Halloween

The One With the Spider Web Nail Art

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world and Happy Halloween to you all!  I almost forgot to do this post, but as I laid down in bed at 12:30am, I realized that I never edited the photos for this post, or wrote it.  I would have talked myself into doing it another day, but then I realized that the Halloween manicure kind of needs to be posted on Halloween, therefore I got up and got to work.  Of course Blogger didn't want to participate with me, so we will see if the photos actually end up getting uploaded. Technology hasn't been my friend today.

So, today is Halloween, and we are supposed to get a horrible storm.  I'm not sure if that means we will have any trick or treaters.  The southern part of the state is actually re-scheduling Halloween for Saturday because of this storm.  My guess is, because they're predicting it's going to be an awful storm, it really won't be and it will be a semi decent night.

Regardless, my nails are ready, this post is ready, so let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Serendipity Polish - CE0,000,000
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Acrylic
I actually created this spider web design last year and loved it so much that I had to re-create it this year.  To get the look I started off with two coats of Serendipity Polish CE0,000,000.  I will always tell everyone how much I miss this brand.  Long wearing, fast drying, one coater polishes.  Ahhh, how I loved them.


Once my base was dry, which literally was two minutes, I sponged the white polish onto the nails.  This gives it a really spooky feel.  I then went through with my nail art brush and added the spider webs.  I feel like these are the best webs that I've ever created.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Something you'd try?

Hope everyone has a safe Halloween! 

Until next time, <3.


Halloween

The One With the Pumpkin Nail Art that I Really Don't Like

9:00:00 AM

Nothing to Disclose

Good morning polished world! How are you all doing on this wonderful Monday?  I apologize for not posting but I got distracted and thought I had posted.  Actually I'm even behind on Instagram too.  Not quite sure how that happened since I feel I have been diligent, but who knows.

Today's nail art is something that looked MUCH better in my head than it did on my nails.  Remember the other day when I posted the graveyard coming from the cuticle and I said pumpkins by my cuticle would be a cute idea.  Yeah, they would probably be cute if they weren't jack o'lanterns.  I ran out of room, so I just did the eyes, and well I really did not like them.  But since I'm all about the blog again, I figured I would post them.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • OPI - I Can Never Hut Up
  • OPI - No Tan Lines
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • Acrylics
The thing I really liked about this manicure was the base.  I used two coats of I Can Never Hut Up, which is one of my all time favorite grey polishes by OPI.  When that was dry, I went through with a black polish and created the dry brush look.  I then added the pumpkins first by outlining them with a black acrylic.  I then filled in the orange and green and added some darker orange shading.



Then came time for the jack o'lantern faces.  This is where the manicure took a turn for the disaster-cure.  I didn't plan the spacing out enough and had no room for the little mouths, therefore I had tiny triangle eyes, at first.  I tried to fix my mess, and made the triangles larger, which I wasn't happy with.

Even though I wasn't happy with the design, other people thought they were cute.  They said they were peek-a-boo jack o'lanterns.

What do you think?  Hate them, love them?

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

The One With the Mani Swap With Coffee and Nail Polish - Graveyard Nails!

9:00:00 AM


Good morning, polished world!  How are you doing on this fine, fine Tuesday?  We are finally getting some Fall weather right in time for Halloween.  Life has slowed down for me during my favorite season and I actually am getting to enjoy the changing colors and crisp air.  I'm hoping the weather holds this weekend so I can carve my pumpkins.  I need ideas, so if you have any, let me know!

Today's post is a Mani Swap with Coffee and Nail Polish, you know, since two of my last three Halloween manicures have been inspired by her.  How could I not recreate her ghosts and candy corn dots??  When I saw her graveyard nails, I knew I had to re-create them as well.  After chatting about Halloween nail art, we decided to do today's swap!!

Let's take a look at my re-creation of her graveyard nails!


