Day 23: Inspired by a MOVIE

Welcome to the next installment of the Longest 31 Day Challenge Ever.  Today I'd like to share with you Day 23: Inspired by a MOVIE, otherwise known as My Hunger Games Failure.

Like many of you, I devoured the Hunger Games series and was really excited to see the book turned into a movie.  I bought my tickets for opening day a head of time, painted flames on my nails, but completely underestimated how popular the movie would be!  I showed up for the movie only to find the only remaining seats were the ones in the very bottom corner...

So I still have yet to see the Hunger Games movie as I returned my tickets (why do theaters even include those seats in the first place??) but I'm hoping in the next week or so to try again.

To create the manicure I wore for opening day I relied heavily on Kayla Shevonne's Hunger Games inspired nails.  She always does such amazing work and I love seeing the designs she creates.  My attempts to duplicate her work never turn out quite the same.

I used a layer of Zoya Snow White for my base, then two coats of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow.  I next sponged Zoya Tamsen on top, making the layers thicker as I moved towards my cuticles.  I then "drew" on flames with a Kiss Nail Art Pen in Black, finally filling in the area outside the drawing with my SoEasy Striper in Black.  A coat (or two) of Seche Vite was all I needed to make this design shine.  Clean up was a complete PITA, black polish just doesn't come off my skin nicely.

Overall, from a distance this design looks pretty sweet because you can't tell that my flames are a hot mess.  At this distance they're much more skeptical though I do enjoy them.  I really need to practice free-hand nail art more.

Day 22: Inspired by a SONG

Welcome to the next installment of the Longest 31 Day Challenge Ever!  Bet you haven't seen one of these challenge posts in a while!  Today I bring you Day 22: Inspired by a SONG.  Looking to catch up?  Check out my previous manicures here.  I've been completely stumped by this day's challenge and that's a bit of why it has taken me so long to get this challenge post up.  After a wicked session of brainstorming and YouTube searching, I finally settled on the Meow Mix jingle.




For my nails I attempted to recreate the face of the cat from Meow Mix packaging.

For my base I used three coats of Zoya Jancyn and for the accent stripes I used Zoya Tamsen.  For the cat's face I used Zoya Yara, Essie Jamaica Me Crazy, and Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.

Week 13: Ruffian Manicure

Week 13 of the 52 Week Challenge was to create a ruffian manicure.  This not a design I've ever tried before so I had to do a bit of research to find out what this style was all about.  What I found is that this design was created by Creative Nail Designs for a New York Fashion Week show in 2010.  It involves painting a base color, then adding another polish on top but set back from the cuticle to create a crescent shape.  All Lacquered Up has more information on how to create this look if you'd like to give it a try.

Ruffian manicures are hard!  That's all I really want to say on the subject.  I used China Glaze Platinum Silver for the ruffian part, then China Glaze Make Some Noise on top.  I had a terrible time trying to create an even amount of silver peaking through at the bottom.  My left hand was decidedly worse than the right and it seems like I photographed my nails with cat fur on them :-\.  These photos aren't color accurate for Make Some Noise; it's more coral in real life.

Be sure to check out what others have done for this challenge by visiting their blogs:

LizMarie at I'm Simply Complex • Jenna at I'm Still Thinking... • Caitlin at Addicted 2 Nails • Sarah at PrncessSarah02 • Charlotte at Charlotte's Nails :) • Shally at Polished & Not Quite Put Together • Rachel-Karina at Polished Criminails • Liz at Nothing But Nail Polish • Fun With My Nail Polish • Operation: Nail It! • Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails • Square Polish • Only Always Soccermom  • Hurr Did, Nails Did • Olivia Writes • The Dragon Lady • Kaki at Glitter Obsession • Isa at IsaBella's World • Gypsy at Gypsy's Glitter • Jackie at MeMa's Mani's  • Lissa at Lissa's Nail Blog

Week 12: Skittle Manicure

The challenge for week twelve was skittles.  The closest I've come to a skittle manicure before was my Valentines Day manicure.  This was a bit more intense than a simple skittle manicure however...it was a watercolored skittle manicure!  What are water colored nails? Rebecca Likes Nails has a photo tutorial on the technique and Beauty Geeks has a video that you can follow.

These are the colors I used.  Thumb (blues): China Glaze Shower Together, Zoya Robyn, Zoya Kristen.  Pointer (pinks): China Glaze Make Some Noise, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure I Pink I Can, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Presto Pink.  Middle (greens): Orly Lucky Duck, Sally Hansen Insta-Dru Lickety-Split Lime, China Glaze For Audrey.  Ring (orange/red): Zoya Jancyn, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Snappy Sorbet, Zoya America. Pinky (purples): Zoya Kieko, OPI A Grape Fit!, Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle Loyal Lavender.

