The 31-Day Nail Art Challenge Day 1: Red!

Hi guys!

I'm a little nervous... this is my very first 31-Day Nail Art Challenge, and I must say that it looks pretty daunting from here!  I just took a temp job in retail with super nutso hours, so getting these challenges done on time is going to be a bit of a stretch!  As a result, I might combine some challenges if I'm having a busy week, and I might even post challenges late on occasion... Since this is a hobby for me, I have no intention of making it stressful :^)  Here are the prompts, courtesy of Chalkboard Nails:

The first prompt, "Red," was super tough for me!  At first, I thought I would do an adventure time theme, with Shades of Red a la Marceline... but I couldn't think of a good way to execute it.  Then, I thought I would do a little Orange is the New Black manicure, but I wasn't sure I could do ten odes to Kate Mulgrew's character in a way that would do her justice in the short amount of time I had!  I actually ended up doing three manicures before I did one I liked... and even this one is a bit wonky!  Here it is, in all its dubious glory:

I attempted brushstroke flowers for this design, but only about 25% successfully... There was a lot of touch up afterwards lol.  The flowers were done using China Glaze Seeing Red (a brick red from the new limited edition The Giver collection) and Julep Isla (a frosty pearl white), over a base of China Glaze Five Rules, a light putty-hued neutral also from the Giver collection.  For the black leaves and flower anthers I used Konad black.  I topped it off with Salon Perfect Topcoat!

I actually really liked how it came out; unfortunately the sun was rather bright when I took the pictures (I don't have a photo setup at my new house yet, womp womp). Here's a polish pic:

Thanks for stopping by for a look-see!  Check out some of the other lovely work below, and be sure to submit your nail art here if you are participating!

An InLinkz Link-up

An Adventure in Clashing: The "He Picks My Polish" Challenge

I should have known when I told my boyfriend about this challenge that he wouldn't make it easy on me.  After all, he approaches life from the perspective of a gamer:  everything is a challenge he wants to win. In this case, he wanted to choose three colors that I could not possibly make a decent manicure with: and let me tell you, he did a good job. This was definitely the boss battle of nail art; the colors he chose couldn't have been more at odds with each other.  This is my first #hepicksmypolish challenge, which is put on by The Sparkle Queen.  Rules are as follows :

His first choice:  Jessie's Girl Babycakes, a light pink neon that's almost, but not quite, pastel.  Next up: Hard Candy Sweet Pea, a pea-green small metallic glitter in a clear base; last, Julep Boris and Nicole, a burgundy-brown with gold shimmer.  I'm not gonna lie, it took me an hour before I just decided to wing it! Here is the... ...interesting... result:

Cool backdrop, eh?

Honestly, I was happy with the result, even though I never would choose those colors myself.  Here it is again in natural light:

"Ah, a cardboard box backdrop.  Much improved."

I didn't topcoat because, well... I didn't want to make it harder to remove than necessary. Even though I was proud of what I'd done with those colors, its still pretty fugly!

With nail polish, for scale of course!

So for now I don't think I'd call this a win... It could have been worse, but it didn't rate a top coat.  I'll definitely revisit this challenge again in the future, but I think I need to level up my nail art skills a couple times before then :)

Have you ever tried this challenge?  Did your guy pick "nice" polish colors, or did he pick impossible ones?  Check out the other entries in this challenge below!

An InLinkz Link-up

Citron and Deep Teal Chevron Nail Art

Hello, reader!  I'm not sure what took me so long to post this mani; it's my favorite in a long time.  The inspiration came to me all of a sudden; I just saw the shapes and colors together all at once.  For this design, I used striping tape to get a clear line.  I had a little smudging, but I'm happy with it anyway:

Sorry about my cuticles; they're a horrible mess right now!  I have no excuse; I'm home all day (Ah, the bittersweet joy of unemployment?).  I did just pick up some lovely lotion, so hopefully I will remember to slather it on at night :^)

 

For the citron base, I used two coats of Julep Alma.  This polish has a decent formula (especially compared to other Julep polishes, which seem in my experience to be either horribly gloopy or hopelessly sheer).  In real life, the color on the nail is closer to to the color that appears in the bottle above - a bit greener.  It's a really lovely color, and I'm super glad I picked it up.

