Nails From Long Ago

I haven't had polish on my nails for over a month. My right index fingernail has broken twice, and my cuticles look horrible. So, I will take you back in time a bit.

LA Girl Metal Antique Gold with a Nicole by OPI Brilliant Idea gradient accent

I topped that combo (somewhat haphazardly) with OPI Turquoise Shatter and a full coat of Brilliant Idea on all nails.

Gold Polish Comparison Swatches Part 1

Here are a few comparison photos I did yesterday. They are mostly golds (all of the commercial golds in my collection, that I could find easily - my mom has custody of at least one). I tried to match them up by similar color, but I haven't worn some, and don't remember others, so I did a few repeats to be thorough. All are without base coat (sorry about the ridges), but with topcoat and taken in my DIY lightbox, unless otherwise noted. My cuticles are terrible, especially after having been subjected to copious amounts of acetone. Consider yourself forewarned.

The pictures are large (and clickable) to show detail, so they may take awhile to load. Most of the pictures are hiding behind the cut.

Let's get the non-golds out of the way.

no topcoat

Zoya Tiffany and Wet 'n' Wild Waves of Enchantment are similar, but WoE is brighter and pinker with smaller gold particles.

no topcoat

OPI What's With the Cattitude and Wet 'n' Wild Bird Bath are dupes as far as I can tell. I walked around and checked them in different light, but couldn't differentiate the two. My super pale skin with yellow undertones makes this look different on me than it does on the rest of humanity. I tried to edit it so that it appears the way it does on everyone else, but I gave up.

sunlight

This Week In Polish

Lately, I've been really drawn to neutral colors, especially when it comes to nail polish. Besides my recent love of neutrals, I have a tendency to become obsessed with one color. I love red for a couple of weeks, then I can think of nothing but blue for a month, until I start to dream in green. You get the idea.

Because I love color, and have a fairly large polish stash, I try to alternate the colors I wear on my nails. Since my short term memory is nearly non-existent (I missed trash day, again), I decided to add a little forced variety into my life. While not strictly Roy G. Biv, I am just wrapping up what I'm calling "Rainbow Week", where I've worn a different color, from a predetermined order, each day. I swapped violet for teal, because that is how my stash is organized.

I've been really happy with the changing colors, and that this challenge has forced me to dig through my stash. Since I also tend to fall into other ruts (the crackle onslaught last week), I might make up some more challenges for myself, and I will probably bring this one back, as well. 

On to the pics! Click to enlarge, and please try to overlook the air-bubbles that have been plaguing me, my utter lack of cleanup, and my terrible cuticles. 

Red - Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City, China Glaze Crackle Glaze Black Mesh, Orly Winter Wonderland, and OPI Big Apple Red, in that order

I love putting a jelly over a glitter or shimmer, and am now loving it over a crackle finish. I will definitely try it again. I didn't capture it very well, and the bubbles totally ruined the effect. :(

I Still Have Nails

I haven't posted anything nail polish related for quite some time, and that's sad. What's even sadder, is that my nails are in horrid shape, and I haven't been keeping them polished. *gasp* In reality, it's kind of a good thing. Not only have I been keeping my hands busy making things, I haven't been chewing my nails, which is why I started my nail polish habit in the first place.

I did manage to do an Easter/pastel theme, though I didn't get around to adding the Konad stamping I'd planned. Also, the polish bubbled, and I didn't have time to fix it. :( There was food to be made, and food is generally more important.

Without further adieu, my Easter polish, and slap-dash mehndi.

 Orly Lemonade, NYC Hint of Mint, OPI What's With the Cattitude, OPI Rumples Wiggin', Wet 'n Wild Tickled Pink

I'll spare you the foot henna, and mention that the last photo is on my right hand. I'm right handed, so the combination of applying henna and taking the photo with my left hand led to a bit of fuzziness.

TWIP - This Week in Polish

Again, this is a bit more than a week...

China Glaze Blue Sparrow

Wet 'n Wild Black Creme and Sally Hansen Hidden Treasure

Nicole by OPI Sensational Scarlet and Spark My Mistletoe 

I really love this combo, it is subtle (well, as subtle as red, holo glitter can be) yet adds so much depth.

Blurred to show the sparkle

Wet 'n Wild Black Creme with Color Club Revvvolution toward the tip, and stamped with yellow Konad polish.

This was my Super Bowl mani. I didn't watch the Super Bowl. I missed the Puppy Bowl.

An unnamed franken, greyed lavender with realllly secret shimmer.

Space Nails

This is what I wore to a lecture by Alan Bean to open the NASA/ART exhibit at the Clay Center.

He was very good, you should see him if you get the chance. 

Here's what I used. The three Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear bottles in the front are frankens called Center of the Milky Way, It's Alright 'Cause It's Midnight, and Dark Matter. The others are, from left to right, Borghese Purple Confetti and Mediterraneo Sea, Sally Hansen CSM Dive Deeper and Naked Ambition, and Wet 'n Wild Fast Dry Blue Wants To Be A Millionaire?.

These were both mentioned above, Blue Want's To Be A Millionaire and Revvvolution. This is another one I'm tempted to call subtle, but it's blue, and patterned, and holo. Still, it's subtle for me!

Valentine's Day Mani
About 3 million coats of Nicole by OPI Blush of Adrenaline (I should have just used OPI Samoan Sand, my go to "mannequin hand" color).

OPI Parlez-Vous OPI?
 (I picked this one up at Target a few months ago.)

Wet 'n Wild Rock Solid Rockin' In Rubies
I love these bottles, I buy them whenever I find them on clearance. The little jewel on the top gets me every time.

Emi inspired
China Glaze Ingrid and black Konad Special Polish

This Week In Polish (TWIP)

I'm far too lazy to post NOTD (Nail of the Day) pictures, plus, my nails have been a bit crap lately. So, I think I'll do a weekly recap, not that anyone cares, but just for my own reference.

This week is a bit more like the greatest hits of the past month or two. So, in no particular order...

Hard Candy Sky topped with Sally Hansen Complete Salon Hidden Treasure, I think...
(This picture refuses to turn the other direction, sorry.)

My New Year's mani Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Celeb City with Bundle Monster Plates BM02,BM10, and BM03
Please ignore the Band-Aid and stray cat hairs, I sliced my finger open trying to take the film off of a BM plate.

Two coats China Glaze (ChG) Midnight Kiss, alternating coats (two of each) ChG Frosty and Party Hearty
My cuticles are not that awful, I am just sloppy and got top coat on my fingers, which, I guess, isn't really much better. 

OPI A Good Mandarin is Hard to Find, Sally Hansen CSM Flaminglo and Night Lily, OPI Funky Dunkey and Ogre the Top Blue