DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Vintage Polka Dots

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

TWO POSTS IN ONE DAY! I was so chuffed after my last post that I immediately took to Google and found something else vintage-y to produce for you!

This was inspired by this polka dot pattern I found on DeviantArt. I started with a base of Rue (which took three coats to opacity, and was mysteriously sort of lumpy?), and then did dots with Crescent Heights, Where Did Suzi's Man-Go?, and Blowing Raspberries.

After that, I did two coats of top coat to protect the base, and did the 'watercolour' technique with Chelsea Physic Garden and Moody Blues. I then sealed everything in another coat of top coat. And then bumped my index and thumb badly while opening a bottle of wine. (This is, in a nutshell, everything you need to know about me.)

Polishes used:

Zoya - Rue

American Apparel - Crescent Heights

OPI - Where Did Suzi's Man-Go?

butter LONDON - Blowing Raspberries

nails inc. - Chelsea Physic Garden

piCture pOlish - Moody Blues

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

dotting tool

square brush for 'watercolouring'

I like this effect, it's like a kind of verdigris... I look forward to doing it over more complicated patterns, probably using jellies next time for optimal ageing.

AND I FINISHED! AND IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY! I'm so pleased. Thank you, Dionysus, for all that you do.

xo,

J.

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

An InLinkz Link-up

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:

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Monochrome Oranges

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies! So begins another week of The Digit-al Dozen! This month our theme is monochrome -- varying values of the same colour (including black and white). I cheated ever so slightly for today's simple look.

How did I come about doing a summer look in the middle of winter? I asked my beau to name a colour, he chose orange, this is all I could think of. True story.

I started with two coats of White On, and then filled in the oranges starting with the peel (1964 and Y'all Come Back Ya Hear), then the pith (a mix of Streetside NYC [this is how I cheated; used yellow] and White On), then the flesh of the orange (Y'all Come Back Ya Hear with highlights of Funny Bunny and White On).

Polishes used:

Sally Hansen - White On

OPI - Y'all Come Back Ya Hear, Funny Bunny

la couleur couture - 1964

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC (discontinued)

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

thin liner brush

medium detail brush

Don't forget to check out the giveaway we've got going on right now! I'll be back tomorrow with more monochromatic madness. ;) I've got a couple really nice looks for you this week, so I hope you'll stick around!

xo,

J.

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

SWATCHED: Mentality Candy Jelly Holos

Nothing to Disclose -- kind of (read on)

Hello lovelies! 

Today's post comes as a result of a slight hiccough in order packing. You see, I had ordered a bunch of Mentality polishes, and awaited for them to arrive with bated breath. And then they did! And they weren't my order! It turns out that my box was mixed up with another customer's. Hillary, in an example of exemplary customer service, has shipped me my correct order, and told me to keep these lovely polishes as well (gosh, so nice!!). I figured the least I could do would be to swatch them.

So that I don't repeat myself endlessly, I'll put this all here: all of these are three coats, no topcoat. The formula on all of them was very easy to control and apply (none of these photos involved clean up!! A MIRACLE), but you'll not want to go over your strokes too much or you'll create bald spots. Because these are expressly jelly holos, they are a touch on the sheerer side; Mentality makes stamping holos as well, so if you're in for extreme opacity, you might want to look into those. All of these holos have cosmetic grade holo powder in them, not Spectraflair, so you won't be seeing rainbows in my light box. (Somehow, Mentality themselves have captured the rainbows in their swatches-- they're obviously better at corralling rainbows than I am!) Now, let's dive in!

Bon Bon is a jammy pink with slight berry undertones. I'm not a pink girl but this one is deep enough that I like it. 

Marmalade is an interesting one. In the above photo, it looks decidedly orange, but in real life I found it looked orange with a wee bit of pink to it. It made it much more approachable and wearable than straight orange (I love orange polish, but I know not everybody does).

Taffy is an acid yellow-green. I found this one almost a bit frosty, and it isn't as saturated as it looks in the above photo-- more washed out. I absolutely adore colours like these but they don't play nice with my skin tone. 

Sourball is a grass green with the slightest bit of blue to it, which pulls it away from the 'kelly green' territory and more into 'evergreen'. The weird lumps you see are my fault, I think, for applying the polish too soon after shaking it. Blame the messenger for that one.

Pastille is my faaaaavourite. It's got a wonderful tonal shimmer to it, which I hope you can see above. I love this shade of aqua, it's playful and deep without being straight teal.

Gumdrop is a Wonder Woman blue. This one looks a bit sheerer here than it was in real life.

