Crystal Print

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

I'm sorry for my radio silence, again. I've been throwing together a post that will remain top secret until tomorrow (not for my blog-- that's the only hint I'm giving you!) and that has been taking up some of my time. But I'm here with a mani for you today!!

My original plan was to do this on a base of Happy Hands' Am I Not Yours? (that link will bring you to Instagram proof thereof). But then my body reacted weirdly with the peel-off base coat and all of my nail polish literally popped off my nails the next day. WTH.

I look jaundiced in this photo; please ignore... my liver is working just fine (I assume).

So instead, I'm bringing you this design atop three coats of Crystal -- there is no good reason why she is as sheer as she is, this polish, let me tell you. Zoya could have thickened it up by increasing the metallic flakie content and it would still have applied just fine, while causing me fewer headaches. So, there's a warning for you. But aren't the blue-and-gold flakes just gorgeous??

This design is actually a copycat of a mani done by @rheatheylia on Instagram (click that to be taken to her original), based on a skirt that she owns. Isn't it lovely, though? I had to take a stab at it. The design was done using white acrylic paint.

Polishes used:

Zoya - Crystal

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Rica - Glossy Glam (top coat; AND BE WARNED, IT SHRINKS ZOYA POLISHES)

white acrylic paint

tiny detail brush

Who here has explored the Formula X for Sephora polishes yet? I found one that may or may not have made me gasp in the store. I'm definitely wearing it next, but I'm not yet sure what I'll be putting atop it... so stay tuned for that!

xo,

J.

Water Droplets

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

Today's manicure took its inspiration from the base polish.

Not terribly colour-accurate; below photos are better. :)

I was moved to use my custom Tryst Lacquer, Aqueous, again. It does take four coats to opacity, but I love it so much. :) Just look at it!! And then I decided to do some one-stroke water droplets. These are deceptively difficult.

In fact, I did them over about three times. Yikes. And they're still not perfect! If you want to see perfect one-stroke water droplets, visit Lucy -- she's got it down pat. And she filmed a tutorial! :)

In the end, the method that was fastest was the one I was most comfortable with. It really was, for me, a question of getting the white down pat. I think I achieved it best on my middle finger.

BONUS: CAT ATOP LIGHT BOX
seriously what are you even doing up there

Polishes used:

Tryst Lacquers - Aqueous (custom)

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

black and white acrylic paint

one-stroke brush

detailing brush

Can you believe it's October tomorrow (read: for me, 40 minutes from now)? Yikes. It's already freezing where I am, I wake up to 0˚C mornings, winter is going to own me.

xo regardless,

J.

Simple Arabesque

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

It was with mixed emotions that I took off my galaxy nails. But I needed to file my pretties down a bit, and I was kind of itching for a change. And so:

I sort of wasn't kidding about the "practice line work until no longer crap at it" thing. These look horrible in macro, but they're cute from arm's length!

This one's the most colour-accurate.

The little arabesque design is white acrylic paint, on a base of Blue is Beautiful, a lovely thermal. It is rather sheer; what you see here is two rather thick coats, and it could have used a third.

Blue is Beautiful has little blue iridescent glitters, and micro-holo glitters. The holo will of course not show up in the light box, but you can see the iridescent ones below:

Here, I dipped my hand into warm water to try and show you more of the colour shift. It goes from a sheer pale grey when hot, to light blue, to dark grey, to dark blue. Phew!

Polishes used:

Polished by KPT - Blue is Beautiful

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Rice - Glossy Glam (top coat-- I've heard good things, so far I like it!)

white acrylic paint

liner brush

I think that, tomorrow, I will attempt a technique that I haven't yet done, but is very popular. It'll look kind of like cake... that's all the hint you're getting. :)

xo,

J.

Denim

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

Today's mani is my attempt at denim nails.

This is another one of those looks I could do over with acrylics and just go bananas on the fabric's weave and the stitching. It's probably best for my sanity that I opted to do this with nail polish and a fan brush.

I started with one coat of Passport Blue, then used my fan brush to brush on Skylar and then Marble. The stitching was done with a detail brush using Passport Blue and Streetside NYC (because it is optimally opaque).

While I'm not convinced these look like denim, I do find the overall effect really pleasing. I would love to do this with other colours of 'fabric' and 'stitching'. IDEAS. MOAR IDEAS. I should actually write these down.

Polishes used:

American Apparel - Passport Blue

Zoya - Skylar

Spa Ritual - Marble

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat) (did 2 coats to prevent staining, FYI)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

fan brush

detail brush

It turns out I'm still not caught up! Gotta do my E prompt next. I think I'll leave these on for a day or two before tackling that one. :) I start exercising again tomorrow morning after three weeks of inactivity, wish me luck (I will sorely need it) (that was kind of a pun)!

xo,

J.

