New Year's Eve Nails!

 Alrighty everyone, it may be Jan 2nd but I was hungover yesterday so you get my New Year's Eve nails today!  Much like the glitter challenge, New Year's Eve presents quite the quandary for me as I have to choose just one set of nails, they can be as balls-out-sparkly as I want and there will be partying.  I clearly have no choice but to break out the rainbow glitter, again.  Cos it's New Year's!  I can't not do this thing.

As I talked a friend of mine into hosting the night, I felt I should go help.  And, by help, I mean physically be there, sit on her floor and put glitter on my nails while chatting and watching the I.T. Crowd.  I played around for a while and eventually came up with this diamond pattern.  Using my usual technique, I started with two coats of Rimmel Black Satin then laid a column of glitter down the centre of my nail, inching them around a little til I worked out how many I could fit.  I then just build out the pattern on either side.  You may notice, though, that my other nails don't match.  I'd just started on my ring finger when we noticed it was 7pm, and the party started at eight so it was time to improvise!  For me, that usually means loading up a heavy coat of top coat and sprinkling different glitters on it.  I then proceed to pretend I'm being all cool with my different patterns!

The Verdict: Application isn't quite as good as I'd like but man, did these get me tons of attention at the party.  Which is of course, my favourite thing.  Even from guys!  Aww yeah, everyone loves the glitter.

As a side note, the pictures you see here are a result of my patching up my nails after a hard night of partying.  Glitter mosaics are pretty fragile but super easy to fix.  I'll have a full guide on how to fix them here shortly.

Blue and Red Harlequin Nails

I'm in a ridiculously lucky position right now.  The company I worked for for three years fell apart and with a combination of the savings and resulting payout, I don't have to work for a little while.  Not forever, but enough time for me to get enough sleep and to fully dedicate as much time as I want to doing my nails, among other things.  This is how I had the time to do the ridiculous manicure I'm about to show you, and why I'm publishing this at 5.30am. 

I was sorting out my desk when I came across a pot of red holographic diamond shaped glitter I haven't really known how to fully utilise.  It's the only one I have in this size so I couldn't do the geometric shapes I've done with some other colours in the past.  I think I've always known what to do with it, but it's tiny, and fiddly.  Bracing myself with a lot of episodes of The Good Wife and a google search for the best colour complements to red, I began.  To start this manicure, I applied three coats of Urban Outfitters Babyboy, a slightly dusky baby blue.  Then, using my usual technique I added the glitter.  I found the best way to get the glitter even was to do a straight strip down the centre of each nail and built out each side.  You have a bit of wiggle room to shift the pieces around if they don't line up exactly.  I don't even really know how long this took, but I love it so much it's worth it. 

The Verdict: I love this both close up and from a distance.  The red glitter is holographic so it's super sparkly.  From a distance it almost looks purple but with red flashes, even in really dim light.  I love it so much it's been 24 hours and I can't take it off.  It's going to be hard, that's for sure.  I'll keep patching up the pieces that fall off, see if I can't make it last for a while.  Made me cross-eyed!

Green and Gold Art Deco Nails

I do enjoy a good bandwagon-jumping-on party!  When I saw the gorgeous art deco nails Whitney at dressedupnails.com posted on Reddit, I knew I had to have a go, warnings about the amount of time it takes be damned!  I'm made of time! Yeah...really should have listen there cos these really do take an extraordinary about of time to do!

To start, I applied three coats of a polish I've been meaning to use for a while, OPI Goldeneye from the Skyfall collection.  It's such a beautiful gold, I have no idea why I haven't used it sooner.  Look at the macro shot below, haven't seen a foil that pretty in ages.  Once it and the extra coat of Seche Vite I added on top cos I'm impatient was dry I set to work with my striping tape.  I've only used it for stripes before so I had no idea what I was in for, trying to get tape ends to line up properly.  I didn't do anything special with the tape, just copied the designs from Whitney, embellishing where I felt like it.  On top of the tape I applied two coats in quick succession of Revlon Posh.  I should have gone with a darker, hunt green like I was originally going to but alas, Posh will have to do.  

The Verdict:  I love art deco everything so this one is a winner for me.  It's funny how the lines look drawn on the green rather than the green over the top but I'm ok with that.  Thanks for the idea Whitney!

True Rainbow Fish Nails

I do a ton of posts with glitter.  That's fine, I love glitter.  What does tend to happen though is that I stick to the little glitter.  There's actually a reason for this!  I hate any manis that don't sit 100% flat.  If a piece of glitter sits up or catches, it's coming off.  The tiny glitter is perfect in that it doesn't catch, always sits nice and smooth.  I was sorting through my bag of glitter (I have a Sephora gift bag that's filled to the top with pots of glitter :D ) and realised I have a really great set of glitters that work in a nice rainbow gradient.  I've been having more luck with getting glitter to sit properly lately so I gave it another shot.

