31DC2014: Day 1 - Red Nails!

Oh hi!  I hope you're ready for this: I'm doing the 31 Day Nail Art Challenge!  The wonderful Sarah at Chalkboard Nails totes talked me into joining in and of course I have to.  I'm hoping it'll get me going more into blogging and not just being lazy and posting to instagram.  Day 1 is red, so of course it's a case of redding all the reds!  Onward!

Since I was to spend the Labor Day long weekend at my friend's cottage, I went with Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Red Eye as a base for all the red glitter I could ferret out of my collection.  It didn't actually wear as well as I hoped but I did spend most of the weekend in a lake so I get I can let it off.  Anyway, after applying three coats I got to work with my usual cheap top coat and all the red glitter.  I started with the largest pieces and filled in my nails, working down in size.  Forgive the photos, red is impossible.  I topped it off with the Miracle Gel top coat, which is even better than Seche Vite for glitter.  It may not dry as fast but it has a much better finish. 

The Verdict:  I love how these came out, despite the photo issues.  They were so sparkly in the sun all day and sparklies = happy Laura.  This is day 1 complete, see you tomorrow for Day 2: Orange :D

31DC2014 Day 11: Dots! With fake nails! Cos!

This challenge is haaaaaaaaard.  Like, omg.  Especially when you're sick.  Cos days don't wait.  They just keep going and then you're behind and urgggh.  So apparently the solution to being sick and being behind is to stick on acrylic tips from a set you borrowed from your friend, remember you really be doing dots, make dots that kinda look weird like octopus sucker thingies and then post it anyway woo.

I'm actually pretty happy with how these tips turned out.  The join was sufficiently covered by polish and I can pretend I can actually grow nails this long.  You know I did massive pointy claws first but they were kinda scary pointy.  This is better.  Anyway, I applied three coats of Orly Bubbly Bombshell then went to town with my circle glitter.  I layered the glitter and the top coat - top coat, glitter, top coat, glitter, etc - to get these.  If you want to wear these I'd wait a decent amount of time between coats but eh.  Sparkly?  It certainly is pink.

 

The Verdict:  I did get fake nails once before at a salon but that was a mistake as she ended up filing massive gouges in my nails.  These are actually not that bad.  They're off now cos of course they melted under the acetone but yeah.  Urgh, nap time for me. 

31DC2014 Day 17: Glitter! AKA OH GOD THE CRUSHING PRESSURE

The challenge isn't going super well for me.  I could do it, but it's bringing up this whole complex mess of procrastination, pressure and something undefinable that makes me just want to avoid doing it.  I feel like I'm rebelling when I don't do a day.  Screw you Past Laura, you can't tell me what to do!  Add the pressure of choosing something for "Glitter", well, that's clearly not going to be done on time.  It's late, but look, rainbows!  

Usual deal here.  I wanted a deep purple for the base because it's the colour missing in my latest rainbow glitter set.  I initially tried a diagonal rainbow gradient but it looked weird just having one colour per line.  I think i'll try it again but with two each.  You'll see when I do it.  Anyway, I started with two coats of the lovely deep purple creme OPI A Grape Affair and then did my usual line of glitter.  I'm quite proud of the ordered rainbow in the middle of my last three fingers.  It's sparkly and kept me entertained while I waited for my new iPhone 6+.  Reservation is the way to go, was in and out in under two hours!

The Verdict:  Rainbow, shiny and sparkly, all going to be awesome always.  One day I'll get the inclination to do a really complex set, with tiny glitter.  It's really hard to find that much contiguous time. Rainbows!