NOTD: Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

Hello!

Today is officially Mardi Gras, so I have my second celebratory Mardi Gras manicure today. This one I made on purpose, lol! I set out to make it sparkly and glittery and gaudy in that awesome Mardi Gras way. Let's see if you think I pulled it off. :)

I started with a base coat of Milani Hi-Rez, one of Milani's very chunky, but still awesome, holographic polishes. It's a sort of a dark lilac shade which I thought would serve as a good backdrop for the rest. Next I did a quick saran-wrap pattern over it with China Glaze's Rare And Radiant, to give it a bit of iridescent green shine in spots. After that, I put on a coat of Hit Polish's Bourbon St., a fun glitter in Mardi Gras colors. And last but not least, I stamped swirls of beads being thrown through the air with Bundle Monster plate 224, using Butter London's British Racing Green and Manic Panic's Blood Thirsty:

This is a good shot to see the iridescent effect

Love that pretty glitter. :)

To show that it doesn't look so busy when you actually see it farther away. Not that I care if it's busy, lol!!

This angle gives a great shot of what Milani Hi-Rez looks like :)

Now I want to find a place to eat crawfish, dance to Zydeco, and wear some beads!! Who wants to join me?!?

Also, I just wanted to point out that this is basically the same design I used on my hot chocolate manicure (which you can see here for comparison purposes); although I did add some saran-wrap background here, it's otherwise the same technique with different colors. The two together show just how versatile a single stamp can be when you just vary it a bit, I think. I've never before been inspired by one design I was doing to do the same thing for another purpose, so I just had to share that part with you. :)

Here's hoping that your good times are a-rolling! If they aren't go make 'em roll!! :)

Xoxox,
M.

NOTD: I Can Haz Brains?

Hello!

Are you ready for some zombies??

Today is the first of two zombie days in my Halloween challenges. The first comes courtesy of Crumpet Nail Tarts, and I'm extremely stoked about it because I've been waiting to use China Glaze's It's Alive for zombie nails since I bought it back in April. Here's what I came up with:

I can haz brains? Outside indirect light

Mmm...that brain looks awfully nommy!!! (inside light)

Here's how I made it:

1) Use Blackheart Beauty Amsterdam as the base color for the ring finger, and China Glaze's Zombie Zest for the rest. Realize Zombie Zest doesn't quite give you enough of that chunky zombie feel that you want, and remember that you had another China Glaze polish that you'd been wanting to use for zombies...Try to remember what it's called and where you put it...Finally find it, and use China Glaze's It's Alive for your second coat of base polish.

2) Use a matte topcoat to make the It's Alive look even more dead-zombie-ish. Realize that once you put Seche Vite over your nail art, it will completely undo the matte effect. Facepalm several times.

3) Use Cheeky XL plate D to stamp the brain pattern in pink holo. Realize this doesn't show up very well, but will bleed into the white you were afraid to use, giving you the pinkish look you were hoping for. Stamp the pattern a second time using Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear White On.

4) Using your largest dotting tool, put two dots of Spoiled's Mind Your Own Beeswax for eyeballs on your zombie. Using the same tool, take a dot of Wet n Wild Black Creme and place it closest to the brain side of the nail; drag it across the nail to create a mouth. Let this all dry.

5) Using a medium dotting tool, put two dots of Pure Ice's Wild Thing in on the side of your zombie's eyeballs.

6) Mix some White On with some Sally Hansen Beige Blast. Using a small dotting tool, make little teeth inside your zombie's black mouth. Drag the ones closest to the brain down a bit to make them a little longer. Using the same dotting tool, use Pure Ice's Siren to drag some dots of blood down around the zombie's mouth. Finally, using Manic Panic Blood Thirsty, put a tiny dot inside of the green dots in your zombie's eyes.

7) Cover everything with Seche Vite and enjoy your little zombies!

Thanks for taking a look, and please check out the other zombie manicures linked below. :)

M.