DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Monochrome Honeycomb Ombre

Nothing to Disclose

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:

Fall Houndstooth

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

I hate doing gradients and I hate doing patterns that are finicky, so today's venture was interesting, to say the least.

The ABC Challenge prompt for this week is H for houndstooth. I rather like houndstooth, actually. It's probably my favourite pattern. BUT. When I do it in large quantities, things tend to get out of hand. They go wonky. They're subject to entropy. You get the idea.

In this case, my squares kept getting closer and closer together. Dagnabbit!

I began with a base of a gradient using Coney Island Queen, Martian Sea, and 347. (I hate gradients, I hate cleaning up after them, oh heavens it is The Worst Thing after water marbling clean-up.) I then painted on the houndstooth with the KONAD polish. If you need a questionably useful refresher on how to do houndstooth, please click here. (And while we're revisiting the past, why were my cuticles so much happier then than now? Now they're like overgrown brambles! Augh!)

The claw! Haven't seen that one in a while.

Polishes used:

Pahlish - Coney Island Queen

Pretty Serious - Martian Sea

Inglot - 347

KONAD - Special stamping polish in white

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

Rica - Glossy Glam (top coat; sort of smudged things in places, boo...)

medium and tiny detailing brushes

make-up sponges

cotton swabs and swear words for clean-up

I have the BEST holiday nail idea. Isn't that frustrating? Useless for the next almost three months... But I can't help it! The season makes me think of being cosy, not creepy/frightening as Hallowe'en deserves. So it gggoooeesss.

xo,

J.

Plaid and Roses

Nothing to Disclose

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.

SIMPLE(R) SUNDAY: Houndstooth

Oh boy. It's 00:11 on Monday and I'm starting my Sunday post. Bad Jolène!!

Houndstooth is a weird pattern when you look at it, but it breaks down easily. There are a million tutorials for this one, but here's how I did it:

Step 1: draw your squares. You want them evenly spaced, so that it's a bit like a chess board where every second line of black squares was erased. That's a complicated way of saying what I hopefully have shown above.

Step 2: the first set of arms. Technically, the ends of the arms are supposed to be at an angle like fancy ribbon, but I challenge you to achieve that on the nail.

Step 3: the second set of arms. This should end up looking a bit like you're watching a bunch of block people doing the Macarena from above. (Good luck unseeing that.)

Step 4: the ears! So now the block people are looking up at you and they're actually CAT-BLOCK PEOPLE. I enjoy how my captions have managed to devolve into complete uselessness in only four steps.

That made sense, right????? Right. I'd make a pictorial for IG but it's clear by now that I do not function well without a staggering amount of words to throw around. Once you summon up the patience to do all your nails, you end up with something like this:

I did mine on a base of a glitter bomb for visual interest, but you could do it on anything. There are limitless colour combinations. I think it'd be really cool (but perhaps difficult) to do a houndstooth in a textured polish on a base of a similar shade of regular polish. Über classy!

Polishes used:

Cult Nails - Tempest (one coat underneath Rave)

Jindie Nails - Rave

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

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

black acrylic paint

detail brush

I think I will next do another post with a custom Tryst Lacquer, so keep your peepers peeled for that!


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!

Deconstructed Patterned Mani

Lately, there has been a resurgence of what is being called "tribal" nail art. It's a beautiful technique, characterised by dividing the nail up into sections with horizontal lines and then filling in the sections with different patterns, often with a gradient background. To my mind, there is nothing 'tribal' about it, and I try to stay away from words like that, anyway.

In light of all that yammering, here is my deconstructed take on the trend.

This did take as long as it looks like it did. I started with a base of two coats of Guy Meets Gal-veston (which is actually a neon pink jelly; so, not the red that appears here!), taped off the lines, and then sponged on two coats of a gradient of Electric, Aciiied, and Green with Envy. I coated that with Seche and then went to town with a fine detail pen to get all the designs. In a way, using a pen is cheating, compared to a detail brush, but I really wanted to use small shapes. Plus, the time, effort, and necessity for a steady hand all remained the same. ;) Another coat of Seche to seal everything and it's done!

Polishes used:
OPI - Guy Meets Gal-veston
Revlon - Electric
Models Own - Aciiied
Sally Hansen - Green with Envy
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Seche Vite (top coat)
striping tape
fine-point tweezers
Pigma MICRON .005 pen
makeup sponges
microscope eyes

I think I'll leave these be for a day or two before I move on to the next thing. (My left hand currently has only the lines and gradient, gotta work on that one slowly!)


J.

Gradient Gingham

I COULDN'T STAY AWAY

The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have a problem. I probably have a problem, but I definitely don't care.

Now... what to call these? I don't know what these are. Reverse plaid? Regular plaid? Gingham? None of the above? Whatever, I'm going with gingham because then I've got an alliterative title.

It's a super gross, rainy day here today (which is good, it's the first good rain of the season, I can pretty well hear the plants heaving a sigh of relief). As such, I wanted something colourful! And then I couldn't leave a gradient well enough alone.

Turns out I can't use a liner brush worth a damn. Look at that middle finger! For one, it's missing a line (!!!), and for two, it's on a slant! Holy jeez.

