Geek Nail Challenge - TV and Movies (Sea Shepherd)

Hey there everyone!! Tonight I am super excited to share my first contribution to the Geek Nail Challenge created by Sophia at Girl on a Shoestring!

When I read about this challenge, I had tons of ideas for this week (TV and movies) because I have an unhealthy obsession with both! I had most ideas for TV shows that I love though so I think I'm going to stick with that. I wasn't able to participate in the first week because we were on vacation last week! SO, I am going to make up for that a bit by posting several manis this week, and the first one: my Sea Shepherd mani, inspired by the TV show Whale Wars!
On my thumb and middle finger, I attempted to recreate the Sea Shepherd logo, which looks like this:

And the chevron colors were inspired by the new paint jobs on the boats. The pattern on the boats is not really chevron but it's always reminded me of one, so I thought it would translate into a great mani. Here's one of the boats to give you an idea if you haven't seen them:

And here are the nails!

I debated on using this mani for the last week because animal rights, etc are one of the things I kind of geek out about, but I wanted to do it today. I ended up LOVING this color combo and for my first attempt at Chevron, I think it turned out really great! A rare thing happened - I actually painted my other hand to match the left one, and I have a ten finger matching mani currently haha! I like it because it's pretty, fun, and different, yet still work appropriate. Well that's it for me tonight, I'm off to bed, but I've got another TV mani to share tomorrow so stay tuned ;] and be sure to check out what the other "geeks" have created :D Kelly

Summer Challenge Day 16: Recreate Your Favorite Mani

Well, everyone, the Summer Challenge has come to an end after today. I had so much fun with it and I'm so glad I decided to take part. I was able to come in contact with so many great bloggers and I think my nail art has improved from pushing myself often! :] So with that, I present my final mani and it was inspired by the Dragonfruit design done by Kaki @ Glitter Obsession!

Overall, I am not super excited about how it turned out but it is definitely a design that made me push myself and I want to try it again sometime when I get better at nail art! The frame mani is really hard!! I tried messing with the tops of the frame near the cuticle while I was at work to try to even them out, but I only ended up making them worse! I do like the colors though, and I got a lot of compliments at work even if most people didn't know which fruit it was! :] I used Sinful Colors Snow Me White for the base, Sally Hansen Insta Dri in Sonic Bloom for the frame, and for the "seeds" I used Sinful Colors Black on Black and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Wet Cement. So that's all for the Summer Challenge, I am headed off to work, but check out what some of the other girls have created!

Kelly

Summer Challenge Day 14: Swimsuit

The challenge is winding down! Today I have for you: Swimsuits! My original thought at the beginning of this challenge was to do a different patterned swimsuit on each nail, but as the challenge has gone on, I've really started to value simplicity! For both practical and aesthetic reasons. So, the first thing that came to mind for me was.....
"It was an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini!" When discussing this song/challenge with my boyfriend, we both realized the song is not clear whether it's a yellow bikini with polka dots or a bikini with yellow polka dots. Oh, English. Anyways, I've always picture it as yellow with bright pink polka dots. Here's my interpretation!

I could not get these colors to photograph properly - this was the closet I got and this was using my phone! The pink is a BRIGHT neon over white and it's much brighter in real life. I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Mellow Yellow for the "bikini" and Sinful 24/7 for the polka dots. I like how this turned out - very bright and summery! Hope everyone has a great Friday :]

Kelly

Summer Challenge Day 10: Tropical Drinks

Well here I am with Day 10 and this one is very close to my heart - tropical drinks, haha! Probably the hardest part was narrowing down my favorites ;] Eventually I decided I wanted to keep this one simple but fun, so I decided on four of my favorite summer drinks and a tiny umbrella :} Here are my inspirations:

And here is the mani I created!