Embroidered Moons

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies! It has been a while, hasn't it? Hopefully what I have for you today makes up for the long wait. :)

The inspiration from his mani came from the polish itself. Queen You Dig It? is a collaboration shade between Pretty & Polished and Shipra of Taneja's Bride. The polish was inspired by her wedding attire, and I in turn thought it'd be neat to take inspiration from saree fabric. A beautiful saree has the ability to take my breath away like almost no other. So, while this is a very simple embroidery design, it makes me happy because it reminds me of the gorgeous, intricate embroidered designs that exist out there!

Queen You Dig It? required only two coats for an opacity that I was happy with; one thin and one thicker. It controlled beautifully. My only complaint is that the gold circles didn't want to stick to the brush. Maybe adding more would help with that, and in turn make more of them show up on the nail. But in spite of that, this polish is beautiful. I really love the gold flecks, and how the blue pops.

All of the embroidery was done with acrylics (gold + brown for the darker tone, pure gold for the lighter) and my Just Nail Pure Color #10 brush (which I trimmed down a bit), then outlined with my .005 Micron for extra Pop.

Polishes used:

Pretty & Polished - Queen You Dig It?

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

OPI - Matte Top Coat (top coat)

gold, brown acrylic paints

detail brush

I find that fabric can be an awesome source of inspiration, and I know I'm not alone in thinking that. What are some sources of inspiration that you look to?

xo,

J.

Garden Party

Nothing to Disclose

Lovelies, it's a whole twelve hours before my usual posting time! I might be getting a high from all the sunshine that's out right now.

The base for today's manicure is Garden Party, with a gradient of Hellebore on top. I then drew on the bunting (because what's more garden-party-ish than bunting?) with Jacqueline, Tallulah, and Tempest.

Sunshine photos make my cuticle oil look EXTRA OILY. Sorry about that!

Here I have taken a proof shot with a plant (technically they are many carrot plants), to prove that I was in the garden when I was taking these Garden Party photos.

What I feel I haven't conveyed about this polish in these photos is its complexity. I love the pale green and bright blue circle glitters, but there are also white hexes in three sizes, teeny lavender hexes (and squares?), and these small iridescent hexes that flash blueish and are totally awesome. (My love of all things iridescent is probably evident by now.)

Polishes used:

Tryst Lacquers - Garden Party (it may be batch variance but mine is much pinker than it looks here)

Cirque - Hellebore

Zoya - Jacqueline, Tallulah

Cult Nails - Tempest

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

NYC - In a New York Minute (top coat)

I hope you have sunshine where you are, too, my lovelies! And that you get the enjoy it!

xo,

J.

Water Lilies

Nothing to Disclose

Good evening! Tonight I have some water lilies for you.

This look has a base of Love Letter to Kurt Vonnegut. I have not captured it whatsoever. It has rocketed its way to my top 5 favourite polishes of all time-- that's how beautiful this one is. Here is a link to Sarah's review of it over on Samarium's Swatches; she does a much better job of showing its beauty. Unfortunately, it was a limited edition and is no longer in production. And I will be jealously hoarding mine like Smaug and his beloved cup. Except this polish is no mere cup. You get the idea.

What does this taste like? What's under here? What's behind this thing? How much cat hair can I get in the light box?

The rest of the design is done in acrylics; the tutorial is at the bottom of this post. :)

The green bled into the white in a conspiracy to drive me seven ways insane.

Polishes used:

Scofflaw Nail Varnish Manufactory - Love Letter to Kurt Vonnegut

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

Seche Vite (top coat)

acrylics paints (white, greens, pink)

size 0 flat brush

I used this same polish as a base for a simpler look for this upcoming Sunday, so you haven't seen the last of it yet! I think I will next be using a base of one of the gorgeous Arcane polishes I've received from my lovely Aussie nail mail buddy (*waves*), and hopefully it'll turn out like it is in my head!

xo,

J.

Gradated Ikat

Helloooo lovelies!

Today's mani is my attempt to mash together the gradated dots look and the ikat look, inspired by a pair of shorts I bought recently.

The writing on my finger is because these are a contest entry. :) I figured this was a lot easier than awkwardly holding a small scrap of paper!

For this look, I began with a base of My Vampire is Buff. This is an excellent pale nude shade, but it's also a bit of a PITA as it requires four thin coats to reach opacity and uniformity. Boo, hiss! I wouldn't do it if the results weren't worth it, though. On the opposite end of the spectrum, my experience with 2013 (the top coat, not the year) have been AMAZING so far. This is my first time using it, and it goes on so well (more liquid than Seche Vite), the brush (as with all lacc colours) is my favourite thing ever, and no shrinkage!!! Glory hallelujah! I'll keep testing it, but this may be my holy grail top coat. :O

I then mixed up some ultramarine blue acrylic paint with white and/or black to make three different shades of blue, and dotted them on using my smallest dotter, starting with the lightest and ending with the darkest. It was a time-consuming process but very easy.

