many of you guessed Day 4's inspiration- there were almost NO wrong answers in the entries!! For the final day of this giveaway, I used a movie that I loved so much that I saw it 4 times...in the theater. The imagery and characters were so kickass in this movie, I loved every second of it!

The hints:

1. Living is easy with eyes closed.

2. One of the lead roles was played by a young man who was also great with numbers.

and an extra clue...

3. There's a nail polish with the same name

You have 35 hours- GO! 

Remember, only Rafflecopter answers count!



Because some people apparently hate 'the claw' (TheSwatchaholic, I'm lookin' at you!)

This was my favorite strawberry. :-D

a Rafflecopter giveaway


For those interested in the nails, I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On as a base, with Zoya Carmen and Zoya Arizona mixed (and used separately) for the base color of the strawberries, then I shaded them with American Apparel Lipstick and American Apparel Port. For the highlights, I used CND Bicycle Yellow and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On. For the green, I used Nubar Forest. Topped everything off with 2 coats of Seche Vite top coat.


Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 4 Results!


Rafflecopter has spoken, and today's winner is Dorea!


Stay tuned for Day 5, it's the final day!!!

For those curious what inspired Day 4's nail art, here's your answer!

It was O'Bannion's paddle in the movie Dazed and Confused!  (The splattered white paint on the last pic was a nod to when they dumped all the white paint on him for being a jerk)
 

Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 4!


Welcome to Day 4 of the Pop Culture Giveaway! Awesome! Day 3 of the giveaway was even MORE awesome than Day 2! You guys are great!

The movie that inspired today's nail art is a classic... love it.

The hints:

1. AIR RAID!

2. I love them redheads, man.

and an extra clue...

3. School's out for summer

You have 48 hours- GO! 

The Rafflecopter widget is after the jump! :)






Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 3 Results!


Well, Rafflecopter chose a winner, and it's Alexandria B.!
Stay tuned for Day 4!! 


For those curious what inspired Day 3's nail art, here's your answer!  

The Magic Carpet from Aladdin!!


Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 3!


Welcome to Day 3 of the Pop Culture Giveaway! Awesome! Day 2 of the giveaway was awesome!  So glad that so many of you were able to correctly identify the inspiration for the nail art! Today's nail art was kind of a little B$#&H, I seriously redid it 3 or 4 times, and it never came out as well as I'd hoped. Damn me for picking cartoons that have outlines. lol (bonus hint! lol)

The hints:

1. It's a heck of a way to see the world.

2. 10,000 years will give you such a crick in the neck!

and an extra clue...

3. I wish I had one of the characters from this movie to help with this nail design!

You have 46 hours- GO! 

The Rafflecopter widget is after the jump! :)


Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 2 Results!



Well, Rafflecopter chose a winner, and it's Tyra N!

Stay tuned for Day 3!! 


For those curious what inspired Day 2's nail art, here's your answer!  

The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo!


Pop Culture Giveaway! Day 2


Welcome to Day 2 of the Pop Culture Giveaway! There were some comments that the last one was a bit hard, and there weren't as many entries as I'd hoped - out of over 7,000 of you, only about 30 entered! To make it even easier to have a chance to win, I added the option of getting one entry by tweeting the phrase shown in the Rafflecopter widget below and/or by pinning your favorite design on Pinterest... 

The hints:

1. It's just a guy in a mask.

2. Man, I wish I had a snack!

and an extra clue...

3. Teamwork makes the dream work.

You have 48 hours- GO! (You actually have 56 hours because Rafflecopter won't let me start/end at a time other than 12 am EST)

The Rafflecopter widget is after the jump! :)




Pop Culture Giveaway - Day 1 Results!


Well, Rafflecopter chose a winner, and it's Linda N!

Stay tuned for Day 2!! (I've gotta paint it! lol)


For those curious what shows the wallpaper is from, here's your answer:

2 Broke Girls (in the diner)

Photo courtesy of CBS.com

Shameless (In V and Kevin's kitchen)
Photo courtesy of Showtime.