Colors Used:
  • OPI - I Can Never Hut Up
  • ORLY - Liquid Vinyl
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Zoya - Troy
Aren't these graveyard nails neat?!  Just like her other designs, I never would have thought of this manicure.  Especially doing the little graves at the cuticle.  Why don't I think of doing more cuticle nail art?  It's so versatile and there are so many designs you can do from there.  I think I might do some Thanksgiving cuticle pumpkins.  That sounds weird, but trust me, I think it's going to be cute.



I really loved the base for this manicure.  To get the look, I started with a base coat of Zoya Troy.  It's a dark grey pewter polish from I believe the Urban Grunge collection.  During my blogging hiatus, it was a polish I discovered in my collection and wore a lot with a variety of holographic top coats.  You can get away with one coat of this beauty, but I typically use two.

When that was dried, I went through with ORLY White Tips and did a vertical dry brush unlike the normal random abstract dry brush that I typically do.  I then did a dry brush with I Can Not Hut Up by OPI.  One of my favorite light grey polishes with a subtle blue shimmer.  Then to make it a little more spooky, I added a bit of a dry brush using ORLY Liquid Vinyl.


Once my dry brush was completed, I added the cuticle nail art using acrylics.  Honestly, it was so much easier to create the nail art at the cuticle instead of at the tip of the nail.  Maybe because of the angle when painting.  Who knows.  Regardless, I really need to create more cuticle nail art.

I didn't plan the photo at the actual graveyard, it just was an interesting coincidence.  On a beautiful day this weekend, I went to visit some family plots before the winter to make sure they were in good condition when I realized I had the graveyards painted on my nails.  I had to take the opportunity for the photo.  I'm not going to lie, I find graveyards to be extremely peaceful and not so much haunting.  Just walking around and reading different graves you can learn so much.  At this particular graveyard, some of the graves are from the 1800s.  I just find it interesting.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure? Do you get creeped out by graveyards?

Don't forget to check out Shannon's swap!!!

Until next time, <3.



Dot Mani

The One With the Candy Corn Dotticure

9:00:00 AM

Good morning polished world!  How are you doing on this fine Sunday?  I meant to have this post up yesterday, but I decided to go to bed instead of editing photos and writing.  Actually, I took a look at the photos and they were in bad shape that I just kind of gave up and went to sleep.  I need to invest in a new camera.  I've been using the same one for the past five years and I think it's time.

Until then, the old camera is getting the job done and captured this fun candy corn dotticure inspired by Coffee and Nail Polish.  Pretty sure I should change my blog name for this month to "Inspired by Coffee and Nail Polish" because the mani I'm posting after this one will be the third one inspired by her.  She's just hitting home runs this Halloween season, so how can I not re-create her designs??

Let's take a look! 


Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Taylor
  • Serendipity Polish - Orange County Girl
  • Serendipity Polish - Bottomless Mimosas
  • Serendipity Polish - #GoalDigger
Despite the fact that the coloring is horrid on these photos, the manicure was beyond amazing.  I absolutely loved the use of a nude base for the nail art.  I probably would have created this look with a negative space manicure, and then hated it.  I always forget to use my nude polishes, like Taylor from Zoya.  I got this polish years ago and it's such a great shade which really does match my skin.  We will ignore the fact that my skin looks beyond lobster'ed in these photos, truly it does match.



I miss Serendipity Polish.  That's one Indie that I wish was still around.  One coat creams which worked wonderfully for nail art.  

I'm sad that my top coat is getting old because it bubbled around the dots.  Oh well.  New camera, new top coat.....I need to get to the store.

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure? Recommendations for new cameras?

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

The One With the Ghoulish Ghosts

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing on this Wednesday?  The weather is finally like Fall here with temperatures in the 50s and 60s.  We are due for a frost and the leaves are finally changing.  Ahhh, it's truly my favorite time of year.  Now, I just need to get some apples and start making some pies!

Before the pie making, there's some blogging to do.  Today's Halloween design was inspired by Coffee & Nail Polish.  She created the most unique ghost design for #GlamNailsChallengeOct.  In all my years of blogging I had never seen anything like it, and I for sure never thought of doing it!