For the teal, I used Sinful Colors Blue Crushin.  I am totally in love with this polish, which is strange since I'm not usually a teal or aqua fan.  It's pretty color accurate on the nails in the photo; perhaps a hair darker and greener, and a bit darker than it appears in the bottle.  Blue Crushin is super opaque; easily a one-coater.  It has a thick but not gloopy formula, but it does dry quickly so fast handiwork is recommended.  I did get a couple stringy bits while removing the tape, which resulted in the smearing you can see in the photos.

I reversed the chevron direction for an accent on each hand, which turned out subtle, but in a cool way!  I'm really proud of how this turned out; I think my skills are improving (especially in the cleanup arena. On my right hand (my Cinderella hand of course), I used a striping tape that hadn't been cut evenly, resulting in weird, uneven stripes...

This is the most color-accurate photo of these polishes.

Still, I was happy with the results!  Fun fact:  If you've been reading my blog, you may have noticed my nails are nubs again.  There is a reason, albeit a gross one!  I was walking my darling Charlie, and... erm... cleaning up after him, and the baggie had a hole in it...  There goes my thumb, with my nice long nails, right into a fresh steaming dog poo.  After that, no amount of washing made my hands feel clean, so I decided to cut them so that I could get them truly clean.  So that was a bit yuck.  Good thing Charlie's such a cutie! #dogmomproblems

Sorry mommy!

Spring Honey Bee Nail Art

It's been a crazy couple of weeks! I'm finishing up my masters degree, and finals week is finally drawing to a close.  All this time spent studying, finishing projects, and proctoring tests meant no time for manicures or even makeup!  What ensued were several sleepless nights and a whole lot of days spent with dry cracked lips and cuticles... and some scary eyebrows.  After a week like that, I needed some self-pampering to reset my system and motivate myself to tie up all of the loose ends of the semester.  At first, I was feeling a bit uninspired, but after a quick perusal of my stamping plates, I came across a honeycomb pattern and knew just what to do... a springtime honeybee manicure!

I could swear I cropped this photo at one point... huh!  Too lazy to fix it now.

I'm just a week away from moving all of my belongings down to Knoxville... just writing that makes my stomach flutter with excitement, and a little nervousness!  I've spent my whole life living in New York, and haven't been further south than Maryland (except for a layover in Charlotte, but I never left the airport so it doesn't count haha!).  Up in New York, it's been such a cold winter that the trees just leafed out (we had snow until the end of April where I am).  With the newly springy weather, the lawn has become polka-dotted with dandelions, and the bumblebees are everywhere!  Bees are such a sign of spring to me; while I give them a wide berth for both their sake and mine, I can appreciate the important role that bees and other insects play in the propagation of both wild and cultivated plants.  I won't write an essay here about the environmental impact of bees, but suffice it to say, they're fascinating little creatures!  I recently read an article about a book (I know, so meta) that was recently released by Laline Paul entitled The Bees, about a worker bee who challenges the hive hierarchy.  Its premise, being from an animal's perspective, brings Watership Down to mind, but as I've not yet read the latter, I can't comment.  I'm definitely planning to pick up The Bees when I have a bit more cash though!  Definitely looking forward to having some time to read again.

This one's name is Thumbelina.

ANYHOO.  Got a bit off track there, didn't I!?  My honey-bee inspired manicure was created with 3 thin coats of Julie G polish Canary Islands, which is a gorgeous, warm and saturated buttery yellow.  I stamped a honeycomb over the canary yellow with Sally Hansen Forsythia, which is a muted mustard with a hint of white shimmer.  I have had it forever, and I believe it is discontinued, which is a shame, as it's quite beautiful.  The bees were painted by hand using a very small brush, using China Glaze White on White, Sinful Colors Black on Black, and Julep Stella.  After I painted the bees, I accentuated the highlights and shadows of the honeycomb in the background with Julep Stella and Revlon Colorstay in Buttercup.

Some wonky bees on my right hand!

This manicure is so cheerful; from a distance it looks like little windows into a hive, with all the little bees bustling about.  I may or may not have worn giant enamel and rhinestone bee earrings to school today...

