DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Fall Leaf Skittle

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies! Today's my favourite of all the skittles I did for this week. I really, really adore it. That's why I took, like, a meeeellion photos of it.

Sorry about the staining. I did what I could to mitigate it. :)

This look started with a coat of Rejuvacote and a coat of Nail Glow. Everything on top is done with acrylics and my tiny detail brush.

From thumb to pinky, the leaf types are: maple, oak, elm, poplar, and birch.

Gah, I've run out of things to say! Time for filler. Today was very busy. My partner had a new house built and we went for the inspection today (possession date is next Wednesday). It took two and a half hours! But it's good they were thorough, right? It's the kind of thing you want someone to be thorough for.

And then I got my hair did (woot woot), and I went to pastels class, where bales of hay whooped my keester. Like, really. I got my derrière handed to me by some hay bales on a bed of grass. I'd post photographic proof but I'm too ashamed. I'm going to keep working on it, I think, to see if I can salvage it.

Polishes used:

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Dior - Nail Glow

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylic paint

tiny detail brush

I can't believe tomorrow is the end of Digit-al Dozen week! My inaugural one! I will save my tears of joy for my next post. ;)

xo,

J.

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

Pahlish Polishes! [Pic Heavy]

Press Sample

Hello lovelies!

I have a special post today: Shannon over at Pahlish sent me a couple polishes to review, and they are both absolutely stunning. I'm going to bombard you with pictures and words now. Okay, go!

First up we have Fevers and Mirrors. This is a deep, vampy jelly base that perfectly skirts the burgundy/wine-purple divide, with gold tiny circles, tiny fuchsia holo hex, teeny gold squares, teeny pink holo squares, itty bitty holo hexes, and flake shimmer in gold and (I think) red. Phew!

Lo! A wild cinderella hand appears!

Shown are two generous coats of polish, one thin coat of Glitter Food, and one thin coat of 2013. I would recommend three thinner coats instead of two thicker ones... except... I found that this polish dried super fast. Insanely fast. This is very much a 'get it right in three strokes or move on' kind of polish. Which is excellent for those of us on the run! And sort of iffy for those of us, like me, who are secretly incompetent at painting our nails.

My lightbox would not cooperate with this one. It kept making the base come out way darker than it is. I've taken a flash photo (below) to show you the real colour of the polish: 

And, of course, lightboxes are where holo (and all other sparkliness) goes to die. So you'll have to trust me on the fact that the sparkle comin' off this polish is wonderfully robust, even with the dark jelly base.

Next up we have my favourite of the two, Greenery and Humid Air! This is a beautiful deep teal coloured jelly base with what looks to be glass fleck in blue-purple, green-gold, and pink. But in reality I think this polish is made of magic. You really need to own this one, trust me.

'Greenery' made me think of leaves, so I opted to paint some fall leaves on this one. Because it's so chock full of the shiny goodness, I didn't have to worry about covering up any of its beauty. :)

Again, this is two generous coats, with one thin coat of Glitter Food, and one thin coat of 2013. The Glitter Food was likely unnecessary. As with Fevers and Mirrors, this polish dried wicked fast. You'll need to move quick, but again, it's worth it.

I'm bummed because my photos look solely teal, when I promise promise promise you that there is a whole heck of a lot more going on with this polish. Here is a post over at Pointless Cafe that gives you a slightly better idea.

Here, I took this weirdly-coloured photo under direct light in hopes that it shows the multi-colour goodness a bit better. Please to be zooming in:

Polishes used:

Pahlish - Fevers and Mirrors (I'm told this is available through the Big Cartel store but I don't see it; it may be currently out of stock), Greenery and Humid Air

Nail Pattern Boldness - Glitter A-Peel (base coat), Glitter Food

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylic paint

detail brush

And there we have it! Both of these shades are standalone shades, and should be available, as mentioned, through Pahlish's BigCartel store. While both are stunning, I really can't say enough good things about Greenery and Humid Air-- it needs to be seen in person to be truly appreciated. Pahlish make a ton of beautiful polishes, and I do recommend you check them out. :) 

Working on some nail art today, hope to have it for you tomorrow!

xo,

J.

Franken + Food!

Nothing to Disclose

... but not frankenfood, don't worry!

Hello lovelies! I have kind of a special post today. (Well, special to me.) The reason is that the polish I'm showing you today is my very first franken. For those who haven't encountered the term yet, a franken is nail polish lingo for a polish that is mixed up using other polishes, pigments, loose glitter, and whatever else you feel like throwin' in there. I made this one using 6 different polishes and 4 types of loose glitter! In honour of autumn and by popular request over on Instagram, I've named it Bride of Franken-Stein. (Punny.)

Shown are two thick coats of polish plus two thin coats of top coat to smooth out the glitter. There are flakes, and glass fleck, and all sorts of stuff in the base green jelly, so feel free to click the following picture to get a zoomed-up look (can you tell I'm a proud mama?):

On top of the franken, I've put some apples, because this weekend's ABC Challenge prompt is Food! We're well into September now, much as I hate to admit it-- not because I hate autumn, not at all, but because the winters here in Edmonton are brutal-- and apples seemed a season-appropriate foodstuff.

The apples are entirely acrylic paint.

I'm not the happiest with how they turned out, but they aren't bad, either. It's been over a month since I did really detailed acrylic painting like this on my nails, so I'm a little rusty, and it was good to get back into it!

Polishes used:

Bride of Franken-Stein, a franken made by me! ***

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylic paint in light red, dark red, yellow, ochre, sap green, and dark brown

tiny detail brush

I'm finally all caught up on the ABC Challenge! Now I get to do whatever I want this week, woohoo! I'm thinking of getting a head start on prepping for next month's Digit-al Dozen week, and I've got a few other ideas kicking around that might be fun. I'm looking forward to it! Just as soon as I can will myself to take this polish off....

xo,

J.

*** While the polishes I used were all mine and purchased separately, some of the suspension base I used and all of the loose glitter I used came from Girly Bits' franken starter kit. They've also recently introduced a deluxe franken starter kit that comes with more glitter samples and three pre-coloured bases, which is pretty awesome!