I need to drag out the real camera

but I won't, because it's infinitely easier to snap the photos in between checking on what the world is up to. 

This manicure did not photograph very well, but it was stunning in person. 

Two coats of Color Club First Look, a sultry deep blueish greenish with just a hint of shimmer.  The accent nails are an addition of one coat of Butter London Henley Regatta, a fabulous blue green micro glitter that really added light to the dark base. 

I covered all nails with a coat of Wicked Fast and called it a day. 

I'm back!

Man, I have really fallen out on this thing. In my defense, the cross country move took a lot of time, and I don't have a proper computer set-up anymore, but still!

I have been doing my nails frequently, but have not been good about pictures. I'm hoping that this is the post that gets me back into things because I do love it. 

So enough of that!  It seems that summer is the perfect time for neons, a personal favorite of mine. 

I love the high contrast of snow white and bright pops of colors, and am always looking for new ways to do it. Today, I went with a dotted french using all Color Club no name stickers for the neons, and Barielle Enduring for the white. 

I love that the yellow turns the blue into a great shade of neon green. So complimentary. So easy. 

I am out of practice with the cuticle care regime, so I'll be getting those bad boys back in line over the next month. 

Better In My Head, Worse On My Nails

I'm not creative - I don't know if I've beaten that into your skulls enough just yet.  But I'm not.  I have a circle of friends and family that are absolutely filled to the gills with creative and precious ideas, and I admire them.
From afar.
With a Pinterest board of other people's pictures telling me what my house/clothes/face should look like.  But this is 2013!  Time to bust down walls and try new things!


I feel like I tried to put a monkey tail on a dolphin, and then got disappointed when her swimming became disjointed.


This idea, kind of a reptile scale shades of green thing, was way lost in translation.  It's a shame because Color Club VooDoo You Do is this really neat steel gray/green color that definitely shifts depending on your light.  I don't know that I'd call it a duo-chrome, but there's something there.  And of course, sweet sweet Essie Trophy Wife is a flawless super bright teal green that rocks AND rolls whatever nail it's working on.  But whoever invented clear hexes should be hung by their toes and flogged.  If I were smart, I would have thrown some onto a dark piece of paper; but why would I go and make it easy?

This just didn't work for me.  My own personal Frankenstein is presented below for your judgement.

Color Club Voodoo You Do and accent nail in Essie Trophy Wife

...what...is...that.

Maybe squishing all of them together will...nope.  Still crazy looking.

I want to re-try the whole reptile scales thing, I'll just have to plan it out a bit better and maybe, you know, go in with a real plan.

Water You Waiting For?

I wanted to sneak in another of the gorgeous China Glaze Cirque Du Soleil polishes before the NYE sparkle.

I layered Water You Waiting For, a really great small glitter blue and green in a blue tinged base over Color Club Cold Metal, a gorgeous metallic blue, and loooooved the result.  I think WYWF could build up to opacity, but I don't really like the all glitter look, myself.  I would also wear CM by itself, and you'll get perfect coverage in two coats.

You can see the larger green glitter amongst the blue.

BAM!  Underwater goodness all kinds of up in yo' face.

It's got a great texture too, if you don't have to have everything shiny and high gloss.

Stepping Away From The Jewel Tones

I'm about wore out on the deep sultry tones of winter.  I was rooting through my local Ross for Christmas presents for yours truly the other week and came upon an unnamed set of Color Club neons.  I've compared them to swatches of CC collections, and I just can't pinpoint it.  So though it drives the OCD monster inside of me crazy, the swatches remain unnamed.

I have loved using my thin nail art brush more, and I thought about creating a tie-dye look, a la the rubber band method we did in high school one time.  To disastrous results.

I am happy to report that not only were THESE results not disastrous, I quite like them.  You can see the progression as I couldn't leave well enough alone, and added a layer of Essie Carnival on top for some glitter.  I'm sorry, but there is nothing glitter can't make better.

I started with a base of Barielle Enduring, a creamy snow white.  I then laid down a thousand brush strokes each of the unnamed Color Club Hot Pink, Electric Blue, and Neon Yellow.  You can see where the blue wasn't quite dry yet, as the yellow turned green.

And now for the reason anyone cares - the pictures!

Like a beautiful radioactive sky.  Get your gas masks, the colors are lovely tonight.

Another angle!

This is the opposite hand with glitter!  Which kind of dulled the colors, sadly enough.  Weird.

