10-Day Challenge Day 7: Lines and Stripes

Today's theme for the challenge is "lines and stripes".  I've done striping tape manicures before, but since it takes time and I'm wacky from Vicodin, I decided to go against my norm and use my striping brushes instead.  Because my nasal turbinates were reduced, my nose is bleeding so I have to be careful not to lean my head forward too much.  I hope this is the ONLY sinus surgery I will ever need, because it sucks having the feeling that I have a sinus infection.  It turns out that one of the cysts in my sinuses, on the right side, was too tiny and too close to a nerve to be safely removed.  There was the potential for nerve damage had it been taken out.  The worst thing for me in all this?  I finally got my nose pierced last year, and the darn thing has already closed up!  I can't even see a scar from it, so this means I'll have to get it done again.  It's worth it, because I loved that piercing.

Anyway, on to the manicure!  I used one coat of this GORGEOUS bright red, no-name polish that came in a gift bag from a friend, followed by a coat of this lovely sparkly red E.L.F. polish.  I then used my Stripe Right stripers in white and black to create a plaid-ish design.  After I was done, I could see areas that are not the best looking, but I'm too tired and in pain to even care now!  This challenge has been a blast to do, it's caused me to step outside my nail art "comfort zone" and do manicures that I've admired, but never thought of doing myself. 

So without further ado, here are my Day 7 stripes and lines nails!

Not the best, like I said, but I really do like it.  I'm not a red-polish wearing gal, but this works for me mostly because of the plaid-ish pattern.

Now go check out what the other ladies in the challenge have done!  I am consistently blown away by their talent and creativity.  Be sure to give them some love!

10-Day Challenge Day 6: Inspired by Another's Nails

Today's art is inspired by a GORGEOUS mani from Day One of the challenge.  I was totally blown away by all the beautiful rainbow manicures out there, but one in particular stood out to me.  The accent nail was so shimmery and looked just like stained glass, so I decided to do a stained glass manicure for today.

Here is the original from Shea Langlois Caithaml of OMG Wait What Polish Is That?:

FREAKING GORGEOUS!  I love love LOVE that accent nail!


I'm hoping my sinus surgery goes well tomorrow so I can continue doing this challenge.  There's only five days left and so much more nail art to do!

Here are the pictures, enjoy!

Don't forget to check out the other wonderful artists!  I'm so excited to see what they have come up with for today's challenge =^-^=

10-Day Challenge Day 5: Half Moons

Yay!  Past the "delicate" print day, and on to something I've never tried before: half moon nails.  I've admired them from afar and have cringed at the new names they've been given.  Why?  Because in the 30's and 40's, only the middle part of the nail was painted, leaving the lunula (half moon at the base of the nail) and the free edge bare.  I love how it was done in reds, dark browns, and even coral.  I tried this style on my own nails once, but didn't like it.  I like to keep my nails in a square shape, and this old-fashioned type of manicure looks great on oval nails.

I recently bought two new polishes: Taxi by Pure Ice, and Grey-t to Be Here by Essence.  Taxi is a GORGEOUS purple and gold duochrome polish and only required two coats to eliminate VNL for me.  GTBH is a beautiful gray creme polish with a lovely pink shimmer to it.  I picked it up because I needed a gray polish and was so delighted to see the shimmer in it.  I knew as soon as I picked these two up that I would use them in today's challenge manicure.

I began by freehanding a half-moon shape with a white striping brush, then painted the line and under with Taxi.  I filled in the half-moon area with Gray-t to Be Here, and added some rhinestones for extra oomph.  I was inspired by vintage jewelry, which is a BIG weakness for me.  I picked up this gorgeous vintage necklace at a thrift store just because it reminded me of what Marilyn Monroe wore in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  Ohhh the dresses of the 40's and 50's!  If I had it my way, my closet would be FULL of replicas of the ballgowns and everyday dresses the women wore.

So here is my vintage-inspired half-moon manicure.  Enjoy!

Don't forget to check out what all the other lovely participants have for Day 5.  I was totally blown away by all the gorgeous delicate print manis I saw.  So gorgeous, all of them!

nbsp

10-Day Challenge Day Four: Delicate Nails

I will start this post off by admitting that I. CHEATED. on this mani.  I tried and tried and just can't do a delicate manicure using freehand, so I went for my nail decals.  I tried using my stamping plate, but it all hates me right now, so decals it had to be.

I love roses, and to me, French manicures alone are delicate, so I decided to combine the two.

I used one coat of OPI Barre My Soul, one coat of a nameless polish given to me in a gift set, and white rose decal stickers to mimic a French menicure.  I did this before I found out I had two services at school today, and just now noticed my jacked-up ring finger.  Oh well :(

On with the pictures!