Let's take a look!



Colors Used:
  • Sally Hansen - Stilletos & Studs
  • INM - Northern Lights
  • Acrylics
Isn't this so amazing?!  Shannon came up with the idea of see through little ghosts.  I always hate doing ghost designs because the opaque white always didn't look right to me.  While this looks like an unbelievably complicated design, it was so easy to do!  I took white acrylic paint and watered it down.  I painted the design on the nail, then let it sit for about 30 seconds.  I then wiped off the access and was left with the outline of the ghost.  I brushed around some excess acrylics to fill in some really naked areas and was left with little ghosts!



Stilettos & Studs was a great base color for this manicure.  I debated on going with a straight black base with a scattered holo topper, but when I saw this polish in my drawer I had to use it.  It gives it that cloudy, spooky, night sky feel.  Two coats and I had full coverage of this Miracle Gel.  It wore like a beast, it took a little scrubbing to remove it.

What do you think?  Like these little ghosts?  Think they're spooky or cute?

Until next time, <3.

Halloween

The One With the Candy Corn Drip Nail Art

9:00:00 AM


Good morning, Polished World! How are you all doing on this fine, fine Sunday?  I meant to have this post up yesterday, but my days kind of blurred into one another and I thought yesterday was the 11th and not the 12th.  I literally am the worst person when it comes to remembering dates, or knowing what day of the week it is in general.  I can't tell you how many times I have to ask people what day it is.

Oh well, what I do know is that it's still October, and Halloween is right around the corner!  That means it's time for me to start creating some Halloween designs.  While on Pinterest, I came across a candy corn paint drip manicure originally created by Adventures in Acetone.  Her blog was one of the first that I followed, and I was so surprised that I had never seen this design until now.  Since I love the paint drip look, I decided to re-create it.  At 11pm the other night.  Not my wisest decision, but so worth it!

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • Zoya - Storm
  • OPI - Alpine Snow
  • OPI - Exotic Birds Do Not Tweet
  • OPI - No Tan Lines
Isn't this awesome?  And yes, I used all nail polish to create the look.  I started off with two coats of my favorite Zoya polish - Storm.  I need to get another bottle of this black scattered holo beauty.  It's the perfect base coat for nail art like this.



Once dried, I added some very messy paint drips using Alpine Snow.  It was my first time making an all polish paint drip, but it was actually a tad easier than using the acrylics.  When that dried, I added the orange and yellow for the candy corn colors.  I then cleaned up any messy edges using Storm to make the paint drip more even.

What do you think? Fan of this look?

Until next time, <3.

ILNP

The One With the Fall Pumpkin Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  Look at me, back at blogging like I never left.  I'm not going to lie, it doesn't feel like a chore anymore.  I now look forward to sitting down on my computer, coming up with nail designs, completing them, and then sharing them all with you. I think the break was good for me.  Hopefully I continue down this path.

Truly, I came back at the perfect time of year.  Fall has so many opportunities for nail art, then followed by Christmas!  Ahhhh so many nail art ideas, so little time.  It already is October 9th and I just painted my first Halloween design last evening.  I feel I'm behind, but really looking at other Instagrams, I feel like I'm right where I should be.  I actually wonder how many other "blogs" are still out there.  Part of me always wondered if I should delete this blog, and just convert to Instagram, but my first three posts back already have over 100 views, so people are reading.  *waves*

Anyways, today's manicure is a Fall pumpkin design.  Typically I would do this design around Thanksgiving, but after seeing a few other nail artists use this color of green, I just had to do this design.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • INM - Sage
  • ILNP - Clockwork
  • ORLY - White Tips
  • Assorted Acrylics
Isn't that little pumpkin cute??  And look at me shading and makine some sort of dimension to that pumpkin.  It looked better in person than it does in the photos.  I have to reconfigure my lighting setup.  It's all out of whack since I took it all down with the whole hiatus thing.  I also probably should invest in a new camera......