Not weird enough to make me un-love you.  You're my precious.

A teeny bit time consuming, I consider this method completely worth the results.  I got to the point where I wasn't even cleaning the brush because, hell, it was just going back and forth anyway.  I liked the stripe variations, and yes, even the globs.

Dual Holo For The Win!

I'm just going to make this a spam post, because these two gorgeous shades speak for themselves.  It also tells a tale of what happens when you stamp a design, but forget to top coat it, and wash your hands.

Super wah wah.  I actually did a good job with the left hand transfer, and it came off because I didn't seal it. LESSON LEARNED.

A England Ascalon, a gray/lavender holo and Color Club Wild At Heart, a dark purple holo

And now with flash so you can see some of the insane sparkles:

More Holos, Please

Presented without comment.

Color Club Revvvolution with stripes of Layla Mercury Twilight

Nail Art I Loved, Part 2

This is my favorite to date.

I feel like I say that a lot, but every day is a brand new day, right?  And if the end of the world is today, then go out with some style, fools!

*note*
The Claw in no way shape or form believes that 12/21 will be the end of the world.  Namely because her 30th birthday is the next day, and who ends the world BEFORE a weekend?  Heinous.
*end note*

Color Club is sponsoring a "Let It Snow!" challenge, where you submit your snowflake themed nail art to them for consideration in winning their Winter Affair and Holo Hues sets.
Um, yes please.

Yesterday you saw a lot of CC because I didn't realize it was a snowflake challenge, and painted this whole flawless tree thing before I re-checked the rules.  Dangit.

So on to my entry to that contest, today's beloved favorite!

Oooooooooooh.  Art-y.

I, again, started with a base of Color Club Wild Orchid, except for my ring finger which I covered in two coats of Color Club Wild At Heart.  Honestly, it would have been fine at one, but I'm a two-er.  You know this.

I stamped snowflakes onto my ring and thumb from different Bundle Monster plates, and freehanded the other nails using Barielle Enduring, Layla Mercury Twilight, Color Club Revvvolution, and my long striper.

Blurred for maximum sparkle.

Hello there, sweet nail art love o' mine.  I hope you enjoyed our time together.

They pick the winner today at 1pm, and though I'm sure they've received hundreds of super well qualified entries, I'm counting myself a contender.  Come on, free polish!

Nail Art I Loved, Part 1

I found myself with a few hours, a lot of polish, and chock full of the Christmas spirit.  The small tree in the living room is my tree.  It's silver holographic tinsel, neon ornaments, a purple peacock, and a bright peridot green ribbon topper.  I love it, and it happens to be one of my favorite Christmas decor decisions ever.

That being said, the inspiration for the below came from that tree.

I started out with two coats of Color Club Wild Orchid, a really pretty purple gray with a touch of shimmer.  It's sheer and streaky at one coat, but two evens things out nicely.
Next, a triangular swipe of Layla Mercury Twilight, and then I used my long striper brush to place some swipes of Color Club Wild At Heart, forming a rough tree shape.
I dotted on some neons in pink and orange for ornaments, and added a (very hard to see) bough of Color Club Gift of Sparkle.
Dotted with a silver holographic hex glitter each, I had myself some festive trees!

Ornaments are a bit more in line than I would have liked.

This picture seems so brooding.  Like it's saying "yah sure, Christmas, but what about Mother Earth, man?"

Yayyyyyyyy successful freehand!

The whole thing wasn't awful, and once I got the hang of using the striper, it all went pretty quickly.  If you're serious about nail art, I recommend going and grabbing a set of nail brushes.  It makes creating so much less intimidating.

Pink In Three Ways

We've discussed this - if it's shiny and colorful, I will (eventually) buy it.

Orly's Pretty In Pink collection caught my eye this year because of the holo bar glitter and holo magenta pink polishes that they were flashing.  So much pink!  The base of this manicure, Zoya Anaka, is an uber shimmery hot pink that's gorgeous in one coat.  I didn't stop long enough to get a picture of it on its own, but you get the picture.  Orly Be Brave, the pink holo bar glitter, needs a lot of coats to be honest.  I couldn't get very many bars on the brush, but the clear base is thin enough that three coats didn't bulk it up too badly.  The payoff in Zoya Electra is much better, but Be Brave's bars have a pink back or pink hue or pink something on them and, well, I already had it out.

Zoya Anaka with three coats of Orly Be Brave

It's polarizing in this little nail blog community of ours, but I love bar glitter.

