Dusty Colour Blocking

In a post over at The Nailasaurus last week, Sammy did a cute colour-blocking mani; she also linked to Adobe Kuler, as a source of colour inspiration.  Let's just say, I was hooked for a solid twenty minutes scrolling through all the amazing colour combinations that I would never have thought up by myself!  

Obviously, today's nail art is inspired by one such colour combination.  Specifically, this one.  I also decided to grab inspiration from Sammy's colour-blocked design, because my head was too busy swimming with colours to be able to think coherently about making a design up, (as well as loving her design, of course!) 

Source

Although my polishes don't match the inspiration exactly, these are the colours that it made me think of when I saw it.  The polishes I used are mainly LaCC (you know how much I love those for nail art!).  I've used LaCC 1981 (salmon-nude), 1997 (periwinkle), and 1969 (green), as well as LVX Fantom (white).  

It's been quite a while wince I've done a tape mani, I tend to avoid them because of the ages waiting between drying and taping.  However in this case, I think it was totally worth the patience, because I love it!  I'll definitely be using Adobe Kuler as a source of inspiration in the future as well, it's so useful.  What do you think?  :)

April #HePicksMyPolish

Earlier this week I stumbled across a post about this challenge in a Facebook group, and it sounded like fun so I decided to give it a go!  The challenge consists of getting your "he" to pick 1-3 polishes from your stash, and creating a manicure using only those polishes.  You can join the challenge group on Facebook here. 

My boyfriend, Mr. Who, went out of his way to make things difficult for me, and choose polishes of types I've previously told him I didn't really care for; primarily orange, and bright, shimmery pinks.  

The polishes he chose were OPI Chop-sticking to My Story, CrowsToes Love Stinks, and Zoya Aurora. 

I started with a couple coats of CrowsToes Love Stinks, and then sponged a gradient down the middle of my nails with that and OPI Chop-sticking to My Story.  Once that was dry, I taped off a line down the middle and painted over it with two quick coats of Zoya Aurora.  It's all topped with a coat of Seche Vite. 

Considering I was initially very worried about his polish choices, I quite liked how this mani came out!  What do you think?  :)  You can see everyone else's posts through the InLinkz below. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Upside-down French

Happy Friday!!  I've still got class and rehearsals all day Saturday and an audition on Sunday though, so this isn't exactly the last day of the week for me, haha.  Today I've got a look to share that I wore earlier this week and thought was pretty cool!  

But first, for those of you who read my last post and were curious, my sister started her blog earlier this week!  It's called Contemporary Affair, and you can see her first post here.  (Blog design done by me from her ideas, until she can figure out how to redo it herself!)  ;)  I'm sure she'd absolutely love if you could pop by and take a look;  I think her first post is great and I'm really excited to see more, and if you are too it would be awesome if you could leave a comment!  

Onto the nails!

I picked up OPI This Gown Needs A Crown at Winners a couple weeks ago, and finally got around to wearing it.  I applied three easy thin coats alone, and figured it needed a little something more.  I decided to add a reverse French tip (straight half-moon?) with LaCC 1999 for a stark contrast, and I'm really happy with how it came out.  

I think the silver and black compliment each other so well; the slight contrast in finishes and stark contrast in shade makes this simple mani really bold!  What do you think?  :)  

And one last shameless sister blog plug, because (I may be a bit biased) but I really hope that she enjoys blogging and does well, and want to get the word out!  <3

Geometric Bright Pastels

I was stumped on what to do on my nails yesterday, but I stumbled upon this post by Spektor's Nails and was instantly inspired to re-create it!  Have a look.  :)

I opted to use different colours for a slightly different look.  I started by laying down two coats of OPI My Vampire Is Buff (really - what else? I just bought a back-up bottle of this...) and a coat of Seche Vite to speed up the drying.  

