Say My Name, Say My Name! - 31 Day Challenge - Day 12

Nothing to Disclose Press Sample

So I found this book laying around the house that wasn't there before. I'm a little confused... it's called Handbook For the Recently Deceased, and I don't know where it came from. I feel a little discombobulated, too... and I don't have a reflection! What's going on?! Hold on, here's an ad I can call... Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Beetlejuice! Hit the jump for more!

Say Hello to My Little Friend - 31 Day Challenge - Day 7

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SAY HELLO TO MAH LITTLE FRENNN! Talk about a movie I never thought I'd like but totally loved. Who doesn't love that scene in Scarface when Al Pacino has the desk covered in cocaine, and blasts the door to pieces in one huge bang! Amazing. Such a classic movie. Perfect inspiration for my black & white manicure today for the 31-Day Nail Art Challenge! Hit the jump for more photos and info!

I Heard it Through the Grapevine - 31 Day Challenge - Day 6

Nothing to Disclose Press Sample

Raise your hand if you remember the California Raisins! I know I sure do! Whether a cartoon or more of a claymation sort of animation, I totally loved those guys. I even remember the little plastic figurines–from McDonald's, right? Well, to satisfy the purple theme, I had a few things on my list, but nothing felt right. Chris suggested the California Raisins, and it made me chuckle, so I went for it. It's not my favorite nail art I've done, I kinda rushed it because I got caught up watching that 'Harley & the Davidsons' mini-series tonight from 7 pm until 11 pm. Whoops. Hit the jump for a couple more pictures and to find out what I used!

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Nothing to Disclose

I love Jason Mraz. Not in the creepy, stalker, 'one day we might end up together' kinda way, though he is totally adorable. No, just the 'he's awesome', 'his music makes me happy', and 'he's so damn charismatic' kinda way. I've been a fan since my friend Jacquie introduced me to his music my junior year of college. Fast forward to 13 or 14 years later, and I'm heading to the Jason Mraz with Raining Jane concert to see him for the 5th time with my friend Ashley. I'll be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure how I would like this show because I had never really heard any of Raining Jane's stuff outside the most recent Mraz album. Man, was I blown away! They were AWESOME, and my face still hurts from smiling through the show! Those women are talented and highly entertaining, there were even times that Mona Tavakoli (the drummer) stole the show from Jason himself! Jason was fantastic as usual, his sense of humor is always a laugh because his jokes are totally cheesy in the best way. When he first came out on stage he started thanking people individually for attending...those are the kind of silly things he does. I've been to plenty of concerts, and this one ranked waaaaay up there in awesomeness! I can't remember when I enjoyed a show so much. Opening for Jason and Raining Jane was Cody Lovaas, a 16-year-old Singer/Songwriter that had a great voice, and dimples for days.

In true Melissa style, I of course had to do some Mraz nail art for the occasion. I chose to replicate the cover of his latest album, 'YES!' on my fingertips! I actually used gel polishes for everything except the nail art on these, both Gelaze by China Glaze and a gel polish I didn't know even existed...GLOW IN THE DARK from Gel II!! I was so excited when I saw it at Discount Beauty Supply here in Vegas. I was like 'Is this real life?'

A few more pictures from the show (click to enlarge):

I used:

For the base color:

CND Shellac Basecoat

CND Shellac Topcoat

Gelaze by China Glaze White on White

Gel II Rave Glow in the Dark

For the nail art:

Black: American Apparel Hassid

Yellow: American Apparel Manilla

Teal: American Apparel Peacock

Navy: American Apparel Passport Blue

Aqua: American Apparel The Valley

Brown: Revlon Brilliant Strength Dominate

Morgan Taylor Cinderella Collection Swatches & Review

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Chew on This

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If you've been a member of the internet-browsing public today (which you obviously are, since you're reading this), you've probably seen in your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and every other feed that today is May 4, otherwise known as Star Wars Day, so May the Fourth Be With You! Though I have never (yes, you read that correctly, NEVER) watched a single Star Wars movie, despite being nearly 33 years of age, and having had several attempts on tricking me out of my Star Wars virginity, I felt the need to do Star Wars nails today. I decided to do a nail art interpretation of Chewbacca, complete with 'fur', which I had to 'make' myself by trimming brown pipe cleaners. Can you believe that no one had flocking when I looked at a couple different craft stores today? The people at Joann's had no idea what I was even talking about when I asked about it! *sigh* Kids these days.

