Martian Molecules


Ever had one of those days where you start with one idea, and end up with something else? This is definitely one of those days. I started off with an ombre ombre! (Meaning that I did an ombre on each nail, and an ombre across the hand!) Now don't get me wrong, I totally liked how it looked, but I felt like it was missing something...so out came the teal. I'm not sure where this design came from in the depths of my brain, but it looks like some sort of alien DNA or space molecule structures or something. (Hence the post name) :-P

I'll be honest, I did that snazzy technique for doing sponge gradients, but this one was a bugger. The green wasn't quite opaque enough over the cream, so I had to go over and over and over and over it. (and over it again one more time) I DO like this idea of an ombre ombre though. :-D (plus it's fun to say)


I used:

Cream: American Apparel Cotton
Dark Green: American Apparel Hunter
Medium Green: Zoya Shawn
Light Green: Zoya Shawn mixed with American Apparel Cotton
Teal: American Apparel Peacock
Topcoat: Seche Vite

Richly Indian


So yeah, not sure if you've heard...but I currently live in India. (you know, that country you call for tech support?) I know that I haven't done a lot of India-inspired nail art, so I decided to do today's design for you! I'll admit, I first did this design on my friend Ruby, the most adorable girl that used to work in my office (I'm so sad she doesn't anymore). She's 24 years old, but looks about 14, and unbelievably to me has 2 kids!! She would always joke with me and say things were supaaah. (super). She's honestly one of my favorite people in India, she cracks me up! (and I'm not the only one- everyone likes Ruby!). She was going to her 'native' (this is how people here refer to their hometown) for her birthday, and wanted me to paint her nails, so I did! This was the design that I did for her, and I liked it so much, I decided to do it on myself.


I used:

Brown: OPI Suzi Likes Cowboys
Gold: China Glaze 2030
Coral/Orange: Lotus Herbals Orange Alert
Topcoat: Seche Vite

Jailhouse Rock!


I think I could do an entire year of black and white nail art and never get bored. The possibilities are really endless. After yesterday's manicure, I still had all the grey polishes as well as the white and black polishes on my nail table, whom I affectionately call Dave. (OK, IKEA named him Dave, but I didn't change it, because who wants a nail table with an identity crisis?!) I guess I probably could've pulled out some colors and done something different, but this idea popped into my head as I was doing some things around the house, and I couldn't seem to shake it!

I decided to try my hand (again) at a tape manicure (I generally suck at them!). Well, I discovered why I always had such a hard time with them before- SHITTY TAPE!  When I was in the US, I grabbed a roll of real Scotch tape, and it seriously worked beautifully.... and then I messed it up by splattering it. (On purpose, I swear!!)  I'm actually pretty pleased with this manicure- yeah, the lines aren't perfectly straight and even, but I think that along with the splatter, it works.


I used:

White: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On
Black: American Apparel Hassid
Topcoat: Seche Vite

Something I learned tonight that I want to pass on to you: never mix box Mac n Cheese, hot sauce, and ketchup... it's a recipe for disaster (and heartburn).

50 Shades of...


...grey?  more like 9. (At least in this manicure)

No, I haven't joined the 50 Shades of Grey craze, and am still undecided whether I want to bother. I hear good stuff and bad stuff, but more people that hate the series than people that love the series. I know that eventually, like all the other 'crazes', I'll end up reading them out of sheer curiosity. (Twilight, I'm looking at you) I'm so weak. WEAK. Why can't there be a craze over historic biographies? or maybe books full of bread recipes? I'd be on top of that shit. (I'd be a total book hipster and love that shiz before it went 'mainstream', ya know?)

Anyway, I digress. This manicure is dotting tool-riffic. As in, besides the base coat and cleaning up my cuticles, it's the only tool I used. I wanted to do a dot gradient manicure, and I originally planned to do it in color, but decided to scale it down... grayscale, that is. I figured after my Jagger-icure, I should do something a bit easier. Surprisingly, though technically 'easier', this took far more time than ole Mick. Funny how that works out, right?

What do you think- do you like seeing simpler manicures on here from time to time? Sometimes I feel 'weird' doing that, because I've set a precedent of doing wacky, weird, and detailed stuff for so long. Let me know, because I'm curious what you guys think!


