33 Day Challenge Day 26: Something From Pinterest

I saw this "fall mosaic" mani on Pinterest and fell in love! It was done by Whitney from Dressed Up Nails. Her blog is just awesome. I am amazed by her nail art! Sadly, the most recent post is from June. I really hope she comes back and gives us more!

I loved this mani so much I wore it for two whole days! I got a lot of compliments on it too. (Making an effort to talk with your hands more helps people notice your nails.)

And now for something totally unrelated..
So I got my (expired) driver's license renewed today! Woot! Now I don't have to worry about it again for ten years, I think. All the employees at the DMV were super nice and helpful. When did that happen? Not that I was disappointed that I didn't deal with a Selma or Patty. It just felt a little Twilight Zone-ish.
The lady who processed my application asked me how my birthday was, and I told her about my party. She even complimented my hair. I remarked that we had the same hair color (I was going to say something about hers, but she beat me to it) and she said yes, we have same birthday too! It was a special moment.

I really liked it from far away too.

What I used:
Ulta Salon Formula High Roller- base color
A whole lot of other colors- just ask me if you'd like to know about them!
Seche Vite top coat

What do you think? I wish I had the polish that Whitney used (China Glaze I'm Not Lion), but I think mine turned out pretty good!

33 Day Challenge Day 25: A New Technique For You

This was a technique that I'd been wanting to try for awhile, the water spotted marble nail (or whatever you want to call it). I was so excited to finally give it a go! I followed (or attempted to) ChelseaQueen's video tutorial. She made it look so easy! With the messy, distressed aesthetic, I figured every nail would be a masterpiece. Well, just like water marbling, I ran into a ton of problems. Buuuut... you can still tell this was the technique I was going for, right? I still think it looks cool.

I love the coppery colors that are peaking through.

For my base colors I used three different polishes and painted them on with the bottle brush in a haphazard way. The easy part was now over. Next was the marbling part. Let's say through a LOT of trial and error, I learned a few things.

#1-DON'T use a foam cup! The polish eats through the foam (if you happen to have drops that fall to the bottom as I tend to). I'm sure everyone knows that already. Well now I know it too.

#2- If you choose to use hairspray, make sure it actually has alcohol in it. I had a proof of purchase label covering the ingredients on my bottle so I wasn't able to check beforehand. I assumed it did. Well, since nothing happened to my polish when I sprayed the hairspray on, I am now assuming it does not.

#3- It's okay if it didn't turn out as you had visualized. Pretend that was your original intention and no one will know!

My thumb nail is my favorite in this mani. It looks pretty rad. My index finger is my second favorite.

What I used:
OPI Warm and Fozzie
OPI Cozu-Melted in the Sun
Wet n' Wild Chrome Penny For Your Thoughts
Sephora by OPI What's a Tire Jack?
body spray

Have you tried this technique? Any pointers? I love the coppery colors that are peaking through. I'm trying this again for sure, just so I can show it who's boss!

I suggest watching Chelsea's tutorial for-in depth instructions. Be ready for some trial and error.

33 Day Challenge Day 24: Art With the Color You Own the Most Of

The color I own the most of is.. purple? Really? I mean, I do like purple. I just didn't expect to have so much of it. It's certainly not my favorite color. I don't even own any purple clothing except one solitary "Poison" tshirt. Pretty sure the deciding factor for buying the shirt was that I needed at least one item in that color. So, Yay! for this prompt for getting me utilize the greatest percentage of my stash.

To solved the mystery of How I Acquired So Many Purple Polishes, I took a look at them. Out of the 40 plus purple polishes, 36 of them have been acquired since I since I started my blog. That is, I bought 36 purple polishes in the last four months.
Funny story- a similar thing happened to me a few years ago with my wardrobe. I don't know where it came from, but one day I realized I didn't own any brown clothing or shoes. I had ALOT of black. I decided I needed to branch out. I didn't go crazy or anything, but for a while I only bought brown, and ended up with a good amount.
So this is clearly what happened with my polishes. I looked at my stash, realized it was seriously lacking in shades of purple, and then this time went a little nuts. I wish I could say I don't need any more, but that wouldn't be the truth.

This was my first attempt at a fishtail braid and it ended up a little lopsided. I still like it, it's such a cool look! I love that there are still so many techniques for me to try out. And even with the ones I've tried, there's a lot of perfecting to do!

I hope there are some little girls (older ones too) that will just LOVE this mani. Sometimes it's fun to get extra girly!

What I used:
Thumb (darkest to lightest): Sephora by OPI Seriously it's a Naan-Issue,  OPI Dutch 'Ya Just Love OPI? Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Loyal Lavendar
Index: Wet n' Wild Chrome Hog-Quartz School- metallic purple, Sephora by OPI Domestic Goddess- plum, Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Loyal Lavendar
Middle and Ring: Essie Lilacism- base color, Barielle Hidden Hideaway- stamped butterflies
Pinky: Ulta Salon Formula Tutu Cute-light violet, Sephora by OPI Sugar Plum Fairies Gone Wild-glitter


So, what color do you own the most of?