And finally, Hard Candy is a straight purple. It's much less blue than it appears above; not that it's a violet, but it's much less of a grape. It treads that fine line in the land of purple that my camera absolutely hates. It's also not as dark and saturated as it appears-- it reminds me, if this helps, a bit of a cousin or half-sister to A England's Lady of the Lake.

Polishes used:

Mentality - Bon Bon, Marmalade, Taffy, Sourball, Pastille, Gumdrop, Hard Candy

no base or top coat

And so there you have it! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about the nail art I owe you-- I hope to have that up tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Hopefully it'll have been worth the wait! This little exercise gave my newfound appreciation for what swatchers do. It's a laborious process, swatching polish, and it dries the living heck out of your hands. Bow down to the master swatchers, for they live in the land of parched skin and impeccable nail polish application!

xo,

J.

Catching Fire

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

Today I decided to be topical. I also wanted a bit of a break from detailed work like my last polar enterprise, though this ended up being more of a hard case than I anticipated.

Sorry about the smudging! Topcoat can be a real bitch when it wants to, hey?

My aquatic mani from a long time ago was very popular so I thought that, with the new Hunger Games movie coming out today, it might be nice to try it with fire. It was sort of a bad idea? I mean, it all got smudged and the white unders are peeking out and bah! BAH.

Anyway. I started with two coats of Don't Pretzel My Buttons, followed by painting on the fire shapes with French White. I then painted on the fire bits with the rest of the colours, going from yellow to red.

Polishes used:

OPI - Don't Pretzel My Buttons, Y'All Come Back Ya Hear?

Nina Ultra Pro - French White

Revlon - Electric

Essence - Fortune Cookie

American Apparel - Lopez Canyon

Inglot - 724

Layla - Fire It Up (Softouch Effect 08)

Sally Hansen - Cinna-snap

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

Next up, Outrageous Ville. I'm thinking of something Effie Trinket inspired... makes sense, goes with the theme, might be impossible, you know. The whole shebang.

xo,

J.

SNAPSHOTS: Hallowe'en and Movember

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies! You know what the worst thing is? Moving house. It is actually the worst thing. It is an all-engulfing maw into which my past week disappeared entirely. I actually don't even remember most of it. I have nubbins to show for it, though. Moving also destroyed my nails and cuticles-- ick.

But I made it through! And I have two manis to show you quick quick.

First up is my Hallowe'en mani. I apologize for the image quality; I used my iPad to take the photo in less-than-ideal light. I used white and black acrylic paint on a base of the franken I'd made a while ago. I happen to think my little Jolly Rogers are quite cute!

Second up is my Movember mani! I started with a patchwork base of Magia, Cosmic Fate, Eternal Beauty, and Kismet. The holo is evident in direct light and throws wonderful rainbows! I then used white and brown acrylic paint for the different moustaches. The middle finger is dedicated to Cmd. Hadfield. ;)

Polishes used:

Franken I'd made a while ago...

Color Club - Cosmic Fate, Eternal Beauty, Kismet

Jade - Magia

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat) (note: putting top coat on these holos doesn't kill the rainbow effect!)

Back atcha lovelies with more nail art soon! I have an idea for an autumnal mani (I say, as I look outside and everything is blanketed in snow...), plus it's Digit-al Dozen week next week! Hang tight, I promise to be more present! :)

xo,

J.

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Hallowe'en Skittle

Nothing to Disclose

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.

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

SIMPLE SUNDAY: Fire Alarm!

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

Today's look came about because I painted my nails with this gorgeous colour, Rusted Lux, and then had no idea what to do with it.

One of my Instagram lovelies suggested fire, and I kind of ran with it. In the direction of the absurd.

I took a look at my studs and thought, "Hey, these kind of look like exclamation points." And from there I decided on a fire signage kind of idea thing. You know, one of those idea things. Right-o.

Rusted Lux is a weird polish, it's a very sheer base with opaque flakes in it. The coverage of the flakes is what gives the polish opacity. I used three coats, but it could have used a fourth. It is amazing, though. Even my boyfriend grabbed my hand and exclaimed about how pretty it is. Glowy beauty.

Zoom this one in and you can see all the flakes in action!:

Polishes used:

SpaRitual - Rusted Lux

KONAD - Special Stamping Polish in White

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

Rica - Glossy Glam (top coat)

rectangular studs from The Nail Room

round studs from Born Pretty Store

medium detailing brush

xo,

J.

Swatch: Polished by KPT - Dichromate

Nothing to Disclose

Hello lovelies!

I just got back from a period of being up at my parents' cottage without reception. I thought I'd show you what I've been wearing for these past couple of days -- Dichromate.

