Instagram It.

So there is this wonderful, time-eating app that many of us have on our phones and post photos of things we find amusing and photo-worthy in our lives. This app is, of course, Instagram. I have fallen into it's clutches, and like quicksand, the more I try to leave, the further I get sucked in.


What's popular right now?!  


Woah, what language is that? 


Hey, that's pretty funny.


Nails!


Hmmm, interesting choice of filter. 


Ummmm, didn't really need to see that. 


Anyway, I digress... what I'm trying to say is that I'm now on Instagram... you can find me @thedailynail, and I expect all of you to follow me. Seriously, this isn't me joking. Does it look like I'm joking? OK, maybe I am, but if you think I'm cool, you should totally follow me on there. Oh, who am I trying to kid, of course you think I'm cool...right? Right?!  :-P (If not, just pretend. I'm fragile.)

I post stuff like sneak peeks of my nails, my pet monkey Homer (he's actually a rat terrier, not a monkey, but I say 'When in India...'), weird things I see, things that amuse me, and other odds and ends. No boob pics, promise. I'll do my best to keep it interesting, scout's honor. (I was a Brownie, so i can say that)

Anyway, to the point of this post and what you actually came here for... the nails. To commemorate my Instagram-ness, I did Instagram nails!!

I used:

Tan: American Apparel California Trooper
Tan Shading: American Apparel California Trooper mixed with Barielle Coco Bar
Brown: Barielle Coco Bar
Brown Shading: MAC Rich, Dark, Delicious
Brown Highlight: Deborah Lippmann Naked
Black: American Apparel Hassid
Teal: American Apparel Peacock
Pink: American Apparel Lipstick mixed with American Apparel Coney Island
Lens Highlight: American Apparel American Denim
Red: China Glaze Hey Sailor
Yellow: American Apparel Manila
Green: CND Green Scene
Blue: Ultra Pro Blue Blaze
Topcoat: 2 coats Seche Vite top coat

I totally posted a sneak peek of this design on my Instagram... it was like Leo Dicaprio was next to me in some crazy Inception shit. 

Go FOURTH and be Happy.

It's the fourth. Yeah, of July. Can you believe it? Seriously, I'm in shock. This trip around the sun has flown by like none other and here we are again, celebrating our day of independence! Well...you are. People might look at me funny if I was out on my lawn (we don't have a lawn) grilling burgers, don't ya think? Plus I had to work, because it's not Independence Day here! :) (I have to wait for August 15th for theirs!) Chris said he was going to 'get drunk and blow shit up', but apparently his version of that is a cool glass of water and an episode of Masterchef Australia while he surfs the interwebs on his iPad. :-D What can I say, we're an exciting pair, right?

I've been sick lately...it all started with a dirty little germ disseminator (otherwise known as a child) sitting next to me coughing without covering his gaping yaw for the entire flight from Brussels to Chennai. That was 2 weeks, 3 sick days, several days of sleeping, about 5,000,000 movies, a doctor's visit, 3 prescriptions, and one stern instruction that I wasn't allowed to eat ANY fruits (apples are allowed), or have any fruit juice. Odd for a doctor to say, right?  I'm pretty sure this is the perfect way to get me to eat my fruits and veggies though, because it's all I can think about now. I guess that ole 'want what you can't have' saying might hold some truth. Anyway...

As my way to 'celebrate' being American, I did what any other sane nail-art loving blogger would do...my nails. Now, every year it gets harder and harder to do my nails, because there is only so many ways you can configure red, white and blue, right? Well, In the past, I've actually steered clear of the good ole RW&B (I'm such a rebel), and I've done the Declaration of Independence, the Statue of Liberty (not one of my finest), and the culinary treat that is a tube of meat that we all know and love called a Hot Dog...  Well, this year I was inspired by a picture that my friend Roxie posted on her Instagram of her getting her Fourth of July buntings ready to hang. My goal was to try to capture the shadows of the draped/gathered/folded fabric, and still maintain that vibrant trio of colors that are synonymous with liberty. 

I used: 

White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On!

