DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Skittle Tips

Nothing to Disclose

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.

CHECK OUT WHAT THE OTHER TALENTED LADIES ARE UP TO: 

Subtle Springtime Fishtail Manicure

It isn't spring yet. Not quite yet. But the week of the 18th, it'll warm up a bit! And then we'll enter Slush Season, which is the precursor to Spring! (I will admit, I am not fond of spring. I'm fond of early summer. Spring is more of an exercise in mud, defrosted dog poo, dead lawns, half-decomposed leaves, garbage everywhere, and potholes that can blow your tires.)

That aside, I thought a muted appreciation of the soon-to-be change in season was in order.

Na naaaaah!

For this manicure, I used the fishtail manicure technique, as devised (or at least perfected) by Sarah at Chalkboard Nails. I love this look on square or squoval nails; the combination of straight and curved lines is very aesthetically appealing. It's also pretty straightforward to do-- check out her video tutorial-- so, a laid-back manicure with visual punch!

I started with a base of Jacqueline, which is a polish that is a strange mix of thick and streaky. BUT it's also gorgeous, and worth the effort. I might thin it for next time; in general, though, leaving time between coats should avoid cuticle drag. I then painted on two coats of The Way I Am, which is stunning and I think I'll need to buy the full size of it (I only have the mini right now). After that, I painted on two coats of Hellebore, which is perfect for this use because it's very glitter-dense, so it gives major impact without having to goop it on. I chose to pair these two greens because they're fraternal twins! The Way I Am is the introvert and Hellebore is the extravert; both are greens with fuschia accents. (It's hard to see the pinkish sparks in Hellebore from my photos, but trust me, they're there). I then topped it with Glitter Food to smooth out the layers, then topcoat, and done!

And now, because I took a butt-load of photos, I will leave you with all of them! Think of new spring grass and itty bitty wildflowers. :)

And I leave you with this cell phone picture; I found that the reduced quality / slight blurriness helped to better show the sparkle smorgasbord that is Hellebore.

I think I'm going to try a Real Life Floral next! Lucy's Stash has me all fired up about it (though I am nowhere near her skill level, holy moly). We'll see!

Polishes used:
Zoya - Jacqueline
Contrary Polish - The Way I Am
Cirque - Hellebore
Nail Pattern Boldness - Glitter Food
New York Color - Grand Central Station (top coat)

J.