Nail Art Wednesday: Autumn Elegance with Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling

I never quite understood when people say that a certain shade of nail polish is something they wouldn't wear alone. Sure, I understand that there are people who need to sport nail art as an expression of their creative freedom. Or simply because it's a whole bunch of fun. What I didn't get was how a certain color can be labeled okay with nail art but not without. It wasn't until I met Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling (quite possibly one of the more ridiculous nail polish names ever) that I finally got it.

We met at a local Shoppers Drug Mart not too long ago and I was excited to see it. I knew it would be a unique color in my collection but more than that, it screamed fall to me. It brought to mind pumpkin spice lattes, huge leaf piles and pumpkin pie. I've had great experience with Essence polishes so I knew it had to come home with me. But the moment I put it on, it was just...gah. I wasn't even sure if I liked it. Now, don't get me wrong, it's a pretty color, just not on me. In an effort to salvage the mani, I took to my stamping plates and finally did what I planned to in one of my twin posts with Stephanie from last August (if not for Mr. J's interference):

Surprisingly elegant autumn-inspired nails!

What I Used:
Burnt orange with gold flakies base: Essence Gorgeous Bling Bling
Gold stamping polish: Color Club Gingerbread
MASH plate #41 (the design at the bottom right, in particular)
Loose hex gold glitter from Born Pretty Store

How I Did It:

Step 1: After applying your favorite base coat, apply an opaque layer of our base polish. For our purposes, we'll be using a burnt orange one with gold flakies. (Excuse the strange quality of the photo as this is actually a phone photo. I somehow forgot to snap a photo of this step with my trusty camera. Luckily, I had snapped one with my phone. Boo, me. I know.)

Step 2: Once the base color is dry, we'll proceed with the stamping. Take your gold polish and use that to stamp on just the pointy part of the design on to where the half-moons would generally be placed. Don't worry if they're all not exactly straight. (I've learned my lesson from last time, believe me.)

Step 3: Slap on a thin layer of top coat, preferably the non-quick dry kind. We'll use it as a glue of sorts. Next, take an orange wood stick (or toothpick, whatever you have handy) and dampen the pointy end with some water. Use it to pick up the loose glitter and place one at the very tip of the design as shown. Feel free to use more on the thumb. Finish with a layer of top coat. Enjoy!

What was once a color I wasn't even sure I liked, suddenly seemed more than palatable after the addition of the gold accents. And yes, I can't stop using my loose glitter. But look. At. That. It's such an easy way to add some finishing touches that just bring the design to a whole new level! It's very much like the cherry on top of a sundae smothered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce. Yum. The best thing I like about it is how I don't even need any fancy nail glue to stick it on; it doesn't peel off either. But when it needs to come off, you don't need to scrub much to get it out. Genius, really. And as for the design, well, can't you tell it's easily reached my top 10 favorite stamping images (dare I say top 5?) with its versatility. There's such an elegance to it, too, that creates manicures that look amazing with very little to no effort yet pack a punch. I honestly can't decide whether I prefer it this way or right side up!

 Here's a look at the whole hand.

 A close up of the thumb.

Sure, it's a little skewed but I like it all the same. The 3 glitter pieces balance it out some.

 I was itching to reposition the glitter on my middle finger but it might ruin the base so I just had to live with it. It's not so bad though, right?

 I was going to do silver stamping initially, but I'm glad I went with gold instead.

 I like it best when the glitter catches the light just right, like on the ring and pinky.

 One last look!

Happy Wednesday! If your week isn't quite the best, cheer up! We're halfway through; YOU've made it halfway through! I'll try to get back on the horse with the Indulge without the Splurge posts tomorrow. I've just noticed that I haven't really kept up to date with the sales myself and that's just not acceptable. Anyway, did you notice all of the pretty changing leaves? I like it best when they're still on the tree, holding on for as long as they can. Bare trees just aren't all that happy a sight. Except for when they have this pretty dusting of snow clinging to them, but that's another thing altogether. Back to the nails: how have you been celebrating fall on your nails? Do you tend to match the seasons when it comes to color choices? Do you think I have a loose glitter problem? (Hammie [unsurprisingly] approves of it, by the way.)