SIMPLE SUNDAY: Retro Fishtail

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Hello lovelies!

SURPRISE! I have a post for you! I am probably on a plane right now, but I wore this look for a dinner out on Friday and I decided I wanted to share it with you.

PINK NAILS PINK NAILS WEE OO WEE OO. Seriously I don't think I've had pink nails since I was 10. I'm calling this a retro fishtail because the colours seems very... "70s wallpaper" to me.

This started with three coats of Mt Augustus (which is paler in real life, sort of a bright pastel pink with coral leanings), followed by two coats of Pastille for the upper fishtail, and one coat of Educate for the lower fishtail. Some studs, and done!

This shot gives you the shimmer in Mt Augustus, the holo in Pastille, and the green flakes in Educate.

Polishes used:

Elevation Polish - Mt Augustus (which I think got discontinued?)

Mentality Nail Polish - Pastille, Educate

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

1.5mm studs from Born Pretty Store

Okay, now FOR REAL I'm leaving you all for a week. You can follow my adventures on Instagram, I'll try to post interesting photos about my trip there!

xo,

J.

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Monochrome Mehndi

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Hello lovelies!

Last day of Digit-al Dozen Week! With the exception of Tuesday's madness, I think this one was a success. :) And to end off the week on a high note, here are some mehndi designs for you!

I had this idea a long time ago, but never did anything with it because I wasn't sure I'd do it justice. I still haven't really done it justice, BUT I'm nonetheless happy with the outcome.

I started with two coats of Don't Pretzel My Buttons to ask as a nude base, and then painted on the designs using Temperance. 

I then went over only some parts with Tettegouche to darken them up and make them stand out more, to give a look of henna before and after the paste falls off.

Polishes used:

OPI - Don't Pretzel My Buttons

Elevation Polish - Temperance, Tettegouche (limited editions)

medium liner brush

I hope you've enjoyed the week! On the 'good and bad news' front, I won't have any nail art for you next week, as I'll be visiting my tattoo artist and his wife over in San Francisco, exploring the city, hanging out with their pups and chickens and orchids, getting tattooed on my right hip, and generally having an awesome time! I'll report back upon my return. ;)

xo,

J.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES OF THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN ARE UP TO:

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Monochrome Oranges

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Hello lovelies! So begins another week of The Digit-al Dozen! This month our theme is monochrome -- varying values of the same colour (including black and white). I cheated ever so slightly for today's simple look.

How did I come about doing a summer look in the middle of winter? I asked my beau to name a colour, he chose orange, this is all I could think of. True story.

I started with two coats of White On, and then filled in the oranges starting with the peel (1964 and Y'all Come Back Ya Hear), then the pith (a mix of Streetside NYC [this is how I cheated; used yellow] and White On), then the flesh of the orange (Y'all Come Back Ya Hear with highlights of Funny Bunny and White On).

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - White On

OPI - Y'all Come Back Ya Hear, Funny Bunny

la couleur couture - 1964

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC (discontinued)

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

thin liner brush

medium detail brush

Don't forget to check out the giveaway we've got going on right now! I'll be back tomorrow with more monochromatic madness. ;) I've got a couple really nice looks for you this week, so I hope you'll stick around!

xo,

J.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES OF THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN ARE UP TO:

SNAPSHOT: Pot Skittle

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Hello lovelies!

Just a quick photo today; nothing special, but I wanted to share. :)

I call it my 'pot skittle' because the brown colour is called Legislate, from Mentality's 420 Holos line. (Not that the holo shows in the lightbox.)

Polishes used:

Mentality - Legislate, Taffy

Elevation Polish - Xixabangma (discontinued)

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

1.5mm studs from Born Pretty Store

rectangular studs from The Nail Room

liner brush

dotting tool

This mani is kiiiiind of leaning towards the sorts of looks I'll be creating for Digit-al Dozen week starting next Monday. Any guesses as to what the theme is? ;)

xo,

J.

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold: Little Bells

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Hello lovelies! Today is Day 1 of Utter Nubbily Nubbiness.

Augh!! Try not to avert your gaze. They don't bite, even if they're sort of gnarly looking. (And not the good gnarly, like Gnarly Gnails; the bad gnarly.)