So the trick with working with larger pieces of glitter is to make sure that every piece you apply is tamped down all the way around.  I've had success with first applying two to three coats of a base colour - I usually use Rimmel Black Satin because it cleans up well - and a medium swipe of a non-quick-dry top coat, like Sally Hansen Invisible.  You don't want to submerge the piece of glitter, but you want the top coat to swell up around the sides of the piece.  Make sure you trim any pieces of glitter sticking off the ends of your nail too.  Finally, slap on as many coats of Seche Vite as you can stand.  I've used three here.  Sounds like a lot but Seche Vite dries so fast and seals the tips so well I'm ok with it.  It's been 24 hours with this mani on and I've only lost one piece of glitter so far.

The Verdict: I love how this looks.  It could only be improved with holo glitter but not everything can be holo, dammit Laura! Some people might think I've gone over the top with trimming all the glitter to fit but this is how I like my nails to look.  It's so sparkly and rainbow-y, it's worth the effort.

Review: OPI Absolutely Alice!

Comparing photos from earlier this week to now, it's pretty obvious that I got acrylic nails.  I'm ok with it, it means my nails are all nice and even and I don't have to deal with having two broken nails on my photo hand.  The universe's reward for said fake nails?  Finding a polish I've longed for for ages in the salon, OPI Absolutely Alice!

Absolutely Alice is a super awesome blue and gold micro-glitter from all the way back in 2010.  I've longed for it for so long and there it was, just sitting on the rack of polishes to choose from.  Turns out it's super easy to just ask if you can buy one of said polishes and to bargain them down cos it's been used.  I know it's a little gross but I wanted it, dammit!  It was really full and hardly used so mine.  Anyway, I didn't want to waste three coats of it so I started with two coats of Orly Sweet Peacock, the sparkly blue foil.  Absolutely Alice has a really great consistency, it's nearly opaque in one coat on it's own. 

The Verdict:  I love this polish, I'm so happy to have rescued it from the salon round the corner.  So what are you going to do next time you get a manicure?  Look at the shelves - look for China Glazes with silver lids, polishes you don't immediately recognise, anything that stands out from the rest.  Don't let them hurry you and don't be afraid to haggle.  Or check your photo for the price on ebay.  If it's over $30 then buy, but keep that poker face!

Year in Review Part 1: Glitter Mosaics

Since my super sparkly glitter nails are still holding up and they took so long I can't bear to take them off, I'm going to do what I've been putting off for a while, and that's to do my 2012 year in review post!  Yes, I realise it's the 30th of January but I've done 390 posts on this blog and I want to reflect a little.

There's too much here to fit in one post so let's start with the first part of my three part reflection.  Gotta start with glitter, right?

Top Glitter Mosaics of 2012

 5.  Most Complex Glitter Mosaic

My most recent and most complex glitter mosaic comes in at number five.  It's sparkly and took forever but the holo glitter I usually use is even more sparkly and is a better colour combination.  I can still see where there glitter surface is uneven, which annoys me, but as a whole, it's still awesome.  

Full post

4. Harlequin Glitter Nails

Another recent post, I was really happy with how my red and blue harlequin nails came out.  This also, unsurprisingly, took a long time to do and nearly sent me cross-eyed.  It's at number four because I love a good rainbow but makes it on the list because while the colours are clearly separate up close, from a distance it looks purple, with pretty red flashes.  I love that I got the glitter to line up so neatly, it makes me happy.  

Full post

3. True Rainbow Fish Nails

I usually stick to using small glitter because I HATE it when pieces of glitter don't sit completely flat on my nails. That's when I cave half a day in and end up picking it off.  Anyway, I have a large collection of little pots of glitter and decided to give the larger pieces a go, because they work so well together, colour wise.  I even had the time to trim the glitter so it sits properly at the cuticle and nail tip.  Yay rainbow fishies!

Full post

2. 3D Geometric Glitter Nails

Diamond shaped glitter is always tricky to work with because it so easily sticks up and catches on things.  I was playing around with it one night when I realised that I could make cubes out of it!  I wasn't sure about making a full coverage mani with it so I let the cubes meander around my thumb and ring finger.  Turns out, that works pretty well!

Full post

1. Stained Glass Glitter Nails

I've done a ton of different manis with this holo glitter but the one that started it off were my stained glass glitter nails I did for my friend's birthday.  All night people commented on my nails, asked if they were stickers, basically showered me with attention which is pretty much all I ask for in life.  I can see things I want to fix here, but it's sparkly so it's ok. 

Full post

Yay glitter!

Pink to Blue Ombre Mermaid Nails

Ok so yeah, I know I just did this kind of manicure but it's totally different, I swear!  I found more pink glitter so the colours blend together nicely and I spaced the glitter out more!  Pretty much though it was the Reddit Monthly Meetup on Saturday night and I wanted sparkly nails.  What more can I say!