(Obviously I had not finished cleaning up some of the top coat chunks left around the nail, especially the ring finger - but this was the best I could do in a rush last night!) And please ignore the cut on my index finger, it looks worse than it is haha!
 From left to right: Blue lagoon - blue curacao and lemonade with a splash of sprite. Unfortunately it seems no bartenders here in Dayton have ever heard of this one, so when I have one it has to be homemade. It is sooo great and fruity tasting! Tequila sunrise - my absolute favorite drink! It's tequila, orange juice and grenadine, and when the grenadine sinks to the bottom, it creates a "sunrise" looking blend of colors. So I did a gradient using Sinful Colors Let's Meet, Hazard, and Thimbleberry. The blend turned out way better than I expected! Classic margarita - always a good old favorite! I used Sally Hansen Limestone and topped it off with a coat of Sinful Call You Later. And last, a strawberry daiquiri! The color was hard to get right on this one, I did some experimenting to get this shade. I used a coat of Sally Hansen Unbreakable Heart, then Pure Ice Tease over that, and then Petites Comet over that! Hope you like :D

Kelly

Summer Challenge Day 4: Palm Trees

Well, I'm exhausted from working all week/weekend without a day off and switching between all three shifts so this post is not going to be very wordy - sorry! Today's challenge was palm trees. I had been doing different designs on every nail etc, so this one I wanted to make more simple.

From thumb to pinky, I used Essie - Lights, Sinful Colors - Savage, Wet n Wild - On a Trip, and Sinful Colors - Clementine. There's also a strip of Sally Hansen Mellow Yellow on the accent finger. I freehanded the palm tree using Sinful Nail Art in Time Off. I tried to get a closer picture of the palm tree here:

Hope you all like it, and check out the other bloggers also doing this challenge!! Happy Saturday, I'll be working all night blah!

Kelly

Duochromes

Here are some pictures I took last week when I tried out a couple of duochrome polishes. I read about these polishes on a few different sites, and from what I gather, it just means that they change colors in the sun. Apparently, Sally Hansen's Nail Prisms were a really popular and pretty duochrome brand a while back, but they don't make them anymore - luckily I found one when raiding my mom's old stash from when she worked in a makeup department! I tried it out and it was really pretty! Of course, I did it too close to bedtime and it got smudgy - even Seche Vite couldn't save it, but the differences in color were pretty awesome anytime. Here it is!

This is what it looks like with the flash, at night time. This color is called Amber Ruby, and it went from a dark bronze to more of a yellow-y goldish color in sun.

This is when I woke up, so you can see the sheet creases. But I couldn't believe how much the color changed in the sun! Definitely a polish I will try again another time (long before I go to bed)!

So, I liked this color so much I decided to try another duochrome that I saw at Rite Aid - Scherer's Chameleon. I always see these at my Rite Aid but for whatever reason never end up getting them, maybe because I wasn't in love with the colors they had in stock. But I went to a different Rite Aid and they had more colors, including this one - Blue Sky, and I liked it so I decided to try it.

In natural light, but in the shade. It was a sort of steel-y blue that reminded me of metal. Really pretty, but the formula was a nightmare - not sure why. After I put it on, I looked up some reviews (maybe something I should have done BEFORE buying it) and I guess a lot of people had this problem with the formula. For me, it applied really streaky and there were even lumps in it. And for the record, I applied to completely clean, dry nails so I'm not sure what the problem was. I ended up just having to apply really thick coats, and I did about three coats plus two coats of Seche Vite...it ended up evening out all right, but still was not happy with the formula overall.

In the sun, outside (in my car). It became much more metallic looking and when I would turn it in the sun, it shifted back and forth between colors in a way that was really interesting.

Another picture in the sun. Overall, I'd probably buy it again if I saw any more colors I liked a lot, since it's pretty cheap (only 2.99). Also, I'm not sure if I just got a bad bottle and it might not be as streaky normally. I think for me, the bottom line here is that I really like duochrome polishes and I would definitely be open to trying more in the future - except not til July. I've resolved that June is my no-buy month. :P



Kelly

Hauls...

Yes, I finally got the pictures I took with my boyfriend's camera so that means...a galaxy tutorial will be up soon! But, since I have to go shopping and I have to work tonight, that one will have to wait since it will take me a while to type up. Today, I have an update of my last few hauls (as of, like, three weeks ago so I've bought a lot more polishes since these) and some of my latest designs. I had a few coupons or needed certain colors so here are a lot of the polishes I've gotten recently:

I think I grouped these together because I either bought them or got them in the mail on the same day. I had a coupon for BOGO half off Revlon at Rite Aid so I picked up these two - Copper Penny and Whimsical. I had seen a lot of people talking about Whimsical so I was excited to get it - haven't tried it yet! Then, I heard about this free $20 basically, at bloom.com and I made good use of it by getting an awesome basecoat - Zoya Anchor, and then two pretty polishes - Zoya - Jem, and Essie - Shine of the Times. From what I can tell, Shine of the Times is another must-have, and so far, I can see why. I just tested it on one finger at some point, over green and it was absolutely gorgeous.

