DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold: Christmas Skittlette

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Hello lovelies! Day 2 of Nubbinses, and the final day of Digit-al Dozen Week, is upon us!

I decided to keep it simple today, with a red/green/gold Christmas skittlette.

Thumb and index are two coats of Chyna, pinkie is two coats of Filthy Rich. Middle and ring fingers are two coats of Shawn, followed by designs in Filthy Rich and some Just Nail nail art fluid that I didn't like enough to keep using (haha).

I regret now not incorporating red into my middle two fingers, but I guess that's kind of the point of skittlettes? And I wish I'd used Filthy Rich for the design from the beginning, I think I would have gotten better lines using it instead of the nail art fluid.

Polishes used:

Zoya - Chyna, Shawn

Quo by Orly - Filthy Rich

Just Nail nail art fluid in gold

butter LONDON - Nail Foundation (base coat)

OPI - Matte top coat (on middle two fingers)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat; on pinkie only)

medium detail brush

GUESS WHAT! We found a house to rent! I won't be homeless come January! It's a really nice house, too, all updated and stuff. I'm really excited about it. It'll be me, my friend Andrew, a couple named Josh and Alyssa, their two young boys, and my cat. A rambunctious house. :) Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words over the past little bit. Now if we could all refocus our positive energy on finding me a job, I'd be all set... ;)

xo,

J.

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

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold: Little Bells

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Hello lovelies! Today is Day 1 of Utter Nubbily Nubbiness.

Augh!! Try not to avert your gaze. They don't bite, even if they're sort of gnarly looking. (And not the good gnarly, like Gnarly Gnails; the bad gnarly.)

I went outside the directive a bit with the base colour I chose for this; two coats of Colline du Charf. I thought I'd need three, and I probably would if my nails were longer, but for this two medium coats were perfect. I love this colour, it's so dainty and stuff. I'm not 100% sold on it as the base to this manicure, though. The bells don't stand out against it as much as I thought they would.

The bells were painted with Shirin and Filthy Rich (the little lines). The string and bell details were done with Camelot. The leaves were done with Shawn and Tracie, and the berries are Nightmaren.

Polishes used:

Elevation Polish - Colline du Charf

Mentality Nail Polish - Shirin

Quo by Orly - Filthy Rich

Zoya - Shawn, Tracie

Pretty Serious - Nightmaren

A England - Camelot

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

tiny detail brush

liner brush (which didn't save my lines, unfortunately; what a sorry state of affairs...)

How do you like these? What base colour would you have used?

xo,

J.

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

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold Poinsettias

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It wouldn't be a holiday season without some poinsettias, would it, lovelies?

No, it would not. (Look at how glorious and long my nails are here! I weep for you, my pretty nails!)

For today's look, I began with a base of two easy coats of Shirin, which is way more gold and way less yellow-orange than it appears on the Mentality website (which is a good thing, for my skin tone). I then painted on the poinsettias with Fire It Up, Tomato, Nightmaren, and St. Petersburgundy. The leaves were done with Recycle and Shawn. The little dots were done with Streetside NYC and Mellow Yellow.

I didn't like these once I'd done them, I found them sloppy, but I think they've grown on me.

Polishes used:

Mentality - Shirin

Layla - Souftouch 08 (Fire It Up)

Joe Fresh - Tomato

Pretty Serious - Nightmaren

OPI - St. Petersburgundy

Rescue Beauty Lounge - Recycle

Zoya - Shawn

Elevation Polish - Streetside NYC

Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Glisten & Glow - HK Girl (top coat)

medium detail brush

My adventures in nubbiness start tomorrow! I really can't get over it. I've broken nails before but it hasn't ever really been this bad. It'll take at least a month to get any reasonable sort of length back. But I'm trying not to give up hope! Or, not hope, but resilience. Or something. You know what I mean? Sure you do. *whistles*

xo,

J.

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

DIGIT-AL DOZEN WEEK: Red/Green/Gold Holly Berries

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Hello lovelies!

Today's Day 2 mani is a day late; yesterday was full of existential greyness. Sorry about that. But here I am!

Holly berries are the easiest thing to do, in terms of holiday designs. They also hold a special place in my heart because they're one of the designs that I distinctly remember doing when I was a kid, using only toothpicks. 

I remember quite literally nothing about the polishes that I used for this mani. You have my sincerest apologies, but there's no way I'm going to be able to throw together a Polishes Used section for you today. 

