Challenge AND GIVEAWAY!

So, lotsa stuff to talk about today!
First, I'm an auntie again! My sister gave birth to their second son, Jason Ryan. He's beautiful, and I'm not being biased.  Well... Maybe a little.
This brings great things for you, readers! After we look at the challenge, there will be the giveaway stuff, so hang tight!

First, the 80's Flick challenge.  My favorite has to be Pretty in Pink.  I love the Brat Pack, and most of all Molly Ringwald.  GO GINGERS!

This is based this loosely on a minimalist poster for Pretty in Pink.

I started off with a pink ombre of Julep Jennifer, L'Oreal Penthouse Pink, Julep Avery, Orly Purple Crush. A little polka dotting, some stamping, and a few caviar beads for her pearls... VOILA! Granted the caviar beads are silver, but you make do with what you got. Unfortunately the lighting in this got a little wonky, but you get the idea.

So, now... To the goodies!
We made this, OUR FIRST GIVEAWAY, a blue theme.  This is to celebrate Jason Ryan's first day of life. WELCOME TO THE WORLD LITTLE MAN!
This is a U.S. ONLY giveaway. Sorry international readers. We will attempt to make the next one international participation. Giveaway will end on July 14, 2013 11:59pm PST.

Now the PRIZES!!!

Winner #1 will get a Nails Inc. Bling it On Midnight set.

Winner #2 will get two Sephora OPI polishes. Indi-go With the Flow and Opening Night.

Winner #3 will get Layla #09 Aqua Zen.

Winner #4 will get the aptly named Hard Candy Birthday Bash.

Enter in the Rafflecopter below! There are some mandatory entries.

Good luck, readers!!!

*******UPDATE! You must complete the first two entries to be eligible for the giveaway. If they are not completed, you will be disqualified. These entries will be checked for validity.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

All polishes were purchased by me, Rachel.  The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. We are not associated with any of the companies named above. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received. Open to US, 18+ only. Confirmed Winner(s) (by Random.org) will be contacted by email. Winner(s) have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. The sponsor(s) will be responsible for product shipment to winner(s) of this giveaway. My blog is not responsible for product shipment/delivery. This event is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Challenge - Panorama - MINIONS HO!

FINALLY!
Gosh...
My Panorama. I did it of Minion Stuart. He's so adorable with his one eye, and all tall and lanky. Well, as lanky as a minion can get.
When I got Despicable Me on blu-ray, it came with goggles. I felt sad that it wasn't a single eye goggle. I KNOW I don't have just one eye... But, only one works well. So, I think Stuart is my homeboy.
FREAKS UNITE!

Now, to move to 80's Flick. I won't tell you EXACTLY what I am doing... But it involves pink.

Rachel

Moratorium - Week 2

Week 2
I counted how many days I have for this moratorium from beginning to end. I figure that I would stop after September 1, with the mental caveat of additional days may be imposed.
75 days total. That seems like a lot. I thought if I broke it down to smaller units, maybe I would feel better.
75 days can be converted to one of these units:
■6,480,000 seconds■108,000 minutes■1800 hours■10 weeks (rounded down)

This did not make me feel better.


I will paint my nails black in protest. They will reflect my derision to this self imposed restriction.
Protesting myself. My therapist will have a field day...

I had a pretty rad mani with a new polish and an untried. No, the new one I did not buy. It was a gift from my cohort Tey-Diz.
I was lazy in taking pics. Then it started to come off. So... In true form I peeled it all off. Then I got mad at myself for doing so and not taking pics that are not blurry and ugly. But, that's all I have, so that's all you get!

This is Sonya Kashuk Starry Night with Nabi Purple Jumbo Glitter. That glitter is insane! You can kinda see the holo goodness.  It flashes between green, yellow, orange, and red. It was very much stare worthy.  I'm POSITIVE I will be using this again, and will MAKE SURE I take better pics. But I couldn't just not have SOMETHING on here. Along with all my caps emphasized words.

