31DC2014: Day 30

Today's theme is Inspired by a Tutorial and I had noooooooo idea what to do, so I had to last-minute spook Instagram for something cute! I spent the whole day doing two assignments for school and then I worked for eight hours unpacking beautiful new Toms and had just enough time left to do my nails. Phew! Assignments done, nails done, post almost done. Here we go!

I chose these nails by Bad Girl Nails on IG to recreate. I saw her tutorial for the chains the other day and I thought they were stamping at first, but they're actually freehand so I wanted to try them out myself too!

The only crappy part about my recreation is that my matte topcoat has ~apparently~ become too good for me and refuses to dry fully matte. UGH. I swear I had like three different ones at one point but I must have given some away.

Excuse my fresh Toms shoebox wound there on my knuckle... Is there anything worse than a cardboard paper cut?!
Here are the polishes I used:
OPI - Black Onyx
OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls (I should have used a more nudey shade but I couldn't think of one light enough for what I wanted so I grabbed this go-to shade.) 
Urban Decay - Mrs. Mia Wallace
China Glaze - Mingle With Kringle

If nothing else, I am super pumped that I did these nails because I had totally forgotten about the CG polish and now I am excited to use it in more nail art!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 30 designs:

• 2013: Cartoon Nails
• 2012: Herringbone
• 2011: Cherry Blossoms

31DC2014: Day 29

Today's theme is Inspired by the Supernatural, AKA (for me) it is inspired by the wonderful and amazing and beautiful Supernatural TV show. I've done SPN nails 2/3 years so far in the challenge and today will make it 3/4, and these are definitely the best so far.

The new season starts next week and I am already giddy with anticipation. I decided to go for a design that is definitely appropriate for what's to come in the next season.

Dean Winchester, a man marked by both heaven and hell. 

If you're not a Supernatural fan, you may not recognize the symbols. The hand print is the mark left by Castiel on Dean's chest, and the other symbol is the Mark of Cain. I wanted to make it look like they were drawn in blood, and I think I did a really good job! I'm especially impressed with the hand.
I accented the symbols with some blood smears, you know, for effect. Ha!
I decided not to add topcoat because I liked the texture of the brush strokes and splatters.

The nude base is (surprise) OPI - Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?
The blood red is Color Club - Killer Curves. 

OMG I'm totally geeking out over these. Please tell me you are too!!!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 29 designs:

• 2013: Supernatural Shirt
• 2012: Goosebumps
• 2011: Supernatural Title Screen

31DC2014: Day 28

As you can tell, we have now reached the point in the challenge where I am doing buzzer-beater nail designs every night at 11:30. Haha! I have a lot of homework this week so I haven't really had much time for nails. Just three more to go now though!!

Today's theme is Inspired by a Flag which is kinda dumb but here we are. I have seen this cute design going around and I decided to do it myself!

Bunting flags. The cutest flags!

This manicure started with a base of OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls, a lovely off-white.
I used three Color Club pastels from the Paris In Love collection for the flags:
Color Club - La Petite Mint-sieur (mint)
Color Club - Je T'aime (pink)
Color Club - Holy Chic! (purple)
I did the outlines with black acrylic paint.

Let me take this time to say that the name of the mint one is messed up because if we're talking about a monsieur as the mint-pun suggests, that would be a masculine French word, meaning it would be "le petit" and not the feminine version "la petite." That's your French lesson for today, friends.

I think these turned out super cute! Even despite the rushing. How about you?

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 28 designs:

• 2013: TOMS
• 2012: Germany
• 2011: Republic of Newfoundland

31DC2014: Day 27

Hi! The theme for today is Inspired by Art. I've done Warhol-inspired nails twice before for this challenge prompt and today I decided to make it three times. (Actually I think this is four times technically now including the bananas I did for a yellow theme day.)
I chose one of my favorite Warhol prints to emulate and I am super pumped with how it turned out!

Warhol's iconic dollar sign prints are very recognizable, and the fun colors always stand out to me. I chose this version's color palette to work with because it's basically all of my favorite colors.

I would love to have this exact painting hanging on my wall, but the original print was sold at auction for over $339,000. That's definitely above my pay grade. So I did it on my nails!

