A few manis.

Here are a few different polishes that I have worn since my last post.

This is OPI's Y'all Come Back Ya Hear? layered with a coat of China Glaze's White Cap. After I came back from the Lake District (which was amazing, by the way), I was off to Scotland and wanted something that would last the week. I showed you the OPI way back in March of 2011. I've also shown White Cap over black here. Forgive the weird pointer finger-less posing. My nail ripped halfway down (ugh!) so now it is sad and short and gross looking. 

Here is Miss Sporty's 010 (Beetle Wings? I hate that they don't label the bottles with their names!). My pictures are kind of awful, but hopefully you can see that this is a gold-green duochrome. I layered it over a brown polish (MUA Mud Pie), but I am curious to see how this looks over other colors. I'm pretty into this, but unfortunately I painted this on a Thursday night after my internship, and woke up Friday with a horrendous migraine that lasted all weekend, so I didn't get to enjoy the manicure. Nonetheless, this applied well. I can't remember how many coats I did over the base color, but no more than two.

Lastly I have Miss Sporty's 343 (Coral Gum?), which is what's on my nails right now. I think I used two coats. It applied well, it's nice and shiny, and it's a Spring-y coral. What's not to like? The lady ringing my up at Asda liked the color, too!

Now I am back into the full swing off term three, and to be honest I just want it to be summer! Shortly after the term ends, my parents are visiting for a couple weeks, and then my sister comes for a large chunk of August. I can't wait to see my family; I miss them so much! I've really been missing home lately, and hopefully their visits will help my make it through another year.

I hope those of you in the UK are having a good bank holiday. I really should get going on some school work, since I have the extra day! Boo.

OPI I Eat Mainely Lobster

Of all the polishes in OPI's Touring America collection, this is probably the one that I normally would have been attracted to the least. With all the darker colors and funky colors, it seems unlikely that I would have chosen something like I Eat Mainely Lobster. I guess I was in a coral mood, because this is the only one I picked up.

I Eat Mainely Lobster is a pink-leaning coral that freaked my camera out. It's not nearly as... hot pink as these pictures would lead you to believe. It also has pink and gold shimmer, which somehow showed up kind of blue in my photographs? It's not blue. It's also not very noticeable on the nail, which is a bummer. I hate half-assed shimmer. What's the point of adding shimmer to a polish that barely shows on the nail? Surely brands test the polish before sending it to production! I think I used two coats for this.

Despite the fact that this polish is not very "me" and could use some more shimmer, I still really love it. It's definitely a warm weather appropriate color.

OPI DS Passion

I'm gettin' festive up in here. Here's a very pink, very cutesy, very sparkly Valentine's Day manicure for ya, featuring DS Passion by OPI.

DS Passion is a soft holographic pink. It looks like a scattered holo effect, but it is actually linear (not as intense as say, Gosh's Holographic though). The light captures the holographic bits pretty well actually, so you don't have to be under bright lights to notice it. While soft pink isn't necessarily "my thing," it is very pretty. And it applied very easily. Too quick coats, and it was good to go. It is on the thinner side, but still very easy to manage. Overall, a pretty color I am glad to have in my collection. I probably won't reach for it as often as my vamps, but there's no saving me when it comes to darker polishes.

I hope you are all having a great Valentine's Day, whether you have a partner or not. I'm spending the day hanging out with myself, which is actually quite nice.

Oh, and I wanted to mention that if you are near a Target, you may want to head in there soon, as it seems like they are making room for Spring collections, and clearance-ing a ton of stuff out.

Here's what I purchased:
- A makeup brush. Seems to be of pretty decent quality, but I'm not picky.
- Purple Rain by Rimmel. A deep, vampy plum. Not exactly unique in my collection, but I couldn't pass it up due to its name. What kind of Minnesotan would I be if I ignored a polish that's named after a Prince song/movie? Plus it was the last one on the shelf!
- Canal Street by NYC. Scarlet red with gold microshimmer.
- West Village by NYC. Deep, shimmery purple.
- Smoky Canvas by Revlon. A grey that looks like it leans a little brown. Very pretty. My mom really liked it, too, and for a moment I thought she was going to try and pick one up for herself (I can't remember the last time my mom wore nail polish).
- Siren by Revlon. Bright orange. I was enamored by the vintage-y design of their name on the cap (which you can't really see in the photo, but trust me it's cute).
- Some gel liner by Sonia Kashuk. Applies smoothly.
- Brow kit. Not on clearance but I needed more brow wax, and apparently it's next to impossible to purchase brow wax on its own.

I spend less than $20 on all of this! I love Target!

OPI Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow

After my bright, glittery manicure, I needed to get back to something gloomy. So tonight I tried out OPI's Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow, originally part of the 2009 Espana collection.

Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow is a dark dark dark green, with a fun surprise: shimmer! It reminds me of the forest late at night and algae. It's definitely a color that's right up my alley, and I wish I had used it sooner (I've owned it about a year).

Application-wise, it applied wonderfully. The first coat was pretty transparent, and it needed three to even out all the bald spots. But the coats applied incredibly smoothly, and was really easy to control.

