November 30th: Re-create Your Favorite!

Here I will post my Tenth day manicure, a re-creation of my favorite manicure...whether it is one *I* did or one someone *else* did for the challenge.  Hot & Cold Puzzle Piece manicure!  :D

I am still wavering a bit on this one.

Should I do the shimmery base with the glitter "french" like Kara's at Never Gonna Give You Up?
Or should I do this very fun "steamy, swirly" manicure like Sheila's at Nail Engineer?
>>>Will I pull off this manicure as well as Shea did at OMG Wait What Polish IS That!?

I love all of these.  But I have been wanting to put my own spin on the one like Shea did for some time now after seeing it online.  I am pretty sure I know how to do it...and I am going to do it WITHOUT a tutorial (I know, I'm living dangerously).  :D

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Ok, so here we go.  This is my starting photo, plain polish in red...nothing hard here:

I used: WnW I Red A Good Book

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Then, I used the OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui on the diagonal for the tips. I free-handed the diagonals, but then I'm pretty decent at straight lines free-hand...I know some people aren't, so some sort of tape (nail tape or scotch tape) with work for this step to create a nice clean line.

I meant to take a photo of the half-way point, but that didn't happen...soooo...moving on...

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Then, I put the dots of red on the blue, and blue dots on the red on each side of the diagonal.  Does that make sense?  You create a sort of "puzzle piece" feel, which is what I think I will call this manicure. (not sure what the name is actually)

(Click photo to see bigger)

I used: WnW I Red A Good Book and OPI Suzi Says Feng Shui

(Click photo to see bigger)

You can see where I had to do heavier dots of red to make it less transparent.  You should really use a creme versus a crelly (creme-jelly hybrid) for this...which technically the WnW is in one coat. Two coats becomes Opaque creme...

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And that's it.  What do YOU think?  Did I nail it or not?  What would you have done differently?  Are the colors good?  I tried to use contrasting colors so that it would REALLY show up well in photos, but I am not sure if the colors stayed true.

This is also the last day.  I am so sad that this challenge is over and I look forward to a Christmas challenge, though I haven't decided who I'm going with for December.  I want one that doesn't start until December 1st so I can take a little break.  :D

November 27th: Water Marble

Here I will post my Ninth day manicure, Water Marble!

This will have only been my second attempt at this type of manicure.  It's not one I generally go for because there is a lot of clean up involved if you don't prep carefully.

I used the tape-off method for my ring and index fingers.  I taped off around the nail to limit the clean up necessary.  Yeah, color transfer wasn't real good.  So I just plunged in and dipped without.  Yeah, that was a mess, but it WORKED nicely.  It cleaned up fairly easily since the polish wasn't yet completely dry.  I actually painted the base on my four fingers in gold...clear base on the thumb.  I kinda like the one without a base..the color is clearer.

But isn't the shimmer just divine!  I love that flashiness...I think I will have to attempt a Christmas-y one soon. With red and green shimmer...and then a holo top coat.  Watch for it!

So what do YOU Think?  Tell me!  I want your opinion.  Did you go AWESOME or did you go MEH?

November 24th: Gradient Nails!

Here I will post my Eighth day manicure, Gradient Nails!

I had so many ideas for this one.  I thought...winter colors...neons...fall colors...high-mid-low range...and I was like...OMGosh!  I KNEW what I had to do.

Introducing...my first shimmer gradient...in fall, high-mid-low range colors.  :D

  

I had fun with this one.

Colors:
Essence Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 2 A Little Piece of Forever
Kleancolor Copper
Kleancolor Dark Cherry

Uh huh.  This is only the second gradient I've done...and while it isn't a smooth as I would have liked, the gradual change is there.  I really like this one.

Let me know what YOU think.  Good combo or bad combo?

November 21st: Stripes/Lines

Here I will post my Seventh day manicure, Stripes/Lines!

I didn't see anything quite like these when I went to do this manicure, so I HAD to see how it would look.  Kind of a modified "mummy" nail, but only the tips.  Probably someone HAS done these before, but for me, they are new.  Enjoy. I also posted my runner up manicures, a traditional stripe manicure and a freeform ribbon line manicure below it.

I used my current review polish as my base, part of the Cinderella collection from Sephora by OPI, Bibbidy, Bobbidy, Pink!.  Then I just drew lines reminiscent of how one would do a mummy manicure.  I've been calling it the "Princess has a Dark Side" manicure.

Simple but effective striped french manicure.

These two below are my "runners-up" so to speak.  I love them both, so I had to share them:

Anyway, there ya go.  What do you think?

November 18th: Inspired by Someone Elses' nails

Here I will post my Sixth day manicure, Manicure inspired by someone else's nails.  This means we can "copy" any mani we see on the internet, but do it our way.

Since I didn't have the colors here, I decided to do it in another color scheme.  

Here is the inspiration for my manicure:

The Cats Eyes Have It Caviar French Tip Manicure

I decided to improvise...and did an accent nail totally in beads but left the blue showing through a bit.  Neato eh?

 


I Used:
Chirality Cu2+ with gold microbeads

This manicure can lose it's appeal after a day because so many beads fall off...so not one for a long-term manicure, but it's cure for a night out.  Just be prepared to either add more beads or take it off on day 2.  Let's see if this manicure drives me just because of the texture or not.

So what do YOU think?  Could YOU wear this manicure?  Have you before?  If you have, post your links in the comments!  I want to see them!

So, until next time: Keep Calm and Polish on!

November 15th: Half Moon Manicure

Here I will post my Fifth day manicure, Half Moons!

I apologize right now.  This one didn't end up being 100% hand-painted.  Maybe when I get better and have had more practice.  My bows looked like eggwhites instead of bows.  So, to make it look nicer, I used decal bows.  But the rest was hand painted, I promise.  From the 1/2 moons to the lines separating the two colors or "ribbon" for the bows.

So anyway, here we go:

I think this turned out really well.  Even WITH the decal bows.  I had seen a mani like this on a website, no idea where it was now, so I decided to try it.  Very elegant look.

So what do YOU think of the moon manicure?  Is it a look you would try?  I think I'll have to do it again some time.

Colors Used:
BL Knackered
SH Insta Dri Jumpin' Jade
Stripe Right liner in White
Unknown brand White bow decals

That's it.  I did an accent nail in solid with Love on it.  My husband thought that was cute.  My daughter didn't like the dark color so much, but she did love the bows.  My son just oohs over all of it (he's 2).  Hehe.

Until next time...Live Life to the Fullest!

November 12th: Delicate Print

Here I will post my Fourth day manicure, Delicate Print nails.

I was sooooo not sure what to do with this one.  Because my designs tend to be clunky if I try to be delicate.

I was going to do stamping, but I chickened out at the last moment, literally, even though there was THE perfect design for Veteran's Day.

I opted for the easy way out and did decals...but they turned out pretty cool.  The flowers kinda reminded me of aged poppies getting ready to drop their petals.  Pretty inventive explanation if I do only say so myself.  :D

 


I promise my next mani will be hand-done.  I have TONS of decals, but having learned some techniques, I hate to back-pedal off of what I know.  I will try and move forward from here on out.