Simple Aquatic + a Guest Post!

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

So, I survived part of the Skyline Trail. 36km worth of trudging around with beautiful views. I pinched something in my right hip and my feet have a collective 6 huge blisters, so the last major ascent/scree was not going to happen. I need to work out more before tackling 12 hours' worth of hiking!

But I do have nails for you today!

I'm doing an ABC challenge with my buddy @thedevilwearspolish on Instagram. We're calling it the Follow the Devil ABC Challenge and doing one prompt a week. This week: aquatic! I decided to keep it simple.

I started with two coats of Lavender Cloud, followed by Skylar for the water. I then went over Skylar in some places with Arctic Sunrise, Aqueous, and Love Letter to Kurt Vonnegut. Little shine details in Tempest, topcoat, and done!

Zoom in on this one for all the shimmery awesomeness of the polishes I used:

And I have a surprise for you! I did a guest post over at Gnarly Gnails, run by the inimitable Missy! I love Missy to death, she's the sweetest and has always been so encouraging in my blogging endeavours. One thing I've always appreciated about her swatches is that they show you exactly what you need to know about a polish. They're professional and sharp-looking, but they do not sugar-coat how a polish actually behaves. It's really refreshing! And did I mention she's sweet? Click this teaser image to go see my post, and give her blog some love!

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - Lavender Cloud

Zoya - Skylar

Girly Bits - Arctic Sunrise

Tryst Lacquers - Aqueous (custom)

Scofflaw Nail Varnish - Love Letter to Kurt Vonnegut (limited edition)

Cult Nails - Tempest

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

I'm working on another surprise! I will have that for you on Wednesday sometime. I may even be able to get something up either tomorrow or Tuesday, fingers crossed!

xo,

J.

Neon Lace... Typa Thing?

Nothing to Disclose

No idea what to call this one, lovelies.

I haven't done 'real' nail art in a while, it felt good to hammer something out in less than 2 hours! I consequently have something of a picspam for you today.

I started this look with two coats of French White, followed by 2 coats of Clowning Around and 1 coat of Freckles on the ring finger. On the rest of the fingers, I busted out the colours I used for my Watercolour Floral and started with a similar base, then opted for some kinda floral-ish lace-ish pattern overtop, done in black acrylics.

If you need a refresher on how to watercolour with nail polish, please click through to this post here.

Interestingly, I definitely prefer the look on the accent finger instead of the rest of the fingers. The crispness of the black lines against the white background is just too excellent -- I'll have to revisit this in future.

Polishes used:

Nina Ultra Pro - French White

Zoya - Charisma

piCture pOlish - Sunset

China Glaze - Def Defying (this one stains, be careful!)

Lush Lacquer - Clowning Around, Freckles

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

black acrylic paint

tiny detail brush

I'm hopefully going on a MAJOR hike this weekend (45km in 13 hours, because I'm a nutjob), so there may be radio silence until early next week. I'll be sure to make it up to you! And I may have a bit of a surprise in the next day or two anyway... ;)

xo,

J.

Sea Turtle Hatchling

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

I know, I've neglected you. Things over the past weekend or so were very busy, lots of showing and in general lots going on. But I've got a post for you tonight, and another for you tomorrow!

Today, I have a turtle for you. Turtles are cute.

I did this little guy out of entirely acrylics, as part of a bestie twin nails endeavour with @rachelsequoia (if you have Instagram and are not following her, you are out of your bloomin' mind).

He turned out a lot more stern than my source image. Gah! Oh well.

Polishes used:

none!

acrylics in all sorts of colours

size 0 flat brush

tiny detail brush

I have a bootcamp in the morning so I'm off to hit the hay. And, seeing as I just finished watching Robot and Frank, I may also need a cathartic sob into my pillow. Such a good movie, but so sad, guys. And it summarizes nicely the differences between my boyfriend and I: at the end he chirps, "That was cute!" and I weep and state, "That was devastating!" LORDY. See it if you haven't.

Until tomorrow, my pretties, and remember to wear waterproof mascara when watching movies!

xo,

J.