Good morning!
I know it's rather early yet, but I got motivated this morning to get my post up. So grab your coffee and get comfy :)
I've definitely been feeling fallish lately; now, if the weather would be more fallish, too, that would just be great. Yesterday's mani absolutely screamed fall. It wasn't what I originally had planned, but when the polish showed up on my doorstep Saturday, I had to get it on my nails stat.
DIFFERENT dimension Let Your Gourd Down is like pumpkin pie a bottle. That's exactly what I thought when I pulled it out the box. I could almost smell the pumpkin pie! And it's a linear holo! I had ordered another pumpkiny polish a few weeks ago, but it's more the color of a pumpkin than pumpkin pie. Let Your Gourd Down is gorgeous, and it's my first DD, and I'm very happy with it. I stamped over with MdU pinon and UberChic UC 1-02.
Friday's mani was posted that day, and nothing for Saturday, so on to Thursday! I had been dying to get Zoya Cinnamon on my nails. Its name is misleading, it's not cinnamon colored; it is, in fact, a beautiful bronze that's unique in my collection. I used Cinnamon as the base for my 30DoCC prompt that day, leaves, and for the Advanced Nail Stamping prompt, what fall means to me.
One of the things that fall means to me, is leaves changing. Even though we don't get that here in south Florida, it is one of the things that I always associate with fall, and I love seeing photos of the different colors. I chose to do a stamping gradient, something I haven't done in a long time, over Cinnamon. The leaves are from Messy Mansion MM23, using the MdU colors sunflowers, reddish, and brown.
Leaves Inlinkz:
It doesn't happen very often, but I do create a mani that I kinda hate. Wednesday's mani was one of those. I had imagined it so much better than it turned out, and by the time I finished it, I couldn't change it. It was the denim prompt for 30DoCC, so my base was Styled Out from Maybelline. I stamped over index, middle, and pinky fingers with a lacy image from Apipila P.2 in MdU reddish. I added little fimo flowers and rhinestones to thumbs and ring fingers. I remember why I don't use fimo slices anymore my nails are too curvy -_-
Denim Inlinkz:
Tuesday's mani was kept simple, and I love how it turned out :) It was just Zoya Ember with Tomoko for accents. Zoya hit it out the park with Ember. It is has that glowy quality to it that we all love and expect from Zoya fall/winter collections. I really surprised myself in wanting Ember, since it's an orange leaning red, but it looks pretty good on me.
I love Monday's mani, it's very Halloweeny to me. The base color is ILNP Purple Plasma, which is beautiful on it's own. I stamped over it with MdU black and UC 1-02 (I love this plate!).
This mani was both the 30DoCC prompt, floral, and PAAManiMonday, black and purple. Nailed it!
Floral Inlinkz:
I also love Sunday's mani, even if it's a little hard to see it. It was the Stamping Sunday prompt, plate number (or ending in) 27. I think I have just one 27, so that's what I used. First, I applied my base color of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls, then did a Saran Wrap mani with I Cannoli Wear OPI and KBShimmer Pt Young Thing. After that, I double stamped with the icicle images from Messy Mansion MM27 in MdU silver.
Good afternoon and happy hump day! :P
I hope today finds you all doing well. My week has been rather difficult, since about Wednesday last week, actually. I lost my sweet baby Merlyn, and have been having a hard time coping with her death. My main coping mechanism is BUYING ALL THINGS!!!, and I've had to really strive to keep that in check. Needless to say, zero fucks have been given to a lot these last several days. I'm starting to feel just okay now, but still am very sad.
I do have a few manis to show, a mix of challenge and just because. Today's mani is a challenge one for the 52 WPNMC. The themes were pastels and/or lilac and teal. I elected to do both and here is what I came up. A gradient using colors from Maybelline's Bleached Neons collection. Colors are Day Glow Teal, Coral Heat, and Ultra Violet sprinkled with China Glaze Fairy Dust. All over a base of Morgan Taylor's All White Now.
Inlinkz to other blogs doing this challenge:
Yesterday's mani was for the 30 Days of Colour Challenge. The options were matte and/or stamping. Of course, I picked both. My colors were China Glaze I Sea Your Point and Under the Boardwalk. Butterfly came from Marianne Nails no84, stamped with MdU white. Matted with China Glaze Matte Magic.
And yesterday's Inlinkz:
Monday was a challenge for Advanced Nail Stamping, a stamped pond manicure. I've attempted this before, without much success. I usually end up smearing my stamping because I wasn't topcoating the stamping, just add the jelly layer, then stamping. Got some advice, tried a new topcoat, and voila! Success this time! Orly Butterflies for the jelly, Marianne Nails no84 and MdU white again. Now, even though I had some peeling later that day, I really believe it was because I had at least 4 coats of Oh So Wet! on my nails, not because of the topcoat itself.