Some spring colors I picked up, I don't have them next to me at the moment so not sure of the names right now, but you get the idea. That purple Pure Ice has so many colors in it, I love it!

Some new Wet n Wilds - can't remember the first one, but the Fastdrys are from left to right, 9.0.2.1.Orange, Gray's Anatomy, then How I Met Your Magenta, and last Party of Five Glitters.

New Sally Hansens. I got the first one because I went to try to paint a Pokemon nail set and realized I had no lime green. That grey Xtreme Wear must have been broken open or something because it is really thick and lumpy and it was all dried around the lid when I opened it, but of course I didn't save the receipt. It's too bad because it's an awesome flat grey. I'm sure I'll buy it again. The blue and green came in a two-pack for ONE DOLLAR at the Dollar Tree! :} And those last three Diamond Shines, especially the glitters - I'm in love. I showed the pink one, Ring-a-Ding, in an earlier post.

I went to the mall intending to buy...something else, I can't even remember what! I left with this. The four on the ends are from Forever 21. They had some really interesting colors and they were pretty cheap. Plus I think I was hungry when I was shopping and they're mostly all named after good (i.e. sherbet, mint chip, etc). The middle three are from Icing. I haven't tried the mood one, but it was on clearance, so I thought why not? And the other two were pretty glitters. I've tried the rainbow confetti one, and it's great! The black and gold one reminds me of Pittsburgh, so that's why I picked it up.

A bunch of new NYCs. The first two came in another two-pack at the Dollar Tree, then there's Bowery Black (I fell in love with it because it's such an interesting color, it's not really quite black), then Matte Topcoat, Flat Iron Green (I believe) and Big City Dazzle.

I think that's it for now. I've bought more since then but don't feel like doing another one of these, haha. I have some new nail designs that I've been working on that I will probably put up tomorrow since this post was so picture-heavy. I'm excited to try some of these out still! :] I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day!!


Kelly

Here's what I've been doing lately..

So, like I mentioned before I haven't updated in forever because the tutorial I made and my last few hauls are on my boyfriend's camera. But I have some updates on the rest of what I've been doing lately! I finished school the first week of May and finished my practicum the week after. So I didn't have a whole lot of time to do anything super creative with my nails. I've been doing a lot of gradients 1)to practice new techniques and 2)because they're quick and easy and I like them! So here are a few I've done in the past couple weeks!

Here's a pink and gold gradient I did before my last day of work because the weather was beautiful and I felt like doing something sunny! The colors are Wet n Wild Fast Dry - How I Met Your Magenta and Revlon - Copper Penny. For my accent nail I just added a couple coats of Sally Hansen's Diamond Strength in Multi-Faceted - which I LOVE! It's a chunky black, blue and silver glitter. Anyway, for this gradient, I did a few (I think 3) coats of the Wet n Wild, then I started at the tip and painted layers of the Revlon, painting gradually more and more of the nail each time and staggering it a bit so it wasn't straight across. This would have been easier if the Revlon wasn't so opaque - it was definitely a 1-coater which I didn't know at the time.

Another angle. I really loved this mani!

This is a mani I did last week when I was getting ready to come back home to Pennsylvania to work for a couple of weeks. Again I felt summer and wanted something super bright. For this gradient, I tried a tutorial that I found at thenailasaurus.com. The picture really doesn't do it justice because of the flash - the graduation was much more subtle and cool looking than it appears to be here. I got a lot of compliments on this mani, and I liked this sponging technique better than the one I tried in my FA at gradients. I switched up my accent nail because I got a few more bumps than normal on my pointer fingers for some reason! I added a couple coats of this pretty confetti-ish glitter I got from Icing, the name is escaping me right now. The colors here are Sinful Colors - Tangerine (something or other) and Sally Hansen X-treme Colors in Pacific Blue.

And lastly, like I said I came home and since I don't have a lot of money for presents, I told my mom she could pick any mani she wanted and I would do her nails for her. She picked "tie-dye" which I begrudgingly agreed to even though as I've said before water marbling and I are not best friends. She wanted bright colors, which turned out kind of pastel over a white basecoat but she was happy. Here it is!