So, my lazy butt will be working on the Panorama challenge that was supposed to be on here LAST week. But, school is still a first come thing right now. I'm off for a week, then it starts all over again.

Rachel

Challenge - Panoramic - Noah Bradley's M13 Plains

As you may recall, I'm a super nerd for Magic: The Gathering. The artists who illustrate these cards are freaking HEROES! One of my favorites is Noah Bradley. His works are evocative and breathtaking and his use of color makes my inner artist green with envy.

Without further delay, I did my best to capture his M13 Plains with acrylic paint!

I ain't too humble to confess that I'm proud as shit of this manicure. I love the colors and it is probably the first time I've illustrated a cloud that didn't look like some kind of cartoon sheep. In person, it does resemble buttered mashed potatoes but, hey, that's not a sheep.

BONUS: Noah Bradley offered (on reddit) to sign some of his cards if one mailed him a postage paid envelope with the cards to be signed.I jumped at the opportunity and made him a thank you card. He signed my cards and returned them with the following note:

I AM A BIG DEAL.

Day 2 - Moratorium

Day 2:

So, I painted my nails last night.
It was pretty. Then I saw them in the sun. My brain melted with happiness. I had to scoop it up and put it in the freezer a little while. I used some untrieds, like people suggested. That was cool.
I used Barielle's Teaser, and layered over that Orly's Sparkling Garbage. My accent nails were done with Color Club Harp On It.  I took a quick pick to send to Teyie to show how insane the sparkle was, and so her brain could melt. The sensation is like no other. Even with the blurry picture, Harp On It got an attitude and said to me (literally, it spoke) "Ain't no blur gonna ruin my spectacularness!"
That scared me, but after it calmed down I was ok. Never had polish talk before. I'll chalk that up to new sensation #2.
So, After I went into the office, I was sad again. The lighting killed my polish. After that, a customer told me to drop dead.
So... I decided to take a picture of my mani for all to see Harp On It talking to me. I'll let you guys know if any others do that.

I think Harp On It was talking here. 

This one didn't have as much light. Still, it sparkled. With all its might.

So I end this entry to the saga, while sipping on my luke warm beer because I forgot I opened it, and say thank you for your viewing.

Rachel

(We will be doing Panoramic for the next challenge. Got some pretty cool ideas rolling around this noggin!)

Moratorium: Day 1

I have decided to keep a record, or diary if you will, of my emotional state while going through a "no-buy".

Day 1:

I find today to be rough, but almost through it.  While reading emails and facebook posts, I am seeing many sales, which are on going.  This makes me sad. I HAVE the money presently. The SHOULD I spend it is where my inner turmoil rips me apart.
I have asked advice for how to make it through. Many say going through untrieds. This is a good Idea that I will attempt. Hopefully my heart feels up to the task.

Tomorrow is another day. We shall see my mood then?

Lets see a mani not posted yet, shall we. This will lighten the mood?

I had just gotten my holo top coat, and wanted to do a fun mani with a new dark green polish. Some stamping, and it turned out cute for a quick mani.

I will be doing some swatching and untrieds in the next few weeks, along with the challenges. Keep tuned in for the Moratorium Saga.

Rachel

Challenge - MY BIRTHDAY

I so love these challenges!
For my birthday mani, making it pink and super glittery was a given.  I recently got a grab bag and some new Julep polishes, so what better time to use new polishes?!
I LOVE the pink of Orly Purple Crush, but my camera just could not get over the dazzle of the glitter. The picture just doesn't do it justice! It's really thin, and I had to use three coats. You can still see a little VNL in the pics.
The spectacular glitter of Julep's Paris is... I'm verklempt! I have stared and it for a while now. It truly looks like celebratory confetti. I layered Paris on top of Sally Hansen's Wool Lite Fuzzy coat for accent nails. That really turned out better than I hoped.

The fuschia of Purple Crush just doesn't come through! It looks so red/orange in these pics. Even looking for a pic to show the true color is hard to find. I highly suggest the color. It's GORGEOUS. But I am a huge fan of pink (not like you can't tell by the site...)

