Horror Movie - Nightmare on Elm Street

Happy October, all. I am squeezing this in under the wire but I have decided to partake in my first Nail Art Challenge. I am going to be doing the "This is Halloween" Nail Art Challenge from Lacquer Dreams.

Day 1 is Horror Movies. My husband suggested Freddy Krueger so I went with Nightmare on Elm Street although I have never actually seen this film. I don't do too well with horror flicks!

Nightmare on Elm Street Inspired Nail Art

Freddy Kruger's nail slash marks

 Photo Inspiration:

Hopefully you get the look I was going for and this is unnecessary, but a quick explanation of my goal look: Thumb is inspired by Freddy Krueger's shirt, pointer and pinky are mimicking the hazy red and black background for the title and, of course, middle and ring are slashes left by his wicked claws.

Colors used:
   • CHINA GLAZE Stone Cold
   • CHINA GLAZE Velvet Bow
   • CHINA GLAZE Liquid Leather
   • ESSIE No Place Like Chrome

I achieved this look by using tape for the stripes on my thumb, dragging a safety pin dipped in No Place Like Chrome for the slashes on my middle and ring fingers and for the red and black look I had one coat of Velvet Bow topped in one coat Liquid Leather topped with a top coat then I did an "acid wash" effect by dragging an acetone soaked clean-up brush over it to reveal the base coat of Velvet Bow.

Here is what is upcoming in the rest of the challenge:

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome

Hello, ladies. I hope you are all having a fine Wednesday. I was hoping my Birchbox would be here by now, but alas, no such luck. Instead, I have another amazing polish loaned to me by Jessica. This one is a mirror metallic from Essie, No Place Like Chrome.

No Place Like Chrome is a shimmery, chic silver metallic polish. It's very fun to wear because I don't have any other mirror polishes at the moment. I am also a big believer that silver and gold polishes make for big-impact statement nails. Two thumbs up! This silver has a more of a shimmery metallic sheen in the the sunlight while maintaining more of the "mirror" effect indoors.

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome - shaded natural light

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome - direct sunlight

ESSIE No Place Like Chrome

No Place Like Chrome applied easily enough. I suggest using thinner coats for a smoother application. I applied 2 coats of polish with no top coat. Even with 2 coats, it's usually harder to get a completely smooth looking finish when working with a metallic.

In other news, this is my 100th post! I really appreciate my followers who take the time to stop by and check out my blog. Thank you and thanks for popping in!

Orange Spring Tips

Hello, ladies. Summer is getting closer and the weather is getting hotter. Today I went with a bright orange tipped manicure. I think it's a fun play on the classic french that is perfect for Spring.

I started off with 2 coats of Essie Allure as my base color. For my tips I chose Zoya Arizona. Arizona is a fantastic sherbert orange cream. 

Zoya Arizona tips over Essie Allure - shade

Zoya Arizona tips - direct sunlight

To get that curved shape I used reinforcement stickers which I peeled off while the polish was still wet. If you wait until your polish has started to dry, the polish may peel off on the edge with the sticker.

The sun really brought out the milkyness of Allure, but indoors and in the shade it just has more of a great shine to it like the top picture.

I hope you all have a great rest of your day and thanks for popping in!

Color me Marbleized

So my husband is on duty today and I needed a project. So, after I spruced up the house a bit I decided I wanted to give a go at Water Marbling. Still learning, but I am actually quite pleased with the results. What do you think? :-)

natural, overcast sunlight

left hand marbling

right hand marbling

I used room temp, filtered water and a toothpick to swirl in my designs. The 3 colors of choice for this mani were Essie-Allure, Essie-St. Lucia Lilac and Pure Ice-Love. Topped it all off with China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. The Pink on all other nails is 2coats of Pure Ice-Love. I hope you like this as much as I do! I can't wait to try some more water marbling!

Fresh Coat of Lacquer for the Day

Today I got my nail mail from Nailstash's blog sale! YAY! I recieved confirmation Sunday on my purchase and it came today! Super fast and wrapped with care! I snagged China Glaze Emerald Sparkle and Essie - St. Lucia Lilac. I'm sure you can guess which one this is. :-P

Indoor lighting no flash

outdoors, direct sunlight

I realize my application was a bit sloppy, but this polish was not the smoothest application for me. I found the formula to be on the rather watery side and it streaked pretty horribly. I LOVE the color though, so I stuck it out. I think it's a beautiful pale purple (lilac) with a great subtle grey undertone. This is 3coats topped with China Glaze Fast Forward Top Coat. Eventually, I think I might just cave and pick up a Seche Vite top coat!