Anyway. Things I learned from this manicure:

Never blow excess fuzz off your nail over the paper plate full of pipe cleaner trimmings.
Never cough over paper plate full of pipe cleaner trimmings.
Never rub your eye with pipe cleaner trimming nails.
Do not breathe at all during this manicure, fuzz fill end up inside your nose and tickle.

I used:

Brown: Nubar Milk Chocolate Creme
Silver: Morgan Taylor Could Have Foiled Me

Basecoat: Morgan Taylor Stick With it


What do you think, Chewy enough?  Did you do a Star Wars manicure? Tell me in the comments below!

Disclosure: Products in this post were provided for review by the manufacturer. See the legal page disclosure for more information.

This Isn't Real…

Nothing to Disclose


Two words— Theo. James. Not the only reason to go see Divergent, but definitely the most aesthetically pleasing one. :-D Yum. I'm not ashamed, I totally went and saw this the first night it was in theaters, and even painted my friend Nikki's nails in the theater with the Divergent nail polish set from Sephora. The movie isn't one of award-winning cinema, but it's fairly decent for what it is. Decent enough that I went to see it a second time, though that was probably due more to the extremely handsome male lead than the plot line. I did this nail art for the second viewing of the movie, it's the bird tattoo that Tris gets on her collarbone.

I used:

Nude: Deborah Lippmann Naked
Black: American Apparel Hassid

Basecoat: Formula X basecoat
Topcoat: Seche Vite topcoat

Have you seen the Divergent movie? What did you think? And let's talk Theo James (aka Four)...I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments below! :D

All Wrapped Up

Purchased Press Sample

So good news for Dexter fans without Showtime...Season 8 is on NETFLIX! :D I'm surper stoked, and trying to pace myself so I don't devour the entire season in a single day. (I watched seasons 1-4 in a week, all while working full time, I have a problem.)

Aaaaaanyway. I actually did this nail design back in July when the show was on TV, but never posted it. I know, I suck. I based this off of a Season 8 promo image I saw, where Dexter's image is made up of blood spatter. On the remaining nails, I did blood splatters over a white background. Red is the worst color to do splatter nail art with, it's so hard to remove all the pink residue that remains from the pigments. I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out, the face isn't super obvious at first glance, which I like. :)

I used:

White: Chrome Girl Between the Sheets
Red: China Glaze Adventure Red-y
Dark Red: China Glaze Adventure Red-y mixed with American Apparel Hassid

One of more of the items used in this post were provided by the manufacturer for review, the remainder of the items used were purchased by the author.

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.

A Rebel and His Bike

Whenever I hear a certain song by The Champs, I can't help but think of one of the coolest guys from my youth. I think you ALL know who I'm talking about...a certain white-shoed, grey-suit, red bow tie wearing man who ALWAYS knew the secret word of the day.

Did you know that on this day in 1985 was the release of the Pee Wee's Big Adventure movie? How could I let that one slide by without a little nail art love? It's not perfect, the eyes ended up a tad wonky, but all in all, I totally dig the effect. I even like the suit pattern texture on the 'plain' nails!

I hope you guys like this one as much as I do! Sorry for all the pics. :) I got excited.

Who was your favorite Pee Wee's Playhouse or Pee Wee movie character?

I used:

Light Grey - Orly Mirror, Mirror
Medium Grey - Finger Paints Stunning Stilettos
Dark Grey - Nubar Stronghold
Brown - Zoya Codie
Flesh - Zoya Avery
Flesh Shading - Zoya Avery + China Glaze Mahogany Magic
Flesh Highlighting - Zoya Avery + Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Cheeks - Zoya Avery + China Glaze Life Preserver
Lips - Barielle Unraveled Rust + Zoya Avery + China Glaze Hey Sailor
Black - American Apparel Hassid
Topcoat - Seche Vite

Tequila!