Overall, Here Today... Aragon Tomorrow is a complete winner. Fantastic color and fantastic application.

OPI Lincoln Park After Dark Matte

This was a polish I wore a while ago, in between posts for the 31 Day Challenge. I needed something quick before I headed out the door, and what's faster than a matte?

As is Lincoln Park After Dark wasn't chic enough on its own, OPI had to go and up the wow factor by making it matte. I'm in love!

As we all know, Lincoln Park After Dark is a deep eggplant. And by that I mean it's black to everyone except you. Because you know that it's actually a deep eggplant and feel some satisfaction knowing that secret. I can't remember for sure, but I think I used two coats for this. It applied like every other matte: kinda uneven.

These pictures are probably a couple months old, and remind me of how I really need to start taking better care of my cuticles again. It's just so hard during the winter! And I live in MN, so I really do experience winter. Have I told you how much I hate winter? I really, really hate winter. Especially now that the holidays are over. Now winter serves no purpose except to make me miserable.

I wish I had the normal version of LPAD and a matte topcoat so I could compare the difference. Surely that exists? To Google I go.

Inspired by a Pattern

I am on Day 26 of The Challenge, which is a manicure inspired by a pattern. I just Googled "vintage pattern" to find a pattern to base this manicure on. Here's the pattern I started with:

The one in the upper right. Minus the birds because I am lazy.

I started with three coats of Pixel's Naughty Bit Nice. This is a really pretty soft cornflower blue, and it's clearly a jelly. I adore this on its own. It's a unique color and finish, yet not too attention grabbing. Perfect for when you want a palette cleanser, but don't want to do something nude. I think this would be great for creating your own dupe of Lippmann's Glitter in the Air, and a great polish for a jelly sandwich.

Next I used a dotting tool to apply OPI's I Eat Mainly Lobster, which is a shimmery pink-leaning coral. Not my usual type of color, but I was drawn to it for some reason. For the leaves, I used Open Seas by Sinful Colors. I knew I wouldn't be able to make circles for the petals, so I went with simple dots. I also would have liked to stick with the orange color palette, but didn't have a color that matched it quite right. And I wasn't even about to attempt the birds! But I still think it turned out cute. It's a simple way to create something adorable.

For those of you in the US, Happy Thanksgiving! I don't eat meat, so I won't be partaking in turkey, but I will be eating the shit out of some side dishes!

Halloween Splatter Mani & Nail Mail

I'm on Day 20 of The Challenge, which means I'm at the end of the patterns section. Today is supposed to be a water marble manicure, but I just can not get into water marbling. So, I figured something similar, yet better looking, would be a splatter mani! And since Halloween is right around the corner, I figured I'd choose Halloween-inspired colors.

The orange I used was Atomic by Nails Inc. The green is OPI's Who the Shrek Are You? And the black is Black Lace Creme by NYC. People aren't kidding when they say splatter manicures are incredibly messy. I used a good amount of tape around my nails, and I still had a hell of a time trying to clean up. (Naturally, my clean up job looks 10 times worse in the photographs than it does in real life.) Don't skimp on the tape, people!

When I had my first hand done, I didn't really like it. I nearly decided to just photograph the one hand, remove it, and do something else. Which is not abnormal for most nail bloggers, but I am not a swatcher. But once I removed the tape, I ended up liking it. The more I got used to blowing nail polish out of a straw, the better they looked. Plus, I think the green oozing down my ring finger nail is just too cute. Overall, I'd call this a success. I'm thinking this will be the start of a few Halloween manis in a row, so I may put the challenge on hold until Halloween is over. We'll see.

The second part of my entry will feature lots of photographs of nail polish bottles! Recently I've acquired a ton of new nail polish. Most in a swap with Nicole at Top to Toe, and some I've purchased. Lots of pictures ahead!

I bought these three at Walgreens recently: Revlon Royal Cloak, Fantasy Makers (by Wet N Wild) Night Glow, & a sparkly green by Walgreens that has no name. On LiveJournal I purchased Borghese Menta & Sally Hansen Mystic Lilac (!). And I bought a couple A England's in their recent sale: Lady of the Lake & Tristam.

This is the start of what Nicole sent. Model's Own Cherry Pie, Blooboo, Peacock Green, Coral Reef, Purple Grey, & Juicy Jules.

Marks & Spencer Khaki, Emerald, Dusted Apricot, Gold, Bright Aqua, & Jewel.

Famous by Sue Moxley Dark Chocolate, Golden Plum, Purple Passion & Scarlet Sparkle.

Boots No 7 Salsa & Foxglove. Ruby & Millie Purple & Red.

Collection 2000 BMX Racer, Starlet, All That Jazz, Jitterbug.

Andrea Fulerton Naomi, 17 Fury, Missguided Splash Misstaken, & Accessorize Aztec.

Bath roses, a couple lotions, Soap & Glory shower gel and scrub, and some super cute jewelry!

