31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 31: My Favorite Manicure

Choosing a favorite was very difficult. Every day that I tried something new made me like something new. So, I decided to pick the Polka Dot manicure. This manicure made me realize that I actually had the manual dexterity to actually paint designs. It is what gave me the confidence to bette daring with my designs.

I decided to use the Lomasi Gel system. This manicure should last 2-3 weeks. That's great, so I can really focus on knitting now.

The colors used are Meditation, Humble, Pleasant, and Snort.

Enjoy!

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 30: Inspired by a Tutorial

For this look, I reused Essie Power Clutch. I decided to try the "Caviar" manicure. I found the tutorial on YouTube by way of missjenfabulous of the Polished and Pearls blog. I used silver microbeads for this look.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 29: Inspired by the Supernatural

I stamped white ghosts onto my dark nails, and added a skull. I think it's more cute than scary.

I used Essie Power Clutch. I love this color.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 28: Inspired by a Flag

Today, I decided to choose a flag from my family's home country. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

The colors used are:
Essie Blanc
Essie Apertif
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight in New York
Silver glitter.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 27: Inspired by Artwork

I found some Illustrator vector artwork on google, and decided to give it a try.

The colors used are:
Essie To buy or not to buy, She's picture perfect
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Good to Grape
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Purple Bolt, Silver Sweep
Sally Hansen Salon Lacquer The Deepest of Violets.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 26: Inspired by a Pattern

I found this oversized animal print dress, and thought it was super cute. The designer is Lipsy Pixie.

Colors used are Essie Blanc and Case Study, Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Midnight in NY, and Kleancolor Mango. Seche Vite top coat.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 25: Inspired by Fashion

Today, I got an email from BeyondTheRack.com with shoes, shoes, and shoes galore. This is where I found my inspiration. I found these neutral, pink, and blue peeptoe booties and thought they were so hot.

The colors used in this design are:
Essie Case Study, Tour de Finance, and Midnight Cami.
I also outlined the shapes using Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Midnight in NY.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 23: Inspired by a Movie

The movie I picked for this challenge is The Grey starring Liam Neeson.

The reason I picked this, is because I have Sally Hansen's Complete Salon Manicure in Black Platinum. It looks like a gunmetal grey. So, I applied 2 coats and allowed it to dry. I then use Essie Blanc at the tips, with a makeup sponge to give it that gradient effect. To me, it looked like snow in the distance.

However, the movie poster shows snow up close and in this man's face. So, I used the dotting tool to add random dots, to mimic snow falling. Then, I added Seche Vite top coat. The whole manicure took about 30 minutes. The best part was, I was able to do it before I left for work in the morning, and I got absolutely no smudges. Even when I reached into my pocket for my MetroCard. Seche Vite is my new best friend.

So, I can look at this manicure 2 ways. When my nail tips are up, it looks like snow falling from a cloudy sky into the darkness. When my tips are down, it looks like snow falling onto the light snow covered ground.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 24: Inspired by a Book

Who says nail polish and knitting can't coexist? Today, I took my inspiration from The Big Book of Knitted Monsters, Mischievous, Lovable Toys. Written by Rebecca Danger.

I thought the characters on the cover were so cute. I found nail polish in my stash that matched them perfectly, and started painting away.

Here are the colors used.
Essie Blanc for the background
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Fairy Teal, Good to Grape, Back to the Fuchsia, Midnight in NY
Kleancolor Nail Lacquer in Mango
China Glaze in Naked
Pure Ice in Free Spirit.

I had a lot of fun painting my little monsters. Then, I added a coat of Seche Vite top coat to seal it up.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 22: Inspired by a Song

I was sick today, so the smell of nail polish made me feel even more sick. I decided to add to yesterday's manicure.

I picked Pink's song Raise Your Glass as my inspiration, and applied a rhinestone Martini glass to my nail.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 21: Inspired by a color

Pink!!!!! Of course.

