DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold Abstract Christmas Tree

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Hello lovelies! It's that time of the month again! (Not THAT time of the month... but that time of the month.)

Digit-al Dozen Week! Yaaaaay!! This week our theme is red/green/gold, which is very seasonally appropriate. I've started with these abstract tree typa things.

I am a terrible blogger. I did these a good month ago and forgot entirely to write down which polishes I used. Augh! The worst! So the "Polishes Used" section today is going to be comprised of my best guess at things. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

I do remember how I did these, though! I started by painting my nails dark green. I then took a lighter green and started dry-brushing in all directions on top of the dark green before the base was fully dry (that's what gave it that texture). I then did dots in the red, and outlined them in the gold.

Polishes used:

Zoya - Shawn

American Apparel - Crescent Heights

Layla - Softouch 08 (Fire It Up)

Quo by Orly - Filthy Rich

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

no top coat, to preserve the texture

dotting tool

liner brush

I think this is my favourite mani of the entire week. I have so much Real Life stuff going on, and have had for what feels like an eternity now, that my nail art has been suffering. To date, I haven't even broken out the acrylic paints! Unheard of!! Please to be sending me your most fervent "please don't be homeless and jobless" vibes, thanks in advance...

xo,

J.

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DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Black & White Lined French

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Hello lovelies! Saved you the best for last.

At least, I think they're the best. I may be biased, though, because this look was done before the move, when my nails were in their long, squoval glory. Oh, how I miss them. GROW, NAILS, GROW!!!

You know, I only noticed that the lines on that one stud were facing the wrong way after I'd taken photos, so I'm going to pretend it was on purpose.

This look started off with a coat of Nail Foundation and a coat of Nail Glow. Once dry, I taped off the French tips with those sticky guide thingies (you know the ones), and sponged on a gradient of Tempest and, if memory serves, Recycle. I then removed the stickies, used Camelot to freehand on the thick lines, and topcoated/stuck the studs on.

At the time, the following ring was brand new to me, so I had to include it in photos. Mostly because it's by Bliss Lau, and she rocks killer geometric nail art like this all the time.

Ooh, aah.

I really AM pretty happy with these. Better than the last time I tried this, don't you agree?

Polishes used:

Cult Nails - Tempest

China Glaze - Recycle

A England - Camelot

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

Dior - Nail Glow (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

studs from The Nail Room (a word of note: these come holo-looking, but acetone removes the holo)

liner brush

cosmetic sponge (for the gradient)

I can't believe that's it for another rendition of Digit-al Dozen week! Where does the time go? Next month is full-on festive, so you've got a month to whip out your Non-Denominational Wintery Holiday decorations and get in the spirit! (And I promise not to mention anything more about said N-D.W.H. until then!!!)

xo,

J.

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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.

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DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Black & White Plaid

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Hello lovelies! Remember yesterday, when I said that today's mani was my least favourite? It WAS the truth, and then... well... read on.

I'm not sure why it is, but the moment I heard about the theme for this month's Digit-al Dozen week, I knew I was going to do plaid. It was ~fated~.

I actually had to redo this mani as the first attempt was awful. I know, I'm a perfectionist, my definition of awful may vary from the norm-- but I assure you that, in this case, I do mean awful. So I've spared you the sight of it! Hooray!

Of course, Jacob had to come say hello. And flip up my background and install himself in my lightbox until I coaxed him out of there. 

I began with two coats of White On, followed by thick lines in Ridnitsohkka. I then went into the intersections of my grey lines and filled them in with Recycle to mimic overlapping. I used White On again for the thin white lines, and Camelot for the thin black lines. My linework is improving, hey?

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - White On

Elevation Polish - Ridnitsohkka

China Glaze - Recycle

A England - Camelot

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

thin liner brush

tiny detail brush

I bet you're relieved that today's mani was something more normal, right? I must have been taking a trip through the Twilight Zone yesterday.

xo,

J.

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

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Black & White X-Ray Nails

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Hello lovelies! Here we are at day 2, and my mani today is a bit of a holdover from Hallowe'en.

Let's be honest here: did YOU have any idea what was going on if not for the title of this post?

DISTAL PHALANGES, Y'ALL. I started this with two coats of Camelot, then dabbed on the circles with watered-down White On and a cotton bud. I then painted on the main bone bits with White On, and used the watercolour technique to sort of moosh the polish around.