I went outside the directive a bit with the base colour I chose for this; two coats of Colline du Charf. I thought I'd need three, and I probably would if my nails were longer, but for this two medium coats were perfect. I love this colour, it's so dainty and stuff. I'm not 100% sold on it as the base to this manicure, though. The bells don't stand out against it as much as I thought they would.

The bells were painted with Shirin and Filthy Rich (the little lines). The string and bell details were done with Camelot. The leaves were done with Shawn and Tracie, and the berries are Nightmaren.

Polishes used:

Elevation Polish - Colline du Charf

Mentality Nail Polish - Shirin

Quo by Orly - Filthy Rich

Zoya - Shawn, Tracie

Pretty Serious - Nightmaren

A England - Camelot

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

tiny detail brush

liner brush (which didn't save my lines, unfortunately; what a sorry state of affairs...)

How do you like these? What base colour would you have used?

xo,

J.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES OF THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN ARE UP TO:

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold Poinsettias

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It wouldn't be a holiday season without some poinsettias, would it, lovelies?

No, it would not. (Look at how glorious and long my nails are here! I weep for you, my pretty nails!)

For today's look, I began with a base of two easy coats of Shirin, which is way more gold and way less yellow-orange than it appears on the Mentality website (which is a good thing, for my skin tone). I then painted on the poinsettias with Fire It Up, Tomato, Nightmaren, and St. Petersburgundy. The leaves were done with Recycle and Shawn. The little dots were done with Streetside NYC and Mellow Yellow.

I didn't like these once I'd done them, I found them sloppy, but I think they've grown on me.

Polishes used:

Mentality - Shirin

Layla - Souftouch 08 (Fire It Up)

Joe Fresh - Tomato

Pretty Serious - Nightmaren

OPI - St. Petersburgundy

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Recycle

Zoya - Shawn

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC

Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

medium detail brush

My adventures in nubbiness start tomorrow! I really can't get over it. I've broken nails before but it hasn't ever really been this bad. It'll take at least a month to get any reasonable sort of length back. But I'm trying not to give up hope! Or, not hope, but resilience. Or something. You know what I mean? Sure you do. *whistles*

xo,

J.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES OF THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN ARE UP TO:

Polar Bear

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Hello lovelies!

Let me start this post by apologizing for my cuticles. Holy whoa are they awful in these shots. It looks like I went up to the Arctic to paint these nails plein air by watching an actual polar bear. (I did not; it was inspired by this photo.)

In fact, he is something of a poor specimen of a polar bear, isn't he? But he was fun to paint, if a bit frustrating to position on two nails.

Water, ice floes, and bear are all acrylic paint. All painted on a base of two coats of White On so I had something opaque to work with.

POLAR BEAR IS GLARING AT YOU (don't take it personally, he's just kind of a grump):

On my thumb, I layered a whack of blue polishes, including Passport Blue, Jungfrau, 204 (a purplish flakie), and Pitaraq:

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - White On

American Apparel - Passport Blue

Elevation Polish - Jungfrau, Pitaraq

Inglot - 204

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylic paints

tiny detail brush

I have received so many beautiful polishes over the last week, and no idea what to do with them. I'll try to think of something before the weekend, when I have my O for Outrageous prompt for my ABC Challenge and not the foggiest clue what to do about it. Will try to get something tasteful in before I take a leap into the great void of outrageousness!

xo,

J.

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Black & White Sketched Flowers

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Hello lovelies!

Todays' mani is an attempt at a technique invented (as far as I know) by Precious Polish. She's busy nowadays, so doesn't get to post as much, but you need to be following her. She's amazing. Her sketchy style (cf., her recent penguin, elephant, and owl manis) is a real coup de coeur for me.

I have not done her style justice. I'm not done aping it, though-- I will find another reason to bust this sketchy style out, I'm sure.

What is up with the lobster hands? I have no idea.

This look began with two coats of White On, followed by sketching in increasing order of opacity: Ridnitsohkka, Recycle, and Camelot. (I'm kind of digging this week's theme if only because it also shows how much you can do with the same few polishes over and over!)

