Nail Art Wednesday: Mummy Nails for Halloween

With Halloween fast approaching, I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon with some Halloween-themed nail art. While brainstorming, I remembered this faux copper patina tutorial on one of my favorite geek girl blogs, Epbot, that I've had bookmarked for the longest time. I haven't had the chance to try it out yet on an actual piece (I had seen a pretty seahorse at Winners but I got vetoed by Mr. J, boo), but I wondered if I could employ the same aging trick with acrylic paint on my nails. I already knew I wanted to do mummy nails using the slim line design since I first attempted it in one of my past twin posts with the always awesome Marta as I figured the texture would be perfect to mimic wrapped linen. It seemed like a good idea in my head so I knew I had to try it. And guess what? It came out even better than I could've ever hoped:

Beware the mummy (nails)!!!

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!

Nail Art Wednesday: Playing with Born Pretty Store Silver Holographic Rhombus Loose Glitter

Some time ago, I won a giveaway at Chit Chat Nails and managed to snag some of these fantastic loose glitters from the Born Pretty Store. I grabbed a couple of the usual hexagon shaped ones (and you've seen the gold one in action in my effervescent nails here) but just couldn't resist the pull of these holographic gold and silver rhombus shaped glitter. They came in a set of one each and were surprisingly cheaper than the hexagonal ones. I can't pass up a great deal either so they made their way into my checkout basket. Now, I've been waiting for the temperatures to drop a bit so I can finally wear my darker shades. When it finally did, I happily pulled out OPI DS Extravagance (I luckily have two bottles, both gifts from two of favorite nail buddies, Marisa from Polish Obsession, and Mary from Swatch and Learn) and knew exactly what would be perfect to jazz it up some:

Not that it needed more bling.

Nail Art Wednesday: A China Glaze On Safari Take On Neo-Noir Nails from the Phillip Lim 3.1 F/W'12 Runway

Whilst browsing the latest nail trends for F/W'12, I chanced upon a how-to of these fantastic looking nails from the Phillip Lim 3.1 show on one of my favorite beauty blogs, Beauty Editor. Essie Weingarten (the celebrity manicurist behind the brand of the same name, Essie) is credited with creating this look. She says of this design, “This graphic nail design is dramatic yet incredibly wearable. Women of any age can wear this look to make a super-modern statement that is still totally chic.”

(Image Credits)

The inspiration: neo-noir, comic-inspired nails.

I can't agree more! But instead of the black, grey and white that was originally used, I wanted to put my own spin on things and challenge myself by using only colors from the China Glaze On Safari Native set. So here's my take on these modern statement nails:

My surprisingly stylish (if you don't mind me saying) version.

Nail Art Wednesday: Silly Octopus Nails

Sometimes, in the middle of a palette cleanse (typically for food you use 'palate' but I prefer to use 'palette' to denote its association with color), I get bored. I'll most likely be sporting a neutral toned creme but after a day or two, I'm itching for embellishment. So I end up reaching for my nail art supplies and play around a bit with ideas that I haven't quite done yet, mostly to see how they translate on the nail. Sometimes, they turn out great and I end up wearing the mani throughout the weekend. Other times, well, let's just say that's between me and my nail polish remover. But there are instances when it's so bad that it's good, if you get what I mean. Here's a great example of that:

To this day I can't help but giggle a little when I see photos of this design.

Nail Art Wednesday: Mountain Dew, Effervescence and Loose Glitter

Nail art is usually a spontaneous event for me. I rarely think too hard about it because I have a bad knack for over-thinking to the point of paralysis. That holds especially true for when I'm coming up with my own take on various designs. I prefer the easiest methodology with the best results. The bad thing about this is that it's a very hit or miss sort of process. But the good thing is that in the event of a miss, it's perfectly okay. It's not like you spent the better part of the day doing it anyway, so a do over is perfectly acceptable. But sometimes, ambivalence kicks in and I can't quite make out how exactly I feel about a certain design. Today's featured nail art fits that to a T. Mr. J speculates that this particular design might have come about through subliminal messages I might have gotten from The Big Bang Theory marathon we did over the long weekend and the one-too-many cappuccinos I had (against my better judgement). Either way, I was eager to play with the loose glitter I got from the Born Pretty Store that I had won from a contest over at Chit Chat Nails (thanks again, Marta!!). Here's the result of all those factors combined:

A certain pop + frothy bubbles = this.

Nail Art Wednedsay: Falling Leaves Nails

September is right around the corner (how'd that happen?!). Holiday collections are being revealed as early as late August. There's a definite chill in the air at night. But I'm still in denial. I'm not quite ready for summer to end yet! I haven't even had the chance to sport more of my newly acquired neons! But there's not much sense fighting the changing seasons. I was just out the other day running errands when I realized that some of the trees are already changing colors. Simply put, it's as inevitable as taxes. But please don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like autumn (because I do). Rather, I'm averse to the fact that I'm running out of time to sport my brights. Yes, I'm one of those people who tend to wear certain colors only during certain seasons. I suppose you can say that this is my version of matchy-matchy. Now, fall isn't official till September 22, but like those holiday collections trickling in, let's jump the gun with these falling leaves nails:

I'm thinking that sporting these puts me somewhere between denial and acceptance.