I totally skipped out on the Stamping Sunday challenge, and kinda half assed the mani I did for Saturday. I wasn't even going to do one, but I was supposed to go to a ladies' luncheon (which itself was kind of a mistake.....). It was a 30DoCC day, and the prompts with holo and/or water marble. I had intended to do both, but that didn't happen. I ended up with ILNP's Peri Me on my nails, and that was that.
Inlinkz for that:
Friday was truly a no fucks given day, even though I did make it a Textured Friday. My Merlyn was a black kitty, so it was only fitting that I chose a black texture to wear that. OPI Emotions was what I picked.
Thursday I stayed home and bawled my eyes out, so nothing for that.
Wednesday was another 30DoCC day. The prompts were animal print and/or glitter. I actually went with both, and loved what I came up with. Base color was Morgan Taylor's One Cool Cat. The glitter was also Morgan Taylor, Escar-Go to France. The animal print was from Vivid Lacquer VL 010, stamped in Mdu Lime.
And those Inlinkz:
Good evening and happy Monday! Did y'all have a great weekend? Mine was extremely uneventful, truly; I didn't really do much of anything, and only went to get the windows tinted on my car :) That's really just it.
I'm steadily working through my untrieds, and nearly all of the manis I'm about to show you feature untrieds, starting with today's. The base color is Zoya Suzanne, which I received as a gift with purchase from Zoya with one of my last orders.
Suzanne is pretty, dusty rose pink with a brighter pink shimmer. It's not my usual cup of tea, but I like how it looks on the nail. It only needed two coats for opacity, followed by a coat of Seche. I stamped over it using Essie Penny Talk and two different images from VL-4. Two because the image on the other four fingers was too narrow for my thumbs, and Penny Talk dried too fast for me to stretch it. Seche to top it off.
I participated in yesterday's Stamping Sunday challenge, which was themed better than Jamberry. I was also able to pair this with another group challenge, over a neon base. Here is the Jamberry I chose to improve:
My base color was two coats of Morgan Taylor's Shock Therapy over two coats of MT's All White Now. I really could have done with 3 of Shock Therapy, especially if I hadn't stamped over it. Thumbs and rings coat a coat of ILNP's Phoenix, then all a coat of Seche. The rest were stamped over with an image from VL-3 and MdU silver, and another coat of Seche.
I wasn't really happy with how Textured Friday's mani turned out, even though many people seemed to like it on Instagram :P The base was two coats of Zoya Tove, which applied beautifully. The screw up came with the Pixie Dust; it just didn't gradient as nicely as I wanted it to. I used Zoya Nyx for the gradient.
Thursday was a matte flakie kind of day. The base was two coats of OPI Dutch Tulips (I can't believe I didn't have this until a few weeks ago), followed by a coat of Maybelline Colorama Ruby Rays, then a coat of OPI's matte topcoat.
Wednesday was a flakie day, too, combined with color blocking. The base was 2 coats of Zoya Wenesday. My accents were my index and ring fingers, and the got a coat of Zoya Maisie. The others got blocked with Zoya Zuzu, using Scotch tape to create it. Everything wsa topped with Seche.
Good afternoon! I hope everyone had a great weekend :) Me, not so much, but it wasn't bad either. I've got 3 manis I want to show, two of which feature new polishes.
Now, anyone that knows me, know that there are certain colors that I just avoid. Browns are some, neutrals/nudes are some, golds/bronze/copper are even more. It seems this year I'm stepping out my comfort zone, because I've bought a few golds, almost an entire collection of neutrals/nudes, and recently I picked up a copper.
Copper, to me, is fairly close to rose gold, so it honestly didn't bother me to get it; I only wish I had known about this color sooner because it's so pretty! Early last month, I came across a Zoya color that I had never seen, Tiffany. Not surprising, since I didn't start buying until 2010 or 2011, I think, and I believe Tiffany is discontinued (at least I think it is, since it's not on Zoya's site). Googled it, had to have it.
Tiffany is a coppery colored foil with a gold sparkle to it. I absolutely love. For my mani, I applied 2 coats for opacity, then topped with Seche. I stamped over it with Messy Mansion MM21 and Maybelline Bold Gold, then topped again with Seche. It reminds me of dragon scales :)
And, I don't know, my camera was being really dumb yesterday and today. Half of those pics had this weird, hazy/shadowy look to them -_-
Yesterday, I did up a bright, fun mani using all the creme colors I own from Zoya's Beach collection. On my thumbs and ring fingers, I watermarbled Reagan, Shelby, Wednesday, and Arizona over a coat of Purity. On my index fingers went Reagan, middle fingers were for Arizona, and Wednesday on the pinkies. Pinkies were dotted with Shelby. Index and middle fingers were stamped with Winstonia W106 and Mundo de Unas neon orange and fiusca. Everything was topped with Seche.