For this look, my gradient was made with the Sally Hansen colours over a base of French White to make them pop. I did the lines with Funny Bunny and the KONAD polish. It's a pretty straightforward look!

Polishes used:

Nina Ultra Pro - French White

Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear - Fuchsia Power, Coral Reef, Sun Kissed, Green With Envy

OPI - Funny Bunny

KONAD - Special Stamping Polish in White

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Poshé (top coat)

two sizes of liner brushes

a questionably steady hand

I will still give it a few days between manis for the time being, while my cuticles continue to heal-- they are still nowhere near where I'd like 'em!

J.

SIMPLE(R) SUNDAY: Paisley Print

This is technically Monday! But I'm still awake, so it's still Sunday as far as I'm concerned.

For this look, I began with a base of Play Me, sponged some Lil Miss Sunshine on the upper halves, and then did the paisleys using a small dotting tool, Honey Dew, and 1977. They are pretty messy little paisleys, I must say. But I wanted to keep it relatively quick in honour of Simple(r) Sunday.

Cleaning up Lil Miss Sunshine was unbearable, because it's a glass fleck/foil finish. So I apologize for the subpar clean-up job!!

This photo is all wonky in terms of skin tone, but it shows the shimmer in Play Me (and Lil Miss Sunshine) much more accurately than the two photos above. I recommend clicking it to zoom in:

I'm thinking that I'm going to tackle a contest entry tomorrow, so hopefully it'll turn out in reality as it is in my head! :)

Polishes used:

Contrary Polish - Play Me

CrowsToes - Lil Miss Sunshine

piCture pOlish - Honey Dew

la couleur couture - 1977

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Seche Vite (top coat)

small dotting tool

wedge sponge

J.

Aztec Calendar Nails

These nails drove me MAD. I'm apparently far more patient with painterly nail art than linework. These didn't turn out as nicely as I'd have hoped, but I'm at my wits' end with them.

Topcoat made the black crackle-- unsure what's up with that?

Aztec nails were requested of me on Instagram, and I didn't know quite what to do make of the idea. A Google Image search indicated that most people interpret "Aztec nails" as "tribal nails" (both terms really put me on edge, I'm sensitive to cultural appropriation stuff). I thought it might be best to pay as sincere a homage as I could to an awe-inspiring piece of culture: the Aztec calendar.

So, for this, I started with two coats of Ridnitsohkka and one coat of Atomic. I then painted on the designs with black and white nail art ink and a tiny brush. I used designs from the calendar as faithfully as I could, with some adjustments for nail shape and/or my incompetence (i.e. details too small).

Polishes used:

Elevation Polish - Ridnitsohkka

piCture pOlish - Atomic

black & white nail art ink

detail brush

Rejuvacote (base coat)

Poshé (top coat)

I think I'll go back to painterly next! I'm thinking scenery of some sort...

J.

Wedgwood China Nail Art

Hey lovelies! I'm sorry for my radio silence for most of the past week; a cold kicked me in the butt and my sinuses and I remain in a protracted battle even as a type this. BUT, I'm feeling better enough for some nail art!

I noticed I'd banged up the index after this photo, and fixed it in the rest. Sorry for the unsightliness!

For this look, I wanted something very fluid, very organic, very imperfect. So I started out with a base of 3 coats of Bella-- which is to die for, it's squishy and perfect and at 3 medium coats it self-levels like a champ. But it also takes forever and a year to dry-- you have been warned. I then painted on all of the details with indigo fountain pen ink and a tiny brush. I took my inspiration from photos of Wedgwood China I found through Google Image Search.

Polishes used:
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Rescue Beauty Lounge - Bella
Essie - Matte About You (top coat)
Diamine Old English Fountain Pen Ink - Indigo (painted on top of matte top coat)
detail nail art brush

I have many more plans for the upcoming days, provided I win this microbial war, so stay tuned!


J.

Cartoon Nails with Faux Half-tone

Cartoon nails are a big thing right now. I've seen them all over the place, and I find them impossibly cute. Very clever was the person who thought this up! Triztron over at Instagram wanted to see me do cartoon nails, and I happened to have prepared this post anyway! (I'm not sure this is what she had in mind-- she is very talented at doing cartoons ON her nails-- but I can give that a shot sometime soon, too!) And because I don't like making my life easy, I thought it'd be neat to do an accent nail of a half-tone like pattern.

The cartoon nails themselves were very straightforward and I'm sure there are a bajillion tutorials up on YouTube by now, but the basic premise is to paint your nails black, then paint them the colour you want (leaving a border around the tops and sides), then adding the black stripe at the bottom, followed by the shine marks in white.

For the half-tone, I found a picture online and tried to replicate it. It didn't work. In fact, it didn't work even a little, but I like the look anyway. Sort of macro-looking. I used two jellies for this, along with a bright fuchsia and black acrylic paint.

Polishes used:

Nfu Oh - JS20

Zoya - Frida, Charisma

GOSH - Nero

OPI - Jade is the New Black, Nail Envy Matte (base coat)

Revlon Top Speed - Spirit

INM - Out the Door (top coat)

black & white acrylic paint + detailing brush

Do you like this look at much as I do?

J.