Be sure to check out what others have done for this challenge by visiting their blogs:

LizMarie at I'm Simply Complex • Jenna at I'm Still Thinking... • Caitlin at Addicted 2 Nails • Sarah at PrncessSarah02 • Charlotte at Charlotte's Nails :) • Shally at Polished & Not Quite Put Together • Rachel-Karina at Polished Criminails • Liz at Nothing But Nail Polish • Fun With My Nail Polish • Operation: Nail It! • Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails • Square Polish • Only Always Soccermom  • Hurr Did, Nails Did • Olivia Writes • The Dragon Lady • Kaki at Glitter Obsession • Isa at IsaBella's World • Gypsy at Gypsy's Glitter • Jackie at MeMa's Mani's  • Lissa at Lissa's Nail Blog

Seeing Stars

I'm kind of in love with this technique of double stamping.  Why do a manicure with one or even two colors when you can do three, four, or even five colors?  (Cue the crazy laughter here)  This is three different colors. I plan on working my way up.

Credit for the design goes entirely to the awesome blogger That's So Fresh - go check her out!

I use three coats of OPI A Grape Fit! as my base, stamped an image from Bundle Monster plate BM20 on top using Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Brisk Blue, then stamped another image from Bundle Monster plate BM 20 on using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.  So pretty.

What Happened to Spring?

I was trying to make a dent in my untried polishes and pulled out a color from the OPI Spring 2012 Holland Collection.  I picked Wooden Shoe Like to Know to start with.  This was another good in theory but poor in execution manicure.

I started with two coats of OPI Wooden Shoe Like to Know then stamped China Glaze Cross Iron 360 on top using Bundle Monster plate BM 19.  Why on earth is such a dark color included in a spring collection?  Brown is just not my color, even if it includes copper microglitter.

St. Patrick's Day Recap

Happy Belated St. Patrick's Day!

I have two St. Patrick's Day manicures to show you.  The first one I had high hopes for but it ended up just not looking like I wanted.  It was a good in theory, poor in execution manicure.

For this I used two coats of OPI Stranger Tides, then alternating rows of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lickety-Split Lime and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Mint Sprint.  Mint Sprint looks more like teal than a true deep green but I think the colors compliment each well.

Cha Cha Cha was a polish I loved from a couple of days ago so when my dotting manicure chipped I turned back to it plus a nail polish that I seriously wore all of March 2011.  I wanted a bit more bling for the actual St. Patrick's Day so these dots came off and glitter went on.  I didn't get a picture until after the festivities were over so some of the nails suffered causalities.

I loved how sparkly this was!  It was two coats of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha and three coats of Sinful Colors Call You Later.  Call You Later isn't a hungry glitter, one coat of Seche Vite and it was smooth.

Cha Cha Cha

I cannot get enough of this color from China Glaze's Island Escape Collection!  I've used it twice for manicures so far (one and two), this makes a third.  I stumbled across it at Sally's and immediately snatched it up.  Love love love this color.

China Glaze Cha Cha Cha is a beautiful golden green metallic.  I used three coats in this application but could have gotten away with two.  It's incredibly bright and really stands out on my nails.  I have Yup, I'm in love!

Week 11: St. Patrick's Day Manicure

The challenge for week eleven was St. Patrick's Day.  Wow, I can't believe it's already March and St. Patrick's Day is nearly upon us.  I feel like time is just rushing by too quickly.  I haven't been feeling much like clovers, Langerhans, or pots of gold so I was a bit unsure of what to paint my nails.  I ended up going up with a basic green water marble.  I really like water marbling and should do it more often.

I suffered a break on my ring finger and it looks very sad in these photos.  Looks like my left hand will be making appearances for a while until my fingernail grows out.

For this I painted my nails a base color of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White.  I alternated drops of Zoya Shawn, China Glaze Cha Cha Cha, and Whirlwind White.  I love how my pinky and middle finger turned out!

Be sure to check out what others have done for this challenge by visiting their blogs:

LizMarie at I'm Simply Complex • Jenna at I'm Still Thinking... • Caitlin at Addicted 2 Nails • Sarah at PrncessSarah02 • Charlotte at Charlotte's Nails :) • Shally at Polished & Not Quite Put Together • Rachel-Karina at Polished Criminails • Liz at Nothing But Nail Polish • Fun With My Nail Polish • Operation: Nail It! • Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails • Square Polish • Only Always Soccermom  • Hurr Did, Nails Did • Olivia Writes • The Dragon Lady • Kaki at Glitter Obsession • Isa at IsaBella's World • Gypsy at Gypsy's Glitter • Jackie at MeMa's Mani's  • Lissa at Lissa's Nail Blog

All of Time and Space

NerdLacquer's All of Time and Space is an awesome glitter nail polish based off of Dr. Who.  It has a seafoam green base with little specs of silver and purple glitter, medium hexagonal purple and silver glitter, and large hexagonal silver glitters.  So much glitter!

This is four coats of All of Time and Space.  I could have easily gotten away with three but I forgot to wrap my tips until the third coat and then I needed to add a fourth coat to even things out.  This isn't a hungry glitter either, a coat of Seche Vite and it's perfectly smooth.