33 Day Challenge Day 22: Three Color Gradient + Pattern

I had taken a little break from the 33DC, so I have some catching up to do. I'm not sure what my method will be in making up for all the late posts. Today I decided to do Day 22, and we'll see where it goes from there! 

This is a three color gradient, it's just a little hard to tell, I know. I have a thing for very subtle gradients ;).  

This gray/silver gradient reminds me of something by H.R. Giger. Maybe I should have done some kind of alien pattern with it.

I started with a dark gray base color. Then I made the gradient with three colors of loose pigment eye shadows. I used the same brand of eye shadows and method as this post and this other post.

What I used:
Sephora by OPI Break a Leg-Warmer- dark gray base color
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls- white
DRK-A Large Stamping plate 
NS Minerals Eyeshadow

33 Day Challenge Day 23: Geometric

You may or may have not noticed that I've been shirking my 33 Day Challenge posts. I assure you that I haven't abandoned it completely. I just needed a break and wanted to do my giveaway, Halloween nails, birthday, etc. I would like to complete the ones I missed, but I'm not guaranteeing it. So to get back in the game I am joining in on today's current prompt- geometric.

You can see the diamonds sparkle a little better when it's slightly out of focus.

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend, but I don't know about that. I mean, I couldn't say because I don't have any. Chocolate, on the other, I'm sure about. Sorry to my human best friend, but chocolate is always by my side.

What I used:
Wet n' Wild Fergie Blue Eyed Soul- blue
OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls- white
Sephora by OPI Meet Me at the Disco- holo glitter
Seche Vite top coat

33 Day Challenge Day 12: A Pattern in Your Home

For today's mani I emulated probably the one and only good design in my home. It comes from my Nautica comforter that I have loved since the moment I saw it. The design is simple. It's just colored stripes of varying widths down the middle, with the sides being solid almost-black-blue. It's so colorful, and yet it's not overpowering.

I love bright colors! They make me happy.

I was so pleased how well I matched most of these colors. A few of my polishes were really spot on. For the others I had to mix polishes together. The one polish here that is off is my navy one. It should be a lot darker, but I decided to just keep that one as it.

I started with the navy on my pinky and applied it straight from the bottle. I did the same with the nude next to it. After that I used my long striping brush to apply all the rest of the colors, moving in the same direction towards my thumb. Many of the colors only need on coat which was fortunate. It's a bit of a challenge mixing together colors a second time for another coat, trying to get it the same.

I mixed the polishes together on a paper plate that I've used for a couple other manicures. Apparently the plate was messier than I thought because I ended up with some debris in the polish. Oops. But if you squint you can't even see it!

What I used:
I mixed a few of the colors, so I won't list those. The polishes that are unadulterated are:
OPI Dating a Royal- navy blue
Barry M Lychee- nude
Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams- baby blue
Sephora by OPI It's Totally Karma- lime green
Sephora by OPI Too Too Turq- turquoise
Seche Vite top coat


Now I just need to work on making the rest of my home this pretty. It is far from it. Maybe I should buy less polish and save for a couch?

33 Day Challenge Day 11: 3D

Today was another fun opportunity for me to try something new.  A few days ago I was browsing Nailscope and knew I had found what I wanted to do for today's prompt. I took my inspiration from Elina's 3D nails post. And by inspiration I mean I did pretty much exactly what she did. Why mess with it if it works? Okay, I didn't want it to look exactly the same, so I did a gray-scale interpretation.

Elina's was smoother along the curves, and I would like to know how she achieved that. Mine looks a little more rugged. I think it still works either way.

I started with my darkest gray and applied one thick coat all over the nail. I tried as best as I could to keep it slightly thinner in the middle though. I knew it would be covered up and didn't want the layers so thick that it would never dry. I continued with the next lighter gray and so on until I painted the white on. I tried to keep the white at one thick coat, but had to go over and touch up a couple nails with another thin coat.

Then a finished with some sparkle, my favorite part of this look. I added something a little different with the holo hex glitter polish on my accent nail. I tried to load up the brush with glitter, with as little of the clear part of the polish as possible, with both of these glitter polishes. Some of the big glitters I had to apply with a small nail art brush because I couldn't get them to spread on the nail with the bottle brush. It was slightly frustrating, but I made it work in the end!

Do these nails remind you of anything? I kept having this feeling that they looked familiar. It took quite some time, but I think I figured out what it is. There is a life size Lego sculpture of a polar bear at our zoo. Naturally, it's white. But there are gray tones too where the shadows are. The polar bear doesn't have any glitter though.

What I used:
(from dark to light)
Sephora by OPI Break a Leg Warmer
Sephora by OPI Frankly I Don't Give A-dam
China Glaze Pelican Gray
Sephora by OPI White Hot
Sephora by OPI Meet Me at the Disco- small holo glitter
Sephora by OPI Beam Me Up Hottie!- big hexagonal holo glitter
Seche Vite top coat

photo source: http://www.hoglezoo.org/coh

On a final note, this mani dried just fine with the Seche Vite. Yay!