On a related note, I've been working on rehabing my nails from this terrible winter and getting into a cuticle care regime.  They're not quite there yet, but looking back at my spring dogwood blossom post, I think it's safe to say I've come a long way (with cuticle cleanup, too... yikes!).  I'm using Nail Tek II Intensive Therapy as a base, topped with Nail Tek Foundation.  While it recommends using the IT as a topcoat, I don't see much benefit, as it's not going to touch my nails, so I just use Salon Perfect topper.  Hopefully I can get some length pretty soon... more area to make pretty paintings on :^)

Vintage-inspired Floral Nail Art

I've been incredibly busy working on my final projects for school, but have been dying to do a real manicure for weeks. Today I happened to have a couple of hours to myself (rare) and decided that it was time... but I was feeling totally uninspired. Then, I remembered this awesome floral top I picked up at Goodwill a few weeks ago, and I knew EXACTLY what the inspiration for this mani was going to be!

The blouse is made of an ivory polyester crepe and is covered in half-dollar-sized coral-colored flowers that have bright blue-purple centers and abundant bright green leaves.  It's such a cheerful, springy pattern that I had to pick it up.  There's no tag, but I suspect that it was made in the eighties (just like me!  LOL).

With polish bottle for scale! (I can't help it; I'm a geologist!)

For this manicure, I had to custom-mix a bunch of colors to get the shades right.  For the background, I mixed a half bottle of plain white (L'Oreal French Tip White) with 8-10 drops of Julep Stella, a boxed-macaroni yellow-orange, to get an antique white creme.  I painted three coats of this over Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Hard as Wraps.  I then painted little splotchy rings of Wet n Wild Blaze randomly on each nail.  It's not the most pigmented polish, so I went over each one twice.  Next, I used a tiny paintbrush to add little smudges of Revlon Cherries in the Snow to the outer edges of the petals.  For the leaves, I mixed a couple of drops of Julep Roc Solid with China Glaze Budding Romance (my favorite polish of all time!), and painted little dashes randomly around the edges of each "flower."  The centers of the flowers were a mix of Sinful Colors Go Go Boots and Nina Ultra Pro Sailor.  I used a dotting tool to place a large dot in the center of each flower.  Last, I used a tiny brush with a bit of Sally Hansen Night Flight to place little dashes around the outside of the flowers and around the centers.  I'm not sure how I feel about the outcome of this last step, because it looks a bit messy up close.

Please excuse my ragged cuticles... I'm out of orange sticks, and I resolved not to use my nails as tools anymore! 

I usually feel like I shouldn't bother doing a crazy mani with my nubby nails, but I've been having such a hard time growing them out lately because of the horrible Buffalo winter, the stress and associated poor diet, and the fact that I have been terrible about my cuticles.  That said, I'm still really happy with this mani.  It's super cheerful, and from a normal viewing distance, it looks pretty good!!! 

Where do you find inspiration for your nail art?  Tell me in the comments :^)

Makeup for Downturned Eyes, and my Dry-Skin Care Regimen

Whew, it's been a long couple of weeks... school has been super, super stressful and then I got sick. I've been home for three days, but since I'm feeling marginally better today I decided to do a new post! Woo! So... I know that we are supposed to love our selves and our bodies... and I do.  I have features that I like about myself, and other features... not so much. I have always coveted the almond-eyed look that's so ubiquitous in magazines and on TV, but my eyes are down-turned at the corners (I call them my bassett hound eyes. Does this make it sound cute? I think so.). Anyway, one of the biggest challenges for me has been to figure out how to get that sultry up-turned almond-shape, especially when I'm going to a party. Here's what I'm starting with (don't judge the hair or background... I'm currently working on getting a better photo setup in place!!!):

Bitchy resting face.

 

I am not wearing makeup yet in these pictures, but full disclosure:  I did pluck my eyebrows.  They were getting caterpillar-y and it was unpleasant.

This is my normal skincare routine (when I can be bothered... sometimes I am lazy):

1. Noxzema Triple Clean Anti-Blemish Pads:  I use these to get rid of any dead dry skin, oil, or dirt before I apply my makeup; it also has salicylic acid to prevent pimples (such a gross word).  I do get breakouts occasionally, especially on my chin, so this is a must for me.  They are a bit harsh, but there are other kinds (like Aveeno Clear Complexion Daily Cleansing Pads) that are gentler.  Alternatively, any kind of astringent toner or face wash would probably be fine!
2. Olay Beauty Fluid (Summer) or Nivea Soft (Winter):  Since my skin tends to be significantly drier (like the Sahara...) in the colder months, I use a heavier moisturizer.  Nivea Soft is awesome; it comes in a hygienic squeeze bottle, and it's super thick and creamy without being oily or greasy.  It soaks in really fast and prevents my foundation from being flaky.  In the summer, I lean more towards combination skin, with some oiliness in my T-zone.  I use Olay Beauty Fluid in the summer because it is super light and not oily at all.  One of these days I'll get a moisturizer with SPF, but I have yet to find one in my price range that doesn't irritate my skin.
3. Hydrating Powder:  In the last year or two, Almay and Revlon started making these "hydrating powders" that I bought on a whim.  My dry skin usually means that powders make me look super cakey and flakey, but these are magical.  They kind of melt into the skin, and set my makeup without looking powdery.  Today I used Revlon Colorstay Aqua Mineral Makeup in Translucent.  If they stop making this I will cry.