I should have gone to find some face paint and painted my whole fingers. That'd have been awesome! And would have contextualized these quite nicely.

Polishes used:

A England - Camelot

Sally Hansen - White On

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

pure acetone for the watercolour technique

one-stroke brush

cotton bud

I'm going to put this out there now: tomorrow's mani is my least favourite, by far. That's why it's going on Hump Day. So, uh, brace yourselves, I guess?

xo,

J.

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DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Black & White Music Notes

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Hello lovelies!

SO BEGINS DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK #2.

This week, we're doing black and white manis. This is exciting to me. I love constraints like this, I find it helps me to imagine nail art possibilities better than being told to do anything.

For Day 1, I opted to combine my Digit-al Dozen prompt with my ABC Challenge prompt, which was M for Music. This mani started with two coats of White On and one coat of HK Girl on all fingers.

I then put two thick coats of Moonlight on my thumb and ring fingers as accent nails. To be honest, this is one place where I rubbed against my Digit-al Dozen prompt a bit. This would have looked so BOSS with a brightly coloured glitter topper, and I had just the one in mind (Moosh by Happy Hands). Argh! Oh well.

The designs were all done with Camelot and my trimmed-down long liner brush and tiny detail brush.

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - White On

Indigo Bananas - Moonlight

A England - Camelot

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat -- trying it out, have heard good things, will report back soon)

tiny long liner brush

tiny detail brush

I'm really happy with how the lines came out in this mani! They would have been even better if I'd used a fluid acrylic paint, but for something done with nail polish, I'm quite pleased. :) Come back tomorrow for another black & white mani!

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.

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DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Fall Leaf Skittle

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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.

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DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Bathed in Light Skittle

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Hello lovelies! We're onto Day 2, woohoo! (Hey that rhymed...)

For today's skittle, I opted to do the opposite of yesterday's skittle: I chose three colours and used them on each nail, but in different permutations.

I'm not sure how successful I was. I do really like the index and middle fingers, though!

The base colour is Bathed in Light. The main accent colour is Stardust, and the detailing colour is Smolder. Everything was done with my medium striper brush, and freehanded (no tape).

I simply adore using Stardust in manis-- look at the colour difference between above and below! What a gorgeous pink-to-gold duochrome. :)

Polishes used:

Dandy Nails - Bathed in Light

Nubar - Stardust

Maya Cosmetics - Smolder

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

medium striper brush

I go back to my initial tactic tomorrow, in a really colourful way-- stop by tomorrow and see!

xo,

J.

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DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Skittle Tips

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Hello lovelies!

OH BOY OH BOY HERE WE GO

Day 1 of Skittles week! To be honest, throughout this endeavour, I've learned that I'm crap at skittles. I just don't think disjointedly like that. The gestalt of nail art requires some ability to think of the greater whole in a whack of differences (i.e. every nail must be different), but there is some leeway to be found in doing something similar on each nail and tweaking it slightly. Hence, today's mani.

Say goodbye to that thumb, you're never seeing it again.

So, here's a funny story. I did all of these manis in advance, and patted myself on the back, and then completely did not write down what I used for any of them. I'm going to do my best to guess at the polishes I used, ok? But don't hold me to them.

This was a super-easy but super-effective look. Paint nails in No Way Tawdry, paint tips in various colours, and top with top coat and studs. Na naaah! But I really liked how this looked. I will revisit this in future.

I failed to get the rectangle stud in the middle of my middle finger and, no gonna lie, it's driving me nuts. But see, SEE the flakie goodness in No Way Tawdry?! It's a beautiful beautiful polish:

Polishes used:

Arcane Lacquer - No Way Tawdry

Lime Crime - Pastelchio, Parfait Day

Cult Nails - Tempest

la couleur couture - 1977, 2013 (top coat)

studs from The Nail Room

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

See you tomorrow for yet more Digit-al Dozen Week fun! I'm kind of giddy!

xo,

J.

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Digit-al Dozen News, and a Second Liebster!

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Hello again lovelies! I have two important things I wanted to talk to you about!

