#31DC2015 Day 25- Inspired by Fashion

You know, I think this is the third time in this challenge where I freehanded something that I really should have used a stamping plate for. 2015, the year I was a complete masochist and picked out really difficult (for me) ideas for every. single. nail art challenge.

Side note: I was surprised that I didn't see a single nail art for Inside Out on day 23!! To be honest, the only reason why I didn't do Inside Out was because I thought it would be the obvious choice! Well... I'll do it next year. And with my luck, next year like half of the entries will be Inside Out :3

The fashion I was inspired by was Steampunk. You can't really tell so well under the gears, but I did a saran wrap mani of two different browns as a base, to give it a more antique and worn look. The gears were done with acrylic paint and a paintbrush, except for the clock face, which was nail polish. I tried it glossy first, but I ended up liking it WAY better matte. I'm pretty happy with this mani, but I'm SUPER pleased with how my middle finger came out!

Polishes used:

Orly- Golden Maharaja (darker brown shimmer)

L'oreal Paris- Mysterious Icon (lighter brown shimmer)

il makiage- Pearl Jam (clock face)

An InLinkz Link-up

2013 Roundup

Good morning 2014! Nice to meet you, I hope we have fun together!

I figured right around now would be a good time to look back and see if there was anything interesting over the last year or so.

So, let's start with my 10 favorite new polishes in 2013 (in no particular order):

WOW 427- This dries to a satin-y kind of finish, but it looks even more stunning fully matte. I love how unique it is, it's like a blue jeans color. It is also impossible to photograph. I had to play with dozens of combinations of settings and lighting to get it to look right. For some reason my camera kept reading it as a much brighter blue.

Ga-De Gold Sugar- And really, texture polishes in general this year. I'm not a gold person usually, but this one really blew me away.

???- 104- I'll be honest, I don't know what this brand is called. The bottle just says "Mirror effect" on it, and the other finishes from this brand all just have the name of the finish too. But I have a few of them, and they all look pretty awesome.

Autodidact- Not to toot my own horn here (well, technically yes), but I've been playing around with frankens, and I'm really quite happy with how some of them turned out! I would love to try out mixing polish from scrap, maybe this year I'll pull together the funds to actually buy supplies!

GlitterBunny- You Can Do It, Brucey!- Speaking of Indie polish, GlitterBunny! I have never bought indies before, and now I have a bunch from  GB and Indigo Bananas. I use this one constantly, it's an awesome glitter topper.

Born Pretty Store Holos- 12- This year also marks the year I could finally start ordering stuff online. And look at this sucker! Both the color and the holo quality are amazing.

Ciate- Beach Hut- This one scrapes in just under the wire, I bought it on December 29. I know Ciate has shown a really crappy attitude towards bloggers (with the "caviar nails" fiasco and all that), but I couldn't resist this glowy glittery orange.

Orly- Star Spangled- My picture doesn't even come close to doing justice to this incredible polish. It's a beautiful red jelly packed with microglitter, and it has incredible depth and finish. Basically, it's amazingness in a bottle. 

Inglot- 202 and 203- This one is a tie, because I couldn't choose between these two incredible duochrome flakie toppers. I mean, just look at them! (this time I do think the picture did them justice. I'm usually terrible at catching color shift but this one was nice and cooperative)

L'oreal Paris- Mysterious Icon- Last but not least, a brown-gold-taupe-indefinable-SOMETHING that seems to not quite fit into any category. It even has purple undertones, to make things more confusing. I love that I can't quite quantify this.

Since most people get bored once the photos end, the rest goes under a cut!

NOTD: So it turns out you can stamp with acrylic paint...

Weird, huh? Depending on the paint the result will usually be a little sheer, but it's good for when you're going for a subtler effect, like here.

מסתבר שאפשר להשתמש בצבעי אקריל לחותמות ציפורנים- מוזר, לא? זה בד"כ יוצא קצת שקוף, תלוי לפי הצבע, אבל זה טוב כשרוצים ללכת על מראה יותר עדין, כמו כאן.

צבעים ששומשו Colors used:
L'oreal Color Riche- Mysterious Icon
Gold acrylic paint

I rarely indulge in the L'oreal Color Riche nail polish, since the bottles are tiny, but I saw this beauty on the shelf and I couldn't just leave it there! I love that this color is almost indescribable- is it a super tarnished copper? Is it brown with a serious gold shimmer? It's hard to pin down exactly, but it looks both antique and edgy and I may have to buy a second bottle because I could go through this very easily.

אני כמעת ולא קונה מלקים לוריאל קולור ריש בגלל גודל המאכזב של הבקבוקים שלהם, אבל ראיתי את הצבע המדהים הזה ולא הייתי מסוגלת להשאיר אותו במדף! אני מתה על זה שאי אפשר ממש לתאר את הצבע- הוא נחושת מוכתם? חום עם נצנוץ זהב? קשה לדייק איתו, אבל זה איכשהו גם מראה עתיק וגם מאוד מודרני בו זמנית. יש מצב שאני אפילו אקנה בקבוק שני, כי אני לא רוצה שזה יגמר לי.

I used a BundleMonster plate for this- BM201 (yes, I got a BundleMonster set! I haven't posted about that, have I?)

Haul of shame: Eye shadow edition

I have a weakness for pretty colors. This should be common knowledge by now, considering how many nail polishes I've bought! But apparently I have an even bigger weakness when the colors are arranged in pleasing shapes with complementary colors.

Which brings me to the L'oreal Paris Color Riche eye shadow quads.

Unfortunately, I don't really know how to photograph eye shadow, so my pictures are pretty crappy. I haven't swatched them, but I've worn some. They aren't 100% consistent, but mostly they are decently pigmented, and they lasted me all day. I probably should have done a more comprehensive review, but I haven't, so have some pictures instead!

Look at the pretty color combos! They're really gorgeous in person. I kept passing them on the way to buy nail polish, and eventually I caved in. There were a couple of quads in the display that I didn't get, because I knew from experience those colors Do Not Work on me. (purple shadow, unfortunately, looks ridiculous on me. True blue I wouldn't even bother with.)

The stupidest bit is- I only know the very basics of eye shadow application. I have a feeling I'm going to go on a youtube tutorial spree soon! Especially since I want to use the green/beige/bordeax/black quad and I have no idea where to start with that one.