I'm currently lusting after the Tarte Clean Slate Poreless 12-hr Perfecting Primer (uh... that's a mouthful).  I swatched it at Sephora... it's liquid photoshop.  I don't generally wear foundation except as a concealer because it makes me look too plastic-y.

So after I prepped my skin, this is the look I put together:

For this look, I used the following products:

• NYX High Definition Eyeshadow Base
• Julep Sweep Eyeshadow Palette:  Neutrals (Tiramisu, Glow, and Dusk)
• Lorac Pro Palette (Cream, Nude, Garnet, Deep Purple)
• Benefit They're Real! Mascara
• Ulta Eye Shadow in Milk Chocolate

First, I put a dot of the NYX eye primer on my top and bottom lids and blended it around with my finger.  Seriously, this stuff has incredible staying power when applied properly, but a little goes a LONG way - I've found that it's easy to put too much on, and then it never dries and your eyeshadow slides off.  While I waited for that to dry, I filled in my brows using an angled liner brush and Ulta Milk Chocolate.  Next, I applied Lorac Cream to my browbones and Julep Tiramisu to the inner half of my upper lids up to the crease.  I applied Julep Dusk to the outer half of my upper lids up to the crease as well as the outer half of my bottom lids, and blended them.  Next, I applied Lorac Deep Purple to the outer half of my upper lash line and to the crease.  I also put a little on the outer corner of my lower lashline.  I then blended the Deep Purple out on both lids with a little bit of Lorac Garnet on my brush, and applied Julep Glow between my crease and brow bone, where it needed a little more blending.  Last, I applied Lorac Nude to my inner corners, and followed it up with a coat of Benefit They're Real! Mascara (in what I believe to be "black", but it is a sample so it doesn't say on the tube).

This is a more dramatic look than I usually do, especially for work, but the same principles apply.  The darkest color sweeps through the crease and blends up and away, creating an illusion of more up-turned eyes.

Hope you like!  I know I've got a lot to learn; I'd like to get a better photo setup going in my new apartment after the move so I can take more decent photos.  For now I just have to deal! :^)  Have a great weekend!

First Day of Spring Mani!

Happy first day of spring!  It's been a loooong time coming... this has been quite a winter!  I'm still up in Buffalo, New York, and there's still plenty of snow on the ground.  From what I hear, there is more on the way!

That said, signs of spring have begun to show up, even here.  The Canada geese are coming back, and we've had a couple of days above 40 degrees (F).  I'm still reaching for my boots to go outside, but I'm looking forward to sandal weather.

I have a special mani to show you today; I wanted to do something super springy, so I decided to do a handpainted floral design, inspired by this picture from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Entomology and Plant Pathology program:

https://ag.tennessee.edu/EPP/Pages/TrigianoResearch.aspx

This gorgeous bloom is from one of my favorite plants, the dogwood tree.  This, specifically, is a Cornus florida 'Cherokee Brave,' and it's part of the university's dogwood breeding program.  The UT Institute of Agriculture is located in Knoxville, the city I am excited to say that I will soon call home!  Each April since 1961, a festival has taken place in Knoxville celebrating the culture, arts, and natural beauty of the area.  The festival is held during the blooming period of the dogwood tree, which has become a symbol of the festival and of the beautification of the city.

Dogwood trees are pretty few and far between where I'm from because it's just too cold, but on the few occasions I've seen them in bloom, they're breathtaking.  Interestingly (from a scientific perspective!), dogwood flowers are actually the tiny, yellow-green nubs in the center of the bloom; the large, white to pink "petals" are actually bracts.  Fascinating!  The blooms are quite large, about the size of the palm of your hand, and the petals (er... bracts) are very stiff and tough, like leaves.

