Star Wars: The Force Awakens manicure

Ok, so I should have posted this manicure a long time ago. I meant to post it when I actually went to see The Force Awakens, but never got around to it and then my laptop died, blah blah blah. But with the return of my laptop, I figured what better time than now, especially because it's been so long that manicure now coincides with the Blu-Ray release of the movie! So... happy release day?! Hahaha. I actually haven't bought a copy yet (gasp!) but am hoping maybe they will have it on sale at Costco when we do our grocery shopping this upcoming weekend. Just kidding, of course I preordered it.

Given that I have been on a mission to collect a bunch of Star Wars themed nail polishes, I knew of course that I would have to use some of these for my movie manicure. Because it was a brand spanking new Star Wars movie, I decided to use polishes themed to the new movie. So I used CoverGirl Nemesis as my base. Nemesis is a vampy plum with red tones; a deep burgundy is more accurate. The formula on this was just ok-- it was a little patchy and uneven. I used two coats here because I knew I would be adding a glitter topper.

One of the Star Wars themed polishes that I collected recently is from Level Up Lacquer, a new-to-me brand. Level Up Lacquer actually started in 2012 as Daring Digits, but rebranded after a move to Alaska in 2014. So when I saw some swatches of her Star Wars collection, I figured I might as well jump in and get them all! For my manicure, I decided to use BB-8, based on the newest (and possibly cutest new droid), which described as a "glitter bomb with white squares silver and orange hexes, and tiny white specs." This glitter topper is perfect for BB-8! I used one coat here over Nemesis.

I was happy with how this manicure turned out. No, it doesn't scream Star Wars to a casual person, but *I* knew the polishes were Star Wars related, and that's really what counts anyway. I really love the color combo too. Yay Star Wars!

HPB Presents: Spring Watercolor Manicure

Look at me! Actually participating in a nail art challenge this month! This month, the Hobby Polish Bloggers decided on a spring themed mani for their monthly link up, so I decided to create a watercolor-type manicure using spring colors!

I used Enchanted Polish Winter (a light grey) as my base, and then used saran wrap to sponge on Reign Beau (teal), Disco H2O (cornflower blue), and Dope Jam (pink). This was a pretty easy manicure to do, but I had a couple of issues-- I think I got too heavy with Disco H2O, and that covered up too much of the teal Reign Beau. But I love the way the pink of Dope Jam looks over the others. I also should have used a latex barrier for my cuticles, because I was too afraid of getting polish all over my fingers and so I think some of the grey edges look a little funny to me.

In the end, this looks a bit muddy to me, but I still like it! I do think it has a watercolor feel to it, even though I wish the colors were a bit more separate. Ah well! I just need more practice! What do you think?

An InLinkz Link-up

Fourth of July manicure!

Happy 4th of July! We are currently experiencing an unusual heat wave in the PNW, though it feels a little cooler today than most of the past week. We're all heat wimps here! I was drenched in sweat last night while I removed my polish to do my 4th of July manicure. Yuck! But I wanted to do a themed manicure so I wasn't going to let the heat beat me. I had been kicking around an idea for awhile, and I didn't want to waste it.

I started with a base of OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls on my pinkie, middle and index finger. Once that was dry I used saran wrap to 'sponge' on Cirque Colors Rita on those fingers. Once that dried, I then sponged on Colors by Llarowe Living the Dream. Using saran wrap to sponge on different colors if one of my favorite nail art technique-- it's so easy and fun! I got a little overzealous in when I sponged on Living the Dream at first; my pinkie nail got a bit dark. Which, duh, makes sense because it's a dark color, but I thought it would be a little more sheer. Anyway! The joy of this technique is that it's different every time and very unique! I'm really happy with how this turned out.

On my ring and thumb I used two coats of Polish 'M American Spirit. This is a grey-white base with red, white and bright blue glitters. Perfectly in the spirit for the holiday-- some day I'll actually do a real swatch.

Artificial light (flash):

I was really proud of how my 'Cinderella' hand turned out, so I took a picture!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th! Eat some good food, set off some fireworks, and hopefully don't start any fires!