Zigzags

Can I hire someone to come up with titles for me? I seriously think that's the hardest part of blogging. Actually posting regularly being a close second, of course. Anyway this might be my favorite of the summer so far, though it's a bit on the darker side for the summer. What you're looking at today is a blue purple gradient beneath a stamped silver zigzag pattern from my MASH stamping plates.

The left hand! Which one of these is not like the other...?

Okay! For the gradient I used four different colors, two blues and two purples. The darker purple is Essie Sexy Divide, one of my absolute favorite polishes. The lighter shimmery purple is Sinful Colors Purple Diamond. The next is Sinful Colors Love Nails, a translucent turquoise. Finally, we have Sinful Colors Midnight Blue, an equally gorgeous marbled royal blue.

The infamous right hand! Which actually turned out just fine.

I stamped the zigzag pattern using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City, and I loved the way it made the manicure brighter. I was originally going to stamp in black, but I'm glad I chose otherwise. Thanks for reading!

Zoya: Anastasia

Hello! I'm back from my short trip. Actually I'm back from recovering from my trip, haha. Just a quick manicure today.

This is Anastasia by Zoya. I used two coats in this manicure, three coats would be best for a fully opaque look. This is a really interesting color because it looks so pretty but once I put in on my nails I start doubting myself...and I end up taking it off because it doesn't quite look right on my nails. Maybe I have the wrong skin tone for this color? But the holographic sparkles in this polish are delightful. Perhaps someday I'll figure out how to wear this particular color...

The second photo is my attempt at color correcting; the actual color of this polish is closer to mauve and purple, though in the bright sunlight it looks more reddish brown. This second picture should look a bit more purple-y than the previous, but on my computer screen for some reason it looks really really similar....(need a level up in skill on photoshop!)

That's all for now! Back to regularly scheduled posting (hopefully). See you next time!

Seeing Stars

Where I'll be for the next weekish, I'll be able to see the night sky pretty clearly! In the meantime, enjoy this starry manicure.

Tada! Made with my new image plates from Mash! I used plate numbers 29 (yellow stars) and 49 (purple stars). The purple polish is Sexy Divide by Essie and the yellow polish is Darcy by Zoya. Have I mentioned how much I love this purple?

Below is my other hand.

I usually don't show my right hand, because it's usually not as nicely done as my left (solution: become ambidextrous). This time, I think the stamping showed up more opaque on my right hand than my left. I also did a better job with the clear coat, so there's less streaking. 

This last picture is a work in progress shot.

I really like stars! I've been itching to try out a star mani for a long time, and I'm really happy with how this one turned out. Thanks for reading! I'll be without my computer for a while, but you can expect a new post by Sunday. See you next time!

Dots and More Dots!

Back to nail art! (And regularly scheduled posting.) 

Pictured: Essie, Sexy Divide 

Did I mention how much I love this purple polish? I used lots of different polishes in this manicure, but I'll try to name them all. The purple is Sexy Divide by Essie and the light blue is Cashmere Creme by NYC, both used for my base colors. For the dots, I used both of the above polishes as well as those below.

Sinful Colors: Love Nails (marbled turquoise)

                     Purple Diamond (sheer glittery lavender)

                     Frenzy (purple and blue glitter)

Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear: Blizzard Blue

Forever 21: Royal Blue

The dots were applied using a bobby pin. Below is my other hand.

Pictured: Sinful Colors, Frenzy

How do you like this manicure? I really liked this look! I've tried it in different colors since, but I think this is my favorite. Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Sparkly Stripes

Because everyone likes sparkly, right?

This manicure was my first time using nail striping tape. Nail striping tape is typically very thin, foil tape that may have a pattern or design on the non-sticky side. My tape is around 2-3 mm wide. I ordered it online from some Chinese wholesaler with free shipping (yay but it took two months to ship...) and I got about thirty rolls of tape in over ten different colors. The tape is wound on a plastic wheel and each wheel of tape came in a protective plastic sleeve. The nail striping tape is so much fun and so easy to use. I only wish that I could somehow reuse/recycle used pieces of tape...

To make this manicure, I started with a base of Essie: Sexy Divide (this gorgeous purple that totally deserves that name). I then placed strips of tape in a ray shaped design over my nails. (Make sure the strips are long enough to cover the nail with a little extra to grab when removing!) Without removing the tape, I painted over with a layer of NYC: Cashmere Creme. Immediately after painting I removed the tape carefully, exposing the purple polish. After that dried, I added Sinful Colors: Frenzy (purple and blue glitter suspended in a clear matrix). I tried to add the glitter in thicker amounts near the starting point of the ray.

I made this especially to go with my Halloween costume (crayola crayon outfit!) and Cashmere Creme happened to be the exact same color as my shirt! I had also just purchased the purple, so I wanted to try it out.

What do you think? Next time, stained glass inspired nails. Thanks for reading!

Freehand Flower

Hi, again! Bean is back with another manicure from 2012:

It's a little bit hard to see but I freehanded a flower on my thumb and ring finger. I used NYC: Cashmere Creme as a base (one of my favorites!) and both Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear: Ivy League and Sinful Colors: Purple Diamond for the flower. I don't own any nail brushes (yet!) so I used a tooth pick and a bobby pin to draw these designs. The bobby pin is actually a pretty useful tool if you don't want to spend money on a dotting tool, but after a while the paint on the bobby pin head begins to wear away...good thing they come in packs of sixty or so.

If you're interested, more about the individual polishes:
Ivy League is marble, translucent green that needs at least two coats for a nice finish. It's a nice shade, but I usually don't wear it by itself. Purple Diamond is a very shimmery, almost transparent lavender. I wouldn't use it by itself, but I've used it to top another polish to make it extra shimmery. Cashmere Creme (what a nice, alliterative name) is a lot more than I expected! It's a smooth, creamy light blue that needs one good coat for full coverage or two thin coats. Now that I'm close to finishing that bottle, I'm thinking of buying another; that particular line of NYC is only $0.99 at Target.

Thanks for reading! Next time: more water marbling!