Spring Flowers

My mom was in town visiting recently she volunteered her nails for me to play with.  She wanted bright colors and I thought of bright flowers would be perfect.

I used a base of OPI Did You 'Ear About Van Gogh?, then dots to create flowers of Essie Jamaica Me Crazy, OPI Are We There Yet?, and China Glaze Strawberry Fields.  I added a dot of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow to the center of each flower and little dots of China Glaze Cha Cha Cha to create petals.  My mom wanted more sparkles so I topped everything with two coats of Wet n Wild Wild Shine Kaleidoscope.

Week 10: Polka Dot Manicure

The challenge for Week 10 of the 52 Week Challenge was polka dots!  Polka dots are such a fun design and have been popping up in the fashion industry this spring.  Recently I bought a polka dot bowl and matching bird at Target and wanted to incorporate it on my nails.

I painted my nails with China Glaze For Audrey and painted my ring finger with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in Whirlwind White.  For the polka dots I stamped Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Whirlwind White using Bundle Monster plate BM19.  For the bird I used China Glaze For Audrey as the bird's body, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Mellow Yellow for the beak and legs, Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out and Whirlwind White for the eyes.  To draw the bird I used three dotting tools of different shapes and it worked out really well.

The bird I painted with my dominant hand (my right hand) turned out much better than the bird I painted with my left hand.  When I asked my boyfriend what he thought of my birds he just kissed my hands and said nothing, lol.  I guess I should keep practicing!

Be sure to check out what others have done for this challenge by visiting their blogs:

LizMarie at I'm Simply Complex • Jenna at I'm Still Thinking... • Caitlin at Addicted 2 Nails • Sarah at PrncessSarah02 • Charlotte at Charlotte's Nails :) • Shally at Polished & Not Quite Put Together • Rachel-Karina at Polished Criminails • Liz at Nothing But Nail Polish • Fun With My Nail Polish • Operation: Nail It! • Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails • Square Polish • Only Always Soccermom  • Hurr Did, Nails Did • Olivia Writes • The Dragon Lady • Kaki at Glitter Obsession • Isa at IsaBella's World • Gypsy at Gypsy's Glitter • Jackie at MeMa's Mani's  • Lissa at Lissa's Nail Blog

Pedal Faster Suzi

One brash moment two weeks ago I decided to get acrylic nails.  Why?  I was at a nail salon with my friend who was getting acrylic french tips for her engagement pictures.  Going to the nail salon has been our thing but we hadn't gone in a long time.  Since my nails were weak and short after that stressful exam I took early in February, I thought this would help strengthen them. Terrible idea!

This plan had worked before but then I was trying to keep from biting my nails in the first place.  I was so bummed after I got the acrylics.  I wanted them off immediately but resisted.  I held out for a week before I ripped them off - yes, ripped.  I did a week of OPI Nail Envy treatment before finally painting my nails for the Week 9 challenge post.

Despite my poor choice to put acrylics on my nails, I really liked my color choice!

I picked OPI Petal Faster Suzi from the OPI Spring 2012 Holland Collection, a pretty pastel pink with silver microshimmer.  I bought several of the Holland colors at Ulta right after they came out and this color wasn't among them.  I thought I had too many pinks already like it.  Maybe I do, but I really like this color and how it looked on my nails.  I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I'll purchase it.

What is your deciding factor for whether or not you buy a polish?

Week 9: Vintage Manicure

I had to look up the topic for Week 9's challenge because I had no clue what constituted as a "vintage" manicure.  Boy was I disappointed.  Almond shaped nails where you don't paint the tips or moons of your nails?  No thank you.  What counts as "vintage" then?

After almost two weeks of deliberating, I decided to do fishnet nails as my take on vintage!  Poking around on the internet leads me to think that fishnet stockings originated with French dancers at Moulin Rouge in Paris in the late 1880s before moving in the US in the 1960s.  That sounds vintage enough.

For this manicure I used three coats of Zoya Portia, then stamped the fishnet design from Bundle Monster plate BM-209 on top using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black Out.

Be sure to check out what others have done for this challenge by visiting their blogs:

LizMarie at I'm Simply Complex • Jenna at I'm Still Thinking... • Caitlin at Addicted 2 Nails • Sarah at PrncessSarah02 • Charlotte at Charlotte's Nails :) • Shally at Polished & Not Quite Put Together • Rachel-Karina at Polished Criminails • Liz at Nothing But Nail Polish • Fun With My Nail Polish • Operation: Nail It! • Lauriestrodes Fun With Nails • Square Polish • Only Always Soccermom  • Hurr Did, Nails Did • Olivia Writes • The Dragon Lady • Kaki at Glitter Obsession • Isa at IsaBella's World • Gypsy at Gypsy's Glitter • Jackie at MeMa's Mani's  • Lissa at Lissa's Nail Blog