I really didn't want to take this off, I loved it so much.
I know that ^^^^ pic looks brighter than the top one. It was another victim of whatever my camera did, and I was just trying to get it show up better, that's all.
Sunday's Stamping Sunday challenge was holographic. Perfect opportunity for me to use my newest indie, Dock of the Bay from Colors by Llarowe. This polish is just all kinds of awesome! It's a nearly one coater, linear holo multichrome. And the color...... Love it!
For this mani, I applied 2 coats, even though I really could have done with just one, then topped it. Stamped over with Emily de Molly EdM 03 and Mundo de Unas black. Topped again with Seche.
Excuse the awkwardness of the poses, it's my right hand instead of my left because the stamping came out better on that hand, oddly enough.
One last thing: I have a destash sale going on right now! Check it out! Shipping with the US only at this time. Lots of discontinued OPIs and China Glazes.
Elfleidy's Destash
Good afternoon!
I hope today finds you well :) I'm busy fighting a cold from getting any worse. So far, so good; four days in and I really don't feel worse. Mostly, I'm just tired and a little more stuffy and sneezy lol.
I've got a few bright, summery manis to share with you, one featuring new colors, the others are colors I've had in my collection. Last month, I finally got the rest of Zoya's summer collection that I had wanted, and one of the colors was Wendy. Wendy reminds me of two of the colors that were part of the Blogger trio collab. Birchbox had (and still has, I believe), Belle and Kate. Both are what I call grapefruit pinks, one being a shimmery layering polish, the other a jelly. Wendy is in the same color family, but it a creme. It's not a color I usually go for, since grapefruit pink is just too warm for me, but in this case I didn't care. I wanted it as soon as Zoya debuted it.
To keep it from looking too warm, I decided to a gradient with it. Wendy needed 3 coats to not look streaky, then I topped with Seche. For the gradient, I used a new glitter from Maybelline called Rose Mirage. Rose Mirage is dense, fine, rose gold glitter. I sponged that on until I was happy with it and topped that with Seche also.
Wendy is really bright, and my camera kinda spazzed over that lol.
Yesterday, I tried out a (new to me) technique- the distressed mani. I got the idea from this blogger and had been wanting to try for long time. Mine didn't come out as nicely as hers, but I think I did alright for my first attempt. The colors I used were:
- Maybelline Bleached Neons in Bleached in Peach, Day Glow Teal, Pink Punch, Ultra Violet, and Lime Accent
- Maybelline Sapphire Siren
- Milani White on the Spot (base color, 2 coats)
Alrighty, on to Stamping Sunday. I honestly don't remember what I voted for, but what won was a stamp that you don't like. There aren't too many images on my plates that I don't like but there are a few. I remembered two specifically, so I ended up using one of them.
I kept this really simple since having something I don't like on my nails annoys me. The base color is two coats of OPI's California Raspberry. The image is from Mo You Rebel 02 stamped in Mundo de Unas white.
Good afternoon!!
I've got four pretty manis I want to show you today. The first one, today's, is one I've wanted to try for a while. I picked up OPI's Sheer Tints over a month ago, and had yet to try to them. I finally got around to, after seeing many manis using them.
Most of the manis I have seen used a pure white, like Alpine Snow. I chose instead to use My Boyfriend Scales Walls. For some stupid reason, I needed to do three coats instead of my usual 2 for it. Anyways :P Then I just applied all four sheer tints over it, followed by Seche.
Yesterday, I did another negative space mani. Those seem to be all the rage right now, and there are a few different ways of doing them. I did mine using Scotch tape, Zoya Odette and Brigitte, and Art Club black striping polish. All topped with Seche.
On Monday, I featured a new-to-me indie brand, Enchanted Polish. There's a lot hype surrounding this brand; you'd think it was magic in a bottle. Don't get me wrong, the one I won in a first timers giveaway is nice (I won Hey Jude), I don't think it's any better than other indies I own.
Hey Jude is a multichrome with a sprinkling of holo. It shifts through a golden green to teal to purple. I needed three coats for my mani.
And, of course, Sunday was Stamping Sunday. The challenge for that was using a plate that ended in 2. What I came up with was neon bubbles! The base colors are Bleached Neons from Maybelline: Day Glow Teal, Pink Punch, Bleached in Peach, Citrus Collide, and Lime Accent.
This mani gave me the opportunity to use my new stamping polishes from Mundo de Unas. Oh. My. God!!! Best stamping polishes EVER!!!! I had ordered all her neon colors plus black and white. What I used in this mani were neon orange, neon green, neon pink, neon blue, and neon yellow. I loved how these stamped so much that I will be getting more at some point. You can get them here; this is also where I've gotten my Handy plates.
The stamping plate I used was Messy Mansion MM02, matte topcoat was Wet 'N Wild.