Nail Art Wednesday: Inverse Subtle Tone on Tone Stamping

I wasn't planning on posting about this particular design, but I turned out liking it so much that the thought of changing it tonight is loathsome to me right now. So I thought, "what better way to keep a record of it than to write about it?" Makes sense, right? To give you a little insight on how this particular design came about, you'll have to understand that I was rushing all weekend. I already had a mani on that I'd worn for 3-4 days prior that was definitely showing some wear and tear. I probably could've gotten away with one more day out of it (seeing as it was a croc effect one and the chips looked like it was part of the design) but I was meeting a nail stamping master and I wasn't about to go with grubby nails. I've already been thinking about doing this metallic swirls design but I later incorporated the inverse stamping, thinking it would make the design look more contrived than something I rushed through. (Quick tip: I've found that adding a layer of fast dry top coat helps the base colors dry faster and lets you remove the stamped on design if you messed up without ruining the base.) The design evolved as I went through the motions and I'm really proud of how the final product ended up:

Dainty and subtle, but interesting enough without being boring.

Nail Art Wednesday: Dried Flowers in Nail Art

Lately, a trend seems to be emerging: placing just about everything on your nails. (Have you seen the parody Kelly did on Vampy Varnish? Such a riot! *grins*) After fimo slices, water decals, stickers, glitter, gems, gold leaf, feathers, microbeads, flocking powder and studs (did I forget anything?), here's another one I've been wanting to try: dried flowers. Now, we're not talking about taking some of that potpourri you have handy and sticking those on to your nails! You can get these small dried flowers at your favorite nail art retailer. I got a set from Sally Beauty last month when they had it on sale, buy one, get one free. I've been wanting to bust it out since. So after all the elaborate stamping I've done recently, I wanted to tone it back down and go back to the basics. At least, the basics that have made me fall in love with nail polish to begin with: blue and flakies. Using two pretties still (shockingly!) sitting in my untried bin, I wanted to stick to my usual minimalist aesthetic and came up with this:

And wore it for a good four straight days!

Twin Post with Stephanie of Sincerely Stephanie Nails using MASH plate #49: Night Sea Nails

And so we arrive at the last of this series. It's been a good run and both Stephanie and I have come up with some pretty snazzy designs (if you don't mind me saying so!) that we hope you've enjoyed. Hammie and I sure hope this won't be the last collaboration we'll do with the lovely Stephanie! If you've just tuned in, you can see my first foray using saran wrap here, my take on simple yet elegant here, and my wee ninja nails here. I'd like to end on a great note so we're doing something that I thought was just simply meant to be. When I saw this stylized wave pattern on plate #49, I immediately thought of a combination of polishes that I knew would be killer. Luckily, this was one of those instances where instinct proved oh, so right:

Brooding and deep, yet sparkly. Very sparkly.

Twin Post with Stephanie of Sincerely Stephanie Nails using MASH plate #47: Ninja (Assassin) Nails

After having fun with Stephanie's picks, it's my turn! There were a whole bunch of full nail images that caught my eye but this particular one was a no-brainer. See, a few weekends ago (or maybe it was a late week night back when Mr. J & I were both battling insomnia thanks to copious amounts of Tims Espresso Iced Capp), we caught Ninja Assassin while flipping channels and said, "why not?". I probably saw it before then as the plot seemed eerily familiar. Anyway, it had the same awesome visuals and over the top action sequences that the Wachowskis are known for. (You know, those guys who did The Matrix.) Not to mention Kill Bill-esque blood fountains. The plot isn't quite the best out there, though I doubt whoever actually saw this in the theatre cared about the plot. So when I saw those flying shuriken while I was flipping through the plates, I knew I had a keeper.

Haiiiiii yaaaahh!!!

Twin Post with Stephanie of Sincerely Stephanie Nails using MASH plate #41

The moment Stephanie told me she picked plate #41 I immediately gravitated towards a specific image that I knew I wanted to use. In my head, it looked like a good way to do the half moon mani but with a stamping twist to it. See, my attempts at the half moon manicure often end up being stuff of epic failery. I can never seem to get the edges as clean and crisp as I want them. I was about to do my stamping when Mr. J peered over my shoulder and suggested I use the image right side up instead. I'm always open to suggestion so I tried to do as he said. Was I right to listen to him? Here's how it turned out:

Reminds me of those henna designs!

Contest Entry to Marta's Dots of Fun Contest!