To start, I did the usual two coats of Rimmel Black Satin.  Someone remind me to get a new bottle, cos it's getting a bit gluggy.  Anyway, next you'll need a think swipe of your non quick-dry top coat, I'm currently using Sally Hansen Invisible.  You almost can't apply this thick enough because you need to reallllly smush the glitter in there, so no bits stick up.  If I even have one piece of glitter sticking up, I can maybe go six to ten hours before I'mma need to get rid of it.  It's the main reason I trim all my glitter to fit, so it's nice and smooth.  I've found that with the big pieces of glitter, start in the middle with a column in your colour run, then just build out either side.  I also find the top coat will apply better if you leave a tiny gap between each piece.  Once you're done, you really can't apply too many coats of Seche Vite.  I think this is three? Yeah, sounds about right.  Make sure you run the top coat along the edges of your nails too, it'll stop the edge pieces coming off.  

I should go to bed now, so sleepy, hence the tone of this entry!  But look, sparkly: 

The Verdict: I would normally call this just a colour gradient but it feels very ombre-y to me so I'm going with that.  And sparkly.  So sparkly.  Yay!

Sparkly Stepping Stones Nails!

I've been super into Tumblr lately and I've been seeing some people do fabulous things with a glittery base and solid patterns atop it.  I just had to try it out myself after seeing what Whitney at Dressed Up Nails and Stephanie at Sincerely Stephanie have done recently.  By the way, I kinda hate you Whitney, you're just too good and it makes me incredibly jealous! 

I loved the idea of using Color Club glitter polishes from Christmas last year so I started off with two coats of Sugarplum Fairy and then just painted half my nail with Beyond the Mistletoe.  Both are completely awesome and sparkly micro holo glitter, the former slightly purple-toned, the latter slightly green.  I wish I could do the glitter justice, it just doesn't come off in photos! Once dry, I dotted on Wet'n'Wild On A Trip, Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, Nina Ultra Pro Blu Blaze and Nicole by OPI "Baby" Blue.  So many polishes!  But look, sparkly!

The Verdict: Love how the sparkly mixes with the creme polishes, almost like stepping stones on a river of glitter.  That's for me, that's for sure.  Fits with the gradients I've been obsessed with lately too.  Yay sparkly!  Man, I finish a lot of posts like that.  But I like glitter.  So yay!

Rainbow Glitter Pinstripe Nails!

You might remember in my last post I get the newest set of stamping plates from MASH nails.  That wasn't the only thing in the package, there was also a set of 12 holographic bar glitter pots.  I'm normally not the biggest fan of bar glitter.  It sticks up, it catches on things, it generally drives me a tiny bit crazy.  This set had the most perfect set of rainbow colours I had to try out a hand-placed glitter arrangement.  So I present rainbow glitter pin stripes!

To start, I applied my usual two coats of Rimmel Black Satin over a base coat.  I've just switched to Essie Protein Base Coat and it seems fine.  I've had a lot of nail breakages lately so figured I'd better try something a little more proper.  Next, using my slowest drying top coat, I painted a strip down the side of my nail and went to work with my toothpick.  Sure, it takes a while but nice neat pinstripes make up for it.  I found the best way was to start at the cuticle and work upwards because it's easier to just trim glitter off the ends of your nails than try to do it around the cuticle.  I added an extra coat of Seche Vite over normal because I hate bar glitter and it should be completely buried, and voila!  

The Verdict:  Of course I love this.  It's so sparkly!  I even made a vine because sparklies suit the six second video format.  LOOK:

That's all I have to say about that, other than my cuticles aren't doing so great right now, so please excuse the slightly dodgy pictures.  Turns out though, that if you run out of quick-dry oil, olive oil works too!

Rainbow Bar Glitter French Tips on Turquoise!

So I know I just did a post about my new holographic bar glitter but I don't care, it's sparkly so you'll probably see a lot of this in the next little while.  Having just tried stripes the other day, I wanted to see what the horizontal version would look like and it hit me: this could make for an awesome French tip! 

To start, I applied three coats of China Glaze Turned Up Turquoise! It doesn't have the best consistency in the world (you really need the three coats) but the colour is so fantastic I can look past it.  Using a cheap top coat and working from left to right, I went to town with the glitter.  You have to be careful when working with such skinny glitter pieces - too much top coat and it will go over the glitter and look icky.  You can see that happening a bit on my middle finger.  Don't do that.  Very thin coats of glitter are your friend.  Once I was done, I put a preliminary coat of Seche Vite on to stick it all down then I trimmed the glitter that was overhanging the tips of my nails.  Another coat and DONE. 

The Verdict: I'm not happy with how my middle finger came out (got a bit too carried away with getting rid of the extra glitter) but all in all I think this came out awesome.  I just love that the glitter is all holographic, just makes it that much more awesome. 

Cos I'm doing this now too, here's a Vine of this mani in action:

You can find the glitter here at MASH nails. 

This product was sent to me for my unbiased review.