You can really see the true beauty of Paris in the above pic. The holo glitter is wonderful. I could keep gushing...

I haven't been a big fan of the fuzzy and feathers lines. But, for this mani I think it really added to the crazy glitter bomb you get from parties, pinatas, ticker tape parades... Because that's how people should celebrate me.

Until next week! I'm having so much fun with these challenges. The next one is going to be a BIG challenge.  My freehand is getting better, but it will be put to the test for Panoramic challenge.

Rachel

Challenge - Sushi - Kawaii Sushi Nails!

I wasn't sure what to do for the sushi challenge since "california rolls" are the closest to sushi I've been (outside of a hazy memory of a first date when I was a teen). I turned to the google machine and came up with a couple photos for inspiration: from Hawaii Kawaii and from Kukubee.

Armed with some hyper-cute ideas and a can-do attitude, I went to work creating the most barftastically adorable manicure I could imagine. My wasabi plush begged to be included, so forgive me for any cute aneurysms I induce.

I learned a very valuable lesson from my efforts, actually.  I need a lot of practice with dotting.  I've tried before with limited success, but I've never come so close to ragequitting mid-manicure as I did making my little nori wrapped roll. At one point, it literally looked like I had poked its eyes out with a hot poker.

Challenge - My Favorite Monster - WWE's Kane

I'm a renegade who doesn't play by the rules, man. I still have the sushi challenge from last week but I got a bit zealous about doing "my favorite monster"! An opportunity to mix two of my favorite things? YES, PLEASE! 

First, meet Kane. He's WWE's 7ft tall "Big Red Monster"/"Devil's Favorite Demon" and one half of my favorite tag team in recent history, Team Hell No. As you may have noticed, he's adorable.

Now for the mani! I wanted these to be 100% gothy and campy just like Kane. I decided it would be the best homage to have his ring gear be the imagery used.  Plus, it's a mani I wouldn't mind wearing for a few days!  

This mani features:

Rimmel 430 Black Satin

Julep Molly

Julep Parker

Challenge - SUSHI!

Okay, I am a slacker.
In my defense, which is very little, I was gone for over a week, and working on papers. So, yeah... SORRY!!!!
Anyhoo...
Here is my Sushi! My favorite is eel (unagi), so I made a roll with crab, avo, shrimp tempora, and eel. I will call it the "Delish Roll".  Also, there is tamago, unagi with avo, ikura (salmon roe), and a nice mound of wasabi for your soy sauce.
Enjoy this delicious treat!

Man, now I'm hungry...

Challenge - Candy- Frosted Gumdrops

I just wanted to say how happy I am doing these challenges. Unfortunately I am lagging behind!!!
For the Candy challenge I did Frosted Gumdrops.  I am so in love the with textured polishes that are gumdrop, liquid sand, sea salt, and sugar coats.  I wanted to use them ALLLLLLLLLL!
Enjoy the pics while I pet my nails.

I started with the background of Julep Madeline Sea Salt. I used OPI Solitaire as the top frost. The "flavors" are Julie G Tangerine Dream, Julie G Crushed Candy, Julie G Blueberry Fizz, and Sally Hansen Cotton Candies mixed with OPI Pussy Galore.

Challenge - Inspired by Candy - Spun Sugar Minty Truffles

Initially, I had wanted to do a chocolatey truffle mani but I don't actually OWN a chocolate brown. So, instead, I decided to take different elements of Candy and put them together.  My main inspirations were spun sugar, truffles, and mint.

The result? An obnoxiously sweet 80's track suit. I can totally remember my Grandma Grace giving me something very similar for Christmas as a kid. No lie - I loves these colors together then, too.

Julep Dianna and Alice were used for this.  Dianna is so hard to photograph! It is definitely not Tiffany blue bit is darker than sea foam. Alice's dusty lavender with the white shimmer is so lovely!