One movie later (Galaxy Quest, if you're curious - very weird movie) I lay down some strips of tape in triangular geometric patterns.  I filled the inner triangles with piCture pOlish Peaches n' Cream, and the outer bits with piCture pOlish Honey Dew.  I love both these super-bright-pastel polishes, but they're such a pain in the butt to photograph!  The following upside-down photo is most colour-accurate, but still not as bright as in person.

It's all topped off with two coats of Seche Vite, which unfortunately shrunk the OPI base and caused major tipwear and a couple chips in just a day of wear.  It's a shame, I really liked this mani! 

What do you think of this look?  Sound off in the comments!  :)

Le Bunny Bleu - Bold V-Gap

One last Le Bunny Bleu nail art look today!  This post was supposed to be up this morning, but I had so much on my mind last night and forgot to schedule the post... oops.  The nail art contest closed earlier today, and you can see the winning look here.  

I was inspired to do this look while browsing the endless shoe listings on Le Bunny Bleu, and a couple things caught my eye.  I really liked the coral and navy colour combination on this pair, and decided to do a v-gap mani to mimic the adorable toe caps on these shoes!

I started with LaCC 1963, a cute coral shade.  After that was dry (which was very quick - those LaCC polishes dry lightning-fast!) I taped off my v-gaps and added piCture pOlish Electric Blue (which you can see swatched alone here.)  

On my accent nail, I freehanded Le Bunny Bleu's logo with the same two polishes.  It's all topped off with a coat of Seche Vite for a nice smooth shine!  :)

You can find Le Bunny Bleu on Facebook and order from their online store.  They have lots of adorable shoes, I've especially got my eye on some of the oxfords!  The contest is now closed, but you can still see all the entries from the Le Bunny Bleu nail art contest here.   You can see my two previous manis here and here!  Which of my three looks was your favourite?  :) 

Polish Days: The Number 5

Hi everyone!  This is my second month joining in Polish Days (my first being last month's now-famous sloth nails) and it's a lot of fun, I'll definitely be doing my best to take part every month from now on!  :)

This month's theme is a little more open to interpretation than previous times: the number 5!  As with yesterday's post, I've taken some fancy-pantsy photos of this one (with the help of my sister.) ;)  

Since this is a little picture-heavy, follow the jump to see more photos!

Globe & Nail Turns 1 Today!

 Late last night after a swatch-a-thon, I couldn't decide what to do on my nails.  I knew my giveaway was closing and all that stuff (two winners will be announced in another post later today), but I just wasn't thinking straight.  As I decided to just slap on a plain creme and go to sleep, it hit me that today is my 1-year blogiversary!  How silly of me to almost forget!!

In wake of my revelation, I had a quick peek at my very first blog post ever, and decided to re-create that mani for this special day.  You can see my original post here, which I am (surprisingly) not too ashamed of, haha! :P

I stuck with the same colour scheme as before, but used different polishes.  I started with two coats of LaCC 1972 (lilac) then top coated and let it dry.  Next, I taped off the purple part using the jagged side of the tape (where you tear it) instead of the straight edge like normal, to get a cute zig-zag line.  

I repeated these steps with LaCC 1968 (green) and piCture pOlish Fairy Floss (pink), and topped it off with more Seche Vite to complete the look.  

I still like this look, but after a year of doing my nails nearly every day and figuring out my likes and dislikes, it's not necessarily something I would enjoy wearing as much anymore.  It's still a super cute spring look, though!

Here's a photo from my original post, just for comparison.  I think my major improvements over the past year are definitely my photography (LOVE my new camera), clean-up, freehand nail art (which this obviously doesn't showccase) and my cuticle care.  Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter is a miracle-worker. 

And here's a quick collage with bottle shots of all three polishes I used this time around. 

I'm so grateful for everything this year of blogging has brought me; I've made lots of friends who are just as crazy about nail polish as I am, and I've discovered more about myself as well.  I have learned some valuable business and marketing skills, as well as teaching myself about DSLR photography and learning to use photoshop.  I've dug through piles of nail polish at Winners to find the best deals, and pushed myself creatively to come up with new and exciting nail art.  The list goes on and on!

