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 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: 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.

We wish you a prosperous Year of the Dragon!

In lieu of the usual polish review on Mondays, we decided to showcase my Chinese New Year mani instead. It is, after all, the start of a new lunar year, the year of the dragon!

Apparently, the year of the dragon is big news as having a baby in this year is believed to guarantee the family good luck in the years to come. Not to mention that the dragon baby, especially if it's a boy, is believed to be destined for much success and prosperity throughout his/her life. I've even heard of stories where babies born in the year of the dragon are invited over to neighbors homes so that they can play in the house and hopefully rub off some of their innate luck. Needless to say, I wanted to incorporate a dragon into the design but my freehand skills aren't quite up to par yet so I ended up with something that looked distinctly Asian (to me, at least) instead.

新 年 快 乐! 恭 喜 发 财!

Xin Nian Kuai Le/Happy New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai/May you become prosperous!

Nail Art Wednesday: Hello Kitty Nails

While you're reading this, I'm probably scampering off after my half toddling, half running slip of a niece. She's so adorable! Such an easygoing baby, she hasn't cried at all or had a tantrum since she's been here last Sunday. She lets you know when she's hungry (points at food!), says "dada" when she's sleepy (I've learned that her dad is usually the one who puts her to sleep so that's associated with him) and isn't a picky eater. I'm crossing my fingers this doesn't change even when she hits the terrible twos. And probably like every other little kid out there, she adores Elmo like no other. She has this singing Elmo doll that dances and plays music when you press a button (which she likes to do herself) and she dances along with him. I briefly had my own phase with Hello Kitty but I've since outgrown it. But in the spirit of favorite childhood characters:

Some subtle Hello Kitty tone on tone nails!

Nail Art Wednesday: Snowflakes Inspired Nails

I'm a big fan of snow. I love how the whiteness blankets everything and makes even the most horrible looking places look absolutely magical. I like the way it can look like thick frosting or at times, a light dusting of sugar icing. My favorite kind is the wet variety that clings to everything and sparkles like diamonds when the light shines on it a certain way. After so many winters, this island girl at heart is still enamored of the frozen white stuff. But do let me just get this straight. Snow = Yay but Cold, arctic winds = Boo. It's a good thing they don't usually come hand in hand although I find that here in the GTA, they kind of do. That certainly doesn't diminish my great fascination with it. (See, it even snows on the blog!) So it really doesn't come as a surprise that I'd eventually come up with nail art that's inspired by snow:

Snow-inspired sparkly tips!

Nail Art Wednesday: Gift Wrapped Nails

Today I have more Christmas-inspired nail art to get you in the Christmas spirit! I'm actually still in the process of writing out all my Christmas cards (I know, I know, I don't think they'll make it in time either, but that's procrastination for you) and I still have a stack to go through. But when it comes to gifts, I like to pride myself in being one heck of a gift giver. That's assuming I know the giftee well enough and have had enough time for reconnaissance. See, the trick is to pay attention. Throughout the year, everyone will tell whoever is willing to listen what exactly they like. People like to talk about themselves that way, whether they realize it or not. (Little trick I've learned: In most social settings, when in doubt or at a loss for words to keep a conversation going, usually asking what the other person thinks or anything that pertains to them is enough to keep the awkward silences at bay.) Once you have this information, getting the perfect gift is easy. It then becomes a waiting game to make sure I get the best deal and sometimes, when I'm lucky, I have my entire shopping list all checked out even before December hits. (As of this writing, I am officially done for a week now with all the shopping and the gift wrapping. Okay, enough gloating.) Anyway, on with the nails!

Gift wrapped with ribbons on top.

Nail Art Wednesday: Halloween Nails! Ghost, Skull, Frankenstein's Monster, Jack o' Lantern and Mummy

The title is a mouthful, I know. But because I only do nail art posts once a week and with the October Birthdays series, I couldn't do Halloween themed nail art leading up to it. Oh no! There was so much I wanted to try! I wasn't going to make it for Halloween! The solution: cram them all in one post on the first Wednesday in November and call it Halloween Nails. *toothy grin*

Beware the Claw!!!