NOTD: Abstract Kitties + Pink

There's never a bad time to have cat themed nails. Never. Wedding? Kitties. Funeral? Kitties. Presidential inauguration? KITTIES. I don't have a whole lot to say about these nails besides KITTIES. I did them over a distressed pink brushstroke manicure, and I drew them with acrylic paint.

This was also my first time trying out the Poshe fast dry top coat. It came highly recommended, and I felt like trying something new, so I picked it up along with a bottle of Duri Rejuvacote. I've always defaulted to Seche Vite and OPI Nail Envy, so I'll see how these work out for me! For the time being I don't see a huge difference between dry time/durability/application, but I'm happy with them, b/c I was happy with what I was using before. If I begin to notice a difference I'll post about it!

Disclaimer: I basically drew these kitties from my brain, however my brain is very easily influenced by outside sources. So if you see a resemblance to something you've seen online before, odds are I subconsciously copied it from there, and I'll be happy to credit them if you let me know! Unfortunately off the top of my head I have no idea where I got any of these ideas.

#31DC2015 Day 27- Inspired by Artwork

Late post late post late post whooops!

The artwork I chose for today's challenge is that of adult coloring books, which have been all the rage lately. And having finally purchased one for myself, I definitely see why! They're gorgeous to look at when they're not filled in, and they're so gratifying to look at when you finish a piece, because you feel like you contributed to the beauty of the artwork.

For this nail art I stamped with plain black over white with BP-L002 from the Born Pretty Store, a suitably "doodle-y" looking plate, and then I filled in random bits with acrylic paint. I based it on a specific drawing from the coloring book I'm currently working on, which is sadly not Secret Garden (maybe once I fill this one I'll buy Secret Garden?). But I'm actually really happy with the art in this book, so I'm good :D

An InLinkz Link-up

#31DC2015 Day 9- Rainbow

I'm actually kind of out of ideas on rainbows, honestly. I was gonna do the zig zag thing on all of my nails (holo is also rainbow, so double rainbow power!) but I messed up the other two, so I made it the accent. I really need vinyls, I think. This would have been much better if I'd done it with those instead of trying it with liquid latex! I still don't consider this a nail fail, because the end result is perfectly serviceable, but it's barely rainbow. Next time, I promise!

Polishes used:
LeChat- Black Magic (black cream)
ILNP- My Private Rainbow (holo topcoat over black)
Color Club- Harp On It (silver holo)
Chic- Must Have (red)
Chic- 49 (orange)
Ga-de- Mellow Yellow (yellow)
Laka- 108 (green)
Bourjois- In The Navy (blue)
Chic-Purple Rain (purple)

An InLinkz Link-up

#31DC2015 Day 7- Black & White

I can't believe I've never never done houndstooth nail art before, it came out so good! It also looked really crisp and clean in person, I'm definitely doing this again. It does look a teeny bit smudged in the photos, but in person it looked great. I'm really happy with this one. This is actually white stamped over black, but since the nature of houndstooth is that both colors have exactly the same area, you can't really tell. Also, since I don't know when to leave well enough alone, I topped this with a subtle holo topcoat :D

Polishes used:

LeChat- Black Magic (black)

Color Club- French Tip (white)

ILNP- My Private Rainbow (holo topcoat)
Stamping plate: BP L-006

An InLinkz Link-up

NOTD: Red and black gradient

Hello all! I have a simple and classic manicure for today. I have wanted to do a red to black gradient for a while, but I always remembered that at inconvenient times so I never got around to it. Now I finally have! I'm actually not thrilled with this, the gradient is a little too sudden for my taste. I'll probably do these again at some point. But they still look pretty nice, so here they are:

Gradient/Geometric nails and a Youtube video!

It's been a while! I really should stop making excuses, I should just own up to the fact that I'm an infrequent blogger and be done with it. I have no plans of abandoning this blog, but I also recognize that my life is pretty full right now, so while I might sometimes post multiple times per week, I might also sometimes not even post once a week. Maybe in the future I'll have a little more control over my free time, but for now I'm just going to update when I can. I'll try not to go more than two weeks with no posts though!