Overall, this year has been an invaluable experience in shaping who I will become in the next few years, with me graduating high school in a couple months.  None of it would have been possible without all of the encouragement and positive feedback from my friends, family, and of course my readers, and for that I am so grateful to you all.  Here's to another year of polished nails!!  :D

The Wild Rover

I've been having some computer problems over the past few weeks (since before I left for Europe,) but luckily my dad helped me get it all fixed yesterday.  Now I've got a ton of swatches and nail art photos to edit, but of course I've already got a post ready for Castle Mani Monday!!

Tonight's episode is called 'The Wild Rover'; it's centered around Detective Kevin Ryan, which I'm super excited about because I love Ryan!  Because of the case, he is forced to re-visit his past role as an undercover narcotics cop working with the Irish mob. 

Seamus Dever as Det. Kevin Ryan

Ryan is your "shirt, tie, and sweater-vest" kind of guy, so I chose to do some nail art representing that!

I started with two coats of Orly Snowcone, and topped it with SV to speed up the drying.  Once that was ready, I used striping tape to mark off the tie shapes, and then filled them in with piCture pOlish Electric Blue.  The polka-dots were done with a makeshift dotting tool and LaCC 1976.  Finished with some Seche Vite for a smooth finish! 

I think this is a pretty cute look, and it represents Ryan well!  Do you agree?  Anyone else as excited for tonight's episode as I am?  :)

The Black Knight's Heart

If you were expecting some strange mash-up nail art between chess pieces and a deck of cards based on the title of this post, it's just some more valentines nail art over here.  I'm not one to go all-out for this holiday, but this is a look I've been wanting to try for a while, and I figured now was as good a time as ever to give it a go!  

I started with one easy coat of Revlon Raspberry Scone, and added one coat of a glow-in-the-dark polish that my friend's parents got me on a recent day-trip to the states!  Topped that with Seche Vite because I'm impatient, and then stuck two hole-reinforcement stickers at the base of each nail to make the top of a heart.  

Next, I painted over the exposed part of my nail with my recently acquired Butter London The Black Knight which has been a long-time lemming of mine, and immediately removed the stickers.  I absolutely love the black base with multi-coloured microglitter!

I finished the look with two coats of Seche Vite for a completely smooth finish.  I was happy with my execution on this one, but as I was wearing it I kept questioning my colour choice with the pink.  I think I might have preferred a rich red, or a darker pink. 

While in ballet yesterday with one of the teachers who regularly checks on my nails in class, she caught a glimpse of these and I told her they were supposed to be the tops of hearts.  She then asked me if I did them for anyone special; I replied "My internet friends!" which got me a strange look, so I had to explain my whole nail-blogging thing in the middle of barre to my teacher.  I'm pretty sure that all my teachers know now, haha!  

I'll be back tomorrow with my last Valentine's Day nail art, along with my sister's nails!  :)

Rosie Lee & Jane Eyre

I've never been one for Valentine's day, and I don't usually love holiday-themed nail art (Christmas excluded.)  However, when I saw this post by Lydia's Nails, I loved the edgier Valentine's Day colour combination and opted to give it a go for myself!  :)

I didn't copy her look exactly, but instead drew inspiration from her colour choices.  Coincidentally, I had Butter London Rosie Lee sitting on my desk still untried, which is the same polish Lydia used in her nail art.  Pink glitter isn't really my thing and I wouldn't have bought the polish by itself, but hey, it came in a set of three BL for $15!  Can't pass up a deal like that!  :P

I started this at 10:47 pm, so due to laziness I layered one easy coat of Rosie Lee over OPI Senorita Rose-alita instead of building it up alone.  I got this OPI from my mom's friend at work, and I was curious when I opened it and found a small brush; I did some searching and it turns out it's from the 2002 South America Collection, before the days of OPI's wide brushes!   

I didn't want to use a plain black creme for the accent colour, but every polish I tried in my head seemed to be overkill.  It was then that I remembered my well-loved bottle of A England Jane Eyre, and knew the black creme with a subtle burgundy shimmer would be perfect!  