Dichromate is a green (warm) to orange (cold) thermal polish, and the shift is quite volatile and noticeable. It's been insanely hot here lately, though, so getting both colours to show has been a bit of a challenge. Most times it's just a lovely bright apple-ish green. :)

Application was interesting, a bit. The formula is a bit thick because of, I presume, the heady mix of metallic shimmer and thermal pigment. It tends to gloop ever so slightly on contact with acetone, which means clean-up requires a bit of patience. Your best bet is to go with 3 thin coats, making sure not to finesse them too much, and giving plenty of drying time in-between. The result is worth it, it's really fun to watch it shift colours!

Lastly, here is a photo I took of the clouds and the moon, with my parents' dock on the lake visible thanks to the little lanterns:

I hope to get some nail art done while I'm out here but, barring that, you'll definitely still be getting swatches! I'm thinking of readjusting my nail shape, too, but that's still an Idea and not a Plan... ;)

Polishes used:

Polished by KPT - Dichromate

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

I miss you, my lovelies! I hope you're all well. :)

xo,

J.

Main Squeeze

Nothing to Disclose

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.

Mirage

Hello lovelies!

Today's post is instalment #1 of 4 about a series of custom polishes that Kimberly over at Tryst Lacquers made for me. She's a sweetheart and her polishes are awesome; I strongly recommend you check them out if you haven't already. She only ships to Canada and the States at the moment, but I'm happy to do some nail mail magic if you spot anything you really want!

This is a much paler orange than it's appearing in photos-- the last photo gets it the closest. It's a pale orange with an edge of peach, filled with silver micro holo glitter and opalescent flakes. The flakes come in small to quite large, and the odd one is a pain in the butt, requiring you to wipe them off the brush lest they get all curly on your nail. A good coat of Glitter Food, though, and the bumps are all sorted out. It dries down to a good thickness, even with 3 coats. And, in spite of the flakes, it's a super-easy polish to apply and control. Kimberly makes a good product!

This is a simpler nail art in large part because I felt like something I could hammer out quickly, and because I used 100% nail polish for this look, so I didn't have the workable time of acrylics on my side. I think it came out quite cutely! That little buffalo skull is my favourite part, and the part I thought I'd have the hardest time with.

The opalescent flakes in an orange base strongly reminded me of mirages in the desert, so that's why I named it Mirage! :) I fiddled with the levels and colour balances to try to get the polish colour more accurate in this photo, but it's still a bit too darkly orange. You'll have to use your imaginations! ;)

Polishes used:
Tryst Lacquers - Mirage (custom)
OPI - My Vampire is Buff
Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow
Nails Inc - Porchester Square
Zoya - Godiva, Tracie
Rescue Beauty Lounge - Recycle
Elevation Polish - Xixabangma, Streetside NYC, Temperance
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Seche Vite (top coat; only on top of Mirage, not on top of nail art)

The other three custom polishes I have to show you are Confection, Rosin, and Calypso! I gotta brainstorm ideas...

DON'T FORGET ABOUT MY CONTEST / GIVEAWAY!!


J.

Grain Elevator

This was a lot of fun to do, improbable-looking clouds included. (Colour theory? What's that?)

Unfortunately, it was awful to photograph, so you only get one snap. And, for the first time ever, I've blurred my cuticles. It's for your protection. They're up to some kind of mutiny and I'm not clear on why. I think next week will be a Nakey Nails week while I try desperately to cajole my fingers back to presentability.

This will be entered in a couple of contests, and for some reason I was feeling more Prairies than usual, hence the canola and grain elevator and what have you.

All acrylics, sealed with Seche!

Polishes used:
Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Seche Vite (top coat)
acrylic paints (all of the colours!)
size 2 and size 0 square brushes
teeny detail brush


J.

Neon Animal Print

... Now those are three words I never thought I'd say. This has to be the most un-me nail art I've done so far, and I'm in love with it nonetheless.

For this look, I started out with a base of Spirit, then painted on various blobs / stripes / dots / curves in the neons. Once dry, I used black acrylic paint for the leopard spots and the... miscellaneous stripes? Not sure what the heck animal I ended up with, there. (It's my very first time doing any kind of animal print; please be gentle.)

I've tried to take photos in various lighting conditions to capture the neon, but no photos ever really do capture neon. Neon is the vampire of the 80s and it refuses to show up in photos.

I find it fitting that I painted these yesterday, when it was +30˚C out, and took photos of them today, when it is +15˚C out (and was +5˚C this morning!). I live in a terrifying place.

Polishes used:

Revlon - Spirit

Nina Ultra Pro - Punki Pink, Orange Flame, Solar Flare

Finger Paints - Silkscreen Green

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)
Seche Vite (top coat)
black acrylic paint
striping brush, detail brush, tiny dotting tool

Hoping and praying for the warmth to come back,

J.