No, I don't know why this shows up so blue and won't color correct.

For the third wave of pink, I added a thin coat of Color Club Wing Fling, a hot pink shimmery jelly polish.

Like Liza the later years, this manicure is slightly subdued now.

Getting On The Skyfall Bandwagon

I have resisted OPI polish buying for a while, because I want to discover the other amazing polish brands out there.  But after seeing the display time after time in my local Ulta, and the friendly pressure from my sister, I picked up the below shade and am so so glad that I did.  Layered over my fall love, Color Club's Nothing But Truffle, it makes a grand entry onto my "Most Complimented Manicures Ever" and "Most Horribly Photographed Manicures Ever" lists.

OPI The World Is Not Enough over Color Club Nothing But Truffle

Pink and mint green flecks splash out of a light brown and pink hued base.

Ignore the George Hamilton skintone I gave myself, and focus on the flecks people!

This shade is a stunner.  By itself I was not sold, so I began the quick search for a great base, and found it.  I also think a carnation pink would make a great under layer, to reflect more of the glass flecks shimmer.  Another bonus?  Flecks = NOT GLITTER, so clean-up doesn't make you want to cut your fingers off.  If you're looking for a topcoat to give your fall manicure a few more days, pick this one up and sigh with love.

Polish = Pun-ny

I thought OPI was king of the nutty polish names, but sometimes Color Club gets one in that makes me laugh.  Today we have an entry from the latter that I found most apropos for the color inside.

Color Club Nothing But Truffle

A perfect chocolately deep brown with shimmering gold flecks.

It almost looks like brownie batter.  Or maybe it's time for a snack break.

This has recently become my "go-to" brown.  It's super complimentary for my skin tone, the formula is flaw, and it's a gorgeous earthy brown.  I highly recommend it if you don't already have one in your collection.  Be careful around your cuticles because, like most dark polishes, it does not give up ground already established.

Color Club Port-folio

Duo-chrome!
Foil!
Other things!

Color Club Port-folio

Tilted my nails out of the light so you could see the shade color - almost jelly looking.

The green shows up fast, and is foil-y.  It makes for a really pretty contrast.

Application was surprisingly easy, and the formula is incredible.  You could do one careful coat, but you'll probably want two, to make sure you get that great shift.  As you can see, it's very easy to go from one to the other, and the mix is so interesting together.  Initially I thought it would be heinous, but it really grew on me.

Another win for Color Club.

Color Club Wild At Heart

Have you ever heard of a man being "wild at heart"?  Because I haven't, and though I had never thought of it until I was writing this post, that is so lame.  Though I may not care for the gender bias overtones in the name, the polish is amazing and flawless and all things right with the world.

Not only is it a gorgeous deep true purple, it's packed with holographic shimmer and shine.  If that weren't reason enough to scoop it up, imagine completely opaque coverage in one coat, and bam! There should be a line to the door at  www.shopcolorclub.com

I was not bothered enough to clean up any mistakes.  Embrace the personality.

This is two coats, no topcoat, and no clean-up.  It only sat a few minutes, but the purple didn't stain.  You can see just how vivid and sparkly that purple is, and I can only imagine it in real direct sunlight.  This color and formula remind me of the other holo beauty from Color Club that I have, Revvvolution, but its purple sister.

Glitter Never Gets Old

As my love of holographic things goes, so does my love of anything shiny, really.  Throwing rainbows makes you a winner in my book, so it's easy to understand why my "sparkle drawer" is packed full.

Today highlights a relatively new purchase from a not that old Color Club collection, and an old standby.

Zoya Suri with accent in Color Club Sugarplum Fairy

In the shade, it looks more like silver glitter than anything else.

The sunlight makes it glitter and glow, and you can (just barely on the pinky) see some of the holo in Suri.

A blurred glitter shot gives a glimpse of the color amazeballs.

I never knew I was a dark polish person until I really started getting into manicures a few months ago.  Instead of making my carnival hands look stubby, I think (the right) dark polishes work wonders on lengthening my little fingers.

Sugar Plum Fairy is a great holo glitter in a lavender base, which I thought would make a perfect foreground to Suri's deep purple background.  I think I got this one right.

I did two coats of Suri on all the nails, except the accents, which just got one.  I did two coats of SFP, just to cover up as much purple as possible.  It dries just a touch bumpy, so two coats of topcoat will be needed if you're a smooth and glassy person.  Me, I just did one since I'll probably be swiping it all off tonight.