FIRST: THE DIGIT-AL DOZEN CONQUERS THE WEB

Many people have asked me what the Digit-al Dozen is all about, now that I've been invited to join this illustrious group. Until now, I've at most been able to list the members for you. However, we're now working on a very exciting project: establishing a real digital presence for the group! This means that there is a central place to catch round-up posts of the month's challenge, as well as tons of original content-- how to's, tips and tricks, and much more! Please click the banner below to visit our website and follow us, we'd love to have you along. :)

SECOND: LIEBSTER AWARD #2

Lovely Victoria has nominated me for a second Liebster Award! Am I lucky, or what? Per my last Liebster post, I don't really know of any up-and-coming blogs, so I could use your help-- if you know of any, let me know in the comments! Here is a link to her lovely nail blog:

In the meantime, here are her questions for me, plus (another) 11 random facts about me! I think you guys will know me better than I know myself, by the end of this. ;)

Questions:

1. Who or what drowned you in nail blogging? I received a book from my family for Christmas one year when I was very young, it had a bunch of nail art designs to be done with a toothpick. I've been more or less hooked ever since.

2. If you had to choose between neon or pastel to be used for the whole year, what will you choose? Neon. I'm not much one for pastels. I'm about the jewel tones, and then secondarily about the neons.

3. What's your most used nail art technique? Freehand painting; it's the one thing I'm remotely good at! Taping and water marbling and everything else just make me want to throw things about. ;)

4. What was the very first nail polish you bought? I cannot remember, it's been WAY too long! But the first indie polish I ever bought was Gilded Oak by Contrary Polish. I think it was an excellent decision.

5. If you were prohibited to buy more nail polishes and only have one last chance to buy one bottle of nail polish (I know it's hard but yes, just one!), what would it be? I actually don't have any lemmings right now-- isn't that funny? I'm not really hurting for any one polish. It'd probably be an Elevation Polish, though, because I love everything Lulu does.

6. Big city with tall buildings and high-tech life, or small village with farms and green forest? (And both of them have same nail art stores and internet connection LOL) This is really tough for me. Probably the big city, though, because that's what I came from (Montréal). I love smaller towns and nature, though. I love visiting Penticton, British Columbia, which is a city you can walk across in 45 minutes. It's in the middle of wine country, and it's so hot and beautiful.

7. What's your I-can't-resist-even-when-I'm-full food or snack? Chocolate. Preferably mint chocolate.

8. If you had a time machine to travel to the past and future, what year would you like to be in? I wouldn't travel at all. Too much physics involved. I have a healthy fear of mucking around with the world.

9. A movie or series? Neither! I have an overactive empathy reaction, so I respond to movies and TV shows as though they were really happening. As I type this, I'm sitting in the living room with my headphones on, listening to Ellie Goulding really loudly so as to drown out my partner watching the Breaking Bad finale. I just can't do it!

10. If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? The ability to heal.

11. If you're an ice cream, what kind of ice cream are you? Sorbet! Coconut sorbet.

Random Facts:

1. I have freckles, but they only show up when I've been in a lot of sunlight. I miss them during the winter.

2. I'm mama to a cat named Jacob, who you've seen sometimes on the blog or on Instagram. My favourite thing he does is to purr when I nibble his toes.

3. I'm a serial monogamist. I can't be single to save my life.

4. My favourite artistic medium is soft pastels. I cannot paint to save my life, either.

5. I have a major flirtation with kpop girl groups; my favourite right now is D-Unit. I know how to read hangul (well, extremely slowly and poorly) and I've often considered teaching English in Korea.

6. I have a small but noticeable white scar on my ribcage and I have no idea how it got there. In general, I have a lot of scars.

7. I can listen to the same song over and over without getting sick of it. I get songs stuck in my head, but only for a short while, and sometimes the weirdest ones stick around the longest (like Christmas carols).

8. I'm afraid of conflict. I'll sometimes post my opinion to a Facebook conversation thread and then never visit the thread again, in case someone decided to rip me a new one for it. Heh.

9. I am profoundly silly but most people don't see it. Only my partner and my closest friends get to see the true depth of it.

10. I'm the oldest of two siblings; my brother is 2.5 years my junior.

11. I moved out of house when I was 19, which is pretty young, but a lot older than my mother, who was 16 when she moved out! (Runs in the family, I guess!)

As always, thanks so much for reading and keeping my company on this crazy journey! I really appreciate each and every one of you. You brighten my world more than you know.

xo,

J.