I used (from lightest to darkest):

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On!
butter LONDON Billy No Mates
Zoya Dove
Orly Mirror, Mirror
FingerPaints Stunning Stilettos
Barielle U Concrete Me
American Apparel Factory Grey
Nubar Stronghold
American Apparel Hassid

Seche Vite topcoat


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!

NAIL ART REWIND — Bacon is Great!


Now that I'm closing in on finishing my 3rd year doing this blog, I've taken some time to look back on designs that made this blog what it is. Unfortunately, there were designs that:

• I loved, but took with a crappy camera, so I have a picture that probably would've been clearer if I took it with my iPhone.
• I loved the concept for, but the execution sucked.
• Were ok to begin with, but I think I can make them better now.
• My cuticles/nails were in HORRIBLE, embarrassing, disgusting shape.

I've decided to do a new feature where I choose designs from the past every once in a while- maybe every 2-3 weeks or so? Maybe each month? and redo them the way I think they should be done NOW!

For the first of this series, I of course chose Bacon is Great! Seriously, did I have any other option for the inaugural design?!

So here you go, the design that put this blog on the proverbial 'map' — Bacon!


I used:

White: American Apparel Cotton
Red: A mix of-
               China Glaze Hey Sailor
               American Apparel Manila
               American Apparel Pinto
               Barielle Coco Bar
Pink: A mix of-
               American Apparel California Trooper
               China Glaze Hey Sailor
               American Apparel Manila
Topcoat: Seche Vite

Feelin' Blue-berry?



Growing up, there was an abundance of things to do during the summer break from school. One of of them was NOT saying 'I'm bored!' Those two words strung together were simply not allowed in my house. What did this mean? You went outside. Yes, I grew up before video game consoles were in every household (we DID have a Nintendo and B/W Gameboys as we grew older and a super awesome Texas Instruments game/keyboard thingy though), we didn't even *GASP* have cable TV. We had 4 channels: ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS, and if it wasn't on one of those channels, you didn't need to watch it. You relied on your brain and creativity to keep yourself busy. As long as the sun was out, my sister and I managed to find something outdoors to do...luckily, we grew up in the middle of a forest, so there was an abundance of things to do and discover. We shot BB guns, rode 4-wheelers (we weren't supposed to), rode bikes, built forts, hiked through the woods, played in the yard, played with the dogs, even went fishing in our neighbor's pond. Luckily, we weren't girls that were concerned with getting downright filthy. I rarely wore shoes, and could run barefoot on gravel. Anyway, one of my favvvvvorite things to do in the summers growing up was pick all the wild berries growing around the house, we had wild strawberries (which are teeny tiny), raspberries (my favorite), and wild blueberries. I loved walking through the woods, pulling berries off the bushes and popping them in my mouth, now THAT was summer. (That and begging our parents to take us for ice cream at the local ice cream parlor, Zanner's, which was in one of the oldest buildings in town.)

Because I'm feeling nostalgic and admittedly, missing home, I decided to do blueberry nail art! I used the new polish that I got as part of a Klout Perk from Essie - Bikini So Teeny, a periwinkle blue with a barely noticeable hint of silver sparkle. You may also notice that my nails are a very different shape than usual, too. :) I was bored I guess, I've had the same (or similar) nail shape for as long as I can remember - at least 10 years or more. It was time for a change, right?! I'm still undecided whether I like this new shape or not, hoping it grows on me or grows OUT fast! :)  What do you think of the new shape?
 

I used:

Light Blue: Essie Bikini So Teeny
Dark Blurple: American Apparel Mount Royal
Blurple Highlight: American Apparel Cameo Blue
Blurple Shading: American Apparel Passport Blue


Now, I usually use the padded files from CND, they're my absolute favorite. However, I recently became a part of the Tweezerman Ambassador program, and in the kit they sent were 3 different types of files (amongst some other pretty fantastic stuff, but that will come later), so I thought I'd give one of them a go. I selected the Sansational nail file, a Coarse/Medium grit file that made seriously quick work of my nail reshaping. Another great thing about this file is that is can be washed and disinfected, which is always a plus. This file is a bit too gritty for regular filing, but for reshaping, it was absolute perfection.




Disclosure: Some products in this post were provided as a Perk through Klout Perks, or were provided for consideration by the manufacturer. My opinion is my own.