The only thing I remember is that the base is, as best I can recall, Nails Inc.'s Mayfair. It's a pearly off-white that seemed worthy of the season. Macro time!:

I broke my index nail down to nub yesterday, too, just in case it wasn't apparent that it was a Really Bad Day. I have one look for tomorrow for Day 3 completed on my normal nails, and then I have to figure out if I'm up to the challenge of doing Days 4 and 5 on nubs. Eeeek. I'm a bit ashamed?! Even though there's nothing to be ashamed OF?!?! So yeah.

xo,

J.

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

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.

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

Catching Fire

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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.

SIMPLE SUNDAY: Blood Splats

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Hello lovelies!

So, remember yesterday when I was worried about my being hung over today? GUESS WHAT.

I'm posting from the past again! The point of my inebriation levels of last night are totally moot! How smart is this? I should post from the past more often.

It's not a Hallowe'en season without some blood splats. Now, I need to have a word with you all, here. It's of critical importance, and should be known in a post-Dexter world. It's not really blood splatter, it's blood spatter. I know, I know. It's a bit like how the Classicist in me flinches whenever somebody calls them pottery shards instead of pottery sherds. Drives me nuts! Thank you for listening to this mini-rant.

This look started with a staggering four thick coats of Naked. It doesn't even give me mannequin hands! All that work for nothing! Needless to say, especially given its price tag (I got it on clearance, thankfully), Naked does not come recommended.

The accent finger is two coats of Chyna. This polish reminds me of Dorothy's shoes and does come recommended. So classic-looking in spite of the texture!

The blood splats (it's not really spatter, it's much more haphazard splotches, I think) were done first in Fire It Up, and then in JS42 for depth. The whole thing took about a half-hour for both hands, making this Simple Sunday appropriate.

Polishes used:

Deborah Lippmann - Naked

Zoya - Chyna

Layla - Softouch 08 (Fire It Up)

Nfu Oh - JS42

medium liner brush

Have you done any Hallowe'en manis yet? This feels so out of my comfort zone, haha!

xo,

J.

Basket Weave

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Hello lovelies!

Sorry for my absence lately, my sweethearts. I've been working on some secret stuff for next week and then wore the base colour for today's mani for three days unadorned (gasp)!

For this weekend, my ABC Challenge prompt was I for iridescent. I had zero clue what to do with it.

So, I totally took it the easiest way possible. Hah. Whoops?

For this look, I started with two coats of Germanicure, which is my single favourite polish of all time. I topped than off with a coat of Iris, which is comprised of tiny iridescent flakes -- how I snuck in the theme for this week! I then painted on the basket weave first in Nightmaren, then in Stardust, and finally used Funny Bunny as an accent.

The below photo shows how Stardust is duochrome; it looks pink in the centre of my thumb and golden at the edges.

Polishes used:

OPI - Germanicure, Funny Bunny

Cirque - Iris

Pretty Serious - Nightmaren

Nubar - Stardust

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

detail brush

I've been going through some rough times in the past week, my friends. (You can tell because my watermarking on these photos is kind of wonky-- I'm definitely spacey.) I'm sure I'll be back to my chatty, somewhat batty self soon. In the meantime, if anybody has any leads on teaching in Korea next year, send 'em my way! ;)

xo,

J.

SIMPLE SUNDAY: Fire Alarm!

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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.

Franken + Food!

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... but not frankenfood, don't worry!

Hello lovelies! I have kind of a special post today. (Well, special to me.) The reason is that the polish I'm showing you today is my very first franken. For those who haven't encountered the term yet, a franken is nail polish lingo for a polish that is mixed up using other polishes, pigments, loose glitter, and whatever else you feel like throwin' in there. I made this one using 6 different polishes and 4 types of loose glitter! In honour of autumn and by popular request over on Instagram, I've named it Bride of Franken-Stein. (Punny.)

Shown are two thick coats of polish plus two thin coats of top coat to smooth out the glitter. There are flakes, and glass fleck, and all sorts of stuff in the base green jelly, so feel free to click the following picture to get a zoomed-up look (can you tell I'm a proud mama?):

On top of the franken, I've put some apples, because this weekend's ABC Challenge prompt is Food! We're well into September now, much as I hate to admit it-- not because I hate autumn, not at all, but because the winters here in Edmonton are brutal-- and apples seemed a season-appropriate foodstuff.

The apples are entirely acrylic paint.

I'm not the happiest with how they turned out, but they aren't bad, either. It's been over a month since I did really detailed acrylic painting like this on my nails, so I'm a little rusty, and it was good to get back into it!

