Geek Nail Challenge - TV #3 (The Walking Dead)

I present to you my third TV-inspired mani which is a representation of one of my FAVORITE TV shows - The Walking Dead! I have loved this show since it premiered on Halloween two years (I think) ago! It's one of the few shows that I must catch every week, on time, when it's on. Well, here's my zombie inspired mani!

Obviously, I got a little theatrical with that positioning. I also didn't clean up and left the mani sloppy because it was more zombie-esque that way ;] Here's a closer shot, with flash to really show all the colors.

I really ended up liking how this turned out! For a base, I did two coats of a Daring Imaginations Vampire Red that came with a Halloween costume once, haha, to represent blood. Then I painted one thick coat of Orly Decades of Dysfunction and sponged some of that off so the blood showed underneath. I repeated that one more time. Then, I lightly sponged on a bit of Zoya - Yara to add that greenish tint. Finally - and this was my mistake - I put on a matte topcoat and it smoothed everything over too much, the cool decay-like texture was gone. I tried to recreate it the next morning just sponging a bit of NYC Matte topcoat over it randomly:

Not bad, but I did miss my Seche Vite! As you can see, it chipped before I could even get a picture of it. Oh well. What do you think? And don't forget to check out the other bloggers!

Kelly

Summer Challenge Day 15: Ocean/sea

I didn't have to think too hard on this one so I'll just get on with it - here is my ocean/sea inspired mani for Day 15 of the Summer Challenge!

This picture was taken at night using my boyfriend's super cool DSLR so it was really well defined, etc but something about the color left me unsatisfied. SO I took another one the next day in the natural light that captured the true colors better (below).

My inspiration for most of the nails, was mermaids, ocean water, stuff like that. I tried for a glitter gradient, but didn't turn out as great as I wanted. I used Sinful Colors Savage for the main color (which is has a really cool matte finish and I don't know why - I've never run into another Sinful that was like that, but I LOVE it) and then Sinful Nail Junkie for the glitter/scales/etc. Then I *attempted* a wave accent nail,  inspired by Kaki @ Glitter Obsession. I used Milani Sail Away as a base, then alternated sponging more of that on top of Wet n Wild I Need a Refresh-Mint, and Sinful Colors Snow Me White. I didn't use topcoat on this mani because I loved all the different textures! :]

Kelly

Summer Challenge Day 2: Picnic!

Hi everyone! Hope you are all enjoying this gorgeous weather :D Today I have my interpretation on picnic nails! This theme was a little tough for me and I felt that overall they are not bad, though they could have turned out better! PLEASE ignore my awful, awful cuticles. This is before I got a chance to really clean up the mani, because I wanted to take advantage of the sunlight. And here they are:

So, for my thumb I did my best picnic blanket with ants on it. I wish I didn't add their feelers because they looked better before, but I still like them! Then on my index finger, that's my take on lemonade.  My middle finger is supposed to be a picnic basket texture, but it didn't go so well. I guess this is one way to find out I don't own a single flat tan or taupe color! Definitely added to my list of need-to-buy-colors. Then I did a watermelon for my ring finger, and on my pinkie, that's a grill spatula, haha! I was going to do another food, like fried chicken or a hamburger, but it was just too hard! I wanted to add the matte topcoat for a different-looking finish, but today (after 1 day of wear) I learned why I swear by Seche Vite. The lemonade, watermelon and the spatula nails have all chipped significantly. Oh well, you live and  you learn! I can't wait to go check out what the other bloggers have done for today - this manicure was a tough one for me!

Everyone have a great 4th of July!!!

Kelly