Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "8. Get Your Stripe On"

I was apprehensive for this mani.  Plasma Speedo's "Plasma Plays in 21 Ways" says I need to do a stripe mani for #8.   I have several bottles of "stripers", but I haven't used them for a bona fide design...just outlines under a french mani tip. 

So I searched You Tube for inspiration, and saw THIS VIDEO.  So here is my attempt at weaving lines:

Yeah, nothing like the video, and totally sloppy, but I'm happy with it!  They look much better in person at arms' length ;-).  But I'm proud that I tried it, and I know I just need practice to get better.  I really dig the colors too! 

The red nails are a not-named polish from "Love and Beauty" and a black Milani art striper.  The accent nails are Pure Ice "Silver Mercedes" topped with "Toro" from Red Carpet Lacquer.  I also added a coat of Dollish Polish "Putting on the Ritzzz", cuz it needed just a little more black glitter than "Toro" had.  All in all, I think I'm keeping this one around a while!

Plasma Plays in 21 Ways: "7. Do a Gradient of 2 Colors or More"

I've never done a gradient, although I've seen some on YouTube.  I've tried sponging before, and I didn't like it because it seems as though the sponge soaks up all the polish, and I have to tap forever to get any results.  Not worth it.

So, I figured I'll try it again.  I watched videos, and I was all ready to try my gradient.  But then I noticed that "gradient" and "ombre" were sometimes used interchangeably in a lot of the videos.  And "gradient nails" and "ombre nails" look suspiciously similar.  Hmmm...Well #10 on Plasma Plays in 21 Ways, it says "Ombre Nails".  So what's the difference? 

I couldn't figure it out.  So, I'm going with "gradient=same shades" & "ombre=different colors".  So here are my nails:

Cult Nails "Sandbourne" & "Tulum", tipped with Sinful Colors "This Is It".  I know the gold doesn't look like it's part of the same shade, but it is!  "Sanbourne" & "Tulum" have golden shimmers in them! 

I still don't like this method.  My tips took FOREVER to dry, even with Seche Vite...I guess that's because there were at least 8 layers of polish there!  And they still got a little ruined cuz I had to use the restroom when they weren't completely set!  Ugh!!!!

So, if you know the difference between gradient & ombre, please share!!!

Fantabulous Giveaway!!

There are no words to describe the awesomeness that is this give-away from "Vintage Musings of a Modern Pin-Up".  Click here: http://konadlicious.blogspot.com/2012/04/konadlicious-500-awesome-3000-followers.html

I'm soooo hoping for that one-of-a-kind Lacquistry polish!!

Historical Nails

I'm going to the Renaissance Faire tomorrow, and I always dress in costume.  And I mean historically-researched, appropriate sewing techniques & linen/silk/wool materials.  So, behold my historically accurate nails:

Blasphemy, I know, but it must be done.  I'll be back to my normal polished state when I get back home.  I promise! ;-)

Besides, I got my newest KB Shimmer order & my Julep Spring Mystery Box to show you tomorrow, too! 

And even more Indie nail mail...

Look at how freakin' exciting this package was!!!

I LOVE how much attention is paid to the packaging of these polishes!  How could you not love them already?  But wait, look at this:

These are "Toro" and "Hitter" from Red Carpet Lacquer!  These are some freakin' awesome glitter polishes!  Look at them!  Holy Cow, these are amazing!  Click that link to see for yourself...she takes much better pics than I.  I'm sooo happy with these!!!  Happy dance!!!! :-)

I've also sent a request to the fantastical Jenna at Lacquistry for some custom polishes.  I've got some beachy ideas, but I haven't heard back from her yet, so we'll see if they're do-able.  I can't tell you how excited I am at the prospect of having such a talented artist make polishes just for me!  Wow!

BTW, I still have the same dark mani, and it's showing some serious wear, but I'm too tired to change my polish tonight :-(  I'll let you know when I get something new on the nails!

Indie Nail Mail

I still have my dark flower mani, so today I will show you what came in the mail:

This is from a great new-to-me Independent Shop on Etsy called "Darling Diva Polish".  These came individually wrapped in bubblewrap and tissue, so they were like little presents!

Little presents of lovely nail bling!!  These are "Xanadu", "Divalicious", and "Grand Dragon".  Sorry I couldn't get a good pic of the glitters, but they are amazing!  YAY!

Look at the fantastic holo in "Divalicious"!   This pic is closer to the actual raspberry-ish color it really is.  Super-gorgeousness!!  I'm so glad I found another fantastic indie polish maker!

And I also got a couple of much-coveted polishes from "Whimsical Ideas by Pam".  Here are Kismet's Pajamas, and the infamous Peanut Butter & Jelly:

These are as amazing as everyone says they are!  I want to put these on NOW, but I'm going to stay true to Plasma's 21 Ways to Play.  I'm so glad I splurged and got these, though - I was really debating because of the price, but they are sooo totally worth it.  I love that Kismet's PJ's are named for her cat...I don't know why that charms me so much!

These packages were awesome!  And I'm still waiting for orders from 3 other Indie polish peeps, my first order from Cult Nails, and the Spring Mystery Box from Julep.  I am so glad there are so many wonderful polish options for us fanatics!  :-)

Plasma Speedo's 21 Ways to Play: "6. Stamp Some Metallic Polish on the Dark"

So yesterday I made some really bad choices.  I washed my car.  By hand.  My hands.  And I Armor-All'd everything.  And I also made a turkey dinner with all the fixin's, which of course means a lot of cleaning up along the way.  Which all equals wear and tear on the tips of my dark mani.  :-(  So I had to touch up the tips a bit before stamping.

This was my first real stamping foray, and after a few false starts, I got the hang of it!  This was really easy and fun!  The hardest part was finding a metallic polish that would show up against the black.  Take a look:

I LOVE how the flowers came out.  Check out the Lacquerologist's Springy Flowers Mani, which was my inspiration!  I used a lavender Wet n Wild metallic, and a Sally Hansen's Raspberry Chrome polish for the stamping, and they stamped very well and look really cool!  The best part is that they looked good messy-style.  I was super-excited about how it came out.  Then I tried adding silver butterflies with Pure Ice "Silver Mercedes".  But some butterflies came out better than others, and at the end of the day, I think I should have left well enough alone.  Well, live and learn!  

I'm still happy with this design, and will try something like this again.  Stamping is fun!  Thanks to Plasma Speedo for inspiring me to try different nail stuff with her Plasma's 21 Ways to Play!