Tag: Fingernails

 
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Trixy

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Here it is, the last of my Halloween nails…

Julep “Trixy” was the perfect match for my Halloween costume – the Evil Queen from Snow White. I rarely do full costumes anymore – in this case, my whole costume was the crowned wimple, a mini cape and the makeup. Really, the makeup WAS the costume. Oh…and an apple. The apple was key.

“Trixy” is a blackened purple glitter. It’s the sister of “Marlise”. Like Marlise, it a bit gritty, so I topped with Glisten & Glow Top Coat. This is two coats over Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat.

Since the glitter is in a clear base, this would look really interesting over a contrasting color. Maybe a yellow?

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Bloody Angel

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Pretend it isn’t November 1st and that it’s October 31st. Thanks.

Dripping Blood is my favorite Halloween nail art. This year, I decided to mix it up and go with a matte white background. I started with two coats of Sinful Colors “Angelik” after Sinful Colors Base Coat. I painted the drips freehand with Sinful Colors “Undead Red”. Not a bad job, if you ask me. Someday, I’ll get off my ass and use one of my fancy brushes…

This paint job lasted quite a while…well, Friday to Monday.

Only 364 days until Halloween!

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Belly Dancer

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Years and years ago – like 1999 – I used to take belly dancing classes. I really enjoyed it, but I changed jobs at one point and started working weekends, so the classes no longer worked with my schedule. I couldn’t imagine taking classes again now – as self conscious as I was about baring my itty bitty belly at 23, I cannot imagine baring my lumpy mama belly now. Pretty sure I sucked really bad, too – the teacher always praised how well I could remember the choreography. I will, however, always cherish the brief moment in time when I was able to roll a quarter up and down my stomach – I really could do it!

My point IS…that my nail polish combination reminds my of  gorgeous belly dancer costume. I started with Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and then two coats of Revlon “Chameleon”. I used Nanacoco “Emerald” and Sinful Colors “Twilight Twinkles” on the tips, to bring out the green and gold in “Chameleon”. I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

Hmmm…I’m gonna go find some quarters.

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Marlise

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It doesn’t get much Halloweenie-er than this!

Julep “Marlise” is described as luminous borealis glitter, but it just looks black and green to me. When I think of borealis I think of the blue and purples, but there’s usually green in there, too. It’s not the first time that Julep’s descriptions have come from Bizarro World.

I started with Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, and then two coats of “Marlise”. The glitter finish was rough and scratchy – those usually chip quickly. I sealed it with my favorite Glisten & Glow Top Coat, which made it extra shiny. The top coat didn’t entirely smooth the polish – it was still pebbley.

I was impressed by how long this glitter lasted with the top coat – it still looked decent when I took it off.

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Red Left Hand

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Sometimes, I see a nail look on Instagram that I just have to imitate. This is one I saw on @am1e’s feed. I happened to have all the stuff to make it happen, so I did.

I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and then two coats of either Sinful Colors “Black on Black” or “No Text Red”. I used Sinful Colors “Devil’s Stare” as accents on my middle and ring fingers. The finishing touch was Zoya Velvet Matte Top Coat.

It turned out REALLY good – I was very proud of myself. I’m almost starting to prefer matte-d glitters to shiny ones. Almost.

Lily was not a fan of the matte finish. She said they felt “weird”. I guess matte nails are an acquired taste.

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Smouldrin’ Cauldron

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Not this past weekend, but the weekend before, I found myself in a rural Walmart after a family breakfast. While filling my cart with cheap Xmas decorations, I couldn’t resist throwing a few Halloween nail polishes into my basket as well…

This is Pure Ice “Smouldrin’ Cauldron”. It’s a gray jelly, with dark blue glitter and iridescent flakies. This is three thick coats, sandwiched between Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and Glisten & Glow Top Coat. Even with a thick layer of top coat, it was scratchy and jagged – I kept snagging my nails on things.

Yes, these polishes are just $1.98, but they aren’t anywhere near as good as Sinful Colors. They are goopy, take forever to dry and chip quickly. I wore this polish for less than 24 hours before I had to scrub it off. Yuck.

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Bad Bitch

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Sometimes, the right nail polish can make you feel feminine. Or it can make you feel young and playful, even like a kid again. But once in a while, the right combination will make you a bad bitch…

The boss bitch combination is Julep “Laurie” with the silver nail decals I got in this month’s box. Upon my husband’s advice, I didn’t go crazy and add one to every nail, instead choosing to adorn only my “devil nails”. The skull looks amazing. The snake sunk into the polish a bit, but not too badly. Not pictured is the badass spider I added to the middle finger of my left hand. I felt like a newly engaged bride, but instead of sticking my hands in peoples’ face to show off my ring, I was showing off my “devil nails”.

This is Julep Oxygen Bonding Base Coat, two coats of “Laurie”, then Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

I forgot how good the Oxygen Bonding Base Coat is. My nails looked perfect for days and days. Pay no mind to my poor middle finger – the nail bent and broke and I had to chop her.

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Pumpkin Spice Everything

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It’s that time of year again…Halloween Nails!

I’ve been wearing my “Pumpkin Spice Everything” shirt every chance I get, so I decided that my nails should match. I’m not even that big of a Pumpkin Spice fan, but I have some psychological problem that makes me buy every Pumpkin Spice product that I see. Just this weekend, I bought Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, Pumpkin Spice Pop-Tarts and Pumpkin Spice Nutrigrain Bars. Something is really wrong with me. (Although I did eat the Nutrigrain bar as a snack today and it was fucking delicious.)

I created my own personal Pumpkin Spice on my fingernails. I started with Sinful Colors Base Coat and I borrowed Sinful Colors “Courtney Orange” from my daughter. After two coats of the orange, I did the tips with…wait for it…Sinful Colors “Pumpkin Spice”. I finished with Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

I also did my toes with “Courtney Orange”, but no “Pumpkin Spice”.

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Lina

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Julep “Lina” is a blinding white gold metallic. It would look so much better than someone not as pasty white as me. But it still looks pretty damn good, if I do say so myself…

I was afraid that it would be a sheer shimmer, but it ended up being full coverage. I love full coverage metallic polishes. This is two coats of “Lina” over Glisten & Glow Ridge Filling Base Coat and under Glisten & Glow Top Coat.

The polish was fairly long lasting, but it couldn’t stand up to planting 72 spinach plants this morning. We’re going to have spinach for daysssss…

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Undead Red

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Now THIS is a matte polish.

Or is it? It’s a bit shiny for a matte polish…but there’s a sticker on it that CLEARLY says “Vampy Matte”. Maybe “Vampy Matte” means not really that matte?

Regardless, Sinful Colors “Undead Red” is a helluva polish. It’s a matte-ish red glitter with black flakies. This is two coats over Sinful Colors Base Coat and NO top coat. It’s so deep and beautiful and I can’t stop looking at it. It was so much tougher than that Basketball polish. Yes, it did eventually chip after 3-4 days, but certainly not within 12 hours!

And look at my cuticle! It looks normal now…squeeeeee!