I started with a base of OPI - Steady As She Rose.
I did the dollar sign using a small brush and the following polishes:
Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - S-teal A Base (teal)
OPI - Vant To Bite My Neck? (purple)
China Glaze - Dance Baby (pink)
The rest of my nails I just covered with some abstract dry-brushing and the same three colors.

What do you guys think of this look? Hope you like it as much as I do!
Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 27 designs:

• 2013: Watercolor Tattoo
• 2012: Warhol Flowers
• 2011: Warhol Bows

31DC2014: Day 26

Hey everyone! Today's theme is Inspired by a Pattern. I had an amazing idea for these nails however the nail strips I needed to use were crap stickers and they did not stay on my nails and I was very mad because it would have been great. I'm going to have to bank that idea for later and do it a different way.

So I had to last-minute change my idea. I was sitting at my nail table and decided to do the pattern from my polish drawers!

You may remember that back in the day I did a tutorial on how to Mod Podge scrapbook paper onto your Melmer drawers to dress them up. A lot of people did theirs too! After a year or so I decided to redo mine after finding this amazingly cute wrapping paper. Much less obnoxious than my last choices. Haha!

Now that I am looking at this I feel like I did it before! But I can't remember and I don't want to look. LOL.

I started with a white base and did the leopard with China Glaze - Exotic Encounters and OPI - Mermaids Tears.

What do you guys think? It's leopard, of course you do.

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 26 designs:

• 2013: Hairbrush Leopard
• 2012: Notebook Dots
• 2011: Retro Turquoise

31DC2014: Day 25

Hey guys! Today's theme is Inspired By Fashion.
I actually did these like 2 weeks ago when inspiration hit me immediately after seeing some hella cute shoes.

I'm not usually into Kate Spade but holy crap those are cute! So I did nails to match.

Tada! I used Sephora by OPI - It's My Pink and I painted the tip on freehand and used a dotting tool to do the dots. I didn't even wear basecoat. Look how nice and non-stained my nails are! I mean, were. I stained them this week but can't remember what polish did it.

How do you guys like this take on a classic french? I think it's pretty fun!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 25 designs:

• 2013: Volcom
• 2012: Kristen Stewart
• 2011: Betsey Johnson

31DC2014: Day 24 + giveaway winner!

Hey everyone! Today we're doing the Inspired by a Book theme and as promised earlier in the month, I've done nails inspired by the new Ellen Hopkins book, Rumble!
Plus, head to the end of the post to find out who won the Ellen Hopkins giveaway! 

Tada! Once again I am really pleased with the end result of my book nails.
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to get the right effect but after I kept layering colors, it came out looking so close that they could almost blend right in!

I started with a base of China Glaze - Bahamian Blues.
I used various sponges and stuff to make different textures using dark blue (Zoya - Sailor) medium blue (China Glaze - Splish Splash) and white (Color Club - French Tip.) 
I used a black striper to create some jagged lines to mimic the cover even more.

And now... Without further ado... The winner of the giveaway is Mandy L!
I've contacted the winner and will redraw in the event of non-response.


What do you guys think of my Rumble nails?
Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 24 designs:

• 2013: Impulse
• 2012: Glass
• 2011: Perfect

31DC2014: Day 23

Hey everyone! Happy Autumn... Even though it makes me sad because it means winter is on its way. I'm just not built for the cold. Remind me again why I don't live in Florida?

The theme for today is Inspired by a Movie. A couple weeks ago I got the new Pulp Fiction nail polish from Urban Decay so I knew I'd have to use that and do Pulp Fiction nails!

I was inspired by Mrs. Mia Wallace and the smoke always billowing out of her lush lips!

I added a bandaid on the thumb for Mr. Wallace, which definitely brings the look together.

Here's the polish on its own:

Urban Decay - Mrs. Mia Wallace
This is a beautiful red with tonal shimmer, and the formula is dreamy. It takes 2 thin coats for full coverage, and as always the UD formula is so easy to work with.

I did the smoke with Color Club - French Tip using the watercolor technique. I have a (slightly old) tutorial for that technique here, and I was inspired by these nails by Chalkboard Nails to turn that technique into smoke!

