I recently got a backup bottle of China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, one of my favorite summer polishes of all time, and something weird happened. My new bottle is a lot lighter and less warm in tone than my older bottle. I do love the color of the new bottle too, and I thought it looked awesome next to Aquadelic and Electric Pineapple so I did a springy tribal look.
Products used:
- China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, Aquadelic and Electric Pineapple
- Sally Hanson Salon Lavender Cloud
- Wet n Wild Black Creme
- Seche Vite topcoat
In the "Reaping" scene in the new Hunger Games movie, Effie Trinket wears a pretty and interesting nail look while she's drawing out the tributes' names. It's a sort of dark rose with a gold metallic sponged halfway down. It's such a simple and cute look to try to replicate, but I decided I wanted something slightly more blingy, so I did a different variation using a couple China Glaze polishes.
Products used:
- China Glaze Traffic Jam, Blonde Bombshell
- Seche Vite topcoat
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XOX Betsey - $9.50 at sephora.com
I very nearly didn't buy this, but I can't resist a pinky sandy nude to save my life. Up till this point, my favorite nude polish had been another Sephora by OPI: Don't Feed the Hand Models, which I used in this manicure. I still love that one, but this is now on top. It is a bit pinkier, and has a bit more grey in the base, but really the main reason is because it's so much more smooth and opaque. Also, I don't know when this started, but Sephora by OPI polishes are coming with a flat brush similar to the OPI Pro-Wide which makes me like it even more. This polish went on perfectly in two coats. That's a first for me with a nude polish, especially one this pretty. The color changes a bit depending on what light you're in. Sometimes is a really pale milky beige, and in others it's a light pinky grey sand. Sounds strange but, have mercy, it is gorgeous! It looks sexy on the nail, in my opinion. LOVE IT!!
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I'm pretty into tribal right now, so I basically rehashed my Feathers nail set and my Angles nail set with a different group of colors. It wasn't anything very new, but I thought it looked good and figured I'd post it. In the end my middle fingers looked like weird easter eggs... The one caveat I've found so far with my new, more rounded nail shape. Otherwise I really love the new shape, and all the new nail designs I can do that just would never work on my old squares.
Products used:
- CHina Glaze Aquadelic
- OPI A Roll in the Hague
- CND Copper Chrome
- Orly Luxe
- CND Anchor Blue
- Nubar lemon
- CHina Glaze Gothic Lolita
- CHina Glaze White on White
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I did a little nail art inspired by the fletching on arrows. The little things at the back end of the arrow that stabilizes and improves the aerodynamics of the arrow in flight. I've been really into tribal sorts of things recently, and arrows are sort of an extension of that fascination for me right now. I added an ikat nail and also a Swarovski element to one of the "arrow shaft" nails for some interest.
Products used:
- Essie Go Overboard, Greenport
- OPI Skull & Glossbones
- Orly Luxe
- Seche Retain as base coat
- Seche Vite topcoat
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Illamasqua Jo'mina - $14 at sephora.com
Here's an Illamasqua polish I've been debating purchasing for a really long time. I thought that I'd be ok with just Color Club Puccilicious, because in photos they look so similar, but in the end, they're pretty damn different. Jo'mina is lighter, pinker and maybe a bit warmer. It's awesome. It's got a great formula just like all the Illamasqua I've tried. Very pigmented and it takes only two coats for excellent coverage. It will be amazing with a summer tan, I'm telling you! I don't have any other polishes that are dupes, though it's somewhere in between Puccilicious and OPI Lucky Lucky Lavender.
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I've been seeing a lot more Ikat print buzzing around the interwebz, on Pinterest, tumblr, etc... shorts, skirts, tees, nails, everything. So I really wanted to give Ikat-inspired nails a try and I did a mix. I'm not sure how the Ikat dying technique works, but the technique on the nails is super easy, and it doesn't even require a steady hand. It's imperfect by it's very nature, so anyone can do it!
Products used:
- OPI Skull & Glossbones
- China Glaze Flip Flop Fantasy, Aquadelic, Sun Worshipper
- FInger Paints Blue Raspberry Taffy
- Illamasqua Jo'mina
- Seche Retain as base coat
- Seche Vite topcoat
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I was in the mood for rainbow nails, but rainbows with some oomph. I sat down with four bright polishes and this just sort of happened. There's no real inspiration or idea behind it, I just started painting. The best things (and the most obnoxious, apparently) seem to happen when you start without a plan. I wouldn't suggest it in other parts of your life, like choosing a career for instance, but with paint, it's no big deal. Art is cool. Yeah.
Products used:
- China Glaze White on White
- China Glaze Purple Panic
- Color Club Explosive
- OPI Did It On Em
- Finger Paints Blue Raspberry Taffy
- Wnw Black Creme
- Seche Retain (as base coat)
- Seche Vite topcoat
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For this manicure I wanted to get the look of antiqued and distressed metal so I used several metallic polishes and sponged them on to make a sort of textured look. The addition of a holographic teal to the tips was an afterthought, but I thought it made it look better. The whole thing was inspired by CND's recent spate of "acid-washed" colors on pointed almond nails with a really deep smile line for the french. I basically went with that theme, but changed up some colors and added texture, which I think makes it look neat. The holo at the tips is subtle but it makes it a bit more interesting.
Products used:
- China Glaze Millenium
- China Glaze 2030
- Orly Luxe
- China Glaze Techno Teal
- Seche Vite Topcoat
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Not a whole lot is said about District 5 in the books, so there's not a lot to go on. However, we do know that it's the district responsible for power. Powering the entire country? No idea, but I would assume so since that's their main "export." For this nail set I tried to represent power in a very general sense, and also in some particular ways. For instance, the three-prong plug is pretty self-explanatory and somewhat general. The nuclear sign is pretty specific. I'm assuming since Panem has nuclear capabilities (District 13) that they would also use nuclear power. For the index (district badge) finger, I represented hydro-electric power with holographic teal, foily silver and a shimmery blue in waving lines. The ring finger is a holographic charcoal with vaguely electricity-themed stripes and the pinky is the District 5 polish from the China Glaze Hunger Games collection, which seemed very fitting and is very blingy and excellent on it's own.
Products used:
- CHina Glaze Hook and Line
- Wet n Wild Black Creme
- CHina Glaze Techno Teal
- China Glaze Icicles
- China Glaze Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
- Color Club Revvvolution
- Orly Luxe
- China Glaze Electrifying
