Nail Fail - Holographic Gradient

Last night was a big exciting deal for me: a company dinner/show to celebrate some of our top talent! I was determined to have a mani that was befitting such an occasion. After brainstorming with Rachel, I decided on a holo gradient.

I ended up using Color Club Miss Bliss and Nabi Hologram Effect in Purple. The sponging looked promisingly flashy! I was surprised that the color of the Nabi changed from a redder purple to a much bluer hue when sponged. Once the seche was applied, though, my hopes for a pink to purple holo gradient were quickly dashed. The pigment from the nabi penetrated the seche which effectively covered the holo and the pink!

Forgive the obvious color editing! The true color refused to be captured by a mere smartphone.

I didn't have time to start from scratch  so I tried to save it by placing a bit of Miss Bliss at the base of the nail and dry brushing it down. Accent nails got a coat of Nabi Jumbo Purple Glitter and Coco Allure Risqué Business. Though it didn't turn out how I wanted (at all), it i can't say I hate it!

Challenge - Inspired by Tea!

On my daily list of priorities, a cup of tea is mandatory! There's something about a cup of freshly brewed tea that says, "Hey me! You're RAD! Have something awesome. In fact, I recently purchased a comically huge mug so I can enjoy MORE tea as I reflect on how important I am.

One of my current favorites is The Tea Table's Masala Chai because it is such a rich, complex and unique blend.  If you're in the market for a new chai, it is the bee's knees with a bit of milk and sugar.  In fact, the Masala Chai convinced Mr. Husband not all tea had that weird "I just came out of a soda fountain" taste.

I tried to take this one a bit literal and was inspired by the experience of enjoying a cup of tea. 

On my accent nails I did a watercolor technique to try and meld some of the colors used like the spices in my favorite beverage: deep brown black tea leaves, a warm metallic cinnamon,  creamy taupe vanilla and a bit of warm yellow for the ginger root.  The other nails are also a watercolor technique but I hoped it would mimic the way milk and black tea swirl together when first combined.  

They didn't turn out how I'd hoped as the average human wouldn't see "tea" in these. I do love the look though! It's very subtle and feminine and will look great wrapped around my tea mug.

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 Week 4 - GLITTAH



These notes were useless.



How cool were my deep-sea mermaidy glitter nails?

Almost some!

 I started with a half-assed plan and played with all of my mermaidiest polishes and glitters.  I scoured the internet for inspiration and landed on FISH SCALES.  How amazing would those be?!  Failing that, I could always go for a sassy jelly sandwich!

As it turns out I'm terrible at fish scales. No problem, right? I still have my back-up plan and that surely cannot fail. False.  The weird blobby sad middle finger you see is the most woeful mermaid jelly sandwich ever to have been born. I need to expand my collection of one jelly polish to more than one and soon. 

I really did love that thumb, though. It was a ridiculous amount of work to get the striping and loose glitter right.  I didn't even feel bad when the glitter got all over my pets and husband.  In fact, exactly zero cares were given.

To make up for the ho-hum I felt for the failure of my undersea adventure, I purchased some new polishes that didn't come in time for this challenge.  So, I went for a simple gunmetal grey (LA Colors BCC558) with some glittery goodness (Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Glitz Gal) and a pop of striping.