Just a quick post to show you what I came up with for the current contest going on over at Chit Chat Nails. Marta came up with a really fun concept. See, there are two ways to win: First is by coming up with a stunning nail art design with dots as the main feature (and you know how I love my dots so it was a no-brainer that I jump on this opportunity to join in on the fun). Second, is by posing with the silliest/funniest/oddest item you can think of. This is the first time I've joined any nail art contest so I'm not holding my breath on that first category. But that second category, well, I'm hoping I have some sort of fighting chance. At least Hammie seems to think so. This is what I came up with:

That's as silliest/funniest/oddest as I could get!

I mean, how preposterous/crazy would you have to be to pose with a bunch of these unmentionables? *grin*

If you agree with Hammie, I'll be forever grateful if you can help out a gal and cast your votes in the comments here. There are a whole bunch of other kick-@$$ nail art going on over there so even if you don't vote for me (awww), I'd totally understand. ;) Hope your Tuesday is treating you well!

EDIT 08/13/12: How awesome are you guys?!? I won the second prize for Best Prop! Woohoo! Thank you so very much for the votes! (Yes, you. You are awesome. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I could cover you in kisses right now, but I doubt Mr. J would approve.) THANK YOU!!! :D

Twin Post with Stephanie of Sincerely Stephanie Nails using MASH plate #39

I have a nail stamping enabler whose name starts with M and rhymes with Bertha. She showcases these amazing designs that create this (unnecessary?) overwhelming need to own the plates from which said designs come from. I now have 4 sets of stamping plates (and counting) thanks to her superb enabling skills (either that, or I'm really just a sucker for awesome stamping plates; I prefer to think the former, though). One of those sets I acquired along with a new nail buddy, Stephanie from Sincerely Stephanie Nails. See, this nail stamping enabler of mine hooked both of us up so that we could do a joint order to save on shipping. In the process, we've become good pals and have decided to do a series of twin posts featuring nail art designs using our new MASH nail plates set. Each post will have a nail art design using a single plate that one of us has chosen. We went with two each so you're in for a treat of four (!) nail designs from each of us over the next few days.

Today's featured plate, #39 is Stephanie's pick. It has four full nail patterns (a fan-like one, a plaid one, one with roses shaped like hearts and one that was scalloped) and an image of a rearing unicorn. (I forgot to take a photo of the plate so I'll have to update this with one later on. But for now, you can see a photo of the plate from Bregje of Oooh Shinies here.) While brainstorming designs, I knew I wanted to use a full nail pattern, but which of the four, I wasn't sure. So I picked some colors that appealed to me and tried to pair it to one of the patterns. Here's what I came up with:

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Nail Art Wednesday: Two Years is Cotton or Paper? Stamping and Saran Wrap Nails

Let me start by explaining the cryptic sounding post title: I looked up the traditional anniversary gifts and Wikipedia said that two years means cotton in US and paper in UK. Hmm... no Canada? So I decide to just do both in today's nail art to commemorate this super special day for Mr. J and I.

Our happily ever after began two years ago today. *grin*

And here's the nail art I came up with to celebrate!

Thrifty Adventures with Rainbow Hex Glitter

Happy Grey Thursday! I suppose there's an irony in that as grey skies aren't usually a cause for joy. But it does mean cooler temperatures and I'm definitely down with that. I was debating earlier about featuring a sunshine bright yellow as a contrast to the dreary weather. In the end, I decided to just go with a grey number with an accent nail inspired by Sammy (aka The Nailsaurus) and her Disco nails:

Grey and frosty but with a pop of color!

Nail Art Wednesday: Shooting Star Nails

I didn't set out to do today's particular bit of nail art on purpose. Sometimes, winging it produces results that careful planning just can't come up with. After all, just based on history, a whole bunch of the greatest scientific discoveries were made during the most inane moments. (Think Archimedes in his bath and Newton with his apple tree.) Now, that doesn't mean that I've come up with something monumental. To be quite honest, the idea for this design was something I had seen Lindsey from Neverland Nail Blog do earlier in April of this year. And she, in turn, got the idea from Asa Nisi Masa Nail Spot. I'm a sucker for ridiculously easy nail art and when I looked at the shimmery blue I already had on, a light bulb lit up somewhere.

"This would make a fantastic base for that shooting star design!", I thought. So here's my take on this cosmic mani:

To infinity...and beyond!

Nail Art Wednesday: Summer Orange and Turquoise with Hibiscus accents

You know it was only time I revisited dots. After going through what I thought was a passing phase, I find myself gravitating towards designs that incorporate them yet again. They're just such an easy way to jazz up an existing mani or to add a little interest without exerting too much effort. You don't even need any fancy tools as a flat pin head or the flat end of a toothpick is all you'll need (and chances are, you'll have both handy), nor will you need expert level artistic skills to play around with dots. Another easy way to add more interest to an otherwise plain mani is to use fimo slices (similar to stickers but more..rigid). I had some lying around and thought to finally put them to use. So I took my handy dotting tools out for another spin to create something season appropriate with two of my favorite summer shades:

Orange and turquoise dots with a summertime twist!