Mother's day mani :] It came out better than I hoped it would but I still think my swirling technique still needs work! Anyway, that's basically what I've been up to lately, more updates soon when I get my pictures off the camera. Hope everyone's summers are starting out wonderful! Mine has been full of work but I am thinking of the paycheck...  ;]



Kelly

This addiction is honestly getting out of hand...

Well, I just updated my inventory (I think the fact that I even have an "inventory" shows that I have a problem) and I'm now up to 146 polishes! It's hard to resist when I keep finding so many cool sales, but I seriously need to limit my spending for a while. Anyway, I thought I'd update with my District 4 set I've been talking about, so here's that:

I borrowed from a couple District 4 designs I've seen online and tried my best at recreating them. I'm not thrilled about it, but only because they're sloppy - I think if I tried again after more practice, I'd be satisfied. The first I did an ocean-inspired blue glitter gradient, and that one is probably my favorite. The ring finger, which is hard to see in this AWFUL lighting, is my take on a gorgeous net design I saw done by Theodora at Red Hair and Black Nail Polish. The other three I saw here, and though I tried my best to imitate them, they were harder than they look! I especially want to redo the coral "4". I do love how the trident nail turned out because of the matte finish of the background (Sinful Colors - Savage) contrasted with the sparkly gold (Sinful Colors Nail Art - Flower Girl). Questions on colors just ask - I forget at the moment but it wouldn't be hard for me to figure it out if someone were curious! :]

In other news, my first Julep box came in the mail the other day! Overall, I was really happy with the three polishes I got. I apparently fit into the "It Girl" style profile, and I received the colors Helena, Mandy and Heather (in that order in the above photo). So far, I've only tried Heather and I really like it. I think it took two coats to get the color shown in the bottle, which I thought was great considering how shimmery it is. Can't wait to try the other two, I think they're perfect for summer!

Here is my current pedi. We were getting ready to go out and celebrate finishing grad school and I wanted something appropriate for the summery weather and the celebratory mood of the evening! SO I tried a trick I saw online somewhere to make my own "dotting tool" using a bobby pin and it actually worked pretty well! That being said, most of my toenails are too small for this so I think next time I will try it on my fingers or with less colors, but I've overall been getting tons of compliments on them :]

And lastly...

My current mani! After the galaxy and all the things I've been trying, I felt like my nails needed a breather so I left them basically naked all weekend. Well, not exactly naked, they had a pale pink basecoat. But today I wanted to add something to them so I tried a new polish I got over the weekend. I usually never buy Sally Hansen Diamond Shine because I felt they were too expensive, but I saw two of these jewel overcoats (see below) that I just could not pass up. The one in the picture is called "Ring-a-Ding" and the other I bought is called "Multi-faceted" and it is a gorgeous chunky glitter with pieces of black, silver, and blue sparkles. I thought when Ring-a-Ding was added to that pale pink base, it ended up being a classy yet eyecatching look. I'll definitely consider buying more of these jewel topcoats in the future! It's great when you're rushed for time and still want to feel pretty. :]

Plans for this week - trying out some of the MANY new polishes I got over the weekend, including maybe the Matte topcoat by NYC I picked up, maybe the Saran Wrap technique, or one of two new gradient techniques I saw described online. Now that classes are over, I'm feeling ambitious ;]


Kelly

FA at Gradient + Leopard Toes

Good morning! I mentioned in an earlier post that I tried out the gradient technique a few nights ago and would post a picture post-cleanup. Well, here it is!

Overall, I'm really happy with how it turned out, especially for my first try! It was really tough to get the sponge into the spaces right around my cuticles, so the white basecoat I used shows through in some spots, but other than that I like it. I used NYC Pink Promenade for the first color, then Sinful Colors Mama-San, and ended with Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal. The picture was taken the day after, once I had cleaned up all the excess polish from my fingers. Definitely something I want to try more in the future.

Also thought I'd share my current toenail design. I like it a lot but I hate my feet/toes so I really struggled to get a picture I felt was acceptable. For the colors on this design, I was mostly inspired by this tank top I have that has leopard print in these colors.

That's all for now, I love this gradient manicure so I want to try to keep it on as long as I can but I'm planning on trying some new designs on acrylics this week (if I have time)!