The bandaid was painted with OPI - San-Tan Tonio and OPI - Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?

The lip print stamp is from Bundle Monster plate BM-303 and Konad Black special polish.

Still in love with the Urban Decay bottles. I've got all of these new polishes now... Haha. Oh and good news for Canadians, the Shoppers Drugmart locations that carry UD stocked this collection, including the polish! They never had any of the polishes before so I was really surprised to see it there.

What do you guys think of these nails? Can you see the Mrs. Mia Wallace inspiration in them? I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 23 designs:

• 2013: Legally Blonde
• 2012: Juno
• 2011: The Little Mermaid

31DC2014: Day 22

Heeeey! Get ready - this is gonna be a good one.
I was really worried that nothing could come close to last year's Inspired by a Song post with The Thong Song nails (clearly I was ahead of the times with the booty nails last year) so I kept the booty theme going and went for... Anaconda!

I'm sure you're all familiar with Anaconda and the performance at the VMAs! I was totally loving the green sparkly snakeskin outfit and I had to recreate it on my nails.
I actually did these on like the 3rd of September because I was going to use them for the green theme, but then I just had to save them for today. I have been holding them in since then. It's been hard.

They started with a base of China Glaze - Exotic Encounters.
I randomly applied green glitter all over the place with China Glaze - This Is Tree-mendous (lol) and China Glaze - Emerald Sparkled.
The snakeskin stamp is from Bundle Monster plate BM-215 and I first stamped it using Color Club - Perfect Mol-Ten but it wasn't as visible as I wanted, so I added some more in scattered areas with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - Lickety-Split Lime and that totally made the effect I wanted.
 

Guhhhhhh I just love how they turned out! I was so mad when I had to take them off after just a few hours.

What do you guys think? Did I capture the look? Green sparkly nails are always my fave, I'll be doing these again as a full mani and wearing them for like a week. For sure. As soon as the challenge is over.

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 22 designs:

• 2013: The Thong Song
• 2012: Domino
• 2011: S&M

31DC2014: Day 21

We are into the third and final section of the 31 Day Challenge! Lemme tell you, I love when it gets to the final stretch but it also brings some of the most challenging days. It's good and bad. Haha!

Today's theme is Inspired by a Color. I always choose a polish color (and usually name) to take inspiration from, because we all know that polishes can have some fun and/or weird names.

I read through basically all of my polish spreadsheet to find a name and mani idea, and here's what came to me.

Butter London - Cake Hole
I know a cake hole is technically your mouth, but donuts are basically little cakes with holes. A cake hole. So I did donut nails!

The base color is China Glaze - Something Sweet which is appropriate because donuts are sweet. The dough color is OPI - San Tan-Tonio, the icing is the aforementioned Cake Hole, and I did the sprinkles with acrylic paint.

I'm really liking these! I wanna do them again with more colors. What do you guys think?

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 21 designs:

• 2013: Pink Yet Lavendar 
• 2012: Russian Navy Nautical
• 2011: Hello Kitty Candy

31DC2014: Day 20

Hi. I can't watermarble. Bye.

We are only getting one picture of this failure. Man... I tried so hard. I just don't have the energy to try another manicure because I'm not feeling the best and this bummed me out enough already!
I used Color Club - Edie & Color Club - Mrs. Robinson over a white base. I glittered one nail with Shimmer Polish - Linna to save myself from having to do another nail.

How typical that this fail comes after my two best manis of the challenge (and probably ever.)
I would now like to call upon a Supernatural reference to sum up my feelings for today:

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 20 designs:

• 2013: Neon Marble
• 2012: Pastel Marble
• 2011: Mauve Marble

31DC2014: Day 19

Hey everyone! Today's theme is a good one - galaxy naaaaaails!
I was actually not excited to do these nails because I was thinking it would take me forever and I wasn't even sure what I wanted them to look like. But I sat down and started... And quickly wound up with this masterpiece, if I do say so myself!