Polishes used:

Bride of Franken-Stein, a franken made by me! ***

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

acrylic paint in light red, dark red, yellow, ochre, sap green, and dark brown

tiny detail brush

I'm finally all caught up on the ABC Challenge! Now I get to do whatever I want this week, woohoo! I'm thinking of getting a head start on prepping for next month's Digit-al Dozen week, and I've got a few other ideas kicking around that might be fun. I'm looking forward to it! Just as soon as I can will myself to take this polish off....

xo,

J.

*** While the polishes I used were all mine and purchased separately, some of the suspension base I used and all of the loose glitter I used came from Girly Bits' franken starter kit. They've also recently introduced a deluxe franken starter kit that comes with more glitter samples and three pre-coloured bases, which is pretty awesome!

Lady Luck

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Hello lovelies!

Sorry about the not-posting thing. Things in Real Life have been problematic lately. For instance, today I was fired! Well, not fired. I've been on medical leave for the past... numerous months... and now that I'm ready to go back to work, there is no open position for me. Hence I get a severance and sent on my way! FUN TIMES Y'ALL. But I saw this coming from a mile away, so while I am definitely hitting the wine as we speak (well, I put it down to type, I cannot type with my toes), I'm not unconsolable.

It's more that I'm choosing to see this as Lady Luck giving me the opportunity to get myself on a different path. I'm not sure what that path is, yet, but I've been working for the same one company for 8 years now (pretty well my entire adult life), and maybe a change is a good thing.

So to you, Lady Luck, I dedicate these nails.

Method on these was kind of tricksy. I began with regular base coat and ridge-filling base coat to give myself a good canvas, then I used Liquid Palisade to draw the shapes on (I did two coats for extra sturdiness). Once the shapes were dry, I painted on the white with Tempest and peeled away the Liquid Palisade. I then used my detail brush and my black and red polishes to draw on the outlines. Not my best work, but I find larger curved lines like this the hardest things to do cleanly with polish. :)

Polishes used:

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

Essie - ridge filling base coat

NYC - Grand Central Station (top coat)

Cult Nails - Tempest

A England - Camelot

Layla - Softouch Effect 08

Liquid Palisade

detail brush

I have a really neat and detailed idea for what to do next, so I hope to have awesomeness to show you tomorrow or Saturday. And if you're good and eat all your veggies, I may even water marble.

xo,

J.

PS: I am currently extra-glad that all of you read this blog. This hobby has brought so much positivity and sweetness into my life, and I'm especially appreciative right now. And no, this isn't the wine talking. <3

Snapshots: Kurta, Summer Dotticure

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Hello lovelies!

I wanted to share with you two looks I completed recently and posted to Instagram, but not here (it happens sometimes, say if something is specifically an IG request).

First up, we have a twin nails look with @thedevilwearspolish based on the design of one of her kurtas. I love these little elephants sooo much.

Polishes used:

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

OPI - Germanicure

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

gold acrylic paint

detail brush

Next, we have a simple summer dotticure requested by a wee denizen of Instagram (only 10 years old!). I of course had to had fun with her request, which was yellow-on-pink dots, because that's how I roll. This is an easy look to recreate if you use a small dotting tool and you take your time.

Polishes used:

Duri - Rejuvacote (base coat)

Nina Ultra Pro - Punki Pink (of course, the NEON does not show up, but trust me, it's NEON)

Cirque - Iris (shimmer top coat)

Sally Hansen - Mellow Yellow

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

wee dotting tool

I'm always happy to field requests, so never hesitate! In the meantime, I'm thinking of more neons. I just painted my toes with Sunset (see previous post) and they bloody well glow and I love them.

xo,

J.

Summer Strawberries

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LOVELIES. Oh, my lovelies. If only you knew the toil behind this manicure.

"Jolène," you protest, "this is really easy." YES. But it took 4 do-overs! I tried every conceivable strawberry mani before I ended up with this one! What is wrong with me today.

At any rate. I'll keep it brief because it's past midnight and Momma has a serious sleeping problem, in that she needs to do lots of it or else she'll fall apart... like... a joke in terrible taste about leprosy.

This began with a coat of Tempest (ONE COAT!), with strawberries done in An Amorous Disposition (will need to be showcased better in future), greens in Shawn, and little dots in Kalahari Kiss.

Polishes used:

Cult Nails - Tempest

Arcane Lacquer - An Amorous Disposition (only Australia)

Zoya - Shawn

China Glaze - Kalahari Kiss

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

la couleur couture - 2013 (top coat)

I have a serious request. I've been so low on nail art inspiration lately! I don't know why, but it sucks. Is there anything you, lovely lovelies, would like to see me take a shot at? I'm all ears over here!!

xo,

J.