Sorry the last one is a bit blurry...I'm wiped out from today.  I have a stress fracture in my foot and lugging around a big boot is a bit more than I can handle.  I'm perfecting my zombie walk, at least.

Come check out the other ladies participating in the challenge!  I can't wait to see what gorgeous manis they come up with ^_^.

OPI Live and Let Die

I went to Cosmo Prof today in search of a new polish color.  Yesterday I did my first spa pedicure and, to my excited surprise, the customer was very happy with my service.  I got a tip, and decided to get new polish.  I was debating between Winter Holly (China Glaze) and a Venique glitter, when, as I stood in line, I happened to look down and saw an OPI stand.  Back went the CG and Venique, and I headed to grab some Danke-Shiny Red.  Oh no.  I looked up and saw the OPI Skyfall collection, put Danke-Shiny Red back (for the THIRD TIME, no less!), and grabbed In Her Majesty's Secret Service and Live and Let Die.  Obviously, from the post's title, I chose Live and Let Die.  To me, this is such an awesome and unique color.  I loved the green-blue color, and the lovely green and gold-ish flecks in the polish.  It's a dark color and absolutely perfect for fall.  I really stepped out of my brightly-colored zone for this polish, and am so happy I did.  Here's why:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this polish.  So much, I didn't even do an accent nail, and that's unusual for me!  This one's a total keeper.

So what do you think of this polish shade?  Do you have any of the Skyfall collection?  Let me know, and have a terrific night!

10-Day Challenge Day Three: Inspired By A Tutorial

Hello and welcome to the third installment of Erica's Nails and More 10-Day nail art challenge!  Today's theme is "inspired by a tutorial".  I went through many tutorials until I came to IHaveACupcake...a nail artist after my own heart!  I loved her Bleach tutorial, so I took from it.  For those of you who don't know, Bleach is a really awesome anime.  I love anime.  I'm a total nerd when it comes to anime and manga, spazzing out when I get to meet my favorite voice actors.  I have more artwork and figures than is probably good for me, but, like nail polish, I say more is better!

Here is the video tutorial:
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/caOP_3i5Vw0?list=UURWZAnlalyUu6WOzwKWfISg&amp;hl=en_US" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Isn't she AMAZING?

And here is my attempt:

I actually had a lot of fun with this.  I like art that challenges me, and since I don't have any good detail brushes or acrylic paints, I used striper brushes and my Stripe Rite in black and white as well as my dotting tool.  I really like this, it's going to stay on my nails until Day Four of the challenge approaches.  That's saying something, because normally a manicure lasts two days at the max!

Don't forget to stop by and check out the other participants!  I loved all their polka dot manicures, and when the "recreate your fave" comes up, I have a feeling I'll have a hard time choosing one from amongst them all!

10-Day Challenge Day Two: Polka Dots

I had the worst time with this mani. I think polka dots are really cute, but whenever I try to put them on my nails...well, I end up frustrated and annoyed. Somehow, I just haven't gotten the hang of placing even-sized dots in a straight line. I have tried and tried, but the technique eludes me. I guess one day it will just come to me and then I'll have tons of polka-dotted fun. I did a Google search on polka dot nails, looking for something unique and interesting. I tried a couple things that were floating around in my creative cranial space, but they didn't pan out. Finally I found something awesome: gradient polka dots! Now, my mani comes nowhere NEAR the awesomeness I found online, but I like it and it will do. Besides, I didn't have to do a nice, even line, which was great! The only downside was that I managed to mess up my thumb TWICE, and my pinky once. I indulged myself and watched Sense and Sensibility while doing this mani. I love Jane Austen's novels and my copy of S&S is VERY worn. It helped put me in the mood to do this manicure. I used an Orly base coat, Sally Hansen Lacey Lilac for the light purple, and an awesome holo purple from Funky Fingers (THANK YOU 5 Below!), OPI Meep Meep Meep for the roses, and a watermelon-scented green polish from Claire's. China Glaze Fast Forward top coat sealed the deal.

I had to have an accent nail, so I went with roses.  I wanted to try my hand at these, because I have seen some really pretty manicures with stripes and roses.  They always remind me of antique wallpaper.  The bottle I'm holding is my absolute favorite perfume: Princess Night by Vera Wang.  Princess made me itch like crazy when it touched my skin, so I only sprayed it on my clothes.  Princess Night doesn't cause that same reaction, thankfully.  It smells nice and sweet, plus the bottle is sparkly AND my favorite (non)color.

Here's a closeup of my accent nail, and a closeup of my manicure.

Be sure to check out the fab works from all the other participants in the challenge!  I took a peek at their rainbow manis, and these ladies are TALENTED!  I feel honored to be part of such an amazing and creative group of polish addicts like myself.  Go show them some love!