Polishes used:

OPI - My Vampire is Buff

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylic paint in blue, white, black

smallest dotting tool

something to distract from the monotony

I had a post planned for tomorrow but I've deemed it sub-par. Now I'm plotting out what the heck to do! I'll keep you all posted. Literally. Haha! Dum-dum-TSCH.

xo,

J.

EDIT: Here's a pictorial if you'd like!

Starfishies!

I was in the pharmacy the other day and this blue polish, Blue My Mind (haha), called out to me. So, today, I used it for some quick 'n' dirty nail art: starfish!

For this look, I went with two coats of smooth, buttery blue polish-- such an awesome colour in person, a bright shimmery primary blue, it's like Wonder Woman blue. I then painted the starfish with acrylic paint.

All of the designs are based on real starfish! I think starfish are so neat. I love how they move, how they hang out on things at low tide, how they're these little mechanical masterpieces when they're prying things apart... pure awesome. Plus they're cute.

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - Blue My Mind (Salon Effects line)

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat; do not skip base coat with blue polish, though this one doesn't seem to stain!)

Seche Vite (top coat)

acrylic paint

detail brush

J.

Grain Elevator

This was a lot of fun to do, improbable-looking clouds included. (Colour theory? What's that?)

Unfortunately, it was awful to photograph, so you only get one snap. And, for the first time ever, I've blurred my cuticles. It's for your protection. They're up to some kind of mutiny and I'm not clear on why. I think next week will be a Nakey Nails week while I try desperately to cajole my fingers back to presentability.

This will be entered in a couple of contests, and for some reason I was feeling more Prairies than usual, hence the canola and grain elevator and what have you.

All acrylics, sealed with Seche!

Polishes used:
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Seche Vite (top coat)
acrylic paints (all of the colours!)
size 2 and size 0 square brushes
teeny detail brush


J.

SWATCH SATURDAY: Comet Tail

Hello lovelies!

A very quick Swatch Saturday for you today. Having used Still Waters yesterday, I wanted to use its blue sister, Comet Tail.

What I could not capture in my photos is the pinkish flash that Comet Tail has, which makes it look lavender in most direct light. The lavender glow mixes with the red microglitter for an amazing look. Depending on your light source, the polish looks totally different: in this light, it looks blue; it direct light, it looks lavender; in the shade or indoors, it tends to look silver. A very pretty polish. It does dry a bit gritty, so you will need whatever glitter topcoat you typically use. You also want to let it fully dry between coats, as the formula has the same sort of marshmallow thickness as Still Waters.

On my accent finger, I used Full Spectrum. I cannot hope to convince you of what a sparklebomb it is based on these photos-- but it is a full-coverage glitter, a mix of coloured microglitter and super-microglitter in an astonishing pink-to-green duochrome. Zoom this photo to see everything in action:

Polishes used:
Liquid Sky Lacquers - Comet Tail
China Glaze - Full Spectrum (Scrangie's review, as she does a MUCH better job than me)
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Nail Pattern Boldness - Glitter Food
Sally Hansen - Insta-Dri


J.

SIMPLE(R) SUNDAY: Batfight!

Today's nails were inspired by a few things: first, @glynnavyre on Instagram wanted to see explosion nails; second, I'm headed down to Calgary today for the Fan Expo; third, my friend Jen insisted, upon the occasion of our last hanging out, that we watch the scene in the good ol' Adam West Batman movie wherein he is struggling somewhat underwhelmingly with an inflatable shark affixed to his leg.

It was a good scene.

ZZONK is a real thing; I saw a screencap of it!!

To do this look, I used the explosion mani technique (YouTube it, it's all over the place) and simply added words in a combination of white acrylic paint and nail polish.

This is my favourite one.

Polishes used:
Layla - Velvet Effect 08
OPI - My Boyfriend Scales Walls, Jade is the New Black
Revlon - Electric
Zoya - Tallulah
GOSH - Nero
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Dior - Gel Coat (top coat-- AND LOOK AT THE SHRINKAGE, SWEET RHUBARB PIE)

All the delightful geekery in the world to you!


J.

Swatch Saturday: Bathed in Light

Oh, holy moly. This polish. Just look at it. This is the polish you wear to work and then people gape when you go outside in the afternoon. This is Bathed in Light, by Dandy Nails.

The above is the multi-chromatic goodness as it appears indoors. I loooove the pink with greenish edges. The base colour is actually a greyed-out blue, which shows up at acute angles (you'll see).

In direct light, the pink goes all flaming on us, and the holo glitter comes to life:

Here is that blue-grey I was telling you about:

The full shift:

Lastly, a blurry photo to show the holo glitter at work:

Polishes used:

Dandy Nails - Bathed in Light

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

INM - Out the Door (top coat)

Delicious, right?!

J.