Look at my nubs! LOL

Look at my nubs! LOL

Scruffy has found a way out of my fence and while trying to block little dude's escape route I totally broke a nail. So, short they all are! 🙁 I can't have one broken and the rest long. It drives me crazy. 😐

Anyway, I've been trying for hours (literally. And how lame am I?) to get a good shot of this fucking awesome nail polish I'm wearing. Holy damn. It has not been easy to capture the pretty. Honestly, this still doesn't do it justice, but it's just not getting any better than this. Maybe if the sun would come out and stay long enough for me to adjust my camera and get a good shot. Oh well.

This is some Glitter Gal holo silver with some of my wayyy-too-expensive OPI Black Spotted. I ❤❤❤ how the ring finger turned out. That was a thinner coat of black spotted. The thumb has a thicker coat. I think that stuff is pretty neat. Kind of like a crackle, but not.

Black Spotted was part of OPI's Spiderman Collection. France got Black Spotted (which looks like Venom), and America got some stupid green glitter crackle stuff. Screw that. I wanted Venom! This would look so gruesome over some red or something. Maybe more towards Halloween I'll bust out with that. 😃

Silver 3D Holo by Glitter Gal and Black Spotted by OPI

Nail peoples:

Nail peoples:

This is interesting.  However, using tape, you don't need a topcoat to change your color - you just choose any two colors and go with it!  Maybe this is easier to wrap your head around, though.  Who knows?

I love how China Glaze is paying attention to what the nail bloggers are into.  It's showing in all the new goodies they are putting out.  😃  Although, I have no idea if I'll actually buy any of these, since I can already do this without a special topcoat.  Maybe if I like the colors...

https://www.chicprofile.com%2F2012%2F08%2Fchina-glaze-tranzitions-collection-for-winter-2012-info-photos.html

You know, I've been looking for a reason...

You know, I've been looking for a reason to wear this bizarro tentacle-skull-wearing-a-crown stamp.  I couldn't see it on any other color but pink, but Nancy gave me the perfect one last night!  So, here it is.  It's actually meant to be a French tip stamp, but I don't do those much.  I like it better how it is, sideways across my nail.  I think it's cute.  🙂

Research polish;
Bundle Monster plate BM-325;
Stamping technique

I own 5 crackle polishes and just realized that...

I own 5 crackle polishes and just realized that I've only got photos of one put up - and in the photo, you can't really tell it's a crackle! How goofy. LOL I know what happened. I went back and looked at my nail photos, and it wasn't long after I got my crackles that I also got my stamping goodies. Stamping goodies > crackle.

Anyway, this is my black one over a Maybelline Color Show Limited Edition pinky / champagne something or other. LOL I can look at the name if anyone actually likes it. They had it at Walgreen's. Which, btw, if you are into polish, they seem to get a lot of cool exclusives that other stores don't get. 😉

So, crackle. Love it or hate it? Most people seem to have a strong opinion one way or the other. I like it, especially when you get nice big cracks. 😃

Pink Cosmo by Maybelline and Black Crackle

We went to Ulta...

We went to Ulta, where I got an Essence polish. It was cheap and pretty and I didn't have one of those. And I got to meet all the Zoya's and Ulta's and other fancy polish brands they don't have around here but that I always see blogged about. LOL I know that sounds goofy, but I was totally excited even though I was too broke to buy any of them. Then we went to Sally's where I got a back-up magnet and some moisturize-y stuff. Between the Essence polish and Sally's I spent a total of $5 on myself today and I am SO happy with what I got. 😃

Nails from last night.  I did another mani with Saran Wrap.  LOL  I liked how the first one turned out so much I had to do it again.  But this time I used 3 colors instead of two, and glequins!

Honestly, I don't see me laying off of these anytime soon.  The textured look is nice alone, or would look great with stones, stamping, etc.  And it's SO EASY to do.  I love the way water marbles look, but they are so much trouble that I rarely bother.  But not this.  If you like painting your nails, you should TOTALLY just try it out at least once.  For realz.

I know those orange glequins look like they might not belong with that mostly pinkish paint job, but the last color I put on was a metallic pink / orange flip, so they totally go.  It's just not always easy to capture it in a photo!

Research polishes;
Plastic Wrap technique;
Embellishments from BornPretty

Music nails!

Music nails!