Red: China Glaze Hey Sailor

Blue: China Glaze First Mate

Red Shading: American Apparel Lipstick and American Apparel Lipstick and American Apparel Passport Blue mixed

Blue Shading: American Apparel Passport Blue 

White Shading: American Apparel American Denim and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On mixed.

How are you celebrating your Fourth of July?

Skull Appreciation Day!

Did you know that June 4 is Skull Appreciation Day?! In 2011, to commemorate the beginning of the 5th year of the Skull-A-Day website, which was created by Noah Scalin in 2007, the editors decided to proclaim June 4 as international Skull Appreciation Day! As a lover of skulls (hey, I adore mine, it protects my brain), I decided to celebrate Skull Appreciation Day by painting my nails! (Is there any other way?)

I painted the Skull Appreciation Day LOVE logo on my thumb, and then broke it down so each letter was on a separate nail (thank God it was only 4 letters long, or I'd need to be polydactyl!).

I used

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On - base
Nicole by OPI Redy to Runaway Love
Seche Vite topcoat

How are YOU celebrating?!

16 (+15 more) Candles

So yesterday was my birthday, and it was (despite turning a year older- 31, eek!!) awesome. Its the first time in a long time that I really enjoyed and celebrated the day. No, it wasn't a day punctuated by presents (other than those that I gifted myself, haha), but that wasn't what I wanted my birthday to be. I got to spend my day with my sister...after she patiently waited for me to get a mani/pedi! (she's not the mani/pedi type) Speaking of which, I got it done utilizing a Groupon that I'd purchased on a whim, but the lady that did it, Melanie, at The Getaway Salon & Spa in Grand Rapids, MI, did a faboo job. The Groupon was for a Shellac mani and regular spa pedicure, so I opted for red toes, and clear Shellac for my mani so I could paint over it, and I seriously can't stop looking at my hands. I NEVER EVER have plain, shiny, natural nails, but she did such a great job on my poor cuticles and whatnot that my hands and nails look so pretty and shiny. She even managed to get a lot of the staining off!

After the mani/pedi, we went downtown Grand Rapids to enjoy Festival of the Arts (my sister's first time!) and I ate the most amazing veal, mushroom, and onion sandwich on the most scrumptious butter-grilled bun from the Bosnia Center's booth. (Please, no lectures on veal. I know, I know, but it is one of the cruel foods that I have a complete and utter weakness for), I also ate a Walking Taco (a strange, yet delicious combination of taco meat, cheese, and lettuce added to an individual size Fritos bag), some of my sister's Souvlaki from the Greek booth, some Pavlova, and a cinnamon elephant ear. After all that eating, we went craft shopping (a nerdy favorite of mine), and then later that evening, I enjoyed the company of some great friends at a local beer bar, HopCat! I drank a raspberry lambic (a must if you've never had it), and an odd honey and sage beer called Sage Against the Machine. Mind you, I was driving, and I'm a bit of a lightweight to begin with, so I stopped there...along with 3 glasses of water, an order of Crack Fries (amazingly seasoned–and aptly named–french fries), and Killer Mac & Cheese (the menu description states that 'resistance is futile', and they aren't lying!). It was a super awesome day, and now to top off my birthday weekend, Stacey and I are taking a roadtrip to IKEA and Trader Joes!!  YAY! (I double-heart both places!!)

So anyway, these are my birthday nails, which were done before I got my manicure!  I used two of my favorite types of polishes- neons and holographic!! (and of course, Hassid!!) Since I am 31 this year, I thought it'd be fun to paint all kinds of different 31s on my nails over the crazy brightness of the neons. For the holographic, I used a topcoat that I made with Seche Vite and SpectraFlair, which was Krystal from Polish Galore's suggestion/idea, and a killer one at that! I can make ANY nail polish holographic now!! HELL-TO-THE-YES!!!

I used:

China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy
China Glaze Sun Worshipper
Urban Outfitters Neon Orange
American Apparel Hassid
SpectraFlair topcoat made with Seche Vite topcoat.

Some of the day's food/drinks!! :-D

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:

Red: Zoya Carmen

Orange: Zoya Arizona

Yellow: CND Bicycle Yellow

Green: CND Green Scene

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.