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - White On

Elevation Polish - Ridnitsohkka

China Glaze - Recycle

A England - Camelot

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

tiny detail brush

Tune in tomorrow for the last instalment of this Black & White week! And it's a blast from the past! (You'll see why.) (No, I'm not telling.)

xo,

J.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES OF THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN ARE UP TO:

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Hallowe'en Skittle

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Hello lovelies! It's the last day of my very first Digit-al Dozen week! I SURVIVED.

Today I have for you a Hallowe'en-ish skittle. I saved it for last because, A) I think it's the most accomplished in terms of what a skittle manicure is really all about, and B) it means it's closer to Hallowe'en proper.

Where do I even begin with these? Okay, okay. Thumb is two coats of Lopez Canyon with Xixabangma detail. Index is one coat of Streetside NYC with Camelot detail.

Middle finger is one coat of Xixabangma with Lopez Canyon / Streetside NYC / Camelot detail. Ring finger is two coats of Camelot with studs. Pinky is two coats of Lopez Canyon with two coats of 205 layered over top.

Don't even ask what the middle finger is; I have no answer to that question.

Polishes used:

American Apparel - Lopez Canyon

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC, Xixabangma

A England - Camelot

Inglot - 205 (flakie)

1.5mm studs from Born Pretty Store

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

Rica - Glossy Glam (top coat)

detail brush

dotting tool to pick up studs

Do you have any Hallowe'en plans? I went out and bought a pair of plaid satin pyjamas and a grey satin half-robe today, because I am going as Hugh Hefner. That's right. And my older boyfriend will be outfitted with bunny ears. :) We have three (THREE) Hallowe'en parties to go to, all of subsequent weekends! Phew!

xo,

J.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES OF THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN ARE UP TO:

Tweed for Fall

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Hello lovelies!

This looked better in my head. But it isn't a total failure, so up it goes!

It was IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a good photo of the base colour for this mani. I suspect this might be an ongoing battle between my camera and darker colours. They always end up way too dark. I have no idea how to rectify this because I know basically nothing about cameras or how they work. (True story.)

The base for this was Creeping Moss. The tweed accent nail didn't come across quite as well as I would have liked, but it was pretty easy and fun to do; just do the spun sugar technique both horizontally and vertically. I used Aciiied, Desert Fruit, and Xixabangma on a base of Tempest. Next time, I will do it on a dark base and use white as one of the spun sugar colours.

This photo is the only one that is vaguely colour-accurate. It's crappy, but the colour is as light as it appears on the right-hand side.

Polishes used:

Contrary Polish - Creeping Moss, Desert Fruit

Models Own - Aciiied

Elevation Polish - Xixabangma

Cult Nails - Tempest

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

Rica - Glossy Glam (top coat)

Studs and rhinestones from Born Pretty

dotting tool (for spun sugar technique)

Many posts upcoming! One tomorrow, then one each day all next week becaaaauuuseee... Digit-al Dozen week is starting! Holy moly! I'm kind of nervous.

And to any lovelies who are Canadian, happy Thanksgiving!

xo,

J.

Pointy Shapes?

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Hello lovelies!

Today's endeavour is C for Colour Blocking. 

I did not colour block. I'm not sure what to call this, but most colour blocking I've seen involved striping tape, and I am not on speaking terms with striping tape. 

So this was (messily!) freehanded with four different polishes on a clear base: Rendezvous (ironically takes FOREVER to dry and WILL smear in top coat... What gives, Seche? What happened to the Vite part??), Love at First Sight, Streetside NYC, and Xixabangma. Of note is that all of these shades were 1 coaters, which I know because I did a plain skittle on my Cinderella hand. ONE COATERS!

I think my top coat and base coat decided to get together and have tons of little bubble babies. I cannot otherwise explain their presence. (Though I didn't see a stork, so I might be wrong.)

I think this look would be pretty sharp if I were to redo it in acrylics. I'd be able to get in a lot more detail. So that's a scheme on the back burner for now, along with all my other schemes, 90% of which I forget the moment I consign them to the aforementioned back burner.

