Nail Art Wednesday: Girly Graffiti Nails

You know how sometimes you envision something in your head but your execution leaves much to be desired? This may be one of those instances where I had a completely different idea for where this design was going. I was inspired by Carolina's impeccable double stamping over at Colores de Carol so I wanted to give it a go myself. Unfortunately, I learned that as easy as it looks, finding coordinating colors that don't clash and picking a design that will work double stamped wasn't as easy as I thought. I was about to write this one off as a failure and go back to the drawing board, seeing as it just looked..messy to me. But Mr. J (strangely) ended up liking it so much that he dubbed it a "girly take on graffiti". So here it is in all its busy patterns:

With Mr. J's penchant for chunky glitter, I think that's why he liked this design.

Nicole by OPI City-Pretty Rose ushers in the month of Love

How is it February already? Last week, I was just playing with my über adorable niece and now the house feels so strangely quiet with just us two (three, if you count Hammie) again. It's so eerie that I've even taken to leaving the TV on for ambient noise. (Is that weird?) Anyway, things are slowly going back to normal so expect the Indulge without the Splurge posts to be back up by next week. I'll also try to mix things up a bit in an effort to diversify with various beauty products that I've accumulated over the holidays and have been dying to write a review on. Now, while that will definitely be something to look forward to, rest assured that the nail polish posts will keep rolling out as usual. For the entire month of February, I thought it would be fun to feature Valentine-esque colors all month long: pinks, reds, metallics and maybe a Tiffany blue. To get the ball rolling, I busted out one of my absolute favorite pinks:

A happy, cheerful pink to get you out of your winter rut!

OPI Movin' Out and Happy (Canadian) Thanksgiving!

Ever read a book or watched a movie or tv series that had such a huge twist that you're left with mouth ajar and completely speechless? There was Darth Vader's classic line: "Luke, I am your father..!" Not so much oomph with that now since the prequels came out. Another classic is finding out that Tyler Durden and the Narrator (Hammie says: Don't you find it strange that Edward Norton's character doesn't have a name? No, really. Google it.) from Fight Club are the same guy. Before the last of the Harry Potter books came out, finding out that seemingly omnipotent Dumbledore dies before reading Book 6 would have a hardcore fan wailing in despair. (I've seen it happen.) More recently, protagonist Ned Stark dying and Daenerys Targaryen hatching dragon eggs from Game of Thrones were two of the bigger shockers from the first season. These huge twists often either justify what's happened so far or further the story to bring it to heights that it wouldn't have reached without the big shocker.

Oh Sean Bean, why must your characters always die..?

The same is true for the polish I have for you today. Its chameleon like quality makes it "must have" material despite being an older polish. Yes, the formula isn't 3-Free but when you see the magic it does, that doesn't really matter so much any more. Special polish for a special holiday! WARNING: Photo-heavy post after the jump!

Don't let that demure pink fool you.

Nail Art Wednesday: Special Birthday Nails Part 1, Pastel Skittle Nails

In our family, October is known as the birthday month with birthday dinners every week. It's always a lot of fun, family getting together and all that. Since each celebrant usually picks a different restaurant, it's also a great way to try some place new to add to the rotation. (Or they do a party at home!)This year, we're having one more birthday to celebrate: my niece, Alena, who's turning one on the 8th!

I did a skittles manicure in honor of the birthday girl in fun bright colors. I then stamped animals from the Konad S10 stamping plate in silver and added a holographic glitter layering polish as the final touch.

What I used:

Thumb: In the Mood Devious (cold color)

Index: Nicole by OPI City-Pretty Rose

Middle: Orly Snowcone

Ring: Revlon Garden (from the Spring 2011 mini set)

Pinky: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lemon Dash

Silver stamping polish: Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Pure Silver

Glitter polish: Sally Hansen New Lengths Ceramics in Silver Slightblade

More photos after the jump!