I am feeling a bit sick today, so I have been laying in bed. My pillow has a pink gardenia on it, so that gave me the inspiration for this color scheme.

Colors used

OPI light pink that I have had for years. The label fell off.
China Glaze Naked
Sally Hansen Nail Growth Miracle Pretty Petunia
Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure Frutti Petutie
Essie Jamaica Me Crazy

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 20: Water Marbled

This is a technique I wanted to do for years. I thought there was some magic involved when I saw them doing it in the nail salons. Like, maybe they put something in the water.

Fast forward about 12 years, and I find a few YouTube tutorials that set my wheels in motion. I was excited about this challenge, and what caused me the most anxiety was picking out colors. I wanted something fun.

I went into Duane Reade on Thursday to fill a prescription. I passed by the Sally Hansen rack and saw 74% off stickers. Hello! I picked up Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Frutti Petutie and Good to Grape for $2.29 each. I paired it with Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Silver Sweep and Purple bolt, as well as Essie in Blanc. These are polishes that I already owned.

So, I taped around all my nails to make the process easier to clean up. I applied base coat, and two coats of Essie Blanc. After that was dry, I added drops to a cup of water, swirled with a toothpick, and dipped my finger. I removed the excess polish floating on top of the water while my finger was still submerged. Otherwise, there would be another design layer on top, and that could be either good or very bad. I was able to marble 2 fingers at a time, so that made the process quicker than I expected.

I carefully removed the tape from around my fingers. Then, I finished with Seche Vite top coat. I used a pointy cotton swab and nail polish remover to take off any excess polish that didn't cling to the tape. I love this design.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 19: Galaxy

I used a lot of colors to create my Galaxy Look.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure "Midnight in NY", "Frutti Petutie" and "Good to Grape".
Essie "Blanc" and "Trophy Wife"
Revlon "Sparkle Aplenty"
Wet n Wild "The Star of the Show"
Sally Girl mini glitters in silver and purple.

I started with 2 costs of Midnight in NY. I like this color because it's a base black with tiny flecks of multicolor glitter in it. I applied Sparkle Aplenty randomly.
Then, I sponged on the Essie and other Sally Hansen colors randomly. It covered up a lot of the glitter, but it made that effect more subtle so I liked it. I randomly placed the purple glitter mini polish. Then, I used the Wet and Wild polish, carefully trying to place the stars where I wanted them.
I put the mini silver glitter in random places.

I completed the look with Seche Vite Quick Dry Top Coat.

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 18: Half Moon

I created this manicure using Sally Hansen Salon Nail Lacquer in The Deepest of Violets. I applied 2 coats, then applied Seche Vite Quick Dry Topcoat. After that was completely dry, I taped the tips and applied circular label stickers to the cuticles to create the half moon shape. I applied NYC Matte Me Crazy to the exposed surfaces, then removed the tape and stickers. This exposed glossy moons and tips, while the rest of the nail had a matte finish. I used a glitter striping polish to add a line at the seam around the moon. On my ring finger, I placed 6 rhinestones.

I love this look.

 

 

 

31 Day Nail Challenge - Day 17: Glitter

I saw Maybelline's Color Show in Pink Cosmo, and there was something that attracted me to the color. Then I saw Nicole by OPI's Live Your Life and I figured the iridescent sparkles and link hearts would go great with it.

I applied 3 coats, but I still didn't get the color that was in the bottle. I believe that if my skin tone wasn't so close to the color, it would look a little different. Nonetheless, I still think it looks nice. It went on smoothly without any bubbles or streaks, which can be common with metallic nail polishes.

I applied 2 coats of the Nicole color. This was a bit difficult because the pink hearts kept sinking to the bottom. I felt like I had to scoop them out with the brush.

I decided to add Essie Luxeffects in A Cut Above because it was a slightly darker glittery pink that would add a little more contrast. I like the overall effect. It reminds me of a Las Vegas Showgirl if she was a ballerina.