Sage by INM is a gorgeous green polish.  I used two coats but you really can get away with just one.  It applied perfectly, dried super fast, and had such a shine that if you didn't have a top coat, you could go without it.  I ended up wearing the manicure for five days with no chips, which is a huge record for me.

What do you think? Like the green? Think this is a good Fall design?

Until next time, <3.

FingerPaints

The One With the FingerPaints Gold Negative Space Manicure

9:00:00 AM


Good morning polished world!  How are you all doing today?  I've been better.  Friday I ended up getting sick with some sort of allergic reaction where my breathing got all messed up and I've had the WORST stomach cramps for the past 24 close to 48 hours.  I'm hoping today it gets better and I can leave my house for more than 5 minutes.  Especially because it's supposed to be a perfect Fall day today.  Sunny, in the 70s...really hope I get outside.

Since I've been since, I haven't wanted to edit my latest Fall themed manicure.  Lucky for me, I had edited all my old photos over this past week and have 8 posts to share.  After looking through all the photos, I felt this negative space, gold, daisy manicure was fitting for a nice, sunny, Fall day.  Maybe.  

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • FingerPaints - Beverly's Touch
  • ORLY - White Tips
Pretty sure this is a re-creation of a manicure I did a few years ago.  I painted it back in April when I was feeling very uninspired but wanted some sort of floral design.  I remember looking on Instagram and finding a negative space manicure, and this one flew back into my mind.  Now you know me, I'm not a huge fan of gold, so this was a manicure that was way out of my comfort zone then, and was again when I recreated it.  Both times though, I absolutely loved the white and gold color combination.



Beverly's Touch is an oldie but goodie from my polish stash.  You can totally get away with one coat of this gorgeous yellow gold, but I used two.  I love how saturated it is because it makes it easier to use for nail art.

Fan of this manicure? Ever enjoyed the negative space look?

Until next time, <3.

Flowers

The One With the Sunflowers and ILNP Sundance

9:00:00 AM


Hey there polished world!!  I told you I was back!  Twice this week I have painted nail art, and I have a surplus of drafts.  I didn't realize until I took my picture card out of the camera how many manicures I never edited from before I stopped painting.  I think I have about 8 manicures to post, which is just beyond crazy to me.  Now, I just have to find the appropriate time to post them since it's Fall and most of the designs are Spring/Summer.  Guess I'll be creative....

Today's manicure is one I painted the other night, aka the first nail art after my hiatus!  For the past two months I have been wanting do sunflower nail art.  Summer, then September came and left, and I never painted any sunflowers.  Since it was super warm out the other day, and sunflowers are a Summer to Fall transition flower, I figured it would be appropriate to still paint them.

If you've been following me for a while, then you would know that annually I paint sunflowers on top of a glittery cobalt blue base.  Since I've done it so many times,  I really wasn't feeling it.  I then found my bottle of ORLY Olive You Kelly and was going to use that as my base, until I remembered that last year that's the base I used for my sunflowers.  Then, sitting next to the ORLY bottle was Sundance by ILNP; the perfect base for this design.

Let's take a look!


Colors Used:
  • ILNP - Sundance
  • Acrylics
Look at how gorgeous Sundance is!!!!  Two coats of this beautiful, green, holographic beauty.  All of my ILNP polishes are the same, saturated with color with a gorgeous holographic effect no matter what type of lighting you are in.  I can't tell you how many times this summer when I was wearing plain swatches I would get distracted and get lost in the holo.


I love how nail art on top of a holographic base gives the manicure a 3D illusion.  I debated on adding little flat green leaves but felt like the green background really gave it a leafy-field feel!

Not going to lie, I was a tad rusty when it came to nail art and working with the acrylics.  After a few nails it all started to come back to me.  I think it's going to be a slow and steady type thing as I start to get back into the swing of nail art!

What do you think?  Fan of this manicure?  Loving that beautiful base.

Until next time, <3.