Nicole completely blew my away with this swap! She went above and beyond, and really sent some amazing stuff! Lots of the brands I haven't tried before, so I'm going to have a blast trying all these new polishes. I really am so lucky to have a great swap partner and a great friend! If you'd like to see what I sent her - which looks measly and pathetic in comparison - take a peak at this post.

What do you guys think of the splatter mani? How jealous are you of all my new goodies?! Hope your week is going well!

"Delicate" Nails

First, I have some good news. Well, good for me anyway. I won the 400 follower giveaway over at The Phalanges Files! How awesome! I have never won a giveaway before, and I am beyond excited. I can't wait to try out all the goodies.

I'm halfway through the 31 Day Challenge! Number 15 is delicate print. Uhhh what does that even mean?! I had a tough time with this one. I spent a lot of time pouring over blogs and searching the nail art tag on Tumblr. Eventually I stumbled across this photo, and thought, Well I guess that kinda looks delicate?

First I applied a couple coats of Peony by Love & Beauty. Under the fluorescent lights of Forever 21, this looked like a shimmery champagne, which I thought was pretty chic. As it turns out, it leans way more pink than I anticipated. I still like it though, so I guess it turned out okay. Application was a pain. It's kinda thick, and hard to control. It also bubbled a lot. The second photo is soft, I know, but I think it shows the shimmery quality of it nicely.

I used OPI's Thanks So Muchness! as the secondary color for this. Mad as a Hatter and Absolutely Alice grabbed all the attention from the Alice collection (rightfully so), but I think the reds of the collection are gorgeous! This is a really lovely shimmery red, that is a one coat-er! I used hole reinforcements to create the curve for the larger half moon look. The polka dots are Mayo by Man Glaze, and the gold studs were sent to me from Nicole at Top to Toe.

This look didn't turn out perfectly, but I'm pretty pleased with it. One thing I enjoy about this challenge is that I force myself to do things I normally wouldn't. I would have never created a look like this, without the prompt of the challenge. It's not a very "me" look, but it is nice to break away from routine and challenge myself. I'm not sure that I'd ever look at a mani like this and think, Oh look how delicate that looks! But at least it's cute?

I do want to apologize for posting photos with my cuticles in such horrid condition! This is the worst they've looked in a while. I promise I just globbed moisturizer on, so hopefully they'll be looking better shortly.

Vintage Floral Nails

I'm on day 14 of The Challenge, which is floral print. I've always thought the vintage flower print that has become popular is so cute, and that is what I tried today! I based my nails on this YouTube tutorial.

For the base color, I used OPI's Fiercely Fiona. As we all know, this is from the Shrek collection. This is a yellow that leans more to the green side. Maybe it would be more apparent compared to a true yellow, but on me, this just looks like a normal yellow. Which is sorta disappointing, because it looks so unique when the green is more visible. As you can imagine, application was a pain in the ass. There was no way I was gonna get away with anything less than three coats for this pastel yellow.

These are the three polishes I used for the flowers: Zoya Shawn, Revlon Peachy, and Omega Labs Nail Art Striper Brush #175 (sent to my by Nail de Royale).

It took me a couple nails to get the hang of the striper brush, but I think they turned out pretty decent for my first try. It's hard to not dissect the different parts of creating this look so up close - ah, the drawbacks of having a nail blog - so squint and back away from your monitors, people! Don't they look like cute little roses now? They reminded me of this dress I own:

Nothin' quite like a dorky PhotoBooth image to really get the point across.

I do want to mention that I used my Point & Shoot for this, not my usual DSLR (I forgot to charge the batteries after I used it last). I like the macro setting on the P&S, but the quality is clearly inferior. Plus, it kinda distorts the shape of my fingers and makes them look... well, like someone else's fingers. And it made Peachy look more orange than it is. I'll be back to the DSLR next post, promise.

While painting these vintage-y nails last night, I watched The Notebook for the first time. How embarrassing. I have been avoiding it all these years. My sister really loves it, and if she loves it, there's a 98% chance I'm gonna hate it. I mean, I love my sister, but we have very different tastes. She reads Nicholas Sparks (hence her love for the movie) and Jodi Picoult, and I read Kurt Vonnegut and Sylvia Plath. I remember talking to her once about Kurt Cobain, and she was all, WHO?! And I'm like, you know, dude from Nirvana, married Courtney, killed himself? She stares at my blankly. I mean, this girl doesn't even know who Nirvana is! How has she gone this long and never heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit"!?!?!? I'm digressing. The point is, throughout the movie I was doing two things. One, I frequently shouted, "THIS IS SO UNREALISTIC!" And the second thing I did was cry. A lot. Like, not just some tears rolling down the face, like full on ugly cry sobbing. I gave myself a headache. I can't believe it sucked me in like that! I mean, I still think it was pretty stupid, but I cried throughout like half of the movie. Ugh! In my defense, I only watched it because I will watch Ryan Gosling do anything. A five hour movie of him making macaroni and cheese in slow motion? Count me in! Have you guys seen The Notebook? What's your take? Did you cry as much as I did?