Nail Art Wednesday: A Study in Textures with Glitter and Shattered Nails

After sporting caviar (aka fish egg or confetti) nails from last week, it got me thinking about textures. See, I enjoyed the different texture so much that I pulled out another polish that's another take on texture: shatter. It's not exactly news as we've seen practically every brand out there churn out their own take on it and calling it every single possible name that denotes the exact same thing. Crackle, shatter, cracked, break up, texture. The list goes on. If you're anything like me, I probably only got a of couple uses out of my shatter polishes. It fizzled out early on for me but lately, in the guise of trying to use what I already have, I found myself rethinking the idea of shatter. It's generally used over the entire nail but what if I just used it as an accent of sorts? Well, it's that kind of thinking that produced these:

Shimmer, shatter and sparkle!

Indulgent Intermission: (Belated) Happy Canada Day and My (mis)Adventures in Full Nail Design Stamping with the New Bundle Monster Plates

I apologize for the ridiculously long post title (I'm starting to think I'm too wordy for my own good, but that's another post right there) but it was the best way to summarize exactly what you'll be seeing in this particular post. First off, a (belated) Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians and a Happy 4th of July to our neighbours south of the border! We had an awesome long weekend (that's partially extended to today as Mr. J is working from home) that was nice and relaxing. Hammie wasn't particularly happy that I skipped out on our usual Monday post, but hey, it's a long weekend! At least he got to enjoy some awesome corn on the cob at that barbecue he went to (and didn't invite us, boo). We had a nice three days of relaxing; no stress at all. We did a marathon of Grimm (a show Mr. J is particularly taken with) and a few movies (Rise of the Planet of the Apes surprisingly made me cry). Also got in some nice gaming time with Dragon Age and spent a couple days with the Cutie Pie (aka the niece) which was mostly spent running after her. No wonder her parents cancelled their gym membership!

Anyway, I doubt you came here to hear about how I spent my weekend so let's get on to the nails. Earlier last week, I had some pretty awesome nail mail that comprised the new Bundle Monster plates and a bunch of Cult Nail polishes (Cult Fairy Tale and Naked collections). I've been itching to try both so I ended up with Baker (at the suggestion of the lovely Marta) as a base. I, then, stamped on one of the full nail swirly designs with some black polish (Wet N Wild Ebony Hates Chris).

 These photos were taken after I've already worn the design for 5 days. Yep, 5 days and barely any tip wear at all! (I did manage to smudge the design on my pinky when I applied top coat though..)

 I inverted the design on the index and middle finger to create more interest. It was hard to capture the pretty golden shimmer but it's there.

 This was, after all, an impromptu photo session so I ended up posing with what was readily on hand --one of my new favorite hand creams that the wonderful Esther sent me. (Thanks again, Esther!)

Here's what most excited me about the new plates: a full nail design that actually fits my thumb and doesn't require double stamping!!

I rarely sport full nail stamped designs mostly because they almost never fit my thumb. Having just the thumb "naked" isn't really a look I'd go for, either, so I usually only use full nail designs on accent nails. That way, I don't need to deal with double stamping. But here's one design that actually fits perfectly! Definitely thrilled about this one. I have high hopes for the rest of the other designs.

Now, after I wore this for 5 days straight, I figured it was time for a change. In honor of Canada's 145th birthday, I went with Canada themed nails:

 I love how I was able to use another of my new Cult Nails polishes: Evil Queen. It's a gorgeous blue based red jelly that's absolutely perfect for summer. The white on the accent nail is Borghese Bianco White Tip.

 I found an ingenious way of using another craft item: a puncher. I have a small maple leaf puncher so I took that and punched a maple leaf outline on a label sticker. I placed that over the white and used it as a stencil, painting Evil Queen on top and quickly removing it to get the maple leaf design. Easy peasy!

 I took these photos right after I painted my nails so I was scrambling to find distinctly Canadian items. This was one I unearthed: a hockey puck.

 Here's another distinctly Canadian candy: Aero! Love this stuff; I swear, they're so addictive.

Again, (Belated) Happy Canada Day!

I originally wanted to put the maple leaf on my middle finger for symmetry and for it to look more like the Canadian flag. Mr. J didn't think it was appropriate so he suggested I place it on my ring finger instead. I wanted to keep it simple and clean so no glitter or flakies this time around. I would, however, love to play around with a red jelly sandwich using Evil Queen. I bet it'll look amazing!

So there you go. I might be late a day, but hey, at least you get two nail designs. I hope you had a wonderful long weekend and an awesome week ahead!