31DC2014 Day 25: Emilio Pucci Inspired Nails

Hello my pretty polished peeps! For today's Inspired by Fashion prompt I was inspired by this Emilio Pucci dress here. It was my original plan, but when I woke up today I wanted to do a take on a t-shirt and jeans. That's my "style" most days. So, hey, why not honor it? In the end I knew I still wanted to be a little more adventurous, and I'm happy that I did.

Distressed Water Marble

Hey everyone! For today's mani I had this BRILLIANT idea of combining water marbling with one of my favorite nail art techniques, water spotting! Let me introduce you to.. distressed water marbling! Maybe someone had already already done this? If so, I've never come across it. Don't ruin it for me, let me think I invented this okay?

To start, I applied my base color, two coats of OPI My Vampire is Buff. Then I picked a ton of colors I thought would look together. I tested them all in the water to see which ones would spread out well.

I eventually narrowed it down to five polishes and started my water marble. I made as many rings of polish in my plastic cup as would spread out, then with my toothpick I dragged through the rings making little swirly designs.

Next I used some perfume (to make use of the high alcohol content and pump spray nozzle) and sprayed directly on the polish. This created the spotted/distressed look. I dipped my finger in a part of the design that I liked, and then before pulling it out, cleaned up the excess polish off the surface of the water with a toothpick. There weren't very many usable areas, so I ended up going through the whole process for each nail. Yeah, I know. It took forever. Totally worth it though.

It might be useful to mention that I had prepped around the nail with Scotch tape to make cleanup easier. I finished it all off with a coat of Out The Door Northern Lights top coat!

My thumb came out so awesome! It looks just like what I had in mind.

It's been quite awhile since I last used Out The Door Northern Lights, and I don't know why it has been so long! It is so beautiful with the tiny holographic sparkles. 

What I used:
OPI My Vampire is Buff
OPI Every Month is Octoberfest
Essie Lilacism
OPI Dutch You Just Love OPI?
China Glaze In a Lily Bit
Sephora by OPI Iris I Was Thinner
Out The Door Northern Lights top coat

So what do you think? I am pretty happy with the results! Is this something you would try? If you do, I'd love to see it!

My Guest Post at Craftynail!

Today's post is super exciting for me. It's my first ever guest post! Jacqui at Craftynail graciously asked me to do a post for her blog, and I would love for you guys to take a look!

Jacqui is super talented and dynamic. If you haven't discovered her blog yet, here are some gems you don't want to miss: her recent Snow Bunny Nails are absolutely adorable, the Size Comparison of Top Stamping Post had all the info I was looking for about different brands of stamping plates, and her Black and White Underside Mani has a cool edge to it that makes want to grow out my nails for that design alone!

So now let's all change into our comfy blue Keds, pull on a warm cozy cardigan, and hop on the trolley to my guest post at Craftynail! >> View the post in its entirety here<<

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.