My nubs

I have to say, I am a bit weary of posting my nails today. I've been doing some projects in school that have resulted in my nails breaking, and of course I had to file them all down.

It's not too bad, right? As a past nail biter, I've seen my nails shorter than this, but since my nails have been long for awhile now, my finger tips feel so naked.

I call these my "full moon" nails. Each nail has a full moon fading into the black night sky.

I think once my nails are a bit longer I'll try them again, because I'm pretty sure I know of a better way to go about doing this and it would look a lot nicer.

Polishes Used:
and Fantasy Makers Nail in the Coffin.

Nail Art Contest!

Recently I reached 1,000 followers on Tumblr so I decided it'd be fun to have a giveaway / contest.


The Rules:

• Only one entry per person
• Create a design based on the theme of "Beetlejuice"
• The design must be completed on your own nails
• Polish only, no acrylic paint
• No stamping, freehand designs only
• This must be a new design, not something you've previously painted
• Designs must be submitted by November 21
• This contest is open to residents of the United States only

How to Submit:

• Create your design
• Take a photo and upload it to your flickr, blog, or any other uploading service
• Comment on this post with the link to that image and a way to contact you (like an email address)

The Prize:

• The full set of Models Own Beetlejuice Collection including Indian Ocean, Copper Pot, Tropical Sun, Pinky Brown, Aqua Violet, and Golden Green

I will be choosing a single winner based on creativity and craft.

Have fun and good luck!!

Julep October Box Swatches

I received these awhile ago and I had kind of forgotten about them. This month, I chose the "Maven's Choice" box because all the other boxes were filled with crackles and I definitely do not need any more crackle polishes, at all.

Keira is a deep red creme. I really enjoy this shade, and didn't own anything like it previously. Formula was great, it took two thin coats for full opacity.

Eloise is a smokey blue creme. It reminds me of Zoya Natty in shade. The formula on this was also great, two thin coats for full opacity.

Lisa is described as a warm pebble grey creme, which is how it appears in the photos. In person, I see it as more of a khaki, which is supposed to be very popular for the fall. Again, amazing formula, opaque in two coats.

Some ruffle nail art using these colors. I used this tutorial from Chalkboard Nails, and well, I think I need some practice.

In addition to these polishes, I received the quick-dry drops. I don't have much to say about those. If you have a quick dry topcoat then I don't see a point it having them. They did work to the point where my polish was dry to the touch, but they were still about to be smudged/dented.

If you’re not a Julep Maven yet, click here and take the quiz to receive your first box.  Use the code COLOR2012 or PENNY at check out to get it for only a penny!

Leopard Print + Gradient Tutorial

When I did the 31 Day Challenge, I had someone ask me for a tutorial of this manicure. Here it is!

1. Start by painting your nails yellow. I used China Glaze Happy Go Lucky. Let this dry completely before going on to the next step.
2. Create the gradient using a makeup sponge. Paint the colors directly onto the makeup sponge next to each other in stripes (like this). I used China Glaze Happy Go Lucky, Zoya Arizona, and Julep Drew.
3. Add purple leopard spots using a small striper brush. I used OPI Funky Dunky.

If you have any questions, comment below :)

Zombified

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. I love everything about it, especially zombies. I've noticed recently zombies have become quite popular, probably due to shows like The Walking Dead, and I decided I do some zombie inspired nails.

I realize these are kind of gross and may not be practical for everyday wear, but I love them. And it's October, so I say who cares?

I used a China Glaze Matte Magic top coat to add to the rotting undead zombie flesh.

DIFFERENTdimension Halloween Trio

Today I have some swatches of differentDIMENSION's nail polish trio for Halloween. Each of these polishes are filled with various sizes of glitter, and the best part is... they glow in the dark! Awesome, right?!

First is Smashing Pumpkins. Smashing Pumpkins has a light gray base with small black glitter, medium sized orange hex glitter, and large black hex glitter. It also has medium sized square iridescent glitter, which you can kind of see in the photo on my pointer. The best part of this polish is it glows orange! The glow is not as intense as the other two polishes, but it's still awesome regardless. I held it under a light for probably two minutes to get it as bright as it is in this photo. For these photos, I used one coat of Smashing Pumpkins over OPI Skull & Glossbones.

When I bought this trio, I think this one was the one I was least excited for, but it ended up being my favorite! Ectoplasm is filled with black and green glitters of various sizes. This one glows green and the glow is very bright. In this photo I'm wearing one coat of Ectoplasm over OPI Stranger Tides.

Last one for the trio is Candied Corn. This polish has a very translucent yellow base with various sized white glitter, orange glitter, and iridescent glitter. This one was a little difficult to apply because it was so thin. I also had to do some digging for the large hex glitters but it was totally worth it because look at that glow! The description of this polish says the glow is yellow; however I definitely find it to be green, maybe a little less green than Ectoplasm, but still green. I'm not sure if that would be different had I layered it over something lighter. The glow on this is amazing, it barely needs any "charging" and it stays for a long time. I layered two very thin coats of Candied Corn over China Glaze Liquid Leather in the photos above.

DIFFERENTdimension  polishes can be purchased on etsy for $10 each.

Sugar Skull Nails + Tutorial

It's October, which means halloween. And yes, I know these are sugar skulls which are custom on Dia de los Muertos, which is Novermber 1, but close enough! I like these. They're fun and colorful and I have a tutorial for them so that's exciting! Be excited!

I was going to try to white words with it but I think the picture is pretty self explanatory, and the words might just get confusing. If you have an questions, leave a comment below.  :)

31 Day Challenge 2012

I survived! YAYY!

This is a roundup of all the manicures I did for the 31 Day Challenge 2012. Each photo can be clicked on and will bring you to the original post.