This all started with a plain black base. OPI - Black Onyx, to be exact.
I began sponging different colors randomly over the base to create different nebula-ish patterns.
I find it best if you alternate between creme shades and shimmers because they both give very different effects to help bring the whole thing together with the different textures. I used:
OPI - Do You Lilac It? (purple)
Color Club - Peppermint Twist (pink)
China Glaze - Splish Splash (blue)
China Glaze - Turned Up Turquoise (green)

Adding the stars was definitely the best part of the process. I was going to just paint some on and then I suddenly had the idea to go grab my toothbrush and splatter paint that shiz! (Obviously you wanna use an old toothbrush and not the one you're gonna use on your teeth.)
I dipped it in white acrylic paint and with a glove on my hand, pulled back against the bristles to let the splattering begin. It actually was pretty tidy and didn't make a big mess, but made the bestttttt tiny little galaxy on my nails!
I added a few bigger stars with a tiny brush as well.

I actually liked this manicure best without topcoat, but I included the next pic with topcoat, just because.

I'm obsessedddddd with these. What do you guys think? I'm trying to wear them for as long as possible before I have to do tomorrow's nails. Haha!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 19 designs:

• 2013: Pastel Galaxy
• 2012: Purple Galaxy
• 2011: Original Galaxy

31DC2014: Day 18

Here's a fun fact about me: I am afraid of the moon. It creeps me out!!
However, I am not afraid of today's theme - Half Moon Mani!

Sometimes I feel like challenging myself and today was one of those times. I saw Pink & Polished's take on today's prompt and the outline looked so coool, and it reminded me of those hot swimsuits and bras that are like pastel colors with black trim. So I decided to go for that look!

I started with China Glaze - Lotus Begin as my base color. It was a bit difficult to deal with and kinda runny. It needed three coats for coverage which didn't make me happy but it did dry quick.
I used a small detail brush to do the outlines with black acrylic paint. It took a lot of patience and a steady hand but I am really pleased with how I did!

What do you guys think?
Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 18 designs:

• 2013: Glitter Moons
• 2012: Girly Moons
• 2011: Moons For Audrey

31DC2014: Day 17

Hello and welcome to Day 17 of the 31 Day Challenge. Today's theme is glitter. One of my favorite things on the planet. Today is a good day. Glitter bomb time!

I started with a base of Sephora by OPI - XOX Betsey. 
I layered three glitters on top to get the bright and fun look I wanted!
Candy Lacquer - Block Party
Candy Lacquer - Candies & Sprinkles
China Glaze - Fairy Dust 

You may know that I haven't had the best experiences with indie polishes. Today however, that's not the case! I purchased these shades from Candy Lacquer like 2 years ago probably and they sat in my drawer unused until now and the glitter had not bled, or settled, or buckled, or anything. The polishes looked brand new. And the fact that I bought them in the first place means a lot because I am very picky on buying indie thanks to my bad experiences (AKA basically I don't) but there were several shades from Candy Lacquer I had to have. Like, HAD TO. Long story short - I totally recommend them. I think these shades are old and discontinued but there are loads more cute ones in the shop.

Doesn't the tiny Fairy Dust really bring all the big glitters together? I loveeee this mani!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 17 designs:

• 2013: It's Bouquet With Me
• 2012: Birthday Cake
• 2011: Bloomsbury Square

31DC2014: Day 16

OMG, so I just realized that I totally forgot to do my nails for today. All day I was thinking "Oh yeah, I got those done, I'll just go post them when I am done my homework."
WRONG, I was thinking of the theme for tomorrow. So I just had to slap something on my nails and get pics and hurry it all together! I had a design in mind but had to tone it down a little for the last minute version.

The theme for today is Tribal/Geometric. (And not glitter. Which I thought until just now.)

I threw on my favorite pink polish, Color Club - Peppermint Twist.
The image is from Bundle Monster plate BM-402 and I stamped with Konad White.
I added a little bit of glitter detail with Color Club - Sexy Siren.

Originally I wanted more glitter detail added (and I was gonna try the whole thing freehand) but that being said, I am still pretty pleased with these! I think they're cute.

What do you think of my last-minute-mani?! OMG, now I need to de-stress. Haha! Thankfully I know for sure I have tomorrow's done... Heh.

