DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Monochrome Honeycomb Ombre

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Hello lovelies! Whew, what a mouthful today's title is. And it proved to be the hardest-to-photograph mani I've ever done, too! I had to set the white balance WAAAY off to even get the differences in the colours to show up at all.

Waugh! It's a shame, because it's a lovely mani in person. (You'll just have to take my word on it.) It's an ombré of pink/orange/coral tones. I started by painting my nails with, from pinkie to thumb, 1963, Generally Hazzardous, My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours, 724, and Jinx.

I then 'bumped' each colour over by a finger (e.g., used 1963 on top of Generally Hazzardous) in order to draw the honeycomb shapes. It turns out I'm crap at honeycomb, so I'll have to practice that more. :)

This is as close to a colour-accurate photo of the polishes as I was going to get:

Polishes used:

la couleur couture - 1963

Pretty Serious - Generally Hazzardous

OPI - My Paprika is Hotter Than Yours, Jinx

Inglot - 724

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

medium detail brush

I love love love this colour family but it's impossible for the differences to show up on camera, or at least, on my camera. Any experiences like that before, for you? So frustrating! Come back tomorrow for a look that at least didn't elude my meagre photography skills...

xo,

J.

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

Watercoloured Floral

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Hello lovelies!

You thought I disappeared, didn't you? No no. I have been exceptionally busy, though, because we're listing the house next Monday (we found out this Monday), and I have been in hyperdrive to prepare!

All that aside, I DO have nail art to show you. ;)

It's been a rare event, lately, that nail art turns out in a way that pleases me, but that's just what's happened here. I had a rough idea of what I wanted, going in, and it turned out pretty well spot on!

I began with two coats of French White, with two coats of In A New York Minute over top. I then dabbed on Def Defying, Sunset, and Charisma, dabbing pure acetone over each colour before proceeding onto the next. Once done, I did all the outlines in black acrylic, using my tiny detail brush.

I've tried to take photos in a few different lighting conditions, but of course the NEON doesn't really come through as well as it should! I think I'm in love with Sunset. Actually, I'm sort of in love with all three colours -- but if you could only pick one, pick Sunset. Put it on your toes if you must. It's gorgeous.

Polishes used:

Nina Ultra Pro - French White

NYC - In a New York Minute (top coat)

China Glaze - Def Defying

piCture pOlish - Sunset

Zoya - Charisma

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

black acrylic paint

tiny detail brush

It may be a while yet before I get to do more nail art, but I'll try not to abandon you altogether! I do have one mani completed recently that I haven't posted about yet, that will go up either tomorrow or Saturday. Wish me luck with all this cleaning!!!

xo,

J.

Main Squeeze

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Another of my multitudinous Tryst Lacquers today -- Main Squeeze!

Main Squeeze is described as a blood orange jelly with white satin hexes and squares (in two sizes), plus orange iridescent mini glitters. In these photos, that description is pretty bang on, but in real life, the colour leans more coral than it appears here. I actually love it in photos and in person, but it tickles my coral-love bone more than my orange-love bone in reality. (That sounded awful, didn't it?) I should note that it's almost impossible to get the satin hexes out, and I'm not sure why (they aren't huge or anything). I think they just really like the sides of the bottle. Your only hope is to shake the bottle vigorously every nail or two, and I was too lazy for that. I think the polish looks lovely even without them.

Simple look tonight; started with My Vampire is Buff as the lightest, followed by Kalahari Kiss, followed by Sun Kissed, followed by blending Sun Kissed and Kalahari Kiss a bit with some Action. Doing circles with tiny brushes is a huge pain in the arse.

I am now going to continue my pic spam. These were more photogenic than some of the nails I've done recently, so I kind of went overboard.

And finally, a simple swatch of my other hand, with Main Squeeze on its own. This is more colour-accurate than the above (I think there was some attracting going on with the orange, er, oranges-- this isolates the polish better). Wouldn't it be cool if all my swatch photos turned out this good? Something was working well tonight...

Polishes used:

Tryst Lacquers - Main Squeeze

Cult Nails - Scandalous (1 coat as undies just for some added opacity, didn't change the colour)

OPI - My Vampire is Buff

China Glaze - Kalahari Kiss

Sally Hansen - Sun Kissed

Essie - Action

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

NYC - In a New York Minute (top coat)

Hey, here's a fun fact for you: my left hand poses so much better than my right hand, which is tragic. Why? Because, in Grade 7, a kid named Ryan was teasing my friend Allie and keeping some book or other away from her and I went to punch him in the stomach for it, except I missed and hit his hip bone and broke something in my hand. It only occurred to me that I broke something many years later, when a nail tech was massaging my hand and asked if I ever broke it. I guess Grade 7 Jolène assumed that being unable to close her right hand for a whole month was standard post-punch process?

xo,

J.