I Can't Get No...

...well, you know, Satisfaction?!

Did you know that today, July 12, 2012, marks the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones' first gig? It is! They played on July 12, 1962 at the Marquee Club in London, England!

Growing up, I wasn't one of those 'normal' kids that listened to Debbie Gibson...oh wait, I was. However, I actually spent the majority of my radio-listening time on Oldies 96.1, and could sing the words to every damn song that came on. I think I knew (and still know) the songs of my mom's youth better than she does. :D (with the exception of Neil Diamond, she's got his songs down) Anyway, I remember one night that they were doing a Rolling Stones marathon, and I kept trying to call in my requests, but never got through. Poor kid, I was super sad.

One of my all-time favorite Rolling Stones songs and favorite songs in general is 'Paint it Black,' which I SWEAR is one of the most stick-in-your-head songs ever. I can merely read the song name, and it get stuck in my head for days. Damn them.

Do you have a favorite Rolling Stones song?

In honor of the 50-year anniversary, I chose to do Rolling Stones nail art today!  I painted it black (get it?!) and then topped that with black glitter for a bit o' texture (makes me want a Bit o' Honey candy bar reaaaaal bad). Instead of art on all 5 nails, I focused on two accent nails, the Rolling Stones tongue logo on my ring finger, and the best Mick Jagger caricature I could fit on a fingernail on my thumb. :)

Looks kinda messy, but from a foot away, it looks better, I swear. 

I used:

Black: American Apparel Hassid
Black Glitter: L.A. Girl Glitter Addict Uninhibited
Red: China Glaze Hey Sailor
White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Brown: Barielle Coco Bar
Skin: Zoya Avery
Facial Shading:
               Light- Zoya Gretchen
               Medium- Zoya Dea
               Dark- Barielle Coco Bar
Lip color: Zoya Avery and China Glaze Hey Sailor mixed
Eyes: American Apparel Passport Blue

I see a red door and I want it painted black.


Disclosure: Links to Zoya polishes are 'Share the Love' affiliate links, and any points earned goes straight to 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!

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.

Pop Culture Giveaway! Day 1

Ok, so I mentioned it on my Twitter and on the Facebook page, and though slightly more delayed than I'd hoped, this is the start of my celebration of having 7,000 awesome reasons why I blog!

Now, I'm not sure if it is my background as a graphic designer, or my weird notice of insignificant details, but I have a weird habit/skill of being able to recognize (and sometimes match) things from TV shows, movies, and album covers. Things like wallpaper, or pillows, or knick knacks. I've had the idea for this contest/giveaway in my head for months, just waiting for the right moment to employ it. Today is that day.

To explain:

There will be five (5) different opportunities to enter. Each photo will be something from a movie, TV show, or album cover, sometimes something obvious, sometimes something less so. I will give 2 hints to help figure out what it is from. If the first 24 hours have passed with little response, I'll give 2 additional hints.

There will be one prize per photo, you can choose between the prize determined for the day or you can choose it's equivalent in Indian cosmetics (you can choose nail polish or other cosmetics). Bear in mind, if you choose Indian cosmetics/polish, it will be over 1 month until you receive your prize. Also, this will be open to international readers, so if there is a cosmetics site in your country that you'd rather the prize be from, let me know, and I'll try to work something out if you win.

There will be a 48-hour period to enter for each photo, and only correct answers qualify. (sorry!) Entries from the Rafflecopter widget below will be the only ones accepted, the comments for these posts are closed.

OK, I think that's it. On to the first photo!

The hints:

1. This design is a wallpaper pattern on two different shows, one on CBS, the other on Showtime.

2. Both shows star a sarcastic female lead.

If you can name both shows, enter the name of one in the Rafflecopter field, and send the other to thedailynailcontest@gmail.com, but be sure to mark that you've done so on the Rafflecopter widget, or it will not count.  You have 48 hours- GO!