Polishes used:

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

Seche - Rendezvous

Cult Nails - Love at First Sight

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC, Xixabangma (discontinued! sob!)

detail brush

I'm off to the mountains (actually, I'm already IN the mountains-- I am transmitting this from the past by magic)! I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, so I hope to get in my D prompt for you darlings tomorrow evening. :)

xo,

J.

Plaid and Roses

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Did You Know: I have never done rose nail art before. How is this possible? Am I forgetting something? How did I go this long-- anyway.

Fixed that!

This look was done for a bestie triplets nail look with IG users @glitterfingers and @i_heart_nailart, both of whom are as lovely as they are skilled. I've already threatened to track @glitterfingers down in the UK to have her do my nails, holy jeez.

This is almost all polish, and more complex than it looks. Started with two coats of Tempest, followed by two coats of Iris (she is not showing up in these photos, but the added dimension of the mini-flakes is lovely in person). The solid stripes are Pelican Gray, the dark stripes are Recycle, the dots are Camelot. The roses are Mount Augustus with lines in Pic du Gar. The little leaves are Pastelchio with lines in Anna Maria. Only the black outlines of the roses are black acrylic paint.

We hope to be the nail art version of the Three Musketeers and do joint efforts every 2 weeks or so, and I cannot wait-- working with talented artists gets my creativity going like no other!

Polishes used:

Cult Nails - Tempest

Cirque - Iris

China Glaze - Pelican Gray, Recycle

A England - Camelot

Elevation Polish - Mount Augustus, Pic du Gar (shop will be reopening 31 July in the evening)

Lime Crime - Pastelchio

Contrary Polish - Anna Maria

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

black acrylic paint

detail brush

xo,

J.

Elephant!

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I finally got some time to do more detailed painting. And while I think the trees are kinda meh, I do like how Mr. Elephant turned out. :)

I wanted to do elephants ever since I did the kurta design, with its little embroidered elephants. Elephants are smart and sensitive and huge and awesome. So yeah.

This is all acrylic paint on a base of Gobi-- which is, of course, a desert, not a savannah. But I liked the tan sort of colour with its slight holo and green shimmer (you get some of the green shimmer in these photos, but the holo dies in my light box). It's sort of an enigmatic nail polish, constantly looking like something sort of new. It was an iffy choice for this project, because it's so low-contrast to what I painted, but you live and you learn!

Polishes used:

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Elevation Polish - Gobi (shop is in maintenance mode until the evening of 31 July)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylics in every imaginable colour

teeny detail brush

SO, BIG NEWS! You may notice something new in my right sidebar! That is correct, Born Pretty Store has been kind enough to generate a coupon code for my readers!! Next time you're in need of nail art supplies, I strongly recommend you mosey over and take a look at their selection, as it's pretty astonishingly vast. On checkout, just use code ABCQ10 for 10% off your order, no expiry date! This is not an affiliate code or link-- I get no part of the sale-- but if enough people use my specific code, then Born Pretty will give me a gift certificate to giveaway to you lovelies, and I like giving you guys presents! <3

I'm next working on a triplets nail project with two very talented Instagram ladies, so stay tuned for that either tonight or tomorrow!

xo,

J.

Simple Purple Floral

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Hello lovelies!

This past weekend was pure madness. We got the house ready on time, and it looks great, and now our lives revolve around showings. I had to reassemble and then disassemble my light box just for this post! In case you were questioning my love for you.

Because I never have time for nail art with all this constant tidying (it's like I am trying to work against three individual forces of entropy, each on their own path of slow destruction), I went for something very simple today.

I began with a base of two coats of Beauty Never Fails (creamy and amazing like all A England polishes; a blackened base with golden green flecks that mean it shimmers and glows even in low light!), and then painted on the flowers etc with my tiny detail brush. The whole thing might have taken about 15 minutes. I think these would look lovely in a one-stroke kind of style, too, and I may try that when I know I can dedicate more time to it. :)

Polishes used:

A England - Beauty Never Fails

la couleur couture - 1972, 2013 (top coat)

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC

American Apparel - Crescent Heights

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

tiny detail brush

More riveting stories about the age-old process of selling houses no doubt to come! In the meantime, send me all of your most organized thoughts. Maybe they can help me reign all this madness in. ;)

xo,

J.