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 16 designs:

• 2013: Sponged 'n Stamped Tribal
• 2012: Pastel Tribal
• 2011: Gray 'n Yellow 'n Red Tribal

31DC2014: Day 15

Hey everyone! Today's theme is Delicate Print. This theme can be interpreted a lot of ways and this year I wanted to go with some delicate (but still vibrant) pastels and I made them even more delicate by adding an adorable feather stamp.

I did the gradient over a white base, putting the colors directly on the sponge and then adding layers on the nail to build the opacity but remain soft. The colors are Lime Crime - Pastelchio and Lime Crime - Once In A Blue Mousse.

This image comes from Sugar Bubbles plate SB 020. I first did the stamping in white but it was practically invisible so I did it again using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri - S-teal a Base.
I actually left the white stamps too for a layered look... and you can't even see it in pictures. I'm really glad I didn't just leave it with the white. Ha!

Now take a walk down memory lane and check out my previous day 15 designs:

• 2013: Bow Print
• 2012: Subtle Vines
• 2011: Metallic Lace

The World of Weir Blog Tour! - Warriors Nail Design + Tutorial

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Hey guys! Doing something a little different here today - a blog tour! Let's take a look into The World of Weir.

I'm psyched to help kick off this really cool blog tour! Here's more about it from the publisher:

Those with magical powers in The Heir Chronicles series by Cinda Williams Chima are known as the Weir. The World of Weir blog tour leads up to the release of the can’t-miss series finale, The Sorcerer Heir (in-stores October 21^st) by celebrating the magical fantasy world and the five types of magical guilds. Follow along for playlists, nail art, and more inspired by the series, plus exclusive excerpts from the upcoming finale.

Nails and books? Great combo! 

The posts for Week 1 are about The Warriors. So let's take a look at my Warriors-inspired manicure and tutorial!

Tada! Just like the fierce (but also elegant) hilt on the warriors sword. The swirled gold design with the big red stone totally stood out to me, and I knew my manicure had to be based on it. 

There is a video tutorial a little further down, but here is the lowdown on how to get this look. 

You start out with a metallic gold base. I used China Glaze - 2030, but you can use any gold polish you have.
To create the dimensional and mixed-finish look, you apply gold striping tape once your base is dry. You wanna be able to remove and reposition the tape if you need to, so really let it dry well to avoid headache later. I applied four stripes horizontally (3 on my tiny pinky nail) and then another small piece in the other direction at the top to balance the nail. Use cuticle nippers to easily and closely trim the edges. 

Apply a generous amount of topcoat to seal in the striping tape, and while your topcoat is still wet, place your rhinestones. I recommend working one nail at a time here so each will be nice and wet for the rhinestone to stick to. 

Optionally, you can add another coat of topcoat to really seal the rhinestone in, but I prefer not to cover it for this look so that you can still see the facets of the stone. 

Now check out the tutorial! I made it specifically for Instagram, nice 'n quick and easily shareable! 

I hope you guys liked this manicure! Please show me if you recreate it.

ABOUT THE SORCERER HEIR
The can’t-miss finale to the beloved and bestselling Heir Chronicles series.

The delicate peace between Wizards and the underguilds (Warriors, Seers, Enchanters, and Sorcerers) still holds by the thinnest of threads, but powerful forces inside and outside the guilds threaten to sever it completely. Old friends and foes return as new threats arise in this stunning and revelatory conclusion to the beloved and bestselling Heir Chronicles series.

The Sorcerer Heir is a self-contained story, accessible to readers just discovering the Heir series, but loyal fans will be rewarded by visits from characters they love (and love to hate) from the earlier installments. Readers will be glued to their seats through riveting fight scenes, deadly political machinations, burgeoning romance, and the unfolding intrigues of a contemporary magical world.

OFFICIAL LINKS for #TheSorcererHeir

Visit Cinda Williams Chima’s Official Site

Follow Cinda Williams Chima on Twitter

Follow Disney-Hyperion on Twitter and Instagram

WEEK 1: THE WARRIORS September 14 – September 20

WEEK 2: THE WIZARDS September 21 –  September 27

WEEK 3: THE SEERS September 28 – October 4

WEEK 4: THE ENCHANTERS October 5 – October 11

WEEK 5: THE SORCERERS October 12 – October 18

Here's the calendar for the rest of Week 1 of the blog tour:

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