I am not even about to admit how late I stayed up doing my nails...

So this is definitely not my most fabulous photo.  I know that you aren't really supposed to take pics in full sunlight, BUT THE RAINBOWS.  😳

I am not even about to admit how late I stayed up doing my nails, but I was having a lot of fun.  I finally ended up getting the nail art mat I wanted so I was dying to play with it.  The holo swirls are actually more stamping decals, but instead of being made on a stamper - they were made WITH a stamper - ON the mat.  Which for me, (since I don't have quite a thousandy stampers yet), meant that I could make enough decals for all of my fingers at one time.  And I did.

So why only 3 on this hand?  Well, the time was getting ridiculou, and since it was my first go at making them not all of them turned out perfect... and that's just not gonna cut it.  😂  On my best days I have perfectionist tendencies, but in times of stress it gets worse.  MUCH worse.  I have a ton of homework this weekend so I couldn't be using some ugly, janky decals on my right hand.  😂

So my left hand is fully adorned in decals, but mostly because I was making sure I was doing a great job at getting them put down without messing them up.  These were a little thicker because you had to start with two coats of clear, (unlike the ones made on the stamper where you start with the stamp only).  I used some of the less-great ones on that hand (because it's the test hand!  😂), but it's ok.  Lefty is allowed to be janky for some reason.  I can't explain it.

Anyway.  I used 8 different holo polishes to fill in the swirls and I love how in the sunlight the holo-ness sometimes makes them blend - like you can't tell where one color starts and the next stops.  Might be a thing that only happens in person, but dang - I'm really happy with these.

So the stars?  Yeah, I can't even fathom the idea of having all matching nails. I can't.  I just can't.  I mean, with all of the choices of things you can do it almost seems wrong to make them all the same.

Finally got around to putting on my other stamping decal...

Finally got around to putting on my other stamping decal.  This isn't the one you saw before - it's actually rather crooked on the ring finger of my left hand.  😛  I put it on my left hand because I had to clear it to soften it back up since it had been sitting for so many days.  That actually worked for this even though it didn't for the glitter decal.  Maybe that's the difference.  Anyway.  Since I cleared it rather than top-coated it (topcoat makes it tougher), I accidentally smudged the kitten so I banished it to my left hand, which often looks like crap and weirdness in comparison to the right.  😂😂😂

Anyway.  Crap-tastic, rainy, cloudy day - not great for wearing a beautiful holo polish that makes rainbows in the sunlight, but I didn't check the weather before doing my nails the other day. Oh well.  It's still pretty and though I normally hate wearing white polish this was ok.  It's probably coming off soon, though.  😂  There is only so much I can take.

Confession Time:

Confession Time:  Shaun had to damage my scale nail before I could bring myself to take it off.  😂  I had all of my other nails naked and ready to be painted - EXCEPT FOR THAT ONE.  I guess I was making a big deal about it so he said "Let me see it." and then proceeded to dig a chunk of it off me with his big, hard, man nails.  😳  I mean, I guess that was an effective way to make it easier to take off... at least I didn't have to murder it with polish remover for no reason.  😂

Anyway.  I wanted to use my succulent decal before it dried out since it was more work to make than the cat.  If I had waited any longer I would have missed my chance.  It was already very brittle and the application of it did not go smoothly.  😕

First of all, I had to apply a clear polish to the back of it to soften it up.  Secondly, I dropped it on a fuzzy blanket right after applying the clear polish.  THEN, when I was trying to shape it to my nail, it cracked.  Thankfully, I had the good sense to use the same base color as the background of the decal; otherwise, you'd probably be able to spot the crack.  It was almost a huge nail fail.  🙁  But lots of patience, acetone, and topcoat saved it.  🙂

Overall I think it looks nice, but I'm not as in love with it as I was with the scales.  I'm glad I could make it work, but I'm bummed that my decals aren't storing so great.  I knew they wouldn't last forever, but I didn't even get a solid week out of that.  I guess I can't make them too far in advance for now.  I read that one polish blogger stored hers inside sheet protectors for 10 days.  I was thinking that surely a closed-off stamper would be more air tight, but I guess not.  😕

For anyone who's interested - my pointer finger is FingerPaints Nail Color Ink-Cognito, my middle finger is China Glaze Nail Lacquer Below Deck, and my pinky is the lovely Barry M. in Dusky Mauve.  I wanted that polish for ages before I finally bought it.  I know that the shimmer isn't showing in that one on the nail in photos like it is in the bottle, but I promise you it's there.  It is SO pretty and I'm so happy to finally call it my own.