33 Day Challenge 10: Flowers

I didn't have much of a plan for today's design. I kind of wanted to see what I could come up in the process, by painting random shapes to see what it would turn into. I came up with a color palette, which I'm really pleased with, and would love to use again in another mani. I wanted my flowers to have an Autumn feel to them so I went with more muted shades. Similar to yesterday's post, I like the subdued feel here.

I started with three coats of OPI No Bees Please. I have always been in love with this color. It's so wearable, subtle, and squishy. Perfect for when I used to have to worry about work appropriate nails. I just realized I also used this polish in my African Violets mani. Apparently it goes really well with flowers! I am halfway through my bottle (that is rare for me!), which makes me sad.

I did all of the shapes with my dotting tools. I think I used three different sizes. I started with one big flower on each nail. I really liked how it looked at that stage, but I wanted to continue to experiment. So I just added a bunch of randomness all over.

I guess this is what you'd call a "skittle" mani, with something different on each nail.

What I used:
OPI No Bees Please- sheer cream/nude with pink microshimmer
OPI Nantucket Mist- dusty rose with touch of coral
Sephora by OPI Give Peace a Chance- yellowy peach
Sephora by OPI Tweet You Later- light pink mauve
Zoya Bevin- sage green
Zoya Caitlin- purple gray
Jenna Hipp Hashtag- peach

What do you think? Which season do you think this represents the best?

33 Day Challenge Day 09: Indian

I got behind in the Challenge again because I was stuck on wanting to do something super creative and outside the box. Problem is, I never came up with an idea that I could translate into looking good on my nails too. So in the end I took my inspiration from a box of my Yogi Bedtime tea. I went off of the pretty two-toned patterns, with a little something different on each nail. I love these colors together. They have a dreamy quality about them, don't you think?

I started with three coats of Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams. Then I free handed all the designs with my striping brush and Essie Bikini So Teeny. I also used a dotting tool in a couple of spots. I had issues getting the polish to brush on the nail evenly, so it ended up taking a lot longer than I planned. That's nothing new though, every thing takes me longer than it should!

What I used:
Sephora by OPI Havana Dreams
Essie Bikini So Teeny
Seche Vite top coat


It's been a lot less stressful having this Challenge spaced out with only three posts a week. At the same time I feel like it's going to drag on for a long time! With all the advanced notice I have for these prompt I feel like I should have super creative ideas for all of them. Here is what is coming up in the following weeks. Let me know if you have any brilliant ideas for me!

33 Day Challenge Day 08: Chevrons

I love chevrons (seriously, who doesn't?), so I was looking forward to today's Challenge post. In my Inspired By a Book post I tested out some nail tattoos for the first time. In the set there were three patterns, and this chevron pattern was one of them. I had a much easier time using them this go around, which was a relief. I love how colorful they are! Speaking of the colors, I'm realizing how Spring-like they look. This mani is for all you Southern Hemispherians. :)

I started off with a base color on all of my nails, Sephora by OPI The Way Tutu His Heart. The formula was a real big pain. It's a really pretty, soft color, but super streaky and sheer. I'm kind of glad I only have a mini bottle of it. 

I used striping tape to mask off some inverted "v"s. Then I painted each color on, carefully avoiding painting over the other side of the tape.  

The first time I tried the nail tattoos I followed the instructions on the box. Rookie mistake. Instead of dipping the transfer paper in water and then pressing it on the nail as per the instructions, I went the logical route. I placed the paper on the nail, then pressed a wet towel on top of it few a few seconds. Much better results! The cleanup was still kind of a pain, but manageable. I'm sure I could have masked off around the nail with tape to speed that up. I will try that next time.

I actually started this manicure last night with the intention of finishing it today. By mid morning the tattoos were already starting to show signs of wear. I did apply top coat, but maybe it needs two coats? It was bad enough that I just started all over. I'm glad I did because I would not have been as happy with the photos as I am now!

What I used:
Sephora by OPI The Way Tutu His Heart- light cream/pink
Essie Mint Candy Apple- mint green
Essie Angora Cardi- deep purple mauve
Zoya Lotus- smoky purple with pink shimmer
Barielle Darling Dahlia- fushia
Fing'rs EDGE Nail Tattoos Transfer Paper (purchased from Walmart)+


Have you used nail tattoos before? What was your experience with them?

Thanks so much for reading!

FYI: Future giveaway!

I mentioned on my facebook page a couple of weeks ago that I have plans for a giveaway! The plan is that whichever I reach first; 100 posts, 100 fb page likes, or 100 bloglovin' followers, I will have a (awesome) giveaway. So this is an update to say this is my 70th post, I have 61 fb likes, and 36 bloglovin' followers! So at the very least, I will have it 30 posts from now. But if you want to speed things up, go like my facebook page, or follow me with bloglovin'! It's gonna be gooood. :)