Ok, so these weren't anything like I envisioned.  Like, not at all.  LOL  I wanted to put my piano key and sheet music stamps on there (because it was Amanda Palmer, duh!), but that did NOT go as planned.  First of all that really pretty flaky paint did not go down smooth, so it was not easy to stamp over.  Secondly, when I tested out the stamps they were all warped.  When a stamping image is, well, anything but straight lines it will usually look fine - even if it's not perfect.  But piano keys and sheet music both have a lot of straight lines and it's hard to make that look nice stamped over a curved nail.  My designs kept coming out warped and I just didn't like it.  🙁  So, I scrapped that idea.  I might have to practice with those and see if I can make them work because I like the images and I will be bummed if I don't get to use them.

Anyway, this is what I wore last night.  They were totally pretty when the light hit them.  🙂

Research polishes;
Embellishments

Freshly showered - now gotta do my nails...

Freshly showered - now gotta do my nails for the Amanda Palmer show tonight.  Can't be going in there with crazy blue and glequin nails!  LOL

Did my nails just last night, but...

Did my nails just last night, but the tips have already started wearing off.  Thought I should photograph these before they got totally messed up.  😐

So... the things on my ring finger were coined "glequins" by one of my favorite nail bloggers, The Nailasaurus.  (Google her and you'll see why she's a favorite).  These little things are too big to be glitter, too small to be sequins.  LOL  When I saw them I had to have them.  😃

They actually match my polish pretty well.  They probably look so light because I've got a light pointed right at them for a photograph, but just looking at my hand, you *almost* can't tell it's not polish, except for the ones that are catching the light and keeping it interesting.

These weren't hard to put on, but I didn't want to do all of my fingers.  I guess I'm lazy like that.  LOL

Research polishes;
Glequins from BornPretty;
Embellishments

I chipped a nail today.

I chipped a nail today.  I was honestly a little disappointed, but I'll live.  Now I have an excuse to bust out some of my new goodies!  😃

It's been a pretty good day.

It's been a pretty good day.  I got my order from the born pretty store, so that means I have MORE NAIL GOODIES!  😃  My little wheel of stones was broken, but I think most of them are still in the envelope.  I will be checking that out shortly.

ALSO, I got the polishes I ordered from the blog sale I posted a few days ago.  Five name brand polishes (some of which I wouldn't be able to find around here), for $8, including shipping.  So what, they were used?  Looks like she swatched them and decided not to keep them.  Seriously, they look brand new.  And I read somewhere that germs and bacteria can't live in polish.  Probably why you can PAINT nails without a license, but not do cuticles and all that.  Anyway.

So my biggest complaint for the day is that I like the nails I have on, so that means I don't want to take them off to play with my new goodies.  I can live with that.  😃

Super easy and fun nails I did last night with...

Super easy and fun nails I did last night with... wait for it... Saran Wrap.  LOL

I've seen it done two ways:

1)  Paint on your base color, then paint on another color and dab it OFF with the wrap, or

2)  Paint on your base color, then dab a second color ON with the wrap.

I think that the amount of coverage you want with the 2nd color would probably determine your method.  I dabbed color on with the wrap because the other way around just seems wasteful.  And you can always dab on more for more coverage.  🙂

Research polishes;
Saran Wrap technique

Shaun's too sweet.

Shaun's too sweet.  I wanted the new China Glaze Magnetix II Collection, but I couldn't buy it for myself because I knew I had vet bills coming.  So I wouldn't miss out I told him I wanted it for my birthday (which is in November), but that he should buy it now.  Well, it came in today and he gave it to me.  I'm considering not using it until November, that way, it's still my birthday present.  LOL  I didn't get him two gifts for his birthday - he can't get me two!  That is totally not fair!

Shaun.  You're a strange one.

Y'all know who's on my mind. ❤

Y'all know who's on my mind.  ❤

Research polishes;
MagnoNails plate D;
Stamping technique

My first holographic polish...

My first holographic polish given to me by the lovely Robin.  😃

I'm SUPER STOKED to have this one.  I don't have any like it and unless I order some really expensive stuff from online I have to wait until China Glaze releases their Hologlam collection sometime next year.  That wait is gonna kill me, for realz.  😳

Anyway, this one is too pretty - all of the awesome can't even be captured in a photo.  It's all rainbow-y and glittery and shiny and beautiful.  It's my precious!  LOL

Research polish;
embellishments