I taped of 2/3 of my nail and applied Jane Eyre before removing the tape and topping with two coats of Cult Nails Wicked Fast.  I really like this top coat, but I'm totally a Seche Vite girl and am desperately in need of another bottle (or five.)

Overall, I really like this look even though pink glitter doesn't quite suit me; it's simple, but eye-catching.  How do you like this look?  Is it something you'd wear around Valentine's Day, or are you more one for hearts and such?  :)

Goldeneye Stripe

A quick post today with a mani I did a couple weeks ago using OPI Goldeneye and black striping tape from the Born Pretty Store.

I used 3 coats of Goldeneye, followed by the striping tape and one coat of Seche Vite.  The formula on Goldeneye is pretty easy to apply, but is such a pain to clean up and remove due to the foil finish.  

I really like this polish, the shade of gold is very flattering and I love the foil finish!  

We've seen a few similar polishes in other holiday collections this year; do you have any?  Which one is your favourite?  :)

More Stripes & Dots

Firstly, let me say that if I had to choose, Essie would be my favourite nail polish brand.  I don't own an outrageous amount (considering my stash is only around 120  bottles), but my Essies far outnumber the other brands.  With that said, I've got a mani to show you using two Essie polishes: my recently acquired Mojito Madness, and Mesmerise. 

You probably won't believe me, but this is one coat of Mojito Madness.  Yes, ONE COAT!  Without giving it a thought I had expected to have to do 2 coats, but after just one (and not a particularly thick one) I couldn't even come up with a valid reason to add a second coat!  This polish is such a beautiful colour; add  the flawless formula and this one's a huge WIN in my books. 

Anywho, I'm (not really) sorry to say that I loved my stripes and dots so much last time that I couldn't help but do it again.  I did, however, do thinner stripes and smaller dots.  Apologies in advance for the lighting, the sun would come out for two minutes and I'd adjust my camera accordingly, and right before I could take the picture it would go away, so I'd set my camera and then the sun would come back out... you get the idea.  

Is anyone else getting a polo shirt vibe from this? 

I must say that I do like this one better than my previous stripes & dots mani; what do you think? 

Also, don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway! :)

Stripes & Dots

Hooray!  I'm done my provincial exam!  I think it went pretty well.  Now I only have a couple of outstanding bits of assignments left to do, and then I'm done Socials forever! (It's my least favourite subject, if you can't tell.) 

Anywho, here's the nails!  On my (first ever) trip to Ulta (heaven!) last weekend, I picked up 2 new polishes for myself, Essie Mojito Madness and Zoya Dove.  So on Wednesday morning I painted my nails with Dove, an absolutely beautiful grey!  Is it normal to call grey beautiful?  I'm a real sucker for grey polishes.  I want them all!  Anyways, I knew the plain mani could only last so long, so after about three hours of studying  that night (and feeling very brainwashed) I took a quick break to add stripes in Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.  Stripes are my absolute favourite thing to have on my nails, but I don't do them near enough.  Since I don't have any striping tape and have to literally cut up strips of tape, I got lazy and just did polka-dots on my right hand.  I actually quite like the two hands similar-but-different!  Picture of both hands at the end of the post.  

I know I said I'd never take a picture like that again because it looked like a spider, but I couldn't figure out  another pose for both hands that wasn't super awkward. 

Also, I have some good news and some terrible news.  Terrible news first: the ballet school that I'm going to for a month in the summer doesn't allow us to wear nail polish in class.  I think I died a little when I found out.  Of course I'll still paint them super-sheer neutral colours, but probably nothing worth posting.  I'm figuring out some different posts for those four weeks.  If you would like to do a guest post for me to be posted between July 22 and August 18, please let me know ASAP, I'll be extremely grateful!  You can e-mail me at ecm.dancer@gmail.com if you're interested.  

Good news: I'll be having a small giveaway once I reach 100 followers, so keep an eye out! :)