I'm Going To Start A Revvvolution

I will buy anything that has super holographic shine to it.  Anything.  I have gift wrap, stickers, rings, ornaments, frames, keychains, pens...all of it is holographic.  Super colorful reflective rainbows make me happy, so when I read that there was a gorgeous black linear(ish) holo out there, I snapped it up.

Viva La Revvvolution!

Color Club Revvvolution

In the shade, it's just a silver speckled black.  Still lovely.

But in the sun...

it becomes more gorgeous

than a bucket full of rainbows.

Not only is this gorgeous and perfect, the application could not be easier.  It's nice and light, not too thick, and stays where you put it.  Because the holo isn't glitter, clean-up is a breeze, and I had all ten fingers done in less than 15 minutes, including topcoat.

Now I know that in the polish realm, putting topcoat over a holo is a no-no, because you'll dull the sparkle.  But I have to say - to tone down the likelihood of chipping in ten minutes, and still retain this kind of rainbow?  Moot point, and I'm slapping the Seche Vite down.

Greens, Greens, Greens

That's the big color this fall - has it been slammed into your face a hundred times already?

Because ev-ry-bo-dy gets a GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN

You get a green!
And you get a green!
**insert maniacal laughter and fancy jig here

The polish delivery I got Saturday included my recent A England acquisitions, and after swatching them, I knew that they were destined to become new favorites.  The formulas are incredible and the ones I ordered, from the "Legends" collection were full of glass fleck/shimmery goodness.

Ombre manicures are fading away, I think, and I never quite got on the bandwagon.  But here I am, six months later, ready to put my own spin on and embrace a trend!  I'm a leader!  :-|

From thumb to pinky:  A England Dragon, A England Saint George, Color Club Port-folio

A England Tess d'Urbervilles, and China Glaze Smoke and Ashes

It's the glitter shimmer shake, baby.

The sun.  She does terrible things to pale skin.

In the shade photo, you can see the gorgeous little flecks of blue and green in Smoke and Ashes, while it takes nothing to get Dragon and Saint George to impress.  Tess d'Urbervilles is a dark horse in my collection, literally and figuratively, because I didn't love it until I put it on.  The super dark emerald green color is very hard to see outside of direct light, leaving it looking black most of the time, but it's so rich and gorgeous that I don't care.

Port-folio is a duo-chrome from Color Club, but it was hard for me to get this one to turn from green to purple.  Next time I might layer it over a dark creme color to force the shift, but I was looking to be the mayor of green city here. 

It's National Free Candy From Strangers Day!

Happy Halloween!   

I don't engage in costume selection and dress-up now that I'm an adult. It's not that I don't want to - I see a ton of great costumes every year that I know would be so fun to put together and go out in.  The problem is that my house is awesome, and it's full of all my stuff, and I can wear sweat pants and eat mini Twix there.  So the incentive to leave has to be incredible.

Instead of a costume that might jeopardize my candy bowl obliteration, I thought - why not a costume for the nails?  How about I subject them to freehanded designs and starting over a thousand times because I don't like what I "drew"?

Nails can't talk so I did it!

 I used a crapton of polishes.
Zoya Purity, Raven, Rekha, Cheryl, Harley, Song, Tracie, China Glaze Angel Wings,
China Glaze Lighthouse, A England Saint George &  Barielle Glammed Out Garnet

Ruby Red Slipper, Witch's Sock, Dorothy's Dress, Wicked With's Face/Hat, Yellow Brick Road
Emerald City, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and the other Ruby Red Slipper.

Once I decided that I was going to do the Wizard of Oz, picking the things to be represented, and their associated colors was quasi-easy.  Deciding on the order and not messing up one wet nail while I tried to handle another was a gigantic pain in the ass.  I redid the dress nail five or six times, re-drew items for the witch a dozen times (I first tried to draw her warty nose.  awful idea.  just awful.), and I was irritated that the Tin Man's rivets smeared, but way too lazy to go fix it.

Now that I've sufficiently castigated myself for mistakes, how cute is this??  It's 100% not work appropriate, so I had to take it off that night, so excuse the crappy lighting.  My husband correctly identified every character, which left me confident that it made sense.  I think outside of my explaining it to anyone, it might just look like a mish-mash of stuff, but with the explanation, I'm pretty proud of my first foray into...ummm, interpretive nails?  Manicure fever?  I don't know. 

And for your viewing pleasure, some close-ups