Before & After: Stripes 'n' Kitties!

Hello!!

I've learned the sad lesson that beautiful nails and vigorous play with my dog don't go well together...sigh...I now have a case of the right-hand nubbins again, and even though I've tried to file them down as best I could, they still look a teensy bit janky.

Can something look a teensy bit janky? Idk. I'm gonna go with it.

Today's theme in the Crumpet Nail Tart's Got Polish challenge is 'Stripes'! Hey, vertical stripes make things look longer, right?

Because nail bloggers tend to always be showing new (or at least new-to-them) polish and tend to neglect the old beauties in their collection, this challenge is about using polish you've had for a long time, ideally over a year. I am so happy about having an excuse to blog about some old favorites, I can't even tell you. :)

For this one, I pulled out Cult Nails Iconic, a blood-rust color with very subtle rust-gold flakes in it:

You can see that the flakes are very subtle, and show up a little more or less depending on the sort of light you're in. This is the sort of flakie that is definitely work appropriate but still gives you a little dose of happy when you look at your nails. :)

For my nail art, I wanted to go for a Victorian-room sort of feel, so I drew on some scroll-type stripes with a Mash nail art pen, and put on some rose decals I bought somewhere ages ago (sorry, the packaging is long gone, so I don't remember the brand, but I'd guess Kiss). And since no cozy home is complete without a cat, so I pulled out some kitty water decals that Born Pretty Store sent me for review:

I was very happy with how extremely easy to use these are--you cut them out, submerge them in water for about 20 seconds, slide off the design, and position it on your nail. Cover with topcoat, and you're done, done, done. And these are very thin, unlike some other decals that are on thicker plastic which make them more difficult to position; These went on easily and stayed put where I wanted them to once I dabbed the water off.

Here is the final look:

What do you think? I am annoyed that the nails are a bit messed up, but I do think the design is cute, fun, and very fast to do. :)

If you like these decals, you can find them by clicking here; there are a ton more designs besides. I have a discount coupon for Born Pretty Store that my readers can use (not an affiliate link):

In fact...drumroll please...enough people have used my code that Born Pretty Store is hosting a giveaway on my site for a $20 gift certificate to their store! I'll have that giveaway all set up by the end of the week. :)

Thanks for stopping by, and don't forget to look at the other manicures linked below. :)

Hugs and loves,
M.