Anyhoo, I adore dogwood trees, and since it is the first day of spring and I will soon be moving to Knoxville, I thought there was no better ode to new beginnings than a dogwood manicure:

For this manicure, I did a gradient of China Glaze Budding Romance (perfect name, eh?) over Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps and two coats of Sinful Colors Adventure Island.  I used a teeny paintbrush to paint on branches with Julep Rooney, and painted on the flower petals using L'Oreal French Tip White.  Using the same small paintbrush that I used to paint the branches, I painted pink streaks on the petals with Ulta Fuchsiamania.  I added some other details in with the small brush using Adventure Island and Rooney, and then I did a little dot in the center of each bloom using Sally Hansen SALON Lacquer in Forsythia.  I topped it off with Salon Perfect top coat.

Over all, this mani took probably about two and a half hours, and I was pretty happy with the result.  I had a little trouble with my right hand (obviously), so it looks a bit like it was painted during a moderate-strength earthquake.  Honestly, though?  I'm fine with it.  Perfectionism isn't my bag.

Here's a closeup:

And heeeere's righty:

And a closeup of the right hand:

This was a really fun manicure to do, and I think I'll be doing more hand-painted manis in the future.  I hope that you enjoy this post as much as I enjoyed preparing it!  Enjoy your first day of spring!

What is your favorite hand-painted mani theme (e.g. florals, abstract, etc.)?  Tell me in the comments!

Julep Glam Roc and Goldie Review

I wanted to submit a belated review of two polishes from Julep's February 2014 "It Girl" subscription box:

I've been an on-again, off-again Julep subscriber for around six months.  In general, I skip their boxes because I don't have two nickels to rub together, but occasionally I will splurge and pick up some pretty, shiny polishes to cheer myself up (as my mom says, "I needed a new hat.")

Their subscription model is pretty straightforward:  You take a quiz, and are matched with one of three "style profiles."  Each style is a bit different.  Classic with a Twist generally has pretty conservative polish colors, and comes with two polishes and some sort of makeup product.  It Girl generally contains pretty funky shades, and you get three polishes and no makeup products.  At least one is a glitter almost every time.  I'd describe Boho Glam, which comes with two polishes and a makeup product, as "ugly pretty."  You get your mustard yellow, olive drab, shimmer turquoise kinds of colors here.  I'm a fan of that aesthetic, so that's the one I usually spring for.  Each month on the 20th, they send out an email to subscribers laying out the content of each box.  You have until the 24th to make any changes to your box (such as skip the month, switch to a different style profile, or pick up some box add-ons).  They ship the boxes on the 27th, at which point you're charged $19.99.  At this price point, the volume of product you're getting becomes a bit more reasonable.  The caveat here is that as of a few months ago, new subscribers can only skip boxes every six months, which is a HUGE  bummer if you're broke like me.  That said, if you don't mind (or can afford to) drop $20 a month on nail polish and makeup, I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I find that Julep's polishes, while ridiculously expensive ounce-per-ounce, particularly if you're not a subscriber (at $14 for only a quarter of an ounce), are of excellent quality.  I picked up the February "It Girl" box plus a few extras because I was feeling spendy that day, evidently.  After I ordered it, I panicked a bit because I had spent about $35 that I totally shouldn't have, but I really loved all of the polishes I got.  I promptly did a manicure using Glam Roc, which is a blackened purple "stardust finish" textured polish with holographic shimmer.  It is gorgeous and I love it so, so much.  I smushed the tips before they were dry (as I am wont to do) so I hid the damage with the add-on I picked up, Goldie... which took the mani to a whole other level.  I'm pretty sure this is my favorite combination:

Goldie is a yellow-gold microshimmer in a clear base.  It actually goes on pretty sheer (so not a good stamping polish, which was disappointing), but it's easily buildable.  It seriously looks like liquid gold.  It is SO PRETTY.  It dried down and didn't change the gritty texture of the Glam Roc underneath either, which I liked.  Here's another shot in natural light:

I'm not generally one to repeat a manicure more than once, but I did this manicure again a few weeks later.  I'm planning to do a review of some of the other polishes from this box soon; they're too beautiful not to wear again.  If I have somehow inspired you to subscribe to Julep, you are welcome to use my referral link here.  You can get your first box free with the code FREEBOX (you just have to pay for shipping).

I purchased this product with my own money.  Any and all opinions expressed on "The Knoxville Paintbox" are my own.