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.

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! :)