Also, I'm somewhat more active on Instagram, since it's a more spontaneous sort of medium, so check me out there! (@fedoraharp)

Recently I got a few new plates from MoYou London, and as with all MoYou plates, I absolutely LOVE them. For this manicure I used the Holy Shapes collection plate #1. And since I love the pairing of vibrant gradients with sharp clean geometric lines, I decided to do that kind of mani.

Colors used:
Golden Rose Color Riche 16 (blue)
China Glaze Custom Kicks (teal)
Color Club Disco Dress (purple)
Ga-de Burgundy Velvet (fuchsia)
Konad black stamping polish

You know, I have a HUGE nail polish collection, but I constantly gravitate towards these polishes in gradients. I should really branch out more XD Not that I don't love this color combo, or these polishes (clearly I have the opposite problem), but I feel like I'm probably not using my collection as effectively as I should.

I almost forgot! I recently published a cute (albeit somewhat pointless) little Youtube video, just a few of my recent pouring videos stuck together one after another set to calming music. Still, I like them better with the music. For some reason I find these things really hypnotic, don't you?

NOTD: Goth skittles

Now isn't that a pair of words that you would not expect to see strung together. but that's the only way I can really describe this particular manicure. I was trying for a jet black holo look, but I ended up getting a gunmetal holo instead so I shrugged and added some red accents. Initially the stripes were the same color as the red hex glitter, but when I added topcoat they bled to a pale pink so I painted over them. And thus, I ended up with two different reds and a gunmetal grey, when all I really wanted was a black holo. Sigh. Still, I made lemonade and I think these came out pretty nice, if unexpected!

Polishes used:
Ga-De Black Swan (black base)
Beauty Care almost-black holo
Orly Smoulder

31DC2014 Day 23- Inspired by a movie

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh man! I haven't updated in over a week! I've actually been keeping up with the art side of the challenge, but the photos have been piling up on my computer not getting posted =/ I've done some really cool stuff over the last week, so I'll be dedicating two catch-up posts to the whole thing. In the meantime, here's today!

I chose the movie Pacific Rim as my inspiration- specifically, the Kaiju, who have mottled grey skin with bright blue bioluminescent highlights running through them. I actually used a glow in the dark blue in this look, but unfortunately the bottle is pretty old and I couldn't get a glow out of them, even after "charging" them in the sun for five minutes and going into a pitch black room :(

Still, I do think I managed to capture an abstract kaiju-ish look, and I got a compliment from a waitress today!

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC2014 Day 12- Stripes

I am trying to get more creative with my color schemes, and I came up with this. One of my coworkers commented that it looked "very 1980's". Whaddaya think, should I call this retro? Or accidentally retro?

An InLinkz Link-up

31DC2014 Day 7- Black and White

I don't have a lot to say about this design, it's simple freehand swirly black designs. I decided to go with a sparkly textured black to keep it interesting, but that's about it. On to the nails!

An InLinkz Link-up

Swatched: Ga-de Bold Blues collection (Part 2)

I am back with more swatches! Last time I swatched three out of the five polishes in the Bold Blues collection, but I saved my favorite two for last!

חזרתי אם עוד סוואצ'ים! בפוסט האחרון הראתי לכם שלוש מתוך חמשת הלקים של Bold Blues, אבל שמרתי את השניים האהובים עלי ביותר לסוף!

First I want to show you something else though: I mentioned before that Ga-de finally made a plain black and a plain white polish, and since I am always looking to fill out my basics, I tried them out:

לפני שאתחיל עם הקולקציה, רציתי להראות לכן משהו אחר: בפוסט האחרון אמרתי שסוףסוף גייד הוציא לק שחור ולק לבן פשוטים. כיון שאני תמיד מחפשת לי לקים בצבעי בסיסת החלטתי לסקור גם אותם.

Black Swan (486) & Purity (489):

Black Swan is a fairly nice black jelly- opaque in two coats, and dries to a nice glossy finish. For art I generally prefer one-coat blacks (like from WOW) but this one has a quality about it that just looks nice on its own, so I don't especially mind that it takes two coats.

Black Swan יש לו גימור ג'לי נחמד- אטום לאחר שני שכבות ומתייבש לגימור ממש מבריק. לצרכי אומנות אני בד"כ מעדיפה לק שאטום לאחר שכבה אחת (כמו השחור של WOW) אבל לBlack Swan יש איזשהו ערך שפשוט נראה יותר יפה לבד, אז לא מפריע לי שצריך בשבילו שתי שכבות.

Purity is a very sheer white jelly- this photo is four coats and you can still see through it a bit. It's not useless though- it applies very evenly, so it would be good for layering over something to tone down a look a little, or to create a milky jelly sandwich. I will probably use this one a lot!

Purity הוא ג'לי לבן מאוד שקוף- בתמונה שמתי ארבעה שכבות והוא עדין קצת שקוף. זאת לא אומרת שאין לזה שום שימוש! הלק נמרח בצורה מאוד חלקה, אז אפשר להשתמש בזה לעדן צבעים אחרים או לעשות "סנדוויצ' ג'לי" חלבי- שכבה אחת של Purity על מניקיור אחר יכול להיות מדהים. אני כנראה אשתמש בזה דווקה הרבה!

And now back to business.

ועכשיו חזרנו לתוכניות.

Vintage Silver (488)

This polish is distinctly different from any color I've seen, and I've seen a lot of polish. It's silver all right, but it's very dark- but not quite dark enough to be called gunmetal. It's not quite a foil- no risk of brushstrokes here- but very very fine glitter. These photos are three coats, but you could probably get away with two.

ללק הזה יש צבע שהוא בהחלט שונה מכל לק שאי פעם ראיתי- ואני ראיתי בחיי ה-מ-ו-ן לקים. הוא אכן בצבע כסף, אך מאוד כהה, אך לא מספיק כהה כדי להגדיר אותו "אפרפר". הוא לא foil, אלא גליטר דק דק. בתמונות שמתי שלוש שכבות, אבל אפשר להסתדר עם שתיים.

Blue Satin (493)

Blue Satin. Oh my lord, this polish. I love this polish beyond words. It is a bright, teal-based multichrome that shifts from forest green to dark blue depending on the light, but usually hovers somewhere in the middle. It's admittedly not a strong chrome effect, but it is just really pretty! And the shift is definitely distinct, it shows up in almost every light. These pictures are three coats alone, but next time my nails are bare I'll try a couple of coats over black and get back to you.

Blue Satin. אמאלה, איזה לק מדהים! צבע הבסיס שלו הוא טורקיז בהיר, והוא משתנה לפי הזוית והתאורה- לפעמים כחול כהה ולפעמים ירוק בקבוק. האפקט לא מאוד חזק, אבל כאשר הוא מופיע הוא מגניב בטירוף! תמיד אפשר לראות לפחות קצת את האפקט ה-multichrome אז תמיד יהיה לך מעניין בציפורניים. פה שמתי שלוש שכבות לבד, אבל יכול להיות שזה עוד יותר דרמטי על בסיס שחור- כשתהיה לי הזדמנות אני אנסה אותו ככה ואעדכן אותכן.

(הנה, הבטחתי שאני אחזור לסיים את התרגום, לא? ^_^)

When I first picked up Blue Satin I noticed a resemblance to another multichrome Ga-de had released last year- Green Sapphire (820).  I tried them out side by side, and while they are similar, they are far from identical. For a polish addict like me having both of them is definitely worth it!

בהתחלה כשקניתי את Blue Satin שמתי לב שהוא קצת דומה לעוד multichrome שג'ייד הוציא לפני שנה- Green Sapphire. ניסיתי אותם צד לצד ובאמת יש ביניהם דמיון, אבל הם לא זהים. בשביל אחת כמוני שמכורה ללקים, באמת שווה לקנות את שניהם.

Anyway, this little collection is a solid entry into the Ga-de lexicon. Even the black and white, although they're only honorary members, being staple colors and all. I hope you enjoyed reading about them!

טוב, בסה"כ זו קולקציה ממש חזקה מאת ג'ייד (אם זה בכלל נחשב לקולקציה!) אפילו השחור והלבן הם באיכות גבוהה. מקווה שנהניתן לקרוא!

NOTD: Greyscale Chevrons

Hi all! Not much to say about this mani, so here it is:

Polishes used:

Rimmel- Grey Matter (light grey)

Ga-de- Black Orchid (dark grey)

Chic Metallix- Diamonds (silver)

Chic Metallix- Black Silver (black glitter)

Chic Metallix- Citrine Gold (gold accent)

Born Pretty Store Matte Topcoat

I'm really loving the flexibility and clarity that the camera on my new phone affords me. I can take good quality pictures in basically any lighting!

NOTD: Turquoise Nails

I make no secret of the fact that my favorite color is anything on the spectrum between blue and green. So what better nail art to do than the mineral embodiment of my favorite color, turquoise?

Warning: Image heavy! I put most of it under a cut, but I liked this design so much that I took a ton of pictures of it.

NOTD: Interview Nails 3- Son of the Interview

Another day, another interview. Job hunting can be exhausting, especially since I don't get to buy any new polish until I have a salary once again. As sad as it is, groceries and rent are more important than buying nail polish (but only by a little).

This one was for yet a third company, with an interesting twist- this would only be part time. If I got this, I'd probably just barely make enough to get by, so I wouldn't have to get another job, but I might. I might not, because something cool occurred to me if I get an offer for this one. I could use the extra time to get certified as a nail tech! Then I'd A- be an expert on nails and probably pick up tons of new skills I couldn't even imagine, and B- I'd have a viable alternate source of income, in case working in the high tech industry doesn't work out in the long run. I guess we'll see if/when I get this job.

Polishes used:

Orly- Au Champagne (base color)

Chic- White Flag

GA-DE- Black Orchid

Dalia- medium grey

This one is a little festive, because the interview was actually on Christmas (you see what I mean about people not even noticing it here? It's just a regular business day!). Later on I took it off and put on the Christmas Nails I posted a little bit back.

You know what's odd? In both of the previous interviews, there was a lady interviewer, but neither of them noticed my nails. In this interview it was a man, and he did notice them! Funny how these things work out.

Swatched: Maybelline Colorama Polka Dots collection

Maybelline Colorama is a funny animal around here. They're found in most pharmacies at reasonable prices, but virtually every pharmacy has a different range of colors. It actually took three different pharmacies to track down this set- I didn't do it consciously, I just compulsively buy this kind of polish. And as long as I have them, I might as well swatch them!

Without further ado, allow me to present you with:

okay so bottle shots aren't my forte shhhhhhh

For 200, 201, and 202, each shot has three coats alone on my ring finger and pinky, and two coats over a similar base on my index and middle fingers.

Swatches and reviews under the cut!

31DC2013 Day 25- Inspired by fashion

Shhhhhhhhhhh just go with it.

31DC2013 catch up- 22, 23, and 24

Welp. There's not much I can say about this. My cat and the geek convention and the holiday have really done a number on my ability to keep up with this challenge. I still managed to make nail art for the last three days though! Without much commentary, here they are:

Inspired by a song- Baba Yetu, from the soundtrack of Civilization 4- a computer game that I haven't played, but my god is the soundtrack incredible. Baba Yetu is the first track on the soundtrack. The lyrics themselves are actually the Lord's Prayer translated into Swahili, but the song represents dawn.

These are fun, but they are actually my least favorite of this entry. The next two are some of my favorite art ever, which is more the pity since this is so late, and no one will see them in the inlinkz widget.

Inspired by a movie: Wall-E. My favorite movie of all time! I tried it glossy at first, but it was hard to see the designs through the glare of the lamp light so I tried matteifying it. I like it both ways, so I added photos of both.

Inspired by a book- Fox in Socks. I've been looking for an excuse to use flocking powder for some time, and this was the perfect opening. I have this book practically memorized- I adored listening to the tongue twisters as a child, and at this point I can recite it extremely